Sunday, 14 October 2018
Sometimes, when you have out-of-town visitors, you do things in your hometown that you should do, and haven’t. Center for Puppetry Arts.
At the Atlanta Botanical Garden, however, we’re members.
And this is a Datura spp. seedpod, your plant photo for today. I have clear images of the flowers in my mind’s eye, but never retained a sense of the distinctive seedpods.
Saturday, 13 October 2018
The ceiling fans are muted, and the dark stays well into the summer-time coffee hour. The seasons turn.
Friday, 12 October 2018
Softening the blow?
Post-Michael we’re in a cool spell—truly cool, overnights in the low 50s. All of a sudden, the season-change is revealed. Yet, I see the azalea out front is giving the spring cycle one more belated go.
Sunday, 7 October 2018
When I was a kid and first encountered the term “horsefeathers” in a book, I could not fathom what they might be, since I knew what horses looked like. For unknown reasons, I next thought of horsetails. Horsetails did not help. Our Universal Friend Goooooo likens horsefeathers to hen’s teeth, but of course OUFG was nonexistent when I was a tad.
Keeping with the repeating visuals theme: institutional small glass tiles. Pretty pretty.
Monday, 1 October 2018
Doesn’t this old branch scar look like a strange wrinkly kneecap? A white birch kneecap. Next to the steps down to the beach.
I saw evidence of a deer-dance in the footprints in the sand. Those long drag marks ended in deer prints. I’m unsure of the moves that produced them.
I’ve noticed this plant on the beach my whole life and don’t know even a common name for it. Just got out the wildflower ID book—it’s a Polygonium spp., most commonly called some kind of smartweed or knotweed. So there.
P.S. It’s October!
Sunday, 30 September 2018
Was it an excursion to check on our beach’s wooden Nessie? Soaking in the sand today….
Just after lunch we left the property to check on the leaf color and get out of the house.
Just as we got to Eagles Nest, the sun came out for the first time! Yay! Gamed the sunshine! It didn’t linger.
We drove on past the Big Fill (didn’t stop) and Lavender Corners (only stopped at the stop sign; it’s a ghost town now).
At Seney we made a detour up to the campground to check on the Fox River. I looked for a sign saying Ernest Hemingway fished here. None. I would also have been happy with an Ernest Hemingway fished here sign. Nada.
Needed the wood stove today, but right at the moment we have windows open for a few minutes because it’s kicking out way too much heat. Not enough; too much. The dance of life?
Thursday, 27 September 2018
I remember (have I already remembered this on these pages???) my dad slicing thick slabs of ready-to-saute puffball steaks. The puffballs were at about this stage.
I looked. I thought about the culinary challenge.
I punted.
We had leftovers, and the puffball stayed in the wild.
Tomorrow? 😀 😍 😩 🤩 😜 🤭
Monday, 24 September 2018
Yeah, it was overcast again, this morning, but bright enough at 10:45am that you could see (and, of course, hear) the waves rolling in courtesy of a good south wind. In the afternoon, it was mostly sunny, and we reaped the benefit of the solar gain on the sun porch.
Not 15 minutes later, I took this photo, different angle…looked like a low sun situation…but wasn’t, just strange light through the overcast.
Meanwhile, over at the garden we’re watching, the broccoli was getting away from me. Happens this time of the year. The blossoming stalks are all pruned back for now, with the salvageable ones consumed!
Saturday, 22 September 2018
Still this morning after the turbulence of the last two days. The caulk fix the Guru implemented on the rain barrel is holding!
Not yet seeing milkweed seeds floating around, as the pods are still desicating.
Found this bold lichen on the neighbors’ gate. Tough surface, but a bit sheltered.
The afternoon sun warmed the porch to the mid-70s, warm enough to dine here. Outdoors the temp dropping fast toward an overnight low in the upper 40s.
Wednesday, 19 September 2018
Today was a Foley food mill day. And in autumn, that means…
…applesauce! You keep processing and squeeze the last juices out of the peels—and that yields a nice pink color not yet visible in the sauce. Tasty!—and with a minimum of added sugar.
Picking the broccoli for dinner tonight, I saw the sun had come out to highlight the blossoms. The plants are getting ready for winter!