Sunday Stroll - Evergreen

I left a lot of my perennials uncut in the garden this year. The birds enjoy the seeds and the garden looks pretty through the winter. We have only a few evergreens on our property, but they shine in the garden and fields at this time of year. The dwarf conifer above, dressed for the season in ice, stands at the south end of the trail into the butterfly garden.

Some of the leaves in my garden are evergreen, or semi-evergreen. The moss under the elm tree stays cheerfully green, though much of it is covered by snow.



Several years ago, I transplanted a tiny white pine, only two or three feet tall, growing sideways out of the creek bank. It is now over eight feet tall and stands at the opposite end of the butterfly garden trail from the dwarf conifer in my first photo. It's needles are long and soft.

I bought a "rescue" Blue Spruce for just a few dollars at my nursery this summer. It currently looks a lot like a "Charlie Brown Christmas Tree" but if it makes it through the first couple of winters, I know it will be beautiful one day.

The tall spindly tree in the photo below was planted by Limerick and one of our girls a few years before the white pine. The skies in the background give you an idea of our weather today. That little bit of blue in the northern sky has vanished, and the clouds prevail. As I prepare to post this, late in the evening, heavy snow is falling and we are under a snow advisory for the overnight hours.

A few of the herbs in my herb garden and tucked into my other perennial beds remain green or mostly green throughout the winter, such as this silvery Garden Sage, or this lemon thyme peeking sweetly out of the snow.

Some of the hollyhock leaves in the tiny garden at the playhouse are still green, and one yarrow flower clings stubbornly to its pink, but to me the most interesting thing in that garden on the last day of November was this brown poppy seed pod. This flower bloomed in June, I believe, and it's deep orange petals fell away on a summer wind leaving this intricate pod which seems to be waiting for spring to drop its seeds.

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all photos by Aisling, November 30, 2008

Sunday Stroll Invitation

"How can you explain that you need to know that the trees are still there, and the hills and the sky? Anyone knows they are. How can you say it is time your pulse responded to another rhythm, the rhythm of the day and the season instead of the hour and the minute? No, you cannot explain. So you walk. "

~Author unknown, from New York Times editorial, "The Walk," 25 October 1967

I have to admit that as the mercury in the thermometer drops (do they still use mercury?) I become less and less eager to get outdoors and walk. Less and less eager to get outdoors and do anything, really. This Sunday tradition of strolling in the garden or around my yard and neighborhood keeps me walking, at least once a week, when otherwise I probably would not. Once I am outside, though I had to talk myself into it, I am glad to be there... to see that "the trees, the hills and the sky are still there."

If you have time to stroll outdoors today, please post about about it on your blog and then come back here with a comment and a link to your post. You may use the Sunday Stroll button at the top of this post on your post or side bar if you would like. I will add participant names to this post so other strollers can walk through your garden too. I have guests coming this afternoon for a few hours, but will try to get outdoors either before they arrive or after they leave and will update here when I can.

Look who's strolling:

The Crafty Gardener
Abbie at Farmer's Daughter
Ruth at EveryDay Woman
Margaret at Periodic Pearls
Joyce at Tall Grass Worship
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All Things Bright and Beautiful...

I was born a few days before Christmas, and my second Christmas I received the rocking horse above as a gift from my parents. I was a little too small to play with him a whole lot that first year, but my older brother had fun with him until I grew enough to climb on Hoss's back. As I got a little bigger, two younger brothers rode Hoss to the wild, wild west of their imaginations and beyond. When he had been well-loved and worn to a frazzle, he was tucked up into the rafters in an outbuilding.

I didn't realize that Hoss had been saved and had moved with my parents to two other houses, but one year when my oldest daughter was a toddler (she is almost 19 now) my parents pulled this guy out of storage and refurbished him. My dad secured his joints, repainted, glossed him up. I think my Mom was responsible for his fluffy new rope tail. At Christmas time, about 25 years after I first met Hoss, he was presented to my daughter. Again, he has been ridden and climbed over by four more children over the course of the last two decades. He sits in the corner of my dining room, and five-year old Tanka rides him across the white linoleum "fields" every once in a while. Yesterday, my nine-year old son, Sijo, crowned him with this pilgrim hat. I smile every time I look at him.

I love this hymn and the lyrics, while always meaningful, are especially so at Thanksgiving. Wherever you are, whatever your plans for the day, I wish you a beautiful and bountiful day.

"All things bright and beautiful,

All creatures great and small,

All things wise and wonderful,

The Lord God made them all.

Each little flower that opens,

Each little bird that sings,

He made their glowing colours,

He made their tiny wings.

All things bright and beautiful,

All creatures great and small,

All things wise and wonderful,

The Lord God made them all

The purple-headed mountain,

The river running by,

The sunset and the morning,

That brightens up the sky;

All things bright and beautiful,

All creatures great and small,

All things wise and wonderful,

The Lord God made them all

The cold wind in the winter,

The pleasant summer sun,

The ripe fruits in the garden,

He made them every one;

All things bright and beautiful,

All creatures great and small,

All things wise and wonderful,

The Lord God made them all

The tall trees in the greenwood,

The meadows for our play,

The rushes by the water,

To gather every day

All things bright and beautiful,

All creatures great and small,

All things wise and wonderful,

The Lord God made them all

He gave us eyes to see them,

And lips that we might tell

How great is God Almighty,

Who has made all things well.

