~
Monday, June 30, 2008 8:30 a.m.
70 degrees, breezy, partly sunny
We have a perfect week laid out before us, with
some rain,
some sun, good growing weather for sure. Tomatoes and
peppers
are beginning to sport little flowers, so now is the
perfect time to give
them a boost of manure tea mixed with some epsom salts.
If you do not
have access to composted manure, just warm water with
epsom salts dis-
solved in it, applied in the evening to each plant, will
give them a little extra
magnesium to encourage the flowers to make seeds, which
will arrive sur-
rounded by tasty tomato and pepper wrappings. This is an
old-time fertilizer
recipe that was passed on to my by a neighbor who is now
gardening in the
afterlife, where all of the days are as beautiful as this
one and all of the nights
are filled with fireflies and moonlight. Here on earth,
last night was rich with
coyote songs, several times passing nearby the house,
yodeling and yipping
up a storm. The sound never fails to thrill me, but our
own dog simply looks
bored, not reacting to his wild cousins in the least.
This morning is fresh and
breezy, with no trace of yesterday’s steamy humidity.
A wild and wooly thun-
derstorm passed through the area just before suppertime
and must have swept
up all of the haze and heat of the weekend and carried it
off to sea. We saw
this one coming; I was taking out the garbage when the
sky grew black to
the west and somber stillness descended like a pall. We
didn’t hear any
distant thunder or see lightning until it was directly
overhead. Perhaps
the source of the storm was right here on Gomer Hill,
with all of the
muggy heat built up from the day colliding with the
cooler air borne
ahead of the front. There is a small chance of rain later
today,
but right now the sky is blue and the breeze friendly, so
I
will hang out the laundry and outguess the weatherman.
Have a great day,
Daisy
~
Sunday, June 29, 2008 8:30 a.m.
66 degrees, breezy, mostly cloudy
We have a pretty quiet morning here on Gomer Hill,
the calm after the violent weather of yesterday. We
received
oodles of rain during a massive thunderstorm front that
passed
through our area in the morning hours, enough so that we
won’t
need to water the gardens for at least a week. Lightning
crashed
and very loud thunder drummed as rain beat against the
windows
with enough force to wash them all clean (thanks!) for
almost two
hours, but we never lost power. It seemed as if the whole
storm
stalled out right over our house before moving off to the
east.
Last night brought some cool rain-free relief, and we
were
able to open the windows wide and let a fresh breeze
sweep
through the house. I awoke briefly just after moonrise,
in time
to enjoy silvery moonbeams shooting straight out from the
tips
of the waning crescent while the slim body was surrounded
by
hazy white light. There was thick fog hugging the ground,
but
the sky was mostly clear above, with countless stars and
that
crazy magic moon. I don’t know what awoke me;
perhaps
one of those silvery strands touched me gently on the
cheek
so I wouldn’t miss anything. We may have more rain
this
afternoon, but right now we have a perfect opportunity
to ride our bikes through some fresh puddles.
Enjoy your day,
Daisy
~
Saturday, June 28,
2008 9:30 a.m.
66 degrees, windy, foggy
This is the foggiest morning of the three so far, so
thick that it is
indeed swirling in the wind, but one swirl blends into
another so the
effect is not overly dramatic, as is, for instance, the
stage fog at a KISS
concert. Birds are going a little crazy this morning, not
only in the frequency
and volume of songs but also in the l'amour
department. It is high season for
all finches, gold, purple and house alike, the males
preening and showing off
for the womenfolk, who perch politely on posts and
branches before rising
in a high spiral to join in midair lust with the suitor
of their choosing. The
birdbath has been teeming with visitors, and the massive
vintage forsythia
bush at the corner of the garden looks like it is having
a second bloom, only
it is of goldfinches not flowers. Since we covered our
berry patch with fine
netting, most of the cedar waxwings have moved on; the
remaining few
must be content with snatching an occasional berry that
pokes out the
side of the barrier, or on the ones I throw onto the lawn
as peace offer-
ings. I think the only waxwings still in the neighborhood
must have eggs
or young nearby. Fortunately for them, they are also
adept at catching
insects on the wing, although they prefer fruit. This
past week has seen
the successful fledging of eight tree sparrows and four
bluebirds from
our nesting boxes, and one group of five sparrows is
ready to leave
any day now. A new clutch of four sky-blue eggs is the
third brood
for one bluebird pair, and will be ready to hatch in
another ten days
or so. Wrens have moved into two boxes, but it is hard to
see what
is actually going on inside the thick tangle of twigs
that is stacked all
the way to the roof; I assume there are babies inside, as
both mom-
mas glare at me from their entrance holes every time I
pass by.
The fog is increasing in density; it is a good day to
revisit the
classic novel Wuthering Heights. Or at the very
least, pour
another cuppa and listen to Kate Bush sing of the tragic
lovers:
Out on the wiley, windy moors
We'd roll and fall in
green.
You had a temper like my jealousy:
Too hot, too greedy.
How could you leave me,
When I needed to possess you?
I hated you. I loved you, too.
Bad dreams in the night.
They told me I was going to lose the fight,
Leave behind my wuthering, wuthering
Wuthering heights.
Heathcliff, its me--Cathy.
Come home. Im so cold!
Let me in-a-your window.
Such drama !
Have a sunny day in your heart,
Daisy
~
Friday, June 27, 2008 8:00 a.m.
67 degrees, windy, fog
There is less fog than yesterday, but enough that
we
can’t tell if the day is cloudy or clear above it
all. We
have a rare combination of wind and high humidity, and
even though the temperature is pleasant it feels damp and
chilly outside. I have a feeling that our heavier work
would
best be accomplished during these cool morning hours, as
it
will likely become stifling and steamy as the fog clears.
The sky
of late yesterday was unique, with diffused white
sunlight stream-
ing through breaks in huge shifting cloud formations.
