The first snow

Lo. sifted through the winds that blow, Down comes the soft and silent snow, ~George W. Bungay

Yesterday, it looked odd to see the bright yellow of the leaves in the drab grey and white world of the snow storm.

Even though the lights went off several times they always came back on. I woke this morning to see some residual damage…

a tree I had wanted down anyhow succumbed to the weight of the snow. If only the tree had gone through the shed as I want that taken down also. The tree is now cut up and stacked for later use…guess I would be pushing my luck asking for the shed to be taken down today too!

I went out about 6 am and measured. Down in the valley we are somewhat protected from the worst but we still got a fair amount.

Slowly daylight comes. It starts with a slight lightening of the sky above the ridge.

Then the sunlight touches just the tips of the trees on the top of the mountain.

On zoom they look like they are on fire.

Eventually the sun gets high enough in the sky to shine over the mountain on the other side of the river. The sunlight works it way down the hillside until it finally shines on the house. It happens every day yet I never tire of it and with the snow it was spectacular.

The kids did some small snowmen, had snowball fights and went riding down the mountain on a tube with friends and nephews. We had our taste of winter and enjoyed it but we are not sad that the snow is melting pretty fast. We can wait for more until later in the year!

Visit from Jack

The door was shut, as doors should be,

Before you went to bed last night;

Yet Jack Frost has got in you see,

And left your window silver white.

He must have waited till you slept;

And not a single word he spoke ,

But pencilled o'er the panes and crept

Away again before you woke,

And now you cannot see the hills

Nor fields that stretch beyond the lane;

But there are fairer things than these

His fingers traced on every pane.

Gabriel Setoun

I do remember waking up, looking at and tracing the designs in the frost on the window panes. With today’s windows that is something we no longer have to deal with yet I miss it. I now have to get dressed and traverse outside to see the magical designs of Jack Frost on the hood of my car.

Yesterday we awoke to 42 degrees and the temperatures went down from there. We had rain and then our first snow flurries.

This morning the temperature was 27 and we received our first frost/freeze.

Turning on the TV I find that Old Man Winter doesn’t want to ease us in but wants to give us a rude awakening as this is our forecast for tomorrow…

LOCATIONS...NORTHEAST PENNSYLVANIA AND SULLIVAN AND DELAWARE COUNTIES OF NEW YORK.

* HAZARDS...HEAVY WET SNOW COULD DOWN TREES AND POWER LINES RESULTING IN POWER OUTAGES ALONG WITH SNOW COVERED SLIPPERY ROADS.

* ACCUMULATIONS...HEAVY WET SNOW ACCUMULATIONS OF 3 TO 7 INCHES WITH THE GREATEST AMOUNTS CONFINED TO THE HIGHER ELEVATIONS.

* TIMING...EARLY SATURDAY MORNING THROUGH EVENING.

* TEMPERATURES...LOWER TO MIDDLE 30S.

* WINDS...NORTHEAST WINDS AT 5 TO 15 MPH.

* IMPACTS...HEAVY WET SNOW MAY CAUSE POWER OUTAGES ALONG WITH HAZARDOUS DRIVING CONDITIONS.

I am actually excited about this! Sounds like it will be a great day for soup and homemade bread!

And as I was carrying more firewood I realized I never bought bird seed for the winter. Of course the stores will be a zoo today with that forecast so I think they will have to make do until next week!

Hope everyone has a great, safe weekend. Stay warm.

Eventually

“Eventually all things fall into place. Until then, laugh at the confusion, live for the moments, and know everything happens for a reason.” ~ Albert Schweitzer

As the weather changes there is so much to do and like when the holidays are looming I start to get antsy. Everything falls into place eventually so why all the drama? I don’t know! It is as traditional as pumpkin pie on the Thanksgiving table.

So when I was babysitting I was thinking of all the things that still had to be done. Coming home there was catch up. Then a sick kid, diagnosed with strep and given horse pills to swallow which always makes me just shake my head.

But I am calmer because amidst all the chaos things are falling into place. On the farm…the pigs go to the butcher on Saturday, the turkeys and broiler chickens are in the freezer, we have enough hay to get the animals through the winter and we have been stocking up on feed so we don’t have to make runs when the roads are bad.

In the garden/yard…the potatoes are dug and most of the leaves are off the yard. The trees still have to be wrapped , the garden completely cleaned and blackberry canes cut. One days work and it will be done so I have calmed down there.

The Vehicles…are as winter ready as they can be barring any unforeseen mechanical problems. The registrations have to be renewed before December so will be done with the next paycheck.

