Tuesday, September 22, 2020

Welcome Autumn!

October's Party
By: George Cooper

October gave a party;
The leaves by hundreds came�
The Chestnuts, Oaks, and Maples,
And leaves of every name.
The Sunshine spread a carpet,
And everything was grand,
Miss Weather led the dancing,
Professor Wind the band.
The Chestnuts came in yellow,
The Oaks in crimson dressed;
The lovely Misses Maple
In scarlet looked their best;
All balanced to their partners,
And gaily fluttered by;
The sight was like a rainbow
New fallen from the sky.
Then, in the rustic hollow,
At hide-and-seek they played,
The party closed at sundown,
And everybody stayed.
Professor Wind played louder;
They flew along the ground;
And then the party ended
In jolly "hands around."

Monday, September 21, 2020

Goodbye Summer.

 

A very special recipe

It was a very good weekend! It was a very busy weekend! For the first time in a very long time, I made spaghetti sauce using my own tomatoes. For years I've planted tomato plants and never had enough ripen to make spaghetti sauce.  But this year, we moved the location of the garden and I had a great deal of success!  The recipe I used for the sauce is the one that my husband's grandmother used.  I can still remember the Saturday she came over - a short little 90+ old girl - with all of her canning paraphernalia. My daughter sat on a tall stool and wrote the recipe into our cookbook as 'little grammy' dictated each step. I'm so glad that we did!  Memories are made in strangest, most obscure kind of ways.  And this year is all about the memories we've made.  

These made me cry - alot!

A little post-canning relaxation

Just some of the spaghetti sauce I canned


Wednesday, September 16, 2020

And it is Wednesday.


Sometimes the only thing that helps is a cold IPA and a trip back in time. And yes, the cat was home.

 

Thursday, September 10, 2020

Another Thursday in captivity.


Summer transitioning into fall is such a beautiful process.  I will miss the fresh tomatoes from my garden but tasting my canned spaghetti sauce in the middle of winter will be a reminder of all that is good about summer. It's no secret that I'm not a fan of summer but I do appreciate the benefits. As I go into winter, I will keep the good memories of the summer despite the fact that summer 2020 sucked at least 99.9% of the time. 

In Paul Anka's song, Times of your Life, I just love the lyrics that say, ". . . memories are times that you borrow, to spend when you get to tomorrow". So true. I truly enjoy reliving the good times I've had with my parents and my grandparents, my aunts and uncles. I love thinking about people who have been in my life and then moved on - whether by death or by miles.  

Autumn memories get me through the dog days of summer. And summer memories get me through winter's cardboard tomatoes.
 

Tuesday, September 8, 2020

Getting closer.




What a great weekend it was! I really enjoyed the cooler weather, the not sweating, the sunshine, and the 3 days that I didn't have to sign into my computer. I did sign into my computer, but I didn't need to. 


 

I did things that I enjoyed over the weekend. Watched my nephew wrestle, spent time with family, baked, and read. I planned on sewing - trying to get a quilt quilted - but it was just too nice to spend inside. My time was better spent outside. 

It seemed that everyone was happy this weekend or maybe it just seemed that way because I was happy. I know that Labor Day was not one of my mom's favorite weekends because in a sense, it ended summer which she loved. I can remember how irritated she would get if I (or anyone else) said anything about fall or the starting of school (back in the days when school didn't start until after the holiday). I agree that there is a bittersweet aura about this time but it is one of those nice feelings - the feeling that soon there will be days during which cuddling up in quilts with a good book and a cup of coffee will be the only things accomplished.

I honestly look forward to the darkness and the cold. Maybe that reflects my personality which is definitely not brightness and warmth. For now I am happy with this transitional period of gathering what's left in the garden, decorating my Halloween treat, making soups, and generally, preparing for the cold months.

 

Thursday, September 3, 2020

It is Thursday.


 I love this photo.  Just a simple picture of an annoying rooster standing in front of the basement.  He's a poser but he's harmless.  This is unlike some of the beautiful barred rock hens that I dearly love but who peck my feet if I'm not quick enough with the feed (those little peckers!).  This year we purchased chicks from TSC because all of our hens are wayyyyyyy beyond the age of egg-laying.  Usually TSC is really good in separating their chicks into breeds but not our TSC this year!  So we bought a few hodge-podge chicks.  One of them looks like some bizarre crossbreed of Silkie and barred rock, complete with feathery feet - or claws - depending on how you look at them.  2 are clearly barred rocks which are beautiful black/grey speckled. 2 turned out to be some odd kind of mini-chick that lay super small eggs.  And then we have the 2 brown ducks.  

They are a family and I love that they are.  The ducks are clearly a couple and they waddle around the yard side-by-side with the chickens following close behind.  They jump in the little pond together, drink from the goat's water together, have breakfast together, and then finally, make their way to the coop so that they can all sleep together.

In the midst of all the hate of the world, I love watching all these different little beings live together in peace.  


Busy summer

So much for keeping up with this blog! Seems like there is always something to do and for that, I am very grateful! We finally have rain - i...