It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year....... ding dong.......

 

Not my favorite brand but will do in a pinch! It is the holiday season and if you have read this blog for any length of time you know how feel about the holidays....... wake me when they are over or self medicate.  

This year is a bit different as the weather is warm, scary warm, but we are taking full advantage. 

Christmas Eve was outstanding!

We did miss the annual snowbanks to chill our drinks AND what has happened to the tradition of using the porch as a second "fridge" when storing leftovers from Christmas dinner?  This year it's no longer possible or safe with temps reaching 50' and 60's routinely.  Why is the sweet potato casserole fizzy and bubbling?  

Had the last call for mugs on Christmas Eve morning, referred her to a gallery, the studio is on break, I'm baking cookies!  I made the mistake of asking the head elf what kind of cookies he wanted this year.  He said; CUT OUT COOKIES, DECORATED!  Before I could say, NO; he walked out the door to work and waved as he backed out the driveway.  

Are you kidding, nobody has time for cut out cookies this time of the year and decorated? BaHahahahaha!  I grabbed my car keys at 7:30 am and ran to 4, yes 4 local bakeries!  Not a cut out cookie was to be found.  I returned home around noon empty handed.  Sitting down to dig thorough a dusty recipe box.  A hand printed card in blue ink was tucked in the cookie file (dated 11/79 over 40 years ago!)  a note at the end of the recipe had three red letters PIA!  (code for Pain in the Ass)  Had the royal icing recipe too.  I hate royal icing, but then these cookies could sit on the counter for months.  These cookies took me two days!  Told the head elf to keep one for posterity because I am never making these cookies again and next year, call a girl scout!  Wait, they don't even have cut out cookies!  And they taste like sawdust, IMHO but every night he cheerfully opens the the cookie jar and rations out one cookie for after dinner coffee.  Bless him but never ever again!  I used to make 12 - 20 different types of cookies in my hey day of baking frenzy, I have all my lists and can't believe I used to do this.  Those days are gone and over, pass the carrots and broccoli!   

Making cookies reminded me of the other "Most Wonderful Time of the Year" 

I love the logo!

Victor

  "Outsmarting rodents since 1898"

That's a lot of finger snapped since 1898 and how many swear words uttered on a not so silent night! 

But alas the basement has been swept clean and the feral cats must be getting old as it was a massacre the first round.  Happy to report, this mornings check yielded no lives lost and my fingers are safe today! 

Christmas is just a hurdle endured until we can resume indoor sports.  

Here we go again, insert maniacal laughing.

When I put the kitchen together I failed to put an outlet between the stove and the fridge.  Thought it would be a grand time to move the stove, check for random living things and crusts of bread.  Happy to report only cobwebs this year!  Winning!  I have an unused outlet back in the dark nether regions.  Dug out a few tools; drill, bits, hole saw to drill through the cabinet, screws, screw driver, should be pretty easy, 45 minutes tops.  

Three hours later......... the leg fell off the stove due to pushing it in and out one too many times.  Forgot a flashlight, got the wrong screws to fit the power strip and then hunting for the vise grips and several blocks of wood to prop up the stove while I adjusted the broken leg.  Never did find the proper blocks of wood and decided not to haul out the chop saw because that would lead to other projects, many projects.  And that my friends is the true Christmas miracle! That sanity took hold before I dug out all the big guns and a cloud of sawdust settled over the decorations and those damn cookies.  

Thankfully, years ago my Dad welded a stainless steel roasting pan for the Christmas beast, it weighs 10 pounds and an elephant could sit on.  

Flipping it upside down, I picked up the edge of the stove and slide the pan under with one foot.  I will be joining the circus if I can stand erect after this home project. 

 And let's discuss my assistant who is very good and standing on the toe of my shoe while I am on my knees searching for the screw that fell to the floor and rolled under the refrigerator, taking us both down.  Yup, there we were gatoring on the kitchen floor. 

The power strip also had 3 USB ports so now I have a hidden charging station.  I will build a drawer for that stuff later but this cleared a very cluttered counter! 

I don't know if he's looking for screws or cookies for doing such a great job as my assistant. 

Three hours later the stove was level, the power strip and charging station were installed and I was calling the chiropractor. 

But all in all it is the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!  

There is time for hiking, reading, garden plans and just plain old sitting....... 

 

Mauled by Humanity..........

