Some Very Needed Time Away...

I know some of you are missing my posts, and I know I haven't had so much to say lately.  I'm doing ok though, and during this hiatus I've been following along with your posts.  My time away began as a time-budget thing.  It was really hard for me to manage my time because of my new job.  I pretty much came home, cooked supper, tended to as many chores as I could manage, and hit my pillow already asleep.  I wouldn't trade my job for anything though.  Love it!  As much as I love to post things on my blog, I had to cut back in one area for the success of other important areas.  For those of you who haven't given up on me yet and are still reading this, I thank you and am humbled.

When our winter finally broke, that began a whole new arena for me to spend any extra inkling of my time.  I usually have all sorts of new plantings and the occasional new flower bed happening.  This year is a little different though.  I dialed it back.  Oh, I still have new plantings don't worry about that.  I just didn't get too crazy with the creativity this year.  I have just enough planted that I feel like there's something pretty to look at. 

I never really had an annual color theme thing going on here.  I usually planted whatever sparked my fancy and tied it all together.  This year, I don't know why, but I decided to have a "Color Theme" with my annuals.  I think an Annual Color Theme will be fun!  Maybe I could create whole new bedding ideas with this?!  For my First Annual Color Theme, I've decided to go with something of a Patriotic palette.

I don't have any photos of that yet (I'll try to do that soon!), but I do have a couple I took of my bleeding hearts. I absolutely swooned over them this year.  They were just so striking, and there were so many bloom spikes that lasted for weeks and weeks!  Our weather must have been just right for their liking.

There was also another thing going on for me during this time.  Well, ok, a kinda big thing.  And this big thing has been going on for some time now.  Nearly 3 years to be exact.  And it was getting bigger.  You'll have to trust me on this, bigger is not always better.  It brought along with it many complications; quite debilitating at times!

So after dealing with far too many evil complications, much contemplation, much self-reflection, and a great big deep breath...

2.  Days.  Ago.  I.  Did.  Something.  About.  It.

The new me.

Each day has been a tiny bit better than the previous one.  Tiny is good.  I'm up on my feet, albeit a bit unsteady and a bit achy, I am up on my feet!  I'm a very lucky girl; my family and friends have been so supportive of me.  Somebody needs to tell me to knock it off and try to rest after all!

Now, a whole new chapter awaits me.  And I can hardly wait to see what and where it will bring me.  So my flower beds will keep till next year.  I'll be ready.  For now I'm content to have my little uncomplicated plantings.  Amen.

Early Spring Quietude

 

 Not very far from the farm is a single-lane bridge that nobody has used for quite some time now.  I'm not sure that is would be very safe to actually drive across it these days though.  But then again, I've seen the river so high that the water is actually rushing across the floor boards.  On closer inspection, it's surprising to see that the floor boards aren't nearly as rotted out as you'd think they should be.  It stands as a testament to how well-built things were  "back in the day."  I sometimes wonder what year it was built, and I try to imagine how many changes in cars there were from the time it was built, until the last one drove across it.  If only it could talk!  It may not be as beautiful or interesting as the covered bridges we all love (we've got those around too!), but I always thought that this was an interesting structure and beautiful in its' own way.

(here's how it would look without the effects)

What's a dog to do with so much snow?

 Aha!! Have snow cones of course!!

Mmmmm....very happy.

Post Christmas Snowfall

In spite of all of the rain (yes, rain!) we had for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, we still managed to keep our blanket of snow so we could have our white Christmas.  Albeit a sort of shiny, glazed-over-looking snow, it was still snow!  I woke up yesterday to find it looking like a snow-globe outside!  Giant new fluffy snowflakes.  And lots of them!  My son took off to go skiing in all of that new-fallen powder.  That's the best!!  It's been a long time since I've gone skiing.  Maybe one of these days, I'll surprise him and go too!  If it's like riding a bike, I'll be ok.  Otherwise, I'm sure I'll provide plenty of antics that'll certainly keep him amused for hours!


Here's the view from one of the bedrooms yesterday at mid-day.  Sorry about the slight "checkerboard effect," I shot this from the window and the screen is a little noticeable when the picture is expanded.  The weatherman called for us to get 4" and I'd say that we received more like 7.  Nonetheless, it is so pretty!  I always love the peaceful quiet of a snowfall.  Everything seems so hushed.

It didn't stop snowing till mid-day today.  Today I took a look around to see how much we finally ended up with, and here's how my gazebo looked at mid-day today.  Of special note:  there is B-L-U-E sky overhead!  Something we haven't seen in eleven days.  Whew, was it ever good to feel the sun on my face again!

