Do I hear December knocking at the door? Go away, I am not ready Yet....

Last Days Of October's Colors 

Husband Dick brought these two sprigs of Sumac into the house after doing chores down by the horses and chickens.I never thought about using them for a bouquet and giggled 
as I placed them into the vase.  Always something new
 to learn and so fun. They only lasted one day in the house.

We have had many warm, sunny days in October, colors were astounding.  Rain and 20 mile an hour winds also shared our Fall.  Stripping the gorgeous leaves and left them laying on the ground and what is left over from summer fun, empty chairs and swing.

     Cushions are put away for the year.  Heated birdbath is plugged in.  Sweeping and using leaf blower can't keep us with the daily deposits of our escaping Fall, layering the deck and gardens.

A sturdy Hydrangea vine refuses to bow down to the wind and rain.  A very slow grower it has been below the deck many years but now finely reaching the top deck.  In summer it carries lovely flowers and the seed heads are just as lovely.  Not at all evasive!

The burning bush still holds its soft pink leaves.

Hidden beneath the colorful leaves are tiny red seeds.  Many fall and some do start to grow, but the deer eat almost all of them during the winter, leaving the main bush alone.

One of the last trees holding onto their leaves, I believe it is an off spring of the yellow Norway Maple seeds a friend gave me many years ago.  Many of the trees on our land are grown from seed.

Trees we planted leaving us a large opening to drive the garden tractor or even just a break to walk to the third gardens of the upper level.

     Looking out of the East windows the deck also gives a different view.  Our land reaches down to a lower level of the large hill and flows out back beyond the 10 acre field we let a local farmer plant and harvest.  Out back of the land is more woods, a pond and wetland.  We are so blessed to have so many different types of environment and soil to work with.  Being in Master Gardners twenty-six years I have learnt so many ways to use and enjoy these diverse areas.  Twenty-seven acres all together.  Except for the woods running along our road, the areas I have included this post use to be all farm field thirty years ago when we built our home and horse stable.   Now mature trees shade us in the summer and give us something to look at when gazing out the window.

In November a break in the gray clouds whipping across the sky
brings relief of the dreariness.  This is morning light at dawn. 

A lone crow flys across my vision as I gaze out at my new day in November

Celebrating Christ's coming Christmas day

Christmas Tree, Words of Joy, Snowmen and Evergreens all Tradition
of what makes us Christians Celebrate Christ's Saving Grace.

December has come and is but a few days away to the end.

Christmas has passed, without being a dream of a white Christmas

like the song goes.  The days come either rainy, or just plain cloudy.

We did Christmas as a real Christmas of no gift receiving or giving.  Did 

receive a few things and we did give anyone under 18 years gifts.  Dick's idea.

Too many adults out of the 28 people that shared Christmas Eve went without and it

put a damper on the evening.  But with our Five grown kids, spouses and grand kids plus a number of great grand kids it soon livened up with stories of past family happenings, catching up on the latest happenings and just sitting soaking up all the love, smiles, and noise of Christmas Eve cheer.

Fog rolling in wet and heavy the air is.  We normally have a foot of snow.

Tomorrow will be December 28th, besides seeing the scale jumping higher from all the eating and good cheer, there is not much happening in our neck of the woods.  Hunters got 9 does and 2 buck from our land and from surrounding farms they hunted on.  I think the deer are still hiding because we have had no sight of them lately. In  4 more days we shall enter a New Year, new dreams, new diets, new adventures.  This past year has been a delight most times.  Beautiful fall in the 50 degrees, More sunny days than usual.  Winter has arrived, no snow and still in the 30 and 40 degrees temperatures. The earth is still spinning and Wisconsin has missed all the terrible storms hitting the southern States.  Plenty of rain to soak the earth because the area has not frozen tight yet. Soaking deeply into the root systems of the now dormant trees, bushes, and plants.

     Here in Wisconsin we no longer can go out and work in the gardens.  Instead I buy fresh flowers from the local flower shop.  If you peek out the window in the background you can see the grass has greened up from all the warm wet weather.  A few more months of winter and we will be back out side tending Spring surprises once more. 

      Below my Grand daughter Katelyn who is 18 and does beautiful stain glass pictures gave me this angel with her trumpet blowing. 

