~
Thursday, August 31, 2006 8:30 a.m.
52 degrees, breezy, mostly sunny
Folks along the river are swathed in fog but all on Gomer
Hill is bathed in sparkling
clear sunshine. Heavy dew magnifies and reflects each
mote of light and the whole meadow
shimmers in a dazzling display of wildflowers and tender
second crop hay. A flock of bluebirds
has been visiting the birdbath off and on all morning,
fifteen birds as near as I can tell. Hundreds
of starlings were lined up along the power lines earlier,
then all at once streamed down to earth in
one graceful fluid swoop, hive-minded in their purpose
and choreographed to perfection. We have
already seen a flock of geese headed south; although they
may be a local flock, it was a reminder
that August is drawing to a close without ever really
getting off to a start. May and June were cold,
July had a few sweltering moments, and August has been
cool at night. I fear we will soon have a
frost without reaping our usual bounty of vine-ripened
tomatoes. Peppers seem to be doing well
in spite of odd summer weather but tomatoes need warm
nights to flourish. Tropical storm Ernesto
is headed inland, and if it follows its current path may
mess up the weekend with wind and rain for
the western part of our state, possibly missing our neck
of the woods. If you are planning to be
outdoors this weekend, be sure to tuck some waterproof
gear into your pack, just in case.
Enjoy this beaut of a day,
Daisy
~
Wednesday, August 30, 2006 8:30 a.m.
52 degrees, windy, fog
Things seem to be brightening up a bit behind thick fog,
and the stiff breeze should
help it clear off quickly. It is cold and damp in the
house and a little blaze in the kitchen
range feels very cozy. Even after the sun breaks through
it will still be a cool day, with the
high temperature somewhere in the sixties. The weekend
forecast has been altered somewhat
by tropical storm Ernesto, which may shove a wall of
water our way for the weekend. On the
other hand, storms like this are fickle and
unpredictable, just like the weather has been for the
past year. Until rain actually falls from the sky I won’t
believe any forecast, good or bad. What
I see now is wildly swaying trees with leaves thrashing
here and there, the long boughs of forsythia
are doing a little dance, and all is muted grey and green
through heavy mist. This is my immediate
forecast, subject to change in the next ten minutes:
Mother Nature gettin’ jiggy wit’ it in da fog.
And now, on with the day !
Daisy
~
Tuesday, August 29, 2006 8:00 a.m.
52 degrees, calm, foggy, raining
Gentle rain is falling which creates very subtle movement
among the aspen leaves
which are otherwise motionless. An utter absence of
breeze sets foliage up for a different
kind of dance as small drips and drops strike from above,
nodding faintly as if in agreement,
yes, we could use a little more rain. Our gardens
are lush with lettuce and spinach, but the
recent chilly nights haven’t done much for the
tomatoes. As soon as the weather clears I will go
out and snip off every yellow blossom so that the plants
can direct more energy to ripening the
fruit that hangs heave and green. Even the cherry and
grape tomatoes are slow to mature and
would probably benefit from similar trimming. Green
peppers are doing very well, with some
Big Berthas as large as I have ever seen. Hot
peppers are ready to be mixed with white onion
and tomato, mellowed with sugar and cooked into pepper
jam, a wonderful addition to just about
any dish, just the right combination of sweet and heat;
ooooh, a dollop on a homemade cracker is
uncommonly delicious! We still have a mess of beans; even
though the deer have trimmed many
of the plants they keep producing pods of all shapes and
sizes, snappy and good both raw and
cooked. I wish there were a way to have fresh garden
veggies year round and still live in this
beautiful area with four distinct seasons. I loves me
veggies, but wouldn’t give up skiing
for them. Now there’s a thought as summer winds
down; just a couple of months
and we could be gliding silently through the woods in a
swirl of new snow...
Roll with the seasons,
Daisy
~
Monday, August 28, 2006 8:00 a.m.
61 degrees, calm, foggy
It is wonderful to be back at our home on Tug Hill after
a week away. Although we had
a lovely cottage facing a small active harbor, there’s
no place like home. We watched gulls,
terns, osprey, kingfishers, herons, loons, and ducks all
week long as they followed sea-churning
schools of fish through many tide changes. A bald eagle
visited the rocky shoal and posed handsomely
for our enjoyment. Crows were everywhere, familiar in
their loud antics, yet unfamiliar to me. We hiked
long trails that opened up onto miles of quiet low-tide
beach and danced from rock to rock as the surf
roared in around us. We trekked old farm roads by a tidal
river and watched sailboats glide silently by
like illustrations from a travel brochure. We got close
enough to a family of deer to detect their clean
gamy stench and hear their teeth crushing apple twigs as
they chewed. Now we are unpacked and
settled back in to the busy harvest season ahead. Friends
have done a wonderful job keeping up with
the vegetable gathering here at the farm, so we are free
for a bit to sit, sip coffee, and enjoy the scene
from our own back porch, making plans for the coming days.
This morning the view stretches all the
way to the copse around our springbox, about a hundred
yards downmeadow. Fog is very thick;
hummingbirds buzz like tiny incoming helicopters before
they suddenly appear from the mist to probe
bright red geranium flowers. My old friends the crows caw
from the hedgerow and the sound is softened,
partially absorbed by swirls of thick moisture,
reminiscent of ghost birds from an old Christopher Lee
film.
As soon as the fog clears we will stroll through the
gardens and see what’s new.