There were
many kinds of clouds all over the place, big heaps of
cottony fluff,
wispy strands of smoky grey, humps and bumps that looked
like
they were sculpted from solid slaty clay. Any sky that
showed
was pale and luminous, the blue completely lost in the
sun’s
radiant reflection. It was the kind of sky that said unload
that wood tomorrow; for now just sit and look at me
for a while. So we did. Knock off a little early
today
and enjoy your view,
Daisy
~
Thursday, June 26, 2008 8:30 a.m.
60 degrees, breezy, foggy
A hard rain at dawn took us by surprise; scurrying around
to
close the wide-flung windows brought us fully awake
before the
coffee finished brewing. After a long day of weeding,
hoeing, thinning,
and rotary cultivating yesterday, our gardens are totally
in the mood to
drink in this wonderful gift; crops should really start
to take off, especially
as the days grow warmer. We enjoyed some beetgreen
thinnings last night,
tender and full of beety goodness, with just a skosh of
butter melted into
them. Now that half of them have been pulled, the
remaining roots will
have room to form sweet ruby beets. We will keep pulling
half of them
until there is room for them to reach their full size,
which can be as big
as a cantaloupe. Smaller ones will be enjoyed steamed
with their tops
still attached, or pickled whole. The biggest ones will
be cooked, peeled,
and sliced for the freezer, so we can enjoy beets all
winter long with a min-
imum of fuss. If I have only one piece of advice to offer
new gardeners, it is
to thin your row crops without mercy. To look at our
newest row of lettuce
you would think an act of violence had been done against
the poor helpless
seedlings, with baby greens flung hither and yon. The
purpose is to give each
plant the room it needs to fully develop, into a head, or
a fat root, or a big
succulent onion bulb. Each bibb buttercrunch plant
ultimately needs a
whole foot of space before it will form a tight tender
head, that’s just
a fact. Want bigger carrots? Pull every other one as soon
as they are
big enough to eat, enjoy the little ones, and keep
pulling every other
one until there is six inches between each one that
is left. Some
of our fall-harvested carrots are three inches in
diameter, and
over a foot long, still tender and sweet. And now, I
believe
I must get out in this peaceful fog and bask in the cool
morning dew that reaches all the way to the clouds.
Have a great day,
Daisy
~
Wednesday, June 25, 2008 8:30 a.m.
66 degrees, windy, mostly sunny
We had another wonderful cool night, perfect for
capturing
cozy dreams of other worlds and long-ago eras. I seldom
know
where I am in my dreams, but it is often somewhere
familiar and safe,
populated by strangers who nonetheless recognize me.
It’s a little like
going to the movies, but I am sometimes the star. I
awaken refreshed
and ready for the authentic day, so apparently it
really is all in my head ;
otherwise I would arise exhausted and weary from my
travels. Seems like
the best deal ever, all that free entertainment.
Meanwhile, here and now,
the sun is perfectly warm and the wind refreshingly brisk.
We were totally
fooled by yesterday’s forecast which had little
chance of rain for the first
time in a week. I hung out three lines full of laundry
and as soon as the
last sock was pegged, it rained. Not a lot of rain, just
a dozen or so
short showers, enough to foil the grand plan. Every time
I thought the
stuff might be dry enough to bring indoors for folding,
it rained. I would
no sooner get settled into pulling weeds than it would
rain. We were bak-
ing in the sun one minute, shivering in the wind and
water the next; what a
crazy day! I was finally able to gather in the laundry
when I returned from
work, and it was not only dry as a bone, but carried the
crisp cool smell of
a summer evening into the kitchen. The night air was
chilly enough to require
a jacket, and not too many fireflies came out while we
strolled under the stars.
Today seems to be a perfect jewel of a summer day; if we
disregard the
weather forecast and take things as they come, we
shouldbe able to
finish with the worst of the weeds before the sun goes
down.
Enjoy your day,
Daisy
~
Tuesday, June 24, 2008 8:30 a.m.
72 degrees, breezy, partly cloudy
After a delightfully cool night the sun quickly
warms everything
it touches. We need to get on top of those weeds while
the soil
is still dampish and the wind will keep the bugs away.
Strawberries
are showing some color but really need a few hot days in
a row to
become luscious with sweet juicy goodness. I saw a mother
robin
leading three youngsters out of the patch yesterday; no
doubt the
tart underripe fruits taste just right to the birds. I
haven’t had a
ripe one yet. We walked along the Smith Road yesterday
and
found several little wild berries at the meadow’s
edge, but the
fraises du bois or woodberries are still green and
hard. These
are my favorites, red on the outside with a creamy white
interior,
tasting faintly of pineapple. Although we have had
several recent
rainfalls, the roadside ditches are dry and the big woods
puddles
hold only a little stagnant water within. I need to
remember to
carry water for the dog; he’s only little and
dehydrates easily
on a sunny day. Don’t forget to refresh yourself
with fre-
quent water breaks, no matter what the weather.
Enjoy your day,
Daisy
~
Monday, June 23, 2008
8:00 a.m.
60 degrees, calm, overcast
We sit just above a thick sea of fog here on Gomer Hill.
We can see our neighbor’s barn north of here, but
nothing
of civilization past our south hedgerow. A thunderstorm
came
raging through our area at 4:20 a.m., with plenty of
thunder and
lightning breaking the pre-dawn calm before unloosing
torrents of
rain that lasted but a few moments before moving on,
taking the
band with it. It came out of nowhere and left without a
trace.
There were robins greeting the day directly after the
storm
passed; they must have been delighted that the rain
brought
so many nightcrawlers to the surface of the lawn. The
main
sound outside this morning is the town Gradall, scraping
the
roadside ditches into wide slopes to create better
drainage.
Now the fog is creeping up the hill, moving at a
snail’s pace,
enveloping everything in its fine fragrant mist. Tonight
is Mid-
summer’s Eve, a night to celebrate the fertility of
the land and
the fullness of life. It is thought that a dance skyclad
through dewy
meadows will increase a woman’s own fertility. It is
said that there
are certain flowers that will only bloom on this
particular night, and
if anyone picks it then they will be able to understand
the language
of trees. Right now the trees might be saying, “Our
leaves are
still and we are bathed in the cool fragrant mist of mid-
summer’s fog; it is a good day to be a tree!”
