~
Monday, May 31, 2010, 9:30 a.m.
74 degrees, breezy, sunny
After a wonderful weekend of good friends, plenty of
yummy food, and gorgeous weather,
it is back to business as usual, which today involves
watering the gardens and planting out a
few more seedlings. The raspberries are getting a good
drenching right now, and after the tank
is empty it will take about four hours to refill it from
the springbox overflow. Our strawberries
look lush and healthy after a good long
drink the other day, and the little bit of rain we had on
Saturday didn’t hurt. I will haul buckets of spring
water over to the new tomato and pepper
plants, with a dash of natural high-phosphorus fertilizer
to ensure lots of fruit. More rain is
in the forecast for tonight, and if watering the berries
and washing the cars doesn’t bring it on,
nothing will. Maybe I’ll leave the laundry hanging
out overnight as well. We have had some fine
late night walks, and have noticed lightning bugs are
just hitting their stride. on Saturday I saw
just one, and by the time I returned to the yard there
were dozens of them, all flashing seem-
ingly at random, festooning the meadow grasses with
holiday lights. Last night we were able
to see the Port Leyden Field Days fireworks from the
sunporch, very colorful and loud;
it must have been even more awesome close-up. And now, on
with the day !
My workplace is closed, so I can get as down and dirty as
I wanna be, pul-
ling weeds, digging holes, and enjoying this perfect day
from start to finish.
Have a great day,
Daisy
Sunday, May 30, 2010, 8:00 a.m.
66 degrees, breezy, mostly sunny
The sky is a fresh clear blue streaked with a few
high white clouds. A northwest
breeze stirs the leaves and ripples the tall grasses in
the meadows, which are growing
longer by the day. Farmers on the flats are mowing hay
day and night, and the weather
has been perfect for that. We passed by an Amish farm
yesterday, where loads of dry grass
were brought by wagon to a stationary hay press, much
like a baler but chugging away in one
place, not pulled by a tractor. We traveled north to
Chaumont Barrens, an annual excursion
that we have been making for several years. It was a cool
cloudy morning when we left, and
we had just received a nice ten-minute rainfall, so we
figured it would be a great day to hike
along the trails at the Barrens, an alvar prairie that
sits atop limestone. Naturally, as soon as
we pulled into the little parking area, the sun came out
and the heat was turned up consider-
ably, Thank goodness there was a breeze; what might have
been an uncomfortably hot trek
was quite pleasant. The prairie smoke was at it’s
best, and if you have never seen a meadow
filled with the soft pink plumes of this plant, it is
well worth the trip to Chaumont Barrens. We
saw very few birds, but the sweet notes of an eastern
towhee followed us everywhere along
the trail. Old washed-out coyote droppings littered the
pathway, something I had not noticed
during years past; perhaps the population of that wild
dog has increased in the area. Take plenty
of water, wear sunscreen, and be prepared for insects,
although yesterday was fairly bug-free.
To see some photos of this fascinating place, check out
this site at northcountrypublicradio.org.
Have a great day,
Daisy
Saturday, May 29, 2010, 8:30 a.m.
52 degrees, windy, mostly cloudy
The gravel next to the house shows where rain has
dripped from the eaves,
darkening the pale grey to a more slaty shade. The
driveway is still damp as well,
but the spaces under the cars are dry as a bone. I
didn’t hear rain during the night, but
at least trees, crops, and grasses may have absorbed some
moisture through their leaves.
Hopefully the little sprinkle will help settle the dust
that blows our way from the unpaved
Smith Road. We expect there will be quite a bit of quad
traffic on this long weekend;
caravans of trucks and trailers went up the hill
yesterday. We are enjoying a visit
from old friends, and have not yet decided how to spend
this potentially
beautiful day, but it will certainly involve some outdoor
fun.
Have a great day,
Daisy
Friday, May 28, 2010, 8:30 a.m.
67 degrees, calm, high clouds
Muted shadows give testament to the layer of clouds that
floats in a single milky sheet
high in the sky on this comfortable morning. What little
breeze there is comes and goes,
and twirls the leaves on the poplar tree in a slow lazy
pirouette. It isn’t the best day to hang
laundry outside, but yesterday was supposed to be rainy
so I put that chore off for one more
day. In fact, we did have a little rain in late afternoon;
I could actually count the drops, there
were fifteen of them. Our neighbors one skosh up the road
have been hauling water for a week,
as their well has gone dry already. Thank goodness our
spring is still flowing strong, its source
apparently much deeper than the water table for this area.
Good clean water is something we
take for granted, like adequate food and a safe place to
live. We are so fortunate if we not
only have all of these creature comforts, but loved ones
with which to share them as well.
Have a great (and grateful) day,
Daisy
Thursday, May 27, 2010, 7:30 a.m.
72 degrees, calm, partly sunny
The sky was clear and super-blue earlier, but now clouds
are scuttering in from all directions.
The barometer is falling, and it looks like we may be
blessed with some much-needed rain before
the day is over. The extreme heat and lack of rain has
everything looking a little droopy here on Gomer
hill, even the people. We have been diligently watering
young plants and berries, but a good soaking will
go a long way in advancing our crops. We have not watered
the potatoes, but they are doing well anyway.
