I know … you are feeling the same way as me, especially if you’re a Midwesterner and accustomed to the change in our four seasons, (which often happens more abruptly than we’d like them to). Perhaps I should have taken a photo of my glum face as I turned the calendar page over?
Everything is dropping!
November is not for the faint of heart, especially if you’re a walker. All of a sudden everything is dropping from above … rain, snow, and, of course the temperature is dropping like a rock. And, if you’re not contending with drops, it’s drips, as the cold air causes your nose to run as well. Other walkers suffer the same malady – frozen faces and dripping noses are a fact of life while getting our steps in. Whomever is still walking at the Park on a cold November morn generally gets a mumbled “good morning” through frozen lips. Of course, the critters don’t care if your nose is running and your lips are turning blue, as long as you keep on doling out peanuts.
Yep, precipitation is a pain you know where …
As an avid walker, precip is your enemy, especially rain-slickened leaves on uneven sidewalks … oh, what a treat that is!
A few raindrops here and there on crinkly leaves is acceptable …
… it’s those shiny and slick leaves that you must watch out for.
Since my regular route through the ‘hood to the Park is STILL under construction, I’ve been driving to the Park more and more. So, what might await me there (besides the usual cast of furry and feathered characters)? Well, the pathway is often coated with a thin veil of ice as the overnight precip, be it heavy dew, or even frost, creates dreaded black ice – yikes! Many times I’ve gotten to the Park and opted to walk on the grass where I won’t be slip-slidin’ away. Or, I’ll still get my steps in, often a block or so away, doing laps around a park with no designated path, just walking on the grass.
Let’s not forget about the wicked winds – more joy.
We’re all familiar with Gordon Lighfoot’s song about the ill-fated freighter, the Edmund Fitzgerald, and the phrase “when the gales of November came early” – extremely high winds caused waves to reach 25 feet (7.6 meters) just before it sank. We had high winds last night … how fitting for Halloween. While a little wind and spooky noises are one thing, raging winds made the house feel like it was rockin’ and rollin’, so now I know how Dorothy and Toto felt.
Mother Nature was in a bit of a mood last night. After she provided two days of soaking rain, she turned the water spigot off and on went the snow machine moments later, around 9:00 p.m. We’ve not had snow on Halloween since 1993. Then she ramped up the winds, and the combo left an overnight “real-feel” that was in the teens! There was something for everyone, whether we liked the outcome or not! Fellow blogger Wayne commented recently “Mother Nature plays the fiddle and we all dance to the tune.”
Wily winds and critters don’t mix!
The critters don’t like the high winds much either. A few times when I’ve been to Council Point Park on a windy day, the squirrels are scarce, likely afraid to venture out of their nests in the trees. The birds stay put as well – they probably can’t fly straight.
On a recent windy day, take a look at Harry the Heron. His spindly legs were bracing him as he fought to stand upright on the cement landing. His heart was not into fishing for his breakfast, yet he didn’t bolt and screech as he usually does when he sees the whites of my eyes. Harry’s head feathers were reminiscent of Little Rascals’ star Alfalfa, who sported his trademark cowlick; this heron looked a wee bit comical. But I didn’t laugh at Harry. Instead, I gave him a break by taking my shot and moving on quickly so he could ruminate in peace.
This lone squirrel on the perimeter path was trying to see what I was offering. I jiggled the bag of peanuts and he huddled nearby, his bushy tail not flicking or swishing, but instead it was tucked around him, as if he was afraid of the wind …
… or maybe me? Maybe he was cold and using that furry tail as a barrier to the wind. I gave him extra peanuts for being brave and being at ground level, then I had to call it an early day … the winds, gusting 22 – 25 mph (35 – 40 km/h), were not fun for walking. No one wants to feel like a tumbleweed for goodness sake.
[“Hello November” header image courtesy of Pinterest]
Linda Schaub
WALKIN', WRITIN', WIT & WHIMSY 
Our November came in like a lion. Overnight there were tornado warnings off and on all night (rare in our area). Wind and rain were heavy and fast. Today is sunny but very windy. Not a nice day. It’s also cold. Hard to believe it was 74 yesterday. I finished my outdoor work this past week and not a minute too soon. My husband will continue to rake leaves and mow until even that stops.
