Ice Time 2021

Ice on our creek

Tonight the moon is full and Ice Time 2021 becomes history. We've marked the Vernal Equinox and the Wheel of the Seasons is turning once more. 

Beautiful ice crystals

 

We began the month with ice edging the creeks and drainage swales.

Pussy willows

We end the month with pussy willows emerging in the meadow, spring bulbs blooming and birdsong and peeper calls beginning in earnest.

Nature ramps up her activity, and so too, do we. We have finished our time of rest and reflection, and spent time considering our next activities.

Hardanger snowflakes

 I finished my snowflake project. This is something I determined to complete in my sixth decade. (I don't have a "bucket list" so much as I have a "project pile" to realize.)

 I also got some cleaning done: kitchen drawers and cabinets, floors...

My seedlings in the cellar are coming along nicely...

Cabbage, tomatoes, asters

One down, one to go

... and we got our first dose of the COVID vaccine. Next dose is on April 8th.

Bob got the taxes done and framed the snowflake piece for me. His work at Cornell always picks up at this time of year, so he's putting in some overtime there for a while.

We decided that this summer our big project will be outside tasks. We have enough of these to last a couple of years. We'll concentrate on repairing the deck, repointing the stone foundation and painting the Bilco doors. This of course, is in addition to all of our regular summer tasks.

Daffodils from our garden

 The weather for much of the month has been much warmer than normal. Our garlic is up and the daffodils are blooming.

 I've been cleaning up the yard from winter and fixing up flower beds that Lunette had been "rearranging" before she left us.

 

Garden fix up in progress

Pruning the Nectarine

Bob's begun pruning the fruit trees...

Bob mending his fence. It's shocking!

 ...and mending the electric fence. When Lunette was on the job, Bob got lax about maintaining the fence. Now that she's gone, he'll need to keep it in good repair to keep the critters out.

Just to show that "nature abhors a vacuum", five local feral (?) cats have taken up patrolling inside our fenced area. (Lodi is the "wandering cat" capital of the county. Some are truly feral, others simply have irresponsible owners. Don't even get me started. We call them "coyote fodder".) Notice, it takes five cats to replace one Airedale. Also, cats do not hunt in the rain. Lunette would view this as very slip shod work. This must be where the term "wuss" originated.

It is strange to work in the yard without Lunette's presence.

Soon I'll be sowing lettuce, spinach and peas in the garden. Shallots have already been planted.

It's the season when things are stirring and emerging. Within us the desire to take things a little easier and enjoy nature more has been stirring. We hope to be free to stop work a little earlier each day and use the time to observe nature. Sometimes we'll go to a local park, other times we'll use our own property as an observation station. 

The difficult part will be to practice enough discipline to break away from work. Yesterday was our first attempt. It took me a while to reconcile myself to it. I know it's one of the things needed for health and wholeness, so I will dedicate myself to do this, just as I have done with a healthy diet and regular exercise. (I just realized that we've been eating healthfully for 24 years, and I've been doing a daily exercise program for 27 years. It certainly becomes a lifestyle! But it happens a day at a time.)

What's stirring in you, my friends? Now's the season of fresh growth. Something tiny perhaps? That's perfectly fine. Nourish and attend it.

Till next time,

Kathleen and Bob

Snowdrops in our ravine

Stay at Home Time/Cleansing Time 2021

 

Moonrise Feb 26,2021

Here we are at the end of another moon cycle. The month of Stay at Home Time has been primarily restful for us.

A winter trek

Most of you heard about the Nor'easter that came through our area in early February. We ended up with about 21" of snow. No power outages or damage.

We still have much of the snow cover left, but warming temperatures and increasing winds are slowly bringing it down.

We've been resting; reading and doing the little jobs that are so small they seen never to get done. (Like putting knobs on a cupboard, fixing up birdfeeders...)

We took time to complete the AARP's online driver safety course. We do this every three years. It's boring, but we get a discount on our auto insurance. It's good to get it out of the way in our "down time" and the online class was much better than spending two long days of in person classroom work.

