~
Friday, October 31, 2008 9:30 a.m.
45 degrees, windy, sunny
A strong south wind combined with rising
temperatures
will probably eat away at this snow like turning a big
fan on
a defrosting freezer. Good thing too, because I just
found a few
sacks of flower bulbs I had dug last summer when planting
annual
flowers, and I forgot all about them. There are tulips,
hyacinths, and
daffodils of many colors and sizes, all waiting to go
into the ground
for next spring’s bloom. I had planned to dig a new
bed and toss
the bulbs in at random to use for cutting. Now I think I
will rethink
that, and put the hyacinth bulbs in the cold cellar to be
planted into
pots sometime in early March to bloom indoors at the time
of spring
equinox. The other bulbs can go at the end of an existing
row of bulbs,
one which needs to be weeded and reorganized at some
point. Just
when I thought the gardening was all done for this season,
this one
more thing popped up. I guess this is the trick for today,
but it
will be such a treat to have more flowers in the spring.
Happy Hallowe’en !
Daisy
~
Thursday, October 30, 2008 8:30 a.m.
22 degrees, breezy, mostly sunny
What a beautiful morning ! Long black shadows are
cast over
the softness of last night’s fresh snow; now this
is close to the winter
scene of my dreams! I love the sparkle of each individual
flake in the bright
morning sunlight, and the wonderful contrast of meadow
weeds’ dark shadows
strewn about like pickup stix. There are lines of little
pawprints dotting the glittering
surface, mice and voles, shrews and moles, weasels and
probably a feral kitty or two.
We must look for the tracks of the raccoon who thinks it
can spend the winter in our
barn, and see if we can figure out where it is making its
entrance. Cats are welcome
to spend cold nights with us because they are fastidious,
good guests in general;
raccoons are the Oscar Madisons of the animal kingdom,
knocking stuff over,
rummaging around in the trash bins even if there is no
food in them, and leaving
piles of poo wherever they get the urge. Ugh. On a
lighter and less icky note,
juncos are all over the yard, pecking up whatever they
perceive to be food,
or maybe they are eating the actual snow, as our birdbath
is frozen solid.
Two bluejays rang their chimes in greeting when I first
stepped out this
morning, assuming the same position in the big maple tree
that is often
held by starlings. We didn’t have any starlings last
winter, and I fear
they have all left again this season. Bluejays are
cheerful and pretty
birds, but they lack the variety of repertoire that
starlings possess.
It is a miracle that any birds stick around at all on
this windswept
and often raw hilltop. I envy folks who are able to keep
bird feed-
ers; the seeds blow right out of ours up here. We have
hung suet
balls in the past, but with a bear in the neighborhood
that is not
a good idea this year. And so another winter is gearing
up, com-
plete with its own set of intrigues, visitors, and
mysteries to solve.
I love it !
Daisy
~
Wednesday, October 29, 2008 8:30 a.m.
27 degrees, windy, mostly cloudy, flurries
If it weren’t so windy and raw we would be gazing
out upon that
winter wonderland I had hoped for when snow first started
to fall
yesterday. Instead, snow has piled up in erratic drifts,
plastered itself
wetly on every vertical surface, and refused to drape
itself gracefully
over evergreen boughs artistically. Small motes of snow
rush by the
window, in a hurry to add to the confusion of abstract
forms that
have overtaken the view. I would guess that six inches
have fallen,
enough to delay some schools’ opening times and
close others. The
plow has raised a lumpy two-foot bank at the end of the
driveway;
otherwise, we wouldn’t have to plow at all. In fact,
by the time we
get the plow out of the garage, we could probably do the
job with
two shovels and five minutes of our time. The drive home
from
work late yesterday afternoon wasn’t bad, as slush
had only
just started to build up on the road. Several small
flocks of
geese were aloft, frantically searching for a place to
land
where they could ride out the storm; one farmer’s
corn-
stubbled field was wall-to-wall birds, geese, turkeys,
and
starlings all keeping to their own. I was happy to find
my
own safe haven waiting at the top of the Hill, warm and
snug, complete with the promise of cheeseburgers.
Have a great day,
Daisy
~
Tuesday, October 28, 2008 6:30 a.m.
33 degrees, windy, rain/wet snow
Yesterday’s weather was pleasantly October-y,
with a fresh breeze
and periods of sunshine lending light if not warmth to
the day. A few
showers of rain and snow fell off and on, but all in all
it was a pretty
nice day. This morning is all about winter, however, with
icy rain oc-
casionally mixing with snow, enough so that there is a
thin layer of
slush on the vehicles parked outdoors. It even smells
like snow,
with that peculiar back-of-the-nose clarity that is a
better weather
forecaster than any talking head on the networks. By this
time tomor-
row, we may have received over a foot of wintry goodness,
and I am
already considering canceling my late day appointments. I
have a won-
derful all-wheel drive car, which is unfortunately in
pieces at this time,
waiting for a brake part. At the very least we will put
our snow tires
on the other car, as I have to get a couple of our
critters to the vet’s
this morning for inoculations and their annual check-ups.
There are
a few things we can cut back on during these hard
financial times,
but pet care is not one of them. We are their guardians,
and it is
our duty and our privilege to see that they are warm, dry,
well-fed,
and protected from disease. Meanwhile, it is still dark
outside; I will
be happy when good old Eastern Standard Time returns to
the land,
and the sun rises with me, not an hour later. I’ll
bet it’s hard to get kids
off to school when it’s still pitch black outside.
Lately it’s been hard to
get my own self vertical when it seems like the middle of
the night.
Thank goodness we can turn our clocks back this weekend.
