~
Wednesday,
June 30, 2004, 8:00 a.m.
68 degrees, a little breeze, sunny
What a beautiful morning! I had a wonderful time on the
western slope
of the Colorado Rocky Mountains, but it is great to greet
the day surrounded
by all of this green, evidence that there is no drought
in this neck of the woods.
Many thanks to Eevee for filling in at this site while I
was away. The day she
wrote about brook trout I was catching a few of my own,
thousands of miles
away. And yesterday’s contribution from Captain Max
was an unexpected bonus.
Thanks, gang! Today looks like it will be a winner for
sure. A brief glance at the
garden during last night’s purple hour revealed ripe
strawberries just begging for
a sweet and juicy trip into dozens of jam jars. Carrots,
beets, lettuce and spinach
need to be thinned out, while corn needs to be thickened
up; something has been
pulling the corn plants out of the ground, and they
litter the ground in sad disarray.
We will dig up a few new potatoes today, and enjoy them
creamed with some
young onions and peas. Yum ! I can’t wait to explore
the meadow paths and
see what new wildflowers have appeared during the last
eleven days.
There’s no place like home,
Daisy
~
The Adventures of Captain Max
June 29, 2004
By Captain Max
The ocean sings on a summer night,
The sun goes down, a breeze goes by,
Tomorrow is another day, another place, another time,
but for today I would like to say good night to all,
for tomorrow we will wake to a breeze and the start of a
new day.
Be Happy,
~Captain Max~
Bits and Pieces of Happiness
June 28, 2004
By Eevee
Summer is definitely here. School is out and the children
are free. I will
be swimming once the pools open; there have already
been hot days when
I've wished that they were. The summer is one of the most
busy times of the year....
between the fair, road trips, long vacations and getting
together with family and friends,
we're doing something almost every day! There's learning
and experience each year with
lessons, things you've never done before
or something you will remember for years to come.
These make life interesting and if we didn't learn
anything new or make any mistakes,
life would be boring.:)
Go out in the world and enjoy!
~Eevee~
Bits and Pieces of Happiness
June 27, 2004
By Eevee
In the fields deer roam, scaring up birds and rabbits.
It is early in the morning and most of the wildlife has
not awakened yet.
Soon the sounds of crows, frogs and other lively animals
will fill the air and the day
will not ever be completely silent. The fishing has been
exceptionally good lately.
Using the right bait at the right time can be rewarding.
The Brookies (Brook Trout)
that we caught two nights ago were delicious! I am
looking forward to
catching different species of fish this year and maybe
even winning a derby.
Put your line out there,
~Eevee~
Bits and Pieces of Happiness
June 26, 2004
By Eevee
At 8:30 this morning, it is 50 degrees outside with a
nice breeze and
sunshine everywhere. A few small clouds hover around
the edges of the
great blue sky; nothing close to rain. Sometimes I wake
to the frogs
talking to each other and they sound like a bunch of deep
drums. My family's
creek and pond have many kinds of creatures and insects.
In the creek
we have crayfish, salamanders, minnows and
water skippers. In the pond
we've got many frogs, chubs, minnows and little black
under-water insects.
I often see these critters because they are a
part of my backyard.:)
Have a great day,
~Eevee~
Bits and Pieces of Happiness
June 25, 2004
By Eevee
When I woke up this morning, the birds were already
chirping, tweeting,
and whistling. There is a particular bird whose name I
don't know.
It's call is like a slide whistle; up, down, up, down.
I've probably seen
this bird before; I just haven't ever identified it. The
morning dove is out,
too, humming it's sweet hooo-ooo-hoo-hoo-hoo.
It is somewhat chilly out,
but the sun will warm us up a bit.:)
~Eevee~
Bits and Pieces of Happiness
June 24, 2004
By Eevee
This past winter my family had a Great Horned Owl take
over
an old hawk's nest in our woods. The crows would make a
raucous
every time the mother or father left the nest. One
owlet flew to a 20-foot tall tree.
We walked under it and observed it's new feathers. It
was an experience to remember.:)
Today, the crows are being loud again and one of the
owls might be paying a visit.
The air is cool and the sun is warm.
