~
Saturday, May 31, 2008 6:30 a.m.
57 degrees, breezy, raining
I love the way that the sun sneaks up on rainy days, no
fanfare,
no blaze of glory, just a gradual transition from
can’t-see-thing to full
disclosure. We expected rain late yesterday but it never
arrived until
early this morning. We need a good soaking rain, and in
spite of still
having tons of outdoor work to do, I will gladly postpone
it for what-
ever the day has to offer in the way of rainfall.
Yesterday we drove
north to Chaumont Barrens, an alvar prairie east of
Watertown. I
have been there several times before, but this time I was
accom-
panied by a conservationist whose area of expertise is
invasive
species. When we stepped out of the car she pointed out
the
honeysuckle shrubs that were everywhere, splendid with
masses
of small blossoms in pink, magenta, gold, and creamy
white, very
beautiful, and one of the most invasive plants of the
country. In fact,
no matter what part of the park we were in, honeysuckle
was the one
plant that was ever-present. Once I knew what to look for,
I saw it
even in the middle of the cedar swamp, totally out of
place but there
nonetheless. Buckthorn is another escapee that was all
over the place.
There were also plenty of native flowers to enjoy; I
don’t believe I have
ever seen such a variety of species in such a small area.
Prairie smoke is
at its best right now, both in bloom with its delicate
deep pink nodding
heads as well as in fruit, which are long hazy feathery
plumes which give
the plant its name. Here are some
photos of this lovely and unusual plant.
There were several clusters of yellow lady’s slipper
tucked in between
smaller white and yellow flowers that we haven’t yet
identified, and tall
blue phlox scattered around the forest floor when we left
the prairie and
entered the trees. Birds were abundant, from the more
familiar robins and
sparrows to two species that we seldom see on Tug Hill.
We saw a rufous
towhee; he was kind enough to pose on a nearby branch so
we could admire
his beautiful colors and enjoy a cheerful whistle. We
heard a few prairie warb-
lers, but only caught fleeting glimpses of the small
yellow-striped birds as they
flitted through the bushes. Several small butterflies
decorated the trail, and
huge bumblebees respected our space, as we did theirs.
The day was per-
fect for visiting Chaumont Barrens, slightly overcast and
breezy, with not
one black fly, deerfly, or mosquito in sight. What a
natural treasure;
if you are anywhere near the area, give it a visit.
Have a great day,
Daisy
~
Friday, May 30, 2008 9:00 a.m.
70 degrees, breezy, mostly sunny
Warm weather seems to have moved in, and it’s
about time too !
The coming week looks promising for our tender crops, and
I believe
it may be nearly time to put out those tomato and pepper
plants that have
been so patiently waiting on the back porch steps. After
the harsh winds
of the past two days, I believe they are ready to
withstand outdoor condi-
tions for the rest of the summer. I may wait until Sunday,
after the threat
of thundershowers has passed, and that seems timely.
Memorial Day is
a good yardstick to use for the end of frosty nights in
this neighborhood,
except it came very early this year; this weekend is
closer to the usual date
for setting out the bulk of our plants. Yesterday we
walked about five miles
along a seasonal road, and were treated to the sight of
plentiful drifts of forget-
me-nots, the same deep blue hue as the cloudless sky.
Mutant strains of white
and pink showed up here and there, but for the most part,
the roadsides were
truly blue. Buttery yellow dandelions grace the open
fields, with waxy white
wild strawberry flowers underpinning the lush green
grasses and legumes.
We found many clumps of deep red velvety trilliums tucked
into the forest
ferns, and tropical-looking false hellebore bracket the
many grottos that drain
from the marshy spots. Several maple trees are loaded
with brilliant crimson
seed-pod clusters, startling against the deep blue sky.
The big maples in
our yard have been in full leaf for a week, but the
taller trees in the shade
of the forest are just beginning. Our hike was gloriously
bug-free, as it was
very windy; I would imagine that today’s outdoor
activities will require a
dab of menthol here and there and possibly the funky bug-hat
as well.
Have a great day,
Daisy
~
Thursday, May 29, 2008 8:00 a.m.
56 degrees, windy, sunny
The wind is from the southwest this morning, so
our back porch
is perfect for catching some early warm rays and watching
the morning
parade of birds. We are soon headed out to check on the
babies in nesting
boxes; it has been too cold lately to take a peek inside.
Turkeys are just now
getting their freak on, and wild rumpuses of gobbling and
preening are constant
in the east meadow. It won’t be long before we see
mama hen leading her little
band of goblets up the pathways. We found a nest of
catbird eggs the other day,
deep blue-green and as shiny as shellac. When mowing the
lawn we discovered
a white-throated sparrow nest under the grapevine fence,
with six tiny green eggs
speckled with tan freckles; I am surprised that our cats
don’t ever disturb these
birds. A plover led us away from five eggs with an
exaggerated display of broken-
wing behavior and high pitched screaming; all one has to
do is go in a direct line in
the opposite direction to find the clutch, which sits on
top of the garden soil with no
structure at all. I marked the site with a circle of
stones, so we don’t accidentally
step on it while tending our plants. The robins on the
barn wall have hatched,
and are all beak as they peep for breakfast. Our cats
have been very busy
clearing away moles and jumping mice from our property,
but have not
brought us any birds this spring; we did have a good talk
the first day
we let them outdoors after the thaw; is it possible that
they listened ?
I always say talk to the animals, it doesn’t
do any harm and who
knows, they probably assimilate your intention if not
your actual
words. I would add that it is best to do this when no
strangers
are nearby, lest you are perceived as a whit unusual.
Have a wonderful day,
Daisy
~
Wednesday, May 28, 2008 8:15 a.m.
42 degrees, windy, sunny
I see by the above photo that there was frost last night
not too far from here. That is what just a little
difference in
elevation (about 400 feet) can make; our overnight low on
Gomer Hill was 37, with no frost in sight. I think that
frost runs
downhill, like a tiny glacier, leaving us hillfolk to
bask in relative
warmth. The wind is right out of the north this morning;
our coffee
was enjoyed on the porch as usual, but I was wrapped in a
fleecy
throw, with the dog burrowed into the covers on my lap.
Young
grackles keep their parents hopping; there appear to be
at least
three fledglings, possibly four, clumsily flapping from
tree to tree
in the back yard, trying out their wings. Mom and Pop
continue to
feed them, having pulled scads of worms from the moist
grass just in
the space of a half hour. Their nest is in the very top
of a balsam tree
that was planted fifteen years ago; it is now the tallest
evergreen of
three, with the others being blue spruce. All kinds of
birds take ad-
vantage of the trees’ prickly protection from
predators, but this is
the first time we have hosted grackles. They have been
fun to watch,
and what they lack in musical ability they more than make
up in beauty
and graceful antics. Hummingbirds are back, working the
lilacs and
perching now and then on the clothesline, their
iridescent scarlet and
emerald green plumage dazzling in the early light.
