STAYCATION DAYS 3-4 (COPING)

We had a ferocious windstorm at bedtime last night. The bathroom door slammed. Papers flew. I got up, closed windows and put books in front of doors. As suddenly as the storm had come, it was all over, and the air was still, quiet, and heavy. Mike would have re-opened windows, but I decided I’d had enough of that game.

“I am the winds of change,” the wind howled. “You can’t fight me.”

 

I thought it might be cooler today, but it was 64 degrees as usual. We were a little late with our mailbox walk, and we all noticed the sun’s warmth. The breeze whispered what we know: “Change is coming – not today, not tomorrow – but soon. I carry autumn in my wings. I will shoo away the doves before the season opens.”

The farmers harvested grain yesterday on the fields that surround “Mailbox Corner,” and they will surely finish there today. They amble in at 9:00 or 10:00 a.m. and work late into the day if need be – so different from the harvest of yesteryear which began early and ended not later than dusk.

I didn’t pick hawthorn berries this morning. To tell you the truth, I’m a little tired of that, though the remaining berries do call my name. Yesterday I mashed and cooked the “haws” on hand and then strained for juice. My first batch was too dry, so I recooked with more water. I’m feeling my way along with the help of whatever advice I can find, and that’s not much. I have a plan for making the jelly, which is on the list for tomorrow.

Today is a work day. I washed two loads of clothes and ran the dishwasher. I re-made the guest bed – and transferred my projects from the sewing room to the guest room for re-organization.

Dog Update:

Keeping the dogs has been a little more challenging than I had hoped. Checking the woodshed (not my favorite place), I discovered that Bess had made a mess. The insulation and tarp that Mike placed over the doghouse had been pulled down and bits of insulation were everywhere. I also saw “little bits of black whatever” that made me think the monster had returned and was even bigger! However, it turned out that Bess had torn into Mike’s supply of clean wood shavings stored in a garbage sack. I cleaned it up.

Checking again last night (someone has to do it) I discovered that Bess had done it again. This time I put the shavings and the doghouse insulation where she couldn’t get to them (I hope). Then I realized that she probably wanted to be in the woodshed with Nellie but there isn’t room for her in the barrel. So, I carried her crate to the shed and left it open so that she has her own “space” if she wants it. No one whined at the door during the storm, so they must have been happy.

Checking on Bess after our walk this morning, I found her sleeping in the barrel. Mike’s will rearrange their accommodations soon.

[Photo 1) The farmhouse this morning, Aug. 12. 2) Looking across recently cut grain field; Central Ridge in distance. 3, 4, 5) Harvest photos. 6) Bess -- she's an angel when she's asleep.]