This will make for a beautiful day.:)
~Eevee~
Bits and Pieces of Happiness
June 23, 2004
By Eevee
It is 6:00 am and 49 degrees outside this morning.
As I walk outside, the long stretching shadows fall on me.
As I round
the end of the house, a bright beam of sunlight shines in
the air around me.
The sky is a perfect blue, with an exception of small,
hazy clouds on the horizon edges.
In the garden, I see new deer prints and hope they
haven't eaten lunch here.
The birds are enjoying themselves, picking the worms off
the ground
and flying away to feed their growing babies.
Enjoy this beautiful day,
~Eevee~
Bits and Pieces of Happiness
June 22, 2004
By Eevee
Today, I recalled a day this Spring when I was walking in
the woods looking
for ferns to go with a bouquet when I bent down to cut
some nice long stems.
I heard a rustle behind me and looked back to see two
deer running toward me !
The one closest to me stopped 30 feet away and stood
there staring.
The one in back of her did the same. Within seconds they
bounded away. :)
Last night's cool rain was nice for the garden
and the creek is flowing better.
I don't think the frogs mind either way.
Happy Summer !!!
~Eevee~
Bits and Pieces of Happiness
June 21, 2004
By Eevee
The wind rustles in the trees,
And I try listening hard,
Like they’re people talking to me
And I believe they are.
Every night I hear the crickets
And the peeper frogs,
They really love it in mushy swamps,
Or little muddy bogs.
So have a wonderful day,
I’m sure the birds will.
They love to fly and play
Not ever usually sitting still.
~Eevee~
Bits and Pieces of Happiness
June 20, 2004
By Eevee
It is 8:30 am, 51 degrees outside and slowly getting
warmer.
This morning the sun is shining so brightly that the
entire house is filled
with it’s beautiful warmth. Today will be a
wonderful day for the gardening jobs
or a physical activity outside. There’s so much
wildlife out here in the woods;
I wouldn’t want to leave it, not even for $1,000.00.
Happy Fathers Day to all of the fathers out there !
~Eevee~
~
Bits and Pieces of Happiness
June 19, 2004
By Eevee
Lately the clouds have been very strange but very
beautiful.
I’ve noticed them a lot more, and some even have
squiggly lines like a rippling lake
across the whole sky. The red and white clover is in
bloom and the wildflowers are
bursting out with bundles of color. Now is the season for
bouquets, from the garden or the woods.
The sun feels wonderful now that most of the colder
weather has passed and winter is long gone;
I’ve just got to remember the sunscreen.
Have a great day,
Eevee
~
Bits and Pieces of Happiness
June 18, 2004
By Eevee
Hi ! I’m Eevee and I’m going to be writing for
Daisy while she’s off enjoying
herself. Yesterday was quite nice; the light sprinkle
gave the gardens another
boost upward and the sweet smells of dew and newly-
opened flowers were
everywhere. I am lucky to have already tasted some of the
wonderful strawberries
this year and, since the garden is overflowing with them,
I eat a handful each day.
The tadpoles are quickly growing up into big bullfrogs in
the little muddy ponds
and I know there’ll be a lot of frog catching to do
this summer.
Enjoy the day,
Eevee
~
Thursday, June 17, 2004, 9:00 a.m.
68 degrees, gentle breeze, cloudy
A few rain showers passed through early this morning, and
now the
air is rich with lingering moisture. Young starlings are
all over the lawn,
their bright yellow beaks prodding the damp grass for
tidbits and treats.
A few young robins join them, their white bellies
freckled with the black
specks of youth. A doe stands quietly in the west meadow;
maybe a new
fawn is close by, hidden by tall grass and wildflowers.
The Hill is full of life
this morning. Eggs have hatched and birds have fledged,
and all of a sudden
there are five times the birds flying, moseying, and
chirping happy tunes as
there were a week ago. A lush green vista greets me
wherever I turn. I will
carry this beautiful greenery with me for the next ten
days, as I celebrate the
summer solstice in the high desert land of the Rocky
Mountain Western Slope,
where all is dry beige dust, soft sage green, and seas of
purple flowers... lupine,
columbine, and larkspur... beautiful in its own way, but
I shall miss all this green.
Stay tuned, guest writers on the way...
Have a great day,
Daisy
~
Wednesday, June 16, 2004, 8:00 a.m.