The house…my brother delivered more firewood, I had broken the glass in the woodstove and I got that replaced, I have stocked up on sugar and flour for holiday baking, the screens are off the windows but there is a whole lot of cleaning that needs to go on. But I am still canning…#2 and I started sauerkraut this weekend and that will take a couple of weeks to ferment. I did sweet and sour red cabbage and 28 quarts of potatoes (for quick dinners) this week. Someone posted a recipe for summer sausage and I made that and it is pretty good. Two pounds went into the freezer.

Yesterday I put most of the canning stuff away and will only pull out what is needed until my canning list is complete. I have started cleaning out which will not make the trashman happy! Now I have to turn my attention to cleaning up!

So for the most part I am ready for the flurries we are suppose to get today. I can’t say I am ready for Christmas but my Christmas club monies are in my account waiting for when I am. My Christmas cactus is in full bloom….

It seems the cactus is just like the stores, thinking Christmas and forgetting about Halloween and Thanksgiving! There is still 58 days until Christmas.

Hooked for life

"I've learned that when your newly born grandchild holds your little finger in his fist, that you're hooked for life." ~ Andy Rooney

I spent the week with my grandson and if I thought I was hooked before , I have now swallowed the hook, line and sinker.

#1 and Sir T went away for their one year anniversary and I got the honor of babysitting. When they returned #1 fell right into a new job and instead of Baby O going to the babysitter for a day or two I continued to watch him. Yesterday was his first day at the sitters and I wish they lived closer so he could come here.

What a difference from only seeing him once a month from late Friday evening until Sunday morning to seeing him for a week in his own home. When they come for the weekend they have the long drive, his schedule is messed up, family, friends and dogs wanting to play with him ...its enough to make a baby cranky. When home at age five months he is rolling all over and just starting to realize he can crawl. And baby giggles are always infectious! Not that the precious little angel was all giggles…nope. He already possesses quite the temper when he is over tired. Hopefully he gets a rein on it before the terrible twos!

Although I could play with him or just hold him and watch him sleep I did lay him down occasionally and knit him things. For some reason I am on a hat kick and he does have a beautiful shaped head for hats. On outings he is donned in his pumpkin hat as the month dictates. Next month he will be wearing the turkey hat I pictured previously.

While there I knit him a Rudolph hat,

a snowman hat,

a Santa hat with ear flaps

and a Christmas tree hat.

It is un-decorated because #1 wants to see if we can get a small battery powered strand of lights to push through the knitting and add a pouch to hold the batteries on the inside of the hat. I have to see how much they weigh....not that he would be wearing it for long. #1 told me I have started a precedence and that I will have to make new hats for the next children if these don't fit. She said if I don't Baby O will be telling them "Grandma loves me best. First grandbaby #1 grandbaby"! She is truly horrible to me! And it gets worse!

After a week, they threw my things in their car and drove me home. Oh wait they did stop at Micky D's for some food where we got to see a rainbow

which was nice because after that it was nothing but tail lights.

Although glad to be home I do miss them. So much so that yesterday when I went to the farmers market I saw concord grapes, which I bought and came home to can grape juice for Baby O. Now I have to go pull pumpkins from the oven so I can freeze it for later use. Maybe if I catch up on all the chores I can go visit again.

Nutty Weather

“And close at hand, the basket stood

With nuts from brown October’s wood.”

John Greenleaf Whittier; Snow-Bound

Now that we are almost done with the apples, we have been picking up nuts around here. I have hickory, butternut and black walnut on the property. Needless to say if you hear leaves moving you better get out from under the

tree…quick or get ice for the bump on your head! I also found a source of edible sweet chestnuts so have been grabbing some of them also. Well grabbing would be a bad idea as theyare painful.

The natives are in a race with me to see who can get to the nuts first. The deer have been coming down in groups to eat their way through the day’s droppings.

The squirrels which have been nearly invisible all summer now number 7 seen in one spot.

I have to keep Cooper out of the woods as archery deer season has started. If they can shoot a cow by mistake then they can shoot a 150 red dog.

Yesterday we had a day without rain! I know you are as shocked as we

were! I ventured out into the garden and picked some lettuce which with literally the last cherry tomatoes became my lunch.

I picked the one neck pumpkin the garden produced, the one Long Island Cheese the garden produced and one of the "can't remember what I planted and too lazy to go find the garden chart" squash. There are five more CRWIPATLTGFC squash left in the garden which are bigger.

Remarkably this squash that did almost nothing all summer is covered in blossom. Tonight I will have to cover them because the forecast states..."Temperature...lows as low as the mid 20's are possible in colder rural valleys. Lows of 30-35 are expected at higher elevations and in more urbanized areas." But during the day for the next week it will be sunny (read no rain) and in the 70's. You have to take the good with the bad so I ain't complainin'!

I have been trying to clear up lose ends as next week I will be busy. Hopefully I will be able to get a lot of knitting done too. We shall see.

Anyone selling sunshine?

