I'll try to catch-up with all that's gone on since mid-summer, having arrived at the end of summer--for real; we are officially in autumn now. Some leaves--the early birds--are showing color. It gets dark between six and half-six. Our temperatures dipped into the 30s last night. And it seems like just a few weeks ago I was waiting for daffodils to sprout. It has moved quickly, this summer. Faster than many I can remember. I attribute it in part to the large, time-consuming projects I tackled.
No matter. I love autumn probably a smidge more than the other seasons so I'm happy. There are more than a handful of months ahead in which to plan big projects for next year.
Where to begin? There's the wind mills to show, some fiber work in progress, the deck is in the midst of being stained and sealed, a few garden pics, my new phonograph, and my Phragmipedium come back to say hello once again ...
The wind mills. For the past year I have been on our town's citizen's planning committee, charged with the task of fielding our fellow townspeople and gathering what we learn into recommendations for the planning board so that we may implement an official town zoning ordinance. It's been wildly educational, if difficult at times. We are nearing the end of our task, the ordinance will be voted on next spring at town meeting. Last month, while we were discussing how to zone the ridges where the wind farm is situated, we were taken on a tour of the area so that we could have a better idea of the possibilities it might be suitable for. It's very beautiful up there, overlooking Rumney and Plymouth to the North and East, and Groton to the South and West. I snapped a bunch of pictures...
From the west ridge I could see the location of my house. Although it's not visible, it is where I have circled. I live in the country!
The garden was a mixed bag this year; when it comes to gardening we are at the mercy of the weather aren't we. It was dry early on and I was doing quite a bit of watering to keep things growing. But it all normalized and I then let mother nature take over. As we know, my chard was hit by leaf miners and I lost most of it, and the green peppers were a complete failure (but that's nothing new--I have yet to be successful growing green peppers!). I ended being unhappy with the seed I purchased from an online site. It all germinated quite well but failed to produce any fruit. I harvested 4 zucchini and just a few cucumbers. But my tomatoes have done well, and the spring crops were plentiful. The flowers have been ablaze as well.
Huge disappointment a few weeks ago. I have a sunflower that sprouted itself--must have been from last year's flowers, and it was growing really really tall. The flower bud developed and was making great progress and then one day I went out and found this:
Something (I suspect a red squirrel) had climbed up the stalk and chewed away the developing bud! Oh!! I have other sunflowers and they have blossomed, but that plant was the tallest and grandest. Alas.
Last week was Plymouth's town-wide yard sale. I found up a cuckoo clock for $1. The woman who sold it said it didn't work, hence the price. It was missing a weight and the deer and antlers were missing as well. But I bought it anyway figuring there was little to lose. I put some fishing weights (which I use to weigh down freshly washed hand spun yarn--I don't fish) on the chain missing it's weight. It works! It works perfectly!! $1. My neighbor had a spare weight and he gave it to me. I'm ordering a deer and antlers online. The same neighbor knew I was looking for an old phonograph. They also went to the town-wide sale and phoned me a few days after. He said they found a phonograph there and wanted to know if I was interested in it. So I drove down to their place--just at the bottom of the hill--and was presented with a very nice Victrola for the grand sum of $50. I have seen several in worse shape going for two to three hundred dollars, and I consider $50 something of a steal! I made a little video after I got it in my living room.
My new phonograph. Warning: There is quite a bit of bird chatter because I forgot to close the bird room door and Ciello was on my shoulder!
My sweet Phragmipedium Manzur la Aldea, which I rescued last year from arid conditions at the nursery (These orchids need to be wet all the time, they grow by streams and need their feet in the water; the nursery where I bought it had not taken the tape off the top of the pot--which was put on for shipping--resulting in it's inability to get any water at all.) is blossoming once again. It's a pretty little flower...
Off the wheel, on the needles, through the heddles. I have 4 projects in the works: some knitted mittens, a vest I'm knitting with my own hand spun yarn, some kitchen towels on the loom, and more spinning for the vest. The mittens and vest are stranded. I'm making my own pattern for the vest, using a book "Traditional Fair Isle Knitting by Sheila McGregor for individual patterns. The mitten pattern is from a book "Mostly Mittens (Ethnic Knitting Designs from Russia)" by Charlene Schurch. Both projects are progressing nicely. I am teaching my neighbor more about weaving by working on some kitchen towels on the 8-shaft loom. We wound a 10-yard warp which should be enough to make 6 towels for each of us, 12 in all. The draft is a pinwheel. She chose the colors and I like them.
Last but not least by any means: I'm sealing and staining the deck at last! It is two years old this year and I really didn't want to wait any longer. It's a painstaking, lengthy process of washing every inch with a mildrew remover, sometimes using a bit of bleach, sometimes a bit of Dawn dish detergent (great at cutting grease) and then rinsing it off with the jet stream of my hose. After it dries for at least 4 hours I apply the stain to each and every baluster and all the nooks and crannies above, below, and to the side of every square inch of every board. I've been at it at least two weeks already and have almost finished the first coat on the railing. I'm using a water-based stain so two coats are required! When that's all done, I will do the floor of the deck. It's worth it--looks so much better with this redwood stain.
I just snapped this pic half hour ago and as you can see, I have reached the far stairs. I hope to get the rest of the rail finished this week--coat 1.
HAPPY AUTUMN!