The sweet corn that we planted a week ago is up, showing
what looks like 100% germination. In a week we
will sow another block of corn seeds, and a third
planting at the end of June, to keep us munching crunchy
sweet ears well into autumn. We grow Spring Treat,
a variety that has big firm kernels that pop when you
bite into them; they hold their shape even in a chowder
or casserole, like no other variety we have tried.
When cooked with fresh shell beans and onions, the
resulting succotash is the stuff of legend, fit for
the Aztec gods. The ears are excellent eaten fresh, and
it freezes well if blanched and cut off the
cob. One of these years I will have enough freezer space
to try some whole ears; that would
be special as a side to barbecued ribs some cold winter
night. Yum, now I am hungry !
Have a great day,
Daisy
Wednesday, May 26, 2010, 8:00 a.m.
78 degrees, breezy, sunny
The northwest wind carried no cooling air in it this
morning...
more like being in a convection oven. We have already
taken a
short walk around the eastern meadow, but the dog was
more than
happy to cut the trek short and head back up to the shade
of the rose
hedge to stretch out full length on his belly, cushioned
by tall cool grass.
We will spend a few hours mowing the lawn, and then turn
our attention
to cleaning up the construction debris of the last few
days of home repair,
new windows, bathroom updates, and such. We had to cut
through some
of the old original interior wall space; it is amazing
how much dust a couple
of layers of lath and plaster can release from just a bit
of disturbance. Most
of the original walls were torn down nearly twenty years
ago when we did a
total house renovation; it figures that that one wall
left alone would eventually
have to be hacked apart, all for the sake of installing a
grab bar in the bathtub.
Meanwhile, I was delighted to see that daisies are abloom
a couple of hundred
yards down the road from here. It won’t be long
before those happy little flowers
grace the top of Gomer Hill as well. Buttercups have
sprung to life during the past
few days; red clover buds are still tightly bound, and
will no doubt open at the same
time as daisies. Strawberry plants, both wild and tame,
are filled with shiny white
flowers, and it won’t be long before we will be able
to gorge on the sweet fruits.
Have a great day,
Daisy
Tuesday, May 25, 2010, 8:00 a.m.
72 degrees, breezy, sunny
The breeze is nicely cool, but this day has the
potential to be even hotter than yesterday.
More seeds went into the ground under a blazing sun,
zinnias, parsley, and basil, and a second
sowing of lettuces and spinach. We will enjoy the first
tender lettuce thinnings in tonight’s salad,
and tomorrow the spinach will also get a good going-over.
Is there anything better than those first
sweet greens of spring? Near day’s end, the breeze
had disappeared, so I planted a dozen toma-
toes and thirty pepper plants into their summer rows. The
roots of the tomatoes filled their quart-
sized containers; I have never seen such vigorous root
formation on any commercial nursery stock.
There is much to be said in favor of starting one’s
own plants, not the least of which is the assurance
that we won’t be transporting any disease into our
soil, as did last season’s big-box store transplants.
Rosemary and white sage starts are finally big enough to
set into individual pots; some will eventually
go into the garden soil outside in mid-June, after the
nights have warmed up. Some are destined to
be given to friends; there is nothing like fresh rosemary
in a sunny window to give the room a pun-
gent all-natural clean scent as the summer breeze wafts
over it. White sage is used for smudging,
after being first dried; it imparts an earthy mysterious
tone, as well as clearing negative energies
from a space. Now I am off to empty our water tank onto
the long rows of beans and
short block of corn across the road; no real rain in
sight, but if anything can make
it appear, it will be spending several hours watering
things by hand.
Have a great day,
Daisy
Monday, May 24, 2010, 8:30 a.m.
76 degrees, breezy, mostly sunny
It looks like hot weather is moving in for a few days,
which should get the corn and beans
sprouting in good shape. Our potatoes are practically
leaping out of the ground, and most
varieties have nearly 100% participation. We will have to
be vigilant in our watering schedule,
lest the cool weather crops suffer heat stress. The
breeze is light, and I believe I can safely put
tomato and pepper plants into the ground this morning. On
Saturday, a female tree swallow was
found dead on her clutch of five snow white eggs.
Yesterday, I checked to see how the eggs were
faring, and another swallow flew out to greet me. She has
been faithfully tending the clutch since the
death of her friend, most likely a sister from last
year’s hatch. Tree swallows hang out in small family
flocks; whenever I check a bluebird nest, it is usually
only the female that keeps an eye on my activity.
With tree swallows, there are often as many as half a
dozen birds zooming around my head, keeping
watch on the nest. It remains to be seen whether the five
eggs had ample heat during the time their
mother was lifeless; was her downy breast enough to keep
the incubation going without the addition
of her vital body heat? I believe the eggs are due to
hatch later this week; I will keep you posted.
Have a great day,
Daisy
Sunday, May 23, 2010, 8:30 a.m.
68 degrees, windy, mostly cloudy
We hope that these clouds will produce some rain
to get our freshly planted seeds watered in.