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Terrible weather Kate. I did hear about the tornado warnings in Pennsylvania last night and Virginia too I believe. I thought of you and Laurie (blogger in Lancaster, PA) and some folks I know in Virginia. This weather is not normal. It was very cold when I went out this morning – the snow blew away by the time I got out there with those gusty winds all night. The tree out front has made a mess of my lawn, but it is only half empty – and not even my tree! I have to work outside on Sunday.
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Loved the photo of Harry! He did have a new ‘do, didn’t he? Our trick or treat was postponed from last night until tonight due to predicted thunderstorms (which arrived last night around 10 p.m.) We are babysitting our grandsons tonight so we get to take them trick or treating! Should be fun! 🙂
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Yes, Harry’s ‘do was enhanced by the wind giving him a cowlick – it was so windy that morning, I guess he did not want to fly, so stayed put. I’ll bet the City was mad they rescheduled and then it didn’t rain until later. You lucked out taking the grandsons trick or treating tonight – have fun! It will make you flash back to taking your sons all those years ago. I heard parts of Pennsylvania had bad weather, even tornado warnings last night.
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Yes, we had flooding and bad thunderstorms later in the evening on Oct. 31. We did have fun taking the grandkids, even more fun than we did when our kids were little. We had a sleepover afterwards and made waffles the next morning! 🙂
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That sounds fun – you have more time now to enjoy kids and revel in their own enjoyment of fun holidays like this or going to the corn maze. Sounds like you really spoil them. No wonder they hinted what their favorite pie was. 🙂
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Harry’s hairdo is adorable!! It’s gotten cold here too, Linda. Sunny with strong wind gusts from the north. Clear skies make for frigid temps! There is still plenty of yard cleanup waiting to be done, but first I have to get over this awful chest cold. Stay warm and safe! 🙋
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I thought so too Sabine. He lost a little of his regal beauty with that cowlick! He was subdued because of the wind as he usually takes off as soon as he sees me. Our Halloween evening was frightful with all the wind and rain and this morning there were leaves everywhere (yet that tree is still half full). We have a chance for snow tonight/early tomorrow as well, but it won’t be measurable. I think Winter wants to settle in! Hope you feel better soon Sabine – that yard work can wait. You never know how good you feel on a normal day until a bad cold drags you down.
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That’s so true about a normal day in comparison to having a bad cold. I sure hope i get over it quickly! Hopefully you are staying warm and healthy, Linda! 🙋
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Yes, your head does not feel like your own when you have a bad cold. I am trying Sabine – got a flu shot the end of September so I was covered as they say again it is not an exact match and the flu has already started. We had a rainy day most of today –
not nice here at all, and snow flurries tonight, so I was productive inside anyway. Tomorrow, rake wet leaves after walking.
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I’ve never had a flu shot and don’t plan on getting one either. I’ve always been very healthy and hope to keep it that way. I hope you are getting a little more sunshine before all the rain heads your way!
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I’ve always had a flu shot, but that is because I went regularly for allergy shots and they always recommended them and I got it right there so I’ve just kept it up. In those days, when I began allergy shots in 1975, you could not just go to Walgreen or CVS, you had to go to the doctor and get your flu shot that way. But I have a couple of friends who refuse to get one as well due to side effects or not wanting a vaccine/foreign substances put into their body. We had a very cold morning today Sabine. It was a “real feel” in the 20s and quite windy. But no precip, though a little gray, so off I went and just bundled up. It is the ice and snow that are worrisome and as of now we are getting a wintry mix of precip tonight into tomorrow morning. Here in SE Michigan where I live, it is going to be about an inch. If it happens and sticks, I’ll take the camera out before I sweep. The tree next door has lost even more leaves – they are everywhere from today’s wind and the leaves have maple tar spot on them – I hope they don’t affect my ornamental tree. Last year we had snow on November 14th and it was on my roses.
