As Our Life Goes On

Please come sit by me Sit real close and hold my hand Stay with me for now The time will go by quickly I may not see you again -Caroline

There is a deep heavy snow cover around our yard. The deep wet snow is good for exercising as one must lift each leg up high to take each step.  I did make a trip around the yard to feed the birds this afternoon. I hope they like corn because I put lots of that in the feeders. I am rationing the black oil sunflower seed. The birds and squirrels really like the sunflower seed the best but it has escalated in price so that it is more than double the price that it was a couple of years ago. Shell corn has also doubled in price but it is almost cheap compared to the other bird feeds. It has been a great day for catching up on paperwork and other jobs that must be done.  

I was glad that Mr. Fixit put up the bird feeder behind my office window yesterday. It had been stored in the shed all Summer and the expectation of heavy snow gave us a good reason to erect it for the Winter.  The wind is blowing fiercely today and very heavy snow is falling. We do enjoy watching the squirrels, birds and deer that visit the feeders when it is too difficult for them to find food.  The birds chirp in expectation as we exit the house carrying a fresh supply of shell corn and sunflower seeds  to the feeders. 

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Twas the day before...... Snow sparkled in the sunshine Christmas was coming Love, family, friends, peace are the most precious gifts of all MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL! -Caroline

The auxiliary woodpile is against the woods on the East side of our property. The freshly cut wood needs to dry until next year. The freshly deposited snow lends beauty to the landscape.  It covers things that may not be pretty with its soft sparkly white coating. Only deer tracks break the smoothness of the surface. It puts me in a quiet peaceful state even though our World is turbulent. 

It is difficult to hear noises from the outside when we are inside of our house. The older well insulated brick faced house does filter out a lot of the noise from the street and elsewhere. Last night we could hear the fierce winds blowing as the cold front moved in and dropped the temperatures by about 20 degrees. Brrrr! It is cold out there compared to yesterday. The wind is still blowing  and snow is falling. We are lucky to have missed having deep snows and it is easy to drive around to accomplish those things that must be done.  This is the first official day of Winter and it is definitely here. 

Split wood neatly stacked The yard lays muddy and wet Snow will be here soon Radiant heat warms us now and throughout the cold Winter -Caroline

Winter begins officially on Friday and according to the weather forecast the warmer weather that we have been experiencing will be changing drastically. It will be about 20 degrees colder than Thursday and the snow will begin to fall. Time to get the snow tires on and to put the snow brush where it can be easily reached. 

Black and gray squirrels love the seeds from the pine cones on our trees. Many stripped cones lay under the tall trees.  Black squirrels, a variety of gray squirrels, were brought  to the Kent State campus in Kent, Ohio from Canada in 1961. They seemed few in number but they multiplied quickly. The spread of these darker colored squirrels was helped by my dad. He had two Chinese chestnut trees in his back yard and the squirrels were numerous in his yard. They ate holes in the soffits of his house and moved into the attic areas. He felt that there were way too many squirrels around.  As an independent businessman dad worked in many of the surrounding towns. He set Havahart traps in his yard and transported the black and gray squirrels to different towns as he did his business trips for the day. The black squirrels would have certainly spread to other areas on their own but certainly his actions caused them  to spread  much faster. It was probably not legal to do what he did  b

Soft fragile petals Vulnerable, beautiful Take in their beauty Love them in the present time Remember them forever -Caroline

Winter starts on December 21st and I find myself longing for Spring again. Perhaps looking at pictures of flowers will make me think of warmer weather. Actually, the weather has not been too bad yet and perhaps we will have another mild Winter. The sun is shining today but the air is cold. I am a person who needs the sunshine to stay in a happy optimistic mood. Today is a great day. 

Shorter days are here Long Shadows fall early now Each night seems longer -Caroline

When we moved into our house over 40 years ago a large Eastern Milk Snake lived under our garage floor. That big snake would sun itself on our back step and shed its skin on the shrubs next to our breeze way. It would sit in the crack between the concrete driveway and garage floor. Sometimes it would startle me to see it resting where it was so obvious. It lived  here for many years and during that time we did not see mice near or around the garage area.  Yesterday there was a dead mouse with a white belly laying just inside the garage door and today this recently departed all gray mouse was resting on the bottom shelf of the wicker TV stand on the porch. Yuk! This makes me feel dirty. Two mice in two days means there must be a lot of them around.  My Christmas wish is for another large snake to move in around here next year.  

