Traditionally, this is the time you may see faeries. On the summer solstice, we stay up late because this is the longest time of daylight in the year. This Midsummer's Eve, my family harvested the sweet black raspberries that grow in our woods. I suspect the bees may have had something to do with the massive amounts of juicy ripe berries tempting us to delve ever further into the thorns and poison ivy. Wild berries do not yield their treasures easily. They are guarded by fierce mosquitoes, cruel thorns, and weedy neighbors. Yet to the intrepid, they are full of sweetness, such beautiful temptation that you stain your lips and fingertips dark purple. A day or two before, Faerygirl and I brought home over three quarts of hard-won juicy goodness. Ice cream topped with black raspberries and smoothies soon followed. Delicious!
This is also the time of lilies in the garden. Their bright colors and bold shapes remind me of stars or fireworks. I love the spiky yellow ones; my children like the ruffly pinker ones. My mother-in-law collects daylilies like some people collect knick-knacks, and I am the blessed recipient of several fabulous varieties from her garden.
This season has been quite hot and humid, unseasonable (as has been much of the year). It seems to me that everything in nature is happening about a month earlier than it used to. We've had terrific thunderstorms, and the puddles are full of tadpoles and mosquito larvae. Squirrelboy is keeping a few tadpoles as pets.
Dragonwood will start showing up at the Farmer's Market in July, so this month is full of creative work. Faerygirl is making new faeries to sell, and I am busy harvesting, drying, and mixing herbal products. Look for our goods at the Kokomo Farmer's Market. We'll have honey, too.
The Lord of Dragonwood has hired a young man to help with all the work required to build our Manor. Together, they are priming and texturing the drywall in the upper part of the house. It looks so beautiful. Soon, the Lord and I will be picking out colored paint! This is quite exciting, especially for the children. Their rooms will be done first!
Showing posts with label berries. Show all posts
Showing posts with label berries. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Friday, May 15, 2009
Nature Journal, The First Year (2005)
Here are the pages of my nature journal from the year we moved into Dragonwood.
Autumn Equinox, Sep.22
Saw beans harvested today.
September is the time of berries.
False Solomon's Seal - red, they start out pale and turn wine-red at the end of the stalk.
Solomon's Seal - blue-black, all along the stalk.
Jack-in-the-Pulpit - bright red clublike clusters, no leaves.
Acorns and hickory nuts are falling. Squirrels scramble among the trees. Yellow and brown leaves fall to the driveway. Still, there's lots of green in the tree canopy.
The sun in the morning makes the East stide of the tree trunks glow orange.
Kitty keeps catching mice.
Mist/Fog embraces us in the morning.
September 25
Rain all day. Really pouring tonight. More yellow and brown leaves fall. The huge pawpaw leaves glisten, water falling from their dark green surfaces. We harvested and ate their fruit earlier this month. The fruit drops when it is greenish yellow and quite soft. Mice have been coming into the house in droves. I haven't seen or heard the wrens for a while. We still hear the owls, though. Temperatures are predicted to drop. No Daddy Long-legs in the house any more. Still lots of moths. Lacewings, too. A squirrel was swinging from the branches out back. All this rain makes the earth a muddy mess. Burrs are brown, small, and harder to find. Still some mosquitoes, though fewer.
September 28
Took a walk last night with [Faerygirl] and [the Lord]. Ate small soybeans from an unharvested field. Milkweed pods along the ditch - not open yet, though. Bright star/panet low in the Western sky. Crickets chirping in a different, softer tone than summer. Very cool in the night, but in the woods it is still and warm. [Faerygirl] caught another walking stick, skinny and in its dark lacquered-brown phase. Much of the field is brown and dry, although there are still a few plants flowering here and there.
More oak leaves are falling to the driveway now. The diversity of fallen leaves increases daily.
Skies are still my favorite crisp blue. Saw a white roundworm in a puddle.
October 6
Saw a tree tipped with red yesterday. Can smell skunk in the woods. Field mice invading my home. Kitty had 2 last night. Virginia creeper turning red. A few trees are almost bare. Hickory nuts hang precariously in trees. They drop to the ground, crashing like mini bombs. Chipmunks and squirrels are quite active. Bees are meaner. Saw a huge fox on my way home last night. Mournful sounds in the air - owls like harbingers of bad news, coyote howls like lost souls, nervous crickets forecasting their end. Weak crane flies observed. This is the time of the spider. The beasts are becoming more competitive, more saveage, eager to protect themselves against the ravages of Winter.
