Birdhouses

Birdhouses before the partyDuring
After

Trickery afoot

I made a scarecrow for my garden out of a thrift store dress and hat. We have a neighbor that is a very enthusiastic bird feeder, and the birds congregate heavily near my beans. I thought that this might help. What I noticed was a lot of whispering and giggling among the men folk in the family. Later on I discovered what they were up to. A strategically placed Halloween mask. -Polly

Bad News

Well, the weekend away happened. As I hoped, there was some reading and a little knitting. But, something terrible also happened. We lost our little pup. The country vet tried to help. The city vet tried to help. In the end, he just could not stay with us. I can't believe it. I can't stand it. But, that is what happened. -Polly

Weekend Plans

I am hoping that these things will receive some of my attention this weekend. I know in my heart that I will be mostly doling out snacks, rummaging through laundry, and refereeing dogs and boys, but this is still my hope.  I hope you have a great weekend. -Polly

Puppy Love

So, the puppy is still here, and he is getting bigger. We still think he is charming. I took some pictures of him when he first arrived. I particularly liked this one of him exploring the garden. That was just the beginning. He has since proven himself to be a truly expert and tireless plant demolisher.

Picture this coming at you if you are a tender lily.

Here he is doing what he is meant to do. That interesting object is a packet of grouse feathers. When it is dangled and swung from a fishing pole, he points at it steadily. Good Dog! -Polly

Grandmas and Grandpas and The Fourth of July

Today is the fourth of July! This morning the sun finally came out and lit up my glass bear. I live in the house that my Grandmother grew up in. Though much has changed, this bear is still in the same window where it was when I visited Grandma here. Remembering her on the Fourth of July reminds me of my favorite part of one of my favorite books.

A final memory.

Fire Balloons.

You rarely see them these days, though in some countries, I hear they are still made and filled with warm breath from a small straw fire hung beneath. But in 1925 Illinois, we still had them, and one of the last memories I have of my grandfather is the last hour of a Forth of July night forth-eight years ago when Grandpa and I walked out on the lawn and lit a small fire and filled the pear-shaped red-white-and-blue-striped paper balloon with hot air, and held the flickering bright-angel presence in our hands a final moment in front of a porch lined with uncles and aunts and cousins and mothers and fathers, and then, very softly, let the thing that was life and light and mystery go out of our fingers up on the summer air and away over the beginning-to-sleep houses, among the stars, as fragile, as wondrous, as vulnerable, as lovely as life itself.

Ray Bradbury - Dandelion Wine 1975 All last week my boys practiced their parade form. As they hoped, the real parade today was very loud with fire trucks and small town wonderfulness. After lunch, their Grandmother sent them searching in the yard for a treasure box she had hidden. It is a big job to fill their heads with sweet memories, but someone has to do it. Happy Fourth, -Polly

Teacher bags

We got to know some wonderful teachers this year. These are fairly awful pictures of the bags that I made for them at the end of the school year.

I started with this Simplicity pattern. I adjusted it so that the bags would be fully reversible. These are very easy to make! Much easier than patiently teaching little boys. Thanks Ladies! - Polly

Weekend in Review

We took a family walk to an old mill pond, and met a fish there. One of us successfully dodged the raindrops on the way back. -Polly

Mid June Plants Before the Rain.

These are some of the plants that showed their stuff last week.

Foxglove

Catmint

Rose

Bleeding Heart

Mock Orange

Chives

Squawroot

Puppy!

There is a puppy in the house. He traveled. He arrived. We just love him.

-Polly

The Esthetics of Frugality

So, we are trying hard to be frugal because we believe it is the right way to live. We are intentionally seeking to consume less, and lead a simpler life. Sometimes this looks nice, and sometimes it does not. Our kitchen shows an example of each case. This sad looking pile of parts was recently a very nice looking faucet. When a youngster in the family attempted to use it as gymnastics equipment, it's useful life was ended. Fortunately, an old salvaged from who knows where faucet was waiting in the garage. Because I am brave and committed to consuming less, I did not complain excessively as the replacement was installed. As it turns out, this new to us fixture is so much easier to use that I have come to like it quite well.

The other example that I would mention here is our new old stove. We have had success heating our house with wood for a number of winters, and have been on the lookout for a cook stove. This coal / wood cook stove turned up at the right price. To me it is just beautiful.

The best part is that this lovely stove will replace a clothes dryer that has not worked for two years. When the dryer stopped working, I already knew that I could get our clothing dry without electricity for most of the year. We debated about tossing the machine right away. Mr. Moss said that if I chose not to fix the machine, a new one would not be an option in the future. What I learned is that if we have a wood stove going in the winter, I can easily dry all our clothing all year long. If we have two stoves working, I see no reason to keep the dryer. See, there is a connection here! In this case, the stove is much nicer to look at. -Polly

Bright green hosta in the house

Still here, just busy in the spring. One and a half weeks until summer vacation. -Polly

Feeling anxious? Fretful? Try digging up a lawn!

-Polly

Spring Diversions

This turns out to be a very green post today. We are having some typical New England spring weather. There are good edible green things growing from the ground, but the air is cold and damp. I was cutting arugula for dinner when I looked up and saw our woodsmoke rising behind some rosebuds. Take a look at the green leaves below. Can you tell what they are?

These are the most giant rhubarb leaves that have ever grown here. Those are my adult size toes for scale. Having the bun lads residing nearby seems to be a factor.

And now finally a little bit of weaving news. I now have a Mannequin to keep Ruth Ann company. Handsome man scarves are being planned presently. -Polly

Metal Parts

Enough suspense already! Here is my mother's day present. A ring! I found this large metal ring in an old cellar hole. Part of it was buried in the ground, and held down by a tree root that had grown over it. We think it is a barrel stay. The inside is flat, the outside is somewhat rounded, and there are no holes in it. After it was rolled out of the deep woods for me, I set it up in a shady part of my garden. I am so pleased with it.

After the ring followed me home, but before it was installed, I found even more rusty metal parts. These leaf springs were under our garage for some time. Only when my mind was happily musing on the aesthetic qualities of discarded metal did they jump out at me as a perfect addition to a sunnier garden. -Polly

A Long Weekend in the Woods

For mother's day weekend, we went away into the woods. The weather was lovely. The flying insects were plentiful. A porcupine quill was discovered by a foot. I found a few more by looking at the ground under trees that had bare spots in their bark. Our dog discovered something he was excited about.

We did not let him keep his treasure because we knew it would aggravate his food allergy. He was disappointed, but in time, he came to see our point.

This pile of rocks was added to.

We studied this beaver dam for a while, but never saw the builders.

Turkeys were seen leisurely crossing a field. In season, but after noon.

The boys were drawn by the allure of a cold running stream.

We had a wonderful time. I brought home a surprise mother's day gift also! I do not yet have a nice picture to show it off. For now, I can say that it is round, and quite old. Part of it was in the ground for a very long time, and it took my good husband considerable toil to acquire it for me. I will show you later. -Polly