tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-69346198915272002912024-03-18T03:06:10.363-07:00Knit, Click, & StirA country girl experiments with knitting, photography, and cooking!
Jaimehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08124335685438320379noreply@blogger.comBlogger691125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6934619891527200291.post-51375314233805977992024-03-18T03:05:00.000-07:002024-03-18T03:05:24.569-07:00speed seedsA busy spring week! Daffodils are blooming everywhere and I love my first spring bouquets.I realized, belatedly, that it was mid-March and I still hasn't gotten my winter sowing started. Many winter-sown seeds require a good freeze to help loosen the seed coat, and our weather has been so contradictory. A few 70 degree days will get things really popping in a greenhouse, so I Jaimehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08124335685438320379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6934619891527200291.post-62426397112070951662024-03-11T07:49:00.000-07:002024-03-11T07:49:27.565-07:00and I dream I'm an eagle More signs of spring! First, the GREEN.Cursed CrowfootCeratodon PurpureusCinquefoilHairy BittercressAnd the most exciting...the first spring ephemeral!!!Cut-Leaf ToothwortLots of trees starting to bud...RedbudGreen in the garden, with no help from me.Shasta DaisiesParsleyAnd insect life!!SawflyMillipedeAquatic life...Gastropods (freshwater snails)Our porch possum is more active too!Jaimehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08124335685438320379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6934619891527200291.post-11930082509008374962024-03-04T15:53:00.000-08:002024-03-04T15:53:28.416-08:00more tracks at BBBMid-February, we finally had snow...about four inches. And now, just two weeks later, it's sunny and 76 degrees. Indiana spring! I don't know why we draw so many cardinals, but I love it...especially in the snow! They make such a beautiful contrast.It was really coming down for a while......but as usual, our post-snow weather was bright and sunny.A few bird tracks....Jaimehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08124335685438320379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6934619891527200291.post-46912613344081970472024-02-26T04:14:00.000-08:002024-02-26T04:14:43.508-08:00fully bulliesYikes, did I miss last week? It's been so busy here that it's hard to stay on schedule! We had an amazing Valentine's Day hike at Eagle Creek.When the trees are bare, you can really see the bird nests!We had a small celebration at home, with fudgy brownies......and lots of board games. I decorated the whole downstairs in streamers...Frances was a huge help in taking them down!WeJaimehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08124335685438320379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6934619891527200291.post-45624689962033752652024-02-12T08:39:00.000-08:002024-02-12T08:39:55.680-08:00white bread insteadThe weather is whipping back and forth between unusually warm and fairly cold, which is typical for an Indiana February (...and March...and April...). On warm days...we hike.There's really an embarrassment of riches when it comes to hiking around our house. When we lived in South Carolina, we had to drive an hour for a good hike...here in southern Indiana, we're surrounded by Jaimehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08124335685438320379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6934619891527200291.post-50535699023233277742024-02-06T10:50:00.000-08:002024-02-06T10:50:40.766-08:00collar cholerA couple of weeks ago, we had some amazingly cold weather. eerie and frigid sunriseBelow zero at night and barely above during the day. Claudia was comfortably ensconced in our heated barn, and we were careful to keep the bird feeders filled. Some lovely visitors...so puffed up against the cold!dark-eyed juncosong sparrowEuropean starlingpileated woodpeckerblue jaynorthern Jaimehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08124335685438320379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6934619891527200291.post-7052992991314850642024-01-29T11:56:00.000-08:002024-01-29T11:56:24.351-08:00cat nappin' After a busy Christmas season, I've been taking a very slow and easy approach to the new year! I haven't stopped blogging, but it's always harder to find interesting photography in the winter. We've had a few light snows, never more than 2 inches. I love seeing clear, defined snowflakes......winter interest with the remaining dead plants......and snow tracks, of Jaimehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08124335685438320379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6934619891527200291.post-7180419360807327152023-12-19T05:17:00.000-08:002023-12-19T05:17:09.284-08:00No Elf, No Shelf Why are winter sunrises so much prettier than other times of year?Even after the flamboyance of early sunrise has flamed out, the beautiful pastels that remain are views that I look forward to every morning.We've had our first snow! It wasn't much...a brief spitting, then sun...but it was enough to muck up the roads for several hours. Claudia makes an appearance at the end to Jaimehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08124335685438320379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6934619891527200291.post-77678213098157322162023-12-12T04:26:00.000-08:002023-12-12T04:26:40.227-08:00"I'm not dead yet!!"Looking around at the bare trees, colorless grass, and grey sky could lead one to think that we're in the "dead zone" now and for the next few months, but that's not completely true. There are startling flashes of green and evidence of life all around!I ignore moss most of the year, but it's easy to appreciate it in the winter.Putty root orchid leaves start poking out when everything else Jaimehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08124335685438320379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6934619891527200291.post-52149949746257236842023-12-05T10:35:00.000-08:002023-12-05T10:35:25.651-08:00two shakes of a lamb's ear It's getting chilly.ice on pondfrost on lamb's earEven though most mornings are frost-free, we're still in that inevitable plunge into winter. Leaves that remain on the trees are decidedly dead.It's kind of tough having a December birthday...it's usually too cold and wet to do anything outside. Here's the sky the day of my birthday this year:We had a million indoor activities, Jaimehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08124335685438320379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6934619891527200291.post-53083110613091261472023-11-27T04:28:00.000-08:002023-11-27T04:28:52.007-08:00guess who's coming to dinner We aren't having as many days like this as the season progresses!turkey vulture pairIt's overcast and chilly. There are a few seed heads still hanging on in the garden...milkweed...a few bits of color still to be seen......still a few really late insect eggs, now devoid of hatchlings, decorating the screens...leaf-footed bug eggs...but after the leaves fall and before the snow starts,Jaimehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08124335685438320379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6934619891527200291.post-73840729797348561992023-11-20T07:31:00.000-08:002023-11-20T07:31:30.691-08:00...stag-gering genius It's the time of the rut! We have a few stags around the property and they're in a fightin' mood.having a snack between boutsYou don't see them fighting during the day, but we've definitely caught them on our trail cams. Ack, I hope I'm loading these correctly!Listen with the sound on to hear the off-camera jousting! We've just gone through the last phase of Jaimehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08124335685438320379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6934619891527200291.post-84263038637086655262023-11-13T02:54:00.000-08:002023-11-13T02:54:10.555-08:00a blur of missour(i) Welcome to Missouri! And other states. :) Todd and I took a multi-state road trip last week to visit my brother in central Missouri. We had so much fun and saw some amazing things. We took a day trip to Johnny Morris's Wonders of Wildlife Aquarium...nearly 2 miles of exhibits! A lot to see.I got to feed a ray!Too much fun......and so pretty.Another Jaimehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08124335685438320379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6934619891527200291.post-86705082963569259682023-11-07T12:58:00.000-08:002023-11-07T12:58:44.713-08:00frost bossed The veggie harvest is in!Chilis...check. Tomatoes...CHECK. We picked twelve pounds of cherry tomatoes the day before our first frost!! What do you do with twelve pounds of tomatoes? A whole lot of sauce. I was hoping for a bigger sweet potato harvest, but...Next year I'll plant my potato slips early and use more compost! The day before the frostJaimehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08124335685438320379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6934619891527200291.post-37634664606874672332023-10-30T04:00:00.000-07:002023-10-30T04:00:36.936-07:00brown county bountyForget peak leaf week...I think we hit peak leaf DAY when we went to Brown County State Park this past week!Colors were amazing.Others were haunting the trails, too.red-tailed hawk"woolly bear" caterpillarpainted turtlesAnd why not? It was almost 80 degrees! At home, I continue to see insects everywhere...and it was so warm the other night that I heard tree frogs singing...kind of Jaimehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08124335685438320379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6934619891527200291.post-8740433805987318122023-10-23T03:22:00.001-07:002023-10-23T03:22:39.715-07:00tangled webs Lots to see this time of year, and not just kitten cuteness.Even before the leaves started changing, they were thinning out, leaving space for dramatic rays of sun to burst through.But now we've got real change! Just a few days ago, our hiking trail was barely touched with color......and now the trees around are property are fully ablaze!Because it's been so warm, there are still Jaimehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08124335685438320379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6934619891527200291.post-21463854456182105482023-10-16T11:15:00.000-07:002023-10-16T11:15:08.674-07:00apple ciders and horses, no riders It's almost time!The house is decorated and we've watched 16 scary movies...15 to go. The house is decorated, and I finally got around to decorating the