Goldfinches continue
to mob the birdbath by the dozens, our most frequent
visitors lately. It
has been a couple of days since we last saw the scarlet
tanager, and
I haven’t heard its throaty song either; perhaps he
was just passing
through. Today will be a fine one for tending the flower
beds, as I
don’t believe black flies are hardy enough to
venture out in this
stiff breeze. I have the day off from my part-time work,
but I
find that a day off is a misnomer, as it becomes a
total day ON
filled with chores at home. The big difference is that I
am paid
for today’s work in spiritual tender, with vases
full of beautiful
flowers, tender asparagus spears, and eventually jars,
bins,
and freezers filled with naturally raised and processed
food.
Life is good,
Daisy
~
Tuesday, May 27, 2008 7:30 a.m.
57 degrees, breezy, mostly cloudy
Although sunrise was at 5:22, we didn’t see
Old Sol until an hour later,
when he made a spectacular entrance as radiant beams slid
through layers
of white puffy clouds like waterfalls of liquid silver.
When we were little we
called these rays Jesus beams, which always made
our Mom smile and agree.
Jesus wants me for a sunbeam, to shine for Him each
day... Now that I am
grown and have expanded my spiritual life to include more
than my strict Christian
upbringing allowed, I see these beams as pure energy, a
unifying radiance that stim-
ulates all who bask in it, no matter what their religious
inclination. It is the same light
that Ra provided in ancient Egypt, Apollo to the Romans,
and Freyor to the Norse-
men, the light that warms the earth, nourishes every
living thing from plankton at the
bottom of the food chain all the way up to the mighty
lions and tigers at the top. The
sun blesses our human physical bodies with vitamin D and
rejuvenates our spirits after
a long winter or stormy weather; who among us has not
burst into a broad smile at the
sight of a rainbow, created by sunlight as it passes
through rain? In these days of inter-
national strife and unrest, much of which is brought
about by differences in religious
beliefs and variances in human rights that go along with
them, it is good to remem-
ber that we all exist under the same sun. The light that
is now reflecting from the
iridescent ruby throat of a hummingbird perched outside
my window is, at this
very moment, shining on a young FLDS mother in Texas
who prays that this
day will reunite her with her children. It shines on the
young soldier who serves
at any number of locations to protect humanity in its
broadest sense, as it shines
on those who are oppressed and tormented by tyrannical
leaders. If every-
one paused for a few minutes each day to accept the gift
of light from
above, to thank God, Yahweh, Allah, Jehovah, Brahma, the
Big
Giant Head, or any of thousands of other names for Spirit,
then
we just might inch a little closer towards world peace.
Just a thought,
Daisy
~
Monday, May 26, 2008 8:00 a.m.
58 degrees, breezy, mostly sunny
What an excellent morning !
Breezy enough to keep the bugs away,
and comfy with a sweater, no winter hat required.
Yesterday was perfect as well, a great day to mulch
the berries, plant broccoli, and put more spinach in the
ground. Some early carrots were sown as well, but the
bulk
of the carrots will wait until late June to be planted.
We store
them all winter in bins, layered between dry maple leaves,
and
like them to be kissed by frost before we dig them. If
planted
too early, they tend to split lengthwise as they grow
beyond
their normal size and are not fit for winter storage. Our
earlier
carrots get munched right away, starting with the first
tender
thinnings of mid-July, added to salads, sautéed in
garlic butter,
or hosed off and enjoyed as is. We are still
eating last autumn’s
carrots, no longer very sweet but still fit for stews or
a tasty maple
syrup glaze. Today we will plant another block of sweet
corn, the
second of four plantings that will keep us in fresh ears
from August
well into October, if we are lucky. Our first planting
has not come
up; I think it may have rotted during the cold snap. None
of our
early beans have emerged either; we took a chance with
those.
Spuds are poking up here and there, so it won’t be
long before
we have the first of those tender sweet babies, usually
by Indep-
endence Day. All is good in the garden, a simple enough
plea-
sure that keeps us busy and off the streets, out of
trouble.
Have a great day,
Daisy
~
Sunday, May 25, 2008 8:30 a.m.
62 degrees, breezy, mostly sunny
Ah, Sunday morning, just back from church in the great
outdoors,
admiring the bright slanting sunlight and listening to
the bird’s choir
greeting the day along with us. No need to get all
dressed up, just
tumble out the door with bed-head, pillow-wrinkled faces,
and mud-
caked sneakers, add one small dog and three cats to the
congregation
to help express the pure joy of the moment; this is
praise and gratitude
of the highest kind, right here on beautiful Gomer Hill !
During the post-
service coffee hour on the back porch, we heard a
sibilant rattling noise
from atop our tallest spruce tree where a pair of
grackles have their nest.
There has been a lot of coming-and-going of the two adult
birds, and we
surmise that the nestlings were making the racket that
sounds a little like
the rusty-gate call of the species, only higher-pitched.
Grackles are lovely
to watch, with their metallic green heads and sleek black
bodies. Their pale
eyes are a little spooky when one fixes you with its
glassy stare, but we have
never seen this particular pair display aggressive
attention to anything, not to
other birds, not even to our cats. This spring we have
had four species of
blackbirds (grackles, starlings, redwings, and crows)
frequently hanging
out together in the trees and on the lawn, like one big
happy family.
There is probably enough food to go around, and plenty of
nesting
sites, so why bicker? It would be interesting to toss our
pair of
ravens into the mix and see what would happen, but this
time
of year they tend to stay deep in the forest while
tending their
young. Ravens seem to enjoy a good dust-up, maybe just
for
the heck of it. Today will be wonderfully warm and
friendly,
so step away from your computer and get outside !
Have a great day,
Daisy
~
Saturday, May 24, 2008 6:30 a.m.
43 degrees, partly cloudy, breezy
It is a chilly morning and we have kindled the kitchen
range,
but hopefully we can let the fire go out after the house
warms
up a little. We are going to remove the big woodstove
from the
living room tomorrow, after pressing it into service one
last night,
as tonight’s temps will be in the thirties. There is
a frost advisory
for this neck of the woods, so if today’s plans
include setting out
annual plants or tender veggies, rethink that for sure.
Tuesday night
will be cold as well; if Memorial Day weekend is the time
you tradi-
tionally plant much of your garden, remember that it
comes almost a
week earlier than usual this year, just like Easter did.
We will put our
tomato, cuke, squash, and pepper plants on the back porch
tomorrow
so they can acclimatize to the outdoor conditions, but
probably won’t
plant them in the ground until next weekend. Remember to
let them
become gradually accustomed to the sun and wind, giving
them par-
tial shade and protecting them from gusts; our porch is
perfect for
that. I need to get our geraniums ready to move outside
as well.
A hummingbird was just admiring them through the dining
room
window, the first little guy we have seen this season.