Have an awesome day,
Daisy
~
Sunday, August 27, 2006
Small Gestures
Common Courtesy
We often feel that we don't have the time or energy to
extend ourselves to others with
the small gestures that compose what we call common
courtesy. It sometimes seems that
this kind of social awareness belongs to the past, to
smaller towns and slower times. Yet,
when someone extends this kind of courtesy to us, we
always feel touched. Someone who
lends a helping hand when we are struggling with our
groceries makes an impression because
many people just walk right by. Even someone who simply
makes the effort to look us in the
eye, smile, and greet us properly when entering a room
stands out of the crowd. It seems these
people carry with them the elegance and grace of another
time, and we are always thankful for
our contact with them. Common courtesy is a small gesture
that makes a big difference.
An essential component of common courtesy is awareness
and common sense-looking outside
yourself to see when someone needs help or acknowledgment.
As a courteous person, you are
aware that you are walking into a room full of people or
that your waiter has arrived to take your
order. Then, awareness leads to action. It is usually
quite clear what needs to be done-open the door
for the woman holding the baby, move your car up two feet
so another person can park behind you,
acknowledge your sister's shy boyfriend with a smile and
some conversation, apologize if you bump
into someone. A third component is to give courtesy
freely, without expecting anything in return.
People may not even take notice, much less return the
kindness, but you can take heart in
the fact that you are creating the kind of world you want
to live in with your actions.
When you are out in the world, remember to be aware of
others,
lend your hand when one is needed, and give this help
without an ulterior motive.
Through these small actions, you make this world a better
place in which to live.
~
Saturday, August 26, 2006
Days Of Affirmation
Sending Love To Your Day
Upon waking, many people consider the coming day with
trepidation. However, while our
lives are busy and frequently challenging, they are also
rich with joy and experiences worth
savoring. We can attract this natural bliss into our
lives by starting each day with a message
of love. When you send love ahead to your day, that love
will manifest itself in your inter-
personal interactions, your professional endeavors, and
your domestic duties. Tasks and
circumstances once made trying by your own anxiety are
transformed by your love,
and you will find yourself approaching life's subtle
nuances with great affection.
Each morning, take several deep, grounding breaths and
reaffirm the love you have for all.
Speaking a loving, self-directed blessing enables you to
awaken the reservoir of tenderness
in your soul. Before you leave the comfortable warmth of
your bed, prepare to meet the day.
Visualize yourself surrounded with a warm and soft loving
light. Gradually widen the circle of
this light until you are able to engulf everywhere you go.
If you have colleagues at your work-
place, send them love. Likewise, a day spent being a
parent or addressing household chores
can benefit from the sentiment that precedes you. Sending
love ahead to everyone you will
meet and everything you will do can ensure that your day
is suffused with grace.
If you have difficulty sending love to those situations
and individuals you find
particularly frustrating, consider that the warmth and
tenderness you project can
change your life. Each morning, in sending this love, you
will exercise your power
to control the ambiance of your existence and to color
your day with positivity.
~
Friday, August 25, 2006
Meeting Our Own Expectations
Doing The Best You Can
It isn't always easy to meet the expectations we hold
ourselves to. We may find ourselves in a
situation such as just finishing a relaxing yoga class or
meditation retreat, a serene session of deep
breathing, or listening to some calming, soul-stirring
music, yet we have difficulty retaining our sense
of peace. A long line at the store, slow-moving traffic,
or another stressful situation can unnerve you
and leave you wondering why the tranquility and spiritual
equilibrium you cultivate is so quick to dissipate
in the face of certain stressors. You may feel guilty and
angry at yourself or even feel like a hypocrite for
not being able to maintain control after practicing being
centered. However, being patient with yourself
will help you more in your soul's journey than
frustration at your perceived lack of progress. Doing
the best you can in your quest for spiritual growth is
vastly more important than striving for perfection.
Just because you are devoted to following a spiritual
path, attaining inner peace, or living a specific
ideology doesn't mean you should expect to achieve
perfection. When you approach your personal evolution
mindfully,
you can experience intense emotions such as anger without
feeling that you have somehow failed. Simply by
being aware of what you are experiencing and recognizing
that your feelings are temporary, you have begun
taking the necessary steps to regaining your internal
balance. Accepting that difficult situations will arise
from
time to time and treating your reaction to them as if
they are passing events rather than a part of who you are
can help you move past them. Practicing this form of
acceptance and paying attention to your reactions in
order to learn from them will make it easier for you to
return to your center more quickly in the future.
Since your experiences won't be similar to others' and
your behavior will be shaped by those experiences,
you may never stop reacting strongly to the challenging
situations you encounter. Even if you are able to
do nothing more than acknowledge what you are feeling and
that there is little you can do to affect your
current circumstances, in time you'll alter your reaction
to such circumstances. You can learn gradually
to let negative thoughts come into your mind, recognize
them, and then let them go. You may never
reach a place of perfect peace, but you'll find serenity
in having done your best.
~
Thursday, August 24, 2006
To Be Human
Putting People On Pedestals
When we fall in love with
someone or make a new friend, we sometimes see that
person in a
glowing light. Their good qualities dominate the
foreground of our perception and their negative
qualities. They just don't seem to have any. This
temporary state of grace is commonly known as
putting someone on a pedestal. Often times we put
spiritual leaders and our gurus on pedestals.
We have all done this to someone at one time or another,
and as long as we remember that no one
is actually "perfect," the pedestal phase of a
relationship can be enjoyed for what it is-a phase.
It's when we actually believe our own projection that
troubles arise.