And, as the sun was finally setting, another unusual sight appeared....

Do you see it there?  It's just through the branches of the spruce.  We haven't seen Mr. Man in the Moon for eleven days now either, and I gotta say, it's nice to see him again, too.

~~Diana

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like...

Well, it looks as though Mother Nature has plans for us!  And from what I'm hearing, I think we're in good company.  We're in the midst of getting our first measurable snowfall of the season.  I always think Christmas lights look so much prettier with a blanket of snow.  So far, it looks like we only have a 2-inch blanket, but more is expected!  I just had to run out and snap a quick picture of some of our decorations.  I left the flash on so the falling snowflakes would show up.  If you look closely at the lower right-hand side of the picture, you'll see that we had a little four-legged visitor hop across the yard not too long ago.

Guess Who Came to Town Last Night??

Last night we took a little drive for a once-a-year event.  The Canadian Pacific Railway has a Holiday Train that makes stops around various northern US and southern Canadian locations.  This is the first year that we've gone to see it, and we weren't disappointed.  It was absolutely worth braving the cold!  The local radio station was there, along with a group of a-Capella singers.  The train was decorated with hundreds of moving and flashing lights for Christmas, and was truly a sight to behold.  There were hundreds of people there, and such an energy in the air!  The train pulled into town nice and slow so you could have a good look.  It was a great photo op, and it looked to me as if everyone had a camera.  I know I did!

 

Once they stopped, one of the boxcars was opened up to reveal a stage.  There was a really great band (The Odds and Shaun Verreault) that performed for half an hour, and Santa Claus even opened up the show!  They played a mix of songs with a very interactive round of Jingle Bells that all of the children loved!  At the end of the show, Santa came around the crowd and handed out candy canes to the children.  It was a wonderful experience.  If you're in the north central part of the US and you can possibly make it to this event, I would recommend that you do!

One of the main purposes of this event is to raise monetary and non-perishable food donations for food banks.  Canadian Pacific then delivers, and donates this to the Second Harvest Heartland, and Emergency Food Shelf Network charities here in the States.  The donations they pick up in Canada go to Food Banks Canada.  At this time of year, it is especially rewarding to remember those who are struggling during these particularly challenging times.  What a wonderful way to keep the Christmas spirit alive!

Harvesting...Finally!

We've certainly had a strange year.  We had plenty of rain, and plenty of cool weather.  I've heard several different farmers (in different areas of the midwest) say that it's been the worst growing season they can remember.  This fall's rain has made it tough for the farmers to pick their corn and combine their beans.  I was beginning to think that the field behind my yard wasn't going to get picked until we had a hard frost.  There's just so much moisture in the corn, it would take a hard freeze to dry it out.  Here's how it looked mid-day yesterday.

A few hours later, I thought I heard some rumbling sounds coming from the other end of the field.  Sure enough, there was not one, not two, but three combines out picking the corn.  By the time I could grab my camera and run to the back of my yard, two of them had already made their first pass.

I hung around and waited just long enough for the third one so I could get a picture.  It was beginning to get dark and my camera couldn't focus too well so my pictures aren't the greatest.  I set my f-stop all the way down and hoped for the best.  Kind of looks like there may have been an issue focusing with the lack of light.

I've been wanting to have a bonfire, but have been holding off because I didn't want to set the field on fire!  Our bonfire pit is at the back of our yard and it's pretty close to the field.  Hopefully the weather will hold out for us so we can have that fire.  Tonight is supposed to be dry and 38° so keep your fingers crossed!


Don't you just love sitting around a fire?  We don't have a fireplace (gasp!), but we do have a nice-sized bonfire pit!  Hey, it works for me.  I don't know about you, but we could sit around a fire all night just staring at it and exchanging small talk.  I sometimes wonder why we humans have such a fascination with fire.  And as long as I'm thinking about it...I should add water to that primal fascination list.  Wouldn't it just be so perfect to have a hot tub with a fireplace nearby?  I'd be so happy in absolute heaven!

Let the Baking Begin!

What a surprise we had yesterday morning!  We woke up to find that it had s-n-o-w-e-d.  Less than an inch, but it was snow.  Thank goodness it didn't stick!  I know it's November, and it's the right time of year the for that.  I'm just never quite ready for winter and the inevitable snow and f-f-f-reezing temps that come along with it.


