As Our Life Goes On

Ho Ho Ho! Merry Christmas I think the the thing to remember during the holidays is that many people will be alone. Loved ones may be deployed in different countries. There may have been deaths in the family or have family health issues to deal with all year long. There could be fractured family or friend ties causing great stress to all involved. Financial stress and homelessness may cause many to have no celebration at all. It is time to think about those who may not have the joy that many people share. The reason for the season seems to have been lost by many. It is a time for love, togetherness and reunions with friends and family. Merry Christmas

I'm not sure that the toads involved in the two tales are represented accurately by the above picture but it reminds me of the diversity of the toads and frogs in the world. There are just so many.  The first toad tale has a happy ending. Many years ago my husband was taking a bath and he saw a movement near the bathtub overflow. It was just a momentary move that caught his eye. During the next week he saw it another time. Then one evening a tiny leg with little padded extensions hung down through the hole in the chrome cover for the overflow. He finished his bath before removing the cover and there was a tiny toad or frog. It was still alive so he took it back to the wet areas at the bottom of the big hill on the West side of the property. We figured that it may have gotten into the basement drain and kept climbing up until it ended up in the bathtub drain. The holes in the drain are much to tiny and the slot in the overflow was also too narrow for the poor trapped animal

Bird feed prices have risen again this year but we have decided that the pleasure from watching the birds outweighs the price of the seed. After a trip to Brimfield to buy sunflower seed and shell corn at a farm store Russ dug out the hanging feeders and larger post feeder and filled them. It did not take long before the birds arrived.  Blue jays, red bellied woodpeckers, chickadees, juncos, tufted titmice and a variety of small sparrows zoomed in to enjoy the feast. The squirrels must have heard the commotion that the birds were making and soon at least half a dozen were scampering around under the feeders picking off the overflow. This morning one of the black squirrels remembered how to climb the metal post to get into the larger feeder. I'm sure that the squirrels will be hanging upside down on the tube feeders by the end of the day. 

Dried leaves on the snow Pine needles, small cones and twigs  Chilly air pervades -Caroline

Right of way from bottom of hill. There is a right away for a buried pipeline that runs through the back of our property. The yellow maker is one of many along the line that shows where it is located. Nothing can be planted or erected within 25 feet of either side of the line.  It had been used for transporting different grades of oil and gas when we moved here but now it is being used by Dominion Gas for natural gas. It is a large size major distribution pipeline. It seems that someday we could go out with a real bang. We really have never sat around worrying about that. Having lived here for 45 years there is always enough to worry about without thinking about what could happen.  Right of way from top of hill.

Thankgiving and Christmas are coming. Here is that old pie recipe from a Crisco can. You will need 2 pie crusts of your choice.  HONEY PUMPKIN PIE 1     29 oz can pumpkin (large can) 2/3 cup honey  2/3 cup brown sugar (dark brown is good) 1 teaspoon salt 2 teaspoons cinnamon 1 teaspoon ginger 1/2 teaspoon cloves 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg 4 eggs 1     12 oz can evaporated milk (not the sweetened kind) Mix together in order listed until well blended. Put into 2 pie crusts (purchased or your favorite crust) Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes then turn oven down to 350 degrees and cook until set. Baking time will vary slightly because  of differences  in ovens.

This great Cushman Truckster is both old and new. It is over 40 years old but new to the our fleet of vintage vehicles. Actually we bought 2 of these. One will be used for parts. Parts for these old golf course work horses are hard to find. It is being used to transport firewood to the house, take leaves to the back of the property, carry stuff from the barn to the house and other general yard work. The messy workbench in the background is a sign of a busy person.  Love is old! Friday Russ and I will celebrate our 55th wedding anniversary. We have been together for 57 years. Who needs holiday gifts.   Good eyesight is what is new. What a gift it is to be able to see so clearly. My cataracts have been removed and the newly implanted lenses have given me better eyesight than I have had for the last 50 or more years. My brain is having a hard time adjusting to this wonderful gift. 

The day was perfect again for a short Fall color tour. Many leaves have fallen but many maples have retained their colorful leaves. Today the colors seemed to be more bright and colorful. A lens implant in one eye done last week has taken away the haze that made vision somewhat muddled and unclear. The trees will be bare by the time that my next implant takes place but all things will be seen with new and brighter vision. I am thankful for good doctors and modern innovations for better eyesight. 

