Cold Time/Renewal Time 2025

A warm fire

We have indeed had some cold and very windy weather here during Cold Time. We haven't had very much snow at our house, but we did have snow on the ground for the 25th. It actually came just in time for the Solstice.

Snow came on the Solstice

The weather that day wasn't the nicest, so we relaxed at home: played a game, watched a movie, had some nice healthy food and some less healthy treats as well. We don't celebrate the Solstice so much as a return of the sun, but as a joyous time of rest.

Taughannock Falls on the 25th

A few days later on the 25th, the weather was still cold, but better, so we walked at Taughannock Falls State Park in Trumansburg.

The garden rests, but the work is never really all done.

The 2024 bean harvest

I finished threshing out the beans on the 24th.

Straw on the strawberries

And I got out to put straw mulch down on the strawberry beds once the ground finally froze.

New Year's Day is my traditional time to inventory my seeds and make my order for the next garden.

The seed inventory begins

The garden has been plotted, the seeds ordered and they're on their way.

We've both been busy working on the bathroom remodel and it's really coming along.

Tub surround bracing in place

We hired a younger man with more muscles and expertise to help Bob get the new shower surround up and cemented to the walls.

Resurfaced tub

Then Bob resurfaced the cast iron tub. It would have been impossible to get the tub down the stairs, or a new one up, for that matter. We suspect that it was installed either before the reconfigured stairway and hall were finished, or before the old large window was replaced with a new, dinky one. Either way, our only options were to resurface or live with the dull blue one. 

The new finish was mighty stinky for a few days, but that has all dissipated now. We're letting it cure for a while before Bob caulks the tub and surround.

In the meantime, he's been laying the new flooring.

Laying the new flooring

He just finished it before lunch today and it looks good.
Here's what it looks like right now (before his mess is cleaned up).

Bathroom on Jan 13

Next, he'll begin to install the trim work which I have been busy painting.

Closet door trim

I'm still working on the entrance door and have yet to do the window and entrance door trim.

Our evenings have been used to pursue renewal.
I have been knitting.

Sweater in progress

I finished Bob's sweater in December and am working on one for myself.

Often Bob reads aloud while I knit. We're reading a volume on daily life in early America in this way.

We also have our own books that we read. Bob's currently reading about a naturalist that lived in Maine. I'm reading a guide to North American fossils. It shows me how much of my college geology I have forgotten!

Of course, I've always got my harps to challenge my brain power and my patience. And we're nearly finished watching the David Attenborough DVD set, The Life of Birds. Very interesting.

We wouldn't mind if the sun took a little bit longer to return, but we can't stay the cycles of the universe. In the month ahead we'll slowly begin the transition to more activity and preparation for growth ahead. But there's still some time left for renewal.

We hope this finds you all well, safe and feeling soul nourished.
Till next time,
Kathleen and Bob

Lower Falls at Taughannock State Park 12/25

This is the big falls 215'

Bright Time/ Flowering Time 2024

Tiger Swallowtail on Rhododendron

Garden season is in full swing here. 

Setting out peppers

It began with setting out warm weather plants and sowing seeds.

Furrows for beans

Now things are well on their way.

Pole Beans

Potatoes

Tomatoes

Bush Beans

Sweet Potatoes

We're harvesting our early crops, as well.

Lettuce and Kale

Garlic Scapes

Tat soi and Lettuce

Strawberries

Most of the harvest so far has been eaten right away. We have frozen 30 pints of strawberries and one large batch (7pints) of rhubarb sauce.

Rhubarb sauce oven ready

Most of this work was done before June 10th. That will be the pivotal date for us this summer.

That morning I slipped on the wet ramp leading into our garden shed. I fell very hard on my right side and broke the humeral head of my right shoulder. (Of course, I am right-handed!) 

On the "disabled play list"

The good news is that I won't need surgery. The bad news is that I have a horrendous bruise and my arm is immobilized for at least four weeks. Then, according to the orthopedist, we'll see about getting the sling off, beginning physical therapy... He says three to four months to heal. All of this when garden season is just picking up. 

Adding insult to injury (literally) I can't even occupy myself with favorite pastimes of needlework and harp playing. Although, truth be told, I have started playing left hand portions of my songs just to keep up somewhat.

Most of what I did last week was nap and read. I've read three books so far. 

My personal assistant (you know who) now has his work cut out for him.

Bob learns to make garlic scape pesto

  

Bob's had to set aside his bathroom project in order to help me care for my daily needs, prep and cook meals, maintain the house, yard and garden and in general, keep life going.

He's going to learn a lot this summer: more cooking and garden care, how to freeze produce and braid my hair. He'll get to be more speedy at vacuuming and chopping vegetables, too. (I hope!) 

It will be a challenging summer for both of us.

Before my accident, we visited the Harriet Tubman Homesite in Auburn, New York. We learned an awful lot. The presentation was very interesting. The extent of my knowledge from grade school was: A) she was African American and B) she worked with the Underground Railroad. If that's the extent of your knowledge, too, take some time to learn more.

We took yesterday off to mark the summer solstice. We're in a nasty heat wave here, so we stayed inside and played a game, watched a movie and enjoyed a nice dessert. Bob helped make lemon poppyseed scones for breakfast, sweet potato burritos for lunch and blueberry cobbler for later.

Tomorrow's challenge is to harvest and freeze kale and chard. I can do some of the chopping necessary, but can't manage all of it, nor the blanching and such. Another day of learning for Bob.

Well, that's the big news for here. We've got a "tough row to hoe" but we'll make it work.