There is still
plenty of myrtle in bloom for it to feed from, and I
think it will also
visit our late red tulips for nectar. I am surprised how
much they en-
joy geranium blossoms, indicating that they are drawn to
the red color
rather than the rank fragrance of the plants. Many times
I have had them
stop within an inch of my forehead to examine the red
floral-print scarf
I often wear to cover my head while tending the garden.
The breeze
is picking up, so I had better hustle and hang out the
laundry so it
will dry before the weekend hordes of ATVs kick up the
dust.
Have a wonderful day,
Daisy
~
Friday, May 23, 2008 7:00 a.m.
46 degrees, breezy, overcast
We have another damp and chilly morning here on
Gomer Hill,
but that doesn’t daunt the songbirds one bit. They
started their concert
well before dawn, and I believe I heard the gravelly
warble of a scarlet
tanager in the chorus. We caught a glimpse of this vivid
little guy again
yesterday and it seems like he might have decided to hang
around the
neighborhood for a bit. Yesterday five turkey hens
followed a tom
around the east meadow for the entire afternoon, pausing
often to
admire his magnificent feathers and sexy gobble. I am
surprised that
we haven’t seen more turkeys this spring, as we had
several huge flocks
of them in the area last autumn. Deer have been scarce as
well; I hope this
is a portent that they will leave our gardens alone this
year. There is not yet
any sign of cedar waxwings, which usually show up at the
first strawberry
blossom. A walk along the bluebird trail late yesterday
revealed two more
clutches of tree swallow eggs, five in each box, as well
as five more bluebird
eggs. A wren has taken over the southernmost box; I have
cleared away the
sticks five times, and so I guess I will let him stay
this time. Out of eight boxes,
five contain eggs, one has baby bluebirds, and one has a
nest started. Only one
remains empty, and that could have changed since I last
checked. The days are
supposed to become warmer as the weekend progresses, so
we are gearing up
for a big push to get seeds and plants in the garden. I
held off on setting out broc-
coli plants, and it is a good thing I did, as the strong
gusty winds would have laid
them flat earlier in the week. The plants grow even
sturdier in their cellpacks on
the back porch; the fall broccoli crop has just sprouted
in flats and should be
ready to put out in rows by mid-June. I am taking today
off to go to Water-
town, a well-deserved rest after a week of moving
firewood, wrestling with
perennials, and nailing down a new dining room floor. A
little shopping with
a friend, lunch out, and a pleasant drive off the Hill,
sounds like a plan !
Enjoy your day,
Daisy
~
Thursday, May 22, 2008 8:30 a.m.
39 degrees, windy, overcast, sprinkles
We expected to awaken to snow again this morning,
but it is just rain, wonderful to behold as it soaks into
the lawn and gardens, slightly uncomfortable as the wind
drives it into every nook and cranny of our raingear. It
is so
raw out there that all three cats only got as far as the
woodshed
door, did a fast one-eighty and asked to be let back in
to enjoy
the warmth of the kitchen. We have had a wood fire
burning in
at least one of our stoves every day since autumn,
keeping us
toasty especially during this unusually chilly springtime.
In spite
of the dank weather, the yard is filled with birds
pulling long
earthworms out of the soft soil. I saw a robin with such
a big
nightcrawler that he had to take several steps backwards
to get
the worm to lose its grip and become breakfast. I hope
the increase
in the number of birds this spring hanging out in our
yard indicates that
they will continue to be around all summer, and feed on
grubs, cutworms,
potato bugs, deerflies, skeeters, and slugs. I hope they
don’t take a shine
to our strawberries, which are finally beginning to bloom.
Wild strawber-
ries in the meadows are in full flower, and if we are
lucky we will be able
to eat our fill of the tiny super-sweet berries before
our friend comes to
take the hay off and squishes them with his gigantic
tractor tires. Since
we stopped spreading lime on our hayfields, berries have
increased in
quantity every year, as they like acid soil. There is so
much more in a
hayfield than merely potential hay; lately the meadows
have been inun-
dated with bobolinks and redwing blackbirds building
grassy little nests
amidst the greenery. Blackbirds secure their nests to a
cattail stalk or
sturdy joe-pye stem, while bobolinks build theirs on the
ground, hid-
den under cover of thick weeds. The rain seems to have
let up for a
spell; we are off to the woodlot to move firewood from
the landings to
the long rows that are stacked along the edge of the
forest. If we move
a little bit of wood every couple of days, it
doesn’t seem like such a her-
culean task. As we age, we seek to balance our intensely
physical chores,
mixing them up, a kind of cross-training for the Gomer
Hill Olympics...
including events like wood-chucking, spud planting, weed-pulling,
row-
hoeing, and house-painting, not to mention the stuff we
do just for fun,
the hiking and biking and running of the doggies. I am a
firm believer in
use-it-or-lose-it, but gone are the days when we over-use
it, no more
12 hour days at the same task. Sure, there are still 12
hour workdays,
(and occasionally longer), but the secret is to
accomplish a variety of
tasks over a period of days, rather than charge ahead at
only one thing.
Work smart,
Daisy
~
Wednesday, May 21, 2008 7:30 a.m.
43 degrees, windy, partly sunny
A little gasp of rain passed through the area just
before dawn,
but by the time I gave any thought to closing the window
it was over.
We are still very dry up here, as evidenced by the trench
we dug for dahlia
bulbs yesterday, dry to the core. What rain we have had
this past week seems
to have already evaporated. Last night’s sunset was
full of brightly colored clouds
that extended from one horizon to the other, and moonrise
at 9:40 was filtered
through thin clouds that softened its orange glow. Heavy
grey clouds are swiftly
moving in from the west, and it looks like we may be
blessed with some rain
showers later in the day. We have five baby bluebirds
that arrived sometime
over the weekend; from the looks of them, I would say
their birthday was
probably Saturday. They are all beak, wide open and
peeping for food.
Both parents have been kept hopping to bring them bugs
and grubs; I
hope one has the sense to sit on them from time to time
to keep them
warm. Another nest had three swallow eggs in the feather-lined
cup
yesterday morning, and four others were empty but ready
for eggs.
Our best surprise came when we saw a flash of crimson in
the back-
yard birch tree. A scarlet tanager has come to visit;
dare we hope it
will make our yard its home ? After the breeding season
is over, the
red color of the male fades away and they eventually
resemble a gold-
finch, so maybe they are here more than we realize but we
just don’t
recognize them. Here is a series of
photos of the birds in all seasons.
After checking the nest boxes, we walked up the Smith
Road and
saw some huge red trilliums in bloom, towering over small
yellow
violets and the last of the trout lilies. Some of the
flowers were
three inches across, velvety red and beautiful. Forget-me-nots
are just starting to show their perfect tiny blossoms of
true blue,
white, and pink. Although the morning was cool, we were
plagued
by black flies whenever the wind took a break, so we
headed back
towards more open territory to outrun the little pests.
mosquitoes still
haven’t hatched in swarms, probably because it has
been so dry. Every-
thing has its place on this planet; even if they annoy us,
the larval stage
of these pesky bugs are a main source of food for our
native freshwater
fishes and tadpoles. We just have to learn to cope and
get on with our
day, even if it means wearing headnets and looking a
little goofy.