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With the flu shots you always hear how it’s not a match and many people still get sick. I’m also not fond of vaccines, unless absolutely necessary. We’re having lovely autumn sunshine with a cold east wind. There are still leaves on the trees and I hope to be able to get out before they’re all gone. As for your wintry mix, I hope it’s not too bad. Seems kind of early for snow, but when I talked to a friend in Indiana on Sunday, she mentioned that she’d had 2 inches of snow the other day. It stuck around just long enough for her to enjoy for the day. I don’t know what maple tar spots are. I shall check on google! 😉
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I just replied to you in another comment about the Hepatitis A shot and my reluctance to get it just to be able to go out and eat in a restaurant or buy locally made food (including baked goods, deli items). I can’t see it and I was chatting with a Meijer grocery store clerk one day about germs and Hep A (to date 30 people died/countless hospitalized from it in Michigan alone and neighboring states like Ohio and Indiana tourism bureaus advise getting a Hep A shot before venturing to Michigan). This clerk told me her daughter is an emergency room nurse and will not eat out and will not allow her children to eat treats at school or otherwise – if they want pizza, burgers, fries, chicken nuggets like all kids love to eat, she makes them – nothing outside the house. Very scary.
We were supposed to have snow overnight – I understand it is now coming in the 8:00 a.m. hour and a little graupel too. I may not get a walk in, but will take the camera out and see if I can get some shot of it. The maple tar spots are dark black spots on the leaves – a fellow blogger told me in comment when I showed the maple tar spots on a tree at the Park – apparently it looks bad, but the tree is otherwise healthy, but it can spread and re-infect the tree – it is kind of like black spot for roses. If you don’t collect the spotted leaves and put them in the garbage, just one leaf can contaminate other roses and give them black spot – I know, I dealt with that along with slugs through the years.
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Awesome pictures Linda and the color in the leaves this fall has been amazing! I was afraid to keep reading because I had a gut feeling you were going to say you slipped on the leaves and fell! So glad you didn’t!
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Yes, those leaf colors, especially the reds, are gorgeous Diane. I am really careful but I am sure some kids were slippin’ and slidin’ last night with all the rain and the leaves. We had a locust tree out the front of the house for years and when we got carpenter ants, they were not in that tree, but the pest service recommended taking it down as it was just a matter of time, before carpenter ants infested it But every Fall that tree made a mess for a good six weeks. Those little yellow leaves went everywhere, including on the bottoms of your shoes, or flew in the door with the wind as they were so light. You’d get them in the car, they’d stick to the pedals. When the leaves were done with their mess, the “strings” that held the leaves would fall everywhere and they were really slippery. I’d have to clear off the porch for Halloween every year as the porch was small, so no little kids went sliding off the porch.
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OMG that’s unreal! Do the locust trees have thorns? We have one at the end of our property but it has nasty 2” sharp thorns! We told the neighbor he can have it if he cuts it down as he burns wood.
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Ours did not have thorns, just those blasted tiny leaves, so I just Googled to be accurate as I thought it was a Honey Locust and it appears there are several varieties of Honey Locust and one has thorns. There is also a Black Locust with thorns. If we had thorns and those little leaves it would likely have been gone a lot earlier! Looking at the article, ours was a Imperial Honey Locust. Whenever I walk in a neighborhood and see those trees I remember just what a pain they were – the leaves were not really sweepable either, as they would embed themselves into the sidewalk cracks. That’s a good idea for getting rid of that tree!
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Hi Linda
Thank you for posting this and letting us know you are alright. Sent you a couple of emails. It is cold here and 1C or so they say but I could go out in a light shirt both yesterday and today. Its not raining today- I believe it will snow on the Friday( my first snow). Harry is cute- with his wind hair dryer- wonder if he got any fish. I saw a few sparrows today and they looked tubby too- like they had winter coats on. Where should one watch out for black ice- on the cemented payments or on the fallen leaves or on the slushy mud?