It is a good day to be human as well.
Daisy
~
Sunday, June 22, 2008 8:30 a.m.
62 degrees, breezy, mostly cloudy
A little rain moved in overnight, but not until after a
really perfect
waning gibbous moon rose huge and orange, dimming the
stars but
illuminating the meadows with a soft pale glow. A doe and
fawn were
heading towards the lettuce crop right at midnight, so I
shooed them away
and they took off at a gallop down one of the paths. I
suppose it is our own
fault, mowing trails in the hayfield; might as well put
up a couple of neon signs
along them, this way to the smorgasbord, with
arrows flashing as guideposts
to the gardens. Our beans have been nibbled, and half the
brussels sprouts plants
uprooted. I mixed some dog and human hair clippings with
soap shavings and have
spread that near the tastiest crops, and have hung some
old CDs on ski poles here
and there to flash in the sun and make a little racket in
the dark. Thank goodness
we have never had a woodchuck or rabbit invasion; the
deer are bad enough.
We will be kept busy reclaiming our gardens from invading
plant species;
some rows are so full of pigweed that it is hard to find
the original domes-
tic crops, especially the smaller seedlings such as
carrots. The wonderful
growing weather that we have had so far this season has
also been just
perfect for certain weeds, it would appear. We have had
obligations
in the city the past two days, and hope the rain will
hold off long
enough today for us to make some headway with weeding. It
would be easy for the gardens to get completely out of
hand;
the next few days will be crucial. As we drove home up
route
12D yesterday, we saw a perfect storm front rolling in
from
the west. It moved past us, but there was such a sharp
line
in the sky dividing blue sky from black, it was hard to
miss. All those big clouds made for a gorgeous sunset,
and eventually the stars came out one at a time.
And now, off to hoe, hoe, hoe!
Have a fine day,
Daisy
~
Saturday, June 21, 2008 8:30 a.m.
70 degrees, breezy, mostly sunny
Ahhhhh, it is a gem of a morn, warm and breezy and
full of green,
perfect for the first day of summer. Two adult bluebirds
have been
joined by three fledglings on the clothesline outside my
window. It
looks like the folks are still feeding them, dashing to
the ground and
then passing morsels on to the young, one succulent bug
at a time. I
wonder if they had their nest in the old woodpecker hole
on top of
the aspen tree. We checked the bird box by the spring
last night,
and it was still full of babies a couple of days away
from first flight.
I think I will call the cats back inside for a while; I
would hate to find
a mess of blue feathers under the line later today. We
have a few hours
to catch up on garden chores this morning, like weeding,
thinning, and
planting more seeds. Strawberries are beginning to ripen,
and we bought
a roll of netting to suspend over the bed, as birds have
been a problem this
year. The price of local berries has gone through the
roof, and I have already
had folks calling me to see if our berries are ready yet.
We don’t sell any until
our own jam jars and freezer containers are full, and of
course there will be a
fresh berry pie or two to share with friends before the
crop peters out. I have
been grazing on wild strawberries which grow along the
meadow paths, an
indicator that our fields should get a good dose of lime
to raise the ph. If
we were concerned about the nutritional quality of our
hay crop, we
would certainly spread lime, but our hay is currently
being harvested
for bedding, so we will leave the fields as they are and
continue
to enjoy the increasing number of acid-loving wild
berries.
And now, the rows beckon.
Have a great day,
Daisy
~
Friday, June 20, 2008 8:00 a.m.
56 degrees, breezy, cloudy
It is another cool morning here on top of the
world, and mist covers
the valley, either fog or rising dew. We had gentle rain
for much of the
night, and our cool weather crops are doing very well.
The tomatoes and
peppers look a little stunned by recent developments.
Tomorrow will bring
a return to the seventies, and then our heat-seeking
plants should perk up
and get down to the business of making pretty flowers
that will eventually
turn into yummy vegetables. For now, we are eating our
fill of lettuce,
spinach, and asparagus, and will soon be munching on the
first green
trees of broccoli, raw, steamed, smothered with cheddar
cheese, or
mixed into pasta. Sometimes there are so many vegetable
choices abun-
dant at the same time that it is hard to choose a main
course. We had a
potluck lunch last week that was all salads, with cookies
at the end, per-
fect in my opinion. I was prepared to whip up a last-minute
main dish, but
no one felt the need. Meanwhile, the current firewood
project has been mostly
completed, and now eight cords of perfectly cured ash and
maple sit in our barn,
ready for next winter’s bluster. We had very little
rain yesterday morning, and some
pretty spectacular sunbeams occasionally burst through
the big dark clouds, lending
an air of magic to the whole endeavor. There is a quality
of light that occurs at the
periphery of a storm, illuminating with supernatural
clarity and edginess every ob-
ject; that radiance makes me feel somehow more alive.
Today is the day that
summer solstice arrives, at 7:59 p.m. EST. Tomorrow will
be the first full day
of summer, and although I have friends that say It’s
all downhill from here
I disagree. Yes, the days may gradually grow shorter,
but there is so much
summer fun to be packed into each one that activities
usually extend be-
yond daylight and into the lovely purple hour of dusk.
There are fireflies
and crickets to be enjoyed, and cool evening walks after
the heat of
the day has waned. There are coyotes to excite us, and
owls to call
in, and wonderful night scents of new hay and old
mushrooms. And
tonight, there will be a waning full moonrise at about 10:30,
worth
waiting up for if it is anywhere near as nice as the
previous two.
Have a festive day,
Daisy
~
Thursday, June 19, 2008 8:00 a.m.
52 degrees, windy, mostly cloudy
It is another chilly morning, damp with the
promise of rain but only
a very few drops have actually appeared. In fact, the sun
seems like
it may poke out any minute now, so we might as well head
back into the
woods. We had a good morning yesterday splitting huge
rounds with our
hydraulic machine, and most of it came apart with the
sharp crack! that
well-seasoned ash makes. There were a few pieces of
cherry that moaned
and groaned and came apart in a mess of stringy fibers,
but it will burn just
as well. As the wood had been on the ground for over a
year, we were on
the lookout for snakes and yellowjackets, and thankfully
we found neither.