Enjoy your day,
Daisy
~
Tuesday, May 20, 2008 8:00 a.m.
55 degrees, windy, mostly sunny
What a beautiful morning ! And did you notice the full
moon last night as it moseyed in and out of the high
clouds ?
It is sunny, much, warmer than yesterday, and windy
enough so
that we are planning to take a hike this morning without
our bug-hats.
Yesterday was too bitterly cold to even think about
playing outdoors,
with wind gusts so strong I thought I was going to lose
my car door when
I opened it. As I drove home from work I noticed that the
eastern half of
the sky was impossibly blue, while the west was smothered
by heavy grey
clouds, a classic front passing through. Fortunately,
this one had warmer
air behind it, and it feels much more like May out there
this morning. Our
hike will include all of the nesting boxes, and I will
hope for the best when
I check on the early birds who placed their clutches
during the warm spell.
Lilacs are in full bloom today, and our late tulips stand
tall and proud, even
in the wind. Lettuce and spinach have doubled in size
since the rains came,
but beets are biding their time, still tiny. Garlic and
onions practically grow
as we watch, and asparagus needs picked daily to keep up
with its rapid
emergence. We have noticed an overabundance of birds of
all species this
spring. We always have a white-throated sparrow that
nests under the privet
hedge, but this year we have seen a half dozen males
strolling across the grass.
Mourning doves have been here by the dozens for a couple
of months, and there
have been at least three pairs of bluebirds around the
birdbath all at the same time.
Grackles, which usually just pass on through as they head
farther north, have de-
cided to stick around and build nests in the three
evergreen trees in the back yard.
We usually have robins in those trees, but this year they
have put their muddy little
cups under the barn eaves. Bobolinks prevail over the
meadows as usual, but this
year we have seen them at the birdbath, which is highly
unusual. Perhaps all of the
north country birds are evolving to take advantage of the
perks of civilization, such
as our birdbath, particularly in light of recent summer
droughts. One would think that
they would be smarter than to pick a home with three cats
wandering around, but so
far our furry friends have not brought one bird to the
back steps for our admiration.
There is all manner of change occurring in the natural
world, if we but open our eyes.
Have a wonderful day,
Daisy
~
Monday, May 19, 2008 7:30 a.m.
35 degrees, windy, cloudy, SNOWING!
Holy cats ! I can hardly believe my eyes !
I closed the bedroom window in the middle
of the night because a cold wind was howling
and rattling the spider plants, but I didn’t expect
to wake up to snow in the air! I can’t recall having
snow this late in May before. There was one Mother’s
Day when we awoke to six inches of heavy wet snow on
the ground, but this is an odd occurrence for sure. A
bluebird
pair sits on the line, snow swirling all around them; I
wonder what
they are thinking? I haven’t looked inside any of
the nesting boxes
in a couple of days, but I believe one clutch was due to
hatch over
the weekend. Good luck to those little babies in light of
this wicked
cold weather. I can’t imagine that the corn we
planted will emerge
at all, but we have been surprised before. My instinct to
hold off
on setting out the broccoli plants was spot on, as even
those
hardy little seedlings would fare ill in wind-driven snow.
We
have both wood stoves kindled, and are happy to have in-
door jobs to occupy our morning on this wintry May day.
Have an interesting day,
Daisy
~
Sunday, May 18, 2008 7:15 a.m.
48 degrees, breezy, partly sunny
After a colorful sunrise we patiently waited for the
nighttime
chill to flee, but it is still pretty raw out there. We
received a little
rain yesterday, but not the thunderstorms predicted;
indeed, we
barely got enough water to darken the dirt. There were
several
late day rainbows, arcing gracefully over the valley and
seeming
to have their origins in our easternmost hedgerow.
Yesterday I
spent a backbreaking hour ripping out some white coral
bells
that have encroached into a flower bed. They spread
through
underground rhizomes, and what started as a few plants
turned
into an unmanageable amount as I loosened up the soil in
their
territory over the years. There are still a few plants
embedded
within a cluster of peonies, but if I keep them clipped
off they
should eventually give up. If not, it wouldn’t be
too hard to dig
out the peonies and replace them with some from another
area.
I had a wheelbarrow filled with coral bell plants, and
took them
to the hedgerow to see if perhaps they will like it there.
There are
many flowers that go by the name coral bells but
these are the frag-
rant small perennials that look like this: click here
. We still have scads
of them underneath the lilac bushes, and they are almost
in bloom. They
will soon fill the house with their sweet scent, and can
last quite a while
in a little vase. In some areas they are known as lily-of-the-valley.
There is
a song about this little flower; my Mom used to sing it
when I was younger:
White coral bells upon a slender stalk
Lilies of the valley deck my garden walk
Oh, don't you wish that you could hear them ring
That will only happen when the fairies sing
Have a wonderful day,
Daisy
~
Saturday, May 17, 2008 9:00 a.m.
61 degrees, windy, partly sunny
We had full sun for a little while this morning, and it
is already
warmer than any forecast indicated. The air is filled
with fluff from
poplar seeds drifting along, collecting in little drifts,
almost like snow.
We are reminded that the cottonwood tree found in western
states is
another variety of poplar, and in fact got its name from
the scads of
puffy material that is released into the air every spring.
I should ride
my bike to a nearby sandpit that is topped by a large
poplar grove;
I’ll bet one can barely draw breath without getting
a mouthful, so
full of seeds must that area be. Maple trees are in full
leaf of the
prettiest yellow-green, still tender and fragile, a
shadow of the
tough leathery foliage of mid-summer. We were strolling
around
the meadow yesterday and saw a flash of crimson in the
rock wall;
I thought it must be a plastic bag or some other bit of
trash, so we
went to pick it up. Imagine my surprise to see a hundred
tiny maple
trees springing up from the stump of a tree we felled
last summer,
with shiny new leaves of the deepest red. The ash
population in
biding its time, barely even in bud. Lilacs are beginning
to bloom,
the white earlier than the purple, and the sweet aroma is
pervasive.
We pruned the lilac stand severely three years ago, and
this is the
first time since then that the flowers are prolific. I
must clip some
to fill the kitchen with the scent of summer, which is
already
fragrant from apple blossoms and late narcissus. There is
so much to appreciate about this wonderful season of
growth; even though we are so busy that there are not
enough hours in the day to accomplish our many tasks,
there must always be time to pause and admire the view.
Enjoy your day,
Daisy
~
Friday, May 16, 2008 8:30 a.m.
4 degrees, calm, cloudy
It is a cloudy morning but
visibility is perfect, extending all the way
to the Adirondack Mountains. Fog sits in the Black River
Valley but
up here everything is clear as a bell, and pretty chilly.
We did not have
a frost last night, but the temperature dropped to 36 and
the air feels damp.
