How About Them Apples!

Just wanted to show you some of the few apples that have grown on our favorite fruit tree. It is placed between our house and the neighbors home in a spot that receives the brunt of the winds that frequent our area. Living at the base of the mountain has offered us many days of heavy winds, that just whip down between our houses. So, this tree bends its branches to the West. Making for an unusual looking tree. But the apples it produces are wonderful. For the past several years, we have had a grandson help us in the harvesting of the fruit. This year, the apples are low and few, so probably I'll be able to do it my self. Looking forward to a couple of apple pies and apple crisps and some for just plain eating.

September is here

I love Fall. This time of year is so nice. The days are warm, sometimes hot, but mostly just right. The nights are fine with a light blanket or even just a sheet for sleeping. The yard work has slowed down, even the weeds seem kind of sleepy and slow to grow. This morning while the grass was being mowed by my older grandson, my younger grandson and I were clearing out some unwanted branches and flowers. The flowers have lost their color and freshness and are just plain unattractive now. My younger grandson, Cove, has learned this Summer about 'deadheading' flowers. He is doing well at this task, but the flower blossoms really have to be dry and brown before he feels okay about cutting them off. You see, they are still beautiful to him if there is color left on the blossoms. 

I have had some luck with the vegetables in the backyard. First time planting Eggplant and have harvested 2 of them. Cooked a pan of Eggplant Parmesan, we enjoyed it very much. Also have had green beans, cucumbers, zucchini, tomatoes (cherry), the big ones are not doing very well at producing. We had green peas in the late Spring Then there are fruits - peaches, raspberries and soon we will have some luscious apples. I knocked a couple off the tree this morning (by accident) and we enjoyed slices of apple for a morning snack and then had some apple in our salad at lunch. 

Saurday Morning

Today will just be a post concerning placing pictures in this blog. I received a tutorial concerning this subject on Thursday of this past week. Today will be the first try. Got it. May,2014, early morning picture of West mountains as viewed from my back deck. Microsoft wants to download something, so this is all for today.

That Silly Little Hummingbird

Several days ago I mentioned a Hummingbird that is in our yard and sometimes acts like a bumblebee, diving and flitting around me. Well, yesterday , after entering the garage, I exited my car( must mention that it is bright red) and saw that the Hummingbird was coming into the garage. It flew around and I looked to see if it was still in the garage. I could not find it, so I guess it had quickly flown out to the yard. Wonder if it really knows that it should just be going after the bright flowers and not me.

I also talked about the moon, how big and bright and beautiful it has been for the past few days. I took some pictures and will now try to put them with this blog. I am having trouble posting pictures. My son-in-law said that pictures are very important to a blog, so I will keep trying.  No luck. Maybe next time

Saturday Morning

I looked out to the West early this morning, it was still dark, and saw a full orange moon. There were some streaks of clouds across the lower half of the circle. I tried to take a  picture of it. Looked like a pretty good Halloween picture to me. The shots were not too good. It was too low and when I tried to bring it in, it would look blurry. I'll have to try again tomorrow morning, if I am awake early enough.

Myopic Hummingbird

I've seen Hummingbirds off and on in our backyard. I've seen them at feeders in friends kitchen windows. One time we drove to Moon Lake, just a day trip, to check out the camping areas. There was a small store and office where you could reserve a camping spot and I think there were some cabins too. Anyway, this little store had Hummingbird feeders on both porches. There were quite a few. We saw the coming and going and some fighting of these little birds. There were several kinds and several different colors. I watched from inside the store.

Well, about a week ago, I was walking in our front yard when I heard a sound, a kind of whooshing, and looked up to see a Hummingbird heading right for me. I was startled and flung out my arm and he darted away. I was wearing a bright pink T-shirt and maybe the color attracted him. Then, yesterday I was in the backyard, coming in from picking some tomatoes. I was carrying them in a bright yellow colander. The Hummingbird came at me again. This time I was still, watching to see how close he came. He darted and flitted around me for a few seconds and flew off. I looked up and saw a Robin, who seemed to be watching as he sat on the fence.