Yesterday we put cucumber, zucchini, and more beans and
spinach into the ground, and went
over the rows with a watering can, but nothing will jump-start
sprouting like a good natural soak-
ing from Mother Nature. The rest of the week shows no
rain in the forecast at all, so today may
be our only chance. Yesterday’s stiff wind brought
down most of the damaged maple leaves on
Gomer Hill, and it is not nearly as beautiful a sight as
if it were October. These leaves, instead of
bright red, gold, and orange of autumn, are the grey and
crispy corpses of new growth cut down
in its prime. We rode around the block late yesterday,
and the back roads are drifted with dead
leaves, not just maple but beech as well. If these trees
do not regenerate a second growth of
foliage, it could spell doom for those that are less
healthy to begin with, the grandmother trees
that have lightning damage, those with insect pathways,
and those old gals like the one by our
barn that has been dying one limb at a time, simply from
age. Other casualties of the Mother’s
Day storm are the lovely ostrich ferns that were blasted
right after unfurling their fresh green-
ery, and the dainty lilies-of-the-valley which should be
scenting the yard but are shriveled
and brown. Bracken ferns, which are later to open, are as
green and fresh as tomorrow.
The delicate balance has been shifted by that frigid
storm, and what it means for
future generations of birds and other critters who use
the affected trees for
shelter and food remains to be seen. I wonder what will
happen; stay tuned.
Enjoy each day,
Daisy
Saturday, May 22, 2010, 11:00 a.m.
76 degrees, windy, mostly sunny
We had some folks stop by to dig some strawberry plants
this morning,
and it was good to get that job done in the relative cool
of the morning. There
has been a refreshing breeze, so the heat is not yet an
issue. I was showing our guests
the bluebird/tree swallow nesting boxes, and one of our
swallows has died since yesterday
while sitting on the nest. I removed her stiff body, and
within five minutes of her burial there
were two more swallows darting in and out of the house.
It will be interesting to see if they
remove the five eggs and start a brood of their own or
maybe they will try to hatch these.
I cleared out a wren’s nest from one of the boxes,
and will leave the door open for a few
days to discourage that little homewrecker from moving in.
They are so territorial that they
will destroy all eggs and young within a few hundred
yards of their own nest, and so we pre-
fer them to live in someone else’s yard. We have
watered all of the newly planted beans, and
some of them are beginning to emerge from the warm soil.
I planted two varieties of shell beans
yesterday, being sure to mark the rows so that well-meaning
friends won’t accidentally pick them
to eat as fresh string beans. In September I hope to be
able to harvest some Black Coco beans
to use in soups and rice dishes; these are larger than
the black turtle beans that are available
in the grocery store. I also planted some Tiger Eye beans,
which are almost too beautiful
to cook. Check them out at this site
. And now, I am off to check all of the other
nesting boxes; what could have killed that poor momma
swallow ?
Have an interesting day,
Daisy
Friday, May 21, 2010, 8:00 a.m.
70 degrees, breezy, sunny
A soft eastern breeze stirs the new leaf growth on
the ravaged maple trees,
giving me hope that they may survive having been frozen
after all. The new green-
ery is mostly on the southeast side of the trees, not
surprising as that frosty wind was
out of the northwest during the Mother’s Day storm.
We have taken advantage of the fine
warm weather to plant corn and pole beans, and if we get
a little rain over the weekend they
should have a good start. The soil was actually pretty
moist once we got past the dust layer.
Our spuds haven’t fully emerged yet, but the pointy
sprouts are beginning to divide the soil,
preparing to pop out any day now. I believe that tomatoes
and peppers can go into the
ground today, if the wind doesn’t pick up. Yesterday
was too windy to set out tender
seedlings, but was perfect for yanking weeds from the
perennial beds, and edging the
flower garden nearest the house. Just before the sun
headed towards the horizon, the
air grew still, and black flies and mosquitoes showed up
en masse for the first time this
season; I have the welts to prove it. After retiring,
junebugs beat against the screens,
their big hard carapaces making a metallic ping! as
they bounced off the mesh. There
were several at each window, a regular drum corps of
beetles. I wonder where they
go during the daytime? I have never seen one by daylight,
except the unfortunate
few that land in a full watering can. I also have never
seen a junebug in June,
as they usually show up in May in the neck of the woods.
Have a fine day,
Daisy
Thursday, May 20, 2010, 8:30 a.m.
68 degrees, windy, sunny
It is summery on the back porch, surrounded by lush green
tomato and pepper plants
and the sun hot on our faces and bare feet. Some of the
birdsongs have shifted from mating
mode to babysitting calls, melodious warbles and trills
giving way to the hard sharp sounds that
their newly fledged young respond to at a softer, higher
pitch. Redwing blackbirds and starlings
all have youngsters to tend, and the frantic behavior of
crows and ravens in the neighboring forest
and hedgerows suggests that they, too, are herding their
offspring. Tree swallows are all sitting on
their eggs in three of our nesting boxes, so I have not
been able to count the number of each clutch.
