November 17--2014--Monday wow those kind of rainy days--with enough chill on the air--to make you want to stay inside warm--I'm looking outside the window now at gray, wet, leaves and bark--my fingers are cold just from standing in front of the window-- looking outside-- I've got the temperature on the house thermostat set at 65 degrees--not cold not hot--sweater weather--in side--my mind has been going a mile a minute--you just turn on T V. once and away goes your mind on all kinds of crap--and what crap covers --is everything that is going on the world --over--almost sounds like a story about the start of doomsday...every where it's not " Prairie Home Companion "it's every detail on murder--killings--war--shooting down planes--sickness--"epidemic" type--I'm telling myself on Sunday night when I turn on the T.V. and their showing the "Walking dead"--and this is the world we're living in--it's all coming true before your very eyes--escaping is the only thing on my mind--getting this stuff as far away from --me --as possible--I am not talking about leaving--I talking clearing the air--saying no more--I have no idea were anything is going except it's definitely going without me--seeing what I'm seeing--watching it's like when I was young--Vietnam--my friends--while you were in Vietnam and I was at home I saw every gory detail on the tube--I was fighting to get every last person out of there--all that promise going to waste--if you complain about the army here --you're almost an outcast from the start--they're doing something I can't even imagine-- when I try to imagine it goes to places and things--that absolutely blow my mind--I'm more of a stay home type of guy--getting out away from somewhere dear--I have a tendency to feel insecure--out of place-not exactly lost--but close enough--to make "nothing" as important as it should be--there's some thin places in the clouds--the skies still light grayish--almost white in places--where the sunlight is trying to get through--the dogs all wanted out earlier--trying to open the door with all of them trying to get out all at once--they rushed around the fence--then headed off into the woods raising hell barking and seeing who could get their the quickest--bumping and knocking--not even knowing some of them not even knowing what the heck was going on--following just to be a part of what was going on--the ground outside is awfully wet looking--leaves packed down--droplets of water sparkling here and there--where light and my eye meet--some water still dropping off the leaves on the camellias--a good amount of leaves have fallen as I look up at the sky I can see so much better a farther distance--because more of the leaves have fallen to earth--the sun's now shining--off some of the leaves--a glare--the U.P.S. man drove up the drive--dogs barking I'd better go see what it's all about--nuts--is what it was all about--I ordered some pecans from a grower--in Albany, Georgia--they were being sent here--two dogs --I have to let in when anyone drives up--they don't know how to act around cars-I worry that through their own stupidity--they might get hurt--again I'm hung up in what might happen--or might not happen--supersensitive to any slight or neglect--reverence not exactly that--but due respect for getting to where our paths separate-- go out in the world and get their " whatever " for themselves--
November 13--2014--Can't get any prettier than this beautiful day in Mr. Rogers neighborhood--looking out the window and not a leaf stirring--dogs walking up and down driveway--Macy doesn't even want to go outside--just finished up sausage, grits and toast laved with Blackberry preserves--and still sipping my coffee--last night had a bad case of indigestion---but this morning just feel a tinge of it--so I decided I wouldn't eat but after a little thinking about food decided differently--maybe a big mistake--but will find out soon enough--I ordered some new coffee's from my coffee supplier--but didn't realize Veterans day was going to be in this week--and I'm afraid the coffee has been held up because of no mail delivery on Tuesday--
Trying to get into Thanksgiving--Thought about getting some corn on the cob and hanging it from the fireplace corners against my cedar mantel--Apples and raisins and nuts brim the bowls on the center isle in the kitchen near the good smelling kitchen, and the cheese board will be decked out with a pale swiss, bright cheddar and creamy Port Salut--dreaming can't-- hurt can it---why is it that I like Ham better than turkey--I always had turkey when I was young--and now that I have my choice I pick ham--I remember when young the turkey roasting, the savory smell of sage and chestnuts drifting out of the kitchen and onions glazing in honey and catsup adding it's fragrance...a family holiday--when you get to see the changes years are making on the ones you love...As we pass the plates heaped with ham----the conversation brings all the good that's gone by--montage of their lives...
The sky today is pewter--Gentian is covering the banks down on the sides of the creek (Greg says even brought me one to see) the dogs are going in and out of the house--weather permitting--I leave them to themselves--even they come in wet--I use a towel and dry them as best I can--they only stay minute and go find their favorite spot to lie down and get warm--on terrible days take a rest--I usually bread a boo the first time throughly and have no need to read it again unless of course--it has many words of wisdom--and then I put it in the reference section of my library--and will go back to the selections many times--otherwise it goes on some shelve somewhere in the neither regions of books to be given away or to go the library sales...