Enjoy this wintry day,
Daisy
~
Monday, October 27, 2008 8:00 a.m.
42 degrees, breezy, partly sunny
All things considered, the weather has been much
better than
predicted for yesterday and this morning. Some flat slabs
of cloud
are pressing into the area from the southwest, but there
is plenty of
blue sky showing, and sunrise was very pretty. We were
able to do
the final raking of leaves from the last maple that held
on to them until
the very last minute, and drag them into the garden to
heap them onto
the long row of subterranean dahlias. We dug one row of
bulbs, dried
them, and have them stored in the cellar, which is the
recommended
thing to do. However, we have also been advised that they
may come
back in the spring if heavily mulched against freezing.
Since we have more
than enough bulbs for our own use, and scads to give away
to friends as
well, we figured it can’t hurt to see what happens.
If they sprout after a
winter underground, then that is one row we won’t
have to plant next
spring. If not, no loss. The long rows of red and purple
flowers were
one of the most satisfying things that we grew last
summer, decorative
as a hedge and providing cut flowers for the house right
up until last week’s
frost. The day after freeze-up, the blooms all turned
nearly white, beautiful
in another way until we cut the plants down. Now the only
flowers we
have are yellow pansies and purple violas, reminiscent of
Mother’s
Day nosegays proffered in a grubby little hand. We found
a few
hardy dandelions abloom in the meadow the other day too,
a sunny little surprise amid the brown hay stubble. Oh !
The
yard has just become awash with juncos, forerunner’s
to tomorrow’s snowfall I’ll bet. Got snow tires
?
Have a great day,
Daisy
~
Sunday, October 26, 2008 9:30 a.m.
46 degrees, windy, mostly sunny
The yard is strewn with twigs and larger branches
that were
shaken loose by yesterday’s hard rain and gusty wind.
Now that
the fallen leaves have been cleared away, I can once
again continue
snatching up windfalls a little at a time to use as
kindling for the cook-
stove, which must be lit fresh every morning during cold
weather. The
newer stoves have a larger firebox which will keep a bed
of coals burning
overnight, but I like our old Kalamazoo range just fine.
We have a pile of
dried bean husks mixed into the bucket of kindling
materials, gaining twice
the energy from that crop in the forms of calories
forhuman fuel, and hot
quick flames for the stove. In this day of high fuel
prices, it is nice
to know that some of the best things in life are still
relatively free.
Have a great day,
Daisy
~
Saturday, October 25, 2008 7:00 a.m.
43 degrees, windy, overcast, raining
Although the sun is not yet up, I can tell anyway
that the sky
is the flat grey of unbroken rain clouds. There is no pre-dawn
tint or brightening of the horizon to the east, and rain
does indeed
plummet to earth, driven sideways by gusts and flourishes.
The wind
is supposed to pick up later, so don’t park under
any trees. Yesterday
was as sunny as this morning is dull, and we gathered in
the last of the
scarlet runner beans, another bushel of crispy pods
releasing their fat
purply cargo as we snapped each one open. A friend I
hadn’t seen
for quite a while dropped by and helped me shell them,
remarking
that she would like to try cooking a few herself. Then
she noticed
their similarity in shape to lima beans, made a face, and
decided
against it. I have noticed that folks have very strong
opinions
about lima beans; they either love them, or hate them
with a
passion. If you want to send folks back into their
gustatory child-
hood, mention lima beans; I guarantee there will be
stories told. In
my mind, there is nothing sweeter than fresh limas with a
dab of butter,
a natural side dish to anything that used to have a curly
tail and go oink.
And dried limas, oh my! Baked with molasses and onions,
or slow sim-
mered into a hearty ham-bone soup, mmmmmm- mmmmmm good!
may-
be that’s why I love the scarlet runner so much;
they have all of the beany
goodness of limas, only more so. Plus, they are wicked
pretty. I would like to
string a couple dozen of them together for a necklace,
wouldn’t that be stylish ?
Have a wonderful day,
Daisy
~
Friday, October 24, 2008 9:00 a.m.
41 degrees, breezy, mostly sunny
This is a beautiful clear and sunny morning, and
as I write I can
see clouds already appearing at the southern horizon.
There are a
few more loads of laundry to tend to, and then I can
strip the rest of
the scarlet runner pods from the poles and bring them in
to finish drying.
Then the last of our gardens can be harrowed; I hated to
knock down
the corn before the birds had finished with it, but I
noticed that they are
just as happy to peck the last few kernels at ground
level as when they
hung from the stalks. We are in for a spell of windy wet
weather for
several days in a row, and the possibility of snow
isn’t out of the
question. We are hovering at the cusp of winter, the time
that is
neither here nor there weatherwise, and even though the
forecast
looks dire I’ll just bet there will be windows in
the clouds where the
sun will shine like a guiding light and brighten the
outlook for all who
happen to glimpse it. One of the local radio hosts
wouldn’t even say
the word snow earlier this week; he just said the
s-word instead.
Way to spread cheer, mister glass half-empty guy. If you
live
in the North Country and think snow is a cuss word,
methinks
you should head south with all the other delicate little
flowers
who flee every October. Me, well, I think snow is
a four letter
word alright, but that’s because it actually has
four letters.
Enjoy this beautiful day,
Daisy
~
Thursday, October 23, 2008 9:00 a.m.
31 degrees, breezy, overcast
The sky is flat grey except at the eastern horizon,
where sheets of light bathe the tops of the Adirondack
Mountains with a silver glow. This is good news, as our
weather is coming from that direction today and I have a
bunch of laundry to hang outdoors. As winter draws near I
find myself scrambling to get the blankets, curtains, and
rugs
out for one last hurrah before it simply becomes too cold.