Susie
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Hi Susie – Sorry, I was not here since early this morning. Trying to get some things done in the house. I just went to my e-mail and found your e-mail … it was in SPAM as it had no re: line. That happens every time for some reason – in fact I had to fish this comment out of SPAM here at WordPress as well. You are SPAMMY Susie. 🙂 I will write you back after I comment here and apologize for not seeing it – I should routinely check the SPAM filter. It is cold and the East Coast was really cold the other day with all the power outages – did you lose power at all? They had a luge event in Upstate New York and had to cancel it due to the massive power outage. My friend lives near Rochester, NY and they have some bad Winters, but they have an instant-on generator so they are okay in that regard. You remember Carol gave you some advise on the cats you were tending too … she already has the shelter boxes up with hay and battery-operated pads and warming elements for their food and water to keep the feral kitties content through the brutal Winter. We had snow on Halloween night but the wind was so strong that it blew all the snow from the grass and there was none when I went out Friday morning. We are getting some snow tomight and had rain most of the day … the weather has not been to my liking at all, except for one 10-day period in early October which was warm, sunny and just plain wonderful. I intended to go to a larger park today but they called for rain or snow by mid-day so did not. Are you getting some nice leaf color there – people come from all over to see the foliage change colors in New England – the visitors are called “leaf peepers.” It was really windy the day I took Harry’s photo and I don’t think he moved since he might have been scared to fly in that high wind. So I didn’t bother him for more photos … I let him be. Be careful of the slick leaves – when they are wet, they are very slippery and you can slide on them and be especially careful of the black ice … you are not used to seeing it and sometimes it is invisible, but you can step onto it and go flying. Make sure you have good treads on your shoes or boots to avoid that black ice … I always test the pavement with my foot if it looks like black ice so I don’t take a tumble. The slushy mud is not so great either, especially when you get it on your shoes/boots and have a devil of a time getting rid of it.
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Miss Linda………………….Mr. Harry the Heron actually looks so much like our early every morning Heron who comes here to eat fish…………………….H-mmmmm………………………AND he isn’t as skittish as before…………………in fact i was quite close to him early yesterday morning and he didn’t fly across the pond away from me as I was walking by
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Hi Ann Marie – I wonder if it is the same heron. He was very subdued that day and I blamed it on the wind, but who knows … it did not mean it was Harry either. He never bolted like he usually does within seconds of seeing me and with that horrid squawking noise. One day this Summer, there was a smaller heron – much thinner and not afraid of me either. I figured he was young and I may have been his first human?
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Hi Linda. I have yet to see any snow flakes here but they may have came in the overnight hours and been gone by morning. All that wind and rain pretty much took all of the leaves off the two maples in our front yard so I was able to rake them Friday afternoon when the weather was nice. Saturday was mostly dry here but all of a sudden in the afternoon we had a heavy rain storm pop up and it even had some sleet (ice pellets)in it. Thankfully it ended just as quick as it started. Glad to hear you are on the lookout for slick spots. We don’t need you falling and breaking something. Take care.
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Thank you Ruth – I am careful and even if I worry about making my goal, I won’t take chances. Black ice is the worst and it is bad at the Park where they don’t salt and they don’t plow/brush the path, so once the ice and snow arrives, I only get down there in the afternoon on weekends when the ice and snow melt a little … I walk on the grass next to the path sometimes, but it has been slick too even in the snow. I bought a pair of crampons to walk in the ice/hard snow last year, but we had so many days with glare ice in the neighborhood, that I either didn’t walk or didn’t take the car out either. Don’t need to fall, you are right about that. They never predicted any bad weather yesterday yet we had all that rain and they said flurries overnight. Today they predicted rain and we had none. I worked outside all afternoon – it was windy but nice to get everything done out there, but I’ll have to rake a few more times. Our last yard waste pickup is Thanksgiving week, so we have to hope the leaves all drop by then. You take care too – wish it was just Spring Ruth.
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when its windy my eagle friends go to their wind perches. They have several spots that are in the lee they can perch on.
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I’m sure that is why Harry did not bolt but stayed huddled in place, and all the while the wind was lifting his head/neck feathers up. Yesterday there was a smaller heron in that same spot on the cement ledge – he was studying the water. I am confident he was young, not just skinnier. He is much smaller than Harry and showed no fear of me.
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that sounds like a adolescent. The young ones are foolish. That seems to be common among all animals including ours!
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Ha ha – this is very true. Yes, I should have whispered in his ear “hey you, you’re supposed to take off and screech at me the entire time, not trust me and keep staring in the water looking for a fish.”
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If a Heron spies a fish close by its concentration increases significantly! So much so that the brain only focuses on the fish……and not whats going on around it.
Meaning, If you can recognize when they are in this “state” you can take advantage of it! As long as your not moving or making noise you can sneak up on them! They are notoriously hard to get close to! The only way you can is when they are about to strike!