 It is 4 pm on Sunday afternoon.  A pilgrimage to the grocery store was in order ...... why? Because pineapple was on sale for .99 each, I have a food dehydrator also out of earl grey tea and sardines in olive oil and lemon juice.  I have not been out to a grocery store in awhile, things were looking bleak in the pantry.  My knight in shining armor was on the ladder hanging Christmas lights, another reason to leave the compound.  

I went to three stores looking for TAZO Earl Grey tea, it's the only one that takes to me a happy place around 8 pm at night.  I was zipping along pretty well....... until the third big box store, Giant Eagle.  I almost never go to this store except to fill my van with gas.  They play the points game and right now I have .40 cents off a gallon of gas because Butch fills his car for work and he gets points, lots of points.  I get to use the points when I fill up my van which holds 16 gallons of gas.  The van averages 28-33 mpg.  Even if the van happened to be on fumes I would only save $6.40.  I use a tank of gas every 4-5 weeks (I don't drive much because I live in the studio, kitchen and garden)  Six dollars and 40 cents for the month! Even if I saved $12.80,  I'm done! After shopping at the huge Giant Eagle for over 30 years I am done. Giant Eagle is based out of Pittsburgh and I hate them, I hated them 30 years ago and hate them even more today, indeed after today my hatred is beyond words.  I picked up a box of tea (not Earl Grey, they were out) one pound of cod, and two .99 pineapples.  They did not have the express lane open for people with 12 items or less so I perused the lines with carts piled high with the Christmas beast, yams, flowers and cans of cranberry sauce.  I spied a line that was moving along and jumped behind a woman wearing this: 

and a red Christmas sweatshirt with ornaments attached.  Should have been a red flag but it was festive and I was salmon swimming upstream.   On the belt she had two gift cards for Target, and more sugar than I could ever heave on the belt, tubs of ice cream, marshmallows, many bags of chocolate chips, crisco, and cat food.  ALL OF THESE ARE RED FLAGS, DO NOT GET BEHIND THIS WOMAN.  She totaled out at $117.00  OK I have never spent $117 at the grocery store, ever.  There was not a speck of green veg or protein or any living thing or had been living at one time, on that belt.  And then it happens....... Giant Eagle no longer allows their check out personnel to handle cash.  Your cash must be fed into a slot at knee level, not eye level.  It's black metal and pretty invisible.  What idiot thinks this is a grand idea and everybody else on the board says WHOA we should do it.  They want you to use bitcoin or plastic, anything but cash. What happened to cash it king?  My Dad always said; Cash is King and take care of your tools. 

That black box sometimes spits at you if it doesn't like the bill you fed into the little slot, you can shove that bill in the slot a hundred times and the machine spits it right back at your knees.  You are bent over like you are harvesting rice or working the fields. 

This woman proceeds to pay her $117.00 bill with ONE DOLLAR BILLS, one hundred and seventeen, one dollar bills!  She was bent over so long she started sweating.  She had sweat rolling down her temples and I expected the green blinking lights to short out and she would just pass out but noooooo!  The green blinking tinsel hat began falling over eyes and she kept missing the slot.  Then she was festively swearing and muttering; who's stupid idea was this?  Well I was ready to light the hat on fire with the BIC Christmas Stick lighter right there in front of me at checkout!  Might want to rethink that product  placement Giant Eagle.  The checkout kid packing bags looked around the corner and did a pretty big eye roll above his mask.  I slowly loaded invisible bullets into the thumb of my hand gun and placed it to my temple, he laughed out loud.  The people behind me just kept sighing, loudly; loudly enough for Santa to hear at the North Pole.  And then the check out girl said; OMG while she cracked her gum.  I was ready to high five her.  I thought; should I jump in and help but the dollars kept spitting back out.  Then when the swearing started I backed away.  I am a coward.  Lady do ya have a $20? I think the machine is having a heart attack.  After an eternity she whipped out a credit card and paid off the remaining $52 on her credit card.  Yelling at the poor check out kid; I HAVE NEVER PUT GROCERIES ON A CREDIT CARD IN ALL MY LIFE!  

I made it, I survived. I felt mauled.  I wished the kids behind the check out, Merry Christmas and followed Mrs Potty Mouth Christmas to the parking lot.  She got in a huge shiny new pick up truck and peeled out of the parking lot.  

While I was in line waiting I had time to look around at "stuff". We have lost our minds.  There was wardrobe for your dogs clothes.  I am not kidding!  Look at this! 

and don't forget the little doggie hangers.

And can we talk about the chicken people?  In my email this morning. 