I get this urge this time of year--like to clean house--wash windows--straighten out things get them ready winter's coming--I guess it could be called fall cleaning--I move books around put them in boxes--and piles--on table tops--boxes on top of boxes--floor space is at a premium but still I pile--Every book meant something at one time or another and it's closeness meant exactly that--so I could get my hands on it quickly--even after I fill all the boxes to rid myself of dozens and dozen of over stuffed books shelves--they'rw still loaded--I can go in a closet take things out in boxes and after I finish the boxes are full and the closet is still not sufficiently taken care of--it still has that freezing of being overfull--in books it's always that it was selected for a reason--and that reason--may still be in the book somewhere that i might forget if the book were given away--so I keep them with the thought when I get enough time where I can re-read these books I'll get what I wanted out of them--it seems like that time has come--cause I'm arranging all the books I have left--in close proximity to where I sit next to the computer--hopefully--sifting--that what I do when I read --it takes time and thought--the ones I keep--are like charms I file away to keep for rainy days when I know I'm going to be alone...also I'm in need of some lavender--I going to keep it around from now on--every where--especially for sheets in my room--for some reason that seems real important now--just such as this makes me wonder where my brain goes--and why--
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I've just finished this book by Rutherford Platt--the Flowering World--and after reading him I had to go and look for all the lichen I could find--Having just gained a new immense respect for this humble growth--and now with the leaves and growth of the year dwindling--the light grays and and whites and glowing muted tones stand out even more--because of my new found appreciation...plus they endure varied fluctuations in temperature--they cling to wooden posts--bark, stone,boulders, buildings, only cities and the harsh, impure air causes it any trouble...their growth is slow--patience--
I've just been outside walking around the yard--I didn't even know it was raining--I was so engrossed in my thoughts that when outside I was taking deep breaths--and smelling the spicy scents given off by the wet grass and the sole outside..Most people from the cities don't have this luck--this goes in-noticed--because the concrete and the hurriedness of their lives--I know the smell of wet concrete--and it's not the same except--it does convey it's on messages--When I sit at my desk for long periods--occasionally I find that I'm out doors--and I'm never quite sure how I got there--noticing the trees, and seeing what I all I can notice--leaves falling opening vistas I haven't seen since last fall--I find a completely new environment--one so dependent needing daily inspections--or I loose my perspective of approaching autumn--and I know I've burned my toast--let my coffee get cold--and my cereal has become soggy--even time has elapsed so far I'm already late for some sort of something or other--I've become sort a unreliable fellow--except to my dogs and cats who follow me around and completely understand---
Place is packed roads are far as the eye can see--people come up from the cities and form long lines all over the mountains...but while the orals are being jammed packed creatures all over the mountains are starting to think about their winter abodes and all the food they've been storing for the winter cold...the frog pass his winter in "suspended animation"--outside my window all the birds have left my little home--chickadees , juncos, goldfinches,tree sparrows, blue jays,Downy woodpeckers, nuthatches, purple finches even a few hawks and owls are still out there hovering doing there thing--put on a heavy jacket and investigate...discovering is where it's at...don't forget the bird feed when you're next at Wal-Mart,Kroger,or Home Deposit (yes I said that)the tiny ones will appreciate it--letting them also know that you appreciated their help this past summer...
the Bee-- the hornet--the yellow jacket--Often when a bee stings,it leaves its entire stinger within the victim--the stinger has it's barbs--the needle of the stinger has tiny serrate edges with teeth pointing backward, so the barb can easily enter, and will not be easily pulled out...the glands of the bee are thought to produce venomous proteins...it is an irritating product--along with this poison gland and part of the bees intestines--this is fatal to the bee-- don't try to squeeze it out--because pushing and pressing gives a further dose of sting venom and a larger more painful swelling--the bee stinger should be scraped out not pulled out by the two fingers...Hornets and Yellow Jackets have beautiful sharp smooth stingers,sharper under the micro scope than any sewing needle or hypodermic needle---it does not stick in the skin--it does not tear out their intestines--so they can sting many times--
Among the butterflies and moths the sense of smellis of great importance in finding--sexual partners...An entomologist captured a number of of the males and females of the moths which develop from the tan and black little bugger that crawls over the highway called "woolly bear" caterpillars. The females were placed in a cage, while the males were painted with numbers on their wings...the males were taken various distances away from the cage and released... Males who were released at a distance of nine miles downwind from the cage were able to detect the odor of the females in the cage and return to the cage with hardly any trouble..and you think we're ever going to win against creatures who can do this...smells and the moon--how do you feel on the night of the full moon--
It is probable that odors of flowers are more important than colors bin attracting insects, for many insects seem to have rather imperfect vision and rather sensitive sense of smell...Flowers pollinated by bees and butterflies, which are active during the day, are usually more fragrant during the day than they are at night, whereas flowers pollinated by moths, which are nocturnal in their habits , are ordinarily more fragrant at night...Flowers pollinated by moths are open at night and are commonly white...
