The Hard Winter Into The Late Spring

Deer in Woods

While the East coast climbs out of a deep and heavy winter snow load, many people anxiously await the big melt that will officially start this late spring. The weather is milder but the white snow banks are still high enough to hide a view. We wait for rain as well as the sun to soften and lessen the snow. It is to be hoped that it will not result in too much flooding and come gently even if that means a little longer before we see the ground.

If we are suffering this long hard season, I imagine the wildlife have had a rough go of it. On the way back from the city a few weeks ago, I saw a number of large roadkill of deer and I believe a coyote or wolf. Anything moving before out in our fields has been absent for months and even the tracks we usually see from the night are much less in number. Yesterday we did herald our first herd of 9 deer walking the tree line in the back fields.They were a little thinner than I remember so that must tell of the hardship they experienced. Birds are just arriving in small numbers and I saw my first robin a few days ago near the front window. Definitely spring is coming and hopefully not too much longer. I felt guilty this last season so next season the birdhouse goes back up, maybe a bat house, and if the winter promises to be this hard again, maybe I’II invest in a few oats from down the road, to see the deer through the winter.

Plein Air of West River in progress

Speaking of the road, I made my first walk down the long drive and out to the road this week. The drive has been too icy for me to walk it as I recuperated this winter, and the road much too narrow for safety with the high and wide banks of snow. It is a freeing experience to get out and breathe the air and at least view a bit of the scenery over the banks. Soon I’II be able to go out for more walks, photoshoots, and plein air painting and experience the full summer again. It will be a special and noteworthy time for me and an appreciation only someone deprived two full warm seasons with health issues can understand. I intend to take in every bit of the summer and autumn this year and be out of doors often.

PLein air of West River Melt

This Isn't Winter

Slow Winter for Snow Lovers

It was a long summer for me and I spent it here on the acreage while I recuperated from cancer treatment. The few days I did manage a walk out on the road, I thoroughly enjoyed the slow pace of my life and the time it takes to just watch the land. I enjoyed our deer regularly visiting and the hawk hunting low over the fields, a few times near the front window. Alas, it was all a flash and too fast to get my camera. There were not too many other visitors that I saw in the day time, but I enjoyed the change of colours this autumn.

Now that I am on my way to health and strength again, I go out for the walks often. The weather is holding up well for my outings except for some rain We had a few storms that we blamed on the washouts on the drive. Then one day our neighbour came up to ask if we’d like him to remove the beavers. We had beavers and were not aware. Once he pointed out the lodge and lake growing in the distant field, we could see where our problems originated. With sadness we agreed something had to be done as the spring melt, once the snow came, would be a costly problem, not only for us. So far, two beaver have been removed and the other or others are putting up a fight. He says that they have become trap smart and were the same beavers moved from up the road. Although we like to live with those that were here first, living in the country can bring hard truths. It is to be hoped that it will end soon.

My first Drive

Meanwhile the grass still has some green to it, the hay lays low and yellow, and there is little to no white flakes as December folds into January. It has become colder this week, so maybe the snow is just ahead of us now. It would certainly brighten up the landscape and change it from the grays. The light though is great for photographs. There is an old barn just down the road that I have longed to photograph and looking at it this year, I best get out to it. The red paint is even more faded, the top hay door is now open to the weather and it seems to sag more too. The lighter winter may save it for another year yet, but I will take the shots soon while I await the snow.

Beavers overflowing brook

My first winter walk during chemo

Blessings of Good Weather

Though I haven’t been able to get about much this second session of chemo, it has been more pleasant in that it has given me more of the better days I was hoping for. With that, the weather also cooperated by providing a sunny warm autumn with cool light breezes. The colours have remained longer and the air so fresh, that each day that I did have strength to walk, I tried to get out as often as possible.

Away for the Season

With my previous idea of a photography show in mind, I finally found the correct settings and light to get the effect for the pictures that I had been practicing with several outings previous. I succeeded in getting a good motion blur and a handle of moving the camera, so that I was getting the pictures of things I found on the roadside during my walks. As I couldn’t really attempt long photo shoots and the woods, this has become my focus for now.

My Spouse in a Puddle

Meanwhile I am supervising the regular fall cleanup preparation for the coming cold months. Most of the actual work is done by my husband, who has been taking great care of me during my chemotherapy. We gathered all the figurines in the garden and washed them for storage. We dumped some flower pots as well and put them away. He continued the cleanup with repairs of gravel on the driveway ruts and will soon put the chains on the tractor and get out the blades. The first snowfall last year was the beginning of November. I will still be in chemo throughout November so hopefully a milder start can see me outdoors again for a few of those days.