"How does your flock inspire you to decorate?" 

How about a frying pan? 

and there is a cream cheese shortage....... that is it, we are doomed!@ 

I just ordered tea, a case of canned tuna and sardines on Amazon, it will be on my porch Monday as I am self grounding.

Merry Christmas..... 

  

Can we "Holiday" yet....... NO!

This time of the year I think crafts people are in perpetual motion.  Get out of bed, make coffee, take care of needy things and trip to the studio at dark thirty.  It's been like this for over 35 years and you would think we would have figured stuff out by now.  Never gonna happen, at least not here in the land of illusion. 

Holiday Tip #1

Worried about cleaning? No need to clean those pesky cobwebs out of the corners, turn on that summer fan you never put away and toss some glitter in the air!  You my friend are decorated!  You're welcome! 

In my effort to go gluten free and failing I am now just eating the whipped cream I made to go on the gluten free cobbler.  Throw the cobbler soup out and just eat the whipped cream.  Well there is time saver.  

Rachael arrived from the frozen tundra of Alaska just in time for Thanksgiving!  WOO HOO!  We phoned and texted voraciously before she arrived!  She was bringing her running shoes and I was making salad.  I texted back, I am massaging the kale right now!  Oh such happy thoughts.... 

 I picked her up at the airport and the Midwest phenomenon happened.  Do you have cheese?  Where's the lard?  Oh I need to pick up maple syrup and can we make nisua?  (Finnish sweet bread filled with butter, sugar, milk and white flour, ya it's the Finnish Paleo life for us)  We toured museums, botanical gardens, ran to the land of bonnets and buggies (Amish holy land, Middlefield, OH).  We bought cheese, smoked meats, jerky, maple syrup, honey.... and those running shoes were but a distant memory.  And then she said; make the coconut cake..... NO, not the coconut cake.  We were all in and it was GOOD! and then I burned the recipe because no one should ever eat this cake, ever! 

She packed her bag and took an additional suitcase filled with Midwest goodness (fat), including the cake and loaves of  nisua.  I had visions of the poor drug sniffing dogs going over her suitcase at checkin.  At the airport while waiting on security, a woman in front her was carrying a cake carrier and just like that she had a new BFF.  She and her cake were going to Maryland and did you know it was National Cake Day?  Who knew?

And in return Rachael gifted us Alaskan salmon and halibut, 50 glorious pounds.  

We're gonna live!!

While Rachael was here, Santa Abby had my early Christmas present arrive.  An 8 quart Instant Pot. 

Do I need another addition onto the kitchen?  Holy Huge!  After much texting and discussion, returned for a 6 quart model.  It fits, no addition required.  

Ok I was really on the fence about this thing.  I am down sizing and do not need one more plug in appliance.  While Rachael was here she extolled the virtue of this "magical new thing you really need". 

It arrived the day before she flew out.  As it had an air fryer lid, we made bacon.  (shocking, I know)  

and I decided I kind of liked it because it kept all the mess in one place and one pot!  I started watching youtube's and there are people with an army of Instant Pots because apparently it is a cult.  I have used it everyday, really everyday.  If I don't embrace it for 30 days it will be shoved to a dark recess and forgotten.  I've made the best soft boiled eggs, sweet potatoes, slow cooked stuff, fast cooked stuff, air fried everything I could think of and it dehydrates small stuff.  The day I dusted the stove it earned a place in my kitchen!  

The old crock pot is now in the studio, warming throwing water and the giant air fryer that sat on the counter is gone!  Two gone, replaced one; I guess that is downsizing.  

And it's always happy to see me!  

Hi! Back at'cha Instant Pot! (I know its the temperature but again leave me my illusions!)

And it's a time saver, because life is just chaos at the moment. 

two more shows checked off the list...

Delivering orders and now calling myself Uber Ceramics.

But stuff is getting done and there is a light at the end of the tunnel and there is one more week of this chaos and then we can HOLIDAY!  (because it is a verb in this house!) 

and Kirby is living his best life 💞

and above all else when your adrift in a sea of orders and people who order and insist they must have it before Christmas for their dear Mom or BFF and then....... don't get back to you, they ghost you, won't even let you know they moved or died or choked on a candy cane, impaled while loading the Christmas tree in their Volvo..... well 

I think I'm on spin dry.........

   This year has flown by, just like those long departed bluebird fledglings.  