The
only birds around on this chilly morning are turkeys by
the dozens,
streaming across the road in an unruly mob as they head
to the neighbor’s
garden plot. There they feed not on the culled and
discarded vegetable matter,
but on the droppings left behind from the deer’s
feast. While turkeys feed mostly
on mast (nuts, seeds, cones and such) it seems like they
are not above gleaning
the solids out of animal waste as well. It is a common
sight in midwinter to see
huge flocks of wild turkeys strolling through freshly
spread cow manure, heads
down and gorging themselves. Lest we become too
prejudiced over this prac-
tice, think about lobsters and clams, who also consume
huge amounts of offal,
bottom-feeders that they are. Being one step removed from
poo doesn’t make
clam chowder taste any less sweet. Ah, point-of-view,
what a grand equalizer!
Have a great day,
Daisy
~
Wednesday, October 22, 2008 9:00 a.m.
30 degrees, windy, overcast, flurries
A light smattering of snow barely covers the view
this morning;
it looks like at least half of it is plastered against
the north sides
of every tree. It slid right off of lingering maple
leaves but is stuck
fast to the lilacs, roses, privet, and forsythia, all of
which are still
covered with leaves of varying hues. There may be just
enough
snow to allow for good tracking for all you mighty
hunters out
there. I was hoping for enough to ski on, but there will
surely
be plenty of opportunity for that as Old Man Winter winds
up and starts pitching his giant snowballs. There is a
biting
north wind that doesn’t seem to be letting up; this
may be
one of those days when the most exercise the dog gets is
playing fetch-the-toy from one end of the house to the
other.
Cats are contentedly stretched out on the rug near the
wood
stove, settling into their winter torpor with happy
occasional purrs.
All of our indoor pets are foundlings, and for them the
first hint of
snow must remind them of leaner times, days spent hiding
from
bigger predators and nights of hunting smaller prey to
stay
alive. I’ll bet they don’t miss the old days
much. Take
a moment to appreciate the warmth and comfort of
your surroundings, your full belly and toasty toes,
and the freedom to come and go as you like.
Simple gifts,
homely pleasures,
the best !
Daisy
~
Tuesday, October 21, 2008 9:15 a.m.
42 degrees, windy, overcast, rain, fog
We are in for a couple of interesting days, weatherwise.
As soon as I stepped outside this morning and felt that
cold
north wind I thought, “time to get out my ski boots
and oil them
up for winter”. It won’t be long now. In lieu
of original thought
this chilly morn, I would like to share with you a poem
about
the different ways that wood burns. I first heard it from
my
father-in-law, who switched from wood to coal to oil over
the
course of his lifetime, but we repeat parts of it to each
other as
we cut and haul our winter wood every year. The part
about
ash is absolutely true: some of what we are burning right
now has only been cured for about four months.
Beech-wood fires burn bright and clear
If the logs are kept a year;
Store your beech for Christmastide
With new-cut holly laid beside;
Chestnut's only good, they say,
If for years 'tis stored away;
Birch and fir-wood burn too fast
Blaze too bright and do not last;
Flames from larch will shoot up high,
Dangerously the sparks will fly;
But ash-wood green and ash-wood brown
Are fit for a Queen with a golden crown.
Oaken logs, if dry and old,
Keep away the winter's cold;
Poplar gives a bitter smoke,
Fills your eyes and makes you choke;
Elm-wood burns like churchyard mould,
E'en the very flames are cold;
Hawthorn bakes the sweetest bread -
So it is in Ireland said;
Apple-wood will scent the room,
Pear-wood smells like flowers in bloom;
But ash-wood wet and ash-wood dry
A King may warm his slippers by.
Have a great day,
and keep warm,
Daisy
~
Monday, October 20, 2008 8:00 a.m.
40 degrees, breezy, partly sunny
Low dark clouds look to be carrying some rain, but
it is
clear to the east, and sunrise was exceedingly colorful
this morning.
Radiant beams slant across the treeline and illuminate
what’s left of the
autumn gold with stark shimmering light. We spent most of
yesterday
raking and hauling leaves, even though they haven’t
all fallen yet. It was
pleasant work, and the weather was perfect for it. We
took advantage
of the relatively wind-free day to gather huge leaf piles
onto tarps, load
them into the truck, and heap them in an out-of-the-way
corner of a
meadow to decompose into lovely mulch. The remaining
leaves can
be spread directly into the gardens, to be tilled under
in the spring.
We are expecting some wet snow to arrive Tuesday night;
if it lands
on trees still laden with leaves, there will certainly be
some breakage.
Maybe enough will be dislodged during tonight’s rain
showers that it
won’t be a problem. Tomorrow is supposed to become
quite windy;
that should also shake things loose. Change is on the way,
real
change, not merely some blah blah blah political
promises,
but the real deal as only Mother Nature can provide.
Enjoy the day,
Daisy
~
Sunday,
October 19, 2008 8:45 a.m.
38 degrees, breezy, mostly sunny
Frost has once again descended upon Gomer Hill, and now
there is no question that our harvest is over for another
season.
A heaping wheelbarrow full of fat carrots waits in the
barn to be
trimmed and packed away into dry leaves for storage in
the cool
cellar until next spring. We were going to wait until
today to pull them,
but deer had already started to munch the roots, pulling
them right out
of the ground and leaving the tops behind. One December
they pawed
through the snow and a layer of mulch hay and ate every
one of the car-
rots and parsnips we had intended to leave for spring
harvest; they get
pretty desperate for forage when winter arrives to stay.
