Celebrating the Leaf...

 

"Every leaf looks like it is celebrating."  That's a quote taken from one of my young students back in the day.  I never forgot it.  

There comes a day when one knows that the time is right for Celebrating the Leaf.  Yesterday was the day.  It was definitely not a day to stay inside, lingering in some dark corner while there was a wild riot of color exploding all over the great outdoors.  So out the door we flew ~ Millie and Me ~ and this is what we found.  

I was proudest of the shot of the oh-so-gorgeous red-tailed hawk.  If I had taken my time and not been so careless, I think I could have gotten another of him in flight.  But, I now know where he is hunting, so I will go back another day.

We gathered soggy leaves from streams of water to roll into bundles for eco-printed cloth like we have done in previous years.   

Down by the creek, we found some very nice black walnuts that had already fallen to the ground.  I am needing some dye, and perhaps some ink, for projects I have in mind.  

~Mary

Wash Day...

Ever since I can remember, I have always loved Wash Day, which preferably is on a Monday, depending on the weather, of course.  And, it is even better if that day is sunny with a fair wind blowing.  Today was one of those days.  And, just as I do every Wash Day, I thought of my mother.  

There were five children in our family, so Momma needed any help she could get.  Even before I started school, I have memories of helping her on that  day.  By the time I was old enough to remember, she had a new-fangled electric wringer washing machine, which was a great improvement over wringing out clothes by hand.  She would stand on one side of the washer feeding clothes through the rollers, while I stood on the other side catching and gently tugging each piece to keep it from rolling back around the rollers.  On occasions, when that happened, a lever was released so the tangled piece could be removed.  I do remember her cautioning me not to get my fingers caught between the rollers.  Thankfully, they never did.

Mom had lots of clothes line space which was usually filled up, often more than once before we had finished doing the wash.  She was awfully particular about the way the shirts and dresses were hung, but not so much about the towels and washcloths which she let me hang (or peg as some of you say).  When they were dry it was my job to take them inside to fold and put away.  I liked doing it, and still remember how fresh and clean they smelled. 

Mom always said a lot could be told about a family by the wash, as she called it, hanging on a clothes line.  Why, one could almost count the children and guess at their ages by observing the clothes.  However,  I always liked best seeing beautiful patchwork quilts flapping in the wind. 

As I said before, the weather was perfect today for drying clothes outdoors.  Our linen sheets, which are now back on the bed, hardly had a wrinkle having been whipped about all morning in a brisk wind.  It is quite obvious, if you should have driven past our house today, that there are no small children living here as there used to be.  I miss those days when there were size 2 and size 3 jeans and a few pretty little dresses dancing in the wind.  But, that's enough of that.  I suppose the clothes hanging on the line here today can tell their own story ~ a story of He and I pottering about the place, thankful for another day and a lot of happy memories.

                                                                  

"We are burning daylight."

 

 I am still denying to myself that winter is right upon us here.  I am a sunshine kind of gal and like to feel its warmth on my face.  I have Millie's persistence to thank for keeping me going up and down these old trails every single day.  Here she is staring through my bedroom window while I make my bed.  She is impatient to get going.  I can almost read her thoughts, "Come on Mary.  We are burning daylight."  (That's an old John Wayne quote that I repeat often.)  I almost laughed this morning when I saw both her ears standing erect.  That happens only in winter's cold, so  here we go!  

The wax begonia in the picture above has been taken inside for the winter.  It is like the ones my mother and grandmother used to grow, so it's quite special.  It has had a good summer living in an old pot on the east side of the porch and has bloomed its heart out.  

My birthday on the first day of November has come and gone.  It was a great day with lots of phone calls and texts from special people.  My sister also surprised me with a visit.  It had been almost two years since I had seen her, so you can imagine all the catching up we had to do.  

After Sis left, Millie and I trekked over the hill to the place where the muscadines grow to see if we might be able to shake a few down from high in the trees where the vines have climbed.  Much to my delight a few were still hanging on.  With the first jerk of the vine, several grapes came peppering down around me.  I quickly snatched them up and quicker than a cat can wink his eye, I sucked the sweet juice out of those marvels of delight and then right down my throat they went.  I hope I will remember that taste all winter long.  Happy Birthday to me!  

Baby Calf is growing up.  Our granddaughter enjoys coming to feed him and gives him lots of love.  He is doing well and has grown quite a bit since this picture was made a couple of weeks ago.    

I will end this post with another of our "Working Late" photos.  We had just finished vaccinating calves when I noticed how beautifully the clouds had formed in the east.  

