MORE COLORS, END OF FALL

AS THE FALL SEASON COMES TO AN END, the camellias are just getting into full bloom. Some grow up – these are about 12 feet tall, This is Yule Tide, 10 feet tall, 12 feet across. And this pink one grows outward, again about 12 feet across.  The azaleas are winding down, and the leaves are piling up on the ground. If you keep an eye out, you can see an occasional magic moment when the color is just right as it lasts for only a day. This (blue) hosta went thru a day of serious beauty… today it looks terrible! Who’d believe these leaves were once blue?     The Peace roses are singing their last song – imagine fresh roses for Thanksgiving! And the bushes are full of berries! Today it turned cold – no problem for the berries or the camellias unless we have a serious freeze. They don’t even mind a little snow on them – but I hope it will be a long while before we see any of that!  

     

BUILDING PROJECT

OR MORE OF WHAT KEEPS ME SO BUSY… Sadly I have slowed down to a crawl lately. The Lyme's has been in its mean, bad , and nasty cycle… which means not just a lot of pain, but it means my muscles have been locking up when I try to do certain things – like bend over… reach over my head… sigh. So, it has really slowed me down. Somehow I thought I would have a lot of time to get things done before it got too cold to work outside – but today is the last of the warmer days, and so much has not gotten done. Cold is an enemy of Lyme's.  I did get my addition to my greenhouse finished… got the heat lamps installed yesterday. It is also painted since it is not made with pressure treated (called salt treated around here) wood and there is an added roof of 2 rug samples and a half inch piece of plywood that goes on it when the sun is not shining to keep it a bit warmer – and to keep the cats from scratching the quarter inch Plexiglas. That sheet of Plexiglas for the roof cost a small fortune… double what I paid the last time I had any 1/4th inch cut for me. The rest of the Plexiglas is only 1/8th inch – some of it scrap, most of the wood is scrap, too. It seems I just get more and more plants somehow… and then, I take cuttings of Strobilanthus and coleus – some of them make it, some do not. I am trying to winter over some begonias this year. The Mini-greenhouse will come apart come spring as it is held together with only 4 screws and several corner braces. The floor is brick, for retaining heat. It is amazing how many plants one can cram in a space 4 feet long and 2 feet wide. 

The heated cat box is on top of the larger greenhouse… and is already well occupied on chilly days and nights.

MAKE A JOYFUL NOISE!

Make a Joyful Noise!

A Community Christmas Caroling

            Saturday, Dec. 15th, 2012          

Come join the Town of Onley for Christmas Caroling.

We will be leaving the Onley Fire Hall at 6 pm sharp.

If you know of anyone in Onley who could use a visit or cheering up, please call Jan  or John

Please bring some cookies to share!

This is a non-denominational gathering sponsored by Neighborhood Watch.

OK, I did remove the phone numbers from the blog….. but if you are in our area, you know how to contact us! Note: the title covers what used to be called singing when I was younger, LOL! But old age has really done a number on my vocal chords… The point is COMMUNITY… being together, doing something that is fun…

BETTER LATE THAN NEVER – Building update

OK, SHAME ON ME - BUT, I have been soooo very busy, you just would not believe. The guys have done some amazing work down at the station... so I will catch you up on that, quickly... then do another post on what we are really all about - besides saving this building.

First - the building's progress report. I will spare you pictures of packing insulation into the walls and ceiling... and go right to some major repair work. Several storms ago - the one where they thought we might get an inch or so and we ended up with 9 inches of rain, we got to see how badly some of the old boards had been damaged over time. After all, these boards were put in place 127 years ago, and some of them have split here, cracked there... holes had been drilled to put in electricity (what an invention!) and then even a telephone line (who'd a thunk it?) and, well, the rain came in through these cracks and holes. So, we finally got around to removing the old boards and putting up new ones. Here is the strange thing... I can barely lift ONE of the old 1x12's. OK, they are 16 feet long, but still... I can pick up 3 of the NEW 1x12 x 16'. What does that tell you about the stuff that lasted for 127 years? And does that make you wonder how long the new stuff will last?

