Cold Time/ Renewal Time 2020

Lunette rests while on a foggy walk

Hello again from restful Thistledown Gardens. Our weather has not really lived up to the name "Cold Time". For the most part, it's been unseasonably warm. Our precipitation has been a fairly even split between rain and snow, I'd say. We have had quite a bit of wind.

Solstice walk at Taughannock Falls State Park

On the solstice we had a nice meal and walked at nearby Taughannock Falls State Park. (We can't take Lunette so she stayed home with a peanut butter treat!). It was cold, but very lovely. You just need to dress for the weather.

Taughannock Falls on the solstice

Bob cleaning out files

On New Year's day we did our annual cleaning out of paper files. We got a lot of shredded paper to use in the compost buckets. We also had clothes, books and household items to be eliminated. All of that was taken into town the first week of the new year. We call those trips, "drop and shops". Ideally we drop off more than we pick up. We did come home with a goody this time. More on that later.






This is our time of rest and renewal, but that doesn't mean we sit around like slugs for three months. We still have a certain amount of work to do. We simply take a slower pace and be sure to include activities that enrich our souls. I have to maintain the home, feed us and keep our clothes clean.
My bean threshing project is almost completed.

Table runner begun

As part of my renewal program, I've begun work on a cross stitch table runner.











Bob still has to earn his wages at Cornell. As part of his renewal, he's been working on some woodcraft. He is not a true "woodworker", but he likes to "dabble".

Harp easel

First, for my Yule gift Bob made an easel for my Reverie Harp. The wood is from a cutting board which we bought at ReUse in Ithaca for $1. The grain is lovely, but the wood that was used had a strong odor. (Some woods have a naturally strong odor.) It made a nasty cutting board, but for this use its smell doesn't matter. All we had to buy was the hinge. Everything else we had on hand.

Easel in use

I think it turned out very well. Bob made it just by looking at a photo of the parts on line. It's nice to have an engineer about, sometimes.

My chair needed to be repaired

His next project was to repair my chair. One day when I was cleaning I noticed that the under workings of my chair were coming apart. Bob disassembled and repaired the worn wooden sections. Now it's good as new.

Some of the areas that were repaired

His current project is an antique desk which we bought on our "drop and shop" trip that I mentioned.
This secretary was just put out on the sales floor while we were at ReUse. It was a desk with a book cabinet on top. They were asking $125, but they were having a 55% off sale that day, so we paid $60 which included the taxes!

Desk "base"

When we got it home and examined it, we saw that it was really two different pieces of furniture cobbled together to make one. This often was done when pieces were damaged or worn. It's a frugal practice we would do well to copy.

Inside view of desk

Both pieces are in quite good condition. The finish is fine. The desk drawers need a little attention.
We have decided to use the two pieces separately. The top portion will be used as a cabinet after Bob makes a simple base for it.
So we got two pieces for that $60!

Top portion will become a cabinet

Bob working on the drawer slides

We've wanted a desk for some time. Right now all of our office supplies are in three different places on two floors. Preparing to mail a bill payment takes quite a bit of running here and there. Now we'll be organized. Hurray!









We'll continue to rebuild ourselves, preparing for spring. The next garden has been planned. The seeds and supplies have been ordered. Just like nature in winter, things may look lifeless, but there is life stirring underneath. Encourage the growth of your own inner garden.

Till next time,
Kathleen, Bob and Lunette

Lunette at one of her favorite haunts, Lodi Point Park

Darkest Depths or Long Nights Time 2019

Holly in our Bird Garden

We've had a mix of chores and rest here this month. More rest than chores, as it should be.

Final wood stacking

We finished off the log splitting and the splitter is stored away, safe for the winter.

Bob's got the snow thrower installed and it's all tuned up. We had a "biggish" snow last week, so it's already been used.

Sauerkraut processing

I was busy a couple of days getting sunchokes and cabbage into the fermentation crocks...

Horseradish being packed in brine

...and horseradish grated and packed in brine. Bob did the digging and most of the grating. I did the scrubbing and jarring up.

These tasks finished up my autumn "to do" list.







The winter chores list is much smaller: thresh out the beans (me), maintain the equipment (Bob) and restore ourselves (all three of us).

