A Second Look, September 7, 2023

I have been Second Looking in my yard for a couple of weeks now, but am just getting around to posting some of what I saw. So with no further ado, here I go.

Allium. Early on, the allium had a bad case of black aphids. I managed to get rid of them, but they stunted the growth and blooms this year.

Abelia

The anemone is blooming about a month earlier than last year.

The surprise lilies are always a pleasant surprise.

After the white 4 o'clocks have been blooming for months, these pink ones bloomed. Another fun surprise.

A rare photo of a black-eyed susan before all of its petals are eaten. I just noticed it looks like it's growing out of a violet plant. :)

The fuss-free begonias continue to thrive along our front walk.

A bird-planted sunflower in a pot on our front porch.

Vincas and petunias in front of Ward's shop.

A broken limb on an apple tree. This is an old tree, and the first time it has produced more than a couple of apples since we moved in. Over the years, it has been limbed up, so most of the apples are out of reach. Now we have some easy picking. Unfortunately, the apples aren't ripe yet and won't get any sweeter. I see a lot of sour applesauce in our future.

The bees are enjoying rotten pears. The whole area smells like fermenting fruit.

A rare sighting of a native ladybug on the fence to the vegetable garden. These days, we see mostly the problematic imported Asian ladybugs.

We have seen our first spotted lanternfly in our yard. The spotted lantern fly is new to this country and was first found in Pennsylvania. It is highly damaging to many woody plants, and they are trying desperately to stop its spread.

That's all for now. Ward and I are off to WV this weekend for a family reunion.

Until next time...

An Educational Outing

For the last few months, Ward and I have been concentrating on chores around the house and yard without many just-for-the-fun-of-it activities. So that gave me a big case of go-fever that we treated on Sunday with an outing to Pennsylvania.

I've had a slip of paper on my desk for a couple of years with the name Camp Michaux on it. No other words, but I remembered it was a suggestion of a place to explore from my sister.  Sunday was her birthday. Since she lives in Maine and I was not able to spend the day with her, I thought I would spend the day with her suggestion instead. (See if you can follow that logic.) 

We did a little research on the camp before we left and learned Camp Micheax was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in the early 1930s, was used as a Prisoner of War (POW) interrogation camp during WW II (mid-1940s), and was leased for a church camp from the late 1940s through the early 1970s. 

Here's a little of what we saw on our outing.

Our destination was about 1 1/2 hours away, and we took the backroads to get there. I'm glad Ward was driving because I'm not sure where we would have ended up if I had been navigating after this wire in the road detoured our route.

We found our way back to the route and drove through lots of farmland, including apple orchards, along the way.

The directions to Camp Michaux were vague, but one set of them took us to Pine Grove Furnace State Park. As we drove in, we realized that we had been here years ago, 12 to be exact, camping with Ward's Family. We toured the Appalachian Trail Museum then, which you see in the background. The trail goes through the park and is the halfway point for the hiking route that goes from Maine to Georgia.

The park caters to AT hikers with a general store and phone for them to use, among other things. It's been a while since I've seen a phone like this.

The park had one of the furnaces that it was named after. The iron industry was big in this area because of an abundance of the needed raw materials. The Pine Grove Iron Company operated here from 1794-1924. Look carefully in the opening, and you'll see Ward investigating how it's made, per usual.

The rangers in the park office were able to give us directions to Camp Michaux.

A short distance down the road, we found our destination.

This is the remains of the barn for the farm that predated the camp. The farm was started in 1787, and in 1794, the iron company bought it. The farm was used to support the workers at the ironworks. It was sold to the state in 1912.

There were no signs in the area, but we had a chart that corresponded to 27 markers like this one. The chart listed what happened in a spot during the three different uses of the camp. In the background, you can see the foundation for a building that was CCC barracks, German POW barracks, and church camp arts and crafts.

Most of the buildings were removed when the camp reverted back to being part of the state forest. Most locations showed only the foundations of what once was. This fountain was one of the few remaining intact structures. It was made from slag from the ironworks and quartz.

This was a side of a dam built by German POWs. It reads, "PW = 22.5.45" This reminder of the past was cause for much reflection on my part.

After exploring the rest of the stops, we ate a late lunch at a local diner. And then, it was back home to get ready for the week ahead. We had a good time and learned a lot. And maybe that will hold me until I go to my family reunion that is coming up in a couple of weeks. 

Until next time...

Rug Crazy

 

The original rug. It's hard to see the stains and fading in the picture.