Today will be partly sunny but still cold, and we are
supposed to be in for a
week of cold and wet; the wet we can certainly use, but
sweet corn will pro-
bably rot in the furrows if it doesn’t get some
warmth to germinate. I will put
broccoli seedlings into the ground today, and they should
flourish. We are not
going to jump the gun with any of our more tender plants
such as tomatoes, cukes,
or peppers. As much as I have been craving a truly fresh
tomato, I guess we will
still have to wait until August. Wild apple trees are in
full bloom here on Tug Hill,
and run the range of color from ivory white through deep
rosy pink. I picked a
few little branches as we walked the meadow paths last
night, and added some
wild violets that grow by the spring; this small bouquet
looks perfect in a blue
Vicks jar I unearthed last week while we were working in
the woods. That
is an added bonus of living on property that has been
farmed for 150 years;
old dump sites crop up in the most unlikely places. We
find huge maple trees
with barbed wire embedded deep within, indicating that
our current woodlot
was once a fenced pasture. I’ll bet this newly
discovered dump site was at
the edge of the field, a convenient spot to tip the
rubbish while delivering a
few bales of hay to the penned-up critters via horse and
cart. The Vicks
jar is one of the newer items in this stash, with many
old-time corked
apothecary bottles as well as bits of broken flow-blue
china and milk
glass vases. I found a clear glass bottle with Fitch’s
embossed on the
bottom; it has a shaker top and was (I think) some kind
of hair tonic.
I haven’t had time to research it yet, but this link is an excellent online
resource for bottle identification. When the bugs die
down a bit I
will take spading fork over to loosen the soil and see
what else
I can dig up. I just love a good treasure hunt,
don’t you ?
Have an adventurous day,
Daisy
~
Thursday, May 15, 2008 7:00
a.m.
53 degrees, breezy, overcast
A smidgeon of rain fell overnight, enough to wash the
dust off of
everything and deepen the rich hues of spring, but no
real soaker.
We watered the asparagus bed yesterday, and hope that
this will
not signal the start of another summer of hauling the
water wagon
around. Strawberries are next on the list, and the mobile
tank has
been filling overnight from the overflow of our trusty
spring. We
dug deep yesterday to plant gladiolas, and the soil is
powder-
dry at least five inches down. Come on, rain, do your
stuff !
Maybe this weekend, time for a little rain dance. Black
flies
continue to be pestilent, and mosquitoes have begun to
show up near the edges of creeks and ponds. I have a
feeling our head-net hats will be the must-have
fashion
accessory for outdoor activities during the weeks to
come. I wonder if I can fit it over my bike helmet ?
Have a fine day,
Daisy
~
Wednesday, May 14, 2008 8:00 a.m.
64 degrees, breezy, sunny
Ah, what a sweetheart of a morning this is ! We
mowed the
meadow paths yesterday, and the fragrant smell of new-mown
hay drifts in and out of our noses as we enjoy the view.
Since there
has been little rain so far this spring, the bulk of the
hay crop in this
area is thin and short. Back when we cut and sold baled
hay to local
horse farmers, this slow growth would have had us worried.
Now we
have a friend who harvests our meadows for bedding, and
the quality isn’t
as important. There has been a lot of farm activity in
the meadows that sur-
round our own small holdings. Fields to the north and
east have all been
sown to cow corn, and I am a bit concerned that it will
cross-pollinate
with our later plantings of sweet corn and produce tough
starchy ears.
The corn we planted yesterday should be safe, as it has a
66 day time-
table, and field corn is closer to 90, so they will not
be in bloom at the
same time. However, the corn that we plant in mid-June
will be in tassel
the same time as the cow corn, and since it is pollinated
by wind, that crop
will likely be affected. Bummer. We will plant it anyway
and see what hap-
pens. We had our first tender asparagus spears last night,
fresh as tomor-
row, steamed lightly with a smidgeon of butter trickling
into the tips. If
we get rain tomorrow as scheduled, we will soon have
enough to en-
joy it every day for a few weeks. Just about the time we
have had
our fill of asparagus, the spinach will be ready to
harvest and we
can eat our fill of that. Spinach, lettuce, and beets
really need
some rain; watering by hand helps, but nothing beats a
good
old-fashioned spring cloudburst to really get those leafy
greens
going. Don’t you just love the fresh local produce
available this
time of year? If you don’t grow your own, be sure to
find out
where the Farmer’s Market is in your neck of the
woods, and
make it a habit to stock up on local seasonal fruits and
vegetables.
Have a wonderful day,
Daisy
~
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
7:00 a.m.
44 degrees, breezy, mostly sunny
What a gorgeous little morning is under way !
Two catbirds are putting on quite a show, singing
every single song on the charts. Perhaps they are two
males having a showdown over a female, or maybe its
a mated pair serenading each other. I can’t see them,
but
their rich repertoire of notes, trills, and warbled
phrases fills
the air from here to eternity. Bobolinks are back on the
Hill,
and their crazy noise is the perfect counterpoint to the
melod-
ious tones of catbirds, robins, sparrows, doves, and
blackbirds.
Crows and ravens are silent on this fine spring morn;
perhaps they
are simply enjoying the lovely sounds along with the rest
of us. If
there were to be a soundtrack for spring, it would be
this, right here,
right now. What a simple joy to be able to take
a few minutes every
morning to appreciate what is happening within our realm
here in a
beautiful corner of the world. Even when I was still a
working stiff
with regular hours, I still made time nearly every
morning to step
outside to soak up the sights, sounds, and smells that
surround
our home. This is a free gift that anyone can bestow upon
them-
selves; you can multitask by sipping your coffee, walking
the dog,
and looking around all at the same time, much more
enjoyable than
sitting in your jammies watching the latest (usually bad)
news with your
morning brew. Here’s a trite phrase made even more
so by the loud
mouthed ladies of a certain network show, but I mean it
from the
heart when I urge you all to take a little time to
enjoy the view.
Start right now !
Daisy
~
Monday, May 12, 2008 8:30 a.m.
48 degrees, windy, mostly cloudy
The wind is blowing so hard from the east that I
believe I can
almost smell the ocean now and then, a low-tide briny
clam-midden
whiff that competes with our sweet pink apple blossoms
and composted
horse manure. Since our back porch is on the east side of
the house, there
is no sitting out to be done this morning, lest we drown
in the whitecaps within
our coffee mugs. We were out just long enough to see our
white cat make a
beeline for the Havahart trap, which we baited with
anchovies last night to try
and catch a raccoon. Boy, was she surprised! She enjoyed
her tasty little snack,
but I’ll bet she won’t be so quick to explore
the cage the next time. We trapped
one large coon a month ago, but recently we have noticed
a couple of piles of
scat around the yard, and we are trying to relocate this
one before it can move
into the neighborhood for good. I have made bargains with
these cute little ban-
dits in years past, to share the corn crop or allow them
access to the wonderful
scraps that end up on the compost pile, but lately they
have been trying to esta-
blish homes in our outbuildings, and there is no
compromise to be had there,
it is simply not allowed. As cute as they are, they leave
behind toxic piles of
poo that are not safe for our pets or visiting children.