74 degrees, calm, partly sunny
It is too sunny to sit on the back porch for long. It is
that rarest of days on Tug Hill,
one with no wind. The heat and calm air will bring bugs
of all kinds swarming around
our heads as we work outdoors today. Deerflies are here
for the summer, and are so
tenacious that they will continue to circle my head even
while I speed along on a bicycle.
The best defense against these awful biting flies is to
wear a hat or scarf, and to pair up
with a friend whom you trust to knock you upside the head
once in a while to flatten them
when they finally land. (It has to be someone you trust,
otherwise they will just repeatedly
smack your noodle for no reason, “I swear, there was
a fly there...”) It is time to hill the
potatoes; we are fortunate to have a tractor-drawn
hiller, a real labor-saving device. The
early spuds that went in the ground April 12th
are beginning to blossom, and little new
potatoes are only a week or so away. We hilled that long
row by hand, so we appreciate
our old tractor even more. No newfangled low-carb diet
for us; a day without potatoes
at our house is rare. Red and yellow potatoes are lower
on the glycemic index than
white ones, and all potatoes are better for you when they
are new. Of course, if you
make mashed potatoes with butter and cream, they are less
healthful. There’s nothing
better than new little potatoes boiled briefly, dotted
with a smidgeon of butter,
and seasoned with salt and fresh ground pepper.
Yum ! Have a great day,
Daisy
~
Tuesday, June 15, 2004, 8:00 a.m.
70 degrees, windy, partly sunny
It is a wonderful morning, with windswept clouds coming
and going and the air
clear as a bell. Cloud-shadows create a very active
landscape full of crisp dark
edges and near-neon green sun-pools. Tall hay is shifting
back and forth in layers,
moving like the fake cardboard ocean waves I once saw on
the set of an amateur
production of Shakespeare’s The Tempest. In
fact, if I squint and unfocus my gaze,
the meadow looks an awful lot like the sea on a stormy
day. I get the same effect by
removing my glasses. For those of you with corrected
vision, try walking about outdoors
sometime without your contact lenses or eyeglasses; it’s
a whole new world, masses of
color and an almost Impressionistic quality of subtle
light and shadow. If your vision is
perfect, borrow someone’s glasses and look around.
It’s a whole new world. Years ago,
in a college art class, we all painted a landscape while
wearing eyeglasses picked out of
a big basket. Those of us who were taught since
kindergarten to draw each leaf and flower,
petal, vein and woody twig, soon delighted in the freedom
to paint the big picture, details
be hanged. Our critical eye was transformed as we applied
masses of color to the canvas.
There are many cases in life, as well as in art, where we
need to soften the edges to
see the main idea, whether it is a landscape or a
personal situation.
Something getting on your last nerve ?
Squint, and look again...
Try it,
Daisy
~
Monday, June 14, 2004, 8:00 a.m.
58 degrees, breezy, overcast
Gentle showers that started late yesterday afternoon and
continued
off and on throughout the night gave the gardens a good
drink. While we have
had plenty of rain here on this part of Tug Hill during
this growing season, parts
of the valley have been dry as a bone. So far, much of
the late spring rainfall has
been in the form of local isolated storms, dumping tons
of water on a small area here
and there while leaving others high and dry. This latest
moisture was widespread,
and thirsty valley plants will greedily soak it up. It is
raining right now,
a steady spray that is drifting with the breeze.
It looks like garden chores are on hold until things dry
out a little.
Enjoy the break,
Daisy
~
Sunday, June 13, 2004, 6:30 a.m.
61 degrees, breezy, mostly sunny
The friendly neighborhood yellow bellied sapsucker
started his courtship
drumming on the steel housing of the vent on the roof
just above the bedroom
at about 4:30 this morning. It doesn’t echo as much
as an aluminum ladder, but
the volume is at least as great. The sound must carry for
miles; perhaps there just
aren’t any females of the species in the
neighborhood to heed his lovesick plea.