It all started when we were planning to have a baby shower here for my nephew and his wife. Or maybe it really started when our cat Leo died, and his remaining sister decided to show how she felt about that by peeing at various places around the house. Or maybe it all started even before that when Leo, in his old age, was peeing in various places before he could make it to the litter box. Not really sure.

But there was definitely a problem because I could smell cat pee when I passed the living room. That was after we removed the bookcase that had been used as a litter box. The smell wasn't strong, and Ward couldn't smell it, but it was definitely there. And I didn't think we needed to host a baby shower with any extra odors because of the heightened sense of smell accompanying pregnancy. So, after more investigation, we figured out that the rug in there had been peed on sometime in the past. We rolled it up and took it to the basement to store until we figured out what we were going to do with it.

Rug #2 on the porch airing out. BTW, the blue rug in the back, I picked out the first place we went. We weren't trying to match anything and just needed something so the floor wouldn't get scratched. It serves its purpose and adds a little color.

The day before, I had visited Aunt Martha and saw a new rug she had ordered online and liked the looks of it. So I ordered one from the same place, and with miracles of shipping, it arrived Thursday before the shower on Saturday. However, it came in a box and had a lot of creases in it - too many to fall out in just a couple of days. So we rolled that one up and put it aside until we could figure out what to do with it. We had bare floors for the shower, but in the end, I don't think anyone noticed.

We brought the new rug back out, and while the colors were okay, I didn't like the looks of it. It was one of those washable rugs that are made to go into a washing machine. We have a couple of runners like that, but I didn't like the looks of it in a bigger 8' x 10' size. So we returned it, but only after paying a hefty shipping charge. So I said if I got another rug online, it would be with an easy, free return. 

We shopped many stores to see what was in stock. And I spent who knows how much time shopping online and couldn't find one that fit the bill anywhere. The colors were right, but the pattern was wrong. The pattern was good, but the colors weren't right. Too thin. Too expensive. Too cheap looking. Nothing seemed to work. 

In the meantime, I was looking for a place that would clean our old, smelly wool rug. We had had it for many years, but overall, it was in decent shape except for the stains and pee smell. It took a while, but I finally found a cleaner who would clean it for $400. About twice as much as we paid for it (granted, that was years ago at Costco), and that was more than we wanted to spend.

So, figuring we had nothing to lose, we borrowed Miss Landers' carpet cleaner and cleaned the rug even though that was not a recommended practice for a wool rug. We got a lot of dirt out of it, but the stains remained. And while the pee smell was gone, it smelled like a wet dog, even after it was dry. The smell lessened with time but still smelled, and I was bothered every time I walked by the room. (Once again, Ward could smell nothing.) So then, I liberally spread baking soda and borax over the rug and let it sit for a few days.

Rug #3 clashed with the floors.

But I couldn't help myself and continued shopping online until I found another rug that seemed just right. Good colors, a good design, and an okay price. But when it arrived, the colors weren't right, the pile was low, and it stunk. Three strikes, and it was out. I was so disappointed, but we returned it with much less hassle than the first one if you don't count the awkwardness of carrying around a bulky rug.

Then, it was time to vacuum the old rug to see if the baking soda and borax had performed their magic. And what a mess that was. I spent two days on it and ended up with fine, white dust over everything in the room. I hadn't realized that even though all of the dials on the vacuum were set correctly, instead of sucking up the powder, it was blowing it everywhere. Eventually, I got it under control, and the rug smelled better. It still had an odor, but it was faint. The stains and fading still bothered me but weren't obvious at first glance. I guessed we could live with it.

That was until I stopped by Homegoods one day to see what rugs they had. And there was a decent one that seemed to fit the bill, so we bought it and brought it home. Granted, it was a nice-looking rug, but clashed with the floors. I had always considered the floors a neutral background, but they're not. The golden red oak floors did not look good with the maroon red of the rug. Ward didn't see a problem. (Have I mentioned that all of my senses are more sensitive than his?) So we took that rug back today.

We're back to what we started with. And yes, you can call me obsessed, crazy, or whatever other term you want. I have used all those words to describe myself during this rug quest. However, Ward has only rolled his eyes at me a couple of times and has not said a word during this rug drama. And what a remarkable man he is that he didn't say what he must have been thinking. And for that, I am thankful.

Until next time... 