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That is interesting Wayne. This heron, which you say is likely a youngster, was very small and I’ve seen him once before and he didn’t move then either; he was not mindful of me at all. Maybe he’ll do that more often and I can get some more up-close shots. All my trips for walking/taking photos will likely be at Council Point Par,k for the short term at least, as we have a wintry precip coming tomorrow and 20 degree below average temps the next few weeks. Glad I seized the day(s) when I did for visiting bigger parks, plus it is deer rutting season and every day on the news we are warned to be mindful of deer running in the road throughout November – the incidence of car/deer crashes is worse in November. I might as well just stay local – my furry and feathered friends at Council Point Park are happy to hear that.
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you are the Squirrel whisperer!
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I think so sometimes at the Park. I think the Jay whisperer too out front of the house. This morning I put peanuts on the ledge for the jay(s). There are small yellow leaves falling and it is windy again today so I moved the leaves so “everyone” could find their peanuts. I think it was too windy for the jay to land on the cement ledge as it’s too narrow, so he squawked at me when I returned home because the squirrels got peanuts before him and he had none. So, me … being the amicable person I am with the “house critters” went in and got more peanuts and put them on the porch where he could access them. I also pointed to the ledge. At the Park, you would laugh, because the squirrels can’t find peanuts on the path sometimes – other times they go right to them, sometimes they see me and don’t make a connection, so I go near them and wiggle the bag to get their attention, and have their eyes follow me so they can see where I put the other peanuts. They promptly go over (and they often pee on the peanuts to mark them as their own). (I should mention that to Sarah Shonk, a follower; she is a young Canadian grad student who is now living in the U.S. and doing grad work in conservation education – her primary focus is on gray squirrels this semester). Grady probably does the same thing – I see wet spots on the porch all the time. 🙂
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interesting Linda! I never knew they peed on the food to keep others away from it. They must each really hate the smell of each others urine?
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I thought it was interesting too Wayne – when I first noticed it, I thought it was a tree overhanging the path and leaves had some moisture that dripped down onto the pile of peanuts; then I noticed it on the perimeter path with no trees around, so paid closer attention, then noticed the squirrels go over and I saw them pee on the peanuts. It does not happen every time but enough times to make me be aware. After observing this, I Googled and found out that they have poor eyesight but a good sense of smell, so they may take a peanut and bury it and then can’t find their other peanuts when they return, so they pee on them to identify their scent. I saw it happening last year on the front porch too, especially after I fed them on the porch, scattering peanuts on top of the fresh snow. So they can identify me, who doles out treats, and run up to me (okay … I am big enough to find), but peanuts on the path, they discover by luck only or through pee I.D. The fact that I stand there to point and coax them over …. well, they seem oblivious to what I put there and I don’t want the jays to grab all the peanuts before my furry friends get them. The jays in the Park and at my house are ever watchful of what is transpiring with the peanuts and are shameless when they swoop down.
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as long as they don’t pee on you!
To trick those Jays glue some peanuts down and laugh!
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No, I jump back on time, don’t want them to pee on my shoe!! This morning it was very cold – a “real feel” in the 20s and a little windy and we’re supposed to have a wintry precip tonight, so I knew I would not likely be walking there tomorrow a.m., so I took a whole bag of peanuts and left extra peanuts along the trail for them. I feel badly for them as we did not have a normal cooling down period for Fall – it just was either this rain, high winds and cold … this morning I saw about 15 squirrels out as I walked the first time around. I drove today so I could get five miles walked. So walked five times around the pathway where all the squirrels are. They ate, and did not bury any of those peanuts as there were shells everywhere. Thought that was interesting – they were either starved or figured they had enough buried nuts already. They cracked them and ate them on the spot. So, I saw this story just now and sending it to you since you mention tricking the Jays. I had two Jays going from tree to tree this morning as they tried to decide when to come down to ground level. Anyway, I follow Michigan Wild Birds Unlimited on Twitter – they published this story today. You sent me a link awhile ago about squirrels doing this very same thing: pick up a peanut, listen to how it sounds, test the weight, etc. Interestingly, Blue Jays do the same thing. I almost sent my “Pumpkins for Munchkins” post to WBU to say that they may do it when they have time, but when they grab a peanut from the squirrel’s little pile, it is “grab and go!” People should never label birds a “bird brain”.
https://lansingwbu.blogspot.com/2019/11/how-birds-choose-nut.html
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yes,I wonder how that “bird brain” saying started? The only stupid animals I find are humans!