Ohio in the Winter ~ Dark Days Save me from dark days Nights and days differ little Dreary wet dark days -Caroline

It is almost hard to believe that there was an extreme drought in this area last Spring and Summer. The wetlands have filled with water. The vegetation that grew when these wetland spots were dry now turns the water murky and dark as it deteriorates. The different varieties of mosses in the yard have turned bright green and seem to be spreading a bit even though the weather is cooler. The ground is mushy and there are numerous puddles that I must go around on my walk. Rubber boots protect my feet but mud splashes up on the bottom of my pants. I am thankful for the ability to get out and walk around the yard  no matter what the weather is. 

There's a leaf eating monster in my yard  digesting moldy wet leaves and glaring through his wooden eyes threatening   all who pass by his lair. His heavy gray eyebrows are menacing. Don't mess with this grinch. 

We still have a pile of odd shaped stone pieces that we may want to incorporate into this area. Perhaps a stone pad will be placed in front of the shed in the background or maybe there is enough for a short pathway somewhere. The iron fence, old streetlamp and brick path were all large projects. The rest of the work will be left until Spring when revisions will be made in the plantings that are present in the garden also. We are really pleased with how this looks. 

Weeds grow anywhere Just a little dirt needed Seeds find their way there.  -Caroline

Mr. Fixit believes in wearing ear protection when working with noisy machinery. One day a few months ago he declared that the telephone was not working and there was no dial tone. I listened and told him that the tone was back now and handed him the phone. He listened again and then started switching the phone from ear to ear. He was unable to hear that dial tone in his left ear. He could hear some sounds but not the dial tone.  He was due for a checkup and though the family doctor slightly addressed the problem he did not suggest doing anything. We doctor shopped as the great ENT that we had years ago had moved out of state. There are still some more tests to be done and we realize that there are some things that can be fixed and some that can't. We will see. It has been a hard adjustment to make. What I thought was selective hearing was actually his not hearing much when I talked to him from the left side. His right ear seems unaffected. That is a good thing for which we

Lone Vinca flower Pretty,  Not everlasting. Come back in the Spring. -Caroline

The sun warmed the temperature to the low 50s today but the lack of wind made it seem much nicer than that. It is great to still be able to walk around the yard unimpeded by snow, ice or extreme cold. The wetlands on the other  side of the bike trail have filled with water again. There seemed to be only a few people walking or riding the trail today though. I think the warm sunny day tomorrow will bring out plenty of people. I felt invigorated after my walk around the yard. 

Just what should you do When you haven't much to say? Don't say anything! -Caroline

The hungry squirrels and birds around our house are getting meager rations right now. There is no snow on the ground so it is not too difficult for them to forage for themselves. I did buy some suet,  a big bag of peanuts and some black sunflower seed though. Only the fast, watchful and lucky get what food I am putting out right now. I am trying to lure them to the feeding stations so that they will show up when times are tough. 

People rushing by Not really remembering  Reason for Season -Caroline

They're busy shopping  People rushing everywhere Can't stop to greet you -Caroline

Blue skies turned to gray this afternoon as the cold front approached. A brisk wind made it seem even colder than it was. The main wood pile is covered with tin to keep the wood dry. I am sure that the wood on the bottom will receive wind driven rain and snow but we will take from the top each time a load is brought to the front porch. I am not sure I am ready for Winter weather.

Happy Thanksgiving! Homemade pumpkin pie. Yum Yum Can't wait to dig in.  -Caroline

It really does not seem that 53 years have gone by since Russ and I got married and 55 years since we met. Here we are though celebrating another happy year. It will be a quiet day with no special celebrations. That is what we prefer. 

