Mostly Wordless Wednesday: Barn, Mushrooms, and Dogs

47°f/8.3C, mostly clear. No rain in sight til the weekend.

This old barn is on my son's property. 

Wish I could remember the name of this wildflower.

Along my son's road.

And up by Sarah's cabin,  Larry spotted these mushrooms and thought they were Chicken of the Woods.  Unfortunately they were actually Jack-O-Lanterns, and are poisonous.

We went to the shelter yesterday and found a dog. Buddy is thrilled to have a playmate! His name was Mr. Pibb, but we are calling him Pip, which he seems to like. Pip is 6 months old and had been at the shelter since he was 2 months old,  so he has much to learn. Everything is scary and wonderful to him!

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.

Summer's End

64 this morning, with the promise of a nice but warm day ahead.

So summer is going out as she came in, hot and sunny. Altogether it was not as hot as I remember other years being, and for that I am grateful. More humid, yes, and so wet! Now we are in the midst of an extended dry spell. I have been watering the potted plants, and today we broke out the sprinkler for tbe first time in months. But my poor flowerbeds were so dry, I was going to lose some of my new plants if they didn't get water soon.

This is the time when we gather up the bits and pieces left in the gardens, and it seems like there is always a surprise to be found. Today, it was a sugar baby melon and two nice sweet peppers hiding in the VERY tall zinnias. I have never grown zinnias over 6 feet before. They are just beautiful.  I picked a few, and filled out the vase with some basil. 

I picked a lot of the basil too, and made 5 batches of pesto for the freezer. 

I have never made it before but my granddaughter showed me how. I am learning to like it; at first I found the taste rather odd but I am getting used to it. 

Yesterday I made rabbit stew with a rabbit Larry got last winter, and I put up the huge Chicken of the Woods mushroom a friend gave us. I will post aboutvthat tomorrow.

So lots of cooking the past 2 days, along with some garden work and painting furniture.  I am trying to get some pieces ready because the owner expanded our space at our new location.

Enough for tonight. Time for my feet up in my old recliner and a movie. What will we watch? No idea yet.

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.

Gather In

44 this morning, windy and cloudy, then sun, then showers. Warmed to lower 60's.

Today's garden bouquets. The one in front is in an Early American Pattern Glass jar that is missing its lid, but doesn't it make a perfect vase?

Lavender plants came in the mail yesterday, so you know what I had to do today. The tiller came out--again--and new ground was worked up to plant them. My flowerbeds are so full there's no room for more plants. And since I seem to keep ordering them, I had to find a place to start a new bed.

This is not the perfect way to start a new flower garden, I know, but I seem to have put the cart before the horse. Last week I tilled ground for new peony plants, today for the lavender and for several other plants now on their way. I have to admit I'm excited about this. It's been years since I established a new garden. I kept thinking it was time to scale back since I'm getting older, but this year I've decided what the heck, plant while I can and enjoy it, and when I'm finally unable to care for them, we can just let them go. In the meantime, we'll have lovely flowers. I hope.

Since the day warmed up nicely, we spent most of it outside, cleaning up and putting away. It always surprises me how much must be done--garden tools that had accumulated on the cellar house porch, garden chemicals, flower pots, hand tools, garden ornaments, etc, all needed to be put away for winter. There were wheelbarrows--count them, we have at least 6, most destined eventually for our booths--to be put up, a garden bench to be moved to a better location, some tomato stakes to put away, and on and on. It took several hours, and there's still a bit to do, but we made a really deep hole in the list.

It's fun to be out in the gardens at this time of year, although sobering to see how the vine-y weeds have run amuck while I was so busy canning. Even so, some plants that struggled through the summer are blooming like crazy and growing well. The dill re-seeded itself and now we have some lovely young dill I can harvest and freeze. A few squash plants are still hanging on and have a few blooms, and the calendula has seeded and spread all over a part of the walled garden and blooming nicely. The cannas I started from seed have a few blooms, and I must remember to dig the roots this year. There are green onions because the potato onions I planted have sprouted, and beets and kale and of course turnips.

And flowers. Flowers everywhere. Roses, zinnias, those ones I call stevia, Victoria salvia, the calendula, a few marigolds, chrysanthemums, all are loving this cool, damp weather. There are chives in abundance, basil still growing, and the perennial herbs have tender new growth. It does my heart good to see all this, and I feel grateful because the plants have managed quite well without me. Even some small lavender plants, some that I started from seed and others that I bought, are looking strong and healthy and I am hopeful they will survive the winter.

I will have to get back out there soon and do some cutting back and cleaning up, but for right now it's all good. Now I'm looking forward to the arrival of seed catalogs, when the whole cycle will begin again. I have to admit, it's exciting. Because next year, in the gardener's mind, will always be better, there will be more time, less weeds, and fantastic results. 

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.

September at Last

68 and drizzling, very overcast as the remains of Hurricane Ida pass over us. Foggy again.

I am glad to see the beginnings of the end of summer. Surely September will treat us better than July and August? I have to admit, though, while August had some really hot days, we had enough rain, enough cool mornings, and that is why I don't mind August. But I truly, deep-down hate July. I am simply not made for hot weather. I suppose it's my British heritage speaking? Give me cloudy days, cool weather, and I'm a happy woman. 