Heel stretches 

Bob's leg has been hurting for quite some time. The orthopedist says that his custom made orthotics are worn out and he needs an updated prescription. (Age and gravity are not a good combination.)  So Bob's been busy going to weekly Physical Therapy appointments and doing his exercises three times a day. He's still waiting for his new orthotics. The pandemic is slowing the production of that sort of thing. We're hoping that the pain is gone by the time the outdoor work begins in earnest.

We finally had to buy new phones. Our old "flip phones" were wearing out and we had to move up to "iphones". Bob has also been spending quite a bit of time trying to learn how to use everything. Then he has to try to teach me how to use them. At least the little bit that I'm actually interested in using.

I've been busy with my usual pursuits...

Learning a new piece

Practicing my harp 

and

Hardanger work

a new hardanger piece. I designed this last winter and am just getting started now. Nearly halfway done today.

The "Cleansing Time" in the month's title refers to preparing for new growth and applies broadly to all of life. It involves a clearing of old, unused or outdated ideas, possessions, habits...so that new growth has room to develop. 

We cleared out our old area rugs which were deteriorating. Here's what we got:

Front Room

Living room

Dining room

A new look and feel in the rooms.

This week I started just a few seeds in the cellar. There are some plants, like eggplants and peppers, that I like to be a little larger when I set them out in the garden. They're better able to withstand insect damage and will yield a bit earlier. Next month I'll be starting many more plants down there.

That's all of the news from here. We'll keep resting, but also pay attention to the stirring of new growth that we see and sense. 

Here's to new growth.

Kathleen and Bob

A cozy fire

Cold Time / Renewal Time 2021

Our Creek on January 24th

Before I begin, I'd like to thank everyone that took the time to reach out to us regarding Lunette's passing. It was much appreciated.

August 1, 2019

If you commented on the bottom of the Blog page, we responded there. You can view our response by visiting that entry again.

Another month passes with tonight's full moon. Even though we're just ending the month of Cold Time, the thermometer claims otherwise. Actually, this weekend is predicted to be the coldest weather of the season. We've been in a snow drought this season, but there is some snow on the ground right now. I want snow in January and February, a little in March. By April, I don't welcome it so much.

Well, this month could have been called "Finish It Up" month.

An assortment of the beans we grow

I finished threshing out the beans; 11 gallons altogether.

Bob's sweater done

I finished Bob's sweater. That's not a "muffin top" he's sporting. He simply has on the requisite four winter layers underneath. We call it his artificial fat. Easier on the heart than the real thing!

Mini rug in the doll house dining room

My mini rug is done. I started it in March

And last, but certainly not least, the pantry is done! Here are some before and after pictures.

North wall before

The north wall before...

North corner after

...And here's that corner redone.

South west corner before

 

The south west corner before...

South west corner now

... And here's that corner now with the new closet. The retractable clothesline and folding drying racks are neatly concealed in the closet.

The new south wall with windows

South east corner before

 Remember that lovely carpet?

South east corner now

This is how that corner looks now.

North east corner. Look at that sunshine!

So the entire project is done! Everything is set back up and in use. We're pleased with the results and are glad that job's done!

Now we'll take a little "breather" before beginning the next project. We still have the laundry room, upstairs bathroom and the east wall spanning the dining room and kitchen. We're still trying to decide which one to tackle next.

In the meantime, we'll rest a bit, do some thinking and planning and keep the woodstove and the cooking stove busy.

Hunker down, do some reading and thinking, and restore yourselves. We'll check in with you at the next full moon.

Kathleen and Bob 

Darkest Depths/Long Nights Time 2020

 

Some Holiday Color

The moon is full. The days are lengthening. And we bid farewell to Darkest Depths for another cycle.

We've spent much of this month busy in the pantry. 

Painting the ceiling trim

I got the ceiling and walls painted, as well as the ceiling trim and as much of the trim work as Bob has ready yet.

Bob has the ceiling trim all installed. Tomorrow I'll begin painting the wood for the rest of the trim work.

Bob installing window trim

Today we finished laying the new flooring. It's bamboo. The color is "Spice". We are very pleased with the results.

Bob just getting started with the flooring

My job was to place the planks

Bob's off work this week, so we hope to get a lot accomplished in this room.

When I'm not working in the pantry, I'm busy threshing out our beans. I have only about three more bushels to do before I'm done.

A nice snowfall

On the 17th, we got a lovely 8" of snow.

