today was a good day

10.02.2009

yesterday was a perfect early fall day with crisp air and blue skies. i worked all day cleaning the garden up - finally giving up on the watermelons and ripping out the vines. on the edges of the garden in the field were wild carrots and tiny pearl like onions or chives. i bit into the carrot and found it to be sweet and fragrant. it was a pale naples yellow and about 2 inches long. today was overcast and cool. i walked to the creek bank thinking maybe i will use river rock to line some beds. on my way i stopped to admire three different species of lichen colonizing a dying white pine.

the fall asters are in bloom. there are large and smaller varieties of this color as well as tiny white ones with a crimson center. it was magical when the wind blew. leaves swirled all around me as i watched one silver maple leaf spiral down to earth at an impossibly slow speed.

the beetles and bees and hornets and all manner of flying insects move over blooms at a frantic pace; their nervous energy the counterpoint to the quiet of the forest today.

trout worked the wood lot by taking all the burn sticks out of the pile and into the field.

native rudbekia along the creek bank brightened the dark water below.

i found a door and two windows in town yesterday. the door is very heavy and i like the vertical window panes. the windows are the classic 6 panes also good solid heavy wood.

the hens had a big two days of free ranging. they sunned yesterday - but today they have stayed under cover scratching through thick layers of decaying leaves finding a good variety of protein. i love to find an old log to turn over for them, exposing soft pupae and nits of termites.

peggy jean and wren are my belgium antwerps, their little beards crack me up. they are the smallest breed i have but are the fastest. good thing too -they are on the bottom of the hideous system known as the "pecking order" and there is nothing to be done about it except "run for your life!". the barred rocks rule the nation of poultry because of their size and thick as a brick conformation. but Easter is the kingpin of the whole flock -she is the oldest and the best layer. someone else started laying too -but i dont know who!

along the roadside and in the ditches are falls perfect compliment of asters and goldenrod. the joe-pye weed and thistles are over and only a few queen annes lace can be found. i am seeing the first little bit of red in the foliage and dont know if it will be a spectacular color season or not.

i found a jack o lantern basket at the dollar store and bought it for the scarecrow. but i dont like this face. i want a menacing face and i really want to carve one. but it wont last. for halloween and day of the dead, i will and light up the inside to decorate the garden. i think i will invite some friends over for a bon fire, tortilla soup, and maybe even a few swigs of tequila.

Tonight i am going to the play at our tiny community theatre. the play is called "Art". Soon it will be time to prepare for the christmas play and i have already pledged to help create dickens' olde england for the tale of scrooge. i painted the castle for the play of narnia and really enjoyed it.

Tomorrow i think i am going to get up really early and do the farmers market 20 miles north of me. you have to be there by 7 to get a spot. I found some old round hat suitcases that i cleaned up and re-did the fabric inside to showcase my ornaments. they are awesome for transporting the fragile glass and also great for display. one holds the halloween designs, the other christmas. I will also have bantam eggs for sale tomorrow. they dont look good in regular egg crates -they are too small. so i package them in silver boxes and they look great. Its supposed to be bright and sunny tomorrow. i hope so. sunny and cool means a good farmers market turnout.

have a great weekend everyone!

26 comments:

  1. It does my heart good to get a glimpse into your Chicory World.

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  2. Forgot the "k" in Chickory.

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  3. life is good
    at chickory farms :)

    door & windows look great -- love that door /w vertical windows -- extreme cool factor there

    have fun at the market & have a great w/e

    × × ×

    /t.

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  4. love the door and windows!!
    love the other photos ..
    well, i just love this post.
    i'm glad you had a good day!

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  5. love LOVE that door. Is this the door for the shed or are you going to use it in a different way? Sounds like a fantastic day. And I hope Trout brought the sticks back!

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  6. Have a good Farmers Market day and it is good you now have the door and two windows for the shed, I have a good feeling that the rest of the construction materials will be in your path.

    I am tired of the pecking order thing though. Damn let's all just opt the hell out of it.

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  7. "Pale Naples" yellow? Looks like somebody's been partakng a bit too much of the Joy-Pye Weed.

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  8. It's HEAVENLY in you world! Have a good weekend hon.

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  9. Beautiful post Rotty. Can hardly wait to read the report and see the pics from the new market location. The door and windows look great! Kudos to you for gathering ALL the construction materials before the construction start. I almost snagged you a coupola the other day from a demolition site...but upon closer inspection realized it would be too large for the shed... and of course the weathervane was long gone :-(

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  10. these posts always make me happy.

    I hope your Saturday at the market was HUGE!

    xoxox.

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  11. I love your door and the windows,very nice, I have a thing for windows and doors, I have a file full of pictures of them...are these for your shed?
    Beautiful Trout, hen, forest and flower photos Chickory, the asters and rudbeckia are brilliant... it does my heart good to visit here, I always leave feeling happier. ♡

    Just got home about an hour ago, almost 2am here went to a party, had a great time. :)

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  12. shamu: i am glad and i regret deeply that our timing didnt work out. so many fresh things to show you. maybe next year?