It was lucky that bird chose this morning to whack away
at our roof, or I might
have missed a beautiful light show. The sun rises at
about 5:15, but the sky starts
to brighten a half hour before that. A nice feature of
this morning’s program was
the relatively mild temperature. I could sit comfortably
on the porch with a jacket
over my jammies and a hot beverage; no need for a fleece
blanket or winter hat
on this summer morning. As long as I was up, I decided to
empty our kitchen waste
bucket into the compost pile behind the barn. I am very
happy that I decided to
put the dog on a leash for this little excursion. As we
rounded the corner, we nearly
collided with a little skunk. I backed slowly away and
kept the dog on as short a
lead as possible. The skunk peered at us with his little
piggy eyes, turned his back
(oh no! not the business end!) and slowly waddled back to
the heap of rotting weeds
and vegetable peels to continue his breakfast. This
particular critter has been around
for several years; it is either albino, or has such a
broad white stripe that it appears
to be albino. I never flipped it over to find out what
color the belly is. One old-timer
that I know used to pick skunks up by the tail to remove
them from residential areas.
He says, “You’ve gotta be quick.” Well,
hmmm, ya think? It will be a beautiful morning,
but I can see little clouds beginning to streak the
western sky.
There may be some rain later, so plan accordingly.
Have fun today,
Daisy
~
Saturday, June 12, 2004, 8:00 a.m.
64 degrees, breezy, sunny
Today will be a beauty of a day for sure! We spent all
day yesterday in
Syracuse, arriving home at 8:45. There was still plenty
of time to take a nice
stroll as the sun set, although a fleece jacket was
required. The neighbors’
horses decided to give us a little show as we passed by,
racing each other
from one end of the meadow to the other, manes and tails
flying as they ran
for the sheer pleasure of it. They were backlit by a
velvety peach of a sky,
thundering hooves throbbing the primal beat of their
frolic. There was frost in
the valley again last night; our overnight low on Gomer
Hill was 45, and it is
warming up quickly. If this wonderful breeze keeps up,
today’s outdoor work
will be bug-free. A third crop of beans can go in the
ground now, as well as the
main crop of carrots. It is finally safe to set out
delicate basil seedlings, as long as
they are protected from the wind. Some basil will be
direct-seeded in rows as well.
A long row of sunflower seeds planted today will show up
nicely as a tall hedge in
late August. Save some seeds back to plant on July first
for beautiful harvest displays
as maple leaves begin to change in September. Those who
plant their entire vegetable
garden in one day deny themselves the months of variety
that succession planting gives.
Peas sown in early July will yield an even better crop
than the spring planting. Lettuce
and spinach planted every two or three weeks throughout
the summer ensures salad
every day, not just during June. Broccoli that is started
today from seed and planted out-
side at the end of July will produce big tender heads of
broccoli in September that won’t
bolt to seed from midsummer’s heat. There is nothing
better than ultra-fresh veggies
from one’s own garden, unless it is extending the
season on all those goodies.
Victory through vegetables,
Daisy
~
Friday, June 11, 2004, 8:30 a.m.
54 degrees, breezy, partly sunny
There was frost in the valley last night but we were safe
at 42
for our overnight low. Coyotes were active after dark and
I heard their
eerie high-pitched yipyipyip several times during
the night. They must have
been on a mission, one that required several attempts. I
checked all of our nesting
boxes yesterday, and both batches of swallows are two
days out of the shell and
very lively. The bluebirds are beginning to outgrow the
nest at eighteen days old,
and their feathers are tiny pale blue echoes of adult
plumage. They will leave any
day now, and hang out in the tumble of shrubs that
surrounds their box. We have
discovered another batch of bluebirds nesting high in a
natural cavity in the aspen
tree outside of my window. The male that sits on the
clothesline every day is now
busily dashing to and from the hole with food for the
hatchlings. I am concerned,
because this puts the entire family within range of our
three cats, who are good
hunters. I have patiently explained to them all that
songbirds are off limits, but
sometimes (in the manner of cats) they don’t listen.
Bluebirds are easy prey, as
they feed on the ground and seem oblivious to their
surroundings. Our three-
legged guy waits under the birdbath and about one time in
a thousand he is able
to snag a goldfinch as it lands for a drink. We can’t
deny our cats the natural order
of their lives; they are all half-wild creatures that
came to us in need of food and
shelter and to domesticate them by removing their claws
and confining them indoors
would seem cruel. If they snag a songbird or two, that is
natural selection, leaving
the smarter and quicker birds to reproduce. For some
interesting ways this theory
applies to the human race, visit www.darwinawards.com.