A point where nature and it's togetherness mean a lot--where we as individuals never think about--everything co-exists --one thing needs another--you can't kill something without it affecting something else--The striking fetters of the Yucca and Yucca-moth relationship are these: that Yucca
flowers can be pollinated in nature only by Yucca moths, that the large of the moths can derive nourishment from Yucca ovules and from no othe kind of food,and that both Yuccas and Yucca moth
can complete their life cycles only with the aid of each other...This is one of the most amazing cases known of absolute interdependence of a plant and animal for the completion of their life histories....every little piece of nature has it's reasons--don't think in any terms other than it's here for a reason...simple killing or doing away with something--is not the answer--something else will replace it--what will be uncovered could be worse and for it's protection--you may not like what is turned out...
Toad--Stomach exam--toads feed at night--they sleep and digest during the day--
22 large Carpenter Ants, 2 large-sized moth larve, 2 sow bugs, 5 weevils, 1 flower beetle, 1 cricket, 10 red ants, 5 grasshoppers, (is there any economic importance here) think every night--only one toad-how many there are--and how helpful they are--
What a beautiful day mild with they sun creeping through the trees; a day of golden warmth with all the sweet, faint melancholy of indian summer at it's finest..two or three Camellias in bloom in the shrub garden, and and in the olds witch hazel in fine form, its branches covered in honey colored blossoms...birds fluttering all over the place--the sweet gums now starting to head for their very best in crimson, purple, and gold...Although the strong vigorous colors of November are coming..there is a remnant of beauty just around the corner, the juncos, chickadees, and nuthatches are feeding voraciously on the expensive sunflower seedsI put out at the feeders--I use to spread it on the ground but we've acquired a cat so I have to use the feeders for their protection--even though--we rarely let the cat out of the house...My house plants we set out side the back door--are loving these cool night and the rains--right noes they seem at their best as far as looks are concerned--sometime soon I am going to have to bring in my house plants that have been enjoying their summer vacation--the cool days have given them new life--and are looking exceptional
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Before bringing in my house plants--I add a pinch of mustard (a half a teaspoonful to a quart of water) added to the water in watering house plants will destroy insects of many kinds and will not harm even the most tender of plants
Lime water poured on the soil will usually kill worms..A teaspoon of perfectly fresh lime should be put into a cup of water and left to stand until the sediment settles at the bottom..The hole for draining should be closed before the application is made on a house plant, that the water may remain in the surface soil long enough to do its work...
The day has turned off like one in a dream--the sky is blue as can be and the temperature has changed much-- just a long sleeve shirt day no clouds--China Blue sky--I'd call it--I started to take a walk outside the back door but happen to look up at the sky and noticed some orange fruits clinging on the old persimmon tree all the branches are bare of leaves but thick with their fruits maybe like 40 to 60
fruits--and yet a few leaves are left--I see them near the top
Large number of Bluebirds are going wild over the Poison Ivy berries..
Winter wrens are getting where they are demanding a little more food--
Pond is over flowing and clear as a bell--can se the bottom where all the fish are enjoying a little
warmth--sun reaching all the way to bottom
Witch Hazel in bloom, the latest of the shrubs
On warm days spiders are ballooning by large numbers, spinning out silk until it carries them off through the air--
Ran into another copperhead in my woodshed preparing for his winter bed--
Found a a big Blue Heron down standing at the edge of my pond--
Still a few asters blooming along roadside--
Been looking for mushrooms after each rain
Trees just starting their burst of color--
Hickories at the their brightest gold-- dogwoods shading into their purple color--
Gentians at their best--along the streams edge
A few wasps have tried to come into the house to hibernate
Haven't really had any frost yet --but getting close will try and get plants in this Friday
Saw some old Ageratum plants along the highway--I'd like to go back and dig up
I forget from year to year how emotional I can become with fall colors --the memories of past years--when it was a big family thing to go to the mountains and see the foliage --the leaves falling and the thoughts called back in time when we used to make great big piles and burrow down in them and watch hidden underneath--watching as others went up and down the lane--then later closer to night we'd burn the piles and what a fragrance--nothing better--can I hold off one more night and not bring my house plants in--do I wait or get up and go do the right thing--for the plants that is--
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