During a break I strolled into an old orchard, and
startled a covey of ruffed
grouse babies from the tall grass. They scurried under a
nearby tree, and the
mother sat perched on a low branch chuckling instructions
to them, a soft re-
petitive throaty gurgle that was very soothing to hear. I
backed slowly away,
and heard her continue to mumble until I was out of
earshot. I passed a piece
of dead wood that was teeming with very small round rust
and black beetles,
hundreds of them of varying size, but all quite small. I
have consulted several
sources and still have no idea what they are. At the edge
of the orchard I
was enchanted by several clumps of herb-robert, a dainty
pink wild gera-
nium blooming atop fern-like leaves, with links to the
fairy realm that are
quite interesting: http://www.paghat.com/cranesbill_robert.html
. It seems
to make a hard day’s work pass a little faster if we
take a few breaks
to appreciate the natural beauty that surrounds our
workplace.
Even if you work in an urban office, there may be a park
or
vacant lot nearby where you can take your lunch break.
Enjoy your view,
wherever you may be,
Daisy
~
Wednesday, June 18, 2008 6:30 a.m.
50 degrees, breezy, partly sunny
We have another chilly morning, and I would certainly
light
the fire again if we were going to be hanging around, but
we
are headed into the woods to whack up some firewood. The
storm front that is on the way from the lake looks like
it will split
right in half over Gomer Hill, as it so often does in the
summer. Many
times we sit high and dry (literally) while we can see
lightning crashing
to the north and south. It is a cool morning, and long
sleeves will keep
us warm as well as be good protection from hungry
mosquitoes which
are all over the place lately. We walked after supper
last night, bundl-
ed up in fleecy pullovers and warm hats, and admired the
almost-full
moon as it made its way above clouds on the horizon. You
might be
able to catch it rising tonight, truly full, about a half
hour after the sun
goes down. What a wonderful time of year to catch the
twilight show,
from the last gasp of golden sun illuminating gathering
thunderheads,
to the moon and stars and fireflies, it’s all just
about perfect !
Have a perfectly wonderful day,
Daisy
~
Tuesday, June 17, 2008 8:00 a.m.
54 degrees, breezy, cloudy
It is sweatshirt-chilly indoors and out, so we are
glad to have a fire
burning in the kitchen range. It is a good day for slow-simmered
pasta
sauce and rising bread dough, with a pot of baked beans
soon to go on
the oven floor. Even if the sun makes an appearance, the
temperature isn’t
supposed to rise much above sixty today, with tomorrow
being cooler. This
sure has been some roller-coaster June so far, eh?
Yesterday we planted bright
yellow pansies and vivid red salvia under the big maple
tree in the front yard. The
stone-faced raised bed tends to dry out quickly, so a
thick layer of sawdust went
down after everything was watered in. We are counting on
mulches of hay and
sawdust to help maintain moisture in our gardens, in case
we are headed for
another wicked dry spell like last year. Tomatoes should
be mulched no mat-
ter what, to prevent cracking as the crop ripens. As this
week of cool damp
weather wears on, it won’t seem likely that the
summer could possibly take a
turn for the hot and dry, but there is apparently no way
to predict what will be.
We can only prepare for every eventuality, and try to
take it in our stride. For
instance, during last week’s swelter, a friend
noticed the firewood stack-
ed neatly by the kitchen range, and said, “It must
be time to clear that
out for the summer”. “Nope”, I replied.
“There will certainly be many
mornings when a little fire will feel mighty good.”
Like this one.
Warm thoughts for you all,
Daisy
~
Monday, June 16, 2008 8:30 a.m.
63 degrees, windy, mostly cloudy
Very little sun is in the picture this morning, and the
air is still
damp from a late night thunderstorm that swept across the
Hill.
It will be pleasant to pull weeds in the breeze, and if
the sun stays
hidden the friendly flies
(which are so friendly as to be downright
annoying) may not be so pesky. I have been pulling
cow vetch out
of the asparagus, which may have hitched a ride in the
composted
horse manure we heaped on the bed last fall. It pulls
easily from
the thick mulch, and every delicate ferny leaf cluster is
connect-
ed to another one as much as a foot away. It is kind of
fun to
see how many I can pull up without breaking the sturdy
root
system. This semi-vining legume is also abundant in the
hay-
fields; mature plants have several long purple clover-like
blooms along the stems, and look very nice in a
wildflower
bouquet of daisies, buttercups, red clover, and yarrow.
This
week is forecast to be somewhat cool and rainy, a perfect
op-
portunity to plant more broccoli and set out the cabbage
plants.
Now that the second crops of lettuce and spinach are big
enough
to be thinned, it is time to plant a small third row of
greens. There
are summer varieties that do quite well in our zone, and
it is so nice
to be able to enjoy fresh green salads until well into
October. The
secret is to make continuous plantings right up until the
middle of
August. Our first row of spinach now sits empty, waiting
for some
buttercrunch lettuce seeds. I noticed buds on some of the
zucchini
plants, what a treat those little green and yellow
rockets will soon be !
Enjoy your day,
Daisy
~
Sunday, June 15, 2008 8:30 a.m.
74 degrees, breezy, sunny
What a wonderful bright sunlit morning ! The
meadows shine with
droplets of water, whether dew or leftover rain it is
uncertain; it is all
shimmering and as green as green can be. We had a great
adventure
during yesterday’s rain; let me share how very lucky
I am to have such
unusual friends. We had been planning a back-road bike
ride for weeks,
and after a fine lunch we took off, mindful that big grey
clouds were moving
in and distant rumbles of thunder could be heard. There
was an 80% chance
of rain, but the way we looked at it, that meant a 20 %
chance it wouldn’t.