Have a great day,
Daisy
~
Thursday, June 10, 2004, 7:30 a.m.
49 degrees, windy, overcast
Wow! What a change! How many of you went to bed wearing
nothing but a
sheet with all of the windows flung wide open, and
awakened in the wee hours
looking for the quilts at the end of the bed? Yesterday
was a very interesting day.
It was hot but windy, and when working outdoors we had to
avoid being downwind
of the dirt road or we would have been sandblasted, do-it-yourself
dermabrasion.
Late in the afternoon the wind picked up to a steady roar
that unrolled our shirtsleeves
and teased long strands of hair right out of my braid. I
had to hold on to the car door
as I entered or it would have been bent backwards. The
wind was blowing in the valley,
but nothing like the tempest on Tug Hill. I wonder if the
coming storm is what set the
crows off yesterday morning. When the storm finally
arrived it was short and sweet, hard
rain pelting from every direction with thunder and
lightning happening instantaneously. We
didn’t have any hail but the raindrops were huge.
After about fifteen minutes of fury, the
sun came out and a full-arc rainbow materialized in the
eastern sky, slowly coming into
view like the Cheshire Cat’s grin. It was one of the
most perfect rainbows we have ever
seen, high and wide, both ends buried in the Black River.
We took a walk after sunset
and were drawn to beautiful peachy rays seeping through
dark clouds in the northeast,
contrasting nicely with pale lavender sky. We heard
another storm approaching, but it must
have veered off. It was still quite warm outside, and
steamy from the rain. It is very
different this morning; last night’s steam is now
just plain cold dampness, and I think
I will light a small fire to take the chill away. The
temperature may dip into the thirties
tonight; valley dwellers take note and protect your
plants if you are in a frost-prone area.
Whatever else you can say about North Country weather,
you can’t call it boring.
Have an interesting day,
Daisy
~
Wednesday, June 9, 2004, 9:00 a.m.
78 degrees, breezy, hazy sunshine
A cool breeze swept through the open windows last night
on the first real
summer night of the season. It was warm, but moving air
currents made for
comfortable sleeping, no flannel required. Something
upset the local flock of
crows this morning; they flew about with loud hue and
cry, an unruly mess of
big black birds that didn’t settle down for about
twenty minutes. Maybe there
was a predator after a young fledgling crow that had
fallen from a nest, crows
are very protective of their young. Perhaps it was just
the avian equivalent of a
soccer riot. At any rate, I didn’t realize that we
had such a large population of
crows in the area until today. I like crows. I admire the
way they look out for
each other, posting sentries both fore and aft of the
flock to warn of approaching
danger. They eat a lot of insects, and usually only rob
the cornfield if there isn’t
anything else available. They eat wild fruits, rodents,
frogs and snakes, and even
carrion. I do not like the fact that they eat young birds
of other species, but in the
long run, they are of more benefit than harm to humanity.
In August, their main dish
is grasshoppers by the dozens. In many parts of the
country, I’ll bet they are feasting
right now on zillions of seventeen-year cicadas that have
recently emerged. When
I am off rambling the trails of Tug Hill, no matter what
the season, if I follow a flock
of crows I will always be led to something of interest.
If it were not for the persistence
of one single crow urging me forward I would never have
discovered the breathtaking
view from a high point where two gorges converge, not too
far from our home. I hope one
day to find a young crow and make it part of the family;
they are loyal companions and
can even be taught to speak, like a parrot or macaw. I
wonder what the cats would think of
such an unusual sibling. Today will be warm with the
chance of a cooling shower later. Take
advantage of the wonderful breeze to get out and enjoy
the day in relative bug-free freedom.
Follow a crow, see what happens.
Have a wonderful day,
Daisy
~
Tuesday, June 8, 2004, 8:00 a.m.
77 degrees, breezy, sunny
Thank goodness for the stiff breeze that is wafting
across the land on this
warm morning. It keeps the bugs down and adds cooling
relief from the heat
that has been building since sunrise. We were up with the
sun to view the last
of the Transit of Venus, an awesome sight. The last time
Earth, Venus, and the
Sun all lined up together was in 1882, so it is unlikely
that anyone who saw that
one is still around to remember it, barring the
occasional ancient Siberian tundra
dweller sitting in a yurt eating reindeer-milk yogurt.
