#9 Open Windows!

I talk a lot about liking summer, even the heat, but if I'm perfectly honest, I love any day that allows me to open the windows. Unfortunately, I'm a bit like Baby Bear. If it is too hot, I want air conditioning. If it is too cold I want heat. But when it is just right....I love having the windows open!

I like hearing the outside sounds, whether it is cars on the highway or the birds singing. It is the sound of life going on around me and it is all good.

I like the smell of the air, although 'smoky' from someone burning leaves can get annoying when it gets in the house, so maybe I'm not that crazy about it inside...but outside...it can be ok.

I love open windows at night even if it means an extra blanket, but I don't like breezes blowing on me. I'm not sure why, but I really don't, especially on my neck. I will wrap myself up in a hoodie, or pull the covers around my head.

Today is an 'open window' day and I'm loving it. (No breezes) I heard the school bus drop the kids off, their chatter as they filled parents in on what happened. I heard someone mowing his lawn, reminding me I should be doing that instead of this.

Maggie likes it too. She sits at the window to see what's going on. So today, this is my next favorite thing about fall!

10 Things I Like About Fall #10

As much as I love Summer I also love Fall. Over the next few weeks I will share the things I love about this time of year. My favorite things are in no partictular order. The truth is, it depends on the mood I'm in or the day itself.

Goldenrod tops my list because it is one of the early signs and because it is so pretty. In early to mid September the goldenrod blooms and this year it seems to be particularly abundant. Why do I love goldenrod? Well, obviously, I don't get hayfever from it! I love it because of it's color. Even on a gray day that gold plume glows on the hill. The day I took these pictures it was overcast, but the goldenrod makes its own sunshine.

Yellow is my very favorite color. It is the color of sunshine, of happiness and cheer. In September when the fields are losing their green, the goldenrod takes over and brightens my day. 

What happened to Summer?

September just amazes me! One weekend we are celebrating the end of the 'vacation months' with a holiday that celebrates the American worker and within days the summer weather comes crashing down and we are thrown into the full sense of fall. Does the sun watch me turn the page on the calendar?

I know I really enjoyed myself this summer. I made a point of soaking it in as much as possible. Yet, when I look back I wonder why I didn't eat lunch on the deck more. Why didn't I eat more salads? (I love salads in summer.) Why didn't I swim more? How come Maggie and I never made it to the dog park with the pond? Or to McConnell's Mill for a hike? What was I doing all this time?

Oh yeah, I:
Went to see Jersey Boys in Cleveland with the Corvette Club
Spent 1 week in Connecticut, one of my favorite places
Ate Lobster in Kittery, Maine at my sister's 50th Wedding Anniversary
Spent 2 weeks in Iowa at my grandson's 4th birthday and my grandaughter's 1st birthday
Had picnics with the neighbors
Mowed the grass all June, but not at all in July, (and then I left town in August)

Ok. Now I feel better. I guess if I want to eat salad for lunch on my deck, I have to be here.

I really did enjoy my summer. Goodbye, August! I'll be waiting for you June, when you're ready to roll around again.

My Favorite Hydrangea

Where we lived in Florida I don't remember seeing many hydrangeas, but they are a staple in landscaping in the northeast. When we landscaped this place I had a few rules. 1) No hedges, 2) nothing that had to be shaped. I like gardening, but you could call me a lazy gardener. I don't need to fiddle with stuff. I want things that grow naturally.

Before we landscaped I used the first year to take note of things like seasonal change and winter looks. By the time we were ready to plant our shrubbery I knew what I wanted. And as all good planning goes, probably 50 percent of the shrubs I selected were changed after the landscaper said "you won't like it". Humph! Well, he was right. One bush would grow too slowly and take 20 years to give me the look I wanted, while another shrub would overgrow the area and dwarf the first one. So changes were made.

When it came to my hydrangea I knew just which one I wanted. It was a pretty one that would get nice white snowballs in the summer and would flank our front door. Well, I didn't get it. My landscaper showed up on planting day with a different one. "When I went to the nursery this morning the one you wanted didn't look good, but you're going to love this one."


I was a little disappointed, but I listened as he told me why I was going to 'love this one'. It is 4 years later. My landscaping has grown in just as I had imagined it. The perennials and annuals that I've put in are adding their charm and he was right. I love my hydrangea.

In the spring the leaves come in supplying the new green. In early summer it develops delicate cones of tiny white buds which open into still delicate petals.

As the summer months move on the white petals become streaked with little pink lines.

As fall nears, the barely pink flower turns to deep rose.

