Perfect day for the Preserve

Clear sky, temps in the low 80s, low humidity, just right for that postponed walk on the Preserve. 

But first I did a bit of local observing for my seasons notebook. The first acorns.

Birds and squirrels have been enjoying dogwood berries

So, back home,  I assembled a vignette

Artists among us no doubt noted the homage to Cezanne and nearer home, Milton Avery. The vertiginous foreground is what I mean. No one does vertiginous better than they do.

Then off to the Preserve. I had hoped for a spell of sitting by the lake in the one tiny place with a waterside bench. Today it was occupied by a group, too close for comfort, so I had to pass. But they were videotaping and having a lovely time. It's great to see enjoyment in action.

I went to the beechwood instead, and caught other interesting sights. 

Fleabane, big clump at the edge of the trees.

Dead nettle here. Beautiful wildflowers with rotten names whose idea was this. 

This immediate area has vernal ponds, tiny ones, with all sorts of aquatic life which appear magically each year and leave when the spring moves on and the ponds dry up.

Since there were people bumbling about on the regular farm road trail, I slipped from the wood to the parallel field trail on my way back.

Those woods are full of deer. None visible today, but at dusk they'll emerge.

Butterflies everywhere, which didn't show up in my pix, lovely dusky swallowtail butterflies, you have to take my word on them. Many little green grasshoppers, one of which I think came home with me, but it jumped off me in the house and I can't find it.

There are many bayberry bushes in the Preserve, no berries yet, and if you collect and boil down 24,586,342 of them you'll manage a candle. Those settlers had their work cut out. The women, that is. 

Home now, roasting fries, sweet and white potatoes, fir supper, knitting more of the beaded figure's top, drinking tea, blogging to you, friends.

Doesn't get much better!

Freecycling pedals on, jammed doors and mystery plantings

I think our local Freecycle has come back with a roar. After several years of flagging interest, declining membership and some less than friendly encounters, then the long almost total shutdown since early last year, the spirit seems back.

Yesterday's success with the painting materials encouraged me, instead of traipsing all the way, across two towns to the thriftie, why not offer the bags of yarn that were out there in the car.

Which I did, complete with a picture..

In literally minutes half a dozen polite and friendly requests all giving day and approximate time as requested, came flying into my email. 

This is so much better than before I dropped out, that I'm thinking of not doing thriftie runs at all, at least for identifiable stuff, in enough quantity to be of interest.

And when I offered the bag to the first comer, fair's fair, she replied with great enthusiasm. And it was gone a few minutes later. Yay! 

I had used all I could of the various yarns, and it seemed wrong to cling when another person could really enjoy them. The taker said they were just the thing for some projects she had in mind. This one wasn't a difficult process.

This is how Freecycle was a few years ago, and I'm glad it's back.

Cleaners here today and I went to the Preserve between showers, and provided snacks for biting insects, while getting pictures of wild plants in a special area for insects, butterflies and birds.

There was an absolute congregation of bees working this area

And I need to ask who can identify this? 

Two pictures for ID purposes.

The cleaners, aside from their usual great cleaning, not too hard in the house of a single pet free person, but welcome anyway, managed to jam the patio door lock. This happened when they came last month, too, and now I know it must be them.

Someone, instead of leaving the lock in the horizontal locked position, forced it up the channel completely past the tolerance of the mechanism. I suppose they thought they were securing it, since they're very conscientious about security. I know they meant well. It could have broken the lock.

Each time, I have had to get my (large, strong) contractor friend to come, physically lift the heavy door up from the track, shake it till the lock dropped back in place and lower it. It takes a powerful man to put right the goof of another powerful man!  This door took three burly installers to handle when they put it in.

So all's well, my heart's back in my chest, and my rescuer left with a pot of plum jam. That stuff is currency! And I sent an email asking the  cleaning group please not to do that again. They'll be mortified, but I think we'll recover.

Never a dull moment!

Cleaners day adventure

 Except they didn't show. I book for every four weeks, and I think they've decided on last Thursday of the month, which is sometimes five weeks.  A couple of times I've checked and found they're all set for the next week. This time I didn't check, not wanting to bug them, they're wonderful workers..

Anyway I went out for the morning, and quickly discovered that winter is back. Sunshine was deceptive, with temps in the low 30s and strong winds. Earth Day on the calendar, back dressed in layers again. 

Off to the Preserve anyway, and found whitecaps on the lake, a first. Blowing right in my face, no shelter just there. 

No birds either, smart guys shelter from wind. Woodpeckers busy calling in the woods though.

So I took refuge in the beechwood where it's always a bit warmer in winter -- it makes its own microclimate -- and it's always cooler in summer, then returned by a trail sheltered from the wind by trees and shrubs, to read in the car. 

So warm in there that I ran the window down while I read a P D James, Death in Holy Orders. I also borrowed the audio version so while I'm stitching this afternoon, I can go on with it. 

I've read it before but don't remember the outcome. Anyway James is more than a mystery writer, a lot of moral and ethical dilemmas in her work, too, and many motives.

I didn't get the house cleaned but I did get a walk for Earth Day. And a view of the newest foliage in the woods. Good day. 

Home for hot tea and to continue joining up the Mitered Square Jacket bits. 

