garden

A Nice Start to the Season

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The first day of Autumn is here and signs of it are starting to show up around. There are hardly any birds around and the night songs of critters are slowly dwindling, and the Katydids are gone. Squirrels are busy and the nights are becoming cooler, nice crisp air that I love for certain. The not so welcomed critters will be here as well, stink bugs and the large migration of Japanese lady beetles. That is one thing I certainly dislike about the season.

A nice start to the season that I have been waiting for a few years now has finally materialized, and that is the harvesting of grapes from our one and only grape vine. For me, this is significant because I bought the lonely plant at Aldi’s at half price and almost dead. I just wanted to give it a chance. I planted it and it took well. The first year it just grew and spread its branches, the next year a few single grapes showed up but nothing to hope for, and on the third year a significant number of grapes hung from its large and steady branches; however, as they grew and matured approaching harvest time, all grapes disappeared overnight. I blamed deer but we had a fence. My neighbor was disappointed as well because we were waiting to taste the grapes. My husband and I decided to trim the plant all the way and retrained it to get it away from the fence. That meant another year without grapes. This year, I could see all the grapes, tons of them, and I was fearful that what had happened once would be repeated. I kept tasting them every few weeks to be sure when to pick them, but I missed the perfect timing, after all, it was my first time harvesting grapes. I skipped a few weeks of tasting grapes, and in the process, I lost a ton of them that were ready, many. However, the wasps, bees, and butterflies have been enjoying the mushy grapes, and not all was lost because the vine produced so many grapes that we were still able to collect a wheelbarrow full. We rinsed the grapes three times and kept a large bowl for us and gave the rest to my sister and neighbors.

I learned a few things during the process: never give up on a plant just by looks, it was an exercise in patience, butterflies love grape juice, who knew? Expect to deal with many different critters during harvest, and mushy fermented fallen grapes smell like strong wine. It was certainly an interesting process. My sister tasted the grapes, and she said that the taste was similar to Chateau Morrisette wine, which she loves. She got the largest bag of grapes, of course. Here are a few pictures of the little vine that could.

Early beginnings (photo by M.A.D.)
Growing and becoming stronger (Photo by M.A.D.)
Each year it grew fuller (photo by M.A.D.)
Starting all over, being retrained (photo by M.A.D.)
A “deer” fan (Photo by M.A.D.)
Finally, grapes galore! (Photo by M.A.D.)
Despite losing a large amount, we were able to collect five large pots of grapes. (Photo by M.A.D.)

In hindsight, I also learned that one’s life is a bit like a grapevine. I hope you enjoyed this post and that it inspires you to plant a tiny grapevine.

Trail Bling

/ inkspeare
The Mr. decided to do a little garden project on the side by using parts from a damaged string of solar lights. He recycled the bulbs and made some wire hooks. (Photo by M.A.D.)
He hung the colorful bulbs along the trail in our property. It is a little colorful surprise to be found. (Photo by M.A.D.)
I was very pleased with this magical bling. (Photo by M.A.D.)

Fixing Up an Old Farmhouse Garden

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Following up on the previous blogpost about sprucing up the front entrance. Although there is much more we would like to do with the entrance area as far as adding more color with plantings, it has proven to be a bit challenging due to being a shaded area; however, we have managed to transform it from a messy and unruly, full of weeds area, to a rest area with a little bench, a few plantings and garden decor, as well as solar lights. It has taken some time and effort, but I am loving the result so far. One thing that I needed to add to this area was a sign with the name of our home, Black Crow Cottage. My husband recycled and repainted an old metal sign that I thought had no more life to it, and I was able to use it in a new way. I am so glad he did. It adds charm and sweetness to the entrance.

Black Crow Cottage was named after the many crows that live and nest here. I love them. Photo by M.A.D.

