Cleaning up the flower pots...

Fall has arrived in full, and this past weekend, I finished removing the flowers and their pots from my back deck.  This is always a big chore, because our deck is raised up a story, and it's either down a flight of stairs and up the side of the hill to the garage, or through the house.  My husband helped me with most of them, and I just handed them over the railing down to him so I didn't have to lug them one by one.  Many of them are earthenware, and weigh a lot! I think I had about 20 pots or so, plus 5 window boxes.  I emptied the dirt out first this year, hauling it by the bucket load to the front hill garden to leave it for the winter.  I usually either dump the pot's contents into a compost pile, or keep the dirt in the pot.  But this winter, I wanted more room in my garage, so I emptied them all.
We've had a couple of frosts now, and I lost my morning glories, lantana, part of my nasturtiums and the leaves on my Mandevilla, which is a house plant.  Should have brought that in earlier, but they were calling for 32F, and it actually got down to 27F.  Oops.
I did bring my goldfish plant into the garage though, good thing!  It's looking so beautiful, as it always does after it's been outside for the summer.  It too is a house plant, but loves humidity, just loves it.  It always loses a lot of leaves during the winter because of the lower light and dry air (be sure to fertilize it, it's a heavy feeder).  My shamrocks always flourish outside too, and then look sketchy for the winter (you can 'rest ' them in the garage for the winter, water a bit monthly).  Probably the rain helps them too, instead of constant well water.
Speaking of, I did set out my big containers to catch the rain water off the roof, and for the most part, didn't have to use nearly as much well water for watering.  Water needs in July and August are high, and had to water at least once per day.  Maybe I ought to add perlite to my dirt mix...
Now I just need to wash the pots and saucers and put them away in the garage for the winter.  I'm somewhat relieved and a bit sad at the same time, throwing out my plants.  Kind of glad to not have to worry over and water them, but miss their cheerful blooms.  I did keep the Lantana, which I had overwintered in my garage last year - it did WONDERFUL this year - it was HUGE!  Plus the Fuschia, which lost all but one stem over the winter, but boy, did it make a comeback!  I almost threw it out this spring, but it was gorgeous later on.  My mother commented on it when she visited the first of October for my birthday.
I kept one geranium.  I don't have much luck overwintering them.  I think it gets to dry and cold for them.
OH!  My canna lilies, which my realtor friend brought to me this spring.  She brought a big container full, probably ended up with about 15 or 18 pieces by the time I divided them, and planted them in 3 large containers.   Lets just say, those babies love to multiply!  Oh my goodness. I had to break a pot just to get them out to dry for the winter.  I had probably 15 - 20 canes in each pot this summer.  Way too many, I know.  Lovely little red flowers though.  I am giving some of the tubers away, as I just don't have the room for them in my flower gardens or pots.  This pic is early summer.
PS:  I eventually lost the bulbs to mold over winter.  They probably should have been kept in some peat moss or shavings.  My garage is too cold some winters, and my basement too warm.

The bunnies are back!

The wild bunny is back.  He/she has been visiting in my back yard on and off this spring, after I saw the two of them chasing each other about 3 weeks ago.  They spent about 45 minutes in the back yard, chasing, playing tag, it seemed.  I'm going to assume it's 'Mrs. Bunny' that's out there.  The neighbor's cat, Tramp, had caught a baby bunny a few summers ago (which, after a rather amusing round of tag, I managed to free the poor little thing.  Let me tell you, they are powerful little jumpers, even that small, and very determined to escape!) so I am thinking that this could be related.