Cleaning day

 My saintly housecleaners came today, and, as usual, I arranged to let them have the house to themselves. This usually entails more forethought than it got today, what with being distracted by paperwork, and needing to make a trip to the town hall about one lot, which worked out fine, and having to make copies and finish up my tax paperwork, which also worked out fine.

The day was beautiful, bright sun all day, temps in the 40s, so after a couple of errands, on one of which I saw a covid vaccine clinic in full swing at the local pharmacy, mixed feelings of jealousy of the people who'd managed to get appointments, and pleasure that if I can get in here, the travel is eliminated and it's a much easier thing to handle. Once I can get in, that is.  

Anyway, I thought I'd better get calm and go to the Preserve to see if I could walk. Which I couldn't much, because of the snow.  I'm not very steady walking in hard snow that lets your foot suddenly plunge as you go.  So I walked where there wasn't any, and watched the birds, a lot of activity. Virtually every tree packed with them.  A family arrived with little kids, all excited and shouty, and the birds promptly vanished. Lovely morning trip with kids.

Standing here, in the lee of the preserve building wall, to take pix.

Since I had taken no thought as to how to use the time if I couldn't walk, nothing to read, no wifi available, I decided to use it to breathe, in the car with the window open, just sit, not easy for me, and I took a few pix, then did a quick line drawing of trees opposite me, shadows lying along the snow.  A couple of minutes. All I had was a little jotting pad a couple of inches across,  and a ballpoint. That's why there are weird things at each end of the drawing, it's a St Jude little scratch pad.

Very much out of practice, and it reminded me to put a bit of real drawing paper and a couple of  pens and pencils in the glovebox for future times when I might just want to draw a little because there's a bit of time.  I'll do that.

 So here we are.  Calmer for being in the open air, in sunshine, and the family next door is back from India, kids already out playing again, yay.  It's good.

A new monthly adventure, also rehoming

 As of last month, I'm having the house cleaners back, once a month, takes them, moving like whirlwinds, as a family team, a bit under two hours to leave the place looking and smelling great.

I usually go out to let them work, and not feel they have to talk to me or that I'm checking. They're utterly trustworthy and reliable, no worries.

It used to be simple to find an interesting destination, often the library, but now they're open very little, and not encouraging lingering, I have to be more inventive. I've decided that cleaning morning is to be a time for going to new places, out of doors till the weather doesn't permit, and taking along reading material in case i need to shelter in the car.

So today I downloaded Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See on my Kindle, thank you Florence, for the recommendation, no need for WiFi, and set off for the Preserve.

Misty, damp day, quiet, very few birds even, muted Fall colors. There were a few people around, masked usually. So I walked and looked and smelled the earth and had a great visit. Then I read in the car till hometime.

Need to look these up in my fungi book

These little parachutes were everywhere

Standing here, you could hear the flitter of leaves falling into the water

Snakeroot is all gone now, but these, maybe feverfew? still blooming despite light frosts

Then home to mushroom soup and the bread which turned out very well, then to organize the plants I'm rehoming.

 I start plants in the hope of finding someone who would like them, and neighbor Amitha was very happy with them.

Here they are preparing for departure

Left aglaonema, aka Chinese evergreen, with a bit of begonia, right begonia

And the containers one Lenox, one a lovely old Trenton Potteries antique bowl, ready for other work.

Many happy returns

Two returns, to be exact, one being my blessed housecleaners, and though I've been okay about sweeping floors and wiping bathrooms since March, it was just not in the same league as a couple of hours of their attention.

They clean stuff I can't reach, and they can rassle the vacuum cleaner on the two flights. And they leave the place smelling lovely.

I go out and leave them to it, and today I thought of a few items to attend to out of the house, less easy than it used to be when I could just go to the library. So I hit the bank, needing cash for anyone who shops for me, and the farmstand.

Then, the Asian store being steps away, kept on the mask and gloves and tried to go there. Found it was being gutted. The new incarnation of it, different shopping plaza, evidently has finally opened. I missed that completely.

Nothing daunted, I proceeded to the farm. Sawhorses up.  I was half an hour too early. Oh. Still undaunted, I kept going, to see if I could pick up a couple of items at CVS. That worked. First visit since February. And it appears that the new Asian store is open right next door to there.

Then back to the farm, determined, and scored tomatoes, potatoes and Fuji apples.

Then thought I'd stop off in the local park. Completely missed the entrance. By now a bit daunted, I kept on steadfastly and went to see if I could succeed in getting into the Preserve.

This was the other happy return. Haven't been for months, what with heat and storms.

It was not only open, but their WiFi signal radius is huge. I sat by the lake, away from the building, trying to identify various plants and insects online.

What's this plant? Tiny flowers shaped like a member of the pea family. And the little moth? Fat body, not a butterfly. Not a grasshopper.

It was just one of the best visits in ages, lovely wind, cool enough for a jacket, perfect for sitting.

Goldenrod going well.

Smelled wonderful, fresh off the water. Revisited favorite places.

Such as this little nook

And this afternoon is my online knitters' group. 

So I'm off to fire up my computer ready for that. Maybe I'll look in the mirror. After being out in a brisk wind, I expect I need to tame my hair.

What a great Friday.