The News and me

I have a routine. Every morning, I have breakfast while I watch one of the morning news shows. Usually, I have the sound off and just read the crawlers to get an overview of what's happening in the world. Occasionally, I listen to a whole story or go online to find out more details. But mostly, the headlines are all that I can handle. It's hard to process all the reported tragedies in the world, whether they are caused by man or nature.

I read once that it is normal to be overwhelmed with the amount of bad news we are exposed to these days. At one point, news traveled by messenger on foot from village to village, and it would sometimes take days to arrive. Biologically, our brains have not evolved much past that stage. So, of course, it's easy to be overwhelmed by the constant barrage of news available today. (And I won't even talk about the misinformation and bias that we have to sort through.)

I can occasionally do something to help in a bad situation that I see on the news, such as donating to an organization with feet on the ground, but mostly, the best I can do is fret. So how do I handle this situation? I must admit that my first coping mechanism is to bury my head in the sand and not focus on the world's problems. I am a fairly empathetic person, so this is easier said than done. 

But mostly, I think about what I can do to make the day better for those around me, hoping for a ripple effect. Maybe one of those ripples will reach someone I don't know. I start with little things. I try to make eye contact, smile, and say hi to the people I meet.*  Included with is idea is to be polite and respectful to any service people who help me. I also offer to reach things (my long arms come in handy sometimes) or carry items for people. Simple things that most of us do but are usually appreciated. I know I appreciate these gestures. 

This all comes down to kindness which happens to be the focus this summer at work. Next time, I'll tell you a bit about that. And speaking of work, I better stop now so I won't be late.

Until next time...

*Disclaimer here. I know eye contact is not the respectful thing to do in some cultures, and if you're from a big city, you might find it odd if a stranger said hi to you. I had a friend who came to this country for college and was very confused about why people said hi to her when they didn't know her. Anyway, I try to read the situation as best I can and act accordingly.

Meanderings

Allium

 Kris said the other day that she likes posts where I meander because it seems more conversational. Well, I can meander with the best of them (just ask Ward), so that's what I'll do today.

I'm up early - a little earlier than I would like but the sun decided it was time to get up, and so did my body. Wally and Theo are coming over this morning, and the males of the family are going to do a charity run/walk in our little town. Afterward, they plan to have lunch and do other fun things they have yet to figure out. I, on the other hand, have to work today. We will have lean staffing, so it will be a busy day.

Waiting in the kitchen are tomatoes that I picked yesterday that need to be processed. We had a big storm on Monday with a lot of rain in a short amount of time, so they are all split. If things are normal, I'll be too tired when I get home from work today to work on them, so maybe tomorrow (Sunday). Growing up, we heard every week at church that Sunday was for resting, just like God did when he created the world. But that didn't always happen. Sometimes my mother would wash a load of clothes that we would hang up outside. I was so embarrassed as a kid to have the neighbors see that we were working on a Sunday. As an adult, I understand that sometimes, chores had to be done on Sunday - especially in a house with a bunch of kids and a sick grandparent. But I didn't when I was little.

And most of the stores were closed on Sunday for the same reason, along with giving employees a chance to attend church. Some places actually had Blue Laws that said most stores couldn't be open on Sunday. When Ward and I first moved to New Orleans, they had them, and it was nice to be forced to not do any shopping one day a week. But the whole idea of everyone resting on Sunday works best in a predominantly Christian community. The area where I live now has many different religions that practice on more days than Sundays. 

Last week, I had an eye treatment where I had to wear an eye patch for 48 hours. It didn't hurt (or help much, for that matter), but it was definitely annoying. You need two eyes for good depth perception, so I would have to grab for something a couple of times before I made contact. Also, I am left-eyed, which was the one that was patched, so sometimes my right eye had difficulty focusing, and I couldn't see very well. Ward insisted I not drive or use a knife while my eye was patched, and I agreed. I know the brain can adjust to new input, but I didn't wear the patch long enough for that to happen. I am very thankful that I have two working eyes, even if they itch and burn most of the time.

"The shower is here!"

I think I've meandered enough for this morning, so I'd better tell you how the baby shower went that we had here recently. I said I would do that in my last post. I was fretting about it because of the difficult coordination beforehand. But you know what? It went well. It was an easy crowd of about 30 people who didn't mind being crowded together. They spent most of the time in the kitchen where the drinks were, even though we had the food in another room. We had it set up as an open house, but everyone came and stayed the whole time. Ward even gave tours of his workshop to some who were interested. But the important part is the expectant parents got many things they needed to start this new adventure.

Until next time...