bitter cold, grab the camera

a quick wreath from homegrown bay laurel
is this what they call 'winter interest'?
once a year to prove to myself i can do it..clean off bench in shed and give it some oil..
brussel sprouts with mountain view
YES, something is growing in the hoop house!!


Everyone scurries at their own pace but this time of year finds even the most lackadaisical among us doing more than usual. Lots of prepping, list making, decorating and, now that the bitter temps have reached us, doing all those things we do to stay warm. I send up some gratitude for the woodstove and wish I had two or three more!
We've guests coming up for the holidays so it'll be a full house and I look forward to it. Great meals are planned accompanied, I hope, with some fun outdoor stuff.

And again, snow is not for everyone, (blessedly, or they'd all live here), but only the most jaded among us can't see the beauty of it. It keeps blowing my mind year after year!
Ours is a secular household so I send my 'holiday' best out into the ether of the interwebs.....

end of's and were they thinking what I've been thinking

At the end of some things now. Basil has it's finale. Still smells great..the last hurrah to fresh pesto for the season. Hurrah!
And putting seed away...which means drying and separating seed from chaff..here's where I got to wondering if 'they', (by they I mean the thousands of generations before me of mostly women performing some version of the same task), thought as I did while seed cleaning. My crude, no machines except me, method requires alot of shaking and blowing with assistance from the prevailing winds. It's sorta fun, sometimes meditative and occasionally induces one to involuntarily inhale clouds of stuff should you get distracted or the wind gets the rascal in her.
My seed harvest is pretty measly this year, not much atall in the way of veggies but I've managed a few odds and ends and already am mentally cheerleading my way into next year with some 'the odds must be with me' calculations. Calculations means hope. Ha!
But hey, autumn provides the most scenic backdrop for deep thinking. Double HA!

the everlivin' gall

Several goldenrod plants were so blemished I noted on my walk today. Seems there are parasitic critters who enjoy a bit of boring and breeding, I'm thinking Gnoremoschema gallaesolidagnis. I'll inspect further tomorrow.
But hey! Good news citizens! There are some days that are so deliciously exquisite in their simple beauty. Today was such a day for me. Quiet, lovely, relatively productive but with a large helping of free time to wander and ponder and sing Lou Reed's 'Perfect Day'.
What a great day!