Happy Thanksgiving!

Lovely, lovely morning with a sky full of starts.  While walking Moose at 5:30 I kept my eyes to the sky enjoying the celestial show.   Saturn and Jupiter both visible in the night sky, big dipper high in the north, the three sisters protecting the south.  

Bill helped make pumpkin and pecan pies last night, they are "hiding" in the downstairs frig.  We went to the Whole Earth wine tasting and Bill selected a rose wine, I also want to serve the Cannon Falls St. Croix to remember Kevin.  Megan made her bread crumbs for the shiitake walnut dressing last night filling the house with aroma of garlic and olive oil toasting.....  The turkey will go in the oven by 7:00 and then will make bread to form in to rolls later this morning.   My most favorite meal of the year!  

Off to Skype with Liz and then to get the turkey in the oven.

Saturday

Day one of Wisconsin's gun deer season.   Bill went in to the woods about 9:15, not certain how much success he will have.  I reminded him to shoot away from the house.  I saw three deer before 7:00 a.m., I invited them to stay in our yard - after cautioning them to stay OUT of the water garden (and to hide when they see Bill).   Sadly, a deer already broke through the ice in our water garden earlier this week.   It has refrozen and I could see upended plant containers.  The hoof must have ripped the lining because the water level is down six or more inches.   Alas, the dilemmas wildlife trying to find water in the cold weather.   A chickadee was sitting in the Tina crab tree, and another in the tree right by the water garden.   Both were singing.  Quite certain they were asking how they are supposed to get a drink.  I may invest in a heated bird bath for my birds.   

Grocery shopping for Thanksgiving is done.   I had talked to Whole Earth Grocery about buying a natural turkey, however their largest bird is less than 16 pounds.  We expect 23 guests, so I purchased a 20 lb. turkey at Dick's Fresh Market.    Bought a spiral cut ham also, and all the other items needed for Thursday's dinner, so there should be plenty of food.   Butterball.com has a hilarious list of things to do in the week preceding Thanksgiving.   The frozen turkey should be thawing in the frig already (oops!), and all the holiday dishes, flatware should be washed and linens ironed.   Tuesday's tasks includes selecting what to wear, and ironing the outfit.   Good grief!   When does a woman have time to work with lists like that!   On the plus side, I have counted chairs, made place cards and decorated the house already.  That is Monday's task.  :-) I do plan to bake bread and pies on Wednesday night so that will be out of the way.   I'm so grateful to have two refrigerators, and two ovens.  

It's so overcast outside, today would be a good baking day!   Temp below freezing, and we are expecting snow a bit later in the day.  We have had a few flakes already.  I'm not ready to have snow on the ground yet.  Hope it holds off until December.

Brisk fall morning

Out early this morning with Moose.  The half light of the hunter's moon lit our walk down Liberty Road.  Spent yesterday morning digging roots of buckthorn from our woods.  Who knew that those roots were so obnoxiously deep and intertwined!   Need to continue the process this morning - after more caffeine!

Sounds of shot guns in the distance, bird hunting has begun.  I'm happy our property is a no hunting zone, yet the sounds are a bit unnerving as I ponder heading in to the woods.

The process of getting ready for cold weather continues.  Outside potted plants will move to the breezeway today.  Dahlia bulbs need to be dug.  Debating about how long to leave carrots underground, may leave them another week - amazingly, the moles haven't found them.

Bill is in process of putting in a larger window in our downstairs bedroom, the transom glass to fill in the window space is ordered.   Need it to arrive before it gets much colder - plastic in our bedroom window does not make me happy.  Although it gives a sense of camping and we never did get out camping this season.   Didn't go canoeing either, what is wrong with us?  Perhaps not too late for a canoe outing?

Dinner at Good Earth Restaurant last night with Bill, Amy and Megan.  A lovely evening.  Didn't bring home any of their bread, so will bake some of my own this morning.  

Getting the look I like

"That looks horrible", I cried to my hair stylist as she completed adding "stuff" and blow-dried my hair into a pouffy style.  This is the same woman that has cut my hair for fifteen years and has been through long styles, short styles, curly styles and knows the only time a blow dryer or curling iron gets used on my hair is in her chair.  As I pushed the hair behind my ears, she laughed, and sprayed on some water to flatten it out.

I have a perception of how my hair should look - can't go for the polished "set".   Growing up in the 70's with straight, long hair influenced my feelings on hair styles.

Too blunt with service professionals?  Perhaps.  Can she read my mind?  Better to vocalize my thoughts than to walk out with a look I can't stand.   I gave her a generous tip.   Someone help me think of a word easier on the feelings of my stylist!

Lilacs, lilacs, lilacs

Lilacs are in FULL bloom!  The yard smells like paradise.   The air is filled with the smell of blossoms.  The crab apple trees are at the end of their bloom, except for the Tina that is white with color.   The high bush cranberry, plum, cherry and apple trees are done blossoming and their petals blanket the grass.  The creeping phlox bleeding heart, prairie smoke, the canada violets and forget me nots in the shallow end of the water garden are in bloom,

Cardinals, baltimore orioles, eastern phoebes, robins flit around the yard.  Full time job keeping the jelly plate and hummingbird feeders filled -   the funniest sight, a woodpecker at the oriole feeder!  The orioles vivid orange and black feathers stand out in the maples.  How is that adapting to their surroundings?!   Oh, I know, they are trying to match the orange of our Northern Light azaleas that have also begun to bloom.    A pair of brown thrashers have been in the yard for the past week.  They eat bugs from the ground with their long beaks, this is only the second years I have noticed them.  We had a lone sand hill crane fly over yesterday,  heard it coming a mile away by its distinctive call.   A blue heron just flew over - they are lovely, and I love seeing them along the Kinnickinnic River, yet when flying above our yard, I want them to keep going and stay away from our water garden.  