One of the things that I do love about this time of year is that it's baking season for me.  I tend not to bake nearly as much when it's hot in the summer  But when the temps cool off, I'm always ready to bake just about anything, especially for our family gatherings.  Besides, is there anybody who doesn't like their home smelling like a bakery?  My son came in the house the other day and wanted to know what I was baking.  When he thinks he smells something baking, in true "guy tradition," he's always ready to be first in line!  My oven was off and I wasn't baking a thing.  I had a candle burning, and it sure smells good!  It was one of Paula Deen's Cinnamon Pecan Swirl candles, and boy does it smell like the real thing.  If you haven't tried this one yet, I heartily recommend it.  Oh, and don't worry, my son didn't go empty-handed for very long.  I did bake up some cookies!



One of my brothers has a really big cookie fetish.  From as far back as I can remember I've called him Cookie Monster.  He joined us yesterday for Thanksgiving, so of course I baked a batch of cookies just for him.  Enough to fill a tin so he could bring them home.  This time I made Shortbread Cookies with giant Ghirardelli kisses.

I was so busy yesterday with all of the preparations, baking and cooking!  I was so busy in fact, that I didn't think to grab my camera so I barely have any pictures of the food at all.  I did manage to take a quick shot of one of the pans of dinner rolls I baked.  They've kind of developed their own reputation, and are pretty popular around here.  And they're big.  Really big.  You could use one of these babies for a hamburger bun.  The pan in this picture is a vintage one that used to belong to one of my neighbors when I was a kid.  She always kept an immaculate yard and garden, even into her late 80's.  And she did all of that work by herself (including the mowing!).  Oh, her flower beds were so amazing!  When she passed away her daughters held a sale, and I bought her muffin pans.  She used to make the most delicious muffins, and she'd share them with us too!

I hope everyone had a wonderful, blessed Thanksgiving.

Now.....let's all enter the "100 Ways to Be Creative with Leftover Turkey" zone!!

A Witch's Brew Tale

Every year my community holds a Halloween Party in our Community Building.  It's great fun for kids of all ages.  There are prizes for kids costumes, and a Halloween Treat Decorating contest.  I always wanted to enter something in the Treat Decorating Contest, but inevitably something always came up, or I got busy, or I just never got around to it.  Well last year was my year.

I baked up a batch of sweet little Kitty Cat Cookies, and whipped up a Witch's Brew Punch.  Instead of serving it in a plain old punch bowl and cups, I used a pumpkin and mini pumpkin gourds.  I carved out a pumpkin and put my brew in it!  I was going for best decorated here, and I really wanted to win!  I also carved out a few mini pumpkin gourds and painted "blood" drooling from the top where I cut the tops off.  I completed the look with spooky black gauze, some festive fall leaves, spiders, bats, and a snake (all fake of course!).  But the one thing that I thought would really put me over the top, and hopefully sway the judges, was the dry ice I added to my Brew!  I would have added a bright red glow-stick as well (for an eerie red glow!) , but I knew the lighting at the party would be too bright for it to be effective.  Anyway, I was just sure my creativity would give me the win!  Ha!!!

Well...as it turns out, I did win.  It was a win by default.  You see, I won because I was the only entrant in the contest!!!  Who would've guessed?!  A little competition would have made it more satisfying, but none the less it counts as a win in my book.  ;)

Here's my first place win in the 2008 Halloween Treat Decorating Contest...

Witch's Brew:
1 32oz Fruit Juicy Hawaiian Punch
1 2-liter 7-up
1 pint of sherbet  -  your choice of flavor
1 fairly large pumpkin (the round kind - not the tall variety)

It's nothing fancy, just your basic traditional party punch; just combine everything in your pumpkin and very carefully add some dry ice.  Yes!  The punch is perfectly safe to drink even though there is dry ice in it...as long as the dry ice stays in the pumpkin.  When dry ice melts, it produces a gas (the steam).  It is not safe to allow dry ice to touch any part of your body, especially your mouth!!  Just keep it in the pumpkin and enjoy the swirls of steam in there.  Adult supervision is definitely needed if little ones are around.  Just to be sure nobody got hurt, I stayed with my display for the duration of the event.



Kitty Cat Cookies:
1 bag of skinny pretzel sticks
1 bag of mini M&Ms
1 bag walnut halves

Make your favorite full batch of chocolate chip cookies.
Immediately after removing the cookies from the oven, decorate each cookie with 4 skinny pretzel sticks for whiskers, 2 walnut halves for ears, a red mini M&M nose, and 2 green mini M&M eyes.  These cookies won't stack well at all, but the cute factor makes it worth while!



