weekend notes

Last Thursday I had one of my ‘the barometer is falling’
headaches and it was a bad one, lasting all day and into the evening. Friday, the weather changed, right on
schedule. Summer bowed out. Autumn began. I swear, it was just that fast. The past two mornings it’s been 33-34 degrees when I woke.

Sunday morning it was cold enough in the house
to want to get the oven going. What
better use for the oven …. my first elderberry and apple pie. We had it for lunch, sitting outside. My Dad was right, it was wonderful. By late morning it had warmed up and was one
of those early autumn days that make you just want to stretch out in the sun. I picked a whole lot more elderberries. I’m going to keep them stocked in the freezer
in pie lots, approximately four cups to the bag. And I’m going to take Cyndy’s suggestion and
make a liqueur. She makes hers with
brandy. I’ll make mine like I do the
blackberry, with a bottle of Stoly as the base. That ought to help get through the winter.  There
is a race, these days, between me and the Cedar Waxwings for the berries. The wild ones didn’t do well this year so the
birds are after my cultivars.

It isn’t only the temperature, the light has changed
too. It’s darker sooner, of course. But the shadows are longer and it covers the
front deck most of the day. I already can
feel the change. So Friday, on that big
trip to town, I bought myself some brighter light bulbs. What a difference a little thing like that
can make in a long evening. Why didn’t I
do that last year?  Who in their right
mind would not do something as simple as that? Whatever.

Everybody is in on this autumnal change thing all of a
sudden. We’re all following the same
clock. A doe came into the yard Saturday
morning to help herself to the dropped apples. That’s fine with me as long as she leaves the ones on the trees, I like
watching. She was enjoying herself; chomping
on the apple, biting it in half, juice running down her chin. Bu was out in the yard, blocked by the deer from
running to the house. She crept up
slowly, the deer spotted her, and they came nearly nose to nose before the doe snorted. Bu jumped and ran, caution to the wind. It was funny at the time. I’m rambling… and I still haven’t gotten to
the mouse stories.  They are everywhere. While I think mice are cute as can be, in
their live state; I DON’T DO DEAD MICE. Between the cats ( Zak has apparently decided to teach Spider Boy to
hunt and is bringing him “live” mice, that I’ve noticed in the past two days)
and all of these mice jumping across the road in the headlights, getting run
over.. heck, I saw another three flat mice in the driveway today. Amazing, huh?. We only drive out once every blue moon, how
did they manage? By my count, that
makes six dead mice. Some of them moveable, well all of them if I were willing,
and all of them somewhere I can unwittingly step upon.

All of this has made me drag out the Ribby Cardi and get
going again. Hey, Marissa, did you
finish? I did spend an hour floating on
the raft with my knitting. It felt so
good that I actually spent most of the time just gazing around at the shoreline
at all the action. (lol)   I had my ipod with
me, and nope again… I just listened to the bees buzzing and my one last
hummingbird straggler in the hemlock.

  that is not the ribby, it’s the Wool Peddler’s shawl 
         

One quick note.. this morning I woke to temps in the 60’s,
no dew at all and a promise that the next few days will be in the 80’s. I love New England. Oh yes, and the same old, same old… more
tomatoes, broccoli, and squash. I think
pesto, today.

and in case you were wondering..