You never know what you will see when you go outside in the Summertime. I think that this little bird is myopic and thinks the colors of my pink T-shirt and my yellow colander indicated flowers full of nectar.

Things to do Today

Tuesday is a day saved each week, in warm weather, for the two 'yard boys' to come and work in the yard. One uses the mower to cut the grass, the younger one, uses clippers and shears, working with me, to trim and cut away dead flowers. This happens on Friday morning also. We have found that by mowing twice a week there is no need to use a catcher. The lawn trimmings are short enough to be left on the lawn. This activity is done early in the morning when the sun has not had a chance to heat things up too much. But we all do wear hats and gloves to this activity.

The boys are two of my grandsons. They come each time, willing to complete the chores that are awaiting them. I am so happy they live so close to me and want to come to help me. The lawn work is done in record time, done to the beat of music (listened to with the little ear buds). I haven't heard the music, but it seems to help the self propelled mower go fast. The dead heading is done carefully by the younger one. He wants to make sure that each blossom removed is really ready to go. He wants the "beautiful flowers" to stay on their respective plants until they are brown and no longer pretty. Once in a while one mistakenly gets cut off too early and that makes for a moment of regret on his part.

I read an article last Sunday about the wonders of grandchildren. The writer, Robert Kirby, said that they are the best reason for having children in the first place. He has a good point there I think.

It Has Been A While

Hi to you all,

It has been a long time since I sent some of my thoughts out to you. Things changed on my computer and I was lost as to how to write and get it published. Had a visit from my son-in-law yesterday and he helped me get going again. I still have a hard time placing pictures, but will work on it for each post and see what happens.

A nice rain is happening outside right now. A Summer rain is delightful I think. The lawns and gardens are revived after rain, much more so than after a watering from the hose. Our peaches and apples are forming nicely, hoping for some apple and peach pies in the future. But we do have to share with the birds. Last year they got the lion's share of the harvest. Those Magpies are very hungry I think.

Well, I tried to get a photo for this post, but failed. Will try later.

Sunday morning

What a difference ! A week ago we were in the midst of a fierce wind storm cleanup. People all over our area were out in force removing the shingles, papers and most of all, the downed trees. The days following a big storm were filled with offers of help and concern for neighbors. How good that can make one feel.

Now as we move through the neighborhood, memories of the storm begin to fade as the world gets back to normal. Some roofs have been repaired, some show evidence of beginning repair and others are waiting for bids and visits from the insurance  representatives so repairs can begin. Life get back to almost normal for most of us, the storm a distant memory.

The Day After

The big wind came to our part of the world, did its damage and left. It was a strong wind and with all it's mite, it tried to blow us away. It huffed and it puffed, but all it could do was pull off shingles and wreaths and toss around garbage and garbage cans.  During the windy night, I could hear the race of the large containers used in our town for garbage, they are big and black. There are big blue ones too. They are used for containing recycling materials. The containers left their homes and searched for new places with the winds help. I could hear the rumbling of the cans as they went down the street. But, one big blue recycling can made it's way down the south side of our yard, bumping into the house along the way. I laid in bed and thought that since the garbage pickup had just occurred yesterday, it would only be an empty can that would need to be taken from our yard and up to a neighbor. But with morning light I realized that it was not a garbage can, but a recycling can and it had not been empty since the pick up for it will be next week. So needless to say there was more that just the can that needed to be removed from our back yard. It was windy all day, so I left it for later.

But then in the early evening, the doorbell rang and our next door neighbors stood on our porch with plastic bags telling me they had come to clean up our backyard. They had their three young children with them, all dressed warmly and ready to serve. They asked me to turn on lights in our backyard. Then they went to work. They even found two of the Christmas wreaths that had blown off the front of our house. How nice to have good neighbors.

