Darkest Depths/Long Nights Time 2025

The Wolf Moon 

 
The time of Long Nights is slipping away. Now we enter the time of cold. Remember the old adage, "As the days lengthen, the nights strengthen.".

We'll address the weather first since many of you have heard reports about New York and may be wondering. 

At our house, we've only had about 3" of snow. We have had many days of strong winds (sometimes gusting to 50 mph), and below zero windchills. Those subzero wind chills have interfered with our daily walks. Our route is far too exposed to be safe in this weather.

My hometown at the eastern edge of Lake Ontario has gotten hammered. Some of you are sitting amid the snowbanks right now. Try to stay warm and enjoy the forced confinement.

Holiday trees

We enjoyed a quiet and restful Solstice and Yuletide. Evening fires in the woodstove to counteract the cold winds, reading and a few special treats to eat.

Projects have kept us busy this month.

Footstool project begins

Bob bought an old footstool at a charity garage sale. The top fabric and cushioning needed to be replaced.

New padding goes on

He removed the old materials and cut out new padding from some old wool blankets.

New padding all on

After securing the padding, he cut a new top out of some heavy duck fabric.

New fabric all on

The recovered top was reattached to the base and now we have a footstool large enough for both of us to share. All of these materials were in my stash.

Finished product

Last year's beans have all been threshed out. There are fewer beans than usual, but I'm sure we'll get by with all of the leftovers from last year.

Total 2025 crop

Yesterday I ordered the seeds we need for this year's garden. We didn't need too many.

Choosing seeds

This year I'm going to try another pole habit drying bean. It's a black bean reportedly from the Narragansett tribe of Rhode Island. I'm excited to see how this one turns out.

Last year's trial bean, 5,000-Year-Old Cave Bean, turned out to be quite good. I'll plant that one again this year.

Bob's annual sweater was finished this morning!

Model strikes a pose

 

I often knit this pattern for him, varying the colors and patterns, because it fits his slim build very well.

In our season of rest, we've spent a good deal of time reading, each having finished several books already.

Generally, our evenings are spent reading aloud while sitting in front of the fire. We recently finished The Outermost House by Henry Beston.

A good read

Mr. Beston wrote of the year that he spent living on the Outer Beach of Cape Cod. He sought the seclusion of the beach in an effort to recover from the trauma of his World War I service. We found it to be very interesting.

Now we are reading The Slabsides Book . This book is about the woodland cabin of naturalist John Burroughs. We found this, as well as four volumes of Burroughs nature writings at the local library book sale. We plan to read all of them soon.

Who's at the feeder?

Our reading area looks out on our bird feeders, so we get great opportunities for watching the birds from the comfort of our living room.

Phase 1 complete

Work continues (slowly) on my hardanger piece. The project has three distinct phases: surface embroidery, cutting and lacework and counted cross stitch embellishments.

This week I finished phase 1. Now I begin with phase 2, which involves cutting into the piece and stitching in lacework. There's a ton of that to do.

A great find

 
On an unrelated note, we found this queen sized, handmade quilt in the thrift shop for $5.99. Yes, the decimal point is in the correct place! The craftsmanship, or perhaps craftspersons-ship, is very good. I brought it home to recognize and honor the creator's effort and spirit.

We hope that you have enjoyed any holiday which you may celebrate, and that you have eluded the flu and other illnesses. There's still time to relax and renew before the season of rebirth and growth. We hope you will take advantage of the time.

We'll be here; by the fire reading, or crafting, or playing games. Continuing to enjoy this golden period.

Till next time,

Kathleen and Bob

Warming the kitty-cicle

"Whose woods these are..."

Blustery Winds/Awakening Time 2025

Bright Blooms

We are now finished with the month of Blustery Winds/Awakening. Frankly, the weather has been pretty crumby, with below normal temperatures and nearly every day gloomy and drizzling. Two warm and sunny days in a row would be so nice.

Fog over the garden

I have yet to even walk down to the garden. With my binoculars I can see that the garlic is up. This coming Thursday is supposed to be fairly nice, so I plan to get down there at that time.

A large flock of grackles

One sign of spring is the return of the grackles and blackbirds. Our large trees are often filled with them. Sometimes they all come to the ground to find food. A large flock can cover the ground not only in our yard, but the neighbor's too.

