As Our Life Goes On

At first I thought there was a dead leaf stuck the the daisy petal but as I looked closer it turned out to be an insect of some sort. It did fly away after I annoyed it by taking pictures. This moth or whatever it is has a perfect camouflage. I do think that its enemies would be fooled.  The last of my Fall flowers are now blooming. They need watered as the weather has been very hot and dry. It seems as if I just finish watering and the soil appears dry again. 

You probably guessed already that this poor misguided bird tried to fly though my dirty window on the back of the breezeway. We found it just after lunch. I did move the carcass to the back yard a bit further from the house as an odor was starting and a number of buzzards were circling over the house. The large black buzzards went away before I moved the dead bird but they may be back or perhaps a hungry raccoon, coyote or other animal will happen by to find the bird. 

We took a ride in the 1979 Olds last night to keep the engine in condition. The road through the woods between Lake Rockwell and Pippin Lake was quiet and shady. When we came to an opening near a quarry Russ saw these 2 deer along the road. The one in the foreground is this year's fawn. It still retains some of the spots. The watchful doe made sure that we were not a danger to her baby. 

Jewel Weed with Ant Wild Cherry Leaf Berries on a Russian Olive Plant The weather today was like a breath of fresh air. Cloudiness in the cool morning gave way to sunny and partly sunny skies this afternoon. The temperature was what I can refer to as just right for me.  A brief sprinkle hit mid-afternoon. The wind circling over Lake Erie picked up a bit of moisture but we could have used more rain. The flowers required some water. A few colored leaves dot the yard but this is just the beginning of that. Isolated trees along the highways have turned color. 

Don't worry! I did not serve any of these for supper. I would trust myself to select the morel mushrooms in the Spring but other than those I have to leave it to the experts. I buy mine from the market. There are a number of small animals that enjoy eating the mushrooms in our yard and that is evidenced by many partly eaten and chewed mushrooms of many types. The animals that can eat them without effects know what they are doing.  

These noisy insects have made their chirping sounds in our yard most of the sunny days this Fall.  The one pictured was still drying out its wings and was not able to fly away. Note the one wing is still not fully extended. 

My garden areas almost looked monochromatic before adding these orange and pink cone flower plants. I am hoping that they will multiply so that next year I will be able to share these flowers with my friends. The Echinacea plants in my garden are all single flowers so these fluffy double flowers that remind me of mums are a   nice addition just for the difference in looks. 

We arise early in the morning to get a good start on the day. There are endless things that need to be done and they sure aren't finished this evening. A lot was accomplished but it is getting late and I think that my get up and go got up and went. I will slow down for the rest of the day. Tomorrow will arrive too soon and bring another  batch of work that will have to be done plus some that can be put on the back burner for a while. 

There is no dispute about the most popular man to come to our house today. It was a man named Tim who works for a local drain company. Years of lint buildup from our washing machine and detergent residue from both the dishwasher and washing machine finally clogged our basement drains so that they backed up into the basement. Thank goodness the bathroom was not affected. But the kitchen sink and washing machine drains were blocked. We called the company first thing in the morning and they put us on priority for today. Late this afternoon Tim arrived and used an electric snake to clean the years of built up gunk from our floor drain. The washing machine is now churning away and the full dishwasher has been run. 

The sumac plants are full of the fluffy reddish spikes and the burrs are ready to cling to your clothing as you take your walks in this cool Fall air. I just love the cooler nights and less humid days. I had energy galore today but now it is pretty well used up so it is a short blog this evening. 

These high clouds seemed very beautiful in the blue sky. We did run into a few showers on the way home on the interstate. The weather was less warm and humid today and it was a good day for traveling. 

As I crept closer to get a good look at the webworm nest in these trees near the back of our property a sudden noise erupted from the high grasses and weeds. A large deer popped up from where it was bedded in the the dense foliage on the ground and hightailed it to the safety of the woods. The sharp thorns hidden in the high grasses tore at my skin so I carefully picked my way around the poison ivy plants to the safety of the lower grass in our yard. Numerous webs can be seen this time of year along the roadsides. Please click on the link below to read more about these pests.  WEBWORMS

These pictures were taken in an old woods that is behind the golf course down the street from our house. The woods still contains many old huge dead standing trees or snags that have never been cleared for housing or other reasons. The pictures above show old very tall stumps from trees that fell many years ago. It is good to see that they are still standing as they provide great places for all types of wildlife to live.  Check out the information sheet from OSU regarding snags by clicking on the SNAGS link below. SNAGS

Our friend apologized for the imperfections in his home grown tomatoes. We assured him that this really did not matter to us. Supper will be enhanced by the use of part of these lovely fruits. We really enjoy the bounty of other people's gardens. We quit growing our garden a number of years ago as it is imperative to fence in gardens in our neighborhood. The deer, woodchucks, rabbits, crows, insects and other animals discouraged me from keeping up with this hobby. We are thankful anytime that the neighbors show up with a basket or bag of produce. It is a good time for visiting with our friends and neighbors.