There are several seasonal camps along the route, and if
it became stormy
we could seek temporary shelter under a porch roof. We
had just entered
the shade of the balsams when one rider had a chain
malfunction. While it
was easily repaired, the mosquitoes took every advantage
of the free lunch
that presented itself while we stopped, and we were
relieved to get back
in motion. We rode for another two minutes or so, and
rain started...
just a sprinkle at first, then the clouds opened up with
a real gully-washer.
The dirt road turned into slick shale-clay mud, yet on we
rode. If any of us
dared to utter the phrase “I think it’s
clearing up”, that apparently only made
it rain harder. After three miles of hitting every puddle
and roosting each other
with mud (accidentally, I am sure) we stopped to take
stock of the situation.
There wasn’t a dry inch on any of us, and even
though the hard rain washed
mud off almost as fast as it collected, we were a sorry-looking
bunch. How-
ever, our conversation belied the physical discomfort
that seemingly none of
us noticed. “Well, at least the mosquitoes are gone...”
“No thunder and light-
ning, yippee!” and “Could be worse, at least it
is warm rain...” To be honest,
after a sweltering day of heat and high humidity, it was
the most comfortable
any of us had been all day. We voted to turn around and
enjoy a fairly lei-
surely ride back to the house, instead of completing the
original 12 mile
circumnavigation of the block as planned. This will be
one day that will
go down in our memories as one of the most fun rides ever,
not in
spite of the rain, but perhaps because of it. Even after
everyone went
home and our dinner was a memory, the day just kept
getting better. I
walked at twilight, and fireflies were out by the
thousands for the first
time this season, decorating the meadows and trees,
flying as high as
I have ever seen. These tiny points of light always make
me smile;
last night it seemed fitting that a day so infused with
laughter over-
riding stormy weather should end with the whoop of pure
joy
that leapt from my lips at the sight of all those
lightning bugs.
Make your own joyful noise,
Daisy
~
Saturday, June 14, 2008 8:30 a.m.
71 degrees, breezy, partly cloudy
The sky is such a pale washed-out blue that it blends
nearly
seamlessly into the high milky clouds that are moving
from west
to east. We alternate between still calm mugginess and
little wisps
of breeze that waft the fragrance of valerian and roses
up through
the kitchen window. We walked by the light of a bulging
waxing
moon and picked a handful of daisies (my favorite!) that
were
practically glowing in the dark. I was so enchanted by
the sight
of all of those luminescent flowers that I nearly tripped
over
a young porcupine, who was probably as surprised as I was.
The dog was hanging back on his leash, but I assumed he
had
some personal waste management project going on; but
no, he
was just smart enough to keep away from the unfamiliar
critter,
thank goodness! I did a quick one-eighty and returned to
the
road, and the porky came lumbering after us, slow but
steady.
Once it reached the road, it turned the opposite way and
we parted company without any mishap. I think our night-
time strolls are better left to the roadways, where we
won’t accidentally sneak up on anything else.
Enjoy your day, as
well as your night,
Daisy
~
Friday, June 13, 2008
7:30 a.m.
62 degrees, breezy, partly sunny
What a roller coaster ride this weather is taking us on !
Yesterday we worked in sweatshirts and long pants, and
today it seems like we will need to return to shorts and
cotton
tees, with more heat and humidity on the way. When the
days are
steamy there is a good chance that blowflies will prey on
nesting birds;
sure enough, when I checked the birdhouses yesterday one
was infested
with larvae writhing around on the floor. I scooped out
the nest, birds and
all, and set it in the bottom of a spackle bucket. Then I
built a new one from
fine hay and grass clippings, and placed the little birds
back in the bug-free
cup one at a time. There were four healthy bluebirds, and
one dead at the
bottom of the pile that looked as if it had passed away a
couple of days
ago. All of the other nesting boxes were free of those
awful wriggling
maggots, but I will check them every day until the birds
fledge. Another
pair of bluebirds has built a nest in the box across the
road where all young
were mysteriously killed one by one last week; we will
keep a close eye on
this new brood, perhaps setting a Havahart trap near the
pole to see if we can
catch the critter who has a taste for baby birds. The
tree swallow at the op-
posite end of the garden has not been bothered, but her
five eggs have yet
to hatch. While I was walking the bluebird trail
yesterday morning, I found
the front half of a crayfish smack in the middle of the
grassy path. A few
years ago I found a dead trout in pretty much the same
spot, so I guess
the heron that dropped these morsels has a history of
losing its grip over
our pathways. I wonder how many other unfortunate creek
dwellers
have landed in the taller grass, where we wouldn’t
notice them.
I wonder if the farmer that mows our hay ever puzzled
over
the appearance of a dead fish or two in his cow bedding.
There are things that happen in nature that are
stranger than fiction, that’s for sure!
Have a great day,
Daisy
~
Thursday, June 12, 2008 7:30 a.m.
60 degrees, windy, sunny
The morning is cool and clear with no hint of humidity,
very
pleasant indeed. The yard is adrift with young grackles,
starlings,
and robins learning how to find their own food, after
weeks of being
fed by their parents. There are as many diets out there
for birds as there
are for humans, even more if you count the birds that
feast almost exclusively
on carrion. (Now there’s a surefire weight-loss diet,
in my book anyway!) I
wonder how birds know which bugs and berries are safe to
eat. And herons,
they eat tons of frogs, but I wonder if they would ever
eat a toad by mistake?
Probably not more than once. There are some things that
birds enjoy, like
poison ivy berries, that most people dare not even touch.
Perhaps they are
taught by their parents what is the best food for them.
here is where humans
are not the smartest species, for sure. As I listened to
the recital of school
lunch menus this morning (a regular feature of small-town
radio stations all
over this land) I was appalled at how much processed
prepared food makes
up the bulk of the meals. Chicken patties, tater tots,
fried cheese, chicken nug-
gets, chicken fingers, assorted canned fruit, ugh. Are
donuts and toaster pastries
ever a good breakfast choice? It is little wonder
to me that attention spans seem
to be growing shorter as the list of preservatives and
over-processed ingredients
grows longer in the food served to growing children. Give
them some real food
and see what happens. Birds and other wild critters eat
fresh and local because
they do not have any other choice. Do we really need that
watermelon from
Mexico when we could wait a couple of months and get a
pesticide-free
one from a local farm stand in a couple of months ? Check
out
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver.