Potting up seedlings

My plant starts are all growing downstairs. This week I will begin to harden off all of the cool weather plants. I purchased my seed potatoes yesterday and am ready to sow my peas. This year will be my 32nd garden. That's almost half of my lifetime!

This is the first winter in 14 years that we haven't had a remodeling project to work on. We've been relaxing more and working on other things.

Harp wheels done

 Bob finished off my harp wheels kit. This is a small dolly that straps beneath the harp and makes moving it so much easier. This is my large harp. It stands 58" tall, is 28" at its widest point and weighs 24#. Since I'm only 63" tall, it can be quite a handful for me to move. I rarely move this harp, but it's nice to have the dolly for the times I do need to move it.

Bob's also been busy preparing for a presentation on home energy efficiency which he's going to give at an Earth Day event on the 26th.

The rest of his time has been spent in various committee and board  meetings, and protest events.

Ithaca protest

Ovid protest, National Day of Protest

I have joined him on three of these protests. All but one have been in cold wind, rain and sometimes snow.

Warming up!

After one event, we were so cold we came home and sat under covers in front of the woodstove all evening. Fortunately, I had thought ahead and had soup all warm in the crockpot. Soup is always a good "warmer upper".

Beeswax wraps in the making

I've been busy, too. I decided I needed some smaller beeswax wraps, so I made eight of those.

I finished the sweater I was knitting and have begun work on a summer top.

Summer top begins

I really like the pattern stitch on this one.

Harp practice and reading round out my time.

Watkins Glen walk

 

The weather has been so unpleasant that we've only gotten out once. We walked the North Rim trail at Watkins Glen State Park. Even though it was cool and cloudy, we enjoyed getting out in nature.

We're hoping that warmth and sun will find us soon. This prolonged grey and cold is really beginning to bug me. So much to distress us these days. Some days are harder than others. It's too bad that I paid so much attention in Mr. Mathison's American Civics class.

Hope you're able to hang in there and that the sun and warmth find you soon, too.

Till next time,

Kathleen and Bob

New protest signs

Flip side of new signs

Stay at Home / Cleansing Time 2024

 

Our creek filled with snowmelt & rain

There goes another month. We stayed at home most of Stay at Home Time, but then, we stay at home most of the time.

During this month Bob's begun the hands-on bathroom remodeling. Aside from a couple of items on order, the supplies have been delivered. Most are in the cellar, but the tub surround currently stands in my kitchen.

Tub surround in a box.

The first step in the process was to remove the plumbing access cover, which is in the downstairs bathroom.

That access cover is heavy!

Next, he removed the Masonite, tub surround, and old gypsum board from the tub area. We were pleased to find the mold in this area to be minimal.

Quite a bit of time was devoted to improving the blocking in that area to make the walls straight. That's an old house (174+/- years) thing.

Tub blocking. That's original wallpaper, folks!

Once Bob and his level had completed that chore, he installed cement board which will back the new tub surround. He just finished that job this morning.

Bathroom on Feb 25th

Next, he'll drywall above the cement board and mend the ceiling in this area. Then it's me and my trusty paintbrush.

He decided to begin with the tub area because it's easily isolated and allows us to use the toilet and sink a little while longer.

Bob at Cornell

The Wildlife Center asked Bob for some more perches, which he was very happy to supply.

They wanted "bark on" perches of specific sizes for the injured critters. It only took Bob a couple of hours and got him out of the bathroom and into the fresh air on a pleasant day. In addition to that, he was able to use a Box Elder tree that needed to come down anyway. He really enjoys doing these little projects for them.

Load of perches ready to go.

I have spent extra time this month on needlework projects and harp practice. 

It was time to refurbish my outdoor winter ware, so I dipped into my stash again and made up a scarf with matching mittens and an ear band (I don't wear hats!) with matching mittens. Then I raveled a pair of mittens (I didn't like the way they fit) and am reknitting those.

Busy needles

I've spent just a little more time on my hardanger piece which I mentioned last month. I finished the embroidery on one end this morning.

One end done.

This month also allows me more time to spend on harp practice. Right now I'm focusing on these two books, while still keeping up on the pieces I've already learned.

My current music focus.

