Days of Wine and Droppings

I listened to him snore for a long time and then I stopped listening to him snore and listened to the silk-worms eating. They ate steadily, making a dropping in the leaves.
~Ernest Hemingway, "Now I Lay Me"

And that sums up what's going on in our little world this week (well, unlike Nick Adams we're not sleeping on straw on the floor, but otherwise . . .). The worms are back and they're munching away audibly - it's mostly the droppings you hear, or feel - if you're forgetful and walk beneath the trees!

And what are they eating? The leaves on our catalpa trees.

Catalpas are beautiful and strange. They have broad, heart-shaped leaves, lots of white blooms in spring, and in early summer these long beans (9"+) begin to grow. They're a bit like giant green bean trees at this stage.

And around July 1 each year, the catalpa sphinx caterpillar invades and begins defoliating. Within a week or two the leaves will be totally gone - leaving the bean and bare leaf 'skeletons'. Then the leaves begin to grow back and the whole process repeats.

The caterpillars are prized as fishing worms, and, consequently, catalpas have been planted since the 1870s just for the "worms" - click here if you're the kind of person who likes details about creepy crawlies or here if you'd like to start your own worm farm. Despite the worms, catalpas are wonderful trees and you might like one in your own garden - one word of caution though, the bean pods turn brown and drop so be prepared for a bit of raking!

And that's my worm-tale for this Thursday! Hope you're getting ready for a great July 4th weekend - just don't walk under the catalpas . . .

Find Your Blueberry Thrill!

I'm feeling blue this weekend - not sad, just in a blueberry mood. If you're not yet in a blueberry mood, read on . . .

Check out this hand-dyed yarn from The Plucky Knitter. If I could knit, I would make something yummy with this - it's called 'Blueberry Queen' and really captures the essence of blueberries.

But, perhaps we should move on to real berries. Is it blueberry season where you live? It's just beginning here and I discovered that NC is the fourth largest blueberry producer - this tasty fact is from the NC Blueberry Council (who knew we had a BC?). And as you might guess, we also have a blueberry festival to celebrate this fabulous fruit. And, of course, every good food festival deserves a queen - here's Pamela Ann Norris, the NC Blueberry Queen from 1973. I wonder where she is now - is she in a blueberry mood?

To find a blueberry festival close to you, check out the list here. I was surprised at the number of cities that celebrate the little blueberry - some even take their festivals to another level - like the town of Stony Plain in Alberta that combines blueberries with bluegrass for a three day event. You'll also find parades, pageants, cook-offs, and, of course, lots of delicious blueberries!

What did I do with my blueberries this weekend? Besides eating them by the handful and on salads and cereal, I made some tasty muffins. I like this recipe because the muffins are moist, but not too sweet.

You'll need two bowls, and here's what you do:

In a medium bowl mix the wet ingredients:

• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 3/4 cup buttermilk
• 2/3 cup safflower or canola oil
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla

In large mixing bowl, whisk together dry ingredients:

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• Zest of one orange or lemon
  

With large spatula, toss 1 1/2 to 2 cups blueberries in flour mixture. Gently add wet ingredients. Stir only until mixed. Fill a 12-muffin pan with mixture (I use baking papers because they're easy; if baking directly in muffin pan, you'll need to butter and flour the pan.). Bake at 375 for 20 min. or until toothpick inserted in center of muffin comes out clean.

I know you'll like these muffins - they're great for breakfast and they only take minutes to make. (If you're using frozen berries, don't thaw them because they'll leave blue streaks in the batter - also you'll need to increase the baking time just a bit.)

So, I hope you're feeling a little blue now, too. I'd love to hear your favorite recipe for blueberries . . . and, stop by tomorrow for a special announcement! I'm off to have a muffin . . .

Achoo! Why is my blog post so brief today?

No, it's not a cold . . . but I did sneeze over and over again today. Here's a hint at how I whiled away ten hours:

Cleaning the porches! If you live in an area without large amounts of pollen, this may not seem like an all day job. But, by mid-May our porches are covered with the sticky, dirty, grayish-yellow menace and the best way we've found to remove it is to clear everything off and mop the floors, then hose and scrub all the furniture . . . and boy is it a job!

Half the furniture is from the upstairs porch and my husband devised a great method for lowering it down with ropes. So that's a big chore for him, but when everything is clean it's really fun to watch the rockers and sofa rise to the second story. And that's just what I'm going to do myself - I'm clean and I'm going up to bed while I can still move!

Stop by tomorrow for a little etiquette chat . . .

****************

It has become that time of evening when people sit on their porches, rocking gently and talking gently and watching the street and the standing up into their sphere of possession of the trees, of bird hung havens, hangars. - James Agee, A Death in the Family

It's a Bloom Storm!