I learned a thing or two about wild rabbits at the time.  One, they cannot be domesticated.  Perhaps there are stories out there that they can, but the official answer is they can't, nor should they be. They would not do well in cages, and in my opinion, would be cruel for something that hasn't been domesticated.  Also, the momma leaves the babies to forage for food, only returning twice a day to feed them.  So if you find a nest, leave them be if you can, she will likely return by nightfall.  Also, I think it's at about 5 weeks they are basically on their own, but you can research that one in case I'm wrong. There is a lot of good information at the following site: About Orphaned or baby wild bunnies here

Oh wait! There's another one! Either the first one is going in circles, or there is another in pursuit.  With the overgrown vegetation this time of year, I can't see what's going on back in the woods.  But they do seem to like the wild rambling rose bush, as they stop to nibble when they go by.  They love dandelions too.  Kind of funny to watch them, as they eat it like one might eat spaghetti, starting with the flower, and nibbling down the entire stem like a noodle. :0)
I like wildlife in my back yard, I have seen a lot in the 10 years since we've moved here.  Sometimes it's a bit too close for comfort, though, in regards to the black bears, coyotes and bobcats.  :0)

Max ... March 31, 2015

Hey all.  I know.  I am not making any more promises about posting.  Yeah...
Anyway, updates.  Well, I had to make that one-way trip to the vet a couple of weeks ago.

Max - Sept 1997 - March 19, 2015
He was 17 1/2 years old.
RIP my beloved cat.  He was my best buddy, loved him with all my heart. Had him since he was 6 weeks old - left at the vet without a mama, and I picked him out as he was busy beating up all the other tiny kittens.  He and Jellybean.  What a ride it's been.  He moved 8 times with us, I think.
Lots of memories there.  The day of the vet trip was very very hard for me.  But I made myself do it, because it was for the best.  The vet said it was the right thing to do.  As I mentioned earlier, he had stage 3 chronic kidney disease.  I cared for him for nearly 2 years with this disease.  It's a terrible disease, I wish they had a cure, but all one can do is try to slow it down. 

The house is lonely now without him.  Everything reminds me of him.  Opening the pantry door, which squeaks, always brought him running for a treat.  He was usually in whatever room I was in, preferring my lap.  He loved sunshine.  Grass.  Plastic bags.  Yeah, had to hide those because he'd eat them.  Not good.  The first few days were rough, because in my mind's eye, I could see him everywhere, because he'd been everywhere in this house.  Waiting for us when we came home.  Sitting in front of the electric fireplace in the family room.  Head-butting open the bathroom door.  Waiting outside the bathroom door while my DH showered, then following him downstairs so he could get his nightly treats.  So many memories in this house with him.  But I kept telling myself that they don't live as long as we do, that it's inevitable that they go first.  If I just didn't get so attached. But I've always loved animals pretty passionately.  Horses were my first love.  I was head over heels about them, so to speak.  I hope to have one again someday.  But kitties were more portable.  Now I just feed the birds and chippys. :0)
Ok. More big news.  My dear hubby had to have hip revision surgery in January.  His first replacement about 14 years ago seemed to go bad this past year or so, until he could hardly walk on that leg.  He went back to work 2 1/2 weeks after surgery because he 'felt so good', but now it's sore again, because he's walking too much on it at work.  So now we are trying to back pedal a bit and give it a better chance to heal.
More sad news.  The same day of surgery, his father died.  We knew he was going to, he had stage 4 lung cancer.  We went home at Christmas to see him, and he wasn't good then.  We got the call at 4:30 AM, just before we went to the hospital.  We were unable to go home because of the surgery, and it's a 9 hour drive to another country. We are going home for the burial service in May, since the ground was frozen and snow covered in January.
And, to top it all of, I had to get a root canal.  Yup. My very first cavity, in fact.  Which needed a root canal, and crown.  I was not excited.  I was actually in disbelief!  50 years old and never had a cavity until now.  Bummers.  I thought this was going to last forever, but no, no.  Sigh.
I survived it. Did quite well, actually.  I was quite terrified, but really, it didn't hurt.  Not after the needles.  I was really nervous about those needles.  I kept asking how much this root canal was going to hurt, and they kept saying 'oh, no worse than getting a filling.'  Oh Wait. You've never had a filling before.  Yeah. 
Did I mention I'm going through the midlife change?  Yeah. Icing on the cake.
Also, this was the coldest worse February on record for this area, I believe.  We had to fill the oil tank an extra time this year!  Awful glad oil prices are coming down!! 
Well, I think that's about it for now.  Onward and upward.

Autumn...