 

In an effort to improve our energy efficiency, we've finally been able to upgrade our plant start lighting from fluorescent bulbs to LED grow lights. I'm looking forward to seeing improvement in both our electric use and plant growth.

New LED grow lights are really much brighter!

Cleansing Time is the other half of our month's designation. This is a cleansing aimed at removing obstacles to growth and vision. It means taking time to think about what we really want in life and considering what is standing in the way of achieving it. Obstacles may be material, emotional, relational, ... Once identified, taking appropriate action is the next step. 

A thoughtful time.

This year, we did not see so many material goods that needed to be shed right now. What we did see was change needed in thought patterns and habits. This is in many ways more difficult work. It will be well worth the effort.

That's what our month has looked like. Great seasonal changes loom just ahead - both in the out of doors and in our internal lives.

Look forward to the change of seasons, while still resting in the end of this season of refreshment.

Till next time,

Kathleen and Bob

Ever optimistic Daffodils!

Cold Time/Renewal Time 2024

 

Time to relax by a cozy fire

Cold Time has ended on a warm note. This month we have had some cold and snow, but nothing too extraordinary. We did have a couple of hefty windstorms. There was no damage to the house lot, except for some small, dead branches that came down. We haven't yet taken the time to check for damage in our woods.

For the Renewal portion of the month, we've both been doing a good deal of reading. Additionally, I've been doing some needlework.

Bob's sweater being blocked

I've finished Bob's Christmas sweater (late, I know). All that's left is to sew on the buttons this weekend.

This year's piece: pansy runner

I've also been working on a hardanger project. I have a pill I take every Sunday morning. I can't eat for two hours after taking it, so my routine is to spend an hour to an hour and a half working on this piece. It's the only time I get to work on it through the week. Hopefully I'll finish it by April or May, since it has pansies embroidered on it.

I am also knitting a ski mask for Bob. The winter wind on our daily walk is hard on his face. I should have this done by Monday, when our cold temperatures are supposed to return.

Now, on to our projects.

Bob's been busy planning the second-floor bathroom update. The supplies have been ordered and should be delivered at the end of this week or the beginning of next. 

This is the last room to be totally revamped, and in my opinion, wins the award for the most "Gawd Awful"! I'm not alone in this view. We had the code officer in a few years ago on another matter. He walked into that room and said, "Whoa! This will be the next room to do!".

Here's a gallery of "before" shots for your pleasure (?).

Open the door and walk into a wall

Note the lovely gold marble masonite board ala 1960 something. I'm sure it was ugly then. Age, discoloration and pealing surface have not enhanced it.

Peaking around the wall 

Lovely blue tub and surround

The surround and tub have no caulking. We're sure the drywall behind must be a disaster. The teddy bears make me cringe.

Old vanity cabinet with water damage

The toilet was replaced before we bought the house. Everything else is "vintage". The vanity is water damaged inside and stinks from whatever chemicals were stored in there for years. Yuck!

Very large closet, missing doors

This huge closet is not very useful. We use it as a dressing room. There were broken bifold doors on it, which Bob has already removed. We will make this a much smaller and more useable space.

I am currently painting the new closet doors, trying to get a jump on what work I can.

New closet doors in process

Even as I type this, Bob is finishing the hanging of the new door for the second upstairs bedroom. This house had definite door issues. All of the doors were either missing entirely or damaged. This one was missing. Only the hinges remained.

New matches old quite well

New latch going on

As a reminder that winter does not last forever, I've finished planning out my 2024 garden, and the seed order has arrived.

Some of this year's selections

We haven't gotten out too much this winter, but wildlife sometimes comes to us.

This week we had a Northern Goshawk shopping at our birdfeeders. We thought it was great. Our avian regulars did not agree.

Wild turkeys have visited a few times. This last group numbered 24.

Turkeys heading back into the woods

So, while our month hasn't been entirely rest filled and relaxing, our projects have not been too taxing. Perhaps next winter we can relax a bit more. It's something to aim for. 

Next we look ahead to Cleansing Time, when we examine, assess and make alterations in our lives. It's like a late-winter garden clean up in preparation for new growth.

We hope you have enjoyed a time of rest and renewal. Perhaps you might consider "tending your own garden" to encourage growth.

Till next time,

Kathleen and Bob

Wild Turkey