Tuesday, October 8, 2019

a brief respite


It was about 65˚ out there this morning when I got up and the doors are/were open. It was pleasant out there yesterday too. I guess that's saying something when mid 80˚s seems like a respite from the heat. And it's overcast today which helps. We're supposed to stay mostly in the 80s the rest of this week and Saturday they are predicting a high of 69˚! I'll believe it when I feel it. It will be short lived at any rate.

I've been waiting for these few days and so I got out there this morning with the gas trimmer and tackled the way overgrown little backyard and around all the flower beds and the ends of the culvert under the driveway and I almost finished before I ran out of gas.

out of gas

I've also been engaging in my fall activity, the picking up of pecans. The ones that survived the drought of summer are pretty and heavy so I think it will be a good crop.


I collect pecans from three different types of trees, two different natives (two trees), center and right, which I collect to sell and a hybrid (three trees) which I shell for consumption and sell the excess. 


So then I collected under all 5 trees, watered all the pots and set up the sprinkler, rinsed out and refilled the hummingbird feeders, and I've sat at my desk and watched the cardinals, chickadees, and hummingbirds come to the feeders.

I've overcome my feeling of ennui somewhat. I've worked on a couple little thumbnail sketches for possible pieces in my sketchbook, something I haven't opened for almost a year and mostly my sketchbook is in my head but I'm trying to change that though not very hard apparently, and made some more color samples, and a base for a blue jay feather


and mixed some colors together for a another test of the lichen, found the wax reproduction mold for the small round box for a new piece or two which may or may not include small items made with the modeling glass. I'm still trying to figure out what to do with this material, how to make it work for me, besides the feathers which I like. So while I've been busier, I'm not really excited about anything yet. I'm ready to try to salvage the heron box and get done with it, so maybe that can get done with the next spate of pleasant weather. I'm not completely happy with the feet but haven't been able to come up with anything different. Unless, no feet though I like to give my boxes some 'lift'.

A few final small details...it is fall, as mentioned, but we can't count on the temperature to tell us this. Instead I notice that the mississippi kites are gone, the hummingbirds have migrated through, the goldenrod is blooming, the pecans are falling, and the rain trees are blooming.







13 comments:

  1. I'm liking our days, high sixties, low seventies. Down to forty at night! It is warm enough in the days to get me out watering my mandevillas and the bulbs. I don't know if I should be watering the bulbs; I just feel guilty knowing they're in there and I should. I had a flu shot this morning, and was so sleepy by afternoon, I slept it away. That bothers me too. I'll give it one more year before I decide to swear off for another ten years.

    ReplyDelete
  2. It was so nice out this morning that I over stayed my time out and before I knew it I was sitting in the sun. I'm not sure for how long but it sure felt nice. I don't care about the consequences. If I'm out so what. I'll deal with the pain and fatigue when it happens. I can't wait until the second front comes through on Friday afternoon. They are saying the temps will dron by 20 degrees.

    ReplyDelete
  3. The lovely seventies (nighttime 50’s) are here also. I no longer have excuses for putting things off. I have some of my summer gardens cleaned up and a fall garden planted. There is so much more to do, but rain is predicted for the rest of the week. Another reprieve.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Still getting to the high eighties, lower nineties here but in the sixties at night. No real break in sight.
    I just can't get excited about anything right now. The ennui is still upon me.
    Ugh.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Yay for cooler weather! I thought you said, "I'm ready to try to SAVAGE the heron box and get done with it..." All righty then!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Nice photo of you! Our weather is definitely fallish - with reasonable days and cool nights. Of course, we are getting all the rain we needed in the summer - nature can be so perverse. My energy level is low, due mostly, I think, to the fact that our days are getting so damn short.

    ReplyDelete
  7. All we seem to be getting at the moment is rain. I like and eat a lot of nuts as they are one of the things I'm allowed to eat.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Your goldenrod is so big. We have the Liliput sister here.
    Hope it cools down as promised.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. that's not goldenrod. that's the raintree flowers. although the goldenrod is tall. it's in one of my neighbor's yards but to take a good picture of it I'd have to stand on my crazy neighbor's property.

      Delete
  9. I'm trying to find my way into a project, too. Maybe it's a Taurus thing.

    ReplyDelete
  10. It sounds like we really are going to get a front, and a thirty-degree drop from right now to tomorrow night. I'm having a wisdom tooth pulled tomorrow, so a day or two of staying inside and waiting for all things weatherish to calm down will be just the ticket. I found a wonderful Duranta at Maas nursery, and brought it home. For $10, I couldn't resist. I need to get it more water tonight, and move it into a corner, away from the wind. I don't know much about them, but I suspect it would like a bit of protection, being in a pot and not so very large.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. golden dew drop. I had one in Houston planted in the ground, got afternoon sun and the thing got huge. I only had one wisdom tooth and it wasn't even a whole tooth, one point with one root.

      Delete
  11. Goldenrod was always a reliable indicator of fall when I lived in Florida. I miss seeing it -- we don't have it in England, at least not in any quantity.

    ReplyDelete

I opened my big mouth, now it's your turn.