All things bright and beautiful,

All creatures great and small,

All things wise and wonderful,

The Lord God made them all."

~ Cecil F. Alexander

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photo by Aisling, November 26, 2008

Twas the Night before Thanksgiving

This was a school day for me, but my children were home from school. The little boys were thrilled that their babysitters, my 15 year old Haiku and her friend, had some pre-Thanksgiving fun and games in mind. When I returned home with a few bags of all the things I forgot when I grocery shopped several days ago, my house was sweetly decorated for the holiday. There are pilgrim hats on various things around the house, smiling turkeys on my lightswitches and cupboard doors, and little pilgrims and Native Americans on my window glass.

Tonight, I am jotting down my meal plan. I keep things simple, but want to plan what to make early and set in the refrigerator and what to make at the last minute. I don't watch sports on television generally speaking, as my hubby does, but just love a day where I can set aside school and work responsiblities and be in the kitchen almost the entire day. Five year old Tanka decided that he and I should have a "coloring with crayons" marathon as a Thanksgiving tradition, so that is on my agenda too.

We have just one single friend coming up from another area of the state to join us for the meal, and a few days visiting after that. I dont' know his arrival time, so I plan to be flexible with the meal time. Late in the evening, I hope to find a really good old-fashioned Christmas movie on television: pjs, a snuggly quilt, someone to snuggle with... and I'll be truly satisfied.

Below is a tiny bit of a Native American Thanksgiving prayer that I enjoyed reading. You will find the whole thing here.

"We are all thankful to the powers we know as the Four Winds.

We hear their voices in the moving air as they refresh us and purify the air we breathe.

They help to bring the change of seasons.

From the four directions they come, bringing us messages and giving us strength.

With one mind, we send our greetings and thanks to the Four Winds."

~ A Haudenosaunee "Thanksgiving" Prayer

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photos by Aisling 1) one of Haiku's paper turkeys. 2) Sijo's turkeys, one with a hat on both ends! , on the window glass.

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Sunday Stroll - The Turn of the Seasons

Sijo is always eager to be outdoors in the snow, so we "geared up" together and headed to the marsh in the southeast corner of the property. Our walk took us under Senryu's willow, through the cattails, and then up the eastern hill that divides our property from our neighbors. This old fence post marks the dividing line. The wire fence has long since fallen into disuse; cattle no longer graze this former bit of pasture where our house and gardens sit. We cross this border comfortably. I've written here before about how graciously these neighbors allow us to wander at will on their extensive acres, for which we are so grateful.

Few trees grew on this hill when we moved here, over twelve years ago. Nibbling cows kept the fields nicely "mown" and seedling trees didn't have a chance to grow tall. In the years since we've moved here, the birch trees behind the old fence have scattered seeds onto our hillside. A few young slender birches grow here now.

Withered blue berries cling to viburnam branches and the stalks of wildflowers rise up through the snow. Fallen leaves, some still green, lie beneath bare branches amid scattered seeds. And here I've found what I was looking for, that "poetry of the turn of the seasons" that Ray Stannard Baker wrote about. Summer's green is still hinted at in the fallen leaf. Winter's approach is evident in the fallen snow.

I had some companions on my stroll: Sijo, Maude, Arwen and Tag.

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All photos by Aisling, November 23, 2008 ...(photo of Tag "equalized" with photo editing, because it was taken in shadows.)

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Sunday Stroll Invitation

"Thanksgiving is the holiday of peace, the celebration of work and the simple life... a true folk-festival that speaks the poetry of the turn of the seasons, the beauty of seedtime and harvest, the ripe product of the year - and the deep, deep connection of all these things with God."

~Ray Stannard Baker

If I can pull myself from my warm kitchen, soon to be filled with the aroma of waffles baking in the waffle iron, I will get outdoors and explore the "the poetry of the turn of the seasons." I don't think I will find flowers today, as I did last week, but certainly seeds are hanging from the branches; a ready feast for birds and field mice.

If you have time to stroll in the garden today, please post about about it on your blog and then come back here with a comment and a link to your post. You may use the Sunday Stroll button at the top of this post on your post or side bar if you would like. I will add participant names to this post so other strollers can walk through your garden too.

Look who's strolling:

Linda at Vulture Peak Muse
Margaret at Periodic Pearls
Joyce at Tall Grass Worship
Me, here at the Quiet Country House

Life in a Snow Globe

It is snowing again this morning. It snowed yesterday, and as you saw from my Sunday Stroll photos, it snowed on Sunday. I haven't heard any accumulation figures for this fall yet; it seems to have snowed often but may not have added up to much. This is the deepest it has been yet this season. Here are a few photos; of the snow fort, the log pile and the garden. Sijo said yesterday that it was like living inside one of the tiny houses in a snow globe.

