As Our Life Goes On

A circular trap awaits unwary insects. Where is the spider? -Caroline

The penstemon plants are just starting to bloom. There are plenty of these in my little garden so it should make a nice display of color in an otherwise fairly drab spot.The rest of the perennial flowers did not hold their blooms long this year. The dry hot weather certainly affected them.  Deer seldom touch these pretty purple spike-like blooms. That is a good thing. I really need to plant more deer resistant plants. 

If you're really bored Just stack up a pile of rocks Feel the tensions fade -Caroline

A green pine cone has been stripped by a hungry squirrel. The moss has turned very green since the rain fell.  Large saucer sized mushrooms have popped up around the yard.  The rain on Monday caused many large branches to fall from the trees so there was a lot of cleanup around the yard this morning. As I walked under the hemlock trees on the West side of the house I noticed a few holes near the small roots that trail close to the surface. I did not stay around long as the heat of the day had caused the inhabitants of the holes to awaken. Yellow jackets were flying in and out of the large and smaller holes. This is an area that we walk through often so this nest will have to be eliminated for our safety.   It is good to see the plants and flowers responding the the moisture that the rain supplied. 

This picture was taken Sunday.  It was a very warm sunny day.  The underbrush is starting to turn red-brown. Stressed trees have lost leaves. Fall colors are spotty but noticeable as the foliage reacts to the shorter days.  The dry weather finally broke today and a welcome cool rainfall fell most of the day. It even got wet under the trees. We have been watering our trees by carrying buckets of water from the dehumidifier and air conditioner to them. Today will be a day off from that chore.  As the rain continued to fall in the late afternoon heat the humidity built and a fog settled into low areas and hovered over the tree tops. Limbs drooped from the weight of the water. Darkness will come without us seeing the sunshine today.  We are thankful for this rainfall. 

A few years ago these pretty flowers that bloom in August and September tried to overtake my perennial garden. It took a few years of work to weed them completely out of that garden area. They now are planted in a strip along the driveway and again they are spreading like crazy. They do make a nice Fall display of color so until I get tired of their beauty they will be allowed to spread. 

Late blooming flowers Your beauty arrived later But you are most fair -Caroline

Some of the pine trees were relieved of their dead branches.  The hydrangea has been pruned so that it won't be infringing on the brick walkway that will be installed in the garden. The ground below it is being prepared for Fall  plantings.  An ant crawls around on the little mushroom under the pine trees. The tiny sugar maple leaf is about half the size that one would expect.  The Russian olive shrubs have many red and olive green berries but the berries seem to be shriveling. The dry weather has affected many things. The flower garden was not as pretty or long lasting this year. There are still some flowers that will be blooming. The work on the garden walk will continue when the weather cools down. 

The dry hot summer Caused the flowers to struggle Even weeds suffered -Caroline

There was one point when we started our weekend trip to Pennsylvania where we considered turning around and coming back home. Mr. Fixit decided that this was not necessary. The engine coughed and sputtered when we pulled out of our driveway to start the trip. By the time we had gone about 10 miles he decided to stop and check the points. He checked the gap and fiddled with a few things and we were on our way again.  The van ran rather well on the turnpike but as we approached our destination near Pittsburgh it started to sputter and cough again. We parked it and tried to enjoy our overnight camping trip. As it came time to depart he told others of our plight and a kind person took him to a parts store to buy new points. The installation of the new set of points helped but that was not the entire problem.  Mr. Fixit is quite skilled at making do. He ended up jamming a pencil into a vacuum line to seal it off and said he thought that would get us home. It was a nervous 120 mile tr

We dared to hope that perhaps the thunder that we heard in the distance might mean that rain would fall on our road this afternoon. The rain was brief but was enough to wet under the trees this time. The clouds persisted after the rain was finished giving the ground some time to soak up the wetness without it evaporating. We are thankful for this rain!

I know that many more warm weather days are forecast for Northeast Ohio but the signs of flowers going to seed and trees turning color indicates that we should be getting some things done that can only be finished if the weather is a bit warm and dry. There are a few small outside painting projects that need to be attended to. The garage doors are looking a bit shabby and some of the trim on the house needs a refreshing coat of paint. We will get around to these projects eventually but the usual chores and most pressing projects always get priority.  Russ is adding some large pieces of maple to the wood pile. 

Smiley face and slight wave of the fading petals as this flower says bye Next year it will return and hopefully may smile again -Caroline

My little flower garden is located between a large silver maple tree and a large hemlock tree. The roots of both of these trees have sought the water from the flower garden. The garden got extra water anytime that it was dry over a number of years. The roots from the trees just traveled right over to the moist area. There were some rather thick large roots. It was surprising to see roots the thickness of large limbs come up out of the ground. They were no match for Russ and the little Economy tractor.  A line of rain went around us again so we will either wet down the sod that needs cut for the path on the other side of the garden or just wait until it rains.  There is no hurry to get this path through the garden and through the gate finished.  I have relocated all the plants from the flower garden that was in front of the house. The trees in the front yard have grown so tall and thick that the garden is getting only bits  of sunshine through the day. We will plant grass in that

When life gets prickly Back off from those sharp points Go the other way -Caroline

It is not uncommon to see Fall colors in August in our area of Northeast Ohio. The sight of the changing colors  reminds me that Winter is on the way and that it is time to order fuel oil to supplement our wood burning stove.  The trees that are under more stress from the drought are turning color more quickly. The leaf in the first picture came from one of the tall old sugar maple trees on the West side of our yard. A wasp worked over some blossoms near the formerly wet swampy area below the big hill. A small frog hopped away and big spider hurried to safe place to avoid my feet as I checked out some things around the garden. It is a hot day today and my tolerance for working outside in the heat is very low. The cooler weather that is forecast for our area will be welcome. 