Regular deer
hunting season opened in our area yesterday; if anyone
bags a buck
with carrots on its breath, send us some steaks, okay ?
With forty
acres of tender second growth clover and alfalfa
surrounding our
gardens, I don't
understand their need to feed thirty feet from a
house. We have two crops that deer never bother; it is a
mystery
to me why they won't
touch parsley or dill. They have mown every
bit of lettuce and spinach right down to bare dirt, but
the aforemen-
tioned two herbs will stay lush and unmolested until we
harrow them
under. I wish every hunter good fortune this season, not
just to fill their
freezers with lean tasty protein, but also to thin out
the herd in our over-
crowded neighborhood. Watch out for each other, and play
fair.
Have a great day,
Daisy
~
Saturday,
October 18, 2008 9:00 a.m.
40 degrees, breezy, mostly sunny
We have wonderful sunshine here on Gomer Hill, but we can
see a
thick silver ribbon of fog stretched out all along the
Black River Valley.
Little cones of mist swirl aloft, like upsidedown
volcanoes. I awoke in the
wee hours and saw frost glittering on our cars like
sanding sugar by the light
of a waning full moon; I fell back asleep easily, content
that we have concluded
the harvest for another year and our time of winter
respite is drawing closer. Sure,
there are indoor tasks that await, items of maintenance,
painting and spackling and
such. But the heavy duty tasks of fine weather, the
lifting and hauling and stacking
and hoeing, the bending and reaching, they are safe in
our memory vaults for another
year. Even raking leaves (this job still looms large) is
child's play compared to bring-
ing in the winter wood. There is a thin coat of ice on
the birdbath, and frost lingers
in pockets that have not yet been kissed by the sun. The
leaves of nearby pole
beans are still summer green, but have taken on a limp
transparency that means
they will probably be brown by sundown, and crispy by
tomorrow's end. We
picked and shelled another heap of scarlet runner beans
yesterday, leaving the
rest to see if they might dry on the vine even after
freezing. We cooked up a
bunch of fresh ones last night, and found out that this
is another way to enjoy
these big fat beans; they are sort of like limas, only
meatier. We tossed them
together with rice, onions, and peppers, and poked bits
of aged cheddar here
and there for a tasty supper dish. We had worked hard
yesterday, so we cook-
ed up some garlic crusted tuna steaks for extra protein.
Bourbon-stewed apples
completed the meal; we finished just in time to see the
bulbous ginger moon
creep skyward. It was already nearly freezing as we took
one last walk;
we could see our breath. (Maybe it was all that garlic ?)
Have a wonderful day,
Daisy
~
Friday, October 17, 2008 8:30 a.m.
36 degrees, brrrreezy, overcast
Maybe the sun will make an appearance and chase
away the cold.
This morning is way beyond chilly, it is downright c o l
d. If I thought
it was going to remain this cloudy, I would light the big
stove. Most of
my work will be done in the kitchen this morning, and
that room is toasty.
At any rate, it looks as if our little spell of indian
summer is over for a while.
We saw several wooly bear caterpillars on the road
yesterday, and most of
them had a brown stripe about one-quarter the size of the
black part. Accord-
ing to folklore, the narrower the stripe, the more snow
will fall this winter. Once
we saw several that were all black, no stripe at all, but
that winter wasn’t any
harsher than usual. Old-timers up here will give many
examples of nature pre-
dicting the severity of an upcoming winter. My favorite
old saw is that if there
are a lot of evergreen cones, it will be a long hard
winter. I would think the
opposite of that to be true, that the forest critters
would stash away more
cones for food if a bad spell were in store for them.
Predicting the wea-
ther for Tug Hill is, at best, a series of lucky guesses
for any given
season. I am very glad to welcome whatever we get, loving
it all !
Enjoy your day,
Daisy
~
Thursday, October 16, 2008 8:45 a.m.
55 degrees, windy, overcast, rain
Bright leaves fly through the air nearly as
numerous as the
raindrops that precipitate their downfall. It is so dark
outside
that our yard light still glows dimly. Rain commenced
early this
morning, hard-driven against the tin of the roof, the
hiss of fat
drops accompanied by the splat of leaves and the clatter
of
small twigs. I looked into the yard as I closed the
window,
and every vehicle had a layer of wet leaves clinging to
it, like
the world’s largest rake-piles. Even though there is
a hint of fog
in the air, one maple tree by the shed shines like a
burning bush,
nearly every leaf intact and vibrant with red-rimmed
orange foliage.
This is the tree our eyes light on first these days, no
matter which
direction we come from. Other big maples on our property
are
half-naked from time, wind, and rain, but this one is
still picture
perfect, a calendar shot that shouts October! Birds
are absent
on this sloppy morning, no turkeys, starlings, crows, or
bluebirds
in sight. The cats are content to lounge around in the
warm kitchen,
and the dog stayed outdoors only as long as necessary. I
have a crate
of tomatoes that will be turned into pasta sauce; I am
happy to have this
simple honest job facing me today. It is good to be able
to identify a task
and see it through from beginning to end. Many
undertakings are ongoing
and seemingly unending, such as sweeping the floors,
keeping up with
dirty dishes, heck, even raising children I suppose.
These particular
tomatoes, well, here’s the deal: I fully appreciate
the finality of the
last jar of sauce pinging shut, and the box that
once held beautiful
red tomatoes sitting empty on the floor signals the end
of the job.
That is not to say that there won’t be a couple more
boxes
getting ripe during the next few weeks; but this one
singular
batch has been forever transformed from one good thing
into another, and there is a lot of satisfaction in that.
Every job should be this rewarding !
Daisy
~
Wednesday, October 15, 2008 8:00 a.m.