Red and golden leaves It is Fall in Ohio Bountiful harvest -Caroline

The International Travelall on the truck has been behind our barn for many years. It was great transportation during the years when the boys were in college. Our friend Jim owns the big red International vehicle which he modified to be a car hauler. The vehicle will be stored in his International parts collection at his home. If a part is needed by any of our friends for their vintage International it may be available. We still have two of these old vehicles that are working and road ready. They give a smooth ride and the visibility when driving is hard to beat. The back of the barn can be seen easily now. I wonder what else we could put there. 

Above: Button Bush This evening we went for a round trip drive through Twin Lakes and around the Lake  Pippen and Rockwell Lake area. One goal was to get a few common milkweed pods so that these plants could be introduced to the swampy weedy areas in the yard. I resisted jumping out of the car in front of houses so as not to attract unwanted attention.  I was able to find about 6 large pods on a secluded road that runs between the 2 lakes in the reservoir. We already have the swamp milkweed growing in the yard on the hill and on the edges of the wetlands. Isolated maple trees have turned bright red and the trees should be ablaze with color in a few weeks. The plants and weeds along the road reminded me of the Weeds and Seeds show at Fishcreek Elementary School. It was held each Fall. The show featured decorations and other things made by students from weeds, seeds, pods and dried stuff from fields. There were animals made with all kinds of materials and wonderful centerpiec

The blooms on the hydrangea shrub in the garden have turned from creamy colors to rosy colors. Most of the flowers in that garden have faded and only seed heads remain. A bit of yellow here and there from late blooming daisies breaks up the dullness.  The paths in the wild areas of the yard are abloom with purple asters, goldenrod and little white daisies. Honeybees seem to be favoring these wild flowers.  Cool mornings and warm days are making cleaning the yard and garden pleasant but towards evening the mosquitoes are a big problem. Their bites make us itch all over.  Individual trees and the poison ivy leaves are turning bright red and the golds and oranges are only beginning. Most trees are still a shade of green. 

The first day of Fall can bring forth some beautiful sights. The colorful Sugar Maple leaves are scattered on the ground at the foot of the tall trees and beyond. The seldom seen honeybees are working around the goldenrod, purple asters and other blooming plants in the wild flower areas in the yard. I can just taste the dark wildflower honey in my mind as I watch the busy bees. Ants and other types of bees are working in the same areas. The sun is shining and it gives me a calm peaceful feeling as I walk through the paths cut through the wild areas in the yard. 

Earlier in the year I bought a few perennial flower plants at a flea market. Helen's Flower turned out to be my favorite of those plants. It grows to a height of about 36" on very sturdy stems that do not bend over like many of the tall flower plants do. The formerly red blooms are turning a soft brown-orange before the petals fall leaving a colorful conical seed head. There was only a picture on a card to show what these might look like when I purchased the plant. These late bloomers are adding nice Fall colors to the garden. 

I find it amazing that the small rose colored blossoms that were seen on this plant in the Spring turned into the spiked milkweed pods shown above. These plants attracted butterflies and they seem to be establishing themselves in the wetlands at the bottom on the hill on the West side of the property. 

This large hornet's nest must have exceeded the weight limit for the little branches of the maple tree that it was built on. These nests are sometimes difficult to see when they are built high in the branches and leaves of the tall silver maple trees. This one landed near the back of the house near the outside water faucet. It is just a few feet from the house and the large hornets are furiously flying about the huge nest. It would be quite dangerous to venture behind the house until the threat is eliminated. 

The old wooden windows on our 1950s home need attention. Many  windows on the house have been finished but Russ just checked out the window at the upper back of the garage and it is flaking and peeling. Our garage has 3 metal framed windows on the ground level and two wood windows that are on the upper sides. One on the front and one on the back. The front upper window has been painted recently but the back window needs some attention. The weather is very hot and humid so not much may be accomplished today. 

Iron Weed The iron weed and golden rod lend a nice contrast to the plants blooming in the wild areas of the yard. Bees and butterflies keep busy visiting the blooms. The large neighborhood turkey vultures make shadows on the ground as they circle overhead. The warm days and blue skies seem like they will last for a while but the leaves falling from the trees let us know that Fall is approaching very fast. Many things need to be done before the cold weather arrives. 

Dragonflies look fierce Should I be afraid of them Really don't think so -Caroline

Yellow goldenrod Your pretty little flowers They cause me to sneeze -Caroline

This is the fattest Easter gray tree frog that we have ever seen. It seems to be very well fed. It stays under round panel that covers the ventilation holes on an old shed behind the garden. Insects have been plentiful during this wetter than usual Summer. Hopefully the mosquito population in our yard is less that it would be because of this little frog. 