Human beings will line up for miles to buy a bucket of catastrophes, but don’t try selling sunshine and light – you ‘ll go broke ~Chuck Jones

I think most people in PA would pay good money for some sunshine. It has been a while since we have seen any for any length of time. As I look out the window it is playing games of hide and go seek. It will disappear behind a cloud only to reappear for a few seconds before it disappears again. Happily the clouds are not dropping buckets of rain. Supposedly this reprieve is only going to last for today then rain is due until next Tuesday. Back in 1948 we set a rainfall record of 53 ¾ inches and we now stand at 49 ½ inches so I think we will break that record before the year is out. The electric company loves me since I have to use the drier to get any clothes to dry.

I have been wanting to get into the garden. Last weekend we were able to dig 1/3 of the potatoes. The harvest was dismally small so far but better than my neighbors, his never grew and the seed potatoes were found rotten in the ground.

Now I don’t know what changed…maybe it is the weather, maybe it is the kids going back to school but after going to the Endless Mountain Fiber Festival I seem to have gotten my knitting enthusiasm back. I came home and started knitting the Icelandic socks. Finishing them, I moved on to the Karen Shawl

and then I knit another pair of socks which #2 claimed even though it was not with her yarn. I then proceeded to finish Baby O’s turkey hat

for Thanksgiving and I crocheted a cover for a cup

which I modified to fit #2’s juice box. She has a thing for sock monkeys so when I saw this I had to make it. And I finished stuffing some knitted pumpkins and sewing them shut.

While reading Linda’s blog I saw a poncho with a collar and thought of some girls that would love it. She gave me the info and I ordered the pattern. On Tuesday the new KnitPicks magazine was in the mailbox and I feel in love with the Woodland Winter Mittens…and subsequently ordered the pattern.

While waiting on them to come in the mail I saw Lady Lovelace . I am not going to do the sweater but I did start working on the shawl as sometimes you just want a little something around your shoulders. Something that isn’t too long and allows your arms to move freely. Bulky yarn makes it a quick knit and we are ½ way thru it.

#1, Sir T and Baby O are coming up for the weekend. They have to decide on a stocking design for Baby O’s stocking so I will have it done in time….you do realize there are only 85 days until Christmas right?

And since it is going to rain all weekend I know where I will be. Now I just have to get working on the spinning mojo.

Fall & Apples = Falling Apples

"When the apple is ripe it will fall." -- Irish proverb

We got the calls to come pick the apples. One friend called as her trees are in the horse pastures and they have been taking wheel barrow loads out and thought I might want to come pick. The other call was from our yearly source. Although we have not received our first frost the apples are dropping by the bushel full. As the trees are so heavily laden this year, I wonder if the branches just got tired of holding them all up!

The apples we get are not sprayed and are definitely not something you would find in any store since they are not perfect and shiny.

They take a little work to get from apple to cider, jelly, pie filling, butter and sauce. But it is all worth it in the end.

We got ten different kinds. I don’t know what they are except one which is a banana apple and does have a faint banana smell. Most of the trees I pick from are 50+ years old and those that knew are no longer around.

While waiting on a batch of canning to finish processing, I have been sneaking in some knitting time. I am almost done with the Karen shawl. I have only to finish the edging on the left side and then we can block her.The edging is 12 rows repeated 18 times with only 4- 10 stitches per row - - very easy! Hopefully I will be able to finish it today but first I had to go finish the tomatoes in the garden. I got enough for several more quarts of sauce which is cooking down now.

It might have been because of the rain that started as I was carrying in the tomatoes, but it was eerily quiet out. I have spotted the bear twice and he has left signs of his handiwork

so maybe it was paranoia. But there was almost no bird song, no wind and only the occasional sound of a hickory nut or black walnut hitting the metal shed roof. Usually I embrace the quiet but today I am happy to be inside!

Yearly Fiber Festival

Advice for the day: If you have a headache, do what it says on the aspirin bottle: Take two and Keep Away From Children ~unknown

For whatever reason I have major headaches at this time of year. I remember having a headache last year and the year before that when attending the Endless Mountain Sheep & Wool Festival…one tradition I would be happy to break from.

At this years festival, many of the vendors were unable to attend because the area was hit by Irene and then remnants of Lee. Some places are still underwater and inaccessible. Headache or no headache I decided it was my duty to stimulate the economy. We got there late as the man had to work half the day. #2 daughter came with me and we browsed while he managed to find food and buy out their days supply!

Silvara Valley Farm had lamb jerky and now he says I should be able to make him some with the lamb in the freezer. As canning season is still not over I think he should have savored it until the time I am able to make him some. I think he also bought me the goat milk and honey soap from them.

#2 saw some merino, cashmere and nylon sock yarn in Ultramarine over at the Unplanned Peacock Studio booth. As I haven’t made her socks in a while she hinted that they would make a beautiful pair of socks. So the sock yarn and two patterns followed us home. The patterns are Ishbel by Ysolda and Karen byAmy Swenson.