Sadly, the tiny bluebird that hatched on Monday did not
survive the night. The other two eggs in that
nest are still whole; I wonder if the mother has
abandoned the nest, or has fallen to a predator. I will
give those remaining two eggs another week before
cleaning out the box to make it ready for another
tenant. I check the nesting sites every day at this time
of year, and the birds have grown used to my
presence. It is a small thing to provide space for local
birds to brood, but it gives us special pleasure
when we see a flock of bluebirds or tree swallows, to
know that we have done something to keep
both species thriving on Tug Hill. If you have any open
land on your property, consider putting
up a couple of bluebird boxes. Everything you need to
know about this can be found at here .
Have a great day,
Daisy
Wednesday, May 19, 2010, 8:00 a.m.
53 degrees, breezy, mostly cloudy
The morning is cool and damp, so we have a small fire
burning in the kitchen range.
That is the perfect way to take the chill from the nooks
and crannies of this old farmhouse,
and the pets appreciate the heat as well. Ever since the
dog had his springtime buzzcut, he
needs a little extra heat when the mercury dips. It is
windier than yesterday, or I would take
a photo of the oriole nest that has been constructed in a
low branch of the poplar tree right
outside my window. It sways with every gust, and I can
only imagine that it is like the gentle
rocking of a cradle would be to a human infant when the
eggs finally hatch. Here are
some-
one else’s photos of a nest, taken after wind blew
it out of the tree. You can clearly see
that fibers from an old tarp were incorporated into the
weaving. I often comb my long
hair on the back porch, and let fly the vagabond strands
that end up in the comb;
I wonder if any have made their way into the nest in the
poplar tree?
That would be cool.
Have a great day,
Daisy
Tuesday, May 18, 2010, 7:00 a.m.
54 degrees, calm, mostly cloudy
We awakened to the sound of two orioles serenading each
other in the tree
right outside the open bedroom window. I have seen more
orioles in the past
week than altogether in my entire lifetime. They flew
past the car on our way to
Carthage, hovered around the yard at our friend’s
house, greeted me when I got
to work in Boonville yesterday, and there are at least
two pairs of them here on our
property. I recently saw two males together, vying for
the attention of a single female.
It will be interesting to see how many of their unique
pendulous nests we can find after
the leaves fall in autumn. There is almost always one in
the big maple tree by the driveway,
and I suspect one in the ash down by the springbox as
well. We finally have a calm morning,
so I will tuck the broccoli seedlings into neat rows in
the garden. Yesterday I hauled all of the
seedlings out to the back porch so that they can get used
to being outdoors, drenched in morn-
ing sunlight and protected from the dominant west wind.
Some of the tomato plants will soon
bloom; I hope to plant them out by the end of the week.
We were lucky to escape the late
blight that ruined so many tomato crops last year. Just
to be on the safe side, we have
moved our tomato trellis to a different spot, where no
tomatoes have grown before.
I checked the spud patch yesterday, and none have popped
up yet, but when I ex-
humed one seed piece it was well-sprouted and solid. As
the soil warms, they
should emerge in no time. Lettuce and spinach have really
grown well in the
cool weather, and we should be enjoying the first
thinnings this weekend.
Yum! have a wonderful day,
Daisy
Monday, May 17, 2010,
8:45 a.m. 68 degrees, breezy, mostly sunny
I love this time of year, especially the warm sunny
mornings that are the signature
of a normal May day. Of course, when you
experience snow showers on Mother’s Day,
it might be time for a new definition of normal.
Yesterday I walked the newly-mown meadow
paths and ventured into the woodlot. I was delighted by
the purty-purty-purty whistle of a happy
cardinal, something I have never heard on Tug Hill.
Friends in the valley are able to lure these beautiful
birds to their feeders during the winter, but I have not
seen them up here. I didn’t see the bird yesterday,
either, but there is no mistaking their call; I grew up
in Ohio, where the cardinal is the state bird. Meanwhile,
New York State’s bird is the eastern bluebird, and
that population has risen by at least one. I checked the
nesting boxes yesterday; just as I approached the one by
the springbox, momma flew out holding a blue
shell fragment. I peeked into the box, and a brand new
hatchling had just greeted the world for the first
time; the downy feathers were still sticky and the bird
was feebly attempting to climb over the two eggs
that had not yet hatched. It is unusual for there to be
only three eggs; a normal clutch is four or five.
Three other boxes contain tree swallow’s nests, no
eggs in two and a mother bird sitting on
the third, so I don’t know how many eggs are in that
one. Four boxes are still bare, al-
though I have had to chase a wren out of one a few times.
We have a grand week
of weather coming up; make sure you get out to enjoy the
beauty of it all !
Have a great day,
Daisy
Sunday, May 16, 2010, 8:45 a.m.
57 degrees, breezy, mostly sunny
We have another beautiful morning, and it is
forecast to be warmer than yesterday.
I don’t know what the day was like here on Gomer
Hill, as we were at an outdoor
party in Carthage. I had optimistically applied sunscreen,
but (just in case) I also tuck-
ed a heavy chamois shirt and windbreaker into the car. As
we traveled north, we drove
out of sunshine and into heavy dark low clouds. With the
disappearance of the sun the day
grew very chilly and more than a little damp, so I was
glad of the extra outerwear before the
afternoon drew to a close. We dashed into the house,
which was toasty-warm, for cake and
presents, and later a huge bonfire made the outside
ambiance a little more friendly. The weather
didn’t stop several of the children present from
corralling tadpoles in a nearby frog pond; steam
rose from their sodden clothing as they stood by the fire,
tuckered out and chatting of their adven-
ture. The ride home at 7:00 was outstanding, with some of
the prettiest skies I have ever seen. Just
after we passed the West Lowville corner, sun streamed
through all manner of clouds, some low
and black, some high and shining white, and the bluest
sky ever. We made a late supper of left-
overs and watched the sun disappear in a blaze of color,
the perfect end to a perfect day.