porch. It's pretty grim. Our pumpkin harvest this year was abysmal...I'm just not sure what happened!Compared to last year...sigh. Next year I'll plant my pumpkin seeds in plastic cells, instead of directly into the Jaimehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08124335685438320379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6934619891527200291.post-72260319106016344832023-10-09T04:30:00.001-07:002023-10-09T04:30:52.173-07:00still the best This has been a week of stills.I'm still getting lots of flowers from the garden.Still waiting for some serious leaf color. We've got some stabs of effort, but mostly a whole lot of green.It's still the best time of the year for berries!blackhaw viburnumdogwoodbittersweethawthorneunknownStill getting those amazing fogs with heavy dew, too.🎵 It's the mo-o-o-o-o-o-o-st wonderful time Jaimehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08124335685438320379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6934619891527200291.post-31950580737689472402023-10-02T03:16:00.000-07:002023-10-02T03:16:26.399-07:00fog-et about wearing flannels yet... It's October!!Despite a really uncomfortable heat spell that's taking the spirit out of the season...91 yesterday, supposed to be hotter today and even hotter tomorrow!...we're still hiking every morning.Because it cools down at night but is just so hot during the day, we're getting amazing fog.All the spiderwebs are dew-dazzled.Goldfinches are out, stripping the seeds as quickly as Jaimehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08124335685438320379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6934619891527200291.post-42916108650063695752023-09-25T02:43:00.000-07:002023-09-25T02:43:42.030-07:00shotgun overrun Gorgeous weather for early-morning hikes!Unless we have free time, we usually hike in the state forest by our house. It's pretty, but...it's also hunting season.I'm not a fan of guns...at all. Deer hunting lasts until late January, though, so we try to wear bright colors and make a lot of noise on the trails. It's still fairly warm (low 80s) during the day, but we're Jaimehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08124335685438320379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6934619891527200291.post-30052862892836269332023-09-18T03:12:00.000-07:002023-09-18T03:12:03.335-07:00bats in the belfry It's harvest time!We got a grand total of two watermelons from our vine, but at least they were tasty! I'll plant more seeds next year. Cantaloupe were plentiful, but they all showed insect bore holes before they were ripe enough to pick. Eh, I'll probably skip planting these again. The weather was perfect for harvesting the apple crop today! WeJaimehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08124335685438320379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6934619891527200291.post-81660152914833586572023-09-11T02:36:00.002-07:002023-09-11T02:36:44.086-07:00an iron fist in a velvet ant It's mantis season again!Despite the fact that we crush the egg sacs of these large invasive insects they still proliferate, especially in the fall, and especially on the front porch. They feast on the many insects drawn to our porch lights, and I am always a bit fearful, stepping out in the dark of the early morning to feed Claudia. There might be a bug-eyed, serrated-armed, Jaimehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08124335685438320379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6934619891527200291.post-2392961090312394252023-09-05T02:55:00.000-07:002023-09-05T02:55:13.600-07:00old roses and kitten reposes It's already September! Even though there are plenty of signs, it's hard to believe. MORE turkeys. They really ramp up their foraging in the fall.Late-season roses already have a tinge of brown.American lotus are blooming. I'm not sentimental about romantic flowers...actually, I think it's kind of a generic cop-out as gift from a partner...but I do have a Jaimehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08124335685438320379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6934619891527200291.post-60636916597221253642023-08-28T03:04:00.000-07:002023-08-28T03:04:22.970-07:00weather most fowl Rain...at last.It's been insanely hot this past week, with temperatures reaching 100 degrees. I've been seeing this meme a lot lately and Devil's Front Porch sounds about right. Or maybe we're in Second Summer? When it rains in the summer here, we tend to get torrential downpours. Unfortunately, it absolutely flattens my flowers. You can see some slumping Jaimehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08124335685438320379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6934619891527200291.post-81744507710456771622023-08-21T03:20:00.000-07:002023-08-21T03:20:08.018-07:00berry'd treasureIt's hard to believe that we're only a week away from September. Summer has been so nice this year that it hasn't yet worn out its welcome. There are signs, though, that it is marching past regardless.Changing leaves......and berries.Ripening apples......and late-season sunflowers.I've started doing garden clean-up, pulling out dead annuals and opportunistic weeds...with a little help from Jaimehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08124335685438320379noreply@blogger.com0