Eat smarter,
Daisy
~
Wednesday, June 11, 2008 8:00 a.m.
74 degrees, windy, mostly sunny
The storm front that swept through our area
yesterday like a
marauding army took all of the stifling humidity right
out of the
picture. While we had very little damage in our immediate
area,
the winds were fierce and there was no question who was
in charge.
There was plenty of tree debris on the road between here
and Boonville,
and everyone that came into my workplace had some storm-related
tale
to tell. The second front smacked into my car on the way
home, with hail
in Talcottville and amazing torrents of wind-driven rain.
I had to pull off
the road for about five minutes, as my wipers
couldn’t keep up with the
flow. Amazingly, when I pulled into the yard a sun-drenched
hole opened
up in the gloom and I was able to get all of my gear into
the house without
getting wet. By the time I shuffled out of my shoes and
looked out the east
window for a rainbow, the clouds had closed in once again.
We took a
short walk after dark, and the night air was refreshingly
chilly, full of the
scent of sweet clover and roses borne on the rising mist.
Things have
really sprung from the ground with all of the water and
heat of the
past week; we have been picking asparagus twice a day.
Lettuce
and spinach have gone from tender little thinnings into
nice tight little
heads, with the next crop fully emerged and almost ready
to transplant.
Our early broccoli has tripled in size since I set the
seedlings out a couple
of weeks ago, and soon we will be enjoying the first
stalks of that, sautéed
with garlic and mushrooms and tossed with tortellini. We
are going to mix
some soap shavings into sawdust and mulch the broccoli
plants; perhaps
the deer will leave it alone for a change. I have thirty
early plants, and
thirty-six additional seedlings ready to go into rows
next week, so
even if the deer want to sample a few buds there should
be plenty
leftover for us. We saw a big deer early this morning,
strolling a-
long the meadow path; we could not see any fawns, but the
deer
was being very watchful, not feeding, just walking and
looking in
all directions. The hay is so tall that we wouldn’t
be able to see
a fawn; this is the right time of year for them to start
showing up.
And now, off for a walk before beginning the day’s
work, to
see what changes yesterday’s storm brought to the
Hill.
Have a great day,
Daisy
~
Tuesday, June 10, 2008 8:00 a.m.
84 degrees, breezy, sunny
Oh my ! Pappy, pass me the cold tea, I believe I am
having
a fit of the vapors... I can’t believe how steamy
this morning is.
We had a heck of a loud thunderstorm in the wee hours,
and now
everything is so wet with rainwater that there is no
place for it to go
except all over us. If it is possible for humidity to be
greater than 100%,
we have it. Thank goodness I get to work in an air-conditioned
building
later today, sweet relief! For now I believe I will
continue to plug away
at indoor jobs and admire the view from behind insulated
glass. I took
a walk earlier, and even the dog wanted to cut it short.
Imagine being
covered with fur on such a day! Relief is in sight by
tomorrow, and
then I can get back out to play in the gardens. Most of
the essent-
ials are planted, but I still need to put in some flower
seeds and
finish yanking up weeds from the perennial beds. There is
a big
chance of some serious thunderstorm activity this
afternoon
and evening, so unplug your modems and call in your
yard dogs; it could be pretty exciting out there !
Have an interesting day,
Daisy
~
Monday, June 9, 2008 8:00 a.m.
70 degrees, breezy, sunny
What a perfect summer morning ! A barefoot stroll
through
dew-soaked grass was a refreshing way to start the day,
and I
sprinkled my face with the sweet elixir as well, making
up for the
utter lack of dewdrops on May Day. There are a dozen or
more
cedar waxwings perched on the trees next to the
strawberry patch,
waiting for the fruit to ripen. This year we have mulched
the bed with
sawdust and there are no weeds to help hide the berries
from marauding
birds; we may have to put down some netting for the first
time ever. We
have also mulched half of the raspberries in an
experiment which we hope
will pay off in the long run. Last October we mowed half
of the plants and
put down sawdust on the stubble. So now we have some
older canes, and
a bunch of brand new ones which will (hopefully) produce
berries later in
the season, giving us sweet juicy red raspberries from
July through the first
frost of autumn. If that works out, then we will mow the
older canes this
fall and allow this year’s newbies to stay tall and
uncut. We also have a
fine bunch of gooseberries for the first time ever. I am
not even sure
what to do with them, so a little research is needed. We
discovered
wild gooseberries in the hedgerow a couple of years ago
and moved
three plants to the garden. Now they are huge prickly
shrubs loaded
with little green berries. The grapevines are loaded with
hard green
clusters that will become full-fledged concord grapes,
and there are
tiny apples all over the trees, both wild and domestic.
It would seem
that this year will indeed be a fruitful one, as long as
there is enough rain.
Enjoy your day,
Daisy
~
Sunday, June 8, 2008 8:30 a.m.
75 degrees, windy, mostly cloudy
If the clouds stick around and the wind keeps up it
won’t seem
too oppressive outside today. Radar shows a few cells of
rain over
Lake Ontario, but they may dissipate before they have a
chance to
stir up any storms in our neighborhood. The combination
of rain and
hot weather has made everything in the gardens grow
quickly, includ-
ing weeds. Part of this day of rest will be spent
hoeing, hand-weeding,
and rotary cultivating our crops. For me, church takes
place every day,
not just on Sunday. The fabled day of rest has
morphed into the day
we get the rest of the chores done, especially in
summer. I figure
that if we give daily thanks and show gratitude for our
many bles-
sings as they occur, then there is no real need to try
and recall
them for an hour every week while sitting on a hard pew
in-
doors. Sure, the singing and fellowship are nice, and
there’s
usually cookies too, but I feel more connected to the
Great
Spirit in the big open-air temple under the sky. Formal
prayers have become conversations with God;
listening is as important as consulting.