Enjoy this day,
Daisy
Saturday, May 15, 2010, 8:15 a.m.
56 degrees, breezy, mostly sunny
This is one of the prettiest mornings we have had in a
while,
warm-ish and sunny and filled with the flash of
goldfinches and orioles
darting to and from the birdbath. Both of our cats have
drunk deep from there
as well this morning, ignoring their boring old water dish
in the kitchen in favor of the
shimmering windswept pool outdoors. Our oldest cat, who
is at least twenty, has spent most
of the morning so far soaking up the sun on the back
porch, but was immediately stirred into action
when the goldfinches showed up to drink. She went into
full-stalk mode, slinking on her belly, covering
the space between the porch and the birdbath by
infinitesimal increments, only to find our other cat had
staked out the venue from the daffodil tangle underneath
the basin. The goldfinches escaped unscathed,
but it was funny to watch the cats, one so sneaky, the
other darting a fuzzy blond paw up into the bowl
from his hiding place below. They rarely capture birds,
but that doesn’t keep them from trying. When
our old gal was in her heyday, we couldn’t put any
bluebird boxes close to the house, as she would
climb on top of one and wait for the birds to show up. it
is heartening to see her still active in her
old age; indeed twenty is quite old for a cat. There is a
lesson to be learned from her as we age;
doze in the sun when possible, and keep up some hobbies,
even if the results may be surprising.
Have a purrfect day,
Daisy
Friday, May 14, 2010, 8:15 a.m.
55 degrees, windy, fog, drizzle
Three-quarters of an inch of rain fell during the
night, gentle and steady.
It started as a sporadic sprinkle, allowing us to finish
up some rototilling and
mowing, and we had a chance to relax outdoors by a
blazing fire before it got
wet enough to come inside. We replanted some beans
yesterday, and it looks like
today will be perfect for setting out some broccoli
seedlings. I worked on the flower
beds for a while, and most of the pansies have found
their summer homes and are well
watered in. I moved some bee balm, which adapts well to
just about any conditions. The
original plants survived being yanked bare-root from a
stream bank and carried home sev-
eral miles on the back of my bicycle. Now I have several
patches of the bright red flowers all
over the property. Hummingbirds love it, and the fragrant
leaves make a nice tea. The gloriosa
daisies and other black-eyed susans have become a little
worn out, so I have started some new
plants in flats and will set them out as soon as the
weather has settled. Volunteer sunflowers
have popped up in the sweet corn garden, and I will
transplant a few of those to the barn-
yard before tilling that patch for planting. I guess I
could poke some corn seed into the
ground this weekend at some point and hope for warm
weather during the coming
week. After this drizzle passes, we are due for the sun
to come out again.
Have a great day,
Daisy
Thursday, May 13, 2010, 7:30 a.m.
55 degrees, breezy, sunny
Finally, a return to typical May weather ! A soft breeze
bears the scent of lilacs
and newly mown lawns, and doesn’t significantly
bring a wind-chill factor into play
as did the wintry gales of recent days. Last night was
frost-free, and I believe I will put
our potted plants outdoors today. They have resided upon
various windowsills and taken
up much of the guest room for the winter season, and
after a trim from my pruning shears and
a dose of homemade wonder-bloom solution they will be
good to go. As we sat outside yesterday
evening, we heard a noisy chatter coming from atop the
poplar tree. It sounded like an angry squirrel,
but the only critter in that tree was a baltimore oriole.
A closer look through binoculars revealed that it
was, indeed, this beautiful bird making such a rough
sound. To hear all of the songs and calls of the bal-
timore oriole, check out this site.
The call we heard is near the end of the clip. It is very
different from
the melodious pure tones of their song, which is
recognizable and very distinct. Poplar fluff continues
to drift through the air, ad there are piles of it on the
lawn, accumulating like big outdoor dust bunnies.
No wonder there are always so many baby poplar trees
poking up in the garden every summer. Well,
speak of the devil, the oriole has come to perch outside
the window, his bright orange vest nearly neon
in the morning light. Bobolinks have returned to the
meadows, and every stroll sends them scattering,
their happy ching-a-lings filling the air like a bunch of
tin cans pulled behind the newlyweds’ car.
Have a great day,
Daisy
Wednesday, May 12, 2010, 8:30 a.m.
