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29 septembre We are getting a soaking!It is pouring and it has been throughout most of the night. It is the kind of morning where you don't know how to kick start yourself so decide it is ok to sit awhile and visit people's blogs. And of course, this morning I ran out of milk or half and half for my coffee but did discover some french vanilla ice cream in the freezer. So ice cream in my morning coffee. And some hefty grained bread toasted with whipped cream cheese! Not calorie counting here.
Well for anyone interested, I did mannage to take some digital photos yesterday before it really clouded up. Got a few pictures of the fields and out-of-doors as well as the back of the house. Who else takes pictures from the back but we live in the back! Actually I was thinking that perhaps I'd use the garden fence as the front cover on my chapbook. For some reason, the colors work for me and in truth, no one ever really remembers the cover of a book. The colors are pleasing, and the fence presents a strong image in front of the wistfullness of the clematis. This was a clematis my brother and I bought for my mother about 10 or 12 years ago and as I'm writing this, I'm not sure that she ever saw it bloom. I remember it as having very small white blooms with an unbelievable fragrance. I'm recognizing that I really do have to spend more time tending to my mother's gardens.
One of the pictures is of a garden house. The picture doesn't portrait the beauty of this little house but it is insulated, has light and heat and outside is a second well I added to the property. I always worried that the one well we had would be stressed with all the watering we did so added this well to relieve us of stressing our primary water source. And as with everything else, I had to go down two hundred feet to tap a water vein but it was a gusher. So as I'm writing this, I'm starting to plan some of next years projects. I think that this kind of planning is what helps winter move along at a reasonably fast pace. It's the planning ahead that propels time. Anyway, I need to finish sheetrocking the interior and perhaps will treat myself to some awnings where the doors are. There actually is a brick patio in from where the doors are but the spaces between the bricks are overgrown with grass. Yes, yes. I know. How could I!
So I am off. If you have a moment, look at the new photos. I must tell you, I am not a photo buff. I'm lucky when I get the picture straight. Peace. Bittersweet 28 septembre Just a few days left!Well September is almost gone! It really is one of my favorite months. By the time October comes, I'm emotionally ready to tackle winter. I think the Fall is the hardest time of the year for me. I always feel as if it was just that much longer to get through winter. Now I must confess, I do enjoy winter! It's that time of year when I can hibernate and draw into my self/soul. It's a time of renewal and I love the beauty and peace that comes with winter especially the quiet after a snow storm. For the moment I'll wade through the next two months and enjoy the holidays.
I went outside yesterday with my digital camera and new flash card. But I was playing with it the day before and took a lot of inside flash shots and must have run the battery down. And of course, knowing yesterday would be my last nice day before the rain, I went outside and found my battery needed to be charged. I wanted to take the pictures from outside and not through the dining room windows. Well, a good plan anyway. The rains are about to come and tomorrow is a heavy day of rain - so it will be an inside day for me. That doesn't really present a problem since I need to write several friends and I am a believer of hand written letters via the post.
I think most of us have forgotten or lost the art of letter writing. There is nothing as pleasant as going to the post and getting an unexpected letter from a dear friend. What greater gift can someone give than sharing moments of life and moments from the heart. Don't get me wrong, I get lovely emails, but we don't save them or treasure them like we do a letter. When the inbox gets too full, we just delete everything that we don't feel is relevant.
I have a neighbor that operates a printing press out of her home. Honey Bee Press. She printed up some lovely stationery for me; letter size and note paper size with some lovely logos. The letter size has a lovely pine tree and the note paper has a flower called creeping speedwell. It's a ground cover with a lovely small blue flower. I actually picked it because of it's name but she did a lovely job of capturing the outline of the flower on the leafy stem.
Anyway, I love writing a hand written note on my stationery which I must confess isn't often.
So, I am off. Some sunshine has popped through so I might play outside and see what shots I can get. Peace......Bittersweet on the hill.
25 septembre Monday and I'm playing.Let me comment on my first writing assignment. The piece, which I didn't title was well received. I got some nice feed-back which I was pleased about. Unfortunately, it is a piece that will go in a drawer and be forgotten. It is nothing I care to save or spend the time rewriting. But I did enjoy creating the background, setting and narrative - even if part of it was in German. Thank you Babel Fish!
As you can see I did spend time playing with my digital camera. I took a number of shots from the dining room windows. It truly is a place I enjoy in winter especially since I can watch the birds and view the distant hills.
Today is a beautiful day as you can tell by the photos. A coolness is setting in but isn't that what September is about. I am about to run but did want to see if I could get the three photos onto this site. Until.....Bittersweet 23 septembre A good but rainy day! Last night it rained and the forecast is for rain all weekend. But...I love rain especially at night. It gives me a sense of contentment and peace. Perhaps it is the rhythm or background sound of falling rain but I find it very soothing.