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My sentiments exactly Wayne. The Blue Jays are no slouches – no birds are, whether domestic or otherwise. I guess Canuck the Crow is gone for good. I just popped onto Facebook to the Canuck the Crow site and there has been no sighting since August 30th and a $10,000.00 reward for his safe return. Wow! I miss reading about his escapades – one tiny soul providing entertainment for us often humorless humans. Hopefully he died from natural causes and not something horrid- we had two cases in the last few days of people harming animals (one dog left in an alleyway in a box and the other one throwing two dogs (family dogs who bolted out of the house when the toddler opened the door) onto the expressway where they were immediately killed). https://www.facebook.com/thecrowandI/
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yes,I’m leaning more towards foul play to be honest. That was one smart bird, Canuk was very intelligent! A human killed it for sure! Canuk’s human friend is in tears. We better not find out what happened or that person will have their eyes plucked out by a Murder of Crows!
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I’m sure you are right Wayne – unless Canuk got himself into a situation where he could not extricate himself and thus was trapped and died, that is likely what happened. That’s very sad. Someone did it just to be cruel and heartless; was this person jealous of a crow who had friends and fans who doted on him? Why do people do that? Just like the people here with the dogs? I shake my head with every story of animal cruelty that I read, whether it is a wild creature or a domestic creature – it does not matter. You treat them with respect as you expect humans do to you.
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usually these people have been brought up with little or zero love. So they cannot function normally. They have been damaged permanently!
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Well, it is sad they want to harm those who cannot fend for themselves … a good example of this is Jeffrey Dahmer who, as a child, used to mutilate and torture small animals, bigger animals as he got older, eventually transitioning from animals to children to adults. I don’t know of any more grisly story than that, though there are probably some that never made the news or will make the news one day.
When I was young, my mother used to talk about this macabre murder of a woman who murdered/dismembered her husband and took the remains to the Hamilton Mountains. Perhaps your parents might have discussed this story too even though it happened a decade before we were born? I remember my mom, saying that Canada was always referred to as “Canada the Good” and nothing like this had ever happened before. Turned out it was not just her husband but others who met their demise at her hand: https://evelyndick.com/
We had a similar case here in Michigan – only the other way around … a man murdered/dismembered his wife and innocently asked police if he could join in a search to find her since she suddenly went missing. He then accused the police of not doing their job. Detectives worked the case, found her body cut up at his workplace and other parts in the garage at the home and at a nearby large park, and he bolted to the Upper Peninsula, where he was without warm clothing, got hypothermia, got caught, and confessed to the grisly details from his hospital bed. He was tried and will likely remain in jail the rest of his life. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Tara_Lynn_Grant
The world needs more gentle souls.
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there has never been a greater predator than “Homo Sapiens”! This species is very dangerous because they do not always display their true intentions.
Leaving ones true path and walking among the thorns must be a stark existence!
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Very well said Wayne. What possesses people sometimes to act irrationally? Hopefully we never find out the hard way.
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thanks Linda,Im not very good with words. I see so many beautiful things while I’m out on my photo shoots!
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You stated it perfectly Wayne. Someone liked your statement about Mother Nature and the fiddle the other day. Sometimes nature and beauty are just so awesome, no words are needed, just your eyesight to appreciate what is displayed before you.
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It’s amazing how critters survive the weather. Your post was enjoyable to read, you’re so darn clever. I’m glad you still got to walk some, and that you didn’t turn into a tumbleweed! Stay warm and remember that bike is always waiting for you…hint, hint ;-)!
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Thank you for reminding me – I need to take my sewing machine oil and oil it a little and it will be ready to go. It is my my new go-to place when the weather is bad (of which that looks to be a lot coming up). Glad you liked this post Shelley – I had some fun with it (at Harry’s expense and the poor squirrel with its tail horizontal and wrapping it like a fur stole).
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I should sew this winter too. What will you make!!? Yes, I enjoyed the post. And that photo was adorable. Copper wishes he had a stole like that for his trips outside.