A sock kit containing Icelandic wool from HeartsEase Farm joined the purchases. I was interested in how long they would wear. As they are already done I will let you know soon!

Then I saw earrings and bought two pair. One is balls of yarn with needles sticking out of them and the other will be a gift so we can’t say anything

more.

I purchased some maple mustard, maple candy, and maple lip care from Loch's Maple Fiber Mill and on the way out bought my knitting bowl from Stillmeadow Finnsheep Farm , a fellow finnsheep owner. This is the one item I knew I was going to buy so I held off visiting this booth until the end. There she sat, a large bowl in a lovely shade of green as I have a thing for green. Then I almost didn’t get it as I was $6 short and they didn’t have an ATM nearby. I didn’t think to bring a checkbook which she would have taken. Thankfully Cyndy from Riverrim was vending there with Grace from Hatton Antique Spinning Wheels and I bummed the extra monies off of her. (Thanks again)

Now I am working my way through another headache and the kids will be home in an hour. Must go lay down and hope it is gone before they arrive.

Rain, School, More Rain

“If there were no schools to take the children away from home part of the time, the insane asylums would be filled with mothers.” ~ Edgar W. Howe

Yes I will admit it, my kids can drive me crazy but I also have a knack of collecting other people’s kids.  There are days mine are at work and I still have four kids belonging to friends and relatives running around the house.  But yesterday all the kids went to school.  Daughter #2 started her junior year and son #2 started his sophomore year.  Thirty years ago I was starting my senior year and ten years ago #1 was starting her senior year.  How time flies.

The first school day started without electric once again.  Ever since Irene paid us a visit electrical bleeps and outages seem to be the norm.  It doesn’t help that the rains continue.  West of here they are evacuating 100,000 people so even though we have flooding it isn’t to the extent of what they are dealing 

with.  Some before and during pics of same house...

Baby O came for a visit this past weekend.  At four months he is 16 pounds 10 ounces and 26 ½ inches long.  He is a big boy.  His mom and him have matching hats for pumpkin picking this year.   

His dad said he would prefer Baby O have the chicken (turkey) hat versus a pilgrim hat for Thanksgiving so I need to get started on that and his Christmas stocking.  I am finishing the second of a pair of fingerless mitts right now.

Other than that the weather has been giving me headaches both literally and figuratively.  Annoying as they are I love the Spring and Fall as it isn’t the extreme heat or cold…as Goldilocks would say “it’s just right”.  The leaves are slowly starting to change and yesterdays high was mid 60’s. The hickory, butternuts and black walnuts are just starting to fall.  It is hard to find them with the high grass so as soon as it dries getting it cut will be a priority.

The rain has taken a toll on the garden, tomatoes are bursting on the vines.  Without electric I was unable to can  them so we lost a lot of produce.  I have about 25 pounds to process today and there might be more out there for tomorrow.  Then the weekend will be free for a sheep and wool festival.  Can’t say I need anything but you never know what you might find!

Good Night Irene

A few minutes ago every tree was excited, bowing to the roaring storm, waving, swirling, tossing their branches in glorious enthusiasm like worship. But though to the outer ear these trees are now silent, their songs never cease. ~ John Muir

More appropriately it was a few hours ago every tree was excited.  Irene hit us with less rainfall than expected by half but the winds made up for it.  The flooding that did occur has now crested and the river levels are slowly starting to drop. 

In my county 2264 homes have had their electric restored, 11440 people are still without. Other counties are in a similar situation.

The electric company originally said it would be back on by 10 PM last night.  They have since updated that to 4:30 today.  One reason for our outage is this….

Two poles broken off at ground level will need to be replaced.  However, there are bigger problems further out from this.

After every storm the sun will smile; for every problem there is a solution, and the soul's indefeasible duty is to be of good cheer. ~ William R. Alger

I am lucky as I have a generator.  It doesn’t power the whole house and well but is does keep my fridge and freezers in good shape with some energy left to power the computer.  We plugged the tv and cable box in but there is no cable so if the kids get too bored they will have to watch a Netflix movie.

We stored some water and can easily make trips to the artesian well to fill up jugs.  The percolator coffee pot smells fantastic while brewing and makes a great cup of coffee.  The man likes his coffee as soon as he rolls out of bed which is why we switched to the programmable drip pot but I think once it bites the dust we won’t buy another.  We had friends for dinner.  She supplied the one thing I forgot…paper plates!

We walked outside after dark and it was like the sky was trying to make up for our lack of power by adding extra stars.  Then this morning, it was 50 degrees with a slight breeze, absolutely beautiful !  Of course human nature will make me much less agreeable in four days if the electric doesn't go back on!  Hope everyone came through okay.