Everyone has problems, flaws, and blind spots, just as we
do. When we entertain the illusion
that someone is perfect, we don't allow them room to be
human, so when they make an error
in judgment or act in contradiction to our idea of
perfection, we become disillusioned. We may
get angry or distance ourselves in response. In the end,
they are not to blame for the fact that we
idealized them. Granted, they may have enjoyed seeing
themselves as perfect through our eyes,
but we are the ones who chose to believe an illusion. If
you go through this process enough times,
you learn that no one is perfect. We are all a
combination of divine and human qualities and we
all struggle. When we treat the people we love with this
awareness, we actually allow for a much
greater intimacy than when we held them aloft on an airy
throne. The moment you see through
your idealized projection is the moment you begin to see
your loved one as he or she truly is.
We cannot truly connect with a person when we idealize
them. In life, there are no pedestals- we
are all walking on the same ground together. When we
realize this, we can own our own divinity
and our humanity. This is the key to balance and
wholeness within ourselves and our relationships.
~
Wednesday, August 23, 2006
Different Ways Of Navigating
We're All In The Same Boat
We're all in the same boat. We
just have different paddles, and perhaps we find
ourselves
on different rivers. We all live in human bodies. These
are the vehicles in which we move
through our world. We are all made of flesh, blood, and
bone, with brains, hearts, and
lungs to power us. Our paddles-the tools we use to move
through the world-vary,
as do the bodies of water-the environments-in which we
find ourselves.
Some of us use our high IQs to get where we want to go.
Some of use our smiles,
others use kindness, a gift with language, or athletic
ability. Some of these qualities
we were born with and others are skills we have learned.
Considering this metaphor
in light of your own life can be very enlightening. What
tools are you using to get from
point A to point B in your life? Chances are, you and the
people you know have used
many different tools in various combinations throughout
your lives to get where you
needed to go. Just as with oars or paddles, a balanced
approach is best. If you rely
too much on one thing to open doors, you fail to be well-rounded
and you may
eventually lose your equilibrium. And if you lose that
one quality, you have no
paddle at all. This is inspiration to develop multiple
tools to navigate your world.
Some of us may be moving along paths that are like
rushing rivers;
others may be on a large, still lake. We have all felt,
at one time or
another, tossed about on a stormy ocean. Through all
this, we are
never really alone, even though it might seem that way.
There is
inspiration all around us in the form of other people
making their
way through the world, in the very same boat. Remember to
look
around you for role models, companionship, and
encouragement.
~
Tuesday, August 22, 2006
A Festival Of Transition
Lughnasa And Lammas
To ancient peoples, the yearly
harvest was a reflection of the human cycle of birth and
death.
The reaping of food crops was associated with the
spiritual abundance that sustained the soul.
Yet harvest times were also a portent of autumn's chill
and winter's harsh frosts. The Celtic peoples
of centuries past acknowledged the season's first harvest
with the festival of Lughnasa, the feast of
the first fruits. Celebrated on August 1, it marked the
midpoint between Beltane in May and Samhain
in November, and symbolized a turning point in the
lifecycle of Mother Earth. It was both a joyous
celebration of plenty and a solemn wake for the decline
of the potency of the sun god Lugh,
from which the festival takes its name.
What we know of Lughnasa, known also as Lammas, or the
celebration of loaves,
has survived in the rituals that are still practiced to
this day. It is associated with grain,
fruit, flowers, water, and soil, and celebrated atop
summits as well as in the depths of holy
wells. Traditionally, people assembled on hilltops to
pick berries and engage in mock battles-
the profusion of the gathered fruits and the results of
the mock battles were believed to predict
the outcome of the yearly harvest. Many visited ancient
wells whose healing abilities were thought
to be most potent on Lughnasa. Grand fairs and feasts
were held, during which a portion of the newly
picked grains were baked into man-shaped loaves
commemorating the coming demise of Lugh. The
descendants of those who first celebrated the summer
harvest keep the traditions of Lughnasa alive in the
fairs and sporting events that take place on August 1
throughout Ireland, England, Scotland, and Wales.
Lughnasa is primarily a festival of transition and thus
presents a wonderful opportunity to
consider how our lives have changed in the recent past.
If you choose to celebrate the harvest
by baking bread, adding ingredients you have reaped from
your own garden will reinforce your
connection to the earth. Consume your bread with loved
ones while openly sharing stories of
the new beginnings you are currently celebrating and the
endings you are mourning. As you
honor the cyclical nature of existence, reflect upon the
fact that just as there is joy to be
found in the sowing and reaping, each of life's phases is
worthy of celebration too.
~
Monday, August 21, 2006
Reclaiming Your Power
Insecurity
There is an innate awkwardness
to being human. With each decision we make,
there is the potential for self-doubt and it is this-self
doubt that forms the root of
insecurity-a complex emotion that is a mix of equal parts
inadequacy, isolation, fear,
and hopelessness. Yet these feelings of insecurity that
prevent us from fulfilling our
potential by inducing us to abide by arbitrary self-limitations
are nothing more than
erroneous perceptions. We feel unconfident and unsure of
ourselves because we
judge ourselves to be so. Banishing insecurity is often
simply a matter of challenging
ourselves in order to prove that we are indeed
intelligent and able.
When we feel insecure, we not only perceive ourselves as
incapable of meeting life's
challenges but also fraudulent and unworthy of true
happiness. We move through life
plagued by a sense that others have judged us and found
that we are lacking. As a result,
we are robbed of our personal power and rendered unable
to feel positive about the choices
we make. Everyone feels insecure from time to time
because each of us is born into the world
with unique strengths. If you should find yourself with
feelings of insecurity, however, endeavor
to understand its source. Perhaps you were repeatedly
berated as a child or seldom receive
positive reinforcement in the present. A tendency to
withdraw from risk or uncomfortable
situations can amplify feelings of insecurity. When you
have pinpointed the origin of your
insecurity, focus on your abilities. The more you utilize
your personal power-by taking
risks, boldly facing challenges, and acting decisively-the
stronger it will grow.
