Saturday's Tales........

While in the basement looking for a few things I find some other things.  The pottery is one that I made years ago.  I have a lot of it stored on shelves in the basement.  The Christmas goose once was a tree ornament.  How it go mixed in with the catch all counter I really don't know.  I have had it for years and bought it at a craft show sometime in my forgotten past.

The mousetrap is a mystery to me.  I do have the bottom of a kitchen klatter piece down there which came into the house with things in it. I know stuff was in there but I think this came from my Dad's garage in Osceola.  It is something I must have thrown in to bring home because of its unusual construction.  The trap could have come from the old house that my dad tore down 40 years ago.  The trap has made in Tiawan printed on it and the wood is not a wood from this country. It looks like a forest wood from that island. The trap has never been used or I wouldn't be handling it.

The morning glory vine next to the house is done.  I should get the vine disconnected from the pot with soil that it was growing out of and put the pot in the basement.  I haven't collected seeds from this vine but I did get a lot of seeds off of the vines on the garden shed.

I like how the background shows the blue gate on the east of the house and also the birdfeeder that is in the dining room window.

This is a small maple leaf laying out among the brown and dead leaves.  I really don't know what tree this comes from unless it is from across the street.  We have so many different maple trees out there.  I see that the red maple tree of mine that has the red X mark is still standing.

I hope everyone has a great day today.  We won't be fighting any bad weather so that makes it a good day.  Thank you for stopping by today.

Forced Labor......

I forced myself to go outside yesterday and work.  I had piles of sticks to pick up and I had large limbs that came down in the wind storm.  Some places in Iowa the wind was 110 miles an hour. I think we were more like having 60 mph wind.  I had to saw off a broken limb from one of my old lilacs.  The branch was still alive but it must have had the wind push down on it to snap it off.  It was very heavy so its own weight helped to break it off. The bean pods are from the neighbor's tree.  The wind seemed to move leaves everywhere including the bean pods.

While out there I planted this post.  It will keep the gate from swinging all the way around if the wind catches it when I have it open.  The post actually was a find of mine during our tornado 10 years ago.  It was laying out along side of the road and had dropped out of the air from somewhere in town. I like that it is green wood and that it was a perfect fit for that area.  I buried and tamped in the soil just like I learned from my dad 50 years ago while making fence in the back part of the farm. I learned that packed soil can be very strong when you don't have cement to fill in around it.  The post was out in the garden on the corner of the property and I had to remove it from the area along with the plants.  I regretfully notice that some workman has sprayed a red "X" on my red maple tree.  I will call up and see what that means if anyone at the town hall really knows.

With the wind blowing that hard leaves were scattered long distances.  The largest leaf is on the back corner of my property.  It had to have been blown from the corner property about a quarter of a block away.  It had to go by many a tree and shrubs. I don't know who the yellow leaf belongs to but the reddish one is coming from the top of my ornamental pear tree.  It sits on the other side of the property, so it blew in quite a distance.

The ornamental pear tree has just started to turn its leaves color the past week or so.  It is a shiny leaf and the color changes of the individual leaves create great natural designs.

While picking up sticks from my lot I would see these have been spread everywhere. I would have noticed them but they are such an unusual leaf among mostly dead leaves. I carried  my camera in my parka pocket so I was busy working and then I could be seen stopping to take a shot.

At left in the group is another one of those leaves and next to it is a burning bush leaf.  The yellow one I have not been able to  identify.  I use to think there were boxelder trees around but that is not what this leaf is. I have other photos of it and it does have a nice color.

One of our neighbors have a very large tree in their back yard that I have never been able to identify.  I do think that it is coming from there.

I am waiting and watching to see what happens to the field lilies, ditch weed, and see if the freeze really was a freeze.  My thermometer said 30 degrees F.  and I do believe that is accurate.  As I work outside the next few days I will know for sure as the zinnias will be gone for sure. The field lilies will go flat.

It wasn't real warm yesterday but I did get a lot more things taken to the basement.  I usually do that when it is snowing but it works out good that I did it now.  I put out a lot of edging fences to keep Barney from tromping through some flower beds and it was a good time to get that taken out.

You can see how sunny it was yesterday even though I had to dress warmly.  I have one more wood project that I want to start but I won't share any of it at this point just because.  Who knows what I do and don't do at this time of the year.  Leaves are still everywhere and I want them to shrivel up more before I start to mulch them.

I hope everyone is doing well today and thanks for stopping by at my blog.

Windy, Blustery Day...........

A gentle sky like this turned to gray in the afternoon yesterday.  It was a horrific storm that shot through like a freight train. It did send us to the basement but within 10 minutes it was gone.  As we were going to the basement the wind was blowing rain and leaves so hard that we could not see out our dining room window.  The same storm regrouped in the evening and we are still having strong winds today.  Most of the damage was in southern Iowa where some houses were destroyed.  The second round of the storm ended up extending into northern Minnesota, Wisconson and Michigan.  Ohio also got alot of damage. 

