Faith's next passion

Faith's outdoor recreational interests seem to vary with the seasons. Back in the fall, she brought home deer legs and assorted small animals.

A few weeks ago, when the Schwarze family was here and we took a walk to the pond, Faith managed to capture a healthy wood duck in or near the pond.

She was so proud of her catch, and she kept it by her side in the front yard for most of that day, like it was a favorite stuffed animal toy. After nightfall, and when we had made her come inside, Brad disposed of the (dead) duck.

That memory must be fresh in her mind. Yesterday Anne and I went for a walk to the pond and as we approached we could hear lots of "honking" of several Canada geese that seem to have taken up residence. When we drew closer, much to our surprise and amusement, Faith was in the pond, swimming, trying to catch up with one of the geese. There were 4 of them there, with one guarding a nest on the island. The mate must have been the one Faith was pursuing, because it led her on several "wild goose chases." When Faith would get a bit close, the goose would just fly. This went on for a good 30 minutes and we figured the dog would be totally exhausted. It was comical.

I took Brad to the pond today to see perhaps a repeat performance. We did get one, though not as dramatic because the other pair was not present, so it was just the one goose swimming around, with one on the island. Anyway, here is Faith again on the hunt.

Daffodils galore

The daffodils have just about finished blooming now --- they came in early due to the unusual warm weather. I wanted to take specimens with me to the annual Garden Club of Virginia Daffodil Show, which was held this week. Many of the blooms came out early. For two weeks I stored daffodils in our refrigerator. For this method of preservation to be successful there cannot be any fruits or veggies in the refrigerator, because when maturing they emit a gas that is poisonous to the flowers. We kept a cooler in the kitchen, to which I added new ice each evening, to store our food items for two weeks.

The daffodils took priority for those two weeks. Brad was a good sport about this, but he WAS happy when I was packing to leave on Tuesday night to attend the Daffodil Show in Gloucester, Va.

He got his fridge back!.
 Today I was not feeling like doing housework, so I played around with leftover blooms that returned with me after the Show. Many were/are my blooms, but many are also extras that were collected/gathered for use in the artistic arrangement by my garden club, Hillside. We had a great inventory of flowers to choose from as we created our arrangement. Anyway, here is what I did this afternoon, choosing to "play" rather than do chores ("work.") It is such a beautiful time of year!

Afterglow

Two weeks ago this afternoon, the wedding weekend concluded. Nina, Charlie and Evie left here around 1:00 to catch a flight from the local airport. After the beautiful brunch that my siblings/spouses put on, Eddie and Kelly hung around for much of the afternoon and finally left around 5:30 to head to the cottage on the Chesapeake Bay they had rented for an abbreviated honeymoon. Once they have accrued more vacation time at work, this summer, they plan to take a real honeymoon trip.

Their wedding was perfect and I have just been so full of emotion it has been difficult to put it all into words. I will try to share bits and pieces in a few posts to come.

Brad and I have a running joke about purchasing the last "____________" we will ever own. For instance, this has been said about certain tools, this home, and hair clippers. He's said that about the last two lawn mowers he purchased, and I am sure there are yet more lawn mower purchases in his future if he lives to the ripe old age we hope for.  This past Christmas I gave him the last school backpack he will ever need, since he should retire before this one wears out. So, anyway, when Nina was here for the wedding, one day I was making biscuits. I pulled out my ancient, rusty-screened, flour sifter and made the comment about how badly I need a new one. The thing is roughly 35-40 years old and probably came from Woolworth's or G. C. Murphy's. I declared that I need to buy a new one, and when I do it should last for the remainder of my baking years.

Well, so cute of Nina, I opened a package from her today to find this beautiful stainless steel flour sifter that will in all likelihood still be in good condition when I hang up my kitchen apron for the last time.  I love it!

So with great ceremony the one that has brought me thus far in life bit the dust this afternoon. It served us well!

Time to let it go!

And another nice gift that came my way today was a beautiful photo of Brad's and my nuclear family with descendents. He visited the professional photographer from the family wedding and was able to pry loose from them this wonderful shot. It's just a matter of days, or maybe only even hours, before we are able to see the full complement of photos from the wedding, but this one is a good beginning!

 

thinking about the vegetable garden --- still winter

Brad did some work at the vegetable garden over the last weekend (Feb. 25 and 26). After a recent snow softened the ground greatly, he was able to pull up the old okra "trees" from last summer. I say trees, because those were the hugest okra plants, and most productive, I have ever seen. Maybe it was because the okra patch was closest to the pile of potash fertilizer that we obtained last year. Another late-winter chore was to spray the asparagus patch with Round-up.