Russ is still in mode of gathering more firewood to add to the ever growing stack in our back yard. The weather is still plenty warm but the cooler nights hint that Fall and Winter are fast approaching. We really love the cooler evenings and less humid days. It is easier to get wood gathering and splitting done. The yard work seems to take less effort on less humid days. 

Walking was the only way to get to grade school and high school during the 40s and 50s. We had only one car in our family.My dad drove that car to work. The distance from home to school at the old Central School seemed really far for our little legs to carry us but what great exercise that was. The cold brutal days were the worst. Rainy ones could be dealt with by wearing waterproof boots and raincoat.  Seeing the acorns during my walk in the yard today bought back a vivid memory of the boys that lived on or near the corner of Fairchild and N. Mantua. School rules required us to go straight home with no horseplay, fighting or throwing things on the way. Unfortunately the kids that lived in that area arrived home first as they were close to the school.  In the Fall they would pelt the passing kids with acorns, buckeyes and horse chestnuts. Winter was worse because the ice balls and snowballs that they hurled at us hurt more if they struck you. I think somewhere along the way thes

This is a my blog anniversary day. The blog started a year ago on August 15th. Not sure if I will keep up blogging every day as sometimes the mundane happenings seem boring even to me.  The old tractor is being moved to an inside area to be cleaned and painted before the recently repaired engine parts are put back on. It only makes sense to do that. These little Economy Power King  tractors are compact but many parts have to be removed to get to the parts that need to be repaired. 

We had a great time night at out impromptu dinner. A quick cleanup was done in the kitchen and bath. Fresh towels and clean mirror in the bathroom made the house company ready. We had pizza, blue corn chips and guacamole dip, fruit and a light dessert.  The gals sat on the breezeway and visited until the mosquitoes drove us into the house. The hot wet weather has yielded a bumper crop of the little biting insects. The rain today should add to the ideal conditions for an increase in the mosquito population.  It is difficult to walk outside without getting bitten.

The purple of the iron weed lends color to the late Summer landscape. I may choose to make a bouquet of these flowers along with some goldenrod and Queen Anne's lace for my table. A few friends are coming for a casual dinner and visit so flowers would brighten up the house a bit. Wild bouquets can be beautiful.  I am looking forward to the occasion. 

We have not given this little shed a complete paint job for a number of years. A dab of paint here and there to cover the bare spots was just not doing it anymore. The overhanging pine branches were trimmed back and the roof and sides were washed and sprayed with bleach water to kill mold and algae. Then it was scraped and wire brushed until ready to paint. The industrial grade paint that we have been using on the sheds is holding up very well on the ones that we have painted. It may be necessary to buy one more gallon to finish this job. Mr. handyman is such a good painter that he can paint without getting paint on himself. I have to wear my old paint clothes, gloves, hat and very old paint shoes when I paint. Actually he prefers to paint alone. 

It has been almost a year since I started this blog. I am thinking of cutting back on the number of days that I submit postings. Jerry Seinfeld touted his show as a show about nothing. Of course it was really a show about every day life. My blog is getting to be more of a blog about nothing because we do live a fairly ordinary every day life.We like being ordinary. Perhaps there will be lots of interesting happenings if I wait a while before writing a blog. The decision will be made soon. 

There were so many things going on today that though the day is almost over it seems as if it just began. The weather was very nice and even seemed cool compared to the heat of last week. I can work non-stop when it is comfortable. I guess that is why the day seemed to go very fast.

YES, A day that is quiet and runs along smoothly is a good day. I don't need any soap opera style drama to keep me happy. The songs of the birds and the changes in the color of the leaves make this a great day.

Phlox from a long gone homestead now grow wild. The heat and humidity make the view across the valley very hazy. The thistles attract many kinds of bees.  The black walnut trees have many nuts this year. Blue and orange flowers are scattered through the high grass areas.  See butterfly weeds below. Deer eat the stalks along the cornfield down to about 1 foot high. The corn is thriving in spite of the bad weather in the Spring. Signs of Fall are evident. The weather was warm and muggy during our recent trip to camp. Haze hung in the hot air and made comfort difficult to find as there was not a breeze. Queen anne's lace, daisies, chicory and golden rod lent color to the fields and roadsides. The seed heads of mature grasses added to the color. Some brightly colored fallen leaves made Fall seem closer than ever. I like Fall!

As you can see by the stem above this colorful fat swallowtail  caterpillar is getting lots of food from this rue plant. I don't really care how much it eats as the rue is really quite large and bushy. You can learn more about the swallowtail and rue by clicking on the Wikipedia links below.  SWALLOWTAIL RUE