Remember that insecurity is not objective. Rather, it is
an emotional interpretation
of your value unconsciously based on doubt, shame, and
fear. As you overcome
those underlying emotions through courageous action and
copious self-love, you'll
discover that you are capable of achieving more than you
ever thought possible.
~
Sunday, August 20, 2006
Those Who Came Before
Turning To Ancestors For Guidance
Many entities assume the role of
spirit guide. Throughout our lives, we may call upon
angels, animal
and nature spirits, ascended masters, and celestial
guardians for aid, protection, and support. Our ancestors
represent another wellspring from which we may draw
wisdom in times of need for they, too, can act as our
spirit guides. Since our forbears spent at least one
lifetime experiencing the tribulations that are a part of
human
existence, the perspective they can offer is a uniquely
grounded one. Ancestral spirit guides can empathize with
our fears and our frailties, worry, temptation, and
feelings of insecurity. When the soul takes on its
spirit form,
it becomes pure light. Your ancestors, regardless of who
or what they were in life, are monitoring your life's
journey because you are their progeny and they want to
see you do your best. You can communicate with
them directly, as well as through meditation, your
dreams, or the written word. The guidance they provide
may take many forms as each ancestral spirit guide
retains its individual identity and will thus have its
own
style of communication. If your ancestors do not speak to
you directly or visit you in your dreams, examine
your life to determine whether they are replying to your
queries subconsciously. Honoring their wisdom and
experience can make your life seem larger and richer.
Like other spirit guides, your ancestors won't interfere
with your choices or attempt to deprive you of free will.
They will only do their best to answer your questions
and provide you with all the love, aid, and guidance you
ask for in order to help you evolve as an individual.
~
Saturday, August 19, 2006
Tedious Pursuits
Boredom
The human mind thrives on novelty.
What was once a source of pleasure can become
tedious after a time. Though our lives are full, boredom
lurks around every corner because
we innately long for new experiences. Yet boredom by its
very nature is passive. In this idle
state of mind, we may feel frustrated at our inability to
channel our mental energy into productive
or engaging tasks. We may even attempt to lose ourselves
in purposeless or self-destructive pursuits.
While this can be a sign of depression, it can also be an
invitation issued from your mind, asking you
to challenge yourself. Boredom can become the motivation
that drives you to learn, explore the exotic,
experiment, and harness the boundless creative energy
within.
In Hindu and Buddhist traditions, boredom is perceived as
a pathway to self-awareness.
Boredom itself is not detrimental to the soul-it is the
manner in which we respond to it that
determines whether it becomes a positive or a negative
influence in our lives. When you respond
by actively filling the emptiness you feel lurking in
yourself, you cultivate creativity and innovation.
If, when in the grip of boredom, you have difficulty
acknowledging the merits of any activities you
might otherwise enjoy, generate your own inspiration.
Before you find yourself beset by boredom,
create a list of tasks you can consult when it feels like
there is simply nothing to do.
Referring to a list of topics you want to learn more
about, projects you've yet to begin,
or even pending chores can spark your creative energy and
reawaken your zest for life.
When we are troubled by boredom, it is not that there is
nothing to do but rather that we are
not stimulated by the options before us. A bored mind can
be the canvas upon which innovation is
painted and the womb in which novelty is nourished. When
you identify boredom as a signal that
you need to test your boundaries, it can be the force
that presses you to strive for opportunities
you thought were beyond your reach and to indulge your
desire for adventure.
~
While Daisy is on a break, we will have the 'Daily Om'
Friday, August 18, 2006
Spiritualizing The Planet
Ascension
We are one with the cosmos whether
we realize it or not. Realizing it, though,
quickens our spiritual energy and allows us access to
higher realms. In those higher
realms lies the awareness that we are more than just
finite physical beings living one life
in one place at one point in time. Connecting with this
awareness is to awaken to the truth
and take a step forward, and upward, on our soul's
journey. This upward movement is known
as ascension because the more we remember who we are and
embody that truth, the higher our
energy vibrates; we ascend up the scale from the gross
physical plane to the subtle spiritual plane.
As we ascend, we gain consciousness of the more subtle
aspects of our being, with the ultimate out-
come being a complete identification with the light body,
an experience of unification with the cosmos.
As you look around you, you will see that many
people are not even interested in these ideas. Others
are open and paying attention. Still others have devoted
their lives to deepening their understanding of
the truth. All these people are on the path of ascension,
but they will ascend at different rates. Each soul
chooses its own path. The more devoted a person is to
remembering and being guided by spirit, the more
quickly the soul will ascend. These people are at the
forefront of an important process of raising the
energetic
vibration of the whole planet. The earth, made of the
same energy we are, is undergoing this shift along with
us. This evolutionary process, while seemingly chaotic at
times, is as natural as the process that unfolds
a flower from a seed and we are all part of it. It shouldn't be forgotten that
the earth too is on her
own ascension path as she is sentient. The best way to
support this process in yourself and in
the world is simply to relax and be open to its unfolding.
Listen to your inner guidance,
and let it guide you to the path that brings your heart
the most joy.
~
Thursday, August 17, 2006 8:00 a.m.