I got a kick out of the fact that Brad decided to get the garden table ready. The wooden legs had completely rotted and the table was fallen on the ground. The porcelain top is as good as ever. Brad had saved treated lumber from the former back staircase (behind the kitchen) and used some of that to make new legs for the table. He also had saved a pallet from the construction effort, so now there is a good workspace available in the garden. Future plans include re-establishing the water line to the garden.

I am posting this report as a distraction. In just a few hours, Nina, Charlie and Evie will arrive. I count this as the official beginning of the wedding festivities. I seem to be losing my voice and I just hope I do not end up sick. I'm taking Vitamin C, gargling with warm salt water, and trying other home remedies.
On his way home from work, Brad picked up his tux and my gown for the wedding. Yay!!

morning after..........

You may find this blog entry boring, as it consists of many photos with minimal comments. If you have Facebook you have already seen these pics.

We woke up Monday to a winter wonderland ---- everything coated in snow and so beautiful. I love how you can see the sunlight in the distance through the trees.

 Here's a shot of Tobacco Row Mtn.

Looking from the house to the pasture near the garden.

Walking on the road to the garden

Ta-da! The garden.

One of my favorite shots --- Barbed wire fence and  tomato cages in the garden. Never this pretty otherwise!

 I love how the snow piled on top of the fence posts. Heading to the pond.

 The house is hidden over there in the trees.

Approaching the gate going to the pond.

 Looking from the gate back to the garden.

It's like the corn in Field of Dreams!  Crossing Leftwich and heading down the pond road.

 Daddy always loved the arched, tunnel feel of the pond road. Different material forming the arch this time!

First glimpse of the pond.

View of the dam.

 Don't you love the way the trees and bushes are reflected? See the single very tall white pine?

 My favotite shot of the pond on this day. So peaceful and still.

 Reflections. Brad's favorite.

 

first snow since we became residents

We have been waiting and hoping for a good snow. Thought it would look so pretty from the sunroom. Well, we finally got the snow, and Mother Nature did not disappoint. We've gotten maybe 4 inches but it is a very wet snow so it is sticking to the tree branches and looks really beautiful.

It started this morning while we were in town at church. I had gotten up about 7:30 because I wanted to see whether we were getting lots of birds. As Brad was cooking breakfast (I do Saturdays, he does Sundays) I drove down to the mailboxes and picked up the Sunday paper. As I was returning I noticed that our very first daffodils were blooming. There were 3 open flowers.

A little later we headed to town for church, and I took my camera along to capture the daffodils. But we had managed to cut the timing close for making it to church on time, so I did not stop to snap the flowers then.

It began to snow while we were still in town, after church, during the time we were "working out" at Snap Fitness. When we returned I snapped these shots of our early daffodils (two clumps):

We continued to have periods of snow all afternoon, mixed with some sleet. I went to a kitchen shower for Kelly and returned about 5:15. I snapped a few photos of the scenery then -- really pretty!
Isn't this cool how the snow attached to the fence at the tennis court?

Heading to the house from the tennis court.

 There's the house seen framed by snow-laden branches.

Looking out of the kitchen door to the front yard. The pendant lights are reflected on the door's glass.

Looking from the living room to the side yard.

Here's the cabin from the sunroom.

Finally, view from the window by my computer desk.

All so pretty. Heading to bed now!

Kitchen pleasure

Small pleasures keep cropping up. This will continue for a good while, I suspect!  For instance, living with new plumbing fixtures at Hanshill --- well, I'm still not used to that!  The old toilet used to require maintenance at least once each summer; sink faucets were quirky; the shower was a true joy to operate in the clawfoot tub ---- ahh, great memories.

This week's small pleasure that really put a smile on my face is using a brand new oven where I know that the thermostat is accurate and I can count on the temperature. Today I was a co-host for my garden club's monthly meeting/luncheon. I was assigned to make 6 quiches, plus a dessert. So on Monday I put together six pie crusts and refrigerated them. Then Tuesday I assembled the fillings, and baked the pies. Here they are, ready to load into the car this morning. Then we just re-warmed them during the business meeting ---- luckily the person hosting had two ovens.

The flavors, left to right, two of each pie, are broccoli with 4 cheeses (vegetarian), spinach with sausage and mushrooms, and crabmeat/tomato. The hostess made two pies of traditional quiche lorraine, so there was a nice selection. The old range's oven thermostat was terribly inaccurate. This kitchen feels so luxurious! One of many small pleasures!