Using a welder’s helmet and
binoculars we were able to watch Venus as it slowly moved
off the right edge of
the sun’s bright disc. It looked like a small dark
dot surrounded by a hazy circle,
which represented the atmosphere of Venus. For details of
the event (which is now
over) visit http://sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/sunearthday/2004/index_vthome.htm . In
addition to all of the scientific ramifications of this
event, there are some pretty heavy
duty spiritual ones as well. Although I don’t know
how they could have seen such a
thing without a welder’s helmet, The Mayan people
and ancient East Indian cultures
gave significant attention to the passing of such strong
feminine energy across the face
of the masculine sun. The current Mayan calendar
indicates that Quetzalcoatl may return
to earth sometime between now and the next Transit of
Venus in June of 2012. Many
groups gathered during the six-hour Transit to meditate
and pray for an end to strife and
conflict in the world, and for Mother Earth and her
children to be healed. Events on the
morning news indicate that more meditation is needed, in
fact it just may take the whole
eight years for frail humanity to achieve peace with the
universe. if each person on Earth
strives to follow the one rule that is perfect no matter
what your faith (Do unto others that
which you would have done to you) then a chain
reaction of loving kindness would
be generated that could be stronger than the accumulated
evil of the ages.
Love one another,
Daisy
~
Monday, June 7, 2004, 8:30 a.m.
56 degrees, breezy, overcast
It is a damp cool breezy morning. Hard to believe it is
supposed to warm up
into the seventies today, and the eighties tomorrow. We
were awakened before
dawn by a metallic drumming right outside the window. In
spite of efforts to scare
this noisy pest away yesterday morning, he was back today
in all of his lust-crazed
furor to be the loudest drummer on the block. This
particular yellow bellied sapsucker
has decided that pecking his staccato love song on the
aluminum ladder by the chimney
would be the best way to advertise his availability for a
good time. He knows there’s
no sap in the ladder; he’s looking for love. I hope
he finds it soon. Perhaps I should tie
some orange safety ribbon on the ladder rungs to flutter
in the breeze and keep him away.
Maybe he would plight his troth on the barn roof instead;
at least that’s not right outside
the bedroom window. We have seen this strikingly
beautiful woodpecker around before,
but this is the first summer he has hung around this long.
I first noticed him drifting along
the lawn with a dozen robins one morning, pulling worms
out of the ground. Although the
sapsucker’s main food supply is tree sap, he will
also eat just about anything else, a true
omnivore. It will be interesting to see if he does
attract a mate, and where they will find
a tree cavity big enough for a nest. We don’t get
cable tv up here. Instead, we have the
real deal nature channel in full surround sound, must-see
3-D...
and every day a fresh episode...
Hmmmm, wonder what’s on today’s show,
Daisy
~
Sunday, June 6, 2004, 7:30 a.m.
56 degrees, breezy, mostly cloudy
Clouds sit in various layers like a big blue, grey and
white lasagna in the sky.
It did not rain last night, and it appears to be clearing
this morning in anticipation
of another warm and sunny day. Yesterday we were walking
on the meadow paths
and I picked my first bouquet of summer flowers. Daisies,
red clover, birdfoot trefoil,
cow vetch, fleabane, and buttercups all seemed to spring
up overnight and look beautiful
in an old green jar on the kitchen counter. Purple
columbines are just starting to bloom in
the woodlot, so I added some of those to the mix as well.
Painted daisies in the perennial
bed are beginning to show their faces to the sun, with
peonies, iris, and roses adding bright
accents of color to the yard. Poppies are ready to pop,
and lilies have the faintest swelling
of buds at the ends of emerging stalks. One of my
favorite flowers of early summer becomes
even more appealing after they die... these would be the
delicate white blossoms of straw-
berry plants; after they are finished blooming, they are
replaced by plump sweet ruby jewels,
the best treat in the whole garden! Little hard green
berries are hanging on strong stems,
waiting for the heat to arrive so they can burst into
juicy ripeness. Summer is truly here,
long days full of beautiful flowers and pervasive lush
greenery everywhere we turn.