    /t: yeah! and the carpenter came over today with the materials list for the basic structure and i think we are going to break grown next friday. i think i am going to use lapboard. and we are going to make a high pitch roof so i can have a little tiny loft i can lay in when the cabin is crowded.

    foamy: thank you! did you have a good day? i hope so with nosferatu lurking about last eve...

    pam: no trout doesnt bring the sticks back! she takes them out of neat piles and litters the field with them. gah! door is for the shed. it will have alot of windows that open on hinges.

    walking man: word to ya mother on that pecking order. it is very difficult to witness. i love the low hens best too. *sniff*. hope youre right on the materials i am running out of time.

    puerileuwaite: er, naples is a paint color. like butta. but i misspelled the weed...its joe pye weed and not recommended for twisting.

    dani you too beachy keen!

    fishy: gol-lee fishy. i sure wish you could guide me through this you have such a good eye and the experience. i cant find the right old wood! (so far) i am going to use barn tin for the roof

    boxer: not huge. worst money day ever. its slowing down. seems like fall would rock but no. i had a hard day. i accidentally chopped a toad in half cutting some tall grasses. it killed me. he was just in there minding his own business. and i lost a frog who lived in the garden. crushed! i. am. crushed.

    dianne: i too have a thing for windows and doors. you are so sweet to note all the pets. you would love it here i am sure.

    you went to a party!!! yay! i am so happy to hear that. i want to hear all about it. xoxox

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  13. you have no idea how much I understand your angst with the frog. It was an accident, but it would crush me too. Why don't people buy in September? Somebody told me the very same thing....are they saving for Christmas? Let's hope. xoxox.

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  14. boxer: then i went to hike on the mountain across the street and trout left me. i waited and when the giant beautiful full moon rose i gave up and went home. and waited. and she slunk home just now. gah! animal woes.

    but the frog -actually a toad. i was just looking at that head with his frown. you know his heart pumped for the longest time after. it was devastating. i had a garden toad and i killed him. *sniff*

    i think, maybe. maybe. the shed will be up by the time you get here!

    im going back out to the field tonight to look at the moon.

    thanks boxer. i know you know. ;-(

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  15. I know you're building this shed with found, free things but it still doesn't stop me from seeing stuff like this beautiful deep green double screen window and wondering how much it would be to ship it to Atlanta. And two more doors.

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  16. Chickory channels Annie Dillard!

    Does I ever more love hat scarecrow!

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  17. I said a little prayer for you and the toad last night. xoxox.

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  18. ahhhhh ... you accidentally killed a toad .. :(
    i know how you feel about that. i am never more devastated when i see a toad all flattened in our driveway ..

    i love our toads.

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  19. Aw, man, I'm so sorry about the toad! It sucks when critters get inadvertently killed. Two days ago, I spotted a big ol' bull snake sunning himself horizontally across the the road, just waiting for some dumb ass teenager or ignorant SOB to deliberately run him over. I pulled over to prod him across but he was so narcoticized by the sun, he wouldn't move. Finally, I had to pick him up. THAT pissed him off, but at least it got him moving.

    We got the purple asters bloomging themselves silly, too, in tandem with the early fall sunflowers. I call it the LSU bloom! Makes me incredibly giddy to see all that color.

    Wish I could drop on by Chickory to see all that you got going on . . .

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  20. Wonderful post! Love where you live. I'll be over for that soup and a few swigs. :) xox Pam

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  21. Oh my gosh, chickory - I am so sorry about the toad! I killed a toad gardening once - I swear it traumatized me for YEARS. It's just awful. God, pass the tequila.

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  22. Sorry about the toad. :( I hate when stuff like that happens. ((Hugs))

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  23. shamy: those items sound great. and perfect. i will have time to look for stuff. my schedule is backed up now.

    aunty: i wish! thats scarecrow has a dufus face. i need the evil pumpkin

    boxer: *sniff* thank you

    foamy: axed a potential prince. hate it.

    moi: come om down to chickory moi! id love to have you. im impressed you moved the snake. and i HATE when i see smashed snakes in the road.

    yoborobo: you be a great addition to the bonfire. you can bring your spooky creations. and thanks on the toad.

    dani: thank you. im still bothered by it. i cant forget his face.

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  24. A song popped into my head, can't remember who sang it, but here is the part the I remembered. "Oh what a pretty live you lead..."

    I hope it really is as good as it seems. From your writings and pictures, and some more survival based bloggers I frequent, I am getting excited about looking for my own little piece of heaven.

    Even if I never find that place, or am not able to afford it, at least I can go here and there and enjoy vicariously. Yeah, there is that. Thanks for sharing your pretty life. Though, I get the feeling that you don't need a man just to navigate your back yard? *smiles*

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  25. today was a good day. xoxo

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  26. beautiful ... my heart is happy because your heart is happy.
    xo les Gang

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