41 degrees, breezy, mostly sunny
Brrrrr ! It is a chilly one out there ! Some of
the coolest
clouds this morning are jet contrails that have lingered
for
quite a long time, slowly spreading their vapor trails
into fat
white highways stretched across the pale blue sky. It was
a
noisy night, filled with the haunting honks of southbound
geese
from above and coyotes and neighborhood dogs from below.
For
some reason, our own dog ignores the coyotes’ high
pitched yips
and yodels, but the hounds up the road usually sing along.
Yester-
day we walked up an old farm road to a pond so the dogs
could
get in a bit of swimming, and there were lots of big
canine tracks
showing in soft mud. The field corn that lines that dirt
road droops
on the stalks, but is not yet dry enough for fodder. When
walking
back along the Gomer Hill Road, it was clear to see that
one side
of the road has received frost and the other has not,
from the color
of cornstalks. Those on the east side are still mostly
green with just
hints of brown at the edges of the husks. To the west,
the entire field
is golden and rustles with a crispy rattle when the wind
blows through
it. It is as if the road presented some invisible barrier
to the frost’s pro-
gress. We are still picking beans, tomatoes, and peppers
on the east
side of the road, and waiting for frost to sweeten the
carrots. We
lost about half of our maple leaves during
yesterday’s windy gusts,
and I imagine many more will follow in tonight’s
rain. It is not
unusual for us to have some snow in mid-October, but it
looks like this year we may be spared that wintry preview.
Have a great day,
Daisy
~
Tuesday, October 14, 2008 8:00 a.m.
60 degrees, breezy, partly cloudy
Even though it is really mostly sunny, I must mention the
clouds first thing.
There is a fine lacy webbing of pale vapors spread thinly
across part of the sky,
unlike any I’ve ever seen. They almost appear to
have been sponge-painted across
that broad expanse. They are drifting off to the
southeast, moving so slowly that I need-
ed to glance sideways at them to detect any motion at all.
It is fairly breezy at ground level,
yet the clouds are moving in ultra slow-motion. Leaves
zip across the yard, and as the wind
speed increases I fear we will lose this wonderful sea of
gold that we are currently immersed
in. Vibrant maple leaves on the ground, in the trees, and
on every flat surface make me feel
like I am inside of Scrooge McDuck’s money bin
whenever I step into the yard. (Indeed,
that would be a great place to find oneself these days,
eh?) Especially during the months
to come, we must remember to notice the wealth of
blessings that surround us that are
free and of immeasurable value. I am sure that if you
take just a few minutes you
will see that your net worth cannot be counted out in
mere dollars and cents.
And now, I will step out into our lovely outdoor money
bin !
Count your blessings,
Daisy
~
Monday, October 13, 2008 8:30 a.m.
57 degrees, calm, overcast
A flat layer of high thin clouds nearly hides the
sun’s radiance this
morning. No shadows are being cast; autumn gold, the
prevailing foliage
hue lately, serves to warm our view quite nicely, at
least visually if not actually.
Yesterday we had a high temperature of 72 degrees, and
although the term has
fallen out of style in this era of political correctness,
I still call the recent warm
spell indian summer. Our scarlet runner beans are
finally achieving maturity;
I picked a bushel of long dry pods and shelled them on
the woodshed steps
while basking in late afternoon sun. There was not one
moldy bean in the
lot, and their colors varied from pink and purple
mottling to nearly all black.
Some of the pods are over a foot long, and each contains
between five and
eight fat beans. In years past we have picked them long
into October, wear-
ing winter gloves and blinded by a sudden snowstorm that
plastered wet flakes
against my glasses. This is the last crop to come out of
the gardens, not counting
the carrots that are still patiently waiting for frost to
sweeten them up. The gardens
on the east side of the road have not been touched by
frost, but it is obvious that
across the way all is finished. Dahlias were crispy brown
and the corn had achiev-
ed the dull gold patina of old age, so that garden has
been harrowed and is awaiting
a layer of manure for its winter nap. There are still
green tomatoes on the vines, but
unless we have another few weeks of unusual warmth I
don’t expect them to show
any hint of red. The leaves are dying from the ground up,
a sign of late blight, so
perhaps we should just gack them and be done. Things are
definitely winding
down, that’s for sure. I love this time of year, not
just the beautiful colors
and all those birds swooping in and out of the meadows,
but also the
bustle of harvest and restful peace that follows, the
full cellar bins
and crates of tomatoes slowly turning red on the porch,
and
a warm fire on a cold night, the kitchen redolent of
roast
chicken and stewed apples. Nothing like it !
Have a wonderful day,
Daisy
~
Sunday, October 12, 2008 9:00 a.m.
65 degrees, breezy, sunny
We are going to be spoiled rotten from these
gorgeous autumn days.
When the wintry curtain eventually does fall, it will be
a real change for sure.
Sunny warm days and wonderfully clear chilly nights are
the stuff that memories
are made of. Yesterday’s walk through our woodlot
was a high point of my week,
a slow ramble listening to small critters rustling
through dry leaves, the sun dappling
through the canopy with a magical shimmer, the sound of
the creek burbling over
smooth stones as it tumbles into the deep gorge... Every
sense was wide awake;
my nostrils filled with the heavy musk of woodland
mushrooms and leaf mold.
Dead bark peeled away from standing dead birch trees with
a gentle tug,
smooth and quite touchable. I filled a backpack with the
curled yellow bark,
and will use it to kindle fires for many frosty mornings
to come. I found a tree
with three perfect apples perched way up high, and as I
stood there, one fell to
earth, a gift. It is the only wild apple I have tasted
this year, they have been hard
to find. It was a bit mealy but very sweet, and I enjoyed
the heck out of it. There
were no apples underneath the tree at all; probably deer
ate them all. I emerged
from the forest and almost stepped in a pile of bear scat,
right in the middle
of the path. It was full of cherry pits, and unmistakably
from a bear.