I had Barney's help for a while when I was building the gate.  While he lay there a squirrel decided to eat an apple on a branch above him.  I heard this sound of the apple dropping and it missed hitting Barney by inches.  Needless to say the squirrel scampered down the tree and wanted his apple back. I tossed it over the fence.  That same fence had to be rescued this morning as a large limb broke off and landed on it.  It is flimsy fencing and the weight of the branch smashed dow the fence enough to allow Barney to escape, which he would never do.

As the zinnia declines and dies it has put on polk a dots.  I had to retry taking the photo of it as it was too dark the day before.

The yard is loaded now with every loose dead stick that was in the trees.  The strong winds that we had even broke off some of the ones that hadn't detatched from the main tree. I had to pick up a lot of branches so the little dog could walk in the yard.  I have many more small twigs and branches to pick up but I am waiting until it warms a bit. We are still windy and it feels like a very cold windchill out there.

I like working with wood and this is the leftover pile from the gate construction.  Lots of rectangular pieces that would make a great flower box or even a bird house. Time will tell.  I should move them to my basement so I could pick up the project when the snow if falling and the temperatures are very cold. I don't have electricity in the garden shed so I can not work out there in the winter.

I am not happy with my two larger goldfish.  I bought algae eaters.  for one or both of these bullies. The new ones were very small and I had never seen them sold that small before. Now I will go to a pet store and buy a big one.  The algae is getting out of control because the tank sits in the sun.  I will have to cover the glass back with paper so that will slow down.

High winds can be scary when it comes roaring down the plain.  This windmill was damaged ten years ago when the tornado came through the edge of town.  The winds in 1997 took out one of my large trees and causee a neighbor's older walnut tree lay down on the ground.  I guess that one was call wind shear.  The one in '97 wiped out two of our cars as it landed on a Duster and a Taurus station wagon. We had a van yet to drive at that time so we were not without a vehicle to drive.

As I pick up sticks this afternoon I will wonder why I still live in a town where it sits high in elevation in the county. It seems to be that there is a better place to be.  I won't be at work again until next Tuesday.  I have a good chunk of time to do chores and projects.  I hope all are doing well today.   Thanks for stopping by today.

Middle Day........

A couple of days ago I was out in the evening taking photos.  It was actually too much dusk as most all of the close shots of things were blurry having not enough light for a good picture.  The sun was going down and still shooting light out to a few things.  The view of the silver maple was more orange than I had ever seen before and the shot did take.

It is a blurry image when enlarged but it does show the Stella trying to get out a few more blooms. The spots of color are very few out in the garden now.

The layers of the three different trees did create a great color composition. The red tree needs to be cut down as it leans way over from being planted to a larger tree.  I don't do it because of the colors like these right now.  I will just have give in and take it down. Maybe it would sprout out small parts so I could keep it more like a bush.

My muscles are so sore today as I was on my knees to put this together.  I finally figured out the design that I wanted for the new gate.  I actually designed it as I did the work.  I had to space the boards a little farther apart than I would have liked but it had to be stretched into a 53 inch space and it would not work to add another board to it.  The adding of a board meant there would not be any spaces at all.  I didn't have the extra board anyway so it was a "build with what you have" project. I might get narrow boards to place in the spaces but I will live with it for a while.

It was like working with cooked noodles as this kind of board is treated for weather and is roughly cut because it is a fence board. The boards really didn't have a perfect edge to even up to get perfect gaps.  I did end up with it exactly 53 inches wide by measuring tape both at the top of the gate and at the bottom of the gate.

The cross piece, the brace, was made from the two leftover pieces of the horizontal boards.  It was a challenge connecting and cutting the angles. I was pleased that it turned out as good as it did.  I know that it will be lighter weight than the old gate and probably won't sag anymore.

I really like the older door but the newer one will work great. I was trying to see if I could salvage wood from the old gate and I think everything is partially rotted somewhere.  I may tear it apart first before I burn it. I had an interesting experience trying to figure out the latch.  I could not a first figure it out and then I realize a third piece was still attached to the old gate.  I also broke my battery to the drill while working so I had to dig out my old electric drill.  It worked well and was much stronger as a drill.

I do have to paint it blue and I still have plenty of paint from the other two gates to do the job.  It will need to stop raining.  From the enlarged view of the photo I see that I still need to scrape and paint the end of the 110 year old kitchen.  I may get that job squeezed in on my to do list before snow. If not, we will see to it in the spring.

Next year I will probably have to rebuild the roof of this thing.  You can use recycled wood but if it isn't weatherized wood it won't last 10 years outside in Iowa weather.

I am home again today and will be busy at something.  I am not going to plan but just let things happen.  The birds are calling inside to be fed and I have stuff that I have placed in the dining room. my temporary storage spot, that need to be taken to the basement.  I will keep things simple.  We are looking at two semi wet days this week.

Thanks for checking in on my blogpost today.

Starting off on Tuesday........

Two burning bushes that always behave differently from each other.  Both were planted at exactly the same time but the one on the right seems to skip the normal process of red leaves developing then they fall.  It tends to be less red each year and sometimes is pinkish in color.  I am thinking it is the differences of conditon of the soil in which they are planted.  The redder bush is actually planted on an old gravel driveway bed.  There may be minerals from the limestone that makes it grow better.