67 degrees, breezy, mostly sunny
Morning dew is so heavy that is appears as a solid sheet
of water on car hoods
and the picnic table. Newly mown grass sticks thickly to
our shoes and shows up
all over the tile floor in the kitchen, having an
affinity for the rough grout joints. Polished
pine affords no purchase for thick matted clumps of grass
so the dining room is spared the
onslaught of vegetative debris. I suppose we could remove
our shoes every time we enter the
house, but that never crosses my mind until after yard
debris and garden dirt shows up. Far easier
to sweep up at the end of the day, a chore that takes all
of two minutes, than to don and doff our
footgear a dozen or more times. There is enough energy
devoted to boot removal during six months
of winter and mud season, where we are likely to venture
out just once or twice a day, instead of the
constant in-and-out of these warmer months. Here’s a
tip for all you homeowners out there: If you are
going to remodel your kitchen, put down a good tile floor
in the same color as your local dried mud.
I am not kidding. Take a sample of your mud to the tile
shop and choose accordingly. Our floor is
a lovely shade of blue-grey slate; when dogprints are
wet, you can see them, but after they dry,
they blend right in. Life is short, and some choices we
make (like floor coverings) should
be ones that won’t cause undue hassle farther on
down the road. We should always
consider the consequences of our decisions, even the
little ones of everyday living.
Enjoy the day, and sweep up later.
Daisy
~
Wednesday, August 16, 2006 9:00 a.m.
66 degrees, breezy, partly cloudy
This time of year seems to have the best sunrises and
sunsets; big cloudbanks certainly
play an important part in the colorful landscapes.
Without clouds to bounce around the
slanted sunbeams, there would be no surfaces to reflect
the lovely colors of late summer
dawn and dusk. This week the sky has been brightening up
before 5:30 a.m., preceding
the actual sunrise by a half hour or more, and has been
full of purple afterglow long past
the sunset hour, a long shadow-filled twilight lasting
until 9:00. In this way Mother Nature
gently acclimates her children to the rapidly shrinking
daylight hours, as much as three minutes
a day this time of year. We are fortunate to live atop a
hill in the country where we can admire
both sunrise and sunset at all times of the year. When I
lived in the city, I never knew what
I was missing. If you live in a place with an obstructed
view, take a little ride after dinner
and catch the show; find a favorite place to watch the
sunset and bask in the afterglow.
Have a great day,
Daisy
~
Tuesday, August 15, 2006 8:00 a.m.
64 degrees, breezy, mostly sunny
It is cool and sunny and also half-moony, riding high in
the sky like half a golf ball or
(if you squint and get a little morbid) a brain. We went
outside just past dark to see if
we could catch the tail-end of the meteor showers before
moonrise, but it started to rain.
At first there was just a little misty sprinkle, but
finally big sloppy drops sent us scurrying back
into the house. Our gardens are very dry, and could use a
good soaking rain. For now, guess we
will have to haul out the water wagon and soaker hoses,
as there is no rain in sight for several days.
A thick layer of old hay surrounds our tomatoes and that
has helped to keep the ground moist. They
are finally beginning to show some color, faint
translucent pink against pale green that will soon be
bright
red. The tomato trellis was strung with bluebirds
yesterday, ten of them preening and posing prettily. This
must be the two broods that were hatched in nearby
nesting boxes, imprinting the area for future use. I like
to think of them stopping by to bid us farewell for the
season, so long and thanks for the digs. All sorts
of birds are beginning to flock together to stock up and
make plans for the winter. Crows and blackbirds
are a constant presence swooping everywhere we go,
especially in plots of ripe field corn or newly mown
oats. Vast colonies of goldfinches appear out of nowhere,
circle wildly in a dervish of yellow and black,
and disappear as quickly as they came. Four turkey hens
move to and fro on the meadow path farthest
from the house, and every so often we see the little head
of a chick poke above the tall grass. There
must be dozens of them. Our own flock of 112 roosters is
almost three weeks old, and nearly
fully feathered. Soon we can turn off the brooder lamps
and open the hatch to the open-air
pen, give them a chance to spread out a little bit. How
about you ? Can you venture into
the open air for a bit today, stretch your legs and
frolic before this day is done?
Enjoy your day,
Daisy
~
Monday, August 14, 2006 9:00 a.m.
66 degrees, breezy, mostly sunny
Oh! What a beautiful morning; Oh! What a beautiful day
! And the entire night was also
stunning, moonlit and chilly with lots of invisible wild
animals making purring, snorting and chuckling
noises under the open window. Raccoons? Skunks? Wild
boars? Who knows, something was afoot
and we were glad all of our critters were tucked safely
indoors. Sunset was a rapture of warm colors
reflecting from big clouds clear across the valley.
Sunrise was just about as nice, radiantly peachy and
tangerine and magenta and neon orange. Our corn may not
be as high as an elephant’s eye, but the first
meager crop is ready, small yellow ears bursting with old
fashioned milky sweetness. The main crop of
corn is still a month away from maturity, with the first
tassels barely showing at the tips of the stalks. We
found two ripe tomatoes, only two, growing on the same
plant. Other plants of the same variety are loaded
with greenies, but I think the recent cool nights have
set everything back, especially the heat-seeking crops.
Little golden grape tomatoes are slowly showing their
true colors, and a few green peppers are huge and
solid, crisp and juicy. Raspberries are starting to peter
out, but there are still enough for grazing. Summer
is in full blast and winding down at the same time, part
of this odd anything goes growing season.
Enjoy your day,
Daisy
~
Sunday, August 13, 2006 9:00 a.m.