The wild blueberry crop in the back yard is nearing the end of the berry season. The tiny ripe berries tasted warm and sweet as I popped them into my mouth on a morning walk through the yard. The birds have eaten many of  little fruits that the bush bore this year. Today those birds may find a special culinary treat on the bush. A cluster of caterpillars was bundled at the end of one of the branches.  The blue skies and temperate weather made the walk around the yard very tolerable. Fall is coming and the leaves on some types of trees are changing. 

This green katydid type of grasshopper has not eaten too much. Finding non-toxic products that work is not an easy task. Russ bought a so called "green" product to spray on the above ground yellow jacket nest that we found under the eaves of the garden shed. It did nothing but enrage the aggressive bees making the situation more dangerous. It was money wasted because none of the yellow jackets died from the spray. He did buy the green product by mistake so the next time out to the store he read the label very carefully to make sure it was toxic. It was instant death for the stinging insects. We feel safer in garden now. The weather has been wet and though yellow jackets are more likely to be found in a nest under the ground they will build the nests above ground during wet years. 

Friend Jim asked Russ to accompany him as he went to an antique tractor show at the Century Village in Burton, Ohio. The weather was perfect for riding in the open side antique military Jeep. It was set-up day at the show so other than people setting up their displays there were few people on the grounds. This is just the way Russ likes it.  An Interesting antique tractor Jim rummages around in the restored military trailer. Notice there are no seat belts in this Jeep. There is free admission to those who drive vintage vehicles to this show but there was no charge since it was set up day. 

The air conditioner in my vintage 1977 Chevy Caprice has had problems for a few years. It had leaks that were not fixable by adding any kind of sealers. Russ bought all the needed parts to install a new system that uses the new type of coolant.  Our 89 year old neighbor had done many of these conversions and repairs in his life. He once had a service station in Kent, Ohio. The old service stations did repairs and sold gas. Often the owners of  these old time stations had close relationship with  their customers. They treated them as they would a good friend. These owners were there to help their customers not fleece them.  The air conditioner now works better than it ever has since we have owned this car. This vintage automobile is on the road most days so we are thankful for this.  Our neighbor prefers to barter so some yard work will be done at his home which is just a few houses away from ours. 

Swamp Milkweed Button Bush It was such a pleasant cooler day today that walking down the big hill to the swampy area and back up did not seem to be a chore. As I descended the steep hill I could see honeybees on the clover. Then I could see them working on the rose colored wild flowers. The wetland areas at the bottom are surrounded by many button bush plants. They also grow in shallow parts of the swampy area. These pretty white and yellow ball shaped compound blooms seem to be doing so well this year after freezing back last year.  We found a few honeybees working in the large clover areas in the yard around the house. Also discovered was a large above ground hornet or yellow jacket nest. We did not get close enough to see what was going in and out of the nest which is very near to the garden gate. It is too dangerous to travel through that area in the yard so even though we shy away from using sprays in the yard we will spray this large nest after dark. Our safety an

He picks his bouquet carefully. At times it is  before the buds bloom and other times just as they start to open. Many are left to open into beautiful flowers. These blooms are added as needed to enrich his bouquet. Flowers that are past their prime may be left to make the seeds of a new generation. Dried flowers enhance the Fall landscape. 

It seems to be mating time for the iridescent Japanese beetles. They are gathering in pairs on the Bee Balm, daisies and other blooms in the garden. Look closely and you can see another beetle under the petals just above the other beetle in the picture. At times the amorous beetles are seen in clusters and it is difficult to see which insect is with another. I am hoping that the day will come where there will be natural control for these invasive pests.  We don't spray our yard or garden. We're counting on birds and other animals to control insects. We have a bumper crop of clover in our yard this year and the absence of honey bees concerns us. The perfect yards in the new neighborhood across the street do not impress us. The sprays that they are using are killing beneficial insects. The lawn sprays are toxic to people and pets though lawn care companies seem to suppress this fact. 

