Late Summer Meadow Walk

I had a Friday off and took my lunch up to a favorite Happy Heart spot.  It could have been a sunnier day but the color that was out there was still amazing.  It is a steep climb up to this plateau and then there are benches and picnic tables to have a meal at.   I did both some reading and some knitting while hanging out there.

Pond Time

Etta

Betty

  Our little Pond is 2 years old.  This year we have had these 2 frogs here on a regular basis but last year we had 7 frogs int eh Pond.  We have a lot of string Algae this year which is yucky but caused by decomposing organic matter. Finally we have a lily pad and have had 2 blooms so far they only seem to last a couple of days. They are incredibly beautiful though.,

Cone Flowers

My very favorite Garden Flower, all shapes sizes and colors and the butterfly's love them. Additionally the Deer do not love them, a win win in my book.

Taughannock Falls Trumansburg NY

See the people, where they should not be . . . .On the ledge . . . .at the very top 215 feet vertical fall

Taughancock  Falls

 Martha and Erik

Native Bee Balm

Goosefoot Maple seed chains

  So once a summer my husbands family converges on a State Park in the Southern Tier - often at the base of Cayuga Lake or Seneca Lake.  We like Cayuga Lake even if it is farther because they have Purity Ice Cream in Ithaca and we like to go there for an Ice Cream afterward,  For me this year it was Chocolate Covered Strawberry Ice Cream and I have yummy pictures but they are on my phone and not available right now to my blog . . .  We have been attending this reunion for 28 years and it is interesting to see those that were young back in the day now have young of their own and so the circle continues.  Where will your summer travels take you?

Summer Fun

Breakfast in teh garden

swinging on a hot summer afternoon or clear starry night

Summer afternoon - two of the best words in the English language

 Family of Yellow shafted Northren Flickers in the tree hole

Broad bean Harvester- 6 of them rolling by

new Adirondack chairs for by the pond and painted  green!

Edna taking it all in before she takes a nap.

Art in the Garden

The garden, historically is the place where 

all the senses are exported.  Not just the

 eye, but the ear - with water, with birds.  

And there is texture, too, in plants you

 long to touch

William Howard Adams

Several years back I painted this canvas to put in the Garden.  I sprayed it with a UV resistant spray to protect it from the elements and I must say it has done very well. It has endured buckets of rain, sunny hot days.   It adds color to the garden on dark days or in between flowering plants.  This year I added the piece of metal the my son was practicing on welding. It is a pretty cool looking piece of Art I think.

 

Tiny Gardens . . ..

Growth takes time. Be patient. and while your waiting pull a weed.

Emilie Barnes

This cement trough my mom gave me a while back- we plant it up each year- somethings surving our rough winters and some do not.  Each year it has new Character, a new path and perhaps a new story.   This year it has several Turtles visiting it. See if you can find them both!

Change . . . is in the air . . . .

Oh how I can feel all the big and more importantly little changes that are lurking out there.  Fall is I am afraid creeping up on us.  Everything always changes with August 1  . . . . These long light shadows are at 6 pm . . . The Cricket song that has taken over for early morning birdsong, the birds that have already left on their long trip  to the south.  Joe Pye Weed and Jewel weed are in their Glory.  The wild parsnip and Queen Annes Lace is fading on the roadsides.  The gardens are filled with Black-eyed Susans and Tomatoes are starting to grace the dinner table. Everything outside  is starting to soak up the sun, to feed upon the earth to prepare the beds and nests for the long winters rest.  Spring and Summer oh they are a fleeting.  Nature brings such joy and color and sound,  it pushes us to explore with all our senses and teaches us about the cycle of life.  The Golden Rod and Nettle lift their flowers to bloom and tower over us.  it is as if all the outside world is getting ready for a great trip.  So don't miss these changes, enjoy and take pleasure in each and everyone of them.  Get outside and soak up the sun, the wind, the sounds that fill the air and all the big and small beauty there is to behold. 

Mud Creek Farm CSA

Pick your Own Flowers!

In front of me

Behind me . . .

Ground Cherries- in the Tomatotillo family - sweet/sour - new for us

Fresh basil - making lots of Pesto!

So we joined a CSA- Community Supported Agriculture.  Every week we go to the farm to pick up our share. There are pre-picked things that we go through a line and collect and then there is pick your own out in the fields- so like flowers, Basil, Beans Ground cherries are Pick your own.   As with any growing things we are at the mercy of Nature for how much we get. Will it be hot, Cold, rainy, sunny.  We have had a lot of Swiss Chard, Kale, Kohlrabi.  I would love Beans and squash every week right now- but not really happening. I love the concept, not sure if this is the right place for us or not- need to do more research.  Meanwhile trying to stay on top of eating Fresh from the Farm to our table.

This last week that I went out after work, it had been a heavy rain- torrential downpours of like 2-3 inches in less than an hour.  The  Fields lived up to the name of the farm Mud Creek. While out picking flowers my feet got stuck on more than one occasion and when you are slipping on the mud- it can catch a bad back just off guard and ouch!  The bAsil has been brilliant this year and my freezer if filling with Basil for those winter moments when you just need a little more summer.

Space in the garden . . .

To garden, you open your personal space

to admit a few, a great many, or thousands 

of plants which exude charm, pleasure,

 beauty, oxygen, conversation, friendship,

confidence, and other rewards should you

 succeed in meeting their basic needs.  This 

is why people garden.  It can be easy but

 challenging and the rewards are priceless.

~Tom Clothier

Postcrossings

              Postcrossings - I found this website via a reader and promptly signed up- that was over a year ago and since then I have happily exchanged postcards with lovely writers all over the world.  Just this morning I sent out cards to Luxembourg, Russia, Austria and Finland.  I received one from Germany today.  growing up I always had a Postcard collection getting family and friends to send or bring them to me when they traveled.  Postcrossings randomly selects someone for you to send a card to  and then when it is received your name is released to someone to send a card to you. 
     I still try to send postcards to friends and family when we travel- just a small little piece of life that can brighten a day for someone.
        People in other countries are most interested in our postage stamps.  It is fun to make up combinations of  them to reach the international postage rate.   This endeavor has made for interesting dinner conversation about people and places around the world.  We have recieved cards from countries that we needed to do a little research on as far as location. 
               I encourage any one who enjoys writing and travel, learning about new places and meeting nice people to give Postcrossings a try. 

Friends in the Garden . . . .

Most people don't see the sun,soil,bugs,

seeds, plants, moon, water, clouds, and 

wind the way gardeners do.

~ Jamie Jobb

Although most bugs in the garden are not invited or wanted . . . but they have found home, comfort, food, shelter in my garden.