Of bonfires and butterflies

I’ve been working at getting myself out of my summertime funk and with the weather change things are looking up.  My fall garden planting is well underway – turnips, radishes, spinach, lettuce, and onions, so far. I heard that one of the nearby hardware stores has gotten in some broccoli plants and I’m going today to see if I can get a few. I was disappointed to discover that it is difficult to find fall vegetable plants, and it is too late for me to start broccoli, cauliflower and brussels sprouts from seed, which I so wanted to try my hand at this year. Lesson learned. Next year, I’ll start my own from seed in early August for transplant in mid-September.

Bonfire woodWe’re getting ready for bonfire season. Oyster roasts and bonfires. Woohoo! Brian worked the chainsaw and I worked on the woodpile on Sunday. We worked until it got too hot to do more and I am achy from our efforts. Since we usually start our bonfires in the late afternoon and keep them going late into the night, we probably have enough wood right now for about five or six good fires.

I’ve also begun to prepare the house for the day I have to bring all of my houseplants indoors for the winter. This takes massive preparation on my part, as I have so many plants that must come into a very small house that is not only home to Brian and me, but also home to three cats and Sam Dog. Basically, I pack up stuff to store for the winter to make room for the plants and Brian builds all the makeshift shelving. He hates loves this project!

Butterfly2I’ve been taking pictures of butterflies. I’m not doing a great job at this as these beautiful insects don’t want to pose for pictures! But, they do seem to be much more abundant this year. This is good sign as butterflies are very sensitive to the environment and thus, good indicators in assessing how healthy or unhealthy our living conditions are. And, of course, they are just absolutely delightful to watch.

ButterflyIf you live in the south, please don’t forget to keep you hummingbird feeders filled! Most of these tiny beauties have left their northern homes and are on their way to Mexico for the winter. They need lots of fuel for their grueling trip across the Gulf. Depending on our weather, we may need to continue feeding into early October.

So, that’s what I’ve been up to recently. What have you been doing?

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11 thoughts on “Of bonfires and butterflies

  1. I like butterflies! My absolute favorite is hummingbirds…(hence, the hummingbird tattoo) …wish we had some in this area.

    My future son-in-law, John’s, garden is dying out. Hope next year’s garden has a better yield! this year was a disappointment.

    • I bet you would get a few hummers in your back yard if you put a hummingbird feeder on a pole near your back deck. Hmm, maybe Santa will send you one!

      Too bad about John’s garden. It looked great when I saw it!

    • We had a great garden this year. At least the tomatoes, cucumbers, and peppers turned out well. Not only have we been enjoying eating them fresh from the garden but I’ve been canning. I have 10 quarts of tomatoes, 24 pints of pickles and 5 quarts of peaches. One peach jar broke in the canning process which is a bummer cause it was a lot of work.

      As for butterflies haven’t seen too many or hummingbirds this year. You can find a lot of them in the mountains though. We haven’t been up there this year. I need my sisters so we can all breath that fresh mountain air.

  2. At the office today. All three M.D.s present today so very busy. Worked in the yard yesterday. Trying to remove an azalea from the far right corner near my fence. I really hate azalea bushes! I find them to be worthless and much trouble.

    • You know, for the most part, I hate azaleas, too. They only look good for about two weeks a year and then they are ugly. You’ve got some big, old bushes growing in your back yard and it will take quite a bit of effort to get them out. Good luck.

      • Yes, problem seems to be that they have been there about 50 years…roots seem to be entagled with the tree roots that are back there too. May have to just cut them flush with the ground and get some enzyme to eat away at the stumps. I think they sell something at home depot. Did I make sense just now?

        • Oh, yes, we’ve bought that “Stump rot” stuff! Doesn’t work! We used my car once to pull out a root ball and ripped the rear bumper right off the car! This is why my car looks the way it does! Only solution is to use your axe and maul! Or pay someone to come and do it for you!

    • I love azalea bushes. Mom had quite a few and they were so beautiful. can’t seem to grow them in our arid colorado. Good luck to you both.

      I’ll need some advice on my eye problem. I’ll talk with soon.

  3. Cleaning and trying to organize have been in my cards. A lot of work but the results are rewarding. I’m also canning cucumbers, tomatoes and peaches. I also want to make some jams or jellies and plan to buy some berries from Bithell Farms in Oregon. I’ll let you know how it all turns out.

    Also getting some golfing in. I won fifty six dollars in my women’s league golf tournament. My golfing partner also won 56 dollars so we were on a roll. (Actually I think the rest of the 9 hole participants had some bad days cause I really didn’t play that great). I had a great time though.

    Right now I’m watching Jeremiah and he is presently sleeping so I thought I check out your web site. It lifts me up. Take care little peep. Love You!

    • Wow! You have been busy! I just finished out in the garden – I did find some brussels sprouts and broccoli plants at the hardware store and I’ve planted them and stretched out the soaker hoses.

      Yay to your winning golfing dollars!

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