Take advantage of the beauty that surrounds you; store up
the colorful sensations
of summer to be fondly remembered when the cold cloak of
winter surrounds
you with stark white vistas. Each season is beautiful in
its own way, but... summer !
Go out and seize the season,
Daisy
~
Saturday, June 5, 2004, 8:30 a.m.
65 degrees, breezy, mostly sunny
It is mostly sunny so far, but clouds are creeping slowly
into the picture
from all directions. I hung a load of towels out on the
clothesline earlier, and
they should dry pretty quickly in the breeze. Yesterday
was a perfect drying day,
with an unusual east wind bringing all the good green
meadow scents to the laundry
and now the whole house benefits from the perfume
lingering on the piles of fresh folded
clothes. The prevailing wind on Tug Hill is from the
west, and dust from the road is usually
the most common fragrance to our air-dried laundry. If
Glade made an air freshener called
Tug Hill Country Fresh it would smell like potter’s
clay with undertones of ATV gas
fumes and newly spread manure. I don’t think anyone
would buy more than one can of that.
We took a long walk yesterday and as soon as we got into
the forested area, we were
overwhelmed by the green of it all. Green above
and green below, green on all sides
wherever we turned... all the rain has turned the Hill
into a lush paradise of ferns, graceful
shrubbery, and radiant new tree foliage. I have a photo
from Thursday’s bike ride, and it
looks like we were standing in the middle of an Amazon
rain forest, with waist-high ferns
and a green glow all around. We are going to get some
rain later today, which will be good
for newly sown seeds and little plants all lined out in
neat garden rows. Any outdoor tasks
that you don’t finish today can wait for tomorrow
afternoon, when not only will the
sunshine return, but warmer temperatures as well.
Have a wonderful green day,
Daisy
~
Friday, June 4, 2004, 8:00 a.m.
59 degrees, windy, sunny
The morning breeze is crisp and clear and smells faintly
of roses.
The wind is coming from the east, and blows past the rosa
rugosa tangle
gathering scent as it passes. It also carries the sounds
of the highway and the
shrill headsplitting tone of the high school passing bell.
It looks like it is going to
continue to be an awesome day. Yesterday was a mix of sun
and clouds with an
occasional cold rain shower. We rode our bikes back to
the beaver pond in the
woods and the herons are gone from the rookery;
apparently the chick rearing duties
are over. We disturbed a family of hairy woodpeckers who
scolded us loudly the whole
time we were under their tree. They were quite agitated;
there must have been fledglings
about. An inspection of one corner of the pond revealed
several inch-long black water
creatures, hanging motionless and then speedily swooping
along after some minute prey,
showing a flash of silver belly. Whirligig beetles
skimmed the surface of the water,
reflecting sunlight from their metal-bright backs. A
garter snake surprised us all as it
quietly slithered across the path. We never saw any
beavers, but evidence of their work
lay all around, with trees as large as eighteen inches in
diameter felled by big sharp teeth.
Ripples here and there indicated the presence of fish as
they rose to feed. The forest around
the pond is all hardwood, mostly maple and ash, but
several small conifers have started to
spring up. One tamarack near the edge of the dam was
particularly beautiful, its dense
true-green feathery needles in stark contrast to the
brown layer of duff. Big grey and white
clouds and bright blue sky were perfectly reflected in
the pond, along with the tall straight
deadwood that is still standing in it. it was a memorable
visit, and the mosquitoes even gave
us a break. It is a fine day for just about any activity,
especially for pulling weeds and
thinning seedlings; the soil is perfectly wet and will
release unwanted plants easily.
Enjoy your day,
Daisy
~
Thursday, June 3, 2004, 9:00 a.m.
54 degrees, breezy, partly sunny
Truth be told, it is actually mostly cloudy, but partly
sunny somehow
makes it seem a little warmer outside. It was a chilly
night with a beautiful
near-full moon diving in and out of clouds. It will be
full tonight, and clear
skies are in the forecast with temps in the thirties.
Valley dwellers might
want to take precautions against possible frost. We spent
yesterday in
the city, and it was wonderful to return to the Hill in
time for a late supper.