We hunted up all the bricks that we could find around the pile of old stuff out back. We do think there are about enough to make the path through the garden. Rectangular sidewalk pieces will be on each end of the walk.  We are also waiting for a custom made iron plate to be finished for the street light mounting base. Quick Service Welding in Kent will make custom made pieces to order. This walkway and lighting project will most certainly be finished before the snow flies. This is worked on only part time as there are always the usual chores to finish. 

I really think that the larger orange-brown insect should be very careful of what it is messing with.  The recent rains have caused the dormant grass to get green and start growing again. The uneven spots got mowed today. It is nice not to hear the grass crunching underfoot. 

The buttonbush, see first picture, that grows along the swampy area below the hill seems to attract many kinds of insects as well as birds and mammals who feast on some parts of the plant. There are some colorful flowering plants next to the swamp which is now a dry swamp waiting for more rain. Parts of this wetland which extends behind neighboring properties also are still filled with water but the shallow area behind our home is dry. Many plants and shrubs have taken advantage of the fertile area to take root and they have filled in the void.  Iron weed, purple flowers in third picture,  seems to be the plant that is growing tall this year. Our decorative grasses are about 2 feet shorter than usual.  The large mushrooms that grow under the pine trees are gnarled and odd looking. The drought has affect many things in different ways.  Variety in nature keeps life interesting. There are interesting discoveries to be found right here in my own back yard. Guess I won&

Our neighbors celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary today. An outside picnic style open house was just what suited the day. Dress was casual as was the gathering. There was plenty of good food. Barbequed ribs, chicken, meatballs and salads of all types covered the tables in the food tent. The yellow jacket bees found the food quickly and buzzed about our heads. There were no flies or ants however. These good, long time, neighbors are worth more than gold. 

Please excuse my looks I am old, wrinkled, fading I will live again -Caroline

It has been raining most of the day. The darkness and thunder are welcome as are the intermittent heavy downpours. It will help to insure that our well does not have a problem. Unfortunately it is too late to save many crops.  The blooms on the perennials are early and the plants are smaller than usual.  *********************** Green are the grasses That we walk upon today Cool rain is falling Tree roots pull in the water They are parched from the long wait -Caroline

Russ, AKA Mr. Fixit, is cleaning the gutters on the barn and the little sheds. We finally have received some rain and those gutters seem to fill up fast with debris from the trees. He had to cut some branches from the pine trees to get back into this spot. He found some carpenter bee damage on one of the sheds. More work to do. The grass is turning green again and more rain is expected.  This young rabbit continued to feed about 5 feet from me as I got near to my back flower garden. It is too young to be afraid I guess.  Delicate tiny scalloped mushrooms are growing in a pile of sticks, twigs and bark in the woods behind the house. They are very pretty and I don't think I have seen these in our yard before this. There are hundreds of them.  Green mossy growth at the base of a wild cherry has some beauty to it.  There are always new things to notice when I walk around in the yard and some of them amaze me. 

Can you feel the heat? It withers flower edges Even in the shade -Caroline

The mileage on our 1977 Chevy turned over to 40,000 miles just as I parked at a local Walmart store so I had to take a picture of that special moment. Wow! If that is all a person had to be concerned with each day wouldn't it be wonderful. 

The sun made the temperatures increasingly warm last weekend. I was happy to be on the inside of the trailer for most of the time that we were there. An old but small air conditioner that I had found at a garage sale years ago just fit into the window of the old house trailer. It is fortunate that we at least have electricity in our camp. The seasonal rates that the electrical co-op charges are quite reasonable compared to the electric bills charged for our home. We have had a few electrical outages at camp though. When we called the electric co-op a person actually answered and said that they would send someone out. Within an hour each time a friendly worker was there to fix the problem on the pole. Last year however our main electrical meter box on the trailer failed so a new one had to be installed by an electrician. That was $omewhat co$tly. 

Having the smoke detector right over the stove in the kitchen of the 1953 Stewart house trailer is a sure way to keep us safe when we go camping. I found the inside of the trailer remarkably neat and clean looking on our recent visit. I made a mental note to take a cleaner that will get to the grease on the stove on our next trip.  The interior of the trailer is just so into the 50s era. It has a  curved plywood ceiling and knotty pine cupboards. The dining set is the original blond trailer set with folding chairs and a table with a heavy base. The rest of the furnishing are things that we added. One full bed in the only bedroom fills the room with only a small path around the bed. The bathroom has no room for any furniture so it is used for storage as it is not functional. We have an outhouse and we transport our water.  One green vinyl armchair that has a 70s look to it and a pull-out daybed that could be from the 50s are in the living area. Various styles of curtains that su

The view from our camp in Pennsylvania has changed just a little in the number of years that we have been there. There are soybeans planted in the fields this year. This allows a much better view of the valley that leads up to the old church and school house in the distance. The church and school are now used as private residences. The field behind the trailer has had corn and hay planted in the past and at one time the farmer next door had cows pastured in the large field.  A new tire has been put on the mower. Fortunately we did not have to bale the grass as the area has been dry and the grass did not get too high before the mower was fixed.  The glaring intense sun and high humidity made working outside difficult. 

Who said that the World Owes you a living. Faulty thinking isn't it? -Caroline

The cicadas are happily buzzing and whirring away. Their split dried outer shells cling to the trees until they fall to the ground below. Maybe they like this hot weather but it has worn heavily on me. Argh! I don't want to do anything outside and for that matter the inside work doesn't seem too inviting either. Is it time for a nap yet?  Some young people traversed the bike trail this morning  but now the sun has heated the air and the humidity is high. Little breeze gets into the area where the trail runs below the hill in back of our property. 

Life is easier when the phone is off the hook. Unreachable me! -Caroline