41 degrees, breezy, overcast, drizzle/flurries
Every now and then the fine rain shifts over into wet
snowflakes, not too many of them,
but still and all, it is nearly the midpoint of May. We
are headed to Watertown for the day,
and I have had to rethink my choice of footwear twice so
far. Yesterday was a perfect day,
and I walked for quite a while on the Smith Road and some
forest paths that adjoin it. I am
sickened to see the damage that most of the beech leaves
have suffered from the weekend
storm; they hang dry and lifeless on the branches. How
can these trees survive with such
extensive leaf loss? Maple trees are similarly affected,
but their leaves were more mature
when stricken, and I would assume they still have some
vitality left in them. Garlic mustard
seems to have been knocked flat, which is a good thing,
as that is one of the most invasive
weeds to appear on Tug Hill during the last decade. Wild
strawberries are apparently unaf-
fected, but the forget-me-nots that line the back roads
are bent over in a dead wilt. Although
it was cool and breezy for most of yesterday, by the time
I finished my hike at noontime, some
black flies had found me. It has been a benefit of the
chilly May that the usual biting insects have
not yet become legion. In fact, it is possible that the
record-breaking low temperatures the past
few nights may have even knocked back the hatch. Dare we
hope? However, to wish for a
decrease in any species is to wish ill for those critters
that rely on them for food Perhaps
the best we can hope for is that we will be able to enjoy
the great outdoors in spite of
the bugs, by dressing appropriately and using herbal
barriers to keep them at bay.
Have a great day,
Daisy
Tuesday, May 11, 2010, 8:30 a.m.
46 degrees, breezy, sunny
The wind has finally died down to a lovely soft
breeze, and since it's from the
southeast instead of the northwest it wafts tropical
images into my brain instead
of arctic chill. The sun is very warm, and I hope the
soil will warm up enough to
give our potatoes the good start they deserve after the
rain and snow of the week-
end. The old-timers say that the best fertilizer for
newly planted spuds is a couple of
inches of snow, so they should be all set. Our
lilacs and apple blossoms don’t look too
happy this morning, after being pounded by wintry mix and
two nights of sub-freezing temp-
eratures, and the maple leaves look a little insulted as
well. Tulips are shredded, and the late
daffodils are all dead, victims of the heavy winds that
accompanied the weekend storm. Things
will warm up a little by the weekend, but I don’t
believe I will put my potted plants outdoors un-
til the nights get warmer. Fortunately, our sunporch is a
perfect environment for all of the vege-
table seedlings that await planting in the garden, and
they look hale and hardy for this time of
year. It is time to plant cucumber and squash seeds, as
they won’t go into the gardens until
mid-June, when the soil is very warm. Our short row of
early beans doesn’t look too good,
so we will replant those this weekend; beans planted in
April are largely experimental any-
way, and even those planted in May are, at best, a crap-shoot.
Today will be a fine day
for weeding the perennial beds, digging dandelions out of
the strawberries,
and walking through the woodlot to see what’s new.
Have a great day,
Daisy
Monday, May 10, 2010, 8:30 a.m.
39 degrees, windy, sunny
The air is filled with white fluffy poplar seeds
being buffeted about by a fresh
north wind. I thought at first that snow had returned,
until I noticed a total lack
of clouds. We had flurries off and on all day yesterday,
accompanied by very
heavy northwest wind, so I stayed indoors where I could
be toasty warm. I
made hearty winter comfort foods, split pea soup rich
with smoked ham for
lunch, and potroast for supper, loaded with onions and
carrots. The house
smelled wonderful, and now I have plenty of leftovers for
the next couple
of days. It is wonderful to see the sun, and while it is
warm in the protected
space behind the house, as soon as one steps into the
wind it is a real surprise
to feel such an icy blast of canadian air.
Yesterday’s snow is nearly all melted;
I hope that last night’s low temperature of twenty-seven
degrees didn’t hurt
the flowering fruit trees of Tug Hill. We are in for
another frosty night, so
keep those geraniums and petunias under wraps for at
least one more day.
Have a great day,
Daisy
Sunday, May 9, 2010, 8:30 a.m.
31 degrees, windy, cloudy, flurries
Yesterday’s fierce wind brought snow to Tug Hill,
about an inch... so far.
Flurries fill the air, swirling around in the remnants of
some of the hardest wind
we have seen in a long time. Our west windows are
plastered with shredded bits of
green leaves, probably from the maple tree next to the
driveway. There is a hard freeze
warning for tonight, after the storm passes on and brings
clear skies in its wake. Apple trees
are in full bloom all across our area; I hope they
aren’t harmed by the sudden drop in temperature.
After an atypical winter and a crazy hot early spring, we
should not be surprised by anything that
Mother Nature throws our way for the rest of this year.
The oil leak in the Gulf, mine collapses
worldwide, flooding in Tennessee and volcanic eruptions
in Iceland, all are signals that some-
thing is amiss with our planet, that things are shifting
within the very core that will naturally
have an effect on the larger weather picture. On this
Mother’s Day, take a moment to
honor our beautiful planet in any way you see fit.
Express gratitude for her bounties,
and praise her resiliency. Admire her gifts and think
about ways in which we can
improve the situation in our own neighborhoods, by
lessening our carbon foot-
print and keeping our own personal space as pollution-free
as possible.
Have a fine day,
Daisy
Saturday, May 8, 2010, 9:00 a.m.
52 degrees, windy, mostly cloudy
Lovely rain fell steadily for most of the night,
and now the sun is making brief appearances,
almost too bright and shiny after such a gloomy dawn.