The clouds were stark white against an azure blue sky,
and as twilight
approached all shades of pink, magenta, and purple were
represented
across the whole view. The actual sunset was an anti-climax
to the light
show that came before. The afterglow wasn’t too
shabby, either. We
passed by some beautiful flower gardens and stately
magnolia trees in the
residential areas of Rome and Utica, but nothing can
compare with the
natural wild beauty of a Tug Hill sunset. Now the sun is
gleaming through
the clouds once again, enticing me out the door for a
romp with the dog.
Have a great day,
Daisy
~
Wednesday, June 2, 2004, 9:00 a.m.
49 degrees, breezy, raining
It is cold and rainy, with just enough rain to stir
things up. It may clear this
afternoon but it won’t get much above sixty. Peas,
lettuce, and spinach are really
thriving in this weather but the heat-loving tomatoes and
peppers are just sitting
inside their protective cardboard shells, waiting for
this cold wet spell to pass. Lawns
are growing by leaps and bounds, and mowing has become a
weekly pastime. We
have a couple of motorized push mowers that do a grand
job, and between the lawns
and meadow paths we probably mow at least an acre. I get
a charge out of driving through
town and seeing people mowing their houselot sized yards
with a 16 horsepower
(that’s big) garden tractor. We still have a
little mower we bought at a garage sale
for fifteen bucks in the mid 1970s that we use for
trimming around landscape plants.
This was the mower we taught our kids to use, and soon we
were dropping them off
in town to mow other people’s lawns for a few bucks.
When I grew up we lived on a
double lot in a suburban neighborhood and we had a motor-free
rolling grass cutter, a sturdy
beast made of iron and wood. We coveted the neighbor’s
newer, lighter aluminum model.
As a girl, I was not allowed to cut the grass; my job was
to sweep the clippings from the
sidewalk while my brother had all the fun with the
lawnmower. It rolled hard in deep grass,
and made a sound like rusty bolts going through a garbage
disposal. The neighbor’s mower
emitted a soft whirrrrrrr as it glided
effortlessly across the yard. When my Dad sold the
family home, that old heavy mower was still in the
garage, even though he certainly could
have afforded to upgrade. I think he liked the challenge.
The grass is always greener on the other side of the
fence, except where there are no fences,
and where the grass is lush and green as far as the eye
can see.
Enjoy your day,
Daisy
~
Tuesday, June 1, 2004, 9:00 a.m.
58 degrees, windy, partly sunny
After a long night of rain showers,
the clouds are swiftly moving aside
to reveal pale silvery-blue patches of sky, looking more
like November hues
than June’s brilliant blues. A high layer of white
stays put while endless rowdy
low grey cumulus masses chase each other from west to
east. We put pepper plants
into the ground yesterday after the wind died down, and
now they are being buffeted
about by strong gusts; a few have broken and all look
distressed. The ones that survive
will be more hardy from the abuse, whatever doesn’t
kill us makes us stronger as the
saying goes. The first day of June is sacred to the Roman
wind goddess Tempestus, which
is pretty obvious right now. We had a fine bike ride
after lunch yesterday. I was sure that
the dirt roads would have many patches of mud, but they
were dry and easy to ride, packed
hard from weekend traffic. We rode along a short path
into the woods and ran into a little
goo here and there, but all in all it was a cleaner ride
than most. Mosquitoes were ferocious,
and every time we stopped to check something out they
landed on every patch of bare skin,
so we ended up misting ourselves with repellant. We
visited the heron rookery and found
one lone bird flapping to and from her nest of twigs
perched high atop a dead tree. Water in
the beaver pond was still and reflected the bare straight
treetrunks perfectly. Every bird that
flew above the surface had a twin miming its actions
below, just like Lucy and Harpo in the
doorway fifty years ago, courtesy of Desilu Productions.
Life imitates art for a change. It is the
beginning of June, the month of seeds and weeds, hungry
trout, and beautiful flowers. It is the
month that daisies cover Tug Hill, as will this Daisy.
There is so much to see during June, baby
critters to spy on and new trails to discover, old dumps
to scavenge and wildflowers to gather.
The days are longest during June, and every scrap of
daylight illuminates
some new adventure waiting to be uncovered.
Happy June !
Daisy
~
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