We are 1/2 way through Autumn, winter is officially still a few weeks away, but we are feeling the chill from those 2 arctic fronts swooping down out of Canada.  I can't complain though, as the grass is still fairly green, the burning bushes are still 'burning', and the temps were fairly mild until recently.  We keep saying (and hoping) that THIS will be the last weekend to do leaves, but I dare not make that assumption yet.  I think we are pretty much done for the most part, the oak in the front lawn still has about 1/3 of it's leaves, so we will see how next weekend looks.  My DH couldn't get the lawn mower started yesterday, it seems the spark plug was gone, and a wire was chewed on the magneto from the mice who tried to set up housekeeping 3 weeks ago.  They had built a good sized nest in the motor area, and it was occupied!  A year or 2 ago, it was chipmunks.  I even discovered a little nest in the middle of our portable fire pit.
Speaking of the oak tree, it dropped a few acorns this year compared to previous years. I have learned that nut trees in general do not produce the same amount each year.  There are some years we are lucky to find 1/2 dozen.  One year, the ground was literally covered!  This year, there were quite a few, but the squirrels were very diligent -- all you can find are mostly the caps left from the acorns.  Well, it made it easier raking, that's for sure.
Started my light box the around the first of October.  I've had some foggy days, but I think I'm doing better.  Combining SAD with peri-menopause, and oh what fun. The ups and downs of hormones and lack of sunlight, I never know what kind of day I'm going to have. Sigh.
Max is still hanging in there.  Poor guy.  Chronic Kidney Disease is a terrible thing.  It's hard to know when 'it's time' to make that one way trip to the vet.  I hate to think about it, but also don't want to wait until the last minute, which could end up being worse, for both of us.  The medicine I got for him a year ago has helped alot, but I think it gets to the point where there isn't much more you can do.  Combine that with other side illnesses that can crop up, like high blood pressure, thyroid issues, and it just gets more complicated.
A big factor has been his teeth.  He goes through what seems to be monthly cycles of gum disease.  He gets really bad breath, REALLY bad, and he doesn't eat very well.  With CKD, he cannot afford to lose calories, so I have to be diligent and watch him closely to see that he doesn't fail too badly during these times.  I do feed him 4 times per day, all canned food (even the dry Kidney disease food causes problems with him), with his meds 2x's day in his food.  He takes the generic form of Pepcid AC regular dose for his nausea that comes with the toxins building up in his system.  His kidneys just cannot flush everything out like they used too, because they are only operating at about 15 - 25% capacity at this point.   I am guessing, as he is in the later stages of this disease.
He still looks forward to his daily routine, though.  He gets cold very easily, and LOVES the electric wood stove in the evening with DH.  Parks himself in front of it. I finally put his big pillow there. :0)
Anyway, it weighs heavy on my mind at times.  He's been a faithful companion for 17 years.  I got him when he was 6 weeks old from our local vet, no mama.  When I saw him with his siblings, he was busy beating everyone else up. Ha!  I got him, a Tiger Tabby with a white nose, and his sister, Jellybean, who was black/calico, with an orange dot on her forehead.  She passed away from diabetes when she was 9.

I am still feeding the birds.  I can watch them out the window as I type.  There was a major flock of blackbirds and grackles that came through last week, many hundreds, moving from lawn to lawn.  I say, eat up those bugs and spiders!
The Juncos came around October 17th - 20th this year, as they do every year.  On stormy days, I can have up to 3 dozen, but usually about 15 or so usually.  The woodpeckers love the suet feeder.  I switched over from rendered w/seeds to the raw from the grocery store, now that it is colder.  I use this when I can find good pieces in the store, as it's slightly cheaper.   The white breasted nuthatches, I think 2 pr, they are so crazy and fun to watch.  Also, the titmice, cardinals, purple finches, chickadees.. but my very favorite is the Carolina Wren.  They are such perky inquisitive little birds!  I have a small basket hanging up under the deck which holds the remote for the weather station, and I watched them one day totally check it out, inside the basket and all around the outside.  Just in case it could be a home for them, I think.   And the doves.  Always the doves.  But at least it isn't pigeons!  Once in awhile, a hawk sweeps through, and I will find feathers, mostly dove.  That's ok, I have LOTS of doves. It's the little birds I'd feel real badly about.  The squirrels are quite tenacious too.  I had a lot of grays most winters, usually about 7, but the black squirrels arrived about 6 years ago, just one for a couple of years, but now I have more black than gray I think, and they chase the grays away.  I also noticed that the black ones are more skittish than the grays.  Interesting...