Bean threshing has begun

Lunette's begun her task of resting (face is on her "kitty")

Bob's sweater being blocked

I finished Bob's annual sweater. I've started a second that will be suitable to wear at work. He doesn't like to wear the good ones there for fear of snagging or getting grease on them. I just whip up a simple acrylic one in that case. (Or we buy one at the thrift shop.)









We've spent quite a bit of time reading and working jigsaw puzzles. I'm getting more practice in on my harp. I'm bogged down in Lesson 6.

Hard work, but satisfying

Winter occupations make the season just fine with us!













We don't have any big plans for the holidays. A few special dishes at meals, some special treats. We didn't make our traditional fruitcake because I "dropped the ball" and didn't buy the necessary ingredients! Well, we do something else instead. That makes life interesting.

We wish you all a season of peace, rest and restoration; body, mind and soul.

Till next time,
Kathleen, Bob and Lunette

Peace and Light to one and all

Frost Time / Seed Fall 2019

Fall fruit: apples and pears

We're officially in late autumn. The leaves are off most of the trees, the fields are brown and we've come to the end of our month of Frost Time / Seed Fall. It's been a month of tying up loose ends.

Trimming off the dried bean vines

Next year's garlic has been planted. The final garden harvests have been completed. "All is safely gathered in, ere the winter storms begin."

Bob and Lunette shredding garden debris

The beds have been cleaned out and the debris has been shredded to become mulch. All of the beds have been covered with a nice cozy mulch blanket for the winter.

Indoors the work has been going on in the kitchen. I've made applesauce which has gone into the freezer.

Banana Bonanza

Our neighbors came into a windfall of bananas which they generously shared with us. There were too many for the two of us to eat, so I dried most of them into chips for winter use. A home dehydrator is such a useful item!

Two quarts of banana chips

On October 31, we took time to remember family members who have passed away. We remembered the ladies by having a special lunch featuring foods with special connections to each of them.

Feast of Remembrance lunch

Grandma Neill's bean and potato soup, rolls for Roxanne, black olives for Grandma Vera, Grandma Wise's pineapple cookies and danish to honor Mom Carol and Grandma Rosso.

It was a nice way to remember them.

A blank slate means possibilities!

This is the slate where I write down tasks to be done each day. In this season it is sometimes blank. It's a time for us to get a bit of rest and recreation.

Goodies from the fall book sale

We picked up some books, puzzles and patterns at the semi annual charity book sale in Ithaca. We will be enjoying these in the quiet months ahead.

Mushroom soup and whole wheat sourdough English muffins

It's the season to enjoy a soup supper in front of the woodstove. Quiet evenings of reading, games, hobbies and friendly conversation. Nature is at rest, and so are we.

We hope that you, too will take time to rest and nourish your souls.






Till next time,
Kathleen, Bob and Lunette

Oak sapling outside our window in its fall colors

Song Time / Falling Leaves Time 2019

Happy Autumn, All!

The moon is nearly full and another month is coming to an end here at Thistledown Gardens. It's been a busy one, as expected. And yet, not as hectic as harvest time.

Kathleen and Lunette digging fingerling potatoes

This month we finished the potato harvest and have gathered the sweet potatoes, all with Lunette's help.

Digging Sweet Potatoes

We ended up with about three bushel each of "regular" potatoes and sweet potatoes. Since we didn't plant any winter squash or pumpkins this year, three bushel will not be too many sweet potatoes for us to use.

Dry land cranberries

I harvested our cranberries...

Good Mother Stollard beans drying on the vine

...and have been picking the dry beans as they are ready. It's always a race to get them picked and under cover before the steady fall rains begin. They can't be picked before they're mature and that takes a long time unless the weather's hot and dry.







We still have parsley, chard, kale, beets and carrots standing. The greens will probably be pulled in the next week because we want to get the beds ready for winter. I hope to bring in the beets and carrots the last week of October.

Some of the chard plants

Carrot and beet bed

I'll plant next year's garlic at the end of October as well.











As I empty the beds, Bob clears out any weeds and fallen acorns (there are a ton this year!), and covers each with a mixture of organic matter: leaves, plant residue, rotted wood, ground acorns, wood ash... He runs all this through his chipper/shredder so it will decompose quickly.