I will be working on my new gate project today.  Storms are predicted tomorrow starting in early morning.  It is just going to continue to be cold from now on so I can work out on the patio with a winter coat on and sunshine in my face.

My ornamental pear tree is putting out great color this year.  The leaves seem to be hanging on for a longer time than most of the trees.  The real pear tree that has pears is the yellow tree in the background.

The ornamental choke cherry is not bright red this year.  Normally people ask me about it as it puts out great color but this year the leaves are a brown plum color.  I guess the lack of rain at the end of the season made it do this.  Most of its leaves are also still on the tree.

This sedum is actually laying on the ground. This photo proves we have not had a hard freeze.  I did notice though that all the colorful leaves are now all brown because of the colder temperatures. Some insect enjoyed eating some on that one leaf.

The mysteries of things makes me wonder why this post is on the edge of my neighbor's property.  I don't know that it was cut off but maybe it was the corner post for a fence.  Rather than dig it they must have cut it off. It is leaning and it continues to age.  That property is still for sale even though many people have looked at the house. It is too big of house for an older couple and probably two old of a house for young people.  I do remember a single farm women who retired off of the farm who moved in there.  She had lots of antique things so the big house suited her.  She passed away many years ago.

I picked up a book on Collectibles at the bookstore last Saturday.  It was a book showing how people had incorporated their collections into the house.  One of the examples was a person who collected all fruit and vegetables "salt and pepper" shakers.  They lacked having these watermelon head shakers that were my mom's.   I learned about a new Christmas ornament in the book.  I had never heard of the Kobel Christmas ornament made in Germany.  I have never seen them anywhere so I am sure I can never collect them.  It was glass blown ornaments in shapes of grapes and striated grooved ball shapes. One unusual item that was collected was a gruel pan that was used by nurses soley to feed very sick or crazy people.

I am home today.  Projects will be started and I hope some can be finished. I have leaves to deal with but I don't get too nervous about it.  If I have enough of them mulched the rest can go away under the snow in the winter.  I appreciate your stopping by today.  

Another Monday to Tackle........

Angel woman collects leaves this time of the year.  I have to watch my timing and bring her in before it snows. She tends to build up ice underneath at the base and freezes down.  She has spent the winter out before but I have plenty of room in the basement to keep her safe and warm.

The leaves next to the backdoor are giving me a nice show.  I will pull the vine down after the leaves all fall off of it. The vine on the windmill is a wild grapevine but this one I never quite figured out.  Someone suggested it was poison ivy but no the leaves are too large for that. I did not get infected from it as I pass it many times a day with Button going out and in the house.



 

Button has decided in his old age that he can't climb these stairs.  I placed an extension on the step so the bottom step would be wider.  He could do it as he still jumps up on the couch.  The extension board does help Barney as he has more room for his stiff back legs to project is weight.  When Button is  16 or 17 years old he deserve people lifting him up the stairs.  I believe it is probably the eyesight that is the problem.  Night or day any weather we go out and lift him to the top step.  He appreciates it very much. The rug is there in case he decides to go down the stair by himself.  He likes to jump the two steps to the concrete patio.

The barberry is looking more colorful now.  I like the colors that it changes to before they drop off.  Birds have not eaten any of the seed pods yet but I bet they will once it starts to snow.

In the backyard the birdhouse hangs all alone now with the background of leaves dropping over it.

I am in the special education room today.  I am thinking that it will be my only day of work this week as it is parent teachers conference week.  I don't expect any more work unless there is a family emergency with one of the staff. I had a hard time starting up today on this Monday morning,  I have my second cup of coffee now that I am school so maybe I will just make it.   Thanks for stopping by today.

Sunny Leaves.........

In the neighbor's yard are two old sycamore trees.  There are a couple of maples next to them.  The leaf of a sycamore is large compare to any other leaves on the trees around here.   Ten years ago when the tornado hit the southeast part of town there was a large truss from a garage hanging up in that tree.   Another truss lay on the ground on the corner of our lot.  Both had just dropped out of the sky as the tornado destroyed houses, out building and garages. To describe how close the tornado came to us the house with the porch lost two sheds and a farm barn that set behind her house.  She also lost the garage leaving her car covered with ruble.  The tornado came up the street and turned to the east going out into the field behind the row of houses.

 New wood for a new gate leans out in the sun.  I am trying to dry it out a little bit before I use it.  I had to stack it on the patio and put a brick on the pile to keep them from warping.  I see by my schedule that Tuesday will be the day I will be first free to work on the project.  The old gate is top heavy and it always sagged because of its weight.  I will put a lighter weight one on the same area and maybe when it snows I can open and close it.

The little guy is always taking a nap.  I am getting him ready to go to the basement so he can stay warm and sleep peacefully.  I still have a few more things to bring inside.  We were one degree from freezing so the two agapanthus pots must go to the basement today.  Most everything else is in except for those last minute things I find after the first freeze.  There is always a trowel that is stuck in the ground out there that I need to retrieve.

It is to be a cool day all day.  Warming up to almost 60 degree F. is better than freezing but it is just done being warm around here.

I wish everyone to have a good Sunday day of rest.  Thanks for stopping by today.