Bill planted two additions to the landscape yesterday that he bought to celebrate our 30th anniversary.  A red twigged dogwood, and a Japanese maple both are in the water garden area.  We've admired the Japanese maple at Earthworks for many years but hesitated because they are zone 6 and higher.  This variety will supposedly survive in our zone 4.   We are going to need to mulch, mulch, mulch to protect its roots!  It has lovely seven pointed leaves and seems happy in our yard.   It is in the area of the Royal Red maple we planted last  year, but is decidedly different.   The Japanese maple leaves are green now, and will change with the seasons.    

After attending a graduation party and suffering through another bout of rain, we tackled the grass under the crimson maple by the front door. Bill has longed to be rid of all the grass so we started by the light post and cleared out grass around the tree.  It now has hostas, bearded iris and we planted flower seeds.  Getting rid of all of our grass seems unlikely, but we are making strides.  

The house is deliciously quiet right now, Moose and I walked at 6:00 a.m., and he's resting on the rug next to me.  Megan has successfully completed her freshman year at St. Kate's and is home for the summer.  Completely unrelated to the lilacs blooming, Megan painted her room purple this week!  It looks amazing.    David drove back from Phoenix and arrived home on May 25, he will conduct his job search from here.   He is delighted to be back in the land of seasons and is enjoying the green.   Brian has been coming over several times a week and cutting buck thorn from our woods - a massive, necessary task.  Steven is taking summer classes at UWRF and dedicating a lot of time to homework (and world of warcraft).  Between constant rain, and his studies, he has only mowed lawn once this year.   Guess we will have to remove all the lawn!

Grateful to have a long weekend to celebrate Memorial day.  Had a wonderful evening at Antler's Park in Lakeville  on Friday with family to celebrate Sister Karen Mahowald's visit home.  The rest of this weekend is just a joy to be home.   Really want the rain to end though so I can get in my vegetable garden, it has been too wet to work.  Have snap peas and lima beans planted, and need to get more things in.  Our tomato plants are ready to plant but will be in a new garden by the south side of the house.   

Garden conversation

Every spring I have a (mostly) silent conversation with my flower beds by the house.  They lie near large red oak trees and in autumn the leaves gently fall and cover the beds.;  keeping the plants and bulbs warm under the winter snow and ice.  Decomposing leaves are good for the soil as they keep the moisture in the soil, and the weeds at bay, so I keep some of the leaves in the beds.  The daffodils, however, have other ideas, they want to be free of the leaf cover.  As they poke several inches above the leaves, this morning they called me out to uncover them.  There is still a bit of snow in front of the garden shed but I pulled out a rake, and the wheelbarrow and gently uncovered the beds.

Iris sprigs are only an inch above the ground, tulips are peeking out, fragile blue scilla, hollyhock leaves at the very edge.   No sign of the hostas, they are waiting for warmer soil and spring rains.  The daffodils will bloom by Steven's birthday, some of them perhaps earlier.  The soil is cold, it isn't time to begin planting....although I have located by gladiola bulbs and have garden seeds and can't wait to begin digging in the dirt!

Snowshoeing

Silence as I snowshoe in the woods this morning.  The snow is deep, yet my snowshoes let me glide along the top of the drifts.  Snow is gently falling from branches overhead with a puff of wind.  Ah, but there are sounds; a distant caw of a crow, the snort of an unseen buck warning other deer of my presence, screech of a blue jay, a gliding red tailed hawk soaring from a tall pine tree.

I blazed a new trail along the southern edge of our woods, no houses in sight, or sound of humanity.  The wandering takes me through a young grove of aspen with tracks of deer that have eaten any new buds.   I come across a deer "highway" with evidence of spots where they have bedded down for the night.  Their trails are easier to follow, missing the dense bushes, and buckthorn.  Far in the distance, I hear the hum of a snowmobile, others finding joy in the outdoors, yet missing the solitude of the woods.   Suddenly above me, the flutter of a wild turkey taking off from its perch on a tall tree branch.  

Back on the trail, the sight of our log home ahead.

Visions of Self

I spent time browsing for clothes online, only to decide there really isn't anything I want to buy.  My closet is full, my needs are met.   


Yet......in my mind, I wear flowing skirts of bold design, topped by a whispery peasant blouse in muted earth tones, and sandals on my feet.  I wear blue jeans, with funky boots, jackets in primary colors.  


Alas, the clothes in my closet, incorporate the practical needs of a business office, flat shoes for traveling the manufacturing floor, too much black.   Perhaps it is time to clean out the closet and get back to the vision of myself.  Not today, instead I will choose a skirt and a top to reflect the rose colors of the rising sun.

Wolf Moon

The full moon is in the western sky, watching over us.  A cold, winter night with the moon glinting on the crystalline snow.  In my perfect world, I would stay here and hike through the woods on my snowshoes in the moonlight.  Made a pot of coffee and turned on the computer instead.  Skype with Liz, and thoughts of getting ready for the work day.

An exciting work day ahead, completing negotiations on a metal contract.  New tooling orders to order material, a challenging transportation dilemma and time to get to it!