Golly, when it's been so long since the last post, it's difficult to know where to begin. My last was 3 months ago: April 14. I had just finished a quilt, was making bags, and starting Dahlias from cuttings. There have been many ups and downs over these few months. I put a lot of effort into the garden early on only to have uncooperative weather make a mess of it. All the "guaranteed" crops: Lettuce, Arugula, Radishes... a dismal failure this year. I'm hard pressed to explain it other than the damp and cool spring. Germination was very slow and sporadic (I've heard this complaint from people all over the world... I wonder if seeds communicate with one another long distance?). My lettuce finally managed to push itself up to 2" and stayed that way ever since. I wont get a single leaf of lettuce this year. The arugula was anemic, very slow to start--but I will mention it had a pretty good rate of germination--but never became robust. Finally, when the temperatures rose, it bolted right away. I managed 2 salads from it. The radishes seemed to have a better time of things until it warmed up and immediately, as if it were waiting for it, bolted. Half a dozen radishes at best. These are supposed to be the easy crops! Not this year.
On the positive side, the peas are doing well, albeit late, but I expect to be popping peas very shortly. The tomatoes are growing well as are the string beans. I planted Kohlrabi and Kale and they took a very disinterested attitude towards growing until just about a week ago. They are now pushing up quite well. I think the difference is the spell of warm/hot weather we've had these past few weeks finally drying out the soil.
I have left the best garden news for last: It's been a great--nay, super--year for flowers of all kinds. My Irises, which did not blossom last year put forth several beautiful blossoms on several plants, purples, burgandies, and yellows. Interesting tidbit: I learned this spring that Irises should not have the tops of their rhizomes below the soil, for good blossoming, the sun should hit them. My Foxgloves self-seeded liberally last fall and they have reached spectacular heights this year. The Peonies--all three of them--put forth big beautifully scented blossoms. My roses, although they struggled with the winter again (my fault for not taking proper care last fall) are also growing very nicely and blossoming almost profusely. There are currently hundreds of Daylily buds waiting to open, my Delphinium has spiked, the Astibles are showing good strong buds, the Phlox, Salvia, Rudbeckias--all looking good.
Next year I shall have to practice patience. Twice this year I have given up on plants that I thought died over the winter only to discover that they were just taking their time to show. Today I discovered a Malva I planted last year which I had given up on. Suddently and unnoticed, it seemed to shoot up overnight. Since I'd been so sure it was gone, I planted something else in it's place so that now both plants are occupying the same 5" square. I will need to move one of them.
We are at the height of lushness and rampant growth, green foliage abounds all around. The scents, the earthly aroma, the freshness reeks of life. The air in the yard is imbued with the perfume of Sweet William. Oh! I do love those scented flowers, they really make a landscape magical. The lilacs (not everyone's favorite, I know), peonies, scented daylilies, roses... so heady! Be still my quivering olfactory. What a delight!
Fauna. I had a very lovely assortment of wild birds visiting this spring, including a Baltimore Oriole. I almost needed smelling salts when I saw it--as I've never seen one in real life. That's was the highlight of this year's bird watch. All the usual characters have been around: Blue Jays, Chickadees, Mourning Doves, Rose Breasted Grosbeak, Cardinal (yes, they're a bit more visible this year), Gold Finches, Evening Grosbeaks, etc., The bear. The bears, plural. Last weekend I saw a momma and her 2 cubs in the field above the house. Earlier on in the summer one rather large [male, I think] let himself into my entry room where I had the seeds stored! That was rude and I told him so. The problem is the earth under the entry room: It heaves in the winter which jams the door and it cannot close fully. Last year I had the piers replaced thinking that the old ones were probably not deep enough but the workers told me that the new piers they put in are resting on ledge and can't go deeper. But that raises questions for me: If they're on ledge, why are they heaving? Hm. I need more opinions. So anyway, the bear only had to touch the door and it swung open and there he was: In the entry. I took precautions immediately thereafter and he can no longer come in. The door is latching now, but just barely and I had to remove the latch hardware for it to catch. C'est la vie. Next winter I will buy another door (I'll call it the winter door) and shave off a half inch from the top of it so it will close when the earth has hiccupped. This is the last year the squirrels get to come play in the entry during the winter. Gosh they're untidy. Extremely so.
Indoors. I started another quilt after "Ties That Bind" was finished but it has been set aside until autumn. I was way too busy with the outdoors in May and June. Instead, I've been working on smaller unfinished projects. One was a wool applique table centerpiece which I finished just about a week ago. Next will be a needlepoint pheasant that I hope to finish this summer. As it's July, we're in the midst of "Tour de Fleece" and I signed up again this year so I'm spinning a bit every day. I'm participating casually this year, spinning when I can but not fretting if I can't.