Enjoy your Sun-day !
Daisy
~
Saturday, June 7, 2008 8:30 a.m.
74 degrees, windy, mostly sunny
After one little cloudburst around sunrise, the clouds
have shoved
off, leaving us with a beautiful hot summer morning. A
baltimore oriole
sang its lovely tune the whole time we sat on the porch
with our coffee.
The male bluebird plucked wriggling morsels from our lawn
and flew off
to the nesting box by the spring, back and forth, keeping
one eye out for
the cats. There is a mown pathway that goes tight next to
the nest, but I think
he feels more secure on the lawn, where he can see what's
coming. The swal-
lows are busy catching airborne insects for their brood,
safer from the cats as
they never touch ground. Everything is intensely green
and gleaming with rain-
water; even with our eyes closed we could see the bright
fresh hues of the
meadow. We walked up the Gomer Hill Road yesterday
morning before
the heat became too stifling; a crisp west breeze and
thick clouds actually
made it seem much cooler than 75. When the sun came out
after lunch
steam rose, creating ethereal wispy shapes, some almost
human... the
water spirits leaving Mother Earth to return another day,
perhaps? The
whiff of new-mown grass and sweet vetch filled the air. I
pulled a few
weeds from the soft yielding garden soil but it was
simply too hot in the
sun, so I finished painting a ceiling instead. As the sun
lowered behind the
tall forest trees, the heat left the day along with the
light, and a walk during
the purple hour was refreshingly cool. There are still
myriads of frogs sing-
ing in the evening hours.. Mosquitoes kept away for the
most part, and
although I saw a few june bugs under the yellow glow of
the yard light,
none crashed their huge beetle-bodies into me as I
strolled. Today will be
another scorcher, close with humidity and great for the
gardens. Shpluck
on some sunscreen and take it easy during the middle of
the day.
Enjoy this fine summer day,
Daisy
~
Friday, June 6, 2008 8:30 a.m.
66 degrees, breezy, cloudy
Fog has cleared from Gomer Hill but sits so thick
at lower altitudes
that the Black River is only a memory. The sky seems to
be brightening
up after last night’s onslaught of rain, storm after
storm accompanied by
awesome thunder and lightning. We don’t have a rain
gauge, but amounts
varied between 2.5 and 3.5 inches as reported by the
local radio weather-
man this morning. I am a little nervous to check the
status of the young pep-
per plants I set into freshly tilled garden soil
yesterday, and hope that the
newest seedings of lettuce and beans didn’t get
washed out. We really
needed the rain, and now we can stop watering for a
little while. The
strawberries developed scads of tiny fruits after we hand
sprinkled
them with 500 gallons of spring water, hauled up from the
overflow
in an old dairy bulk tank. Now that the dry spell has
been broken and
hot weather is settling in, I’ll bet I can park
myself next to the corn patch
this afternoon and watch the young stalks grow. Our
one remaining baby
bluebird was found dead in the nest yesterday, the cause
not readily ap-
parent. I will bury that bird, nest and all, deep down
where the death
cooties can’t get out and infect any other nestlings
in the area. We
have two clutches of brand new hatchlings, five bluebirds
and five
tree swallows. Let’s hope these little guys fare
better than the ear-
lier hatch. Goldfinches have begun their crazy mating
display, males
engaging in dogfights and inventive aerobatics while the
females perch
demurely and choose their fella. I am about to take a
hike with friends
in this lovely wet morning air, before the heat arrives
for the weekend.
The gardens are too wet to demand our attention for a
while, so
likely the rest of the day will be filled with indoor
tasks, tedious
in their simplicity but rewarding in their own mundane
way.
Have a nifty day,
Daisy
~
Thursday, June 5, 2008 8:00 a.m.
62 degrees, breezy, partly sunny
The morning air is filled with the scent of roses,
which burst
into bloom yesterday afternoon. One day the big beach
rose bushes
were merely green and thorny and the next they were
dotted with their
signature blooms, fragrant single roses of deepest pink.
The kitchen win-
dowsill over my sink has jars of lilacs, white coral
bells, and roses lined up;
when the steam from hot dishwater hits them, the whole
house smells like my
grandmother’s vanity from days gone by. Rosewater
and muguet du bois
were her favorite colognes, and it was all underlain
with a faint whiff of
Listerine and Polident. Next to her fancy spray bottles
and teeth jar was
a silk tophat filled with sawdust, home to several wicked
looking beautifully
decorated hatpins. Tomboy that I was, I had no clue how
such a long sharp
pin could possibly help hold a hat on, unless it was
driven into the skull some-
how. So now when I smell the sweet floral aromas of early
summer I am
reminded not only of my long-departed grandma, but also
of the creepy
misconceptions that arose from a youth where we accepted
things at
face value, without question. Certainly, poking a hatpin
into one’s
skull was way more obvious to me than carefully weaving
it in and
out of her tightly curled perm. I couldn’t ask about
it, because when
I asked about the false teeth I was told it was a rude
question. Were
my grandma to suddenly appear before me with the answers
to all of
life’s questions, the only one I would really ask is
for a demonstration of
the mysterious use of a hatpin. And her german chocolate
cake recipe.
As Linda Ellerbee says, If you want to know, ask...
What do you want to know ?
Daisy
~
Wednesday, June 4, 2008 9:00 a.m.
