A Productive Week

           Stuff got done around here this week and I would say it was a very productive week.

          One of the things we did, something that was long overdue, was make shelves in the lower barn. Someone, and I won’t say who, but someone has way too much stuff. Besides having the new shelves in the kitchen stacked with art supplies, my kitchen patio holds a fair amount of stuff as does my glass work counter in the kitchen, and don’t get me started on my original craft room slash library. Add to all of that the way back where stuff is stored, and down in Mike’s barn I have boxes of books, boxes of puzzles, boxes of reclaimed wire, and boxes of who-knows-what-all-else! It’s lived there for eight years. You can’t rush these things.

          Mike picked a week to start this project where the temps were in the 90s. We had a big industrial fan blowing on us and we only worked for a few hours in the morning. It took us about three days to complete. We had a couple of challenges along the way. The first challenge was just in getting started because all of the stuff was stacked in the corner where we wanted to build the shelves. It was a little tight working until we got the first shelf up and moved stuff up onto it and out of our way.

          We weren’t long into the project before we had a complaint from the power nailer. This guy started out hissing a small amount of air from the front where the nail comes out. Then it got louder and louder as more air started escaping and pretty soon it didn’t hold enough air to drive the nail the whole way in. Mike had to unhook the air hose and hook it back up every time he used it, then had to follow up with the hammer...

...every single time!

Ay-yi-yi! Talk about a pain! 

          We got the job done and now Mike can line up his equipment, nice and neat, just the way he likes it.

          I made a watercolor birthday card and found joy in painting again. Not a serious art piece but fun nonetheless.

           I finished the fairy houses for my beautiful sister Phyllis’ birthday and got them in the mail. She got them Friday, more than a month past her birthday. I gave them all stained-glass windows and put lights inside.

          Phyllis Face Timed me so I could watch her open her gifts. The first thing she pulled out of the box were two big gallon bags full of sugar cookies. “AHHH!” she exclaimed, opened a bag, and took a cookie out. “Mmmmm,” were the next sounds she made. Popping the last of the cookie into her mouth, she reached in and pulled out a bundle of bubble wrap. Loosening the tape, she unrolled the purple Lizard House. Turning it around slowly in her hands, Phyllis took in all the details I lovingly added to the sides and back. It tickled (and pleased) me that she didn’t rush it. When she got back around to the front, she took the top off, turned the fairy lights on, replaced the lid, held it up, and laughed with joy when the colorful windows lit up. “Pictures don’t do them justice,” she said.

          Phyllis went through the same ritual with each of the other two. “I’m going to put them right here on the porch where I can see them all the time,” she said.

          “Peg, why is the back of the green one so plain?” you ask.

          I don’t know. I guess that’s how it wanted to be because it never spoke to me to add anything else to it. I think Phyllis likes it anyway — and she can only look at one side at a time!

          I have an order for a fairy house and I couldn’t make just one. I like to either have people help me design their order or give them a choice. I found three jars of different sizes and glued my armature to the lids.

          “What’s armature?” you ask.

          It’s the framework you build onto. In this case, I used aluminum foil to build up the tops so it isn’t solid concrete clay. It not only saves on clay but it dries better, faster.

          For three days, after Mike was done working in the barn for the day, I made a batch of concrete clay and set to work on these — guys. I almost called them beauties, but that remains to be seen.

          It takes me about two hours to use up a batch of concrete clay. On the first day I made two houses and left them to dry. The next day I made the last house and two of the tops and left them to dry. The third day I finished everything up. I can’t handle them when they’re wet or I’ll mess them up. It was just safer to give them a drying day in between.  

          Sitting on the patio table were two fairy houses I’d started but never completed. One we’ll call the Balloon House and the other is the Tomato House.

          On the first day I didn’t have enough leftover clay to do much with so I just made shapes for the chimes I’m making, though they probably won’t chime.

          On the second day, with the leftover clay, I finished the Tomato House.

          “Why is it called the Tomato House?” you wanna know.

          It’s called the Tomato House because he started out life as a plastic container that held the little cherry tomatoes I use in our salads.

   

          I had a lot of leftover clay on the last day and that was a good thing. I needed a lot of clay to make the leaves for the top of the Balloon House.

          “Is it called a Balloon House because it started out with a balloon?” you ask.

          Boy! I can’t get anything past you guys! Yes, he started as a balloon and we’ll just have to embrace all of his wonkiness.

          All in all, I feel like we got a lot done this week.         

          Something else we did this week was make a shopping trip to Tunkhannock. I can’t believe the prices on pet food these days, not to mention that one little girl expects a new toy every time we come from shopping. At least half our bill was for dry cat food, pig ears, dog chews, and sunflower seeds for the birds. Oh, and let’s not forget the dog toy.

          I took road pictures.

          They’re resurfacing Route 6. All these trucks are lined up, waiting for their load of ground-up blacktop.

          Look how far they’re taking it down.   

 

          “I’d like to see an eagle today,” I said. All the times we’ve made this trip, I don’t think I’ve ever said that before, even though I look for eagles every time we make the trip. Just before we get into Meshoppen, I see a juvenile eagle sitting in a tree. I almost got my camera up in time and if I didn’t tell you it was a young eagle, you couldn’t tell from my photo!