We lost most of the summer this year but I have big plans for next year. I will be putting in my order at Vesey Seeds in the early Spring or sooner for more bulbs, seeds, two more apple trees, as well as visiting the local garden centres to fill my flower pots again. This year I plan to purchase the cloth to suppress the weeds around each bed. There will be an order of good soil and manure for such beds as I wish to build them in a higher mound. I intend to make up for the dismal display of our gardens in the next year as well as get the farmer in for more haying in the lower fields which require a larger tractor than ours to stay afloat in the wet areas. The biggest thrill will be that I will be able to participate in this venture once again.

Gravel for the Driveway

Our house in Autumn

Cooler Breezes Blow Softly

Cooler Breezes Blow Softly

High Hay

Spending many warm and hot days on the deck during convalescence this summer, had given me a new appreciation for the area in which I live. Gentle walks along the roadside while I build strength, marked by the distance I increased, gave me time to meet and talk with the neighbours as they gave their wishes for my recovery. It is indeed a good place in which we settled. Unable to assist my spouse in chores, i watched him take on more for my health’s sake. A great companion and caretaker he became or always was, and just needed a situation to show his strength and fortitude.

We didn’t make the mark in many chore areas what with travel and a lone worker. Not all the flowers survived in the beds as the weeds took over; despite his constant attempts to chase them as they grew. The hay could’t be caught and is very high in some areas and along the driveway. some of them are creeping into the drive narrowing it slightly. It’s amazing how nature tries to reclaim more land that we thought was our domain. The garden is finally coming after a slow start and some bug infestation. We are reaping the harvest now. 

Inside the house, it  still needs walls in the basement and shelving upstairs. But maybe the winter will see some work there. I am already coming back to help my husband with common chores so he will be able in the near future to concentrate on the chores that best suit him. Sharing will give relief to both of us. We plan on the next year to fix the things we couldn’t this season because of my health problems. The driveway will be renewed by our neighbour, the hay will be captured early on so the land will appear more groomed and I will be able to travel around the acreage and enter the woods once more. New soil brought in to rebuild the flower beds and more time to trim and weed will make a difference the next summer. I’m looking forward to all that next year with new ambition. 

Plein air Painting

But a trip to my oncologist has altered the chore plans for the time being. I am now in chemotherapy, and my spouse has been called on to care take some more. I have almost 3 months of chemo to take on and if this first session is an indication, I do believe that I will handle this new fight. The worst of it so far has been the chemo fog, the weakness and floating head. It is difficult to find the energy to do things and often I will lay down for part of the day. But all in all, not feeling too badly. Hoping as I come back up between sessions, that I can get some art work done. Meanwhile I’m trying to get in our walks when I feel up to it. There is different air I felt today, as the breezes blew through the trees. Actually in the woods the trees were quite loud while the road breezes were softer. All down the lane crickets were singing loudly. I almost expected a swarm to fly out of the hay. I enjoy getting out of the house and taking these slow walks now.Looks like I will be enjoying the autumn changes close to hand for the next few months. Autumn is my favourite time with the colours and the cool air.

For now I am looking forward to autumn walks, trying some photography on the walks, and enjoying the cooler breezes already creeping in this week. Christmas offers new hope and a new enthusiasm, already with plans in the making. News of my son returning home for Christmas will be the highlight, but any Christmas this year will be very special to me.

Roadside Panning Photography Project

Recuperating in Heavenly Bliss

My Healing chair

Healing from my surgery this month has given me plenty of time to take each day and enjoy the surroundings of our acreage we built on three years ago. With my strength limited and my arms needing caution to heal, my husband has taken on many of the projects plus my care during this period. We almost saw the land go back to the virgin fields as he tried to keep up with the growth that the early wet weather and the full sun temperatures brought this month. It is green and lush all around us and over the hills. The hay took off along with the weeds and clover , with my husband chasing behind on the tractor. He hasn’t quite caught up to the growth so we have just left some natural areas which the wild life and birds will savour. A few of my flowering plants will be lost to the weeds with my inabilities to tend to them. He has made a good attempt to save some of them. Plans are now being thought to begin again next year with greater ideas and numbers.

My daughter’s garden also fell back with the onslaught of a bug that attacked last year. She got control of it then, but may not recoup that part of the garden this season. She is not the only gardener to suffer lost here from that bug. We will have some vegetables though and will attack the garden preparations next year as well. There is always next year and with next year, greater plans are made.The weather this month has been fabulous and a boon to me for sitting out on my deck and recuperating.