62 degrees, breezy, mostly cloudy
It may rain later, but as long as the wind
isn’t blowing thirty miles
an hour (yet) I am headed out to poke tomato and pepper
plants into
their summer homes. Our garlic and onion leaves are all
brown on the tips
from two weeks of cold hard winds, so I am happy I
didn’t jump the gun on
our more tender crops. I know a couple of people who put
stuff out over the
Memorial Day weekend and they lost it all to frost. My
plants have been per-
fectly happy on the back porch, getting used to outdoor
conditions in baby
steps. The broccoli that I put out a while ago is doing
very well, loving the
cold and damp and standing up in spite of the wind. Corn
is up good; we
buried it so deep that the birds have left it alone. The
farmer’s field next to
us has had huge flocks of blackbirds pulling up his new
corn shoots, so maybe
they prefer the genetically modified fungicide-covered
herbicide-sprayed stuff
over our organic seeds lovingly planted by hand. There
has been a tragedy in
one of our nesting boxes. Five bluebirds hatched, but
they have been disap-
pearing one at a time until now there is only one left,
and he looks mighty
lonely. The parents have been diligent about bringing
food and guarding
the box, so I am afraid that we may have a snake or
weasel snatching the
babies when an opportunity presents itself. We have not
seen any sign of
raccoons on the property, as they usually leave piles of
scat when they are
around, so I think it is some other predator. As far as I
know, no other birds
have hatched yet; every time I check the boxes, the
mommas are sitting on
the nests, covering whatever is underneath. It must be
hard being a wild
thing near the bottom of the food chain; so many perils
await. The next
rain-free night I will shake some lime around the bottom
of the boxes,
and see if I can find tracks in the morning. I like a
good mystery,
but not at the expense of our young birds’ lives.
Have a great day,
Daisy
~
Tuesday, June 3, 2008 7:30 a.m.
56 degrees, windy, mostly cloudy
Today is soft around the edges compared with
yesterday’s
blazing sun and jewel-toned sky; no shade visor is needed
to
enjoy the back porch on this cloudy morn. All species of
black-
birds are very busy herding their young’uns around
the back yard,
keeping watch as they flutter down to the ground and back
into the
trees again, touch-and-go landings without pausing to
scratch for food.
We found a dead adult male redwing under the balsam tree,
not a mark
on it and intact, a mystery. It never occurred to me
before now, but birds
must pass away from old age just as humans do. Parts wear
out and every-
thing important is sent off to be recycled. Of course, if
it were a crow lying
lifeless under the tree, I would send it off to be tested
for West Nile virus.
Crows are very susceptible to this mosquito-borne
encephalitis, and act
as an early warning system that the disease is in a
certain area. Speaking
of which, I battled the first of those pesky insects last
night; the still of the
night was shattered by the high-pitched whine of a hungry
female skeeter.
I groped for my glasses, turned on the light, and
clobbered the little sucker
with the fly swatter I keep handy by the bed for such
occasions. It is not
a bad idea to scan the room before lights-out this time
of year on a
search-and-destroy mission. They like to hang out high on
a wall
or on the ceiling. Now that the weather is warming up, I
expect
we will see a lot more mosquitoes both inside and out.
Don’t let anything bug you,
Daisy
~
Monday, June 2, 2008 7:30 a.m.
63 degrees, windy, sunny
We have a winner of a day, best in show for a couple of
days anyway.
Naturally I have to go to my day job later, but I will
certainly take advantage
of this fine morning to continue to shape up our flower
beds. I accomplished a
great deal yesterday, weeding and transplanting new
plants, gifts from friends.
I had been telling someone about irises that smelled like
grapes in my father’s
garden, and he happened to grow them locally, so those
will be a nice addition
to our old barn foundation wall. Another gift came all
the way from Long Island,
two clumps of russian sage, which will eventually have
tall blue flowers, so I put
them with black-eyed susans and shasta daisies. I worked
long into the day,
coming indoors only when the first mosquitoes of the
season made their grand
entrance into my personal space. I have been yanking up
dandelions, bedstraw,
and grass from the wildflower garden, but decided to
leave the southernwood
that seems to want to take over one entire end of the
bank. It is the fragrant
variety of wormwood used to flavor absinthe, a nice bit
of history there; if I
think of it as a very effective groundcover instead of an
invasive runamok
perennial it makes more sense than to try to root it all
out. I meant for
that to happen; for example, no one really needs to
know that the
fabulous rum-soaked strawberry and whipped cream topped
cake
you served to company for dessert used to be a four year
old
coffee cake that got lost in the bottom of the freezer.
Improvise !
Daisy
~
Sunday, June 1, 2008 9:00 a.m.
50 degrees, windy, mostly cloudy
I thought that by the first of June we would be
able to
clear the firewood out of the kitchen and call it quits
for
our woodburning range for the summer. I was mistaken.
The temperature has fallen five degrees since dawn, and
everything is very damp from recent rain, so I must agree
that a small fire is just the ticket to brighten this
cloudy morn.
The sun was out for a little while earlier, but I think I
may have
caught the best part of the morning while dumping the
ashes into
our compost pile. The sun felt wonderful for about two
minutes,
then was engulfed by clouds. Lilacs and white coral bells
sit in
jugs and jars all over the house, bringing the sweet
scent of early
summer into every room, overpowering the lingering aroma
of pine
soap from yesterday’s cleaning. We had a good
soaking rain for much
of the day, so I caught up on the indoor tasks that often
take a back
burner this time of year. The end of the rainfall brought
spectacular
blue skies and a vast skyscape of cloud formations, so we
walked
around the meadow paths to bask in fresh mist rising from
the grass,
illuminated by the slanting rays of a late day sun. The
light was so pure
and crisp that everything seemed surreal, the colors
deeper and edges
sharply defined, the blades of each chive stem outlined
by light and the
purple blossoms vibrating with oniony goodness. It was 70,
breezy, and
perfect for a stroll around the homestead. Today should
provide a good
opportunity for yanking up weeds from the flowerbeds, a
job that really
only needs to be done about twice a year. Grass seems to
be the worst
culprit but it is the kind that pulls right out, not
quackgrass with miles of
interconnected roots. Once that first weeding is done,
the ground covers
like myrtle and moneywort smother out further growth of
lesser weeds.
Bellflower is a weed that I allow to remain, because it
is so pretty when
in bloom. It has graceful purple bells that look
wonderful in the bee
balm bed; some also usually crops up around the daylilies,
making
a natural bouquet right where they grow, no picking
required.
Have a wonderful day,
Daisy
~
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