Even my dog gave the mound a wide berth. With all of the
sign
around, it is amazing that I have never seen a bear here
on Gomer Hill. There is always something new
under the sun, so I will keep rambling on.
Have a great day,
Daisy
~
Saturday, October 11, 2008 8:30
a.m.
56 degrees, calm, sunny
Bright sun plus no wind equals a very warm October
morning
here on Gomer Hill. There are about a dozen bluebirds
taking advantage
of the birdbath, sprucing up for their long journey south.
This past week
has brought as many as twenty of the colorful state birds
to our yard, all
generations flocking together to imprint the setting on
the youngsters so
they can find their way back to the nesting boxes next
spring. A red-tail-
ed hawk has also been hanging around for several days; I
hope it has
been feasting on little rodents and not bluebirds. There
is a marsh hawk
that has been part of our scenery for at least ten years,
but this is our first
glimpse of a red-tail so close to the farm. I noticed it
when it chased a crow
out of the neighbor's cornfield. It takes courage to
challenge a crow. It will
be interesting to see what happens if the red-tail and
the marsh hawk ever
share the same air space. Meanwhile, back on the ground,
we saw two
garter snakes sunning themselves on the Smith Road
yesterday, stretched
out full-length and motionless. They could have been
sticks, that's how still
they were; the dogs gave them no notice at all. There
were also many honey-
bees on the warm sand of the road, some crawling slowly,
others just resting.
One bee came floating lazily through the air and landed
on my pants. I shook
it off and it fell to earth, not making any attempt to
resume flight. Some cursory
research indicates that they may have been infested with
mites and suffering
blood loss, or they are not yet accustomed to the colder
temperatures of
night, and are conserving their fat stores for winter by
resting after being
chilled. We had plenty of bees in the gardens this summer;
let's hope
that mites aren't the problem. Wasps have been all over
the storm
windows on the sunporch, crawling into the tiny space
where the
frames join the trim; this is something to remember next
spring,
when we clean the panes. A few ladybugs have made their
way into the house; for every one that has come indoors,
probably five hundred are snuggled up behind the
clapboards. Every hing is preparing for winter;
take a good look around your neighbor-
hood to see for yourself.
Have a great day,
Daisy
~
Friday, October 10, 2008 8:45 a.m.
60 degrees, breezy, sunny
The temperature has climbed more than twenty
degrees since dawn,
and the sun is really quite warm for October. We removed
the auxiliary
back steps yesterday and have been filling the summer
porch with fire-
wood over the past week, so if we want to have our
morning brew
these early morning hours while gazing out over the
valley we must
perch on the remaining few feet of floorspace that
hasn’t had the
winter walls attached yet. Every north country home
should have
a convertible porch. It originally was a covered walkway
to the two-
hole latrine, back before the place had modern plumbing.
We rebuilt
the whole thing to be more sturdy, and put a big window
in the panel
opposite the back door, so that we have an unobstructed
view of the
valley even in winter, unless the snow is higher than the
porch roof,
which has happened more than once. So what serves as a
wonderful
al fresco venue for coffee and cocktails for half
the year protects the
wood for the kitchen range the other six months. We also
keep our gas
grill out there in the winter, with a fan that swings
down to vent the smoke
outside while meat is cooking. I miss that porch during
the sweet warm
mornings of indian summer, and sometimes we have been too
quick to
take the walls off at winter’s end and get a
surprise late April snow-
storm; it is undoubtedly an indispensable part of this
old farmhouse.
Bushels of beans have been shelled out there, plus garlic
trimmed,
and corn shucked, not to mention impromptu tea parties
when
the kids were little, complete with mud pies and hot
lemonade.
When we shored up the posts a few years ago, we found a
little
white plastic teacup in the rubble, a sweet reminder of
our early
days on Gomer Hill. And now that I have looked back, I
must
also look ahead to what tasks can best fill this
beautiful day.
Don’t forget to enjoy the present moment, being
still and let-
ting the day surround you with whatever blessings it
presents.
Use all of your senses on this fine day,
Daisy
~
Thursday, October 9, 2008 8:00 a.m.
51 degrees, windy, partly sunny
Rain that swept across Tug Hill all night long seems to
be over, and
the sun shines like a miner’s headlamp through holes
in the black clouds.
Dense threads of slaty rain stitch the Adirondack Range to
the absolute
darkness of the eastern sky, and there are spots of
deep blue emerging
at the opposite side of the celestial vault. The wind is
from the west and
constant, with much stronger gusts sending our wet leaf
piles aloft like
thousands of orangey kites. The quality of light is rare
and intense,
and the fall colors vibrate like an impressionist’s
dreamscape. I
have a mess of indoor jobs planned for today, but they
will wait;
I must go bathe in this surreal light before the sun gets
much higher.
Enjoy this beautiful day,
Daisy
~
Tuesday, October 7,
2008 8:30 a.m.
50 degrees, breezy, sunny
Our overnight low was 32.5 degrees, and we couldn’t
see
evidence of any frost when we arose. The sun has been on
the
pole beans for a couple of hours now, and the leaves are
still green
and hearty as on a summer day, not even a little frost-wilted.