Take care. Watch out for slippery ramps. Enjoy your summer and send some good energy our way.

I'll close with pictures of two of our porch cats. We call these two Marmalade and Shadow.

Till next time,

Kathleen and Bob

Bathtime

Shadow is the cuddler

    

Long Nights Time/Darkest Depths 2023

 

Holiday Greetings

The winter solstice and the full Cold moon have passed. The Great Wheel of the seasons has turned again and Long Nights Time/Darkest Depths has waxed and waned.

Winter weather has yet to find us. Only a couple of dustings of snow and above seasonal temperatures have been our lot. Our fall cover crop of oats and peas is still thriving.

We may not have snow, but we have had Snow Geese.

Snow Geese overhead

On our daily walks the whole week before Christmas, thousands of migrating Snow Geese passed overhead.

Look at all of the lines of geese

It's really something exciting to experience. One day we were lucky enough to have a very large flock come down to feed in a harvested corn field right next to our path. (Also lucky Bob was carrying his camera!)

Coming in for rest and refreshment

We still see some stragglers going over, but the big migration is done until March.

As regards our tasks and projects:

Bob's still working on the door he's fabricating for an upstairs bedroom. The old door frame won't accommodate the size of a modern door, so he's making one out of excess old floorboards. This will make the door like some of the existing doors upstairs.

He's also doing more research and planning for the remodel of the upstairs bathroom.

I'm nearly finished threshing our beans; only two more bushels to do. I hope to finish on December 31st and start the New Year fresh.

We're finally done with our apples! Since our weather has been so warm, our root cellar is not cooling down as well as it should, so we can't keep the apples fresh all winter. 

Final batch of applesauce

In addition to eating many apples daily, we cooked some smaller batches of applesauce in the crock pot. Some of this was frozen and some eaten fresh.

The remainder of the soft apples were spread in the woods behind our house for the wildlife.

Wild Turkeys by our garden fence

The wild Turkeys that browse our woods really enjoyed them. They visited for several mornings. We saw a dozen together at times.

On the solstice we had a nice meal, relaxed and read.

Quiet holidays

On Christmas we had another nice meal, played a game and walked the North Rim Trail at Taughannock Falls State Park.

Upper falls at Taughannock

Gorge the falls empty into leading to high falls

It was a nice and restful day.

We've never gone in for noisy and late New Year's celebrations, so as is our custom, we'll read, listen to good music and perhaps watch an old movie (Holiday Affair or Bachelor Mother).

With this full moon we entered Renewal Time. I think our New Year's observance supports this well. So, our goal for our current month is renewal on all levels: physical, mental and spiritual. (Of course, they're all of a whole.)

I'll leave you with a gallery of holiday trimmings around our house. Enjoy.

Peace and health to you all in the coming year. May calmness imbue your being.

Till next time,

Kathleen and Bob

Family postcards created by my late father in law

Renewal Time/Cold Time 2022

 

Our creek on the Solstice

Snowy greetings at the end of Renewal/Cold Time. Our weather has been all over the place; unusually warm and unusually cold, rainy, foggy, icy and now snowy. Often an assortment of these conditions in the same week.

Taughannock Falls State Park

On the Solstice it was seasonably cold. We walked in our own woods, and then took a walk at Taughannock Falls. It was an enjoyable day.

Foggy Christmas day

Christmas here was green and foggy. A dreary day to relax indoors and read our holiday gift books.

The last couple of weeks we've had sleet and freezing rain periodically with cold wind chills.

Snowflakes under ice

I took this picture of the gate post in front of our house. These snowflakes are under the layer of ice! Some pretty unique circumstances would have to occur to bring that about. All of the woods around were filled with glittering ice covered trees, as if made of crystal. Lovely!

Snow this morning

Last night a strong storm came through and we went from 0 to 10" of snow overnight. It's still snowing late this afternoon. It does make everything look better. I always believe that if it's going to be winter, then there should be snow.

My garden tasks are all done for now.

Beans all done

I threshed out 11 bushel of bean pods and got 8.5 gallons of beans to put in the pantry.

Preparing the seed order

The garden plans for 2022 have all been finalized and the seeds have been ordered. Nothing more to do until I start seeds in March.

Bob's been working on the laundry room. He removed the paneling and found mold on the drywall underneath near the washing machine.

Mold on the drywall

Mold further down the wall

This didn't surprise us. When we moved in we could see that there was an untended, longstanding leak situation there. All of the drywall has been removed. The new drywall is up and Bob is now taping and mudding.

Getting a clean start

He has also done the electrical work: moved the wall switch, added a porch light and switch and pulled the wire for an electric dryer hook up.

We're making sure that we take time to rest and restore ourselves also at this time of year.

Sweater in the works

I've been knitting. I finished this sweater yesterday. Next I'll begin work on a vest for Bob. I've also been continuing to work on my harp music.

Reading has been a major activity for both of us. We've already finished a few books this season. There are many more waiting for us.

Books we're reading right now

Tomorrow perhaps we'll get out to enjoy some snowshoeing. Lots of fresh air and fresh chi await.

Oh! I forgot to mention anything about our new heat pumps. We've had them for a month and a half now and are very pleased! We are warmer than before and it's a constant temperature. We like that very much! Our first electric bill was what we consider reasonable and it saved us about $45 over what the old fuel oil boiler would have cost us. We did supplement with the wood stove on the two days that we had sub zero temperatures with 35 mph wind gusts. Not bad!

That's all of the news and views from here for now. We hope you are well and taking the time to rebuild yourselves.

Till next time,

Kathleen and Bob

Solstice walk

At Taughannock Falls State Park