66 degrees, breezy, partly cloudy
Soft patches of streaky white clouds are mostly to the
southeast, moving very little, in fact,
appearing to be at a standstill. There were many such
cloudy barriers in the night sky, making
the Perseid meteor shower viewing difficult if not
impossible. I headed out just before moonrise,
but twilight still cast a vague glow in the celestial
dome and few stars were visible. A gibbous waning
moon rose slowly, orange and grotesquely misshapen on the
horizon. I saw a beautiful shooting star
directly overhead, and was encouraged to stay outdoors
and wait for more. I finally gave up, and as I
turned to enter the warmth of the house I saw one very
small fast meteor wink on and off so quickly I
thought I may have imagined it. That was it, two meteors
in a half hour. Between the clouds and moon-
glow the window of opportunity was small; I was fortunate
to see as many as I did. I checked again
at about 4:00 a.m. but there was even more cloud cover
and the moon was bright enough to cast
shadows on the ground. I saw no meteors, but the sky was
nonetheless lovely as the moon and
clouds did their slow tango. Sometimes, even though we
don’t achieve expected results for
our efforts, the alternative outcome can be just as
satisfying, if we allow it to be.
Have a great day (no matter what),
Daisy
~
Saturday, August 12, 2006 8:00 a.m.
58 degrees, calm, sunny
The air is cool and the sun is hot on this perfect late
summer morning. Crickets have come out of
hiding and kept up their nightsongs into the daylight
hours, a sound from my youth. Something that
sends me back in time before you can whisper Doctor
Who is the first mouthful of blackberries, sweet
and juicy and warm from the sun. They have a wildness in
their flavor that no other fruit is able to capture.
I had my first blackberries of the season yesterday and
was immediately transported back to girl scout
camp the summer I was eight. There were wild berries all
over the place and it was the first I had even
heard of them; until that time I believed that everything
edible came from the market. My counselor was
knowledgeable about wild foods, and we brewed up
sassafras and peppermint tea, made blackberry ice
cream, and ate little wild blueberries with such gluttony
that there were none left for our morning pancakes.
I learned a lot from that woman, not just how to identify
certain wild foods but also how to plan for future
meals. As good as those berries were in the afternoon,
our flapjacks would have been vastly improved if
we had each exercised a little moderation in our snacking.
She could have told us to each pick a handful
to save for morning, but the lesson hit home when we
realized that it was up to us, not her, to decide this.
A small lesson but one well worth learning. I only found
a handful of ripe blackberries yesterday, and ate
every one; if there had been more, I would have saved
some for my morning cereal. As it was, the
memory of my first wild fruit over a half century ago was
even sweeter than the berries themselves.
Have a berry nice day,
Daisy
~
Friday, August 11, 2006 8:15 a.m.
56 degrees, breezy, sunny
The temperature dipped into the low forties last night
and had us grabbing at the extra
quilt folded on the foot of the bed, which meant
relocating a small sleeping dog. Now I
know where the phrase let sleeping dogs lie comes
from; if you don’t, then they spend
most of the night trying to crawl under the covers with
you. Thank goodness he isn’t a great
dane. I had to go out in the middle of the night to let
in one of our truant cats and saw a brilliant
shooting star drop straight down to earth, a forerunner
of the Perseid meteor shower. Don’t forget
to take your lawn chairs and fleecy throws out for the
next few nights to watch the show; peak viewing
will be tomorrow night. It is still a bit chilly in the
shade, but under a brightly shining sun all is toasty–warm.
Everything sparkles in the sunlight; a little passing
rain late yesterday washed off all of the dust and pollen
and summer colors are especially vivid this morning.
Yesterday we dug half of our potato crop and some
cool dry nights are just the ticket to cure the skins and
get them ready for storage in the cellar. Several
potatoes have been nibbled by subterranean critters and
will have to be used right away. For the most
part we have a bountiful crop with most species achieving
good size and blemish-free jackets. New
fresh potatoes are nothing at all like the starchy bland
storage potatoes found at the supermarket.
A fresh spud is sweet and creamy and melts in your mouth,
ready to eat just plain from the
steamer or fried crisp with some pungent red onions.
Mmmmmm, roasted in wedges
with whole garlic cloves, cold in salad rich with boiled
eggs and fresh peas, baked
with a little butter and salt... guess what’s for
breakfast? and lunch... and supper...
Have a spudlicious day,
Daisy
~
Thursday, August 10, 2006 9:30 a.m.
68 degrees, breezy, mostly sunny
The peaceful calm of yesterday morning was gone by noon,
with a stiff west wind flapping
sheets and towels on the line with loud whip-crack snaps.
It kept up throughout the day and
certainly helped keep the bugs away as we harvested beans
and thinned carrots. For some reason,
many of our carrots are sending up flower stalks. Carrots
are biennial plants, which means that they
must be left in the ground over winter so that they can
bloom the second year. At least twenty carrots
must not know this botanical fact, and they are blooming,
looking almost exactly like queen anne’s lace.
I pulled one up and saw that there are hundreds of fine
roots projecting from the entire length of the carrot,
but other than that, it looked pretty normal. When I bit
into it, however, it was not sweet at all, and the
texture
was hard and dry, not crispy. My first thought was that
some modification had been done to the variety,
but my seed is all purchased from a company that uses no
genetically modified seeds. I guess I will
chalk it up to one more oddball phenomenon in a very
complicated series of seasonal events.
Have a great day,
Daisy
~
Wednesday, August 9, 2006 8:30 a.m.