We took a day trip up to Gould's Sugar House in Shelburne, Massaschusetts in October.  We hadn't been up in awhile, and though it would be a nice trip for leaf-peeping, and it was.  Not a bad breakfast, although I thought the pancakes were quite mealy.  Flavor ok, texture wasn't my type.  They make their own breakfast sausage, nice big patties, not bad.  They serve their own homemade dill pickle chunks with breakfast, very good, but salty! They are open for 2 seasons each year, since like the 1960's, for breakfast/lunch, very limited menu, but very popular.  Some days you wait for an hour, so get there early!  They are open during sugaring in the spring, and a few weeks in the fall during apple season, which you can buy some while you are there. They have a small gift shop where you can buy their maple syrup as well.  All this is located in their old barn which used to bunk their help way back when.  It also houses their sugaring operation which you can see operating in the spring. I think it's all run by cord wood, if the large amount stored is any indication. It's worth the trip.  In fact, the lady who runs the restaurant must be near 80, and still works the counter.  She showed us an article about them in the Yankee magazine, which was very nice.
We also stopped at Shelburne Falls Coffee Roasters, one of their 2 stores, if I remember rightly, also on Route 2.  Neat little place, very busy!  GREAT COFFEE!



The store I stopped in has a nice little sit down area, several choices of pastries, and of course, coffee.

 
I brought home 4 different flavors to try - Chocolate Raspberry, Toasted Coconut, Sugar Maple Nut, and Amaretto.  They all smell and taste good.  Very smooth coffee.  I ground my own beans, as they sell whole beans in big stoneware crocks with wooden lids.  Nice!  Definitely better than most store brands.
That's all for now, laundry is calling, Max is looking for some lunch, and I've got a pot roast in the slow cooker and need to 'accessorize' it. :0)  Have a blessed day.

Welcome Spring!!

Finally, spring has arrived!!  Long awaited, dreamed about, impatiently sought after, finally here.  Winter was LONG this year.  I guess it was for just about everybody, it seems. Even still, my folks further north still have snow in their yard, but as my mother says, bare spots are appearing.  When I boast about my azaleas blooming, she says, well, my flowers are just poking through the ground in the bare spots.

As I type this, I'm watching a grey squirrel cavort about like a kitten.  Having the best time!  He's bouncing off of tree trunks, rolling on the ground with a stick, squirreling around, enjoying himself (or her). 
The Goldfinches have been numerous this spring!  I counted at least 12 males outside my window at the bird feeder, plus Purple Finches, Chipping Sparrows, White-throated Sparrow, White Crowned Sparrows, and oh yes, one Pine Warbler!  A new one for me this year. The Downy Woodpeckers have been quarreling over the suet feeder, I think I have 3 pairs coming daily.  Plus the Hairy and Red-bellied. 
The male Cardinal has been courting his mate, by staying close to her and occasionally offering her a seed, which she shyly accepts. It's so cute! The nuthatches are crazy as ever, and courting as well.

I have one wild turkey who has been coming every day for over a week now to my bird feeder.  I'm wondering if it's a female, and if she has decided to nest in the woods somewhere out back of us.  Seems she's been staying in this area.  Would be cute to see the babies.  We did have a whole flock pass through in the last month or so.  I heard yesterday that the population of wild turkeys is down this year in CT, but still stable.  

We had a hard winter for our area.  My lavender suffered terribly, and I think I lost some perennials as well.  We've had mild winters for several years, with not a lot of snow for most of them, but this year was colder, longer and I think the frost might have gone deeper as well.

Today it is raining, we need the rain, and you can practically see the grass growing.  The trees are starting to leaf out, the wild rose bushes already have small green leaves.  I must keep an eye out for the Jack in the Pulpit this spring so as not to miss the bloom.
Well, I better get on with my day.   Have a great week!