With all of the perfect
natural spots in nearby rock walls, hedgerows, and
woodlands, they do not
need four walls and a tin roof for their comfort.
Yesterday we planted pota-
toes, and since Irish blood runs through our veins, we
once again planted
enough to feed half the county. The soil is on the dry
side, still moist
enough deep down but we could use some long soaking
rainfalls,
not the short cloudbursts we have had so far. The wind
kept
black flies away for most of the afternoon, but when
there
was even a brief stillness we were swarmed. This
year’s
spud plot is in a low spot behind the spring, out of the
way of passing traffic, somewhat secluded, and utterly
beautiful. We took a break to admire tiny yellow violets
and lush green ferns growing at meadow’s edge, next
to
pungent wild leeks and big nodding trout lilies. It was,
for the most part, a perfect day for working outdoors,
and that is one big job that is behind us now.
Have an excellent day,
Daisy
~
Sunday, May 11, 2008 7:15 a.m.
57 degrees, calm, mostly sunny
This seems like a regular heat wave after several
chilly mornings
in a row. We can soak up our daily dose of vitamin D in
comfort
on the back porch with no winter hat and only a light
fleece jacket.
Early morning is best for this, as the sunshine vitamin
so necessary
to building strong bones will not be absorbed through
sunscreen.
Mourning doves are once again cooing softly in the large
maple
tree next to the barn, and all of the songbirds of spring
raised
their voices to the sun to kick off this gem of a day.
Today is
Mother’s Day, and should be celebrated by everyone,
men
and women, sons and daughters, old, young, the single,
the
hitched, every one of us... to give ourselves over to the
part
of us that is nurturing and supportive of all of Mother
Earth’s
children. One does not have to be an actual mother to
feel the
joy that comes from caregiving those we love, human or
otherwise.
An important Mother’s Day tradition for me is to
walk the bluebird
trail around our boundaries to see if there is anything
the nesting boxes
need. One year I noticed a nest that was so shallow that
the bottom layer
of grass was barely even there; five swallow eggs rested
within this scant
and sere abode. I put a couple of inches of soft dog hair
underneath the
nest for added protection from the elements, and mother
bird returned
to setting as if I had never been there. I may find a
bunch of sticks left
by a wren, so I clear those away. Once I found a box full
of earwigs,
ugh, so I relocated it to a different location. I offer
words of protect-
ion at every site, that the upcoming broods be healthy
and strong.
My own mother has left this plane, but I honor her by
bringing
up the best of memories of her and telling a tale or two
that
brings her briefly back into our awareness. There are
many ways to celebrate this day, find a path that re-
sonates with you and honor the mother within you.
Have a great day,
Daisy
~
Saturday, May 10, 2008 7:00 a.m.
46 degrees, calm, hazy sunshine
The sky is milky blue and any shadows cast on the
ground are
faint and blurry around the edges. It is hard to
determine where the
sky ends and clouds begin, so faint is the difference
between the two.
Mourning doves are calling back and forth from the two
biggest trees
in the yard; they were the main attraction pre-dawn, with
robins chiming
in as the sky grew lighter. Anyone who sleeps with the
windows closed on
a fine spring night is missing out on some good early
morning entertainment;
even if it is raining I crack the sash a couple of inches.
It is very still, no breeze,
how odd. Yesterday the wind came right out of the north
and tangled laundry
around the lines so that everything died with pleats,
like the broomstick skirts
of yore. We worked in the woods, thinking that perhaps
the stiff breeze would
keep the black flies away; we couldn’t have been
more wrong! I have never
seen bugs that thick, so we dug out the head-net hats
from our camping gear
and got used to viewing the day through a fine nylon
screen. Every so often a
fly would find its way under the net, and then there was
the business of looking
crosseyed trying to locate it, and if that didn’t
work, taking the hat off and shak-
ing it out and then doing a mad dash to put it back on
without trapping any more
of the hungry critters inside. I got a couple of bites
where my gloves met my long
sleeves, but for the most part we didn’t donate as
much blood as we would have
without our strange-looking headgear. We split wood all
afternoon, maple, cherry,
ash and yellow birch, all thinned from our own woodlot. I
don’t mind splitting by
hand, but our task goes much quicker with a hydraulic
splitting machine. It is
awesome how it will blast apart even the twistiest hunk
of green cherry into
more manageable pieces. One would think it boring, but
every piece that
we break apart reveals the beautiful heartwood which is
different in every
species. Aromas are released as well, each slightly
different from the one
before. Little critters often live under the bark, and
sometimes we bust
into a piece that houses big grubs or even baby snakes.
Never a dull
moment... Today I have given myself the day off, and am
headed to
the lovely town of Little Falls for the annual
Women’s Festival at the
Universalist Church. As much as I love our chores here on
Gomer
Hill, variety is the spice of life; it is good to spruce
up now and
then and trade my work boots in for a pair of girly
sandals.
Enjoy your day,
Daisy
~
Friday, May 9, 2008 8:00 a.m.
45 degrees, breezy, mostly sunny
Fog is lifting from the valley, where it has
rested thick and silvery
since dawn. We awoke to a ruckus of ravens and crows,
once again
seemingly in dispute over nesting territory in the tall
trees of the hedgerow.
The crows win every year, but the ravens don’t end
up too far away; in
the fall we usually see them at odds once again. The
ravens are bigger in
size, but the crows have them outnumbered five to one. Of
course, I may
be misinterpreting their behavior, personifying what may
be nothing more
than loud and rough aerial play between two species. It
looks like a battle
from my point of view, anyway. Yesterday afternoon
goldfinches returned
to Gomer Hill, dozens and dozens of them, the males
bright in their lemon-
yellow mating plumage, females drab as ever. I was
watching three blue-
birds splashing in the birdbath when two male goldfinches
perched on
one edge, waiting their turn. Then there were two more,
and three more,
and soon the rim of the birdbath was filled with finches
giving the bluebirds
the old stink-eye. The privet hedge by the birdbath was
also filled with finches,
as was the forsythia. Their sudden appearance was almost
Hitchcockian, and
they soon formed a mass of golden birds, silent, a little
eerie. The bluebirds
finally gave it up, and the birdbath was filled with
finches frolicking and
drinking. There were so many birds that even our cats
seemed intimi-
dated, and stayed on the back porch simply watching. Only
a scant
amount of water remained after the assault, and I
haven’t seen one
single goldfinch since. We may have been nothing more
than a
stopover on their way farther north; they certainly drank
as if
they were thoroughly parched. Human drama has nothing to
offer more exciting than the private lives of birds, and
they
have no clue that their lives are so fascinating to us
earth-
bound caretakers. Today will be a good one for out-
door work, as it will remain cool and breezy,
keeping the bugs at bay.
Enjoy your day,
Daisy
~
Thursday, May 8, 2008 8:30 a.m.