Well yesterday I started my new writing class. Our assignment was about "aboutness" - being in the moment. (A short explanation.) Anyway, one of the strongest images in my mind was from the movie Julia staring Fonda and Redgrave. The background was prior to WW II and the Underground Resistance was at work. I think I'll always remember the scene of Fonda waiting at the train station- waiting for the train to pull in waiting for Redgrave. Anyway, I used that setting for my piece except that I was waiting at the train station. The oppression, the fear, the power of the train, the sound of the goosesteps of the patrolling soldiers etc. I can only wait for my classmates to read and respond to this. Everyone has these wonderful one paragraph pieces and I have this two page piece interspursed with German dialogue! They're going to read this and just shake their heads! lol
Part of this morning's agenda is to get a new compact flash card for my digital camera. My camera came with a card that only stores 12 pictures - if you can believe that. I'm always having to delete one to add one that I would like. So finally I said enough is enough. I have to give "S" a run for her money!!!! She has some beauties on her site of the Taos River and chapels in northern NM. Always a treat to visit her site.
So before the day runs away, I shall read and critique my classmates work. Have a good one. Peace....Bittersweet
19 septembre Well....today is my birthday!Another year older and....... Ahh yes, those years add up but I am quite content with this period of my life. Actually, very, very content. I wish more people had that state of contentment and calm that I am blessed with. Yes, there are always problems but on balance- a good time in my life. I believe you create your world and you work at finding the beauty in your day. Big expensive things never interested me so long as I have that sense that sense of safe haven for body and soul I am just fine.
Yesterday I spent a good part of the day working on some of the quadrants of my garden as well as finishing most of the iris bed. I was so pleased with myself and then someone gave me a blue hydrangia and a trumpet vine. They got planted Sunday and now I just have to spread bone meal in different places. So long as some unsuspecting bulbs (that I may have ordered in the spring,) don't arrive, I may be fine for the fall. Slowly I can close things up.
We were blessed with several beautiful day but I fear the rain and cold weather will present itself today. I know, I know, 60's and sunny can't be considered cold. Anything that requires more than a tee-shirt is considered cold.
Today I start my new on-line course, Prose and Poetry. I'm really looking forward to that course especially since it forces me into greater discipline. With weekly assignments you can't just run and play! But enjoying down and quiet time are my most sought after moments so I will be in my glory. Peace to all. Bittersweet. 15 septembre Sitting with coffee in hand. I am sitting with coffee in hand and listening to the rain. We've had a consistent and heavy rain throughout the night that is expected to continue throughout most of the day. I've noticed a few saturation spots in the fields and I'm sure the streams are running high.
Today I'm going to sign up for an online poetry course. Somehow just taking a course keeps me focused on getting my poetry written. It's too easy to get lost in reading, writing reviews of books or just blogging! And I spend a lot of time reading on the internet so, good things and not so good things!
For those of you who haven't visited my friends blog - photographer from New Mexico, take a minute and view her photos. She was picked as one of the choices for this week's outstanding blog and is truly worthy of the accolade. You'll see "S's" comments in some of the comments in my entries.
The weekend is projected to be a lovely weekend. 80's and sunny. I'm already planning for a lot of weed pulling, and work in the iris bed. I want to get some bone meal spread around and after that I really need to work with my orchids. The orchids spent the summer outside and consequently some of the leaves got really raggy. Need to trim, transplant, feed and put some new moss on some of the plants. So the weekend is pretty much spoken for.
So dear souls, do have a good weekend. Smile when you can and smile when you cann't.
By the way, my blue jays were in a real huff this morning and that is somewhat unusual. Checking the feeders out, I saw a descent of red breasted woodpeckers taking over the suet cages. They are just a tad bigger than the blue jays with strong beaks and necks to give them a run for their money! The female woodpeckers are almost as striking as the males with their very defined white and black markings. So it was rather pleasant to see a number of them there at one time. Be well. Bittersweet on the hill. 11 septembre A classic fall day. Today is a beautiful day. Clear, crisp and sunny. For those that suffer from summer's heat and humidity, this is heaven. Yes, my day started with a fire in the wood stove. Someone stopped by early and commented on how pleasant it was to smell the wood burning and see the wood cut and stacked ready for use. I guess a real sign that fall is around the corner.
I spent part of Sunday just enjoying the outdoor scenery. I was looking into the distant hillsides and there is one maple that is totally red sitting among the mostly green hills. What amazes me is that I never noticed that tree before. I had a dinner guest Saturday evening and her home sits across the field at the corner intersection. I mentioned to her which of her maples gives off the most gorgeous yellow orange folliage and the beauty of the 150 year old sycamore that sits on her property's edge. Some people might find that quirky talking about the properties of their trees but since she was a bird watcher who takes field notes sitting in the woods, I think we were both in our element! lol
Anyway, I was looking at all the sunflowers that took hold from the bird feed this past year. I have all these errant sunflowers blooming from what the birds managed to scatter. Some are across the street, behind the garage, some in my flower beds, and along the grass going down to the barn.