A cold Saturday Morning

Although it is still dark, I can see that we had a small snowstorm last night.  So probably there will be no morning walk today. Maybe a drive to the mall for an inside walk will be on the docket. Winter is a beautiful time of year, but it takes me while to get used to the fact that plans sometimes need to be changed quickly due to weather.

We spent a good portion of Thursday taking up the leaves that covered our gardens and lawns. They were blown onto the lawn and the mower scooped them up and mulched them and then we scatteded them back onto the gardens in hopes of even better veggies next year.

The outdoor furniture is safely inside now, the snow blower is in the garage,and some of the Christmas lights have been hung so I think that Summer and Fall are over.

Plans for next week all center around Thanksgiving and the fun times we will have with family and friends. It is a time that I look forward to each year.  As the years go by and the children find homes in different cities it is so fun to look forward to this season of getting all together again even if it is only for a few days.

Summer's Last Big Splash

Looking down into the backyard I see the changes that are expected for this time of year. The trees have some color changes, especially the one large branch in the peach tree. The Cosmos are tall and bright pink and fuchsia.  The grass is still a vibrant green and even some of the Pansies are showing their yellow colors. But the one I like best of all is a Dahlia, a giant deep colored one. The plant has many blossoms so I brought one in so as to enjoy it in the house. Don't you think it is beautiful?

Tired Tuesday

We spent the past few days on a very special triip. Last week we headed to Washington state to visit family and attend the blessing of our Great Grandson. We decided to drive. We wanted to see the Fall colors up in Idaho and Oregon and also in Washington. On the drive up, the rain clouds were low and spilling over onto the landscape, so we saw only the gray colors of wet leaves and fields and rocks alongside the roadway. Ok, so we will see the colors on the drive home. But on Saturday, the sun came out and we truely enjoyed the driving around Seattle and Bremerman. Visiting with family is a treat in itself, but visiting family and getting to hold the new baby is surley the best treat of the day.  We talked and attended Church and ate and celebrated October birthdays and just had a fine time. The morning of our trip home dawned with rain and clouds. We only saw the very tip of Mt Hood before the clouds returned to cover the majestic mountain. All the way home from Mt Hood to Farmington the windshield wipers moved back and forth on the windshield, sometimes slow, other times going almost at their fastest pace. So, let me tell you that again we saw very little Fall color. Guess we need to take a run up the canyon before the leaves fall here.

Pumpkin Patch

Today I decided to harvest from the pumpkin patch.  The vines were withered and the leaves were brown and not offering any protection from the sun for the fruit. After the harvest I brought my treasure into the house and began my fall decorating. Pictures are above.

Now I just have to decide what design to save. The fact that only one pumpkin developed and grew and turned orange makes this an important decision. Which display to you like best?

Colorful flowers and a little visitor

The flowers,Mums, that I planted about 10 days ago are now filled with color. The colors reflect the colors in the umbrella. Just how I planned.  The days are showing signs of fall and the nights are cooler and sometimes quite breezy too. Walking in the mornings will soon warrant a jacket and then gloves will be sure to follow. We walk in the early morning, so a white jacket will be worn, along with a light. Not so much to help us see the sidewalk, but to help others, out that early, to see us. The path we take each day is a very sound and smooth sidewalk. Just have to make sure that no one steps off the sidewalk and into a place unknown that could cause a change in our plans, such as a fall.

The little visitor at our house this week is a small dog who belongs to our daughter's family. They are out of town this week so Patch came here to stay. She has done very well, although she is probably missing all the family she usually sees each day. We have learned that she wants to be where ever we are. She follows me about the house always. We have a very safe outside deck that has no escape route other than coming back into the house. We have left the screen open about eight inches, just enough to let her come in and out at her desire. She has spent a lot of time on the couch in the den. I put her blanket in a soft spot and she seems to like that. She wants me to sit by her and coach her to eat. We have established a routine here, hope she leaves that routine here and does not require that same attention when she goes home.