59 degrees, calm, mostly sunny
We seldom have a still morning on Gomer Hill with not a
hint of breeze. It presents a different view,
like the three-dimensional image in an old stereopticon
photograph. The only movement in the scenery
results from a bird landing on a branch; the leaves
thrash about briefly and are once again still, and the
bird
becomes part of the total picture. There are a few clouds
in the southern sky that appear to be painted onto
the blue with a broad fan brush, happy little clouds
a la Bob Ross. This morning is an artist’s
dream, every-
thing posing motionless, the light changing at a snail’s
pace subtly through the slow progress of the sun. While
I pick beans I will pretend to be painting a fine
watercolor, and carry the image around in my mind’s
eye to
admire during the dead of winter. I will note every
bright red, violet, yellow and white bean blossom, and
each perfect bean, all colors of beans, green, yellow,
purple, striped and mottled, and file away their
picture-perfection in my memory bank. The brown and tan
earth, little brown spider toting a massive
white egg sac on her back, golden snails on dark green
foliage, all will have a place in my composition.
Make your day a work of art,
Daisy
~
Tuesday, August 8, 2006 8:00 a.m.
55 degrees, windy, mostly cloudy
There is a little nip in the air this morning, courtesy
of the north wind. When the sun
finally makes an appearance I am sure things will warm up
nicely. Twin fawns are galloping
around the lower meadow, big enough to have outgrown
their spots but young enough to romp
carefree under the watchful eye of their momma. Soon they
will begin to learn important lessons
of stealth, concealment, and stillness that will help
them live through many hunting seasons if they
are lucky. I hope they also learn to taste sparingly from
gardens, and consider beans and broccoli
as an occasional treat and not the main course. We heard
a deer snort while walking under a bright
almost-full moon last night, close enough to give me a
good surprise. My squeal sent it thundering
off, and the sight of it leaping in front of silhouettes
of far-off trees will become a beautiful summer
memory. It was chilly last night, too cold for skeeters
and perfect for a stroll. The Perseid meteor
shower begins at the end of the week, with the best
viewing on Saturday night. Make plans now
to find a secluded spot to watch the show, and dress warm.
Light from a waning full moon may
steal some brilliance from the meteors, but will also
enhance the beauty of the night sky.
Have a great day,
Daisy
~
Monday, August 7, 2006 9:00 a.m.
76 degrees, breezy, sunny
It is another gorgeous morning on Gomer Hill,
perfect for just about anything.
Meanwhile, has anyone seen hordes of tiny golden snails
appearing all over the place
this season? We first noticed them along the roadsides on
dewy mornings, traveling at a
snail’s pace (of course!), and later as we walked
after dark we accidentally crunched our
big shoes atop hundreds of them as they crossed the road.
When I pick spinach or lettuce
they are happily clinging to the leaves, leaving a neat
round hole where they have fed. They
have a long, shiny yellow conical shell and as far as I
can tell, may be Cochlicopa lubricella
species. I have not been certain of the
identification, but if you look in Google images, you
will
see what our snails look like. I have seen many forest
snails over the years, with a small spiral
shell in various earthen tones as well as grey and white,
but this is the first year we have seen
these little strangers. They don’t seem to eat much,
and they are actually very beautiful
when the sun hits them, they glitter like gold. Just
another oddity in this odd little year.
Have a great day,
Daisy
~
Sunday, August 6, 2006 8:30 a.m.
71 degrees, breezy, mostly sunny
The morning is perfect, a classic summer scene of
wildflowers, fresh-mown lawns and
rose-petal whiff enjoyed under a hot sun with a
complimentary cool breeze. It looks like
we will finally be able to experience a normal North
Country summer day, free from sudden
downpours or stifling humidity. Of course, the day is
still young. The odd weather patterns of
this season have produced some interesting results in the
potato field. Some of the varieties have
developed horrible a foliar disease that has carried
through to the tubers underground; brown slimy
leaves above ground, spuds with squishy putrid centers
and evil-looking scabs on the skin. One entire
variety (Carola) seems to have been affected in
this awful manner. Our red Norlands appear to be
disease-
free, but if you dig up two adjacent hills one will be
overflowing with softball sized potatoes, and its
neighbor
will have just a few the size of golf balls. Russet Norkotahs
are prolific, but don’t seem to be gaining any size;
at this point, we would have to put four in the oven to
equal one good-sized baker. Our fingerlings are living
up to their name, so far not growing any bigger than our
little fingers. This is unfortunate, as they are
delicious
at any size but when so small, a true labor of love to
clean enough for a meal. A pleasant surprise is a new
variety for us, Caribe. This purple-skinned oval
variety has gained size rapidly and when we baked two
large ones for dinner we were treated to a side dish that
was so naturally creamy on the inside that it
required very little butter. At least the hard rains have
been good for one thing; potato bugs keep
getting sluiced off of the leaves, and they have been
unable to munch much. By the time they
crawl back onto the plants, along comes another
cloudburst to send them toppling off.
Whether the strange growth patterns have resulted from
too much rain or too much
heat and humidity, who knows. Every year is different,
but this one takes the cake.
Mmmmmm, cake...
Have a wonderful day,
Daisy
~
Saturday, August 5, 2006 12:00 noon
69 degrees, breezy, mostly sunny
It is such a splendiferous day that I couldn’t tear
myself away from the garden long
enough to record the details until now. Red raspberries
keep appearing, like the magic
penny of yore. Just as the peasant’s purse was never
empty, the canes continue to produce
their seemingly neverending supply of sweet juicy berries.
There are still scads of small hard
fruits just waiting for the right time to burst into
ripeness, like magic; presto! change-o! Time
for a pie ! Two big fawns are cavorting in the back
meadow, watched over by a doe who
doesn’t take her eyes from them for one instant.