It's time to blow the cobwebs off my keyboard, dig through the pile on my desk and plug into the world of blogging again.  It's dark-thirty, the snow is piling up, the coffee is hot and morning news sucks, hello bloggers. 

 I have spent more time in the studio than the garden this year.  Left the compound a few times but not many.

The view is great and nobody talks back around here.

It was a hot, humid, dry summer.  The mosquitos were out for blood, not even a fan kept them away.  I noticed the dragonflies disappeared mid July.  I didn't think too much about it until I read an article:

Male Dragonflies loose wing color due to warming climate

Dragonflies can't find each other, cannot mate, the mosquitos have a party and I need a transfusion.   

And so went July, August and most of September.  

The great thing about gardening, you can walk away for periods of time and plants still grow.  If you mulched well in the Spring and your soil has loads of compost to retain moisture, it will carry on without a meddling gardener.  So the back garden turned into the little shop of horrors and carried on.  It still made an abundance of food too, gardens are amazing.  

The chickens didn't seem to mind.  Our evening free range was a bit uncomfortable for one us though.

I tried to stay on the compound and MYOB, I really did.  Working in the studio I noticed flowers moving around sporadically with little wind.  Then a hummingbird disappeared as an orange clawed paw slapped the tiny hummingbird out of paradise.  I ran out with the squirt gun and sprayed the offending cat and stared at a pile of feathers and one tiny leg.  God nature sucks sometimes.  The cat is doing what cats do and the hummingbird is doing what hummingbirds do but seriously; come on nature.  I pondered this the rest of the day in the studio.  What are my options with the offending killer cat?  Cats are pretty smart and I did mange to keep them out of the back garden with an electric fence that also worked for deer.  So I dug out my old electric fence thingy.  Strung up 20' of electric fence, close to the ground and flicked the on switch.   

It did not take long and the bird slayer got a tiny little electric kiss.  And there happened to be three more bird slayers!  A grey one and a black and white cat.  Argh!  Honestly this is a huge problem. 

Cats decimate bird populations  (Cornell Lab of Ornithology) 

There was no screaming or dramatics, the cats just jumped back and walked away, never to return. 

Ok before anyone calls PETA let me explain my choice of cat deterrent.  Guns are not allowed to be discharged in the city limits although you are allowed to open carry, poison is just to horrible for words and besides I have zapped myself on this fence more times than I care to admit and it's like being snapped with a rubberband shooting out blue sparks. I swear and walk away.  If a cat could swear I am sure it would.  IMHO, it was the lesser of all evils.  And it took one encounter and the offenders were gone.  Hummingbirds carried on, bees were happy and I was very happy watching nature from my studio window.  

Until a certified letter showed up in my mailbox a week later.......  I had been turned into the city for an electric fence violation by my neighbor!  The inspector would be out in two weeks to see if I had removed the offending fence or face a stiff financial penalty.  

OK I had to calm myself down before I called the city inspector to explain what was going on and HEY!  Why couldn't the neighbor just walk over and say; whats with the electric fence?  Inspector said he runs his lawn mower over there and was worried about getting electrocuted........ only on a good day sir! 

So I unplugged it the day before the inspector arrived but left it up as a reminder to the cats.  

AND THEN ....... he was out mowing his grass and screamed; YOU'RE A CHICKEN LOVER AND THEY BETTER NOT COME IN MY YARD.  Ok so my neighbor is a pycho and I tried to play nice but a "chicken lover".  Gloves off asshole!  I now understand the Rand Paul incident; Rand Paul attacked by neighbor

So every night for an hour I battled the mosquitos while the chickens free ranged and I wrangled them; mosquito netting and squirt bottle.

I have dropped down a very dark hole of moats filled with alligators, a border of bamboo fill with poison ivy, sniper towers, invasive species..... I have all winter to contemplate my next fence move; probably hot pink with motion sensor flood lights pointed at his bedroom and maybe a siren or two.  High enough to block the sun.  Or maybe I will collect all the old artificial Christmas trees people toss after the holidays and use those for a fence, string them with lights you can see from space.  Or sit in my lawn chair with a gun strapped to my hip facing his house........ because that is also legal, I just can't fire it.  Anybody think we have hit a level insanity yet?  

We had the property surveyed and little pink flags went up.  Now we know where the property line really is and I now know that razor wire is also illegal.  But hey let the games begin. 

Ok I need to go pack for a show tonight and get some glazing done.  

Happy Fall everybody

Sebastian, a very well behaved cat, adopted and living his best life in an apartment with Abby in the mountains of Colorado. 