Get out your see-through umbrella because there's a storm on the way that you'll want to see! Yesterday while visiting a friend, I saw these covering her lawn:

Despite the large number of blooms on the ground, there are more to come:

So for a few days, the tree is a lovely Spring Pink and Green!

Hope some lovely blooms come your way this weekend!

Birds Do It, Bees Do It . . . & I Wish They'd Stop!

Actually I don't care who does it, but I'd like to see less pollen from reproducing plants! Actually that's not a true statement, I don't mind seeing it - it's breathing it that's the problem. This past week brought the highest pollen count in recent memory in this part of NC. Last weekend's burst of summer temps caused almost everything to bloom at once and the resulting pollen haze was stifling - at least for the allergy-prone (like me!).

Luckily a brief rain has washed away much of the offending yellow stuff, but here are a few pictures to give you an idea (these were sent by a friend and I'm unsure of the source).

The photo above was taken at Pullen Park in Raleigh; the swirling pollen is rather pretty - at a distance! If you're ever in the area, stop by Pullen Park to ride the famous carousel or take a turn on the paddle boats (I suggest waiting until the pollen season has past).

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the worst of the pollen has washed away - normally we have about six weeks of it so perhaps this year we'll only have two or three. In the meantime, I'm keeping my allergy medicine close at hand!

Hope your weekend is filled with clean air.

It's spring and my fancy lightly turns to thoughts of . . .

. . . flip-flops!

I confess, I'm a flip-flopaholic. As I no longer go in to an office each day, my wardrobe has devolved - more casual clothes that are perfect for gardening, grilling, etc. and, for spring and summer: flip-flops. I must disagree with the less-than-favorable comments in a recent issue of InStyle - if they're cute, I think flip-flops can work with dresses, shorts, pants, almost any casual outfit (I do stop short of wedding gowns and visits to the White House). If you also like flip-flops, you should check out Eliza B.


What makes these different from most flip-flops? For starters, they come in the cheeriest fabrics, patterns and colors. And you can customize them. Want velvet? Or cute cork wedges? Or . . . monograms?? (Notice the monogram on the pairs below - how great would it be to have your monogram spell W.O.W.?!)

The other great thing about Eliza B flip-flops is that they're made like shoes (as they say, like fine English shoes) - they fit well, last for years, and are comfortable enough to wear when you're standing and walking all day (even on uneven cobblestones)! A far cry from the cheap rubbery ones with the big squarish bottoms . . .


So, now you know my shoe secret . . . what are your favorite summer shoes? Do you have a flip-flop recommendation?

Serendipitous Friday!

It is a truth universally acknowledged that Friday is the most promising day of the week.

Okay, so I borrowed a bit of that from Jane Austen, but don't you think it's true? Weekends are great, of course, but Friday holds the promise of the weekend - relaxing Friday night knowing you can sleep in the next day or perhaps starting the weekend a few hours early - that seems more rewarding than Saturday itself . . . The odd thing about this is that I don't even have a regular job now, I'm not committed to a five-day routine, but I still look forward to weekends and wake up on Fridays feeling a bit excited about what might be in store. And today turned out to be a great day - a mid-morning change of plans led to:

Lunch and tea with my husband at a fun cafe:

Some beautiful spring blooms spotted while I was out and about. The tree-lined drive at the top of this post is stunning in real life, unfortunately this house is on a busy road and it was difficult to get a good picture - this one was taken from the sun roof! As for the flowering shrub below, I can't think of its name - it's been driving me crazy all afternoon. If you can identify it, please help! I'd love to have this in my garden . . .

And finally a detour this afternoon led to the discovery of a book sale for a nearby library. We love book sales and this one was great - lots and lots of well-organized books at ridiculously low prices. Here's our stash (yes, they provided shopping bags and building-to-car umbrella service!).

So now I'm ending the day with my new (old) books and one of these:

And, I'm not thinking about the things that were left undone because of these last-minute diversions. After all, what's the point of a play-day if you're going to feel guilty later?

I hope your weekend contains a bit of serendipitous fun!

Rainy Day Blahs

I've been thinking too much about the weather lately as fun snow days turned into cold, rainy, yucky days and, now, nights. It's only 34°, but as the ground is saturated with leftover snow and ice and more rain is falling, it seems bitterly cold and you just want to pack a bag for warmer climes. And that's the problem, weather should be like your washing machine - it's just there and you don't have to think about it!

Instead, the weather seems to be on everyone's mind, which is nothing new. In 1918 it was on Carl Sandburg's mind and the result is this lovely poem:

Horses and Men in Rain by Carl Sandburg

Let us sit by a hissing steam radiator a winter’s day, gray wind pattering frozen raindrops on the window,
And let us talk about milk wagon drivers and grocery delivery boys.

Let us keep our feet in wool slippers and mix hot punches—and talk about mail carriers and messenger boys slipping along the icy sidewalks.
Let us write of olden, golden days and hunters of the Holy Grail and men called “knights” riding horses in the rain, in the cold frozen rain for ladies they loved.