There is
a chance of biting cold again tonight, so it is just a
matter of time and then
the gardening season will be officially over for another
year. The bedroom
was so cold when I arose that my specs fogged up when I
entered the warmer
air of the hallway, just like when I come inside after a
winter hike. The dog went
into bloodhound mode when he went outdoors, nose to the
ground and ignoring
all whistles and commands to return until he had a good
snootful of musk from
whatever he was tracking. I found a pile of scat shaped
like that from a mid-
sized canine, but black like a raccoon’s, so it is a
mystery for now what
passed through our yard during the still of the night.
Coyotes have been
very vocal for the past week or so; perhaps this was one
that ate some-
thing odd or exceptionally bloody before dropping his
sign on the lawn.
It didn't look like a big enough mound to be a bear, even
a young one.
We spent a day cleaning out the barn and closing up
points of access
for critters, who have a way of making a mess of things
when they de-
cide to move in for the winter. We don’t mind
hosting a feral cat or
two when the snow flies, but raccoons, weasels, and
skunks are most
definitely not welcome. Cats at least will deposit their
waste outdoors,
while the others literally don’t give a cr*p where
they give a cr*p.
On a lighter note, starlings have gathered in the big
trees at the
end of the yard, so I believe I will take my coffee
outside to
enjoy their music before the morning gets away from me.
Have a great day,
Daisy
~
Monday, October 6, 2008 9:30
a.m.
46 degrees, breezy, mostly sunny
After a rainy start, clouds have moved on and it is a
dazzling clear morning. Everything shines with water, and
a
little breeze has set droplets sprinkling to earth like
tiny diamonds
from a giant salt shaker. Yesterday's crows are still in
the area, silently
moving in and out of our view. Geese are getting serious
about clearing
out of Canada, and are moving in a steady stream down the
Black River
Valley. Yesterday a huge flock passed directly over us,
flying very low as
we picked beans, making a lot of brassy music and
miraculously not drop-
ping any little splatter bombs. There are still a lot of
beans left on the leaf-
less bushes, and I guess I will pick them in anticipation
of tonight's sub-
freezing temperatures. It looks like this frosty bullet
might be hard to
dodge. Time to empty the flower boxes and bring in the
big pots of
geraniums, trim them up good and put them into their
winter homes
upstairs where it is cool and sunny. Tomatoes are just
getting going,
so we will drape old blankets over half the plants and
hope for a little
longer season on them. We have picked all that show even
a little
hint of color, and have a few bushels ripening in boxes
on the
porch. I am looking forward to the calm that follows a
killing
frost; the final tasks merely to pull the carrots and
till the
plots for next season. I would like to move some
of our daffodil bulbs, but will play that by ear.
If there is time for it, it will be done.
If not, there is always next year.
Enjoy your day,
Daisy
~
Sunday, October 5, 2008 10:00 a.m.
48 degrees, breezy, mostly cloudy
About forty crows were just gathered along the
roadside by the
neighbor’s driveway, waiting in silence for
something, who knows what.
Then they all lifted off together and floated into the
willow copse, hopping
from bush to bush, still nary a caw or a yee-haw. I
wonder if they were hatching
a plot. We heard a crazy amount of coyote noise off and
on all night long; perhaps
there are some remains down in the yard, and they were
divvying them up, all calm
and collected instead of just grabbing bits and pieces
willy-nilly. Maybe I read too
much Beatrix Potter as a youngster. Our own yard was full
of juncos this morning,
the famous snowbirds that often accompany cold
fronts; in this case, they are right
on time. It has been very chilly indeed, although still
not cold enough to spoil our
bountiful garden harvest. The sun peeks out from time to
time, and I imagine that
a bit of clear weather may grace Gomer Hill after lunch.
Yesterday we took a
road trip to Adams Center for a green home open house;
the ride through the
wind farm and awesome autumn foliage was pretty darned
spectacular, and
the little community of Woodhenge was really amazing.
After touring the
spacious cordwood house, recycled motel units, and
earthen-clad oil tank,
all of which are entirely solar and wind powered, we
drove down into the val-
ley to visit with some old friends, whose home was also
on the tour. We took a
short walk through their woodlot to the creek to check
out the ram pump and tur-
bine, which supply both water and electricity to their
home and workshop, which
are also off the grid. After rambling through the garden
and greenhouses, we
caught up with each other over sparkling cider and home
brew, a wonderful
way to end the day. For more information about both of
these spots, check
out this link . We do what we can at our
own place, heating with wood and
conserving electricity whenever possible; everyone could
do just a little
bit better at reducing our overall carbon footprint,
don’t you think ?
Have a great day,
Daisy
~
Saturday, October 4, 2008 8:00 a.m.
39 degrees, breezy, bright fog
I am guessing that the sun is shining brightly
above this thick fog.
The very air out there shimmers with silver highlights,
and the mist
is so all-invasive that our window screens are covered
with drops of
water. The fog must have rolled in as we slept, as a late
night walk
featured an amazing starry sky. The temperature dropped
to 33 last
night, but I don’t see evidence of frost anywhere
within my current view.
We picked another bushel of underripe tomatoes yesterday,
just in case.
Broccoli continues to form beautiful tight emerald green
heads, but deer
have been down the row and trimmed off the biggest leaves;
I am not
sure if side-shoot production will be great without that
source of energy
to the plants. They wiped out all of our autumn spinach
too, but what is
amazing is that they stopped munching when they got to
the lettuce that
is in the same row. Thank goodness for that! I will
spread a little grated
soap around the lettuce this morning as a deterrent,
because right now
we have some of the most beautiful heads of bibb
buttercrunch I have
ever seen. We also planted a mix of varieties, and the
row is very color-
ful with ruby romaines, deep red deer tongue (now that’s
ironic !) and
chartreuse ruffles of endive mixed in with the deeper
green standards.
