Mild Winter Ahead, Says the Woolly Bear

 

Here in North Carolina, the woolly worm forecasts our winter, and this furry guy that my son and I discovered crawling up the side of our house had a wide brown stripe in the middle that told us not to go buying any new sweaters or socks. Now the black stripes, they told a different story. They said the winter would be pretty dull if I didn’t invite you to come see me at my new blog: Three Dreaming Trees I’m just getting started with it, so some Ladybug reader mojo would do it (and me) good. Peace out! C.

 

Goldfinch Gloria

I haven’t seen goldfinches in my yard in over three years. Three! But two weeks ago, 19 days to be exact, two came back like angels out of ether singing “Gloria.”  No exaggeration:  I’m taking their return as a sign beyond a turn of seasons, and their message is akin to time is nothing to fear; it passes no matter what and something gone today is not to mean it’s gone forever.  So today, on what my three-year-old declared “a nice, beautiful day,” I took the long way around the mossy side of the house instead of following the sidewalk and drive to the backyard as usual, and my illusive little goldfinches didn’t hear me coming.  I inched in and focused, inched in and focused again, and I shot, and I got them–just American Goldfinches, but they fill me up with warmth. They are my Gloria.

Note to self:  walk barefoot on the mossy side of the house more often.

Kong’s Opera, Act I: The Longing Begins and Ends at Dusk

King Kong, our nocturnal, water-loving, F4 bengal cat surveys the glow filtering through the window and launches into an aria. Short, sharp mews first command our attention. Then a meow the length of our staircase beckons us to his perch. He’s insistent, melodramatic, tail up, fur on end, bowing, turning, pushing his head into our hands to commence the petting, the fawning. He sings for more, gripes if we stop, and we sing back. We’ve longed all day for this too. And then he has enough, or did night just overtake dusk? He darts off without a mew.

Taking Stock of What I’ve Got & Where My Garden Grows

The Making of a Garden

I’ve plotted out my new garden, drawn it on paper, seen it in my head.

I’ve pulled the weeds and crabgrass, laid the landscaping fabric, filled it with topsoil–thought I’d just add Worm’s Juice as I plant to nourish the seeds and roots–and I staked in a cedar border.

I’m going to make it mostly perennial with a birdbath by the steps and riverbed stones underneath and as a path to the spigot. Fringing the stones will be dwarf juniper for the redwing blackbirds then up front in the middle, blue flags on one end and tiger lillies on the other for spring, wild violets and cone flowers for summer, and between them and the porch lattice, hydrangea with blue balls, and maybe one white-flowered azalea, or maybe pink, just for fun.

And of course, a flag.

What I love about summer

Gummy bears and boat rides.

And my boy.

 

Raspberries in the Morning

 

My step-sister Morgan, getting her picking on.

You’re next, little red berry

 

My brother, Tim, Picking like a Pro

 

Plenty for all–family, friends, neighbors, and the local market

 

Meanwhile, growing in the next rows over…Cabbage, Pumpkin, Rye, and more Raspberries

 

 

Here comes mom to show us how it’s done.

 

Just Picked, and all for YOU!