Today, my only day to stay at home this week, I will be catching up on housework, laundry and, of course, doing homework. We are in the homestretch for this semester, with just one month of classes remaining. I will very much enjoy those three or four weeks between semesters, to make our home holiday-ready, to bake, and decorate, and just be the Mom for a while (instead of the student, and the employee, and the chauffeur, etc.)

I may even find time to read a book for pleasure over the holiday season! If anyone has a recommendation for a "must read" book (something homey and comforting, preferably) please let me know in my comments.

As the snow comes down today, my continued prayers and good wishes are going up for my friend Robbin and for my friend Rapunzel's Mom. Where-ever you are today, whatever the weather, I hope you enjoy the day.

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Sunday Stroll - Blossoms in the Snow

The calendula above, and a few of her wilted sisters, are the only real color, aside from green and silver leaves, that remains in the herb beds. The beds are tucked in with a blanket of snow. Over the past several weeks, Limerick put the big vegetable garden to bed for the winter. He pulled plants, turned the soil, and planted a new asparagus bed along the east side of the garden. Also along that side are some sprawling artichoke plants which are perennial, so he left them in place. We'll see how they survive our northern winter! This little wild mustard sprouted up around the artichokes and is still blooming despite the snow, and some pink yarrow is still blooming along the east side of the playhouse near the big garden.

An orange and yellow chrysthanemum cousin, dendranthema, is still blooming in the butterfly garden though many of the leaves and petal are brown and the ground is snow-covered.

The front our our house faces west and takes the brunt of the weather coming in from the lake. At this point, that means wind, cold and snow. Surprisingly, there are a few small, bright bits of color that are holding up to the weather. Bright blue flax petals are folded in upon themselves and laying down in the snow. A wild white fleabane blooms in the spot where purple petunias bloomed through the summer, and one yellow cinquefoil bud is still fresh and vibrant despite the seasonal weather of mid-November.

Sunday Stroll Invitation

"May you have warmth in your igloo, oil in your lamp, and peace in your heart."

~ An Eskimo Proverb

As I write this, the wind is pelting snow against my front door. I feel more like hibernating with hot chocolate and a good book than strolling, in other words, enjoying the warmth of my "igloo." I will, however, make my best effort to bundle up and walk in the gardens later in the day.

If you have time to stroll in the garden today, please post about about it on your blog and then come back here with a comment and a link to your post. You may use the Sunday Stroll button at the top of this post on your post or side bar if you would like. I will add participant names to this post so other strollers can walk through your garden too.

Look who's strolling:

Abbie at Farmer's Daughter

Ruth at Everyday Woman

Margaret at Periodic Pearls

Linda at Vulture Peak Muse

Joyce at Tall Grass Worship

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Sunday Stroll - November Color

Once the leaves fall, we tend to think of November as the gray month in our region. We see gray skies, gray weather, graying fields. But on this cold Sunday afternoon, Maudie and I found plenty of lingering color.

Red

Orange

Yellow

Green

Blue

Indigo

Violet

These Canada Geese flew energetically toward the south as Maude and I moved briskly back into the cozy house, were a woodfire warmed the air. I like the second goose, who seems to fly to the beat of her own wings.

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Sunday Stroll Invitation

"Announced by all the trumpets of the sky,

Arrives the snow, and, driving o'er the fields,

Seems nowhere to alight: the whited air

Hides hills and woods, the river, and the heaven,

And veils the farm-house at the garden's end.

The sled and traveller stopped, the courier's feet

Delayed, all friends shut out, the housemates sit

Around the radiant fireplace, enclosed

In a tumultuous privacy of storm."

~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Announced by all the trumpets of our northern sky today, arrives the softest flurries of snow. While we will not be insulated in the "tumultuous privacy of storm" that Emerson wrote about, unless Nature really surprises us, we will enjoy this white dance of snowflakes on and off throughout the day. We'll see what I find when I go out into the garden later for my stroll!

If you have time to stroll in the garden today, please post about about it on your blog and then come back here with a comment and a link to your post. You may use the Sunday Stroll button at the top of this post on your post or side bar if you would like. I will add participant names to this post so other strollers can walk through your garden too.

Look who's strolling:

Abbie at Farmer's Daughter

Linda at Vulture Peak Muse

Me here at the Quiet Country House

Margaret at Periodic Pearls

Jena at Married to the Farm

Ruth at Everyday Woman

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Sunday Stroll - In the Village

I took my walk in the village today. At the bottom of the spillway above, a pool of foam bubbles and swirls, but its quiet edge, reeds grow. These two mallards were swimming in and out of the reeds as I stood on the river's edge.

Here some steps lead from the boardwalk along the pool created by the spillway up to the sidewalk at street level.

In the garden near the street, these roses still bloom in bushes heavily loaded with ripe carnelian rosehips.

Here a footbridge spans the river.

Here the river spills into the bay.

Everywhere I looked, this blue November sky met my eyes.

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all photos by Aisling, November 2, 2008