I bought another loom. Oh my word, yes, I did. Naughty. I wasn't going to and my discipline was pretty good: I'd seen the ad on Craigslist twice over the past 3 months or so and simply said to myself, "I don't need another loom." Well, it turns out the seller is one of my neighbors and I know them, so I went down to have a look at it. Mistake. It was so pretty sitting there in the garage--an antique counterbalance loom (my two looms are both jack looms). I knew when I saw it that my will power was going to fail. I was right. The price was very right and the wood of it has such a pretty patina. I'm going to replace the frames that were on it as they don't belong to that type of loom, and I hope to have it working by end of summer. Counterbalance looms are big in Sweden, which is where they originate, I believe. More on counterbalance looms in a future post.
Music. I decided to skip orchestra this summer. I really wanted to focus on the garden this year--for all the good it did what with the weather--but honestly, it was good. I accomplished a lot, 4 new corner beds for dye plants and lots of new plantings. Just this afternoon I went to the orchestra's performance. It was interesting and perhaps slightly unnerving to experience it from the auditorium instead of the stage. I must say I was impressed; it sounded very good. On the program was Schubert's 8th Symphony and Duke Ellington's "Night Creature". The concert featured the Vermont Swing Band which joined the orchestra for the Ellington. It was very special. Although I did not participate, I did design and make a poster for the event.
I don't know if I ever mentioned it--I think I did--but I no longer take cello lessons with my teacher in NYC, I take them with the cello teacher at the music school in Lebanon. Whereas my teacher in NY was a private teacher, taking lessons at the school comes with some differences. For one, there is no summer semester but one can sign up for as many lessons as one would like to take, but they are not mandatory. So I'm taking a lesson every few weeks for the summer. He's an excellent teacher and I'm learning a lot and developing in a way I've dreamed of. At the end of June I got a phone call asking me if I could stand in for a student who had to drop out of the Hanover Street Music Festival due to a death in the family. I had not planned on attending this year, but I did accept, was given first part and had a thoroughly enjoyable 3 days of practicing and performing. So very glad I attended.
I finished reading "The First Muslim" and I'm still processing it; an excellent read, very well written. I'm currently reading "Braiding Sweetgrass (Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants)", a very beautiful book and I highly recommend it.
I've decided--after much thought--to sell my harpsichord. I have not played it in two years and it takes so much maintenance to keep it tuned and playable. I'm on the piano almost every day and that is where my focus is. The harpsichord is taking up quite a bit of square footage and what with 3 looms, 3 spinning wheels (nay, 4 including the "great" wheel), 6 sewing machines (I'm ashamed to admit it) I NEED SOME ROOM! Alright, the 6 sewing machines... I'm going to get rid of 2. I came upon them really cheap, but I don't need them. I absolutely adore my godmother's 1910 Singer Redeye (I'm forever grateful, dearest aunts) and will not part with in. In fact, I'll be quilting my wool applique quilt on it this summer. I treasure the 1850s Wilson & Wilcox and will not part with it. My White Rotary from the 1940s is currently my "go to" for piecing. I will hold onto my expensive modern machine if only because it was so darn expensive. But would you believe it!? It has to go in for repairs again. It's unusable at the moment. That's twice in as many years it's had to go in for repairs. The older machines: They never need to go in for repairs and if they malfunction, they're usually fixable by oneself. Not so the modern one with it's computer circuits. I'm very unimpressed with these gadgets. So in the end, I'll have 3 beloved machines, and one which I'll begrudgingly keep; the others will go. So it's not that bad. Right?
Three of my quilts were on display at the Warren Old Home Day yesterday. That was fun. It was a fantastic display; so many very gorgeous quilts. Some quite old and entirely hand sewn.
A big week coming up. I have a Fresh Air charge arriving on Tuesday for a week. It was going to be 2 children, but one of them cancelled. Although I have a little trepidation having just a single 13 year old for the week, I think I can make it fun and interesting. Two is better, of course, then they can occupy themselves when I'm busy. But we'll manage. I have a feeling this is happening because it's what I and my guest need and it will turn out to be a good thing.
How about some pictures?
Early on this spring I installed a new path from the main walkway (which weathered the winter very well, by the way) to the beds:
The fourth of July:
I bought a netted shirt and hood and it's the best $30 I've spent in a long time. I was able to spend entire afternoons outside while the black flies landed in front of my nose but couldn't touch me! It's a necessity, and made an unbearable situation almost pleasant. This is me mourning black fly season:
I harvested tons of Egyptian onions and made onion jam (it's excellent on hot dogs and burgers):
Some Irises:
Some Peonies:
Visitors:
The centerpiece I finished:
A new project on the 4-shaft loom (difficult to see the design in the picture, it's shadow weave, will take a better picture when finished):
A few pics from the quilt show at the Warren Old Home Day yesterday:
The poster I made for the orchestra's summer concert:
My new loom (with the frames removed):
That's all for now. Hopefully it won't be as long to the next post as it's been from the last!
