More Roses

 If I have the year right, today is the 65th anniversary of when my parents were married.  I just needed to put that out there into the universe.  Thanks, reader, for being part of that universe.

It has been a long day and I should be sleeping by now.  I will try for a short list of my happy things:

• Yesterday I blogged about having two roses on the bush in the front of the house. Today I found another! I'm not sure how I missed it yesterday.

A rose by the snow shovel.

• Over the weekend I planted some flowers in what I call the triangle. I only cleared and planted in a small area. Today I took a small amount of time to tear up some more of the weeds there. It wasn't much, but if I do it a little at a time, hopefully I won't feel so overwhelmed.

I uncovered parts of the driveway...

• We live on about fourteen acres and, not surprisingly, most of it doesn't get attention. One of the places that I don't tend to get to very often may be surprising, the front yard. It is neglected. Even when I get there to mow, there is a hill that I have a hard time taking care of and I let it go this summer. I decided to walk around front and check out the plants there. I was thrilled to find the butterfly plant with seed pods open and looking beautiful. I collected some seeds to plant… somewhere, later.

The butterfly plant and milkweed are part of the same family.

☮

Currently reading:  Mount Washington A Guide and Short History, by Peter E. Randall.

Thank you for being part of my happy things. Stay safe.

October Sun

Sitting in the shade on this warm October day it is almost hard to remember that it is autumn. According to the app on my phone it is 75 degrees out. I have puttered in the yard some and have decided that since Aesop has a bone to chew on, I can sit. 

Aesop and his bone.

It was an eleven and a half hour work day for me and my feet hurt. The holidays are coming and my hours will be extended so I am trying to ease myself into working a little late. I might even volunteer for an additional shift someday. Today, I happily rested my feet, sitting in the shade. Other happy things for today:

• I have enjoyed watching how the pinecones on the tree by the garden have been developing. They were small and green and now are brown and larger.

                                                  

• A few days ago I noticed a rose bloom on one of the front bushes. I went to photograph it and found a bud, not quite open, with the fading bloom below.

                                                  

• Before I headed to slumberland, Gideon had to show me the Minecraft YouTube channel and the potential new mobs that people will be able to vote for.  Gideon was very excited to share that with me.  

☮

Currently reading: Mount Washington A Guide and Short History, by Peter E. Randall.

Thank you for being part of my happy things. Stay safe.

No More Hole in the Wall.

 While Zed worked his day job, Keziah and I said goodbye to that space between the inner and outer wall where we have been working.  She and I cut some insulation and plywood and made it fit into the holes we made.  It isn't finished, but the hole is gone.  

This is now the only section of the 
old part of the house that 
we know has at least a little bit of insulation.

Hammer time.

All covered!

Other things that I am happy about today:

• When I complete a job that, in my older mind was traditionally done by men, the song "I Am Woman," by Helen Reddy, inevitably goes through my head.  It is a song that makes me happy.
• Aesop and I had a good walk this afternoon.   

He's poking his head into the tall grasses.

• The foliage by the house is looking great!

☮

Currently reading:  Mount Washington A Guide and Short History, by Peter E. Randall.

Thank you for being part of my happy things. Stay safe.

Sunday!

 Pacing around the house to reach my daily step goal is how I ended my day.  I admit that I really didn't want to, I am tired, but I did it anyway.  Happy things for today are:

• It was a hard-to-get-motivated kind of day.  Talking with TF and getting my goals for the week prepared helped me get moving.  
• There was an SCA meeting today via Google Meet.  The best part?  Seeing friends, even though it is through a screen.
• Helping Keziah and Zed clean out the shed and work towards rebuilding part of the house wall.  Imagining what it must have been like, in or around 1745.''

There is still bark on this stud!

                             

☮

Currently reading: Mount Washington A Guide and Short History, by Peter E. Randall.

Thank you for being part of my happy things. Stay safe.

Old House

The to-do list I set for myself today was a little bit long, so I didn't expect to finish it.  One item I gave myself a time limit to only work so long on.  I ignored that and got a small section of the front triangle weeded and then planted.  I moved the wild sweet William and tried to make that the center of the triangle. Around that I planted some of the iris, daylily and lily-of-the-valley from the thinning I did a week or two ago.  I also planted some of the paper white bulbs I got from my aunt over the summer.  There were a few bulbs that I found while taking out the weeds that I replanted and then a few more from the package I bought this year.  Wow!  Hopefully I will do something similar to the rest of the triangle area before it gets too cold.  

It doesn't look like a big area,
but it felt like it!

Other things I am happy for today:
 

• At first glance I thought the bird was a sparrow.  Zed pointed out to me the pretty yellow spots though and I looked up.  Lens thinks that the bird is a yellow-rumped warbler and a small search agrees that it is a warbler.

Yellow-rumped warbler.

• Keziah was hoping to sand and repaint some areas of the house where the paint is chipped.  Unfortunately, there was a bit more rot than anticipated.  The happy part of this is the tiny bit of history.  According to the side of the house, it was built in 1745.  Some old nails have been pulled out!  There is a door that was used as a wall too.

Keyhole in the former door.

Mostly nails made by a blacksmith.

• The sunset and the crescent moon that followed were both lovely.

☮

Currently reading: Mount Washington A Guide and Short History, by Peter E. Randall.

Thank you for being part of my happy things. Stay safe.

                                  

Mount Cardigan--Too Many Pictures

 One might expect to always need a sweater atop Mount Cardigan.  Today the weather was lovely with sunny skies and me, regretting the long sleeved shirt I was wearing.  According to wikipedia, the mountain is named after the fourth Earl of Cardigan, the sweater after the seventh Earl of Cardigan.  Therefore, as one may expect, the mountain came before the sweater.  As one may expect from my tone, it was a good day, with good exercise, fresh air, beautiful fall foliage, and great company.  Here are some happy parts of the day:

•   With the parking lot still in view, there was a small pond that reflected some of the day's colors.

• We didn't take the direct route to the top.  Each of us ended with a different mileage total, but we took a trail that was most likely less steep, and took us to three different peaks: South Peak, Mt. Cardigan, and Firescrew.

• The higher we went, the more colorful the views.  These pictures do not display the colors as well as the experience.

This is a view of Mount Cardigan from the trail. 
We still had a ways to go.

• Some of the forested areas were moss covered and green like the following picture.  It left a fairytale, mystical feeling.  Other areas are mostly deciduous or evergreen.  There was quite a bit of rock to scramble along, too.

The old and the new.

• We paused for lunch with a view of the town of Orange, NH.  Most likely the mountains in the distance are in Vermont, the rest are New Hampshire.  

• Eventually we made it to the top of Mount Cardigan and the fire tower.  Since trying to get to as many of the fire towers in NH is a goal of mine, I walked the few stairs up to look around.  

Almost there.

A plaque attached to the tower.

View.

The geological marker was found!
Many thanks to my companions for becoming 
contortionists to get this picture!

• The hike down was along the opposite side of the mountain.  We survived the rock scrambling and muddy areas with only minor injuries.  

The view of the tower from the other side.

We think the large black birds in the distance might be ravens.

It is also possible that I want to see ravens and they are vultures...

I was liken' the lichen on this rock.
I'm pretty sure the rock was quartz.

The signs on the trees are...humorous.

• Eventually we made it down, safely.  It was a long, nearly perfect, day in the mountains.

View from the car ride home.

☮

Currently reading: Mount Washington A Guide and Short History, by Peter E. Randall.

Thank you for being part of my happy things. Stay safe.