It looks almost as pretty mixed together in a big serving
bowl as it
does in the row. I know our days of having such an
awesome pro-
duce department right outside the door are limited as
time marches
on; if there was a way to have salad for breakfast, we
would eat
it three times a day instead of only twice. Since
it’s Saturday,
we will have a fine cheesy omelet with fresh tomatoes and
toasted homemade bread with a smear of raspberry jelly.
And then, all fueled up and ready to go, on with our day!
Enjoy yourself,
Daisy
~
Friday, October 3, 2008 8:15
a.m.
38 degrees, windy, overcast, raining
The morning is raw and stark. Our beautiful autumn leaves
are
zipping past the window, waterlogged missiles in rainbow
hues.
I expect to see some wet snow any time now. It is really
cold
out there, and the air smells like Christmas morning. We
have
knuckled under to the chill and kindled the big wood
stove for
the first time this season; the acrid whiff of wire-brushed
iron and
graphite polish lingers like an old pal. Ordinarily, the
kitchen range
would have been enough to chase away the morning
stiffness, but
we have left it empty to give it a good cleaning. It will
be more effi-
cient at its cooking tasks if we clear away the layer of
ash and soot
that has built up around the oven. I suppose I need to
bundle up and
pick what may be the last of the tomatoes, peppers, and
beans, as
the next few nights will be cold enough for frost. There
may even
be a layer of fluffy white stuff to greet us when we
arise tomor-
row morning. What an interesting time of year! Expect the
unexpected; that way you won't be disappointed.
Have a great day,
Daisy
~
Thursday, October 2, 2008 9:00
a.m.
50 degrees, windy, partly sunny
Wow ! What a morning ! Huge clouds have parted to reveal
an amazing blue sky; for how long, it's anybody's guess. The air
is sharply colder, and I think a front is pushing down
from the north,
a true canadian clipper. If it were frosty I would expect
some lake effect
snow to appear later, it's that kind of sky. There's time enough for that
next month, and the five that follow. The scores of geese
that have filled
the air during the past two days and nights must have
recognized the cold
snap as a signal to skedaddle south. We see evidence that
all kinds of
animals are making ready for winter, either flocking
south en masse,
or storing fat against the long cold months to come. Deer
have been
busy in the gardens, nipping bean leaves and pruning the
spinach
down to nubs. Raccoons have helped themselves (at my
invitation)
to the rest of our sweet corn, leaving a trail of cobs
along the path,
picked as clean as you or I would have done. A larger
critter seems
to have made itself entirely at home not too far from
here. I mentioned
a while ago that a friend had been hunting and came very
close to a cougar
on the trail, without any harm done to either. On Tuesday
another friend was
on his way through the forest to make sure his tree stand
is in good repair for
the upcoming deer season, and a mountain lion (probably
the same one, but
who knows?) was draped elegantly across the platform, its
long tail ruffled
in the breeze. The tail was spotted before the cat, and
the big cat didn't
move a muscle, seemingly unconcerned that a human was
drawing near.
It has been many years since I saw one of these beautiful
animals, and
that cat was black; I saw it twice, both times with
friends who were as
amazed as I was. I do think twice about trekking or
skiing through the
woods alone, but if I lived my life in fear of what
ifs I would never
leave my kitchen. I carry dog cookies in case I encounter
a feisty
yard dog; wonder if that would work on a cougar ? The
fact
that both of my friends were not intimidated by this
newcomer
(which is the more traditional buff color) leads me to
believe that
it has no real experience with humans, thus poses little
threat. I heard
on the radio this morning that another moose has been
spotted on the
outskirts of Boonville, one without antlers; this makes
two moose
(meese ?) during the past week, both very close to town.
Keep your eyes open; what unusual wildlife can you see?
Have a great day,
Daisy
~
Wednesday, October 1, 2008 8:45 a.m.
52 degrees, windy, overcast, drizzle
A bit of hard rain has dislodged some of the maple
and ash leaves
from trees in our yard, and the effect is very pretty;
now we are sand-
wiched in between two colorful layers, with the warm hues
of autumn
both underfoot and overhead. I would think that a hike in
a deciduous
forest would be a breathtaking event during the next few
days. A I drove
to work yesterday, I noticed that some of the largest
trees have barely begun
their annual transformation, while others have given
themselves over completely
to fall’s splendid raiment. Cornfields along my
route are mostly frost-bitten gold,
with a few patches still showing summer green where the
icy fingers missed them.
Geese were on the move in great numbers during the
afternoon, with dozens of
small flocks converging on a beaver pond near the highway.
The first week of
October is traditionally the time of true autumn here in
the North Country,
with cool days and downright chilly nights. It is a time
for slow-cooked
suppers pushed to the back of the range to simmer and
fill the house
with savory aromas. The tang of garlic curing in the
kitchen and basil
hung to dry in bunches blends beautifully with the
pungent steam
released from a pot full of bourbon-stewed apples, rich
with cin-
namon, ginger, and cloves. Sweet birch smoke swirls down
from
the chimney outdoors to mix with the musky rich smell of
wet leaves
and fat mushrooms, with undertones of mud mixing in. Of
all the seasons,
autumn has the power to transport me back in time fifty
years or more with
one single whiff of burning leaves, back to the childhood
suburban sidewalk
trek to school and back, when folks would burn their
raking-ups along
the curb. The crunch of crispy leaves underfoot as I trek
along Tug
Hill evokes strong memories of shuffling my mary janes
along,
while going over spelling words with a classmate as we
walk-
ed. Ah, the sounds and smells of the season, the best !
Have a wonderful day,
Daisy
~
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