Pre solstice walk in our woods

We took advantage of the snow and went snow shoeing in our woods and meadow on the 20th. It was a part of our solstice celebration, because Bob had to work on the solstice.

Creek rushing with snow melt

On the 24th we had very heavy rain. It melted all of our Christmas snow. We were sad to see it go, but glad we got out to enjoy it earlier.

Our Christmas was quiet, as usual. We played a couple of games and watched an old holiday movie on DVD. I made apple walnut rolls for Christmas breakfast. I only make these for Yule, so that makes them extra special. We had a nice lunch, also.

Apple Walnut Breakfast Rolls

Lunette 10/8/07 - 12/1/20

And now it is my sad task to inform you that our friend, Lunette completed her sojourn here and crossed the Rainbow Bridge on the first of December. She was with us just two months shy of eight years.

The first half of her life was hard. We were her third, and possibly last chance. She came with many problems, some of which were never overcome. But we tried to do our best for her.

"Gottcha Day" Feb 2, 2013

She had attention, care, and about two acres of fenced yard to play in, in addition to another 36 acres of woods and meadow to explore with her best "huntin' buddy".

Now she rests outside of the fence at the edge of the woods that she loved. She can hunt forever where the eyes never dim, nor the legs collapse and her heart can beat strong again. Never more will she be frightened by people who shoot off fireworks or guns, or shout and scream. 

Rest well, our Lunette.

A chapter in our lives has ended. And now, Bob and I go on together; alone.

Till the next time, we hope that 2021 is a better year for us all,

Kathleen and Bob

Sept 2013 Straw piles were great fun!

Oct 2013 Glory Days

Frost Time 2020

 

Hearty Fall fare from our garden

Hello again all,

Frost Time has now come to an end. It's the time of year when we might get all sorts of weather.  And, we did. There's been cold rain and snow that stuck to the ground. We also enjoyed about a week of "second summer" in the midst of that. The days were sunny and balmy - nearly 70 degrees.

The beautiful stretch of weather allowed us to finish our outside chores. The leaves are all picked up and piled for use in next year's garden.

Bob at the splitter

  

We finished splitting and stacking firewood the day after Thanksgiving. Now we have enough to see us through this winter and into next.

The garden at rest

The garden is emptied and ready to rest. The only remaining task is to put mulch on the garlic and strawberries after the ground freezes.

Bob digging horseradish

On the 28th we processed our year's supply of horseradish: 6 quarts...

Horseradish nearly done!

Bob and Lunette dig the sunchokes

... and on the 29th, we packed our 15 liter fermenting crock with Sunchokes (aka Jerusalem Artichokes).

Spices used for Sunchokes

Because of the fair weather, we spent our efforts on outside work instead of the pantry. Now we have to return our attention to that project.

Bob touches up his mudding job

Bob has finished the drywall work...

Walls all primed and ready

... and I primed the walls today. I'll be painting all of this week. Walls and ceiling should all be done by the weekend.

Bob will be making all of the new trim work while I'm doing the painting.

Lunette with her new aide

Lunette is aging quickly now. Her hips no longer function dependably and stairs have become an impossibility. Since I'm not keen on carrying a 63# dog up and down stairs, Bob has made her a ramp to get in and out of the house. She doesn't like to go up it, so we have to grab her collar and lead her up. She gets a treat for that. Now that (the treat), she likes. And don't you dare to forget about that treat! She lets you know in no uncertain terms!

As you may remember, we see winter as a valuable time to rest, relax, rebuild and reconsider. Rather than dread the season, we look forward to it eagerly.

Some of the activities ahead

Here are some of the things we'll be doing: reading, playing games, and observing nature. I'll also be working with my harp and doing needlework.

Work to be finished

There are also a few things I need to finish off: Bob's annual sweater and a mini rug for my large doll house.

And there will still be some chores to do: finish off the pantry and I need to thresh out this year's bean harvest.

We're never bored! Or if we are, it's our own fault, for there's plenty to be doing.

That's about all of the news for now. Be safe, smart and considerate of others: stranger, friend or foe. Learn to savor solitude. It's very good for the soul.

Till next time,

Kathleen, Bob and Lunette

Fallen tree blocks her path. Bad hips impede jumping.