Those old paving bricks are not really all the same size. It became obvious to Mr. Fixit that the bricks are all slightly different as far as having square corners and being exactly the same size. The sand base has to be adjusted as each brick is laid and leveled and the sides of the path have to be constantly adjusted. The path is coming along well but there are just so many other jobs around the yard that need attention during this mild weather. 

The ground was almost too muddy to work with when the sod cutter was used to cut a pathway for the brick walk that will go through the iron gate and the garden area in the back yard. Many shallow roots from nearby silver maple trees made the work even more difficult.  We have located some additional bricks that may be used to extend the walk in the Spring. Right now we are hoping for a few nice dry days so that the bricks that are at hand can be used. 

Jason made great progress on the shed roof before cleaning up the old shingles and leaving for the day yesterday. Today the roof will be finished. Metal flashing has been added to each of the bends in the gambrel roof and drip cap has been added to all of the sides. The roof never had any protection at these seams before so this should help to forestall future leakage problems. The tar paper underlay and some shingles were put on before he left. It is looking good. There is always something around the property that needs attention and getting to it before the damage escalates too far is very important. 

We went to check on the progress of the roofing on our shed at about 10 AM. Jayz Construction is doing the job and the estimate for stripping shingles and replacing them was really quite reasonable. That price did not include  finding damaged wood underneath.  More than 80% of the moldy rotting plywood roof was laying on the ground when we got to the back of the big barn to check on the progress. The contractor had left to buy new plywood.  The two story shed that we saved from being burned down as a fireman's training exercise was free so putting a bit of money into to the sturdy building will be worth it. We were getting it done because the roof leaked so we should have expected that it would have some damage. It is more extensive than we thought it might be.

Sunny days do inspire me to get off my rear and work like crazy until I drop. Today is no exception. The more I do the more I find to do. It is never ending. I have thought of a way to work that out though. First I clear out everything in the house that I collect or like. Then the walls could be painted a neutral relaxing color. All things that  need dusting could be put into a cupboard or behind glass in a cupboard. All hobbies or interests that might mess up anything in the house should be abandoned. All clothing, furniture, dishes, pots and pans should be evaluated for  usefulness and donated if not needed. I need to minimize! Not right now though because I have to work on something more fun to do. In fact I think I'll have to leave that job to someone else. 

You have to make your own sunshine on some days. The change from warmth and sunshine all day yesterday to cool, windy and rainy today does not inspire a lot of enthusiasm to do much more than is necessary. I will try to pick at least one worthwhile extra project to do today. It is getting late and of course that project has not been chosen yet.  The scene above was taken on a different dark day on one of our short trips around our area. 

It is always fun to go to a covered dish party to interact with our long time friends. It is relaxing and a it is also a good time to catch up on what is going on with everyone. I made a main dish with apples, onions and sweet potatoes and a side dish with cranberries, pears and onions with a few spices added. As usual there was a nice variety of great foods and I ate until I hurt. It really is not a good idea to do that of course but I just had to have a taste of each dish. Today I will compensate by cooking light meals. 

Sunshine warms my face The path ahead beckons me A great day indeed -Caroline

These fluffy white seed carriers attached themselves to my clothing as I went by them while taking a walk through the meadow areas of the yard this afternoon.  I am sure we will have a large crop of the pretty goldenrod plants next year.  Three large does followed by an 8 point buck ran through the yard this afternoon. They were gone before I could get any pictures. This is the time of year to watch carefully as you drive because the deer are moving during the day and they are much less wary when being pursued by an amorous buck. 

I am so lucky to have a husband who is a pretty good mechanic. We drive only vintage cars that he can easily fix. If he can't fix it we have a back yard mechanic neighbor/friend who can.  I overheard the conversation of a distraught senior citizen lady this morning while I was at the supermarket. She had taken her car to a chain oil change place to get the oil changed. The car ran fine when she drove it into the shop.  The oil change place called her later and said that her radiator fan had quit working and the car could not possible be driven anywhere until it was fixed. The price would be $1400.00. As she talked to her friends in the market they suggested some independent shops that they had used that would probably be cheaper and honest. She was unable to think her way out of letting the shop that had her car fix it. My suggestion would have been to go to the place that had her car so that she could keep eye on the car and call a tow truck or perhaps get a free tow fro

Bright days with sunshine The light lifts my heart and soul Elevates my mind -Caroline

Sunday was dark and dreary so we decided to hit the road. It is always good to have a destination so we chose Parkman, Ohio. There is an antique mall there and that was our destination. The mall held nothing of interest to us. Heading home we took a short cut the the Parkman, Ohio post office parking lot. The person coming out of the door seems to know that I was taking the picture as we made our drive-by. Not sure if she was checking her PO box or checking on the heat in the building. The unique old brick building is small is size but I give it high marks in style. 