Trails and Paths We Walk...

 

Millie and Me ~ Our everyday hill....

Some days, it seems steeper than on others...

And longer too...

Millie and I, by ourselves, have been gathering up old brick pavers and laying them down where rough old creek rocks formerly served as pavers.  We really had to watch our steps on the rocks when carrying a load of hummingbird feeders this summer.  Who wants another broken wrist?  Everyone who sees these, including a certain old cow puncher, looks at us with new respect.  We love it!  

The curvy path in the corner garden was a bit of a challenge because I didn't want to saw halves and quarter bricks, but after several trials and errors, I was satisfied.  The rock edging is made from the rough old creek rock pavers so you can imagine how difficult it was to walk on them.

We have been noticing so many beautiful webs that some fine ladies have been weaving here on the hill.  Over and under, round and round they go...  We are careful not to disturb them.  We loved the raindrops that collected on this one.  And, we loved the rain too! 

I hope you are having a wonderful October.  It is going way too fast, though, don't you think?  Thank you for stopping by. Take care! 

                                                                                                        Mary

                                                                                                               

Looking to the Sky...

Here on the hill, we look at the sky a lot, both day and night.  Many of my iPhone pictures are of  spectacular  clouds and amazing sunsets, but never of constellations...until now.  I would never have dreamed of being able to capture such a beautiful picture with just a simple phone camera.  Can you see the constellation, and if you can, are you able to tell what it is?  A clue might be that we are facing northward.   

This picture was taken one evening at our son's poultry farm.  I thought it was quite wonderful too.  We are facing east in this one.

And here, we are facing westward where we enjoy so many beautiful sunsets.  Late evening is a great time of day to be sitting on the porch. (Or out doing chores.)

*****

And now here's an update from the last post.  The mamma cow never changed her mind about the twins.  She wanted only one calf to raise, so we had to take over the job.  It is doing well and loves its bottle.  It is already spoiled and wants to be our pet.  Millie thinks the calf is her charge to look after and watches after it like a good stock dog should, but we are careful not to let her into the pen with it.  Sometimes she seems a bit jealous of it when I am doing the feeding.    

We are looking at jackets over on my sewing blog, Linnie Butts and Company, if you would care to take a look.  Last week we updated the sewing room, so you can find that there too.  

                                                                             Mary

Yay for Fall and Jacket Weather...

 

I was out the door early, this first morning of fall, but was right back inside the door just as quickly ~to grab a jacket.  Forty-eight degrees was a bit too chilly for these old sun-tanned arms that haven't seen a full sleeve in such a long time.  Yay for fall and jacket weather!  The twins were on my mind, so I grabbed the old gray corduroy and back up the hill Millie and I went.  We have another set of twins in the cattle herd, but  Momma Cow  isn't as fond of one of her babies as she is of the other, and keeps going off and leaving it.  (This is our fourth set of twins this year.  What's going on with that?  A cow usually has only one calf.)  It's the little black one in the picture, the one she is licking clean, that she loves best.  It's not that she hates the little gray one, but she just doesn't love it like she does the other one.

 Both calves had been with their mother the evening before, so I was anxious, this morning, to see if they were still together, and fortunately they were.   It didn't take long to spot the light-colored cow and calf as they were not far from the pond near the trail we walk.  So, our day was off to a good start!    

We had left home without breakfast, so a snack on the trail was good.  There is nothing quite like the sweet  taste of muscadine. That's the taste of fall, I think.   

My spirits were lifted greatly last week when we finally got rain.   When  I heard rain pounding on our roof, a few nights ago, in the wee morning hours, I snuggled in and slept like I hadn't done in a long while.  We were thankful!  Rain is such a blessing.

I spent a lot of time in September cleaning, inside and out.  I put something new (or is it old) by the front door.  Well, it's different to say the least.  The MERCANTILE, which I am calling it, could do with a couple of wee pumpkins on the front porch, don't you think?   When I found this old piece, SALOON was written in stick-on-letters across the front.  It didn't take but a jiffy to pull those off. 

I also cleaned the Shanty and made a few changes on its porch.  There's now a bell for callers to ring, and seating for two when the girls come for tea.

I loved Magpie's Mumblings quote on yesterday's post.  (And how about those adorable little sweaters she is making for her grands?)  

"If I waited until I had all my ducks in a row, I'd never get across the street.  Sometimes you just have to gather up what you've got and make a run for it."

That's me to a tee!  Ha! Ha!  I think I'll get off here and make a run for it while there's still a little time left in this first full day of fall.  Happy Fall to you all!  

                                                                              Mary