Another great invention – we rented a “man-lift” and used it to replace the old wood, and do as much painting as we had time for in 2 days.  So the building is partly painted... some battens still have to be replaced, but we wanted to get as much done as we could before the Santa Train came this year.

MORE CAMELLIAS, MORE COLORS

JUST SHARING a bit more of what I see out my windows, walking around in the yard... The colors have been blowing me away this year, for some reason. I am not taking them for granted as I have perhaps in the past. It still amazes me when folks come up to me in the PO or the grocery store and tell me how much they like driving by my yard.

The camellia at the front door.

Just to give you an idea of the size of some of my camellias. This is the one that usually starts to bloom on my birthday. It reaches well above roof level.

The morning sun on the camellia Yule Tide and the Maple tree out front. Yule Tide is over 10 feet tall and almost reaches the power lines. Note the azaleas behind the maple tree.

On the northern side of the house is another huge camellia. Its diameter is over 10 feet and it is also about 10 feet in heighth. I just thought the mixture of colors was breath-taking yesterday morning as I was "rearranging" the leaves in the yard.

CATCHING UP

 Life has been busy, more than busy, and I just have not had time to be on here. Sometimes "life' happens. And then Sandy happened, and even tho I did not have any more damage than one downed tree, still, as an old friend of mine used to say, my tempest fugited! Where has the time gone? 

Many of the leaves are down, camellias are in serious bloom, and the colors are fantastic. It seems the frost we had killed the daisies, but they were awesome for a while and covered with butterflies. I had so many more plants this year, I had to build an extention onto my little greenhouse! Enjoy the pics!

Who would believe I have had to turn the heat on in these little greenhouses already! Frost is predicted for the morning... yesterday, we were working out in the yard in T-shirts. Oh, well, It is that time of year.

If you are interested, the greenhouses are made out of plexiglass. The "roof" part is 1/4 inch plexi, the sides are just 1/8th inch. Most of the wood is scrap stuff left over from other projects. The plexiglas is held in place with corner braces so it can slide out if I need to get inside to do something. It all comes apart by removing 4 screws.

Veterans Day

Amen.

HURRICANE SANDY UPDATE

Everything here in Onley is fine - one tree down, landed on power lines but held ‘til ANEC came and cut it down. Lost power for a few seconds. Lots of water in the yard, but then we had almost 9 inches of rain. But, I am far (2 miles) from the coastal communities that got drowned by the high tides and storm surge. Onley in on the "spine" of the peninsula.

Others did not make out so well... several people lost cars in high water, salty water I might add for those of you not familiar with our topography... one friend thinks her house is a loss- water up 2 feet on first floor, windows smashed in on sun porch (waves? wind?) ...a few folks lost boats. Many were without power for long periods of time, a few still out as of this writing. But, all in all, the shore made out better than places to the north.

I do really appreciate hearing from some of you, thanks for the pictures, Bobbie (Girl Bobbie) and to know you are all right. Would love to share your story and pictures...

And thanks for all the phone calls Bobby (Boy Bobby)...

In fact I got over a dozen phone calls from folks making sure I was OK. I really do appreciate it! I was reminded of what wonderful friends I have.

Thanks for the emails, also.

For pics of the shore, you can check out http://www.ask4direct.com/albumviewer.asp?albumid=5647 and http://www.facebook.com/groups/238075359655302/

you might be surprised who you will find on here, or who you will read about! I found you, Tiger, mentioned. Did you guys lose your cars?

Those of you off-shore folks, let me know how you made out. If you have posted on facebook, sorry, I have not been on fb for a good month... just too busy!

RUSTY and DUSTY (Charlie’s angels-not)

I believe several weeks ago I mentioned 2 little kitties someone left on a piece of Charlie's land. We took the little boys to Uncle Barrett’s to get their shots, then I made arrangements to have them “tutored” at the Neuter Scooter on the 26^th. Both Rusty and Dusty are very lovable. They are happy sitting in whatever lap is handy, and they also tend to try to get in people’s cars. They don’t seem afraid of anything. Charlie, who claims to be a dog person, is actually quite taken with the little fellows and can often be found sitting in his old rocker in his shop with one or both in his lap.