50 degrees, breezy, fog
The greens and yellows of spring shine like
beacons through thick fog,
creating halos of light where none actually exist. If I
take my glasses off
and admire the view half-blind through the swirling mist,
it is all a gorgeous
watercolor wash (literally!) with a landlocked sun where
a big forsythia bush
holds down one corner of the garden. Back in my younger
days at art school,
I would sometimes wear a friend’s thick specs to
achieve this effect, altering
my perception in a non-pharmaceutical way to soften the
edges of the land-
scapes I painted. Funny how time has reversed the
situation, and now I need
specs to see clearly. Yesterday was breezy for most of
the day, so I worked
in the wildflower gardens, dividing some of the plants
and pulling weeds from
the tangle. Woodbine has insinuated itself into the
privet hedge, and at least
twice a year I tug and snip the tenacious vines from the
shrubbery. I swear
every spring that I have grubbed it all out, and then in
the fall the beautiful
crimson foliage starts to appear here and there anyway;
curses! foiled again!
I was going to move some bleeding heart plants but they
are already in bud,
so that will wait for another spring. Bee balm is
spreading nicely throughout
the bank, so I dug some of the outlaws and planted them
down by the spring-
box. The myrtle is in full bloom; several honeybees and I
worked side by side,
honoring each other’s space and generally enjoying
the day. Violets that I had
brought from my childhood home in the midwest are
spreading over the entire
front lawn, their deep purple blossoms making a royal
carpet that I hesitate to
tread upon. Wild strawberries are full of small snowy
flowers, and if they weren’t
in a part of lawn that is mowed weekly we could pick lots
of fruit right outside our
doorstep. We haven’t yet put the blades to work,
enjoying the thick long softness
of the grasses and clover against bare feet for as long
as we can get away with
it. However, last night’s rain will certainly urge
speedy growth, and it is likely
that before the weekend is over the summery smell of
fresh-cut grass will fill
the air in our neck of the woods. There is always
something to appreciate,
if you learn to notice the little pleasures in life. It
isn’t all about grand can-
yons and mighty seas, rushing cataracts or mighty peaks.
Sometimes the
greatest beauty is in the smallest blossom, viewed with
an open heart.
Have a wonderful day,
Daisy
~
Wednesday, May 7, 2008 7:00 a.m.
48 degrees, breezy, sunny
At sunrise a flock of wild turkeys went strutting
through the meadow,
very close to the house. Three toms were appropriately
fluffed out, and
a dozen hens were silently in awe as the menfolk gobbled
and preened
for their admiration. The glamour totally collapsed when
I opened the
back porch door to get a better look; everyone went
dashing off into
the woods, running at top speed and never once lifting
off into flight.
It is a jewel of a morning, as yet too chilly for black
flies to be out
and about. Bugs have been a real nuisance the past few
days, so
thick that we must wear headnets while working in the
woods.
Even the short trip from my car to the house last evening
was
a mad dash to avoid the swarm. At least the skeeters are
still
in dormancy, but when the warm weather returns so will
they.
At least black flies stay outside; not so mosquitoes, who
will
weasel their way into a bedroom and lay in wait until the
lights
are off, then begin the loud whine that drives one
bonkers. For
pete’s sake, just sneak up and bite me already,
enough with the
noise ! Yeah, not a fan of the stealth mosquitoes. I am
delighted
to see that honeybees are all over the place, working the
myrtle
and dandelions. A couple of bumblebees have visited the
tulips
and hyacinths; it won’t be long before hummingbirds
arrive to
compete with them for nectar. Spring is slowly morphing
into
summer, as the trees fill out and early flowering bulbs
die
back. The daily view has an ever-changing palette this
time of year, and if we blink, we might miss something.
Enjoy your day,
Daisy
~
Tuesday, May 6, 2008 8:15 a.m.
54 degrees, breezy, mostly sunny
A nice breeze from the south has set the aspen
leaves in motion,
yellow-green dervishes spinning next to long slender seed
clusters
of a slightly deeper hue. Never mind planting a lilac
bush or other
ornamental tree outside of your window; an aspen will
delight you
at every season of the year, not just for a couple of
weeks when it
is in bloom. It is one of the first to show swollen buds
in the spring;
in summer it is filled with lush green foliage that
dances even on a still
day and dapples the ground with ever-changing shadows.
And in the
autumn, wowza! The golden leaves are burnished and shine
like no
other yellows; they practically glow in the dark! To be
in a grove of
aspens in late October is to recreate the room filled
with spun gold
from the old tale of Rumplestiltskin. Often the
other trees are al-
most completely bare by the time aspens decide to change
into
their fall wardrobe. No aspens in your area? Guess again:
our
common poplar, or popple (locally) is the next best thing,
a dif-
ferent variety of the same genus, populus. Be
mindful of where
you plant this kind of tree, as they spread from
underground roots.
Every so often we have to dig one out of the strawberry
bed, which
is thirty feet away from the big tree. Yesterday was a
beautiful day and
we walked to Mill Creek, a hilly route that took us
through some new-
growth woodlands in an old pasture. I expected to see the
tiny blooms
of wood violets, but it is still a bit early for those.
Marsh marigolds fill the
low wet spots and are covered with waxy yellow flowers,
and false helle-
bore is growing tall all along the streams edge. We
passed an old found-
ation carpeted with myrtle, now radiant with a mass of
periwinkle blooms,
an awesome sight in the middle of nowhere. The creek is
running cold
and clear; with the recent hatch of black flies, the
native brook trout
must be in a feeding frenzy. I need to get my license,
pronto. Why
is the fishing always the best during our busiest time of
year ?
Have a wonderful day,
Daisy
~
Monday, May 5, 2008 7:30 a.m.
40 degrees, breezy, sunny
I just got in from a stroll around the gardens, and wish
I had
taken time to change from flipflops into shoes. I
don’t know if
my toes will ever warm up. On the other hand, they are
cold and
wet from morning dew, so perhaps that is ultimately good
for them,
all-natural moisturizer rich with micronutrients, not
available in any store.
There must have been some critter wandering around last
night, as the dog
was intent on following a scent trail, thus my unplanned
foray into the yard.
Everything is very shiny and fresh; the soft lawn is
greener then green. Yes-
terday was cloudy, cold, and windy for most of the day,
but we bundled
up and hiked around the property to see what’s new.
There are five blue-
bird eggs in one of our nesting boxes, and the other
bluebird nest has been
empty for a couple of weeks. I have seen tree swallows
perched on top of
that house, so I think I will remove the nest and see
what develops. A couple
of boxes have a strand or two of dried grass inside, down
payment on future
occupancy. A robin had started to build a nest on top of
the rear tire of our
truck, so that needed to be cleared away. One summer we
had to delay
planting potatoes for two weeks while we waited for baby
robins to
leave the nest that had been built in the hub of our
tractor tire. The
meadows are dotted with piles of deer droppings; they
feed late in
the day, dozens of them passing by in small herds,
foraging on the
lush green shoots of clover, timothy, junegrass, and
alfalfa. Turkeys
are less obvious, keeping to the woods now that it is
open season on
them. Today’s weather picture is a little more user-friendly
than yes-
terday’s frigid bluster; a long walk is in order
before I leave for work.
have a wonderful day,
Daisy
~
Sunday, May 4, 2008 8:00 a.m.