I cut out pumpkins from waxed paper to place the Kitty Cat Cookies on.  I didn't think they'd be too appetizing just sitting there on that gauzy fabric!  The guests were so polite, everybody made sure that it was ok before they took a cookie!  Well, of course it was ok!  And once it was clear that it was ok, the Kitty Cat Cookies did a major disappearing act!  I think I only brought a couple home (I held them back so my guys could have a couple later).  I originally started out with a batch of 60 or so.

My pumpkin gourd cups were just for looks.  In order to actually use them, the insides of the gourds would have needed a coating of paraffin just to be safe.  I served up the punch in good old fashioned solo cups (orange of course!).  The pumpkin punch bowl was not coated, but I did scrape out every piece of string, goo and seed.  I rinsed it several times to make sure nobody had a  "chunky" Brew! 

The kids were so cute!  There were so many adorable costumes (most of them were home made), I don't know how the judges made any decisions.  The Association had a photographer set up in a corner with bales of straw and pumpkins.  The grand prize Kids Costume Contest winner was a little guy who was made up to be a fireman.  He was walking around with a firetruck made from a cardboard box that night (steering wheel, bell and all!).  His cardboard firetruck was held up by suspenders over his shoulders.  It was really well designed, and he was so shy and cute!  Everybody had a good time, went home with candy, and had their bellies filled with Halloween goodies.


Have a very safe and Happy Halloween!
~~Diana

It's a Wrap...Almost

Where did summer go?!  It seems as though it was just getting started.  Fall is definitely here to stay with its crispy air.  Most of my gardens have been nipped into dormancy, and are waiting for me to properly settle them into hibernation.  I always have mixed emotions about fall.  I adore the colors and the smell in the air.  Yet I am saddened to think that for the next 6 months everything will be just so...naked.  But for now there are glorious displays of golds, oranges and bright reds waiting to be noticed around every new turn.

I took this picture of a Marmo maple (Acer freemanii) on November 11, 2008

And this one on October 27, 2009 of the same tree.  It's kind of hard to tell the difference!

My beautiful Japanese Whitespire Birch (Betula platyphylla japonica) in a riot of bright gold.  I took this on October 21, 2009 just before it started raining.  (Sorry about the blurring on some of the branches, it was quite windy when I took this!) It rained for 3 straight days and nights, with even more wind.  The show's over now for this tree, or rather it's been relocated, as 99% of its leaves are now scattered across my lawn.  It makes such a pretty carpet!

The Bidens (Bidens ferulifolia), and Lobelias (Lobelia erinus) are still holding their own.  Even though they've stopped producing new blooms, the foliage and existing blooms are still looking pretty fresh.

I've also got a few cute little Callie Rose (Calibrachoa) blooms hanging on.

I just happened to look down at the rocks along the edge of one of my flower beds as I was walking my yard.  It was just too perfect not to photograph; all of the colors were arranged better than I could have done myself!

My Crimson Pygmy Barberry (Barberis thunbergii'Atropurpurea nana') has begun to prepare for winter too.

I found this leaf stuck to one of my benches and thought it had a very interesting pattern.  Sort of makes you think of camouflage doesn't it?

And my snapdragons are among the season finalists every year.  I have no idea what variety they are, they didn't have any plant tags when I purchased them.  :(

They're so pretty, I just don't have the heart to cut them down.  They're really much brighter in person.  The blooms are so deep and bright that they almost hurt your eyes to look at them in the sun.  I've really had amazing luck with these guys.  This snapdragon basket was drowned nearly to death when we had flooding this past June.  The entire basket went completely limp within a few hours.  I brought it into my garage hoping that it would perk up.  Whenever the weather was dry, I optimistically set it back outside again.  Nothing doing, it stayed limp, the soil stayed soaked, and eventually the leaves got crispy, but stayed green.  I set it back outside again after a month, thinking that it was a goner.  It rained again (of course!), and you'll never believe it.  In a couple of days there were all of these miraculous, tiny leaf sets popping up all over the stems!  (I really wish I knew what variety they are!)  I cut away the stems that didn't show any new growth, and found that I had lost half of my basket.  The remaining half filled in so nicely, and the new growth was just as gorgeous as the original!  Snapdragons truly should be called a resurrection plant.  I am planning to clip the spent blooms from this plant once they freeze, and dry them out.  Next spring I'll plant them in hopes that these seeds will give me beautiful color for another year.  Cross your fingers for me...

~~Diana