Dusty seems to be a home-body, Rusty is the more adventurous, apparently not at all shy about going in any open door. One day last week-end he disappeared. We were sure someone had picked him up and had taken him home. Charlie walked around the neighborhood knocking on doors asking if anyone had seen the little orange cat. Oh, yeah, folks had seen him. But no one knew where he was.

Then, one day I went into the Post Office – well, I go in there every day, actually – and one of the girls there asked me about a little cat her husband had brought home. They had kept him for 3 days. I asked if he was orange? Yep, she said – and there he was curled up in the chair at the Post Office. Michelle had put a notice up on the bulletin board and was getting ready to call the lost pet service at the radio station. It was Rusty. Oh, my I was so happy to see that little boy! (And I bet Michelle was kinda sad to watch him go!) I took him back to Charlie's and headed off to Wal-Mart to buy them collars so folks would know they belonged to someone.

Apparently Rusty had been going into Dr Bundick’s office every time the door opened and made himself at home on which ever lap was handy! He even tried to get in several of the patients’ cars. Bundick really did not want another cat and certainly did not want one in his office, so he asked one of his patients to please take him home. That was Michelle’s husband.

Charlie is keeping them inside – after all, their “tutoring” has been paid for and will take place on Friday. Then we need to keep them confined for another week ‘til they heal… in these pictures, you will see they have a heated “bedroom” like Spook and Punkin, but it has not been cold enough for that to be turned on. Rusty really likes his little cloth cat house… Dusty prefers Charlie’s chair. This is a picture of Charlie pretending he is not a cat person!

MEETING FRIENDS

As some of you might know, I have had a rough several weeks dealing with numerous obligations and an unexpected monkey wrench being thrown into the mix. Life does that every once in a while to keep us on our toes. Then, too, it is that time of year when it is finally cool enough to do things outside and the list of usual fall chores gets doubled by the extra things that need to be done THIS year, like scraping and painting the Adirondacks, cleaning out Studio East… and my Saturday’s are usually spent at the Train Station trying to be useful but mostly being frustrated by an uncooperative body. How I hate being so slowed down, but I have been having to deal with muscles that just totally freeze up and to try to move them is excruciatingly painful.

But, in the midst of all this chaos and confusion I had a day of sunshine…I had company… and it was such a joy! Fellow Blogger Ginnie (from NC) and I have been “friends” for several years and have often talked about getting together, but schedules and distances just never seemed to work out. Actually, we often talked about meeting when I would be in PA and she would be on her way up to visit family in NY. Then, a friend of Ginnie’s decided to come to VA, and it all worked out. Bonnie had a small sculpture to pick up at Turner’s here in Onley! How cool is that?!? We had a wonderful visit and one I hope we can repeat.

 

These shots are down at Turner’s Studios… that handsome young man is David Turner. You can visit their gallery at http://www.turnersculpture.com/.

CELEBRATE COLUMBUS DAY

BLOGGER CHAOS

WHAT IS GOING ON? I know I am not all that techyfied, but this is rediculous. I no longer seem to have any control over where blogger puts any pictures, sometimes even where my words end up... A perfect example is the mess on the SPOTS blog... pictures got joined together and I could not separate them or I had pictures of ceiling repairs in the middle of the Santa Train. I could not separate the batten picture from the French doors. Even tho all the pictures were marked to go in the center, they went wherever they wanted, it seems. I might have to see if I can figureout live writer again... but that got all screwed up when I bought this new computer and I have not used it since. It doesn't seem like anyone else is having any problems... is it just me?

THE CAT'S OUT OF THE BAG

OR IS HE?  Punkin and Spook have taken a liking to the veggie growing bags. Are they "vegetating?"

 I guess they are called potato bags, mostly, but I found they were also very useful for growing onions and carrots, too! Once the crop has been harvested, the guys immediately climb on board and take a nap. However, the potatoes are producing their second crop, or what will survive of the second crop as both the little guys try to crowd their little kitty butts in without breaking off the plants. It will be interesting to see what is in that bag when the greenery dies back. Sometimes I think of Horton hatches a What? as he keeps the potato crop warm.