October 16
The pawpaw trees/bushes are turning yellow. There are more trees crowned with yellow and red all about the countryside. Most of the fields are now harvested. Cooler temperatures, but pleasant and appropriate for Fall. Much of the undergrowth is dry and withering. Nuts continue to fall heavily. We still hear owls at night and squirrels chattering in the daytime. I've seen more beasts crossing the road - deer, possums, coons, foxes. Milkweed seeds fluff out - here they grew near the thistle patch. The woods is warm at night - warmer and stiller than the fields at night. When the wind blows from the North, we feel the "breath of the Dragon." Gleaned corn and husks (for corn dolls) from the harvested fields.
November 3
The field out back was harvested last night. It's one of the last cornfields to go. Maple trees are ablaze with yellow, some tipped with red. Not too many nuts now - they've all been "squirreled" away. Big deer tracks in the dirt lead from the woods to the field. Mornings are dark. The sun goes down about 5:30 P.M. But the stars are brilliant. Venus appears low in the west, Mars comes out low in the east. Last night, an owl hooted frantically. There are still green leaves among the yellow and brown undergrowth, usually low to the ground. Still some insects on warm days - lady beetles, yellow jackets, flies, and mosquitoes. Driveway is BEAUTIFUL, paved with fallen leaves.
Autumn Equinox, Sep.22
Saw beans harvested today.
September is the time of berries.
False Solomon's Seal - red, they start out pale and turn wine-red at the end of the stalk.
Solomon's Seal - blue-black, all along the stalk.
Jack-in-the-Pulpit - bright red clublike clusters, no leaves.
Acorns and hickory nuts are falling. Squirrels scramble among the trees. Yellow and brown leaves fall to the driveway. Still, there's lots of green in the tree canopy.
The sun in the morning makes the East stide of the tree trunks glow orange.
Kitty keeps catching mice.
Mist/Fog embraces us in the morning.
September 25
Rain all day. Really pouring tonight. More yellow and brown leaves fall. The huge pawpaw leaves glisten, water falling from their dark green surfaces. We harvested and ate their fruit earlier this month. The fruit drops when it is greenish yellow and quite soft. Mice have been coming into the house in droves. I haven't seen or heard the wrens for a while. We still hear the owls, though. Temperatures are predicted to drop. No Daddy Long-legs in the house any more. Still lots of moths. Lacewings, too. A squirrel was swinging from the branches out back. All this rain makes the earth a muddy mess. Burrs are brown, small, and harder to find. Still some mosquitoes, though fewer.
September 28
Took a walk last night with [Faerygirl] and [the Lord]. Ate small soybeans from an unharvested field. Milkweed pods along the ditch - not open yet, though. Bright star/panet low in the Western sky. Crickets chirping in a different, softer tone than summer. Very cool in the night, but in the woods it is still and warm. [Faerygirl] caught another walking stick, skinny and in its dark lacquered-brown phase. Much of the field is brown and dry, although there are still a few plants flowering here and there.
More oak leaves are falling to the driveway now. The diversity of fallen leaves increases daily.
Skies are still my favorite crisp blue. Saw a white roundworm in a puddle.
October 6
Saw a tree tipped with red yesterday. Can smell skunk in the woods. Field mice invading my home. Kitty had 2 last night. Virginia creeper turning red. A few trees are almost bare. Hickory nuts hang precariously in trees. They drop to the ground, crashing like mini bombs. Chipmunks and squirrels are quite active. Bees are meaner. Saw a huge fox on my way home last night. Mournful sounds in the air - owls like harbingers of bad news, coyote howls like lost souls, nervous crickets forecasting their end. Weak crane flies observed. This is the time of the spider. The beasts are becoming more competitive, more saveage, eager to protect themselves against the ravages of Winter.
October 16
The pawpaw trees/bushes are turning yellow. There are more trees crowned with yellow and red all about the countryside. Most of the fields are now harvested. Cooler temperatures, but pleasant and appropriate for Fall. Much of the undergrowth is dry and withering. Nuts continue to fall heavily. We still hear owls at night and squirrels chattering in the daytime. I've seen more beasts crossing the road - deer, possums, coons, foxes. Milkweed seeds fluff out - here they grew near the thistle patch. The woods is warm at night - warmer and stiller than the fields at night. When the wind blows from the North, we feel the "breath of the Dragon." Gleaned corn and husks (for corn dolls) from the harvested fields.
November 3
The field out back was harvested last night. It's one of the last cornfields to go. Maple trees are ablaze with yellow, some tipped with red. Not too many nuts now - they've all been "squirreled" away. Big deer tracks in the dirt lead from the woods to the field. Mornings are dark. The sun goes down about 5:30 P.M. But the stars are brilliant. Venus appears low in the west, Mars comes out low in the east. Last night, an owl hooted frantically. There are still green leaves among the yellow and brown undergrowth, usually low to the ground. Still some insects on warm days - lady beetles, yellow jackets, flies, and mosquitoes. Driveway is BEAUTIFUL, paved with fallen leaves.
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