72°f, about 22°C, clear, sunny. Another hot day on tap. We reached almost 97 yesterday.
Still watering, trying to keep alive what we can.
The flowerbeds are not too pretty right now. Dying leaves and dead flower heads abound, as do weeds, but I am not getting out there to clean things up until the weather cools off. Next week we see a possible cooling trend. Well, Dog Days end on Sunday, so there ya go.
The trees are giving up. The tulip poplars are already turning yellow, and along our driveway we see many leaves already fallen. Sparks of red and orange leaves are lighting up the woods here and there.
In the bottom of the photo you might be able to see the tip of our main apple tree. It was loaded with apples but has dropped quite a few, and the ones left are quite small. Ah well, they will still make good cider.
Larry has been a champion with the watering. He patiently moves the sprinkler in a rotation from one garden to another. His work has meant we are still getting a nice lot of produce-- beans, cucumbers, squash, tomatoes. In the right of that photo you can see one of our Concord grapevines. It has a decent crop of grapes, which will be ready to pick next week.
Grandson has landed in Bali! So his adventure begins. Oldest son is somewhere in the wolds of the Sierra Nevada, and third son is in Nashville,, homeward bound after delivering wind energy parts to a plant in West Texas. 4th son, who knows? Maybe kayaking, as he takes the summer off and hunts a new job. 5th son still in Miami, probably at work. Keeping tabs on these guys is a job!
Well, in other news, my doctor appointment went well. BP was 120/70, which I attribute entirely to eating so many tomatoes! Well, and cutting back on caffeine. She commended me for "taking care of yourself", which made me laugh because I don't think I do, really, beyond eating healthy food most of the time. I guess that counts. Today Larry gets his eyes checked and I have to go because they will use those drops and he won't be able to drive.
I went to my friend's home for a visit, and once again she loaded me up with stuff she isvgetting rid of. It is really nice stuff that she knows I can sell in my booths. She once had an antique store, and when she closed it due to health issues, she had an auction. But her home was a treasure trove, just beautiful. Now, as she plans her move to a retirement home in Florida, she has to downsize dramatically. It is traumatic for her, and it distresses me to see her so upset as she finds things and memories of the past when her husband was living surround her. Even though she has cleared truckloads of stuff, and an auctioneer came and hauled away more truckloads, she still has so much to be sorted and decisions to make. It really is heartbreaking.
It makes me look around and evaluate my home too. We have a lot of stuff. Not as much as many people our age, because doesn't it just pile up in secret if you have space for it? I am thinking about what I really don't care about, and will begin putting those things in our booths to sell. I do not want to be in the position my friend is in, being 80 years old with a lifetime accumulation of memorabilia to sort alone.
Some of what she is dealing with is her husband's family items. He inherited quite a bit, and could have started a small museum to his father and ancestors. All wonderful things, with provenance attached, but now my friend has had to figure out what to do with it all. Family took some, but not all. Hard choices have to be made.
Well. I don't want to close on a down note, so here are some memes that made me laugh! Or cringe.
Have a good day, friends!
...thanks for the chuckles, stay welland cool.
ReplyDeleteTrying to, Tom!
DeleteThe family heirlooms, so to speak, are the hardest to get rid of. I have become the depository for some of those, and I'm not sure what to do with them. I have scanned some of the documents and photos, but still have the originals. It would be fun to open a family museum, but that's not practical, but still a fun idea.
ReplyDeleteI hear you. I have sent most of the papers and photos to my sister Judy, who has become the family historian. She and I have tried to decide who should get them after her. Her sons don't carry our family name, of course. So it becomes a question of which nephew might be interested. You are wise to scan them. Much easier to store and share...and protect.
DeleteI admire your passion for gardening...so much work, year after year. Thanks for the laugh, Sue.
ReplyDeleteIt is, Angie. And usually I enjoy the work, but right now, not so much!
DeleteI wonder if the West Virginia State Museum or even the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History would be interested in any of your friends historical materials. As soon as I read "provenance" and "ancestors," it's the first thing that comes to mind.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if she thought of that! Apparently her husband's children took the most import things. What left are small souvenir type items
DeleteI'm glad you can help your friend as she continues to downsize. I'm sure aware that I need to do such also, which is why I take pottery to the Tailgate Market each weekend. It's a bit tedious, and I've got some other ideas too, which may not be a strain on my health. Thnaks for the chuckles.
ReplyDeleteI think we all begin to think that way when we hit retirement, Barb.
DeleteI downsized years ago and the only things we got a lot of is books. I like the memes you posted, made me chuckle. Stay cool and be cool. :)
ReplyDeleteSmart man. I have a lot of books too, but have weeded them down to about a third of what I once had. Still need to do more though.
DeleteIt's a pity to see the stress on the trees, but you provided some chuckles at the end.
ReplyDeleteYes, I don't like seeing colored leaves this early. And still no rain in the forecast for the next week. It's getting scary.
DeleteHopefully you'll get lots of grapes. Do you have trouble with raccoons coming and ripping them off? What they don't eat they leave all twisted in a big mess.
ReplyDeleteWe have not had that problem, yet. Maybe because if the dogs? But deer have pretty much stripped the older vines. We need to fix that next year.
DeleteYour family are sure out and about everywhere, cool!
ReplyDeleteOnly 17C/62F here, guess you would like that...
Yay to good health.
Hard decision to leave home and belongings like that.
LOL on the fall.
Oh, they are all great, "ambulance"!!!
I am happy to report in "my" company sex does not matter (outch, you know what I mean ;-) ) - we get payed for the job.
Your language can be tricky (German word: "Geschlecht").
Have a happy day.
The watering is a full time job with high temps everywhere. Though we too are suppose to be cooling down a bit. Flower beds are pretty done, way ahead of schedule. Like you said trees are turning which is way too early. Glad your appointment went well. The eye drops for hubby...my eye doc no longer does that. They have a new machine that gets them the same results. What an improvement. It always took hours for my eyes to get back to normal and it often gave me a headache. Insurance doesn't cover the new machine though. I can see how keeping track of your 5 sons and there whereabouts can be a challenge.
ReplyDeleteI hear you on the 'too much stuff' as we've learned belatedly how many things (furniture, books, cookbooks, Christmas decor, etc) you're left with when two only children marry and have two sons who don't want any of the old things. Sigh.
ReplyDeleteIf your friend who is moving to Florida is going to Gainesville, our old son and his wife are selling their 2 BR, lovely, open plan home with a two car garage, screened porch, and a lime tree in the back yard and need a buyer so they can move here near us. Just let me know!
We are both 55 and already think about stuff we don't need. Having cleaned out my in-law's home makes one think.
ReplyDeleteOh, wow! I think you outdid me today in "funnies".
ReplyDelete