Gemini Skies’ Blog

HALLOWEEN

 

 

 

 

 

 

I tried to catch as many  of us I as could here. A lot of folks brought grandparents along, which is so nice.  What's that again about Socialization?!

 

To make up for my lack of  posting, I offer these pix from our hser's knitting group today. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It's been crazy -busy here, and I have not been able to get to blogging. The update is that we now have 8 chrysalises. One little caterpillar died early in it's formation of his chrysalis.  We were sad about that.  A couple of the geezers crawled out of the tank, but when A was counting, she noticed two were missing. She found one on the floor in the dinning room and scooped him/her back up.

 

The second was found on the piano. We popped this one back into the tank with his mates and within 3 hours,  it began to change. The rest seem to also be doing ok. I'll try to post more pix soon.

 

 

Second caterpillar, to the left of the current chrysalis,  gets into form.  It's 7:30 on Friday night. Check back tomorrow.

 

 

 

Here (right) you can see a small caterpillar on a milkweed stem with her recently shedded skin in front of her. Click on to enlarge--it's not a bad pic.  They eat these, btw. Pretty yummy, no?  

We took this photo last night around 10.

 

 

 

 

 

We woke to this.

 

 

 

 

 

 

A writing about the caterpillars in her journal.

 

 

 

Here are a few pictures from the N's place this past May. I forgot my camera yesterday when we hsers met to knit . Knit we did, with some children sewing or doing needlepoint,  but the pull to play outside is always intense there.  Ropes hang from trees, the fields go on and on, the chickens cluck, and this time there were so many Monarch caterpillars munching through a pasture of milkweed you could almost hear them. It was the nicest afternoon, the sort that sustains me.  Friends, nature, chunky woolen yarn, good conversation, emotional generosity,  and the joy of watching the children play so happily together.  I can't get enough of it all, and yet it is enough; more than enough. 

 

We brought a few caterpillars home along with lots of Milkweed. One caterpillar, the fattest, has already hung upside down in a perfect J. It's tiny head moves a bit. Tomorrow there should be at least one chrysalis. Isn't that amazing?  Stay tuned.  

 

 

It's not fall until it's fall.  The calendar says Sept 11, and that's summer.  My schoolers are back at school, but my hsers and I are trying to eek out more  summer.  That my poor sons have had to start school still does not mean Summer Is Over,  hear?  Z left with his class this morning for a week in Maine. It'll feel like fall there; he even had to bring long johns and fleece.  He will be out and about in nature, camping, canoing & cooking food with fire. That's pretty cool for a school boy, so I am looking at that as a bit of a reprieve from the schedule grind.  N is back with a blast with homework and projects already due. Still, that doesn't change nature. There are new yellow blossoms on my tomato and cucumber plants. Green beans are growing, & the lettuce, happy with the cooler nights of late summer, is taking off. 

 

 Yet A did decide that it was time for our nature table to change seasons.

 

I tried to talk her out of it-- showing her the calendar, telling her the first frost date was not expected until later in October,  but she found a few acorns strewn around outside and that was enough information for her. She removed the blue & pink silks and replaced them with dark green and soft orange. Stored now are the shells, beach glass,  and a perfect Monarch butterfly we found so still outside. Out came the acorn fairies and Indian corn. One of our pumpkins survived the squash worms and was able to ripen. It's there as well, looking very nice.  It's a great little cooking pumpkin, but it's still not fall.

 

 

You understand that it's still summer, yes?

 

 

Here are some photos of that healthy garden. Of course, since we've been back, we've seen powdery mildew rear it's ugly head on some of the squash leaves. That's always upsetting, as it's just a matter of time--will the fruit finish growing before the plant dies? And lets not talk about those greedy worms enjoying my squashes. On the advice of my cousin Allyson, a fellow-organic gardener, I have managed to save some of  them by pulling up the whole plant--roots and all,  cutting the dead part of the stem off,  and then replanting it.  You can buy some time that way. It's sad when the butternuts dotting the garden floor are still too small  and unripe to harvest and you know those nasty worms are feasting. There is a lot of finger-crossing in organic gardening.

 

Whenever I get discouraged about the veggies pests, I look to my Hydrangeas. They are always soothingly beautiful. I can't get enough of them.  A friend once told me she thought they were 'too old -fashioned'-- I just can't wrap my head around how that's bad. Hydrangeas are so lush and full, and well, luscious. Those heavy globes, those colors, that greenery. The make lovely cutting flowers.  Does anything say summer in New England more than an overstuffed vase of Hydrangeas? 

A couple of years ago, we planted an Annabelle Hydrangea in honor of our youngest's birth.  It's done so well, and I am guessing it's because the child's placenta was the initial fertilizer. We couldn't decide what to plant,  and by the time we did,  she was old enough to help us dig up the soil for the root ball.  Basically,  what I am saying is that I find gardening to be a spiritual endeavor. To that end, if we sell our house, that bush is coming with me. It will be in the Purchase and Sales agreement. The contract will also include the two Japanese Maples that got their start in health when I planted the boys' placentas under them. They look fabulous as well. So, have a homebirth, welcome a child, plant a garden.

 

Are you tired of seeing this picture yet?  I'm not, so here it is again. We were able to take a whole week together as a family with no outside demands.  Getting everyone free for that amount of time was not unlike hearding cats. N had traveled to various parts of the US and Canada for over a month preforming with a scholastic Jazz  group, and H has been traveling a bunch with his new job. I was thrilled when they could clear their calendars so we could have some fun as a whole family.  The younger children, especially little brother Z, were excited to have big brother to themselves.

Instead of going away and having to deal with boarding the dogs,  and needing to arrange for someone to come in and feed the cat (not to mention watering the garden), we decided to take day trips and mostly come home at night. This worked out well. As A said in the car one afternoon, "This is the best vacation ever. We get to mostly sleep in our own beds, we don't have to miss our dogs or cat,  and we are doing fun things!". 

This was said as she held a fist- full of some candy the kids loaded from the 'penny' candy shop in Chatham village. 

Potential dental and blood sugar issues aside, I had to agree with her. It was nice to come home to the animals, lovely to sleep in  our own beds after long, fun days, and the garden stayed healthy.