46 degrees, breezy, overcast, sprinkles
Rain has tapered off into occasional sprinkles,
and the sky
is brightening slightly as if the clouds are thinking
about thinning.
The aspen tree outside my window has tiny true leaves
that twirl
next to the long strands of spring-green flowers, looking
like some
tropical specimen as it all shimmers from rainwater. Now
that the land
has been enjoying several good thirst-quenching libations
from Momma
Nature, it is wonderfully green everywhere I look. Maple
trees have shed
their red buds across the surface of vernal ponds so that
they appear to be
full of rubies, and tiny rusty-green leaves carry the
memory of last autumn’s
blazing foliage in their hue. New growth on spruce trees
is softly blue against
the old-growth deep green. Ferns have blasted into soft
fronds, and dappled
leaves of trout-lilies carpet the hedgerow floors. Wild
gooseberry bushes have
furry little leaflets lining the prickly stems, much like
miniature grape leaves. Pus-
sy willows have shifted from cute and fuzzy into long
dangling chandeliers, soft
green foxtails swaying in the breeze. The woodlot is
filled with tightly curled tril-
lium buds waiting for a warm day to show off their blooms;
it is impossible to
tell which will be deep red and which will be the soft
pink and white painted
variety. We don’t have pure white trilliums in our
neck of the woods, but I
saw hundreds of them to the south along route 31 last
week. False helle-
bore is over a foot tall, and lines the banks of Horsie
Creek. I peered
over the edge of the gorge yesterday afternoon, and there
is still quite
a bit of snow in the dark recesses of the shale cliffs.
The flow at the
bottom is swift, but it looks like our stone dam from
last summer is
mostly still there. The best thing about this time of
year, especially
on a damp day, is the vast variety of aromas that
permeate the
Hill. I could have sworn I smelled new-mown hay last
night;
it was probably some kind of sweet pollen or sap rising,
I just enjoyed it as a nameless gift. What do you smell
when you step outside on this May morn ?
Have a fine day,
Daisy
~
Saturday, May 3, 2008 11:30 a.m.
52 degrees, breezy, cloudy
It is considerably warmer out there than it was yesterday,
and hasn’t rained since dawn. I just returned from
the Turin
Library book sale, which is still going on, as well as a
bake sale
and chicken barbecue. The chilly start didn’t keep
bargain hunters
away from the village-wide yard sales, and business was
good. There
is also an ATV poker run that originates at the base of
Snow Ridge,
so I have spent the last twenty minutes since I arrived
home telling
folks that indeed, they have taken a wrong turn somewhere.
The
ski area parking lot is full of trucks and trailers, so I
guess I’d
better ditch my plans for an after-lunch bicycle ride,
and high-
tail it into the deep woods far from any roads or logging
paths.
It would be a good day to check out the gorge across the
way;
I’ll bet there are a few painted trilliums blooming
along the edge.
I know the woods will be muddy, but sturdy boots and wool
socks will make the trek easy. Oh look, another gaggle of
lost
quad-riders. Good grief. Yep, I’m gonna go hide
somewhere...
Have a great day,
Daisy
~
Friday, May 2, 2008 8:00 a.m.
39 degrees, breezy, overcast, sprinkles
As chilly and damp as the morning is, it was refreshing
to turn my face
to the sky and be anointed with the cool mist that is at
the tail end of a line
of stronger showers. Rain-soaked colors of spring are
intensified, the mea-
dows greener and the jonquils and forsythia more vividly
yellow than on a
dry morn. It is as if the sun competes with flowers on
bright cloudless days,
while the misty gloom of a morn such as this enhances the
hues quite nicely.
Yesterday we walked the dogs to a big pond a couple of
miles away; they
were a little reluctant to swim in the ice water, but
romped happily along the
edge for a while. We skipped stones and were remarking
how nice it was to
have a bug-free morning, when all at once the sun burst
through the clouds and
so did thousands of black flies. Our return trip was a
little speedier than the out-
ward bound, simply trying to outrun the bugs. Trout
lilies are blooming in the
forests and hedgerows, and trilliums are tightly budded
waiting for a warm
day to unfold their pretty red petals. Marsh marigolds
are beginning to
open, and a jelly jar full of them brightens our kitchen
counter, bringing
the sun indoors with their perfect yellow waxy faces. It
is a good morn-
ing to stay in and bake some goodies for the Turin Town
Spring Festival
tomorrow; if you are in our neck of the woods, stop in
the fire hall to per-
use the book sale, grab some baked goods and hot coffee,
or feast on
chicken barbecue. There will be yard sales galore,
something for everyone.
Dress warm, and have a great day,
Daisy
~
Thursday, May 1, 2008 8:00 a.m.
44 degrees, breezy, mostly sunny
Happy May day, everyone ! Part of the annual
tradition has already
been modified, as there is no morning dew with which to
sprinkle my face.
The dew point at this moment is 19 degrees, and our
overnight low was mere-
ly 30. A friend in the valley awoke to thick frost, but
it is usually much colder
on the flats than up here on Tug Hill. After wandering
the meadows searching
in vain for the sparkle of dewdrops, I pressed my hands
into the tall grass to
absorb the essence of May Day dews past, then held the
cool palms to my
cheeks; that should be good enough to insure another year
of youth, if not
in appearance, then in attitude. At the least, I can
still walk with a spring in
my step and a smile on my aging mug. Yesterday never
warmed up, and
a stiff breeze drove the chill deep. We did some garden
cleanup wearing
wooly hats and winter gloves. Snow flurries moseyed
around for much of
the day, but didn’t amount to anything. The first
fat purply-green spears of
asparagus are beginning to poke through their thick layer
of mulch, earlier
than usual; it will still be several weeks before we can
eat our fill of the
tender shoots. I know a lot of people who have never
tasted this won-
derful spring vegetable; we only eat it in season, so it
is a huge treat for
us, lasting only six weeks or so. Our tulips look stunned
but not defeated,
and will probably spring back up as the temperature rises.
Our early daffo-
dils are done blooming; I will pluck the dead flowers
from the stems, so the
bulbs can grow strong and multiply. We have a long row of
mixed varieties
next to the forsythia hedge, and every five years we dig
it up, divide the clus-
ters, and replant them. Our property is strewn with
daffodils, and we give
away plenty of bulbs as well. This fall I plan to put
some down by the spring,
under the apple trees that grow there. There are already
some wild long-stem-
med violets running amok, so I know the soil is good
enough for flowers; I
will just have to choose a spot with good drainage. And
now, off to take a
long walk with friends and pick some flowers and greens
for a May basket.
Have a great day,
Daisy
~
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