          Anyway, they do live along the Susquehanna so maybe I’ll get another chance someday.

          One of our church peeps just bought a house right outside of Tunkhannock. “Let’s just drive past it and see what it looks like,” Mike suggested. I’m always up for new roads.

          We hadn’t gone very far when we came to a tree blocking the road. We’d had severe storms the day before and a lot of people were without power, including us. It was out for probably close to 24 hours.

          We made a detour, got around the downed tree, and saw Nick’s new house.

          “Nice!” I texted Nick. “When’s the housewarming? That way I can see the inside, too!”

          “I can’t even think about that right now until we get settled,” he said.

          More road pictures. 

          There’s corn left in the bottom of this silo and a flock of birds were helping themselves to whatever they could reach through the wires. Once again, I was slow on the uptake and missed capturing all the birds.

          We stopped at Kintner’s Old Mill and the basement is where they sell used furniture and other things. I glanced in a glass front china cabinet where books were stacked and this one jumped off the shelf at me.

         Kathryn Lynn Davis wrote a book called Too Deep for Tears. Kathryn Lynn was our Kat’s name and spelled the way her name was spelled. Too deep for tears is exactly what it’s like to lose a child, especially one named Kathryn Lynn.        

           My Gladiolus are blooming. I love the Glads! You’re supposed to take the bulbs out of the ground in the fall and replant them in the spring. This is the third year in a row that I’ve not done that and they’ve come back. We’ll chalk it up to mild winters.

          Mike took me on a golf cart ride to look for wildflowers. I spotted stuff I don’t have growing in my yard.

          Purple Loosestrife is blooming. It’s also called Blooming Sally, Long Purples, Purple Willow-Herb, and Rainbow Weed. 

In folk medicine it’s been used to treat diarrhea, including bloody diarrhea, and dysentery. Applied topically for conditions like eczema and varicose veins. Orally it was used for bleeding gums and gingivitis.

Knapweed is blooming. Other names are Hardheads, Blue Bottle, and Iron Kobs. This plant can be quite invasive, outcompeting native plants and disrupting local ecosystems.

Like many wildflowers, it had its uses. Externally, fresh or dried leaves and flowers were made into poultices and applied directly to bruises, sores, and scabs. This method helps to reduce inflammation and promote healing. They can also be made into an ointment or compress to soothe and heal skin conditions.

Bull Thistle is blooming. Once the flower is gone and the seeds are set, the beautiful Yellow Finches can be seen eating the seeds. We can eat some parts of the thistle as well but you gotta be careful. First year roots can be cooked and eaten, often mixed with other vegetables. Young leaves can be eaten raw in salads or cooked, but the prickles must be removed first. Young stems can be peeled and eaten raw or cooked. Similar to globe artichokes, the flower buds can be cooked and eaten, though they are smaller. And the seeds can be roasted and eaten. Bull Thistle is nutritious and contains several valuable vitamins and minerals including fiber, protein, phosphorus, magnesium, calcium, copper, and zinc. Those same vitamins and minerals are what makes it a good wound healer when applied to burns and sores as it promotes healing. A hot infusion of the whole plant is used as a herbal steam for treating rheumatic joints.

“Stop!” I said. “There’s another one I haven’t seen before!” Not before ever, just before this year. I recognize Bittersweet Nightshade with its small, star-shaped purple flowers, yellow centers, and the green berries that will eventually turn red as they ripen.

          Raini jumped off the cart with me and I don’t worry much about her. She won’t go far from me.

          Bittersweet nightshade is known by several other names, including Blue Bindweed, Felonwort, Poisonberry, Scarlet Berry, and Snakeberry. This one has also been used in treating several conditions in folk medicine but this plant is toxic, particularly the berries are poisonous if ingested, so my advice is leave this one alone.

          It seems like overnight the Goldenrod has started popping up all over the place. I like to crush the flowers between my fingers and take in its fragrance.   

Look at this poor guy. What has he gone through for his poor wings to be in such sad shape? His colors are fading but I believe he was — is a Pearl Crescent.

I recognized this one, too. I had one growing in my yard two or three years ago and I’ve not seen it since. This is a Monkey Flower.

          There’s a tiny little flower spider on it. See it? 

          That reminds me. I showed you a picture of round black spider I rescued from my bathroom and rehomed outside a couple of weeks ago. I said I didn’t think it was a Black Widow because I didn’t see the telltale red hourglass on it? Remember? Well, my most handsome brother David set me straight, let me tell you! “Peg, I think it is a Black Widow,” he said. “The red hourglass is on the belly.”

          Ay-yi-yi! I was handling a spider whose venom is reported to be 15 times stronger than that of a rattlesnake! Bites from these spiders are rarely fatal, especially in healthy adults. Even so, would I knowingly pick one up? I’m always careful when I relocate spiders because even nonpoisonous ones will bite if manhandled. Next time, I’ll find a container and move him.

          Let’s call this one done!

          Done!