A roustabout hunched on a coal wagon goes by, icicles drip on his hat rim, sheets of ice wrapping the hunks of coal, the caravanserai a gray blur in slant of rain.
Let us nudge the steam radiator with our wool slippers and write poems of Launcelot, the hero, and Roland, the hero, and all the olden golden men who rode horses in the rain.

When one considers the options of being a milk wagon driver or roustabout with icicles on his hat, it doesn't seem so bad to run from the car to the grocery store and back with umbrella in hand . . . but, I plan to spend the rest of the weekend nudging the radiator with my slippers.

In short, I'm hoping for a weekend free from:

Hope you stay warm and dry the next few days!

Happy Midwinter (aka The Longest Night of the Year)

As you know, today is the Solstice - the shortest day in the year for those of us in the Northern Hemisphere and the longest day for those of you in the Southern Hemisphere. Officially occurring at 12:47 - we're now almost four hours into Winter. And what better time to revisit Robert Frost's fabulous poem that takes place on this day:

Photograph from 1916, part of the Frank and Frances Carpenter collection, Library of Congress.

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening

by Robert Frost

Whose woods these are I think I know.

His house is in the village though;

He will not see me stopping here

To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer

To stop without a farmhouse near

Between the woods and frozen lake

The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake

To ask if there is some mistake.

The only other sound’s the sweep

Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep.

But I have promises to keep,

And miles to go before I sleep,

And miles to go before I sleep.

Photograph by Sergei Mikhailovich Prokudin-Gorskii, circa 1915, Library of Congress.

I hope you enjoy the longest (or shortest!) night of 2009!

Woodprint (c. 1838) by Hiroshige Ando (1797-1858), Library of Congress.

Springtime in December and a Coyote's Thoughts Turn to Battle

Oh, the weather outside is frightful . . . it's cold and rainy today. Yesterday, however, was a great December gardening day - sunny with temperatures in the upper 50s. We have had some recent days that were warm enough to confuse the spring bulbs - just look what's popping up:

Some things in the garden are on the right track, however. This camellia (Debutante) is just starting to bloom and it's full of buds. The exciting thing is that there are fewer discolored petals than in previous years. For a few years, I thought these were caused by flower blight and I made every effort to eradicate it, but now I'm not sure. At any rate, this year some of the blooms are perfect (as seen in the top photo) and the others are still pretty - if not totally free from blemishes.

And just in time for decorating the mantle and feeding the winter birds, our Winterberries are full of berries - not bad considering they were planted in April!


And, it's also the season for small victories over the deer and a whole new strategy! Thanks to my vigilant spraying, they've only munched one branch from this Winterberry this week . . .

It may not sound like a great victory, but it gives me a warm Churchill-like glow: "Never in the field of amateur gardening has so much been destroyed by so few" - so, in response, I shall fight them in the roses, I shall fight them in the pansies, I shall fight them in the Winterberries . . . I will never surrender!!

I'm very happy with my new approach - those of you who have followed my gardening woes this year know that my old strategy was Wile E. Coyote-esque, right down to the scene where I let the deer turn me into a crazed loser smushed under my Acme anvil. This new Churchillian approach is going to lead me to conquer the invading deer gang . . . I can hardly wait for the games to begin! Of course, if I'm victorious over the deer that will mean I have a Victory Garden! (Sorry, I never can resist a pun!)

Stop by tomorrow for some yummy holiday party food and fab decorations!

Colonial Pumpkins

Pumpkins are the ultimate autumn decoration - they add a splash of color, come in all sizes and quite a few shapes, and work with any type of home. On a recent visit to Old Salem, we took these photos of the pumpkins that are decorating this 18th century village this October.

The simple Moravian architecture is a great backdrop for the bright pumpkins.

These pumpkins were possibly grown in one of the large gardens in town, and perhaps their seeds will be planted next year in the same garden . . .

To learn more about Old Salem or the fabulous MESDA, check out their website.

"The red leaves are coming, the red leaves are coming" - Paul Revere, Oct 1775

Well, maybe Paul Revere didn't get as excited about red leaves as Red Coats, but he might have been a leaf peeper, in which case he might have said "the red leaves are coming" when he saw the first beautiful, red fall leaf on the ground. I'd like to think he did. I'm always excited to see the first fall leaves and here in Zone 7, a few trees are starting to turn. (And in the photo above, don't miss the chewed-off liriope - compliments of the local deer gang!)

But, back to Paul Revere for a moment. You probably know he wore many hats, including that of engraver and silversmith. A few of his silver items are displayed at museums around the country. The Metropolitan Museum has perhaps the most famous - a sterling teapot:

Wouldn't it be great to sit outside on a sunny autumn day and sip tea from this teapot? Hope you're enjoying the leaves in your area - whether they're green, yellow, or red. Don't forget a cup of tea, too!