The front area of the property was covered in tall grass and some overgrown bushes intertwined that we had to remove. I was able to plant some free trees from The Arbor Day Foundation and after a few years they have grown well and are beautiful. To get the trees, I sent a small donation, and they sent me 10 dormant trees suitable for my area. Here is their website – Arbor Day Foundation. When I first saw the dormant trees, I did not know what to expect, and I thought these were dead sticks. After reading the instructions, I learned that these sticks were actually dormant trees that would come to life when planted properly. I planted them and watered them for the first two years, and they are lovely now. Of the five planted, I only lost one, the Dogwood tree. I gave five to my sister, which she planted in her previous home. The Crape Myrtle was the first one to bloom and the fastest to grow. The other grew at a slower pace, but steady. This year, the Hawthorn bloomed for the first time, and so did the Redbud tree. The Lilac bush has not bloom yet, but I read that it might take 5-6 years for it to bloom. Here is a picture of these lovely trees.

From left to right: Hawthorn, Lilac, and Crape Myrtle. The tiny tree closest to the red-light post is a small Christmas tree that I planted last Christmas. (Photo by M.A.D.)
This lovely Redbud surprised me this year by blooming allover before putting out its leaves. Photo by M.A.D.

For those new to this website, here is a picture of the front entrance area when we first bought the place.

This was the front entrance before, when we first saw the place. The driveway was completely covered. It was a real mess that required vision, and the grass was very tall, up to my hips. (Photo by M.A.D.)

I wish to be able to see these trees when they become majestic and full grown. It will take years, but I am willing to wait. I hope you enjoyed this update.

Lovely Autumn

/ inkspeare

We are starting to see more colors around here; we are at the border between Virginia and North Carolina, rural at its best, in my opinion. For nature lovers, the area is bliss, not so much for city lovers or lovers of entertainment; everything is far away. But there is magic in this season, in the air, and in the beauty of the natural surroundings. I have decorated the outdoors with nature’s offerings to receive the season.

Oh, the loveliness (Photo by M.A.D.)
Find the bird. Not sure why my phone took this picture of my backyard like this; looks like a painting. (Photo by M.A.D.)
Certainly, the tiniest frog around here; it is as big as that bolt. I relocated her to a nicer place in the garden. I love frogs. (Photo by M.A.D.)

Gourds, hydrangea cuts, and mums.

Photo by M.A.D.
Photo by M.A.D.
Photo by M.A.D.
Photo by M.A.D.
Photo by M.A.D.
Photo by M.A.D.

Hope you enjoy the pics.

Love and Light.

Finding My Way Back, an Update (and books and roses)

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Finding my way back to my book in progress, The Girl Who Could Not Love, hasn’t been easy. I stopped. I tried. I stopped once more. I had to put it aside for some time despite wanting to continue writing it. Something was not right. It lay dormant, and eventually, I knew I had to come back to it. It has been on my mind all this time, morning, night, and in between; however, distant, but calling me. It is the book that begs to be written to a hesitant writer that has finally surrender to it. Whether to answer the call or not, is not important anymore; it is why. Why is this story haunting me? Why the fight between pen and heart? Why do I want to write this story? Why won’t the story quit? Why won’t I quit?

While reading Never Too Late (or was it Shine On? I read them back-to-back) by Claire Cook, I thought about something she mentioned. It is to ask yourself in the reinvention journey, but in her case while writing a book, what stands in the way of my protagonist? I asked that question about my novel, and my protagonist. The answer, me. I was standing in the way. So, I had to ask myself the question, and I got my deep-rooted answer. I am working on it.

In the meantime, I have been reading up a storm, some of which are these. I am currently reading It’s Rising Time by Kim Kiyosaki. I am enjoying this book very much. I like the writing style of Kim Kiyosaki; it is straight and to the point. So far, I think that this is a book that every woman should read. Next on the agenda is Life Glows On by Claire Cook. Her non-fiction books are straight from the heart and fueled by her experience, as a woman who reinvented herself.

Photo by M.A.D.
Photo by M.A.D.

The garden always calls this time of the year. About two years ago, I planted two tiny rose bushes. One of them, the red rose bush, has grown considerably when compared to the other, a pink rose bush. I planted these at the same time, and they have grown under similar conditions. Both were labeled miniature rose bushes. Just as people, they continue to grow at a different pace. Just like writer’s stories, they bloom and develop at different stages.