I have an old clothes dryer that we don't use except for hanging the bird feeders and suet cages. At that moment there were 9 such items hanging and of course it is bird heaven early each day. There was an assortment flying in and out and fortunately only one grackel left but quite the assortment of purple finches, woodpeckers and mourning doves. With the blackbirds gone, the mourning doves have returned and enjoyed the quiet and peace that comes with a quieter habitat. We have these old junipers that I keep as safe haven for the birds in winter and they are sprouting there yellow berries. Darn if i did't see a remnant hummingbird checking out the yellow berries. That dear little guy should have been gone weeks ago. But the frost will be his cue to get moving. In the mean time, the mouring doves sit in clusters in the dead elms by the stream and have an enviable view of everything around. They must be 150 feet tall with sheathless spectral branches shimmering in the sunlight. It's interesting to watch these cumbersome creatures take flight - they get spooked with anything, and cluster on these dead old elms. In fact, two people mentioned cutting these old dead elm trees down for me and I graciously declined know that my mourning doves would be lost without the protection of these high trees.
So my day begins. I will enjoy these moderate temps and the clear crisp days ahead. Peace.....and blessings to all on this 5th anniversary of 9/11. Bittersweet
3 septembre The day is starting out rather pleasantly.Labor Day weekend and lots of wind and overcast skies. The day started with a few rays of sunshine but may revert back to more wind, overcast skies and rain. Such is the case but Sunday did start with lox, bagels and cream cheese! So how can it be bad! And of course lots of coffee. And don't let me forget the wood stove going at my back!
I read excerts of the Farmer's Almanac on line yesterday. My sense of the weather is that we will have a colder than normal winter with more snow than usual. We were most fortunate last year - a warmer than usual winter. This might be that one in seven year, at least for the northeast and northwest. The slopes will get their snow.
Todays agenda is to get more painting done. Hopefully we can get the woodwork done in my bedroom etc. Yesterday we washed the living room curtains and hung them back up. It is amazing how dirty they can get. I swore they were done within the past year or two but perhaps not. And starting tomorrow, we start on the kitchen which is probably as big a project as the rest of the house. It's like where do you start!
The local church, the N. C United Methodist Chuch is having their annual Lord's Acre Sale and I'm hoping to do a lot of cleaning out if the rest of the horde permits me. Who else has ski boots in the front room and Shaker style boxes that haven't been used in ages! I can offer you every conceivable bowl and vase imaginable. You want Mexican, Dutch, how about a rooster motif, or black laquered with edelweiss, I can meet your every need. Pictures, posters - I have that too. Posters of Georgia O'keeffe's works? When I went to the National Museum of Art in 1987, Georgia's art work was on display. I picked up 6 of this and 6 of that expecting to use them as holiday gifts. There are still a few floating around. So yes, try me out!
I started reading Madeline Albright's book "The Mighty and the Almighty." An excellent read. She has some wonderful insight into the historic events of the past 20 years and the so called religious wars that are going on now. She is a very comfortable writer and references things in understandable terms. So my reading for the week. I read her first book, "Madame Secretary" and knew I was hooked.
So, we begin another busy week. Lots to get done before dinner guests next week. Until, Bittersweet on the hill. 1 septembre September 1st!Another month and summer is soon to end. There is a sadness as the outdoor frolics come to an end. I was hoping for another weekend of barbecuing but I think Ernesto has taken care of that. The last of this seasons daylillies have folded their blooms and any color reflected in the landscape will be the fall folliage. And our folliage is among the most spectacular that one can find. Yes, I take great pride in our maples; the reds, brilliant oranges and glowing yellows. They are splendid in the sunshine of the day.
I must admit I have a fire going in the woodstove this morning. The temperatures dropped into low 50's and it is pleasant to have warmth at your back. It makes for pleasant reading - comfort of body, comfort of soul.
I'm contemplating taking another on-line course, this time prose and poetry. I took the second part of this course first and now want to go back and take Part 1. I suppose many of you are thinking ....why take a course? Just write! True, but there is something about a course that keeps you directed and on target. So I shall take this 10 week course and hopefully keep the juices going.
As to the painting project, the painters got two rooms finished. Now they need to tackle the window frames, doors and baseboards. I picked a cumulus cotton, (light blue,) for y bedroom with white trim and provence cream, (light yellow,) with a light hue -straw for the woodwork and white ceiling. I bought an oriental rug last year for the living room and believe me, it is hard to match the colors. The rug has a cobalt blue background with several shades of blues and yellows with a hint of a medium light beige. A beautiful rug, but did I struggle with picking the right colors. I'm going to let that color scheme settle for a year before I re-upholster the two couches. What looked so easy has become a challenge.
At the moment the sun is trying to work it work its way through the morning haze. We probably will get a few nice hours before cloud cover and drizzle from Ernesto makes it's way north. On that note, I wish you a good weekend. Bittersweet on the hill. |
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