      I imagine the angel is alerting us, no matter how bad the world is treating us, no matter what the media blares out at us, Peace and Love do exist.  Quietly in the back drop of a whirling and  tragic world there are many people quietly going about their lives with love, surging towards what our great Creator, Savior is drawing out of His people.  I know you all are in His image, loving, working to make our lives and our world a better place.  Keep trying, keep loving, it's working.  

                                                                                    

PEACE TO YOU ALL

MAY YOUR LIVES EXPERIENCE

LOVE, LITE AND BETTER DAYS AHEAD

I love you all!

KATE

   

Coolness of Autumn Invites A Walk In Wisconsin Woodlands

Let Us Venture Out Back Of Our Land

Trail that runs along the side of Woods up by the house area.

      A perfect fall day.  Cool, with the sun coming to the close of afternoon daylight.  It being around 5:00 P.M., nice time for taking pictures.
      It would normally take us about an hour to walk the mile and half trail but today Dick and I will use my Golf Cart that my oldest son Doug bought me.  I have been having some health problems so need to stop and rest too often when on foot.
     The trail starts along the front edge of the woods down by the horse barn, bringing us out to the North edge of our 10 acre  field.  Will go on to the back woods and wetland, which holds a pond and prairie.
   
 

Stopping by the trail that cuts out to the back of the wetland and woods.
Dick built a bridge over the wetland that runs up to this edge.

This bridge leads us to the back woods but first we need to get through
this standing water.

     The bridge is from boards taken off the old deck we replaced this past summer.  Perfect for this project.
We have a pond further over which is called a Scrape.  About 4 ft deep and made as a drawing point for wildlife.  A dike runs along an area of wet land separating it from the pond area.
     We usually walked the dike path to the wooded side but now it is usually under water.  A neighboring farmer tiled his field to drain it that water runs into our wetland.   Getting shoes soaked each walk was not pleasant so Dick built the bridge further down in an area where the woods are.  Surrounding trees reflect in the water after a few days of heavy rains.  It will dry up but will sit there until we have a week of dry weather.  There is a creek near by that it also drains to.

About 10 minutes of walking bring us to a more open area, close to the Prairie.

 With more sun coming into the wooded area I found a few prairie flowers.

Here the trees are larger and more mature.  The path winds in and out through
the trees.

A deer path leads us onto the next curve of the path.  Many deer are 

living back here. We came upon one not too far from this area.  I was busy

 taking the picture and Dick called, "Kate,look there is a deer", but by then it was

 too late to take a picture or for me to see, it was gone.

Heading back to the gulf cart before I get too tired.  Oh how badly I wanted  

to go the whole loop of the trail.  But not this time.

The sun was lowering, soon to fall behind the huge hill we live on.

Maybe I can catch a few more views of flowers in the

 perennial gardens before 

we retire into the house for the night.

Tucked behind some wild growth we saw this giant mushroom growing.

                       Leaving the woods we headed back up toward the house on the path between the Chicken coop 

                       and the Birdhouse Garden.  There the Goldstrum Rudbeckia, Asters, few Phlox and the Baloon

                      Flower were still in bloom.  The Inpatients in containers are still going strong and oh so pretty.

  

                                                       Sedum are blooming nestled in between other perennials.

                                                                             Phlox are still showing color.

                                                          Daylily Stela de Ora surprised me with its pretty little bloom.

Not to be outdone in color and form the wild Goldenrod showing its lovely color and form  mixed with the perennials also.

I am trying so very hard to not fill bad about summer passing

It takes me longer to find a pretty flower for my ready camera.

But I have my many pictures to look at all winter 

not loosing summer at all if I put them in a slideshow

having it flashing me pretty pictures while I work

in my Computer Room on cold days of Fall.

I will also enjoy all the good days 

of Fall Color.

Why is change so hard for me and others?

Do any of you share this loss as I do?

Yet!  I will accept, as with any change

with a smile, 

Blessing my Creator with Praise for Each Days Blessings.

Kate

No Putting On The Breaks In Nature

SOMEONE PLEASE PUT THE BREAKS ON

I DO NOT WANT SUMMER TO END! 

                                   Sure looks like fall is trying to sneak in to natures settings. 