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I have not sewn in a while and hate to tell you that my sewing machine cabinet is downstairs and there are boxes on top of it … all holiday decor. When I worked on site, I used to decorate my own office as well as what was called “the living room office” … our suites had clear windows so the front of the office was called “the living room” and people could see through the entire suite … Robb/I decorated the “living room” … I had a wreath, candy dishes and other decor for my own office … so a small bankers box for each big holiday. That’s not counting this house decor … I have not decorated here in about a dozen years. I feel badly as we collected some nice holiday decor, most of it country-inspired holiday decor, from many craft sales through the years – it is all in red and green Rubbermaid totes in the basement. Perhaps when I’m retired, I’ll put up a few things – I have my tree from work, and the Boyd’s Bear tree my mom bought me, plus a miniature tree/mini ornaments. I made all my own clothes for years as I’m tall and could not find long enough pants or sleeves.
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I haven’t sewn for a long time – last year I made a bed for Copper. I used to sew when the kids were little to save $ on decorating stuff. And for craft sales.
Your collections sound like the perfect project for sorting out what you love and what you’d like to donate or sell when you’re retired. We may need to encourage each other to do sorting before that!
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The last thing I sewed was a bird cage cover for our parakeet. I did it without a pattern and it was reversible, terry to cotton and made a bottom cover to trap seeds and fit over a frame – we lost him in 1983 and it was shortly before he died, so I’d be pretty rusty now, even if I could use it – where would I put everything – a bigger mess to move everything.
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So…are you going to sell the machine then? I hang on to mine thinking that I’ll need it someday. I either need to make someday come soon or decide I don’t need it. Maybe a new year resolution?!
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No, but it is downstairs in an area that I can’t access it at all and has not been oiled in many years. That might be problematic as the gears likely went dry. When my parents bought it for me for Christmas (it is in a console that is Early American and they bought the matching padded storage chair), I had to put it downstairs as there was no room upstairs … my desk and chair I used for school in high school (also Early American) was in the TV room and should have gone downstairs and kept the sewing machine upstairs. I feel badly that I don’t use it … at the time there were no tall sizes and I was tall and so I made items like pants, blazers and long-sleeved dresses which would be long enough in the inseam and the sleeve length. Then stores and even the catalogs started making clothes for talls, at least pants for tall sizes and that’s when I stopped sewing – lots easier to buy clothes than make them.
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It sounds like a treasure – you could sell it on Ebay and buy a Treadmill ;-)!
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My grandmother had a Singer treadle sewing machine – she just sewed by hand (mending) but she used the big wooden sewing machine for all her plants and sat it in front of the window on her back porch – she had a huge Christmas cactus – I wonder who got it after she passed away – she had it for decades.
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My dad still sews with one of those treadle machines. His mom had a huge Christmas cactus too – I inherited it, and it lasted about 10 years before it didn’t make it under my green thumb.
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None of my mom’s plants lasted with me taking care of them – they didn’t last six months – oops! I’ve never been good with houseplants or cacti.
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How did your mom keep them alive with the shutters shut? You may be able to keep a devil’s ivy alive, they seem to be quite resilient to poor lighting.
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My mom only pulled the metal rolling shutters in the kitchen down at night. She said otherwise she felt cooped up and claustrophobic. It does not bother me, however, I have the ability to go out on my own – she did not and that is likely why. So in the Summer 2011, we had a lot of bad Summer storms – high winds expected so I would not even raise the blinds at all. Then I decided I was just going to leave them down all the time. In this post, you can see how the window looked and one of my mom’s cacti. She actually had two long cacti gardens which took up the entire windowsill. All were mini cacti and because of me she lost all the cacti. She had them on the windowsill, and the “old man” cactus was starting to shrivel up and she removed it in case it had a disease and infected the rest of them. I happened to go into a nursery for something and saw an “old man” cactus so brought it home for her. She isolated it into another room for two weeks, saw no bugs or issues, so planted it with the others. It had some type of disease and suddenly there were mites which left a sticky, milky residue and she had to take a Q-tip with alcohol to get rid of it. But to no avail, she lost all her cacti – I felt very bad. She bought some larger ones for the windowsill and just had individual pots and larger cactuses which you see here. I have silk cacti along the windowsill – they look good all the time. 🙂 https://lindaschaubblog.net/2013/08/29/clothesline/
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Aww…yes, darn spider mites can be nasty. Such a bummer that she lost all of them. Silk is easier to take care of, plus you can hose the dust off them!