Nothing more got done. I've used that extra hour now to sleep in today. Clocks were dutifully set No more time available -Caroline

The ground was already saturated when the rain from the remnants of Hurricane Sandy hit our area. It was quite a few inches of rain and it was enough to fill the previously dry area over the hill behind our house. The very dry and hot Summer had left this spot completely dry. In my memories that has never happened  since we have lived here . It is good to see it back to a normal state. A half dozen mallard ducks quacked loudly and paddled quickly away from me as I approached the bottom of the hill to take a picture. I had hoped to photograph them but they were safely hidden at the other side of murky pond hiding behind the weeds and shrubs that grew in the area while the water was down. 

It was the Lions Club Carnation Day again. I found a dozen beautiful carnations at my back door when I arrived home from the store this morning. This year there were some beautiful yellow flowers along with red, dark pink and medium pink carnations.  This last week has left me wondering about employers. Do they wander around their stores during business hours to check on how the employees are doing or how they are dressed. This week I endured the highly offensive butt crack reveal in two different stores. ARGH!  Certainly a person can feel the draft when they bend over and 3 to 4 inches of their butt crack is exposed to anyone who happens to be in the area.  I am reminded of the handyman skit on Saturday Night Live in which Dan Aykroyd is the handyman. It ends with him pulling his pen from his butt crack which has been exposed through most of the segment. It is funny only in that it is so true. 

Some words are overused by TV newscasters, people who appear on TV and in fact people in general. You may have guessed that the number one word that I would love to see bleeped is ICONIC. It is highly overused.  Using that word does not make you any more interesting or smart. There are many other words that might convey what you actually are trying to get across that have the same meaning.  FAMOUS, WELL-KNOWN, CELEBRATED,  RENOWNED, FABLED, LEGENDARY, NOTORIOUS, INFAMOUS, ILLUSTRIOUS, THE ONE AND ONLY are some of the words or phrases that might actually be what you are looking for to describe some person, thing or situation.  I know these words may seem too simple but I really get tired of hearing ICONIC. 

This picture was taken just after the dead lower branches of the pine trees near this tall shed were pruned during the Summer. The branch in the foreground has been cleared away now. The pruning left a nice open area around the shed. It had previously been a bit difficult to work around the side of the shed. This certainly makes the area cleaner and easier to maintain.  The constant rainfall this week has revealed that the make-do repairs done by Mr. Fixit on the roof of this green shed were not working to keep the water from leaking into the inside. A call has been put in to the person who we hope will strip all the shingles, make repairs on the roof and put new shingles onto this vintage shed which we acquired for free a few years ago. Up until now it has been a nice dry two story storage shed. 

It was a dark, drizzly and chilly day. I miss the bright sun and I need that natural sunlight in order to feel energetic. As I rummaged through the freezer this afternoon I found a forgotten container of berries. The berry crop was sparse this year because our blossoms arrived too early for the bees to pollinate them. A berry cobbler for dinner seemed to bring bright thoughts to mind but darkness falls early on days like this.  The upcoming time change this weekend will cause very early darkness. I am a fan of bright lights during the Winter. 

We were indeed fortunate not to have endured any severe effects from Hurricane/Storm Sandy. A trip around the yard this morning revealed quite a few downed limbs and branches but these were all dead branches that had been hanging in the trees waiting to fall in a heavier wind. These windfalls are soggy and wet as is the yard. There are a lot of puddles and wet leaves from the red Japanese maple litter the driveway.  Our thoughts and prayers are with those who suffered terrible consequences during this event.