                                                  I feel kind of like the little bird above.

It is looking more and more like Fall.  August is
almost to the end, and I know September
is waiting at the back door

    

      The fields are loosing their green, the air is cool and coming from the Northwest.  Was cloudy most the day and if it reached to 65 like the weather man declared this morning it would be hard to believe.  I know it is hapless of me to even think I could change things.  Perhaps it is only a dream, and I will wake up and it will be only June.  I love June. 

      No reality is indeed knocking at my door and has fall in its hands, holding tight.  So I can face this definite change with a smile and accept it.  

     Actually I do love fall, and the coolness was welcomed this morning.  There is great beauty still to be had.  Like the picture above.  The seed heads of Queen Ann's Lace look like neat little bird nests.  There still is the Queen Ann's Lace  flower scattered in this old horse pasture we no longer use. 

This mornings walk about found me up on the hill in the unused horse pasture
The sun was just peeking in to see if I was ready for another day.
The large field we let a local farmer use has soybeans in it
instead of corn this year.  Dick walks our Airedale
most days on the path that goes all the way
around it.  He said the soybeans are
huge from our perfect summer.

The sumac is starting to show its red fall foliage and its seed heads are now a deep red magenta.  Sure signs of fall introducing its self once more.

The last rose of summer

Bursting with bloom

Loves the coolness

Goldenrod waves it lovely golden frond in the North Wind

The trees seem faded.  Not like the lime greenish cast that new growth shows me in spring and early summer.  Here is the good old Box elder, some call a weed tree.  It grows quickly giving shade and on this picture shows thousands of seeds forming and ready to drop but hangs onto them till winter most times.  Its excellent bird food for winter so I do let it grow around here in the wild.

Two fawns still wearing their camouflage of spots, came out of the thicket along with their mother doe.  Our Airedale was ringing the air with warning signs that something was out there on the hill that shouldn't be.  I came and looked and there they were.  Silencing the dog so he would not scare them away and started to take pictures with my camera.  Dick my husband came with the binoculars. One seemed a lot bigger so guessing its a male and the other one a female. 

The second picture shows an orange wild daylily that grows up there.  Looks like she is wearing the flower in the picture but she just had her head in the right place when I took the picture.  The mother soon flicked her white tail that was up like a flag warning her two little one they were way to close to those voices she could hear through the closed window.  They all scampered into the thicket leaving us with smiling faces from the joy of seeing them.

 In the lower gardens there are still a few flowers showing their freshness.  One morning on my walk about and camera in hand I discovered in the fairy garden these Resurrection Lilies.  In spring they shoot up tall 2 inch wide leaves in a cluster and then die a month later.  Then in fall the flowers surprisingly show up in all their beauty.  That is why they are called the Resurrection Lily.  Similar to what happens at Easter.  Christ's death and resurrection. I always forget about them and in my sadness of my gardens slowly finishing summer out I find them!

Another flower, stunning in fall is the Hibiscus.  Size of 

a dinner plate some times.  I catch my breath when I see them in full bloom.

Still blooming now in the last week of August is the Phlox
and the Balloon flower.  Lovely combination.

Birdhouse garden is getting sparce of flower bloom
Still present is the Goldstrum Rudbeckia and small
bushy gold mini Rudbeckia.  

 Pink phlox and the deep dark pink phlox are found in the birdhouse garden too.

 

 

Evening settles in earlier than when in full swing of summer.  The shadows of dusk greet us at six instead of nine which means chickens need to go in before dark at 6:30 P.M.  The above picture show the horse pillers framing the steps which lead down to the horse barn and chicken coop.  The ponies

are retired at that same time as the chickens.  

Walking the path down to the barn you will pass the Birdhouse garden.
Here you can see the remaining flowers Rudbeckia , Ballon flowers and the Phlox.

Ligularia also grow down in the lower gardens in fall, not too far from the Resurrection Lily.   I love this perennial.

Living too far ahead of oneself

can make oneself miss out on todays 

Miricles

Come lets sit a while and gather

our thoughts, pulling them into 

the present moment  Thanking

God 

For what we have 

not lost

nor want

Peace my precious friends

Love and Blessings

Looking for the Miricles 

of today

Kate