Post Covid, Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes.

 Thank you David Bowie........... 

I continued to say;  "What Covid? I'm fine, you're fine, we are all just fine."  Especially once the governor said:  MASKS OFF, GO!!!!  The starter pistols fired around the country and we were off again.  I had my first ever studio sale.  

And that is when I knew something had shifted. 

On a very hot Friday night, a grand crowd showed up, some early, some lingered, some stayed until the fireflies blinked.  I crawled into bed a bit overwhelmed at the community support and felt like maybe we were back.  I had cleaned, priced, mopped, gardened and even gave Kirby a spa day.  The chickens got a clean coop and I was pretty pooped.  Best feature in the studio?  The $5 shelf.  All those pots not quite good enough to go to galleries but maybe too good to smash.  They had been stacked and stored in a dark corner and I was ready to release to them to the wild.  On Saturday afternoon there was one lonely red pot sitting there, promptly hammered and released to the landfill.  My studio is clean, crazy clean and I had money in my bank account for the first time since March 2020.  Sunday I talked to no one, stayed off social media, I was in full blown shut down.  It had been over year since I had done a show, dropped pots off to a gallery, taught at the Montessori school.  I had talked to the dog and had a drink with the chickens in the evenings........ a lot!  The rest of my family continued to work and were considered essential, I was not.  

I have paid my first booth fee in over a year and a half.  I made my first "art pots" since I closed my gallery at 78th St. Studios, 3 years ago.  I had put up a website where work could be purchased, I taught myself DOS and I gardened, baked and canned like a mad woman.  I also made mugs lots of mugs.  Thank God for mugs as they kept me floating.  I AM FINE, YOU'RE FINE, WE ARE ALL JUST FINE!"

and then today happened and something wonderful occurred.......... 

I had been invited to be one of 4 women artists to participate in a regional show; kind of a big deal.  Cool! 

We had our first meeting today.  It went well.  And then I came home and looked at everyone's website and started singing; One of these things doesn't belong here, lalala........  I am in a crowd of educated women who make genius work and continued to make genius work all through the pandemic.  I made survival work.  Academia has supported them (well), what had supported me?  At my studio sale, lanterns and wind chimes and mugs OH MY.  I did not sell one "art piece" but then it was studio sale.  I had actually reverted to very functional work that even shocked me!  Little cats staring at birds on wire.  OK they made me laugh, I needed to laugh! 

I am a potter, just a potter.  I listened to artist statements and got an email about a beautiful catalog.  I love making pots, end of story.  It is not complicated it was something I decided to do so I could stay home with my kids.  My Mom had worked and we got dumped at various relatives for all of my informative years and just decided that was a crazy way to raise to kids.  My kids were craft fair kids on the weekends but we did it together, my little indentured servants.   

I always start my studio day making mugs, it's a great way to ease into my work day, I don't need to think.  After 35 years your hands just know where to go, the elbows tuck in, you relax, rhythmically breathing and before you know it 30 mugs appear.  And while those mugs are appearing you are thinking about the next thing to make.  I just love it.  I don't write papers or present lectures, I write a smart ass blog. 

The cavern is deep from my studio to the academic world.  I am the great Karl Wallenda crossing the Grand Canyon on a shoestring for this show.  I think five years ago I would have jumped at this opportunity but not now.  

Covid has changed me.  Clay used to excite me on so many levels but today I have bluebirds nesting in the garden, my excitement is palpable.  

Sitting with the chickens in the evening I notice the male bluebird also sits on the eggs while the female runs out for a bite to eat.  As the sun sets she flies back and hunkers down for the night,  He stands watch, on top of the nesting box.  He flies back and forth, checking until almost dark, the devotion is surprising.  

And how about seeds..... and seeds I collected and grow stuff from those saved seeds…..WHOA!   

That just takes my breath away!  If there is such a thing as a miracle, it is seeds and the ability to grow food in a very small patch of dirt.  And the universe of life in that little patch of dirt takes my breath away.  

My vision is different after Covid.  My needs are different after Covid.  My time to be in the "art world" has past and if the best I can do is make a mug someone drinks their coffee from first thing in the morning it just floats my boat.  I am no longer seeking anything, I am here and it's a pretty good place to "BE". 