To the left, near the duck, the pink rose bush, and on the right, the red rose bush. Photo by M.A.D.
Red rose bush. Miniature? Not so much, but spectacular. Photo by M.A.D.

Miniature or not, both rose bushes have their own enchantment.

Farmhouse Projects – The Christmas Tree

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In a previous post, I mentioned twelve future projects we wish to be able to do around the farmhouse. The easiest one on that list is what I call The Christmas Tree. It was my husband’s project, and his obsession for a while. The Christmas tree is a young pine tree he was able to save when we took down a morass of weeds and overgrown bushes covering the front and part of the side of the property, near the entrance. He liked the tree, although it was in bad shape. I thought it would not make it because it had been sprayed by the city (or our electric company) with something they use to kill anything that would be a threat to utility cables. Although this tree was not nearby, when they sprayed some trees that were, some of this brew got on it and it burned some of the branches. The other trees dried up and died. Those were not on our property, but next to it. Once we had cleared out the bushes and weeds, my husband kept mowing around the tree, and trimming it. Eventually, he wanted to put white lights on it and make it a focal point. A few weeks ago, I noticed that the tree was looking much healthier, so I ordered solar lights for it without my husband knowing, as a surprise. It still has some brown spots and dead branches, but I think it will become a beautiful tree.

This weekend we were able to work on the tree. We even named it. We named it Christmas. Here are a few pictures of this first project.

First, we trimmed some dead branches and cleaned up the trunk a bit. You can still see some of the burnt branches.
We used some cinnamon color pine needles we collected, and used these as mulch around the base. We placed and secured the lights on top as best as we could and tested them for best sun exposure.
We took care of other chores until it became dark. It turned out to be a gorgeous sunset and evening.
And then we saw it happen; Christmas lighted up. It is a bit difficult to photograph all the lights because these do not light up at the same time. We used 200 white LED solar lights.

On Sunday, we visited it once more, and we love the way it looks. I think it turned out to be a very special tree. I think this tree found its purpose. As it becomes more beautiful with time, it will light up every night, and become a beautiful sight for those who pass by. Because we are not able to see it from home, we will visit it from time to time. I might place a bench nearby. Sometimes, things may look hopeless, but with a little bit of care and patience they turn out lovely.

A Garden at Rest

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The garden is ready to go to sleep, and it seems that the planting/harvest season went so fast this year. I am very happy with what the garden offered, and this year was better than last year. There were a few green tomatoes left in the vine, and the rest is done. I picked what was left on Saturday. It has been a bit cold, a bit early. Last year we lost tons of green tomatoes due to an early frost. Until next year.

Grape tomatoes were a plenty this year.
Yellow tomatoes did very well too this year.
I grew these potatoes in pots; it worked.
This year I learned that potato pants are gorgeous when they flower and more beautiful when they produce this green fruit (poisonous) that looks like a green grape tomato. The seeds inside can be planted ahead of time to grow the plant, but it takes much longer for a potato plant to produce from seed than if planted from the tuber/eye. Who knew?
The last two pumpkins.
The first two pumpkins.
The largest pumpkin we picked sits in the back. I think is the nicest one. We only got two cantaloupe, which we picked a few days early but turn out delicious. First timers.
The birds were lucky this year. They enjoyed the sunflowers, and I collected tons of seeds for them. I saved a bag for planting next year.
A round patch of a different type of grass seems prominent this year. I like it.
These colorful beauties are still in bloom and the butterflies are loving them. These get many winged visitors.
Finally, a better picture of a cardinal. These were hard to photograph. They don’t stay put for long.
A happy visitor who sometimes makes his rounds around the garden. I think he belongs to a neighbor, as I always see him coming from the direction to her house.
A little bird makes friends with a scarecrow. I was lucky to take this photo.

As the garden gets ready to rest, I will be ready for cleanup and ready up for next year plantings. We have enjoyed many blessings from it, and I could not ask for more. Happy Harvest!