The snowball hydrangeas are over, but my hydrangea still graces my front door and adds a changing klaidescope of color.

Come winter when all the leaves have fallen off the flower will have dried to a pale tan. They make a lovely bouquet and will grace my foyer all winter long.

It would appear sometimes I don't always know best. Hmmm.

PS. I can no longer remember the name of my hydrangea, but I believe it is a "Panicled hydrangea" because of the cone shaped flower. If anyone can tell me what the actual name is please do! It would be nice to know.

Fall's Bluff

It almost happened.  I was having such a good time enjoying summer, I nearly missed it. But my eagle eyes and keen senses suddenly tuned in to the fact that Fall just might be trying to sneak into my life.

When I left Iowa I actually looked for signs, but with the exception of 2 little fields in Ohio everywhere I turned the fields were green and full. There was no hint that before long they would turn to the dusty tan necessary before harvest can begin. Actually a soybean field in the height of change is one of the prettiest you’ll find. Those bright golden leaves fluttering in the breeze reminds me of a giant pot of gold coins at the end of the rainbow.

The weather at the Corvettes of Carlisle show started out as usual; hot and sunny. It is often the hottest car show for me with no air conditioning and little shade unless you have a tent to sit under. However, Irene blew up the East Coast and put a damper on the show, not only literally, but sending people skittering back to their homes to do whatever they thought they could do to protect the house. (I’m sorry, but if a wind is going to blow your house down, you stand little chance of stopping it! Better to stay where you have safe, dry shelter folks!)

Weather after a hurricane is usually gorgeous! The heavy heat and low clouds clear out. Even for those of us who weren't really under her shadow, the days following Irene were full of sunshine, light clouds, bright, clear blue sky and cooler temperatures. The little white clouds were miles away. It was so gorgeous in fact that I almost missed it; the telltale signs August was coming to a close.

I caught a flash of red in the dry grass on the hillsides. The sumac growing wild by the side of the road is often the first sign that the seasons are beginning to change. Its leaves turn a bright crimson while the goldenrod is just thinking of blooming.

The air had a fresh scent to it, but it was different from the lush scent of summer. I noticed for the first time the dried heads on the tops of field grasses.

As Maggie and I did our 1 mile walk through the neighborhood a flash of red caught my eye among the Maples lining the street. In the midst of all the green leaves were 3 bright red ones.

A couple of days later it was hot again. Saturday was SO hot it reminded me of mid-summer in Florida. It may seem as though Fall was calling Summer's bluff, but I think it will win out before too long. It's a good thing I love Fall. It is the only reason I'm willing to let go of Summer.

4 Year Olds are Exhausting...and Funny

There is a new show on this fall called "Up All Night". It's about parents with a new baby and the previews are pretty funny. My daughter and her husband dissolve into giggles watching the previews showing exhausted parents asleep on the couch while the baby sits wide awake next to them. With a one-year old, they can relate. With a 4 year old as well, they have also come to realize it doesn't get better. The routines change, but the exhaustion stays.

Warren was quiet for the first 6 months. The next 6 months were more active as he began crawling and getting into things. Then the boy learned to walk. I think he walked for a week. He's been running ever since. This child goes full speed all day. At 18 months every time he heard a tractor, truck or car coming down the gravel road, he would tear down the hallway, charge across the living room and leap onto the couch to watch it go by. This is really great exercise during planting and harvest.

Clean up time (once he's into it) isn't any different. Grab a toy, run across the room. Jump to a stop at the toy shelf. Store the toy. Run back. Repeat. Mom stares, sighs, wants to say, "Just walk!", but instead she shakes her head.

And then there is the most exhausting part of all with a young child...the whining and the tears. As a grandma I know all about it. Been there! Done that! But looking back I know how quickly it all passes. And I know I'm going home soon and where I get to wine (Ahhh)!

As exhausting as kids can be there are many things that make it all worth it. The hugs, the joy of watching them learn new things, and especially those unexpected funny moments when a youngster comes up with just the right comment, or makes an unexpected quip.

One morning I was reading the newspaper when I commented that the astronaut, Mark Kelly, had retired. Warren came running in from the living room. "Does it say that? Where?" I pointed to the newspaper. "Read it to me." Puzzled, I asked him what I had been talking about, thinking he was being a busy body and trying to be a part of Jan's and my conversation. "You said an astronuat was sleepy," came his reply. Jan and I burst out laughing and congratulated him on his interpretation. Then I explained what 'retiring' meant.

Yes, Four year olds are exhausting, and funny, but they can be pretty observant too! In fact, maybe the best thing about young children is the way they change your own perspective of life.