New Fall Flowers

I did find some Mums in three colors that match the new umbrella. Maroon, orange, and yellow. They have been planted in the pots on the deck. I will post pictures as soon as they become colorful. Right now the blossoms are tight and mostlly green.
 I received a gift today from a friend, a start of rubarb. I had some in a garden about 20 years ago and had mentioned to him that I would like to grow it again. So today when he came to brunch ( our Labor Day celebration) he had a white bag with some starts that he had dug up from his garden. It has been planted and watered well, I do hope it will like its new surroundings and grow well for us.

Fall

I know that we still have 3 more weeks of Summer, but today dawned with the promise of cooler weather. The weather report showes temperatures in the low 80's, quite a change from yesterday, the last day of August, a day that found gardners looking for shade. I have found a store that is having a sale on some fall flowers. I will go there today and get new plants for the 3 boxes on our deck. The Pansies have given us beauty for many months, but they are gone now. So, in a while, I will put in some new colorful plants to brighten up our deck. Maybe, I will pick out some that match the colors in our new umbrella.

2 windshields

About a week ago, as I motored to the SLC airport, a rock was propelled by a passing car, hitting my windshield and causing a penny sized poc mark. The windshield, in my 13 year old car, already had a ding in it, but the new one was bigger and right in front of the driver.  Well, this needs fixing, but will have to wait until after the upcoming trip to Idaho.  During the trip, a car exiting the freeway, caused another rock to fly into my windshield, creating a ding with striations radiating in several directions from the center. This time on the passenger side and in my husbands car. 

After the festivities were over and the guests were on their way home, it was time to get both windshields repaired. My husband took them, one at time, to a shop that has a sign indicating that windshield repair was their specialty. Of course, the workers were told that "the wife' had been driving when both of the rocks hit the windshields.

Out On The Deck

The morning has been lovely. Not too hot and just enough breeze to make being outside comfortable. I'm sitting at the table on the deck behind our house now, remembering the fun times we had this past week. We have had company, my sister was visiting from Florida. We attended a neice's wedding in Idaho and spent time with our brother and another sister while we were there. When my sister visits from Florida, I make sure we visit one of the canyons that surround our valley. This year we went up to the Brighton Ski  Resort and walked around Silver Lake. Then we found a shady picnic table and had a picnic lunch. We also visited with other family here in the valley.  She left for home this morning. Now my time will be filled with the garden's needs, such as watering, weeding and some harvesting too.

August Morning

It is a lovely Summer morning. The yard is fine for a day or two. The housework is caught up. I have time to sit on the deck, under the new umbrella, and remember happenings of the past few weeks.

We spent a weekend in California, visiting a daughter and her husband, sightseeing, and just having a good time. We did a lot of eating too. The main draw to California, at this time, was a chance to see a Frank Lloyd Wright home in Orinda, CA. The  home is going up for sale and an open house was planned for a Saturday and Sunday. Our daughter was able to buy tickets for the four of us.  We drove to a BART station and a bus drove us to the property.  The home was tucked away at the end of a lane, metal gates at the edge of the driveway. The property is large, with two streams and lots of trees and gardens. The home was built in 1948 for the Buehler family. The  construction was very interesting, cement blocks became the inside walls as well as the outside walls. No painted walls to speak of.  There were walls filled with redwood siding, redwood cupboards, redwood doors. Most of the furniture was built into the walls. In the frontroom, or gathering room, the windows were met by the backs of built in couches. The ceilings were quite low, in some places low enough to catch the forehead of a few observes . The diningroom and livingroom both had gold leaf on the ceilings. The backs of the dining chairs were low. Mr Wright did not want them to obstruct the view into the gardens. We were told not to take pictures inside, but we could take pictures of the garden.  I had a very fine time looking at the home and garden built so many years ago by a famous man.