Walking for Health

The deer, plentiful in the area, hasn’t visited our fields as much this season but I expect them back in the fall. We have a busy porcupine behind the garage area which waddles out in the early evening and we watch for a skunk that got a little to handy under our deck. He hasn't returned but I cautiously step out in the evening with some noise to urge him away. Meanwhile we watched a raccoon take down the bird feeder and damage it beyond repair. He had climbed the pole and was hanging off of it attempting to get into the seed. I think he was back for the com poster recently and before that a bear was spotted in our driveway. He made quite the mess in a full com poster bin.

High Hay

The neighbour has some apple trees and wild roses growing on her property. She told us she cleared a path from our line into her gardens so that I could walk and enjoy her area. This kindness has me looking forward to the venture as soon as my husband attaches the bush hog back on the tractor. He hadn’t cleared our side to her path yet and I’m not prepared to navigate the six foot high hay. When he clears I will enjoy the walk and my daughter will enjoy collecting the apples this fall. I will also enjoy some plein air around the property when my strength increases and my arms are ready for the activity. While I continue my cancer procedures, I have a few more fine weather months to enjoy the 49 acres of heaven.

My Studio sign in Growth

Late Summer Start

Spring has moved into summer officially by date, but the weather hasn’t taken note of the change over. Except for a few days where sitting out was a fine event, it has been raining and the temperatures dropping at night. Plants and flowers have been slow to sprout but the tress are a flourish with greenery. Of course the fastest growing plant on our acreage turned out be the hay crop. The hay is not a crop anymore as it is filled with weeds but can grow very high and swallow up our horizon. The constant rain and even thunder showers has prevented bush hogging so we are late getting to the cutting. We have one section completed and now the lawn area is growing and the whipper snipping on the edges hasn’t been taken care of  because of the delays. If the sun would come out and celebrate the summer arrival, the catch up wouldn’t seem to be so tremendous while we soak up some rays.

The garden begins

First flowers in hospital

George lost in hay

The garden was also late in the planting with frost warnings hanging on well into the season. My daughter got her plants in finally and is still planting when she saw that the click bugs that harassed her root crops last year had returned with vengeance. Trying to remain with an organic garden I think she has resolved she may need some stronger attempt at ridding them this season. She has removed the sweet potatoes which seem most vulnerable and planted them in bins. It is to be hoped that she can beat this attack of nature as she did last year and see some successful growth.

I didn’t get as many flowers out this year. The garden plot in front of the house suffered from ice as it was more concave than a mound. Some bulbs and seeds are coming up now but the middle area will probably have to be dug up and have soil added and replanted. Whether there will be time for that is questionable. I suspect with me recuperating from surgery and unable to help, we may be waiting for next year to repair this winter’s damage. I did mange to get some pots of flowers planted before going to surgery and they have bloomed to my expectations. They are giving me pleasure during my three weeks into my convalescence. I know next year will be a more fruitful time for the bushes and flowers when I come back to the gardening. Meanwhile I enjoy watching the tractor work in the fields and wait for my daughters produce from the garden.

Ready for July 1

9 Days and Counting

9 Days and Counting

lobster boats in

Sitting out on my deck yesterday was a treat that I’ve been looking forward to all winter long, as well as  through the wet spring. Finally the sun and warmth is here. The garden and flowering plants are late though because of the unusual cold and wet we’ve been having. There isn’t time left for me to do the gardening that I look forward to at this time. I’m not sure if the rain has delayed my flowers and bulbs or the are just not ready. Therefore I have to wait longer to see if some of my planting will be redone. I did have my seasonal lobster feed already, thanks to my daughter.

I only have 9 days left for any work and then I am in surgery for a full double mastectomy. It’ll be weeks after before I can do much physical activity. The first two weeks I can’t even make the bed. I can’t paint. I could do some light drawing if paper is in my lap and my arm isn’t held upward. I can get my coffee or even try washing a few dishes. This activity helps my arm movement. Other than the exercises I will be doing I will be sitting a lot. I can walk a little ways in the second week so will enjoy getting out and about. I am so happy that the weather appears to be good this week before I go into hospital for about four  days and hope that it continues to shine on my return home. I’m counting on sitting on the deck, watching the family work, the birds fly, and any animal visitors. My artists colleagues promise to visit so I can look forward to keeping in touch with happenings in the area. 

horses in the field

It’ll be a long slow summer for me, not only for the surgery and getting my full range of movement back, but as of yet I don’t know if I shall be experiencing chemo or radiation. This could lead into the autumn. I do have my art work at a point that I can leave it until I’m back. I have some computer activities to do and to learn.  Mostly I will enjoy my place and recuperating in the prettiest area around.

Had my lobster feed