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Yes, I felt horrible about that … she took such pride in those two gardens … they filled up the entire windowsill and she had every miniature cactus you could imagine. We got those larger ones afterward and she had several along the same windowsill in different pots. In weather like this, she had to take them down every night in Winter. I have fake ones now – they look real and I can’t kill them off, like other plants she had.
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Yikes! I’m afraid I’d come up with all sorts of excuses not to go walking in those conditions. Good for you for soldiering on… and making sure the critters got fed. Lovely pictures of the leaves, though. I imagine that pretty soon all that color will be buried under a blanket of snow.
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Yes, it is easy to do just that Janis and if there is any ice, I do not go – too risky to fall and break something. Even those wet leaves are slick and there are many car accidents, especially when it’s been raining. We have some cold weather and snow by end of this week – 20 degrees below normal and snow over the next two weeks. I am ready for Spring, and Winter is not here for another 6 weeks! We’ve had several bouts of very high winds and did not get to enjoy our Fall foliage – it was stripped off the trees over this past week.
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Wouldn’t it be nice to go straight from fall to spring?
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I’m all for that Janis – hearing the weather forecast for wintry precip tomorrow and below-average temps in the next week or so just fills me with dread for what lies ahead. Sigh.
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Those leaf photos are gorgeous! And omg Harry looks so adorable 😍😍😍
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Glad you liked the photos Ari. Harry needed some hair gel to tame those stray feather. 🙂
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Great photos and graphics, Linda. I love November! Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays.
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Thanks Pam – I love the colors and smells of Fall too and the crispness of the air (until it turns to snow like it will later this week.) Then it loses some of its luster.
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Oh my, later this week?! We still have a lot of leaves because the weather just turned to fall few days ago!
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Yes Pam and I’m horrified to be honest … it’s arriving tomorrow and this is uncharacteristic for SE Michigan – usually later in November, but last year we had snow and a wintry precip and it coated my roses before I had a chance to cut them down. It was beautiful though and I did a post about it as I thought the snow/ice-covered roses and leaves were beautiful. That was considered early and it was November 14th. I am disappointed in the weather this entire year and it has presented a challenge to getting a daily walk in … at least if I missed a morning walk due to rain, I could go after work, but that’s not doable now as it’s dark so early and going out in the dark is not a good idea around here. No room here for a treadmill either … I’m shaking my fist at Mother Nature! Here was last year’s post about the snow to see the photos … https://lindaschaubblog.net/2018/11/14/jack-frost-nipping-at-your-rose/
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I think you need a headlamp so you can walk at night, Linda. A whole new perspective on your photography, too!
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That’s true Pam – I worry more about the safety of doing that to be honest. There is a fun event offered at all the Metroparks called “Owl Prowl” and they have an excursion after dark through the woods and look for owls – they have a similar event for flying squirrels. I’d be all undone if I ran into a spider, let alone an owl or flying squirrel flying around in the dark. 🙂 I do need to broaden my horizons though.
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Oh, that’s right, I forgot. You’re like my daughter with the spider 🕷 fear. Nighttime does bring out all the creepy crawlies, Linda. 🤓 Probably better to go in the day. 🥰
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I fear those wet slick leaves, too. I thought it was just me. We’re sort of having November weather here. Mother Nature’s fiddling is a bit random at the moment so we’re doing a variety of dances each day. Love that quote from Wayne.
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No, I’m with you on this Ally -they are risky to walk on as you can slip and slide if there are enough of them (especially on uneven sidewalks). And we’ve had lots of rain. The worst was when we had a locust tree out front. First all the skinny little leaves fell all over and got tracked into the house (no matter how hard you tried not to), and into the garage, the car and after the leaves came down, the stringy pieces that held all the “leaflets” were everywhere – they were slick too. I had to sweep the porch on Halloween – afraid the kids would slide and fall into the front garden. (Thinking legal issues and my small ornamental tree too.) That was a good quote – Wayne used it in a comment the other day and I asked if it was his own as I wanted to repurpose it.
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she plays and we jig
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