Today was one of the gloomiest days I can ever remember in all of my days. It was very cold and cloudy and damp not a very good combination at all. I much more prefer warm and sunny and dry, if I had my choice of weather combinations. It looks like we are in for several days of this cloudy, gloomy stuff before we get back to clear warmer days, let us hope that I can survive the gloom and get back into a better frame of mind with the warmer weather.
Cooler weather
It really cooled down last night. The temperature gauge on the porch read only 63 degrees at about midnight and I was chilly even in sweat pants and a sweat shirt. I put on some fluffy socks and sat outside for awhile looking at the stars. The night sky was so black and clear and there were so many stars that could be seen, it sort of made me realize exactly how small we are, if that makes sense. This morning I noticed that the leaves one of the dogwoods in the front yard is starting to change to red already! It won’t be long now before we are all complaining about the winter weather again!
Fall
Fall is my favorite time of year, the kids are in school so I have a bit of free time during the day to keep caught up. The weather is wonderful with warm days and cool nights perfect for sleeping with the window open, and most of all it is the time of year that the leaves turn, the only downfall is that the leaves also fall into my yard and have to be raked up and hauled off. Other than that this is the best season by far. I can wait for the real cold weather I like it like it is now highs in the 60’s and the lows in the 40’s with fall getting the least amount of rain of all the seasons it is a perfect fit.
Summer time
I really do love the summer time in Tennessee. It is not as hot as it gets in other places this year we will not hit more than 97 degrees on the thermometer and we have had a good amount of rain up until August anyway. Last year was so dry and then in the fall when it began to rain it got so green so fast it was amazing. When the leaves turn after a year with an abundance of rain like this year it will be majestic. We have cool nights in the summer I remember as a child in Western Oklahoma the nights were so hot and not a breeze moved most nights we sweltered at times. I am so glad that I live in Tennessee now and do not have to worry about the hot weather suffered by other areas.
Damage
Almost every house along our street has some damage from the wind and rain last night. It hit here about 5 pm and we did not get our power restored until about 9 last night. We have a couple of small limbs torn down that fell into our yard, but just a few houses down a whole tree came down barely missing the house. I am glad we did not have any drama like that and they are calling for more storms tonight, lets hope they are wrong. We have had a storm filled June and I for one will be very happy to get on further into July and see if the weather will calm down a bit with summer getting here.
Seed catalogs are arriving
It seems the seed companies are getting a jump on spring planting, since I now am getting their catalogs in the mail nearly every day. I had forgotten how many I order from, in search of new and interesting seeds to grow.
It seems strange to wade out in knee deep snow to the post box and find the spring seed catalogs waiting for me. Some with seed packets in them, which in these temperatures which are way below freezing I seriously doubt will grow but I’ll plant them and hope.
I have been planning my gardens since last fall so of course I enjoy getting the catalogs, but it just makes me antsy to start planting and growing now. Wonder if that ground hog is going to see his shadow or not…
A Chance of Snow Tonight
Its been cold for a couple of weeks but we have not had snow yet. But I just heard the dreaded four letter word on tonight’s news – there is a chance of snow tonight. I don’t mind the cold weather, but I really do not like the sleet and snow that comes this time of year. I try to avoid driving in the bad weather and just stay home if there is any way to arrange things to allow that.
Last year we only had snow on the ground for a few weeks. It never caused any big problems for my house and my neighborhood, thank goodness. Sometimes we have bad snow storms that leave people stranded in their homes for several days, as shoveling heavy fresh snow is very tiring and not always productive when you spend hours out in the cold clearing your car and then a snow plow comes along and shoves a wall of snow back into your driveway or around your car. That always makes me very angry, and yet I know the snow plows need to keep the streets clear. I just wish they would remove or melt the snow instead of just shoving it over and packing it around the cars parked on the street.
Gathering seeds and doing household repair
Over the last few weeks, I’ve been gathering seeds from what I call, my “blown out herbs and flowers” so I can put them in packages, mark them and then plant again next year. I love having herbs, flowers and other plants that I have grown and then gathered the seeds, and planted again the next spring. Generations of plants, so to speak.
I’m also getting the house ready for the winter. There are some repairs needed to be done on the outside of the house, due to the drought and yet also the terrible storms that passed through when we did get rain.
All of these things I love to do but need help with, and I have to admit that my kids have been wonderful about helping me with the a lot of the things that need to be done. This gives me peace of mind and also knowing that I am going to be prepared (sort of) for the winter and also have the spring seeds to plant, will save money and help me to keep from a great deal of worry.
Possibilities of a small pond
Kicking around the possibility of a small pond has been on my mind lately. We have enough room on our lot out in the back yard, and I would really love to see what I could do when it comes to landscaping around a pond.
I don’t want a really big pond. A small one, stocked with some fish and water critters would work just fine for me. My dog could swim in it, and I wouldn’t have to worry like I do if he goes into the pool. I am afraid one of these days he is going to rip the liner, and in a pond there isn’t that worry. He loves the water and since the temperature hasn’t budged below 85 degrees in the last few weeks, it would be a great respite from the heat for my little guy.
Of course, I’ve not mentioned my idea to my husband yet. I have to come up with some very good pros, to counter his cons. We’ll see what happens, but I would indeed love to have a small pond.
An outing for fur kid and I
Deciding to take my dog and buddy Jasper for a walk in the forest and around the farm today. It really was a great experience. I found loads of great asparagus and picked some early berries.
In the forest we walked and explored. Jasper loved flushing out all kinds of little critters, and had a good time just barking at them a couple of times. He’d never ever run them down or harming them. Just a flush out and a couple barks is enough for him.
I packed a light lunch that we shared. My fur kid enjoys the same odd sandwiches I eat and also raw veggies and fruit, so he and I both ate, then I had to feed the hogs and steer. Jasper wasn’t into that and decided to look at all the new kittens we have in the barn. It was a really peaceful and calm day. I love nature. The weather was perfect and I indeed had the best companion ever with me.