 Punkin and the Carrot Bag.

Tell me, is anyone else having trouble with Blogger and trying to get pictures where you want them? My old link to blogger no longer works, and this is in its place... very frustrating!

STILL HERE...

I have been beyond busy for the last couple of weeks... too busy to read, too busy to blog... but just so you know I am still alive, I will share this quote with you. It pretty much sums up my philosophy in life.

“To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.”


Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882); Philosopher, Poet, Author, Essayist

CLIMATE CHANGE? BUTTERFLIES

FOR ALMOST 20 YEARS, this camellia has bloomed on my birthday - not a day before. It was a brithday present, to celebrate my 50th birthday. This camellia is about 12 feet from my computer where I sit every morning (almost) of my life... it is one of the first things I look at each day. It sits right next to my driveway, so it is impossible to ignore it especially when it is in full bloom. Every year, the first bloom of the season has opened right on schedule. But this year, the seasons seemed to have gotten off to an early start. Everything started to bloom early as we experienced the warmest year in recorded history. So I guess I should not have been so shocked when I looked out the fogged up window (from the air conditioner) and saw red. Well, OK, maybe magenta is more accurate. 2 weeks early... there it is.

The temps are still quite summer-like. It was in the low 70s when I got up, will be in the 80s today. At least we are not hitting the upper 90s anymore, tho I hesitate to complain after so many people were in the hundreds last summer, day after day after day. The humidity is so high it is like breathing soup. Our 10 inches of rain from a week ago has long soaked in the ground, but it seems we get a little rain each day, then a burst of sunshine, just enough to make it like a sauna out there.

The dragonflies have almost all disappeared. The yard is now filled with butterflies flitting from place to place. I have several butterfly bushes, phlox, blue sage, and fall camellias all in bloom to keep them happy.

The roses are sending out a new round of blooms.

A TALE OF TWO KITTIES

SOME DAYS ARE JUST LIKE THAT..... what ever that is. But it was a day when I had thought I'd kept all my time to myself to get caught up on things housiefied... every once in a while it seems necessary to shovel a path to the sofa, ya know what I mean? Well, OK, its not really that bad in here, but there are days that need to be devoted to chores in the house. I promised myself to stay off the computer and it was a bit warm to be outside, besides they said it would not be a bad week-end, so the mowing and garden work could wait until Sat or Sun. Right. See  previous post about how well that worked! Anyway, I had myself pretty well organized and had a good start on things when the phone rang. It was my friend Charlie. It seems Charlie was the recipient of a couple of kittens. Someone had left him a present on his property, a little baby blanket with a sick orange kitten and his frisky grey tabby brother. So, I put a cage in the van and out the road we went. The orange one was sitting on his blanket waiting for his owner to come back and get him. That broke my heart. The grey boy was bouncing around in the woods and weeds not far away. He came when called. Obviously they have been someone's loved kittens. My guess is they are about 3 months old. I called the vet and got the last appointment for the day, for the week, as it was Friday afternoon. I was worried the orange one would not make it, his nose was filled with snot, and when a cat can't breathe, they don't seem to be able to eat either. He was weak. Anyway, Barrett gave them each their first shots and sent us home with amoxicillin and eye drops and de-fleaed them. I got a couple of my bigger cages together and we made a place to keep them in Charlie's shop where we could give the Orange fellow his meds and feed them. Anybody want a couple of kittens? They look great now, a week later, and a ton of food, full of energy, tumbling around in the pen Charlie made for them outside. These shots were taken last Saturday, after the rain had started but before the 9 inches fell! Charlie was already soaked from working on the Train Station door (see the SPOTS blog).  

It is a good thing Charlie saw them as he drove by or they would have been underwater the next day, cuz they were staying where  they were put waiting for their previous owner to return. Bless their little hearts.

A side note here... Blogger has suddenly changed its format and how pictures get added and placed. I have not figures it out, seem to have NO control over where the pictures are going. Sorry about that!