Every leaf is in motion, tossed by a hearty
west wind which will usher in even colder temperatures
for tonight; the liklihood of snow for Mother’s
Day increases with every chilly gust. I picked a nice
bouquet yesterday, mostly tulips and narcissus, and I
am glad of it, as the flowers outside the window are
already looking a little raggedy from the wind-driven
rain. I will bring in some lilac and apple blossom sprays
later this morning, to fill the house with their sweet
perfume; it may be the only spring-like feature around
here tomorrow. At least the wintry mix is expected
to be short-lived, with clear skies and more moderate
temperatures returning Monday. last week, I visited
the new Mill Creek Nursery to buy some pansy plants. This
is located on Boone Street, where Dolan’s
Greenhouses had been for many years. I can’t think
of a nicer way to spend a blustery Mother’s Day
weekend than surrounded by the beautiful blossoms of
annual and perennial plants and hanging orna-
mental baskets that fill each greenhouse. There is one
greenhouse that is nothing but vegetable plants,
as healthy and robust as any I have grown myself. Mill
Creek Nursery is open 9-5 during the week
and 10-3 on Sunday; take that special woman in your life
out and surround her with the colors
and scents of spring; have her pick out a remembrance of
the weekend.
Remember, it is always best to shop local !
Have a great day,
Daisy
Friday, May 7, 2010, 7:00 a.m.
47 degrees, breezy, sunny
It has been a clear cold morning, but is warming
quickly. A little breeze has kicked in,
and it stirs the newly emerged foliage with a gentle
twirl. The poplar is especially beautiful,
with a combination of tender green leaves and long
chartreuse flowers that dangle perfectly
from slender branches. Bluebirds are inspecting a nesting
box nearby, but I hope they wait
until after the wintry weekend is over before they begin
their family. One pair has been sit-
ting on their eggs for almost a week, and it will be a
challenge to keep them warm in light
of the upcoming snowy forecast. Our gardens should be
okay, with the possible exception
of our early beans, which have just backed out of the
ground. I suppose if the temperature
doesn’t drop below freezing that they will be fine,
if a little set back. We have started to pick
asparagus, and added a few tender spears to a chicken and
rice dish last night, rich with whole
sautéed wild leeks which have continued to produce
seemingly unlimited pungent bulbs for several
weeks. Our lilacs are nearly in bloom, and the forget-me-nots
that have spread all over the lawn are
so beautiful that we are not going to mow until we have
had time to enjoy them a bit longer. Violets
have taken over the front yard, and dandelions are queens
of the meadows as well as brightening
the lawn. Wild strawberries’ pristine white blossoms
promise sweet little berries in a month’s
time, and myrtle has escaped its bank and flows outward
in ever-increasing amounts
every spring. Whenever I see an ad for weed killers for a
perfect lawn, I won-
der why anyone would want nothing but grass surrounding
their house.
We love our flowering weeds !
Have a great day,
Daisy
Thursday, May 6, 2010, 8:30 a.m.
56 degrees, windy, mostly cloudy
The west wind should deliver clearing skies later in the
morning,
ushering in cooler temps as well. Yesterday was perfect
spud-planting
weather, warm and breezy with a good amount of rain later
to water the
pieces in. This year’s potato plot seems to have
more stones in it than other
sites, and we need to pick out the largest to pile in the
hedgerow so that they
won’t interfere with our fancy “new”
digging machine in the fall. When it runs
into a big stone it threatens to tip over, which could
damage both the antique
chassis of the apparatus as well as the person steering
it. It is pulled by tractor
(originally by horse or mule) and controlled by a person
following behind. It looks
like some kind of Rube Goldberg machine, but sure beats
digging spuds by hand.
There is something primitive and a little thrilling about
adding odd-shaped stones
to the piles that were started over a century ago by the
original landowners,
like we are contributing to the history of Tug Hill, even
in a small way.
Ah, here comes the sun ! It looks like everything is ten
times more
green than it was yesterday, with the various hues
intensified
by lingering raindrops that polish the view.
Have a great day !
Daisy
Wednesday, May 5, 2010, 8:30 a.m.
53 degrees, breezy, mostly cloudy
What happened to the beautiful sunny sky that
greeted the day ?
We are planning to plant potatoes this morning, and it
would be nice if
it were just a bit warmer outside. Maybe the chill will
keep the bugs away.
All kinds of birds are out in great numbers, pulling
worms and other yummy
things from the damp ground. We had some good rain
showers yesterday
afternoon, accompanied by thunder and lightning, nothing
too nearby or
scary but plenty of water. We were cutting up seed
potatoes in one of our
small sheds when the rain started, and it was a fine
thing to be warm and dry
while the wind shipped sheets of rain against the metal
roof. After the sky cleared
we walked to the potato field to take some measurements;
this year we will be using
a different tractor to cultivate the rows, hill up the
dirt, and pull our digging machine at
harvest time. This is one of the few times that my high
school math skills came in handy;
it was one heck of a story-problem, I can tell you.
"Ten percent of nuthin' is...let me
do the math here...nuthin' into nuthin'...carry the
nuthin'..." (Jayne in Firefly)
Have a great day,
Daisy
Tuesday, May 4, 2010, 8:30 a.m.