They are stretching their legs and building up
muscles and endurance for the approaching hunting season;
it sure does look like recess. They
remind me of puppies at play, chasing each other in
circles and stopping short to give each other
a big tail-wag. We drove north yesterday, a nice change
of scenery. Blackbirds are beginning to
gather in flocks to take advantage of the oat harvest,
gleaning the dropped grains and fattening up
for their long trip south in a few months. We passed some
oats gathered into stooks in an Amish
meadow, hundreds of them all tied by hand and drying in
preparation for threshing. Vast fields of
soybeans are a lovely shade of green, like nothing else
that grows around here. Field corn is tasseled
and ears are forming silks, and many farm stands offer
fresh sweet corn for sale to passersby. Our mea-
ger first crop of Early Sunglow will be ready in a few
days, if we can keep the raccoons from finding it
first. A neighbor has trapped dozens of these little
thieves, and finally resorted to erecting an electric
mesh
fence around his corn patch. Isn’t fresh-picked corn
from the garden one of the best summer treats ever?
Have a sweet day,
Daisy
~
Friday, August 4, 2006 8:30 a.m.
70 degrees, breezy, sunny
The muggy steamy haze of the past week was blown away by
rain that passed through
our area last night and the air is warm but comfortably
dry, with a deep blue sky and fresh
cool breeze wafting across Gomer Hill from the north. We
have appointments in the city but
should be home in time to enjoy the end of the day and
perhaps sneak in a good walk. It has
been too hot lately for daylight strolls so we have been
going out after a late supper. Last night
I noticed a few fireflies winking at me from a distance.
They have been noticeably absent for the
past week or so, and it was good to see that they are
still in the neighborhood. I have seen many
tiny crickets hiding underneath garden mulch but they
have not yet begun their late summer trill, a
soothing sound outdoors but one that will drive me
bonkers if it comes from underneath the couch.
It is considered lucky to have a cricket in the house,
but not if you have a nice woolen carpet; it will
chew holes in it as handily as any termite gnaws through
a wooden beam. A herd of crickets could
have your heirloom karastan looking like gaily colored
swiss cheese in no time at all, and you
wouldn’t discover the damage until you move the
couch to vacuum. Good luck for the
crickets, perhaps, to find such a smorgasbord, but bad
luck for the homeowner.
Have a fine day,
Daisy
~
Thursday, August 3, 2006 7:30 a.m.
69 degrees, windy, overcast, drizzle
Everything is once again saturated with water from a
heavy downpour that blew in around midnight,
accompanied by strong winds and some heavenly fireworks.
Even though one window was only
open two inches, the gusts were strong enough to blow
some plants off the sill. As I traveled from
room to room closing windows, it seemed as if lightning
was striking from every direction at once.
It was a brief storm, but mighty. Wind is still blowing
hard from the west, whence cometh our next
bout of cloudbursts. Once that passes through, the
weather will still be hot but not as humid, and
temps will dip low enough at night to provide better
sleeping conditions. Yesterday was hot, hot,
hot, but a steady breeze here on Gomer Hill lent
remarkable relief from an otherwise sweltering
day. We picked more raspberries, plump and sweet and
still coming on, chatting and sampling
as we worked. I found one ripe golden grape tomato on the
trellis, juicy and warm and
tasting of summer. It won’t be long before we are
gathering them by the bucketful.
Enjoy your day,
Daisy
~
Wednesday, August 2, 2006 8:00 a.m.
80 degrees, breezy, hazy sunshine
It is a hot morning with a wonderful west wind that makes
the heat a little more
bearable. There are a few big clouds but the sky is so
pale that it is hard to tell exactly
where clouds end and sky begins. When you squint it
becomes apparent that the clouds
are moving very quickly from west to east. We never saw
ninety degrees yesterday here
on Gomer Hill but came pretty close. It was a windy day
throughout the heat, so although
it was hot enough, it never became sultry. It was
actually more pleasant outdoors than in,
and I would expect today to be pretty much the same. All
three cats preferred to remain
outside, the wind ruffling their fur as they dozed and
dreamed in the shade. As convenient as
built-in fur coats must be for frosty wintry weather,
they seem impractical for days such as this.
The dog has his summer haircut, short and sweet, wash-and-wear
for the times he wallows
in the cool clay around the springbox runoff. I have been
tempted to join him on occasion,
except the muddy spot isn’t big enough for an entire
human body. Maybe just my feet...
Keep your cool,
Daisy
~
Tuesday, August 1, 2006 8:00 a.m.
79 degrees, windy, hazy sunshine
Thank goodness for the wind ! It is already uncomfortably
hot in sheltered spots; as soon as
we step into the breeze, however, relief is swift. We
have set up a fan in the kitchen, following
Mother Nature’s fine example, so as we go about the
business of cutting and blanching beans for
the freezer we may enjoy some refreshing zephyrs. We
picked and processed a spackle bucket of
green beans yesterday, our first big haul. Today we will
gather a different variety, purple beans that
turn green when they hit boiling water. These are quicker
to pick than the green ones, as the deep royal
hue stands out against green plant foliage. All varieties
are showing signs of stress from excessive moisture;
mold and rotten spots are beginning to damage both plants
and beans. Scarlet runner beans are still strong
and vigorous, probably because they are climbing tall
poles instead of hanging out close to the wet soil.
The vines are covered with brilliant red flowers, as
pretty as any ornamental grown in a flower garden.
Small pods are forming, and these will be a foot long in
autumn, full of tasty large plum and ruby striped
beans for eating fresh or storing dry. We love all kinds
of beans; it wouldn’t be summer without them.
Have a wonderful day,
Daisy
~
|