It is clear that it is about time to scrape and paint our old 1953 trailer. The paint is starting to chip and reveal bare metal in some places. Muddy footprints around the back and sides under the windows revealed that our neighbor was not just kidding when he said that he had seen a black bear checking out our camp.  We saw only three deer run through from a field towards the woods across the street. Their fur coats have a reddish hue at this time of year. Later in the afternoon a spotted fawn jumped up from a resting place in the high weeds and ran off.  The field behind our camp sits unused this year because of the unusually wet weather that has plagued the Western Pennsylvania area where the camp is located. Areas of daisies are growing between the corn stubble. It is very relaxing to look out over the field of flowers. I just hope not to see the face of that black bear looking back at me. 

I love the imperfections in nature. Which flower do you study the most. Once you gaze upon an almost perfect flower you can lose your interest. A flower with odd proportions or missing petals is so much more interesting,  People can be similar to flowers. If you choose only friends who look pretty, handsome or perfect you may be ignoring the most interesting persons that you could ever interact with. 

Our house has been heated with oil ever since we moved here over 40 years ago. The price of using oil for heat is at least 6 times what it was when we moved into the old 1952 house. The gas company finally ran a line in front of our house a couple of years ago and we have been thinking about installing a new gas furnace with whole house air conditioning since the time the gas became available. The window air conditioners were not efficient enough to keep the house cool during really hot weather. Today the new system is being installed and it takes up a lot less space. The gas company will run the gas line to the meter that they will install on the house for free. The old larger oil furnace and large oil tank will be removed leaving a lot more room in the basement. 

The brick path in the garden is framed by flowers and ferns. My presence in the area disturbed the ribbon snake that lives under the big rock. It slithered away to a safe place as I approached. The hot and very humid wet weather has caused a bumper crop of mosquitoes to hatch and invade the area. The wetlands, woods and meadow areas in the yard are filled with these insects. Their bites cause me to itch all over. I am becoming reluctant to walk through the yard as it just stirs up mosquitoes and other small insects. Some of the tiny insects that live out there favor crawling into the ear canal.  The baby robins that were in the Japanese red maple tree have left the nest. They also left massive amounts of white poop on the driveway just under the nest. The wrens have a house full of baby wrens and are very busy flying in and out of the house to feed their brood. Hopefully they are feeding some  mosquitoes to their babies. 

A Flower in My Garden There is a lot of clover in our yard this year. I took a tour of the spots where there were large areas of the white flowers blooming and did not see even one honeybee. Childhood memories of walking barefoot through clover only to be stung by one of these important insects came to mind as I searched the yard.  The yards in the allotment across the street are sprayed with toxic chemicals that not only kill bees but many other insects that are needed for pollination. They value a very green weedless yard over their health. Our yard is ecofriendly to all wildlife and it is generally safe for humans. 

This little oddly constructed shed was custom made by a homeowner in our town. We had it hauled across town and placed on our property as a portable shed. None of our little sheds are mounted on permanent bases. They can be moved by a tractor and a little work. The blocks holding this shed had settled too deep into the soil so some holes were cut so that jacks could be placed under the base to raise it high enough so that the treated wood bases were not against the ground. Russ is busy making some shims so that the height will be just right. This shed is not as old as our other vintage little sheds. It has very little character at all. It is very well built with heavy materials however. 

I was quite sure that I saw a fox lope by as I was looking out the window that faces the back yard a couple of days ago. This morning that was validated. Russ called me to the living room in front of the house. A fox had just stopped to urinate on a bare spot in the front yard. We watched it walk quickly from there to the shelter of the large pines on the West side of the house and then over the hill toward the wetlands. We are so glad to have this animal in our neighborhood. Maybe the mice will be less of a problem with this critter policing our yard. 

This unfortunate dragonfly was found in the driveway. Not sure how it died but it will be food for other wildlife. The wings are so lacy and intricate. Adult dragonflies live about two months so maybe this one died of old age. 

Window sill sitting  Just waiting and being green Please don't disturb me -Caroline

We took a 150 mile round trip on I80 over the weekend. The road is a free interstate highway. We refer to this trip as traveling on the highway from hell with killer trucks. The road is rough and always under repair. Driving on the road is free but the traffic takes an extraordinary toll on wildlife. We saw at least two dozen dead deer, one dead bird that may have been a hawk, one coyote, and dozens of small furry animals. There were woodchucks, skunks, squirrels and lots of furry flat things that were difficult to identify while riding at 70 miles an hour. One very long black colored snake lay partially eaten and covered with flies. We really need the natural predators that were among this list of unfortunate creatures that just tried to cross the road.  The road is heavily traveled by many large trucks including double trailers. Just surviving the intimidating tailgating by these big rigs takes a toll on the nerves. It is good to be home safe.