57 degrees, windy, partly sunny
A clear blue sky has quickly filled in with clouds from
the west,
whence cometh most of our weather systems. The wind is
zippy and damp,
and it looks like we might finally get enough much-needed
rain. We had a couple of
brief hard showers yesterday, but it only amounted to
about a quarter of an inch of water,
better than nothing but quickly evaporated by late-day
sun and wind. I would like to set out
some broccoli seedlings, but the wind would whip them to
shreds in no time. I will be happy to
work outside in the wind, weeding and thinning the greens
that are already thickly sprouted in their
long rows, no bugs around in this blow. We have harvested
the last fiddleheads, and now they have
shot up into the beautiful feathery ferns that is their
mature form. Parts of our hedgerow resemble a
miniature rain forest, lush with the ferns’ greenery
and the exotic blossoms of trout lilies and trilliums.
Our early daffodils have become shriveled ghosts of their
former glory, and I need to snip off the
dead heads so that they will put all of their energy into
storing food in their bulbs for next spring’s
display. Tulips and later varieties of jonquils and
narcissi are at their best right now; the sweet,
almost cloying fragrance of pheasant-eye narcissus
permeates the air by the wildflower bank.
Deep periwinkle blue stars cover the myrtle vines, and
bleeding hearts will be unfurling their
two-tone cascades any day now. There is so much to see,
hear, smell, touch, and taste
during these spring days; thank goodness the daylight
hours continue to expand, so that
we might get our fill of sensations. After night falls is
a whole ‘nother thing, a world
of mysterious sounds and brilliant moonlight, soft
breezes and the scent of earth-
worms and fresh-spread manure. Drink up, toast to the
goddess Maia,
to Mother Earth, to your personal Higher Being, to all of
the won-
der-full amazing stories that unfold during this greening
month.
Enjoy life !
Daisy
Monday, May 3, 2010, 8:15 a.m.
65 degrees, windy, overcast, showers
I very much enjoyed being on the back porch during
a rain shower earlier this morning,
watching sheets of water flow from the eaves as the fat
drops beat on the tin roof. When
the wind picked up and started flinging chilly spray onto
me and my coffee, I headed indoors
to dry off and warm up. Yesterday’s precipitation
never materialized, and although there are
storms in today’s forecast as well, the radar shows
that most of them might bypass Gomer Hill,
tracking both north and south. Indeed, after the two
short bursts we have already seen, the sun
seems to be making an effort to break through. We have
prepared our potato field for planting,
and will spend much of the morning whacking up our seed
potatoes into chunks so they can dry
along the cut edges before being nestled into their
furrows. We are still eating last year’s spuds,
and have put the last thirty pounds into a small
refrigerator for optimal storage conditions. We
haven’t had to buy a single potato for at least
thirty years, although we do purchase new cer-
tified seed potatoes from time to time to keep the
strains strong. There are few birds on the
scene this morning, probably because the wind is very
strong and too hard to manage.
Spring green is the color of the day, with tree foliage
developing rapidly after Satur-
day’s rainfall. There are now some breaks in the
clouds, and an errant sunbeam
has transformed the meadow into a field of shimmering
emerald brilliance,
dotted here and there with the first bright yellow
dandelions.
What a beautiful morning !
Have a great day,
Daisy
Sunday, May 2, 2010, 9:30 a.m.
73 degrees, breezy, partly sunny
It was a perfect morning for sitting on the back porch,
gaining the day’s
allowance of vitamin D and watching the birds of the Hill
prepare for their
future families. One nesting box already contains four
bluebird eggs, and three
more have nests under construction, probably built by
tree swallows. The sky was
teeming with birds this morning, and if I had taken the
time to count the various species
it would have been well over twenty. Turkeys seem to put
on the same show every day,
strutting, preening, gobbling, and jousting, using the
east meadow as their stage. Every bird
in the area was singing, and the overall effect was quite
harmonious. Yesterday we finally
got about a half hour of good steady rain, punctuated by
thunder and lightning but not a
very strong storm. The lawn was filled with nightcrawlers
after the sun went down, and
spring peepers were joined by other frogs in raising
their voices to the warm and humid
darkness. More rain is on the way this afternoon,
hopefully a long gentle soaking
to help restore the balance that has been lacking so far
this spring.
have a great day,
Daisy
Saturday, May 1, 2010, 6:30 a.m.
58 degrees, breezy, mostly cloudy
It is already somewhat balmy out there, and we just might
see eighty degrees
before the day is over. I will be spending the morning at
the Turin fire hall, helping
at the library book/bake/barbecue, which is always
enjoyable. This year there is also
a craft fair, a new addition to the schedule of events.
This gives me a chance to see folks
from all over town, and also get first crack at some
excellent used books for only a quarter
apiece. Then there is a huge farm equipment auction in
Boonville that should take up most of
the rest of the day, not to mention numerous yard sales
in our neck of the woods, another op-
portunity to visit those seldom seen. If all goes well,
we should be able to hang out with friends
at the end of the day for a birthday party down the road
a piece. Days that are this full of
activities are always over too quickly, even if they do
start at the crack of dawn.
Have a wonderful day,
Daisy
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