Bob cleaning up a bed

On some of the beds he sows a cover crop that will winter kill.

Hen of the Woods mushrooms

Bob and Lunette found some more Hen of the Woods mushrooms in the woods this fall. We now have three pints chopped and in the freezer. One of our winter soups is Mushroom Barley made with Shiitake and Hen of the Woods and lots of parsley. Very tasty and healthy!








We've had some cold here, and rain, but no frost for us yet. On those inclement days, we've been preparing for winter inside the house. I washed all of the windows, inside and out. I also washed and ironed all of the curtains.

Oiling the dining room furniture

I oiled all of the wood furniture that needs that treatment as protection against the dryness of wood heat.

First fire of the season

We've had two small fires to prepare our soapstone stove for the upcoming season. The chimney's been repaired. Hopefully when it rains hard we won't have it come down into the hearth anymore. Last year's fix was inadequate, so we hired someone different to do the job this year.

Bob tackles the fireplace

Today Bob's sealing up the old air returns in the fireplace. They're no longer used and a good sized source of air leakage. They've got to go!

This week he also put new weather stripping on the bottom of our kitchen door.








Lunette's twelfth birthday was this week. Lately she stays busy as neighborhood sentinel, alerting everyone of roaming cats and deliverymen. She also enjoys a good "dig", from old mole trails to helping in the garden.

Relaxed hole digging. Note the dirty back legs!

Right now, Bob's in the middle of a two week vacation from Cornell. We're trying to get in a mix of chores and fun and relaxation. We've watched a couple of old movies, done some reading and played games. We hope to get out for a hike in the week ahead. Lunette loves having her "poppi" around more. She just adores him!

That's about all there is to tell around here for now. By the next update the garden should be all put to bed, and our season of rest begun.

See you again at the end of Frost Time/Seed Fall.

Kathleen, Bob and Lunette

One last bouquet.

Harvest/Ingathering 2019

Harvest Abundance

This has been a very busy month here. The garden was at peak production and that means plenty of work for me.

Tomatoes and squash

The tomatoes finally started to ripen. I've put up forty pints and have now been making tomato leather. This is good to use in soups and to reconstitute as tomato paste.

One big tomato!

Some of our varieties get to be quite large, as you can see.

Opalka paste tomato.

This year I tried a different sauce tomato. This is an heirloom paste tomato called Opalka. There are not as many fruit on the plant, but at this size you don't need so many. This one is only average sized. There are many twice this size!

Corn waiting to be cut off the cob

I've also frozen corn, bell peppers and Lima beans. There's just enough space left in the freezer to add a couple more boxes of kale and chard.
Harvest has also begun on potatoes and Aduki beans.
Soon I'll begin dismantling the beds of things that have finished their run.






We've also been busy splitting firewood. We sometimes get very oddly shaped pieces. We call these "Sunday wood". We like to put them in the stove on Sunday mornings and watch them burn while enjoying a cup of tea. The irregular shapes make very interesting flame patterns.

Gnarly wood with interesting grain pattern

 Out with the old...

We've had our new fuel tank installed. It's not that much to look at, but will come in handy.
Bob's got the cellar all put back in order. Nearly everything had to be shifted around so the old one could go out and the new one, in. It was a good opportunity to sort and rearrange.

...In with the new.

We had to take time out of our work to move my mother into a new room at the care center. Her mental health has deteriorated to the point that she can no longer care for her personal needs. She now is in "enhanced care". That's a level between assisted living and nursing home. She'll get more appropriate care now.
My mother is a hoarder. The staff said we must downsize her things greatly. We spent quite a time doing this in, shall we say, hostile conditions. Thankfully it's done now.

Bob has just had the first round of dental surgery for the current tooth. He comes through these with very little complaining and fuss. He just gets impatient with the length of time involved. (Over six months from start to finish.)

There's still a lot of work to come in the garden. It will be a good month before we can "put it to bed". We hope that your return to autumn routines are going smoothly.
Take the time to enjoy what I consider to be the loveliest season. Harvest of life what is good. "Put to bed" what has passed it's usefulness.
Till next time,

Kathleen, Bob and Lunette