As Oliver Wendell Holmes said, "The foliage has been losing its freshness through the month of August, and here and there a yellow leaf shows itself like the first gray hair amidst the locks of a beauty who has seen one season too many." 

So here's to this month when harvest gets into full swing, when the trees sigh and let loose of their summer crowns, when the birds flock and fly to the south, when the gardens struggle gamely on to give us those last, somehow sweeter tomatoes, when the color of the roses seems deeper and brighter somehow. It's September, the month of yellows and oranges mixed with the green, and cooler days and longer nights. I raise my coffee cup--but no pumpkin spice in my cup yet-- to all of that.

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.

Covid Journal, Day 214: Fall

54 this morning and the promise of a warm, beautiful day. Yesterday was nearly 80, almost too warm, at least for this time of year. In summer, we'd have thought that was a cool day. The rain on Tuesday has kept the leaves pretty, although many are dropping.

This gorgeous autumn weather continues, with the best display of color we've had in some time. We don't have to go far to see beauty; just a walk up our driveway or a short drive across the ridge can satisfy. 

This photo and the next 5 are from Tuesday morning, when it was raining. I had an appointment for a skin scan at the dermatologist (just checking to be sure there are no lurking cancerous cells, and there are not ) and it was fairly bucketing, as my Irish friends might say. 

Even in the rain, it's still so beautiful here. I never get enough of looking at this land where I live.

And then yesterday, it was gloriously clear.

Such a feast for the eyes, no matter the season.

These old oaks have been my friends since I moved here. Some of them are quite hollow, but they still withstand the high winds on top of the ridge.

I hope Fall is as memorable where you live. Even in these Covid times, we can still seek beauty, and be refreshed and renewed by just a little time in nature. 

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.

Covid Journal, Day 211: Golden Days

55 this morning with light showers. We've had a week of good weather, some days quite warm, and here and there some light rain. It's been the prettiest fall I can remember in years. No killing frost here yet, although there have been patches here and there that did no damage.

We are creeping through fall, although it seems like the days literally zoom by. Each day I think of things I want to post, but by evening I am too tired to think of words to write. We have been busy as usual, the past week with furniture projects rather than food preservation, and also with a couple buying trips for new stock. Which, of course, has added to furniture projects. As if we didn't already have enough! Gluttons for punishment is all I can say.

But the trees and the land have been glorious sights for the eyes. 

I've done a little Halloween decorating; these two pieces are new to me. The mercury glass egg is a yard sale find, the bird skeleton is from the Dollar Tree.

A bit more on the porch, all thrift and yard sale finds, except Great Aunt Eva's teapot. One day I have to write more about my ex-husband's Great Aunt Eva, if I haven't done so already. She was quite a character.

This is one of my projects last week. I had such fun making this one pretty again.

This note was attached to the underside of the table. It says that the table was made in the West High School, Akron Ohio, Industrial Arts Dept, by student Donald Jones on January 22, 1950. That's a year before I was born. 

Another project, and this one took some time, as you can imagine. 

And here it is, finished and in the booth. We took several things to our booth, and good thing we did because a lady was there buying two tables and a chair when we came in the door. She told me she's bought several things from my booth, and loves my work. She just made my day.

Larry has picked the rest of the peppers, and also brought in the last roses. And a geranium bloom, which he thought was a rose. It's certainly just as pretty.

Yet another project that is underway. This table is solid oak, but has been outside in the weather for quite a while. We decided to flip the top boards--not thinking that they'd have screw holes on the underside. Geesh. What idiots. So I have come up with a plan to put little nail studs in the holes, which I think will add to its primitive look. I hope. The top side had some places just beginning to show rot on the surface, which is why we opted to flip it. The underside is lovely--except for those holes. I don't want to paint the top, but the base will be painted.

Another project we picked up this week. This one's finish is not in good shape. It's scratched and stained and faded in places. So, sanding was in order.

And look what I found under the stain. This one will have a new stain applied, lighter than the old stain, on the top and drawers, which also sanded beautifully. The cabinet will be painted. I will probably use the blue paint and dark wax I used on two other pieces that sold very quickly.

And here's the oak table in process. This one is going to take some work, but I hope it will be beautiful in the end.

I have taken time out to read--I started and finished How to Get Lost by Amanda Eyre Ward. It was a great, easy read, in that same style so many books seem to be written in lately--switching between characters and sometimes time periods, but not difficult to follow. I gave up on The Overstory, about 3/4 of the way through. I could see that the ending wasn't going to be good, and just wasn't in the mood for that. It's beautifully written, however, great character development and fascinating background information about trees. 

And watching. In the evenings I make myself stop work about 8pm, take a shower and either read or watch a movie. 

This week I've been watching The Irish R.M. and it's fantastic. It's hilarious, full of Irish wit, great scenery, some good music, and just plain fun. I worried after the first couple episodes about how the Irish reacted to this TV series from the 1970's. Would they find the story, set in 1897 to about 1905 or so, of an English resident magistrate in the deep Irish countryside amusing, or see it as a put-down of the Irish people? I asked my friend Carmel who lives in Sligo, and she assured me the Irish loved the humor. And as I watched the series unfold, I saw what she meant. That poor R.M. had quite a run for his money. I highly recommend it. 

Well, back to work. Those peppers are still waiting on me, so today is their day.

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.