Three is better number for show anyway.  :) 

April Fools Day ...... not laughing

 

Garden Composition:  

Snow on Rhubarb

Two days ago it was 71 degrees, shirt sleeve weather and it was wonderful!  This morning before the sun was up,  I slipped on my boots for Kirby's constitutional, the wind and snow hit us both in the face.  Argh!  There were no chirps coming from the coop and the girls were sleeping in.  

 Spring garden season in zone 5 is a healthy balance between indoor sports and outdoor sports.   On the days the sun is out and the temperatures warm, it's impossible to stay inside. 

I went over last years log on the garden season and this year I am feeling woefully behind but wait!  Maybe not.  Although all my pruning and transplanting was done by April 1st last year we had had a very warm winter and the ground never really froze.  This entire place got a side-out rotate!  This year I don't need to move very much, except a large looming compost pile.  

Today with the wind chill in the teens, the oven clicks along warming the kitchen with this weeks loaves of bread and I think I have time for a quick update on life in Paine Falls. 

(it's been two years since I have bought a loaf of bread and that makes me happy :) 

The seeds have been started!  In the studio..... again, with my booth lights....... again!  I never thought we would still be under covid.  Shows are still cancelling but some are still forging ahead, it's still a crap shoot on the show circuit.  And although my entire family is now vaccinated I feel like we are still walking on eggshells. 

The studio is as clean and ambient light is lovely on a cold day.

Tomatoes, peppers (sweet & hot), basil, winter and summer squash, zinnias, cynus, purple sprouting broccoli, eggplant, leeks.  Last year I started everything inside!  This year I am not starting every growing thing inside!  Lettuce and peas will be planted outside on Saturday.  Last year after planting starts next to direct sown seed there was very little difference.  Save the space on the heating mat and use it for flowers and a few hot veggies and fruits.  Saturday will be big a day for planting kale, lettuce, peas, beets and carrots in the way back garden. 

All the back beds have been cleaned and amended. 

I added a bit of organic humus and cow manure this year.  One bag per bed.  

Onions and shallots are in their own bed this year.  I doubled my onions this year and the shallots too. 

If I can find shallots I would love to add another row.  Strawberries transplanted and trimmed up.  After 3 years I am happy to report that most of the cement blocks now have strawberry plants. 

Always thinking I harvested all the potatoes and carrots last Fall, every Spring I am surprised when I pull the bitter cress out and I find buried treasures.  The carrots are sugar sweet and the potatoes were delicious with the last of the garlic; snipped off a now empty braid hanging on the cellar door.   This is the time known as the Hungry Gap.  I am happy I don't need to eat the bitter cress but it is good in a salad mixed with store bought greens. 

Raspberries pruned and leaf litter scattered among the roots. 

The garlic is up, but it's a bit spotty.  I am waiting to apply mulch until more of the tops are showing. 

Trying to keep up my walking but this time of the year as soon as my shoes are laced my mind starts running down all the  outside chores that need to be done.  I walk a bit faster and cut my walk a bit shorter so I can get the pruners out and get to work!  This time of the year the buddleia, cotinus and hydrangeas all need a good whack.  Deadwood needs to be cut out of the gooseberries, blueberries and honeyberries.  The honeyberries are already blooming but after the nest 24 hour below freezing temperatures I wonder how they will fare. 

Last years peach tree that struggled with fire blight first, then pruned hard and comfrey planted around the base rallied.  On my walkabout this week I noticed it has now developed a canker on the trunk so I am afraid the peach tree will be gone.  I do need another for a pollinator but maybe somewhere else.  The back corner is where all plants go to die, no idea what goes on back there!  Looks like it will be a raspberry corner.  

I am ready for ground hog season!  All outdoor building are now trenched and fenced!  What a job and happy this one is done!  Had to wait until the wood racks were empty..... it's been that kind of a winter. 

and a bit of painting is in order!  

In other news......... this year of Covid has been an adjustment.  I have lost neighbors and gained new ones.  Found a new neighbor who lives around the corner that worked on an estate I had once haunted.  She is an avid gardener.  We decided to post on a local neighborhood site that we would love to get together with other gardeners.  We were stunned when 62 people said they would like to participate! 

We have had one meeting outside and the other meeting is tonight.  After years of working alone I am excited to share gardens, goals, triumphs, challenges and complete disasters with other gardeners.  Not sure what road it will take us down but it's nice to have company.  Hopefully meeting once a month.  We are very informal and just wondering what is going on in others backyards.  Edibles, ornamentals, water gardens; all are welcome.  A new adventure in Paine Falls! 

Stay warm out there!!