Holiday Message

On the Eve of a brand new year.......may our holiday season be blessed with peaceful hearts, loving gestures and renewed hope in our ability to take joy in our daily lives.

Magical Christmas Moment

It's the Christmas holiday season once again. Here in lovely southern Wisconsin, we have been blasted with a lot of snow and very cold temperatures. This will ensure that we have the traditional "White Christmas", but it wreaks havoc on the daily coming and goings of life, not to mention all the special errands and gatherings that happen this time of year.
Saturday night, we were driving home after an evening of Christmas shopping. It had been snowing the entire time, so the roads were quite slippery. We live in a subdivision outside our city, so we have about a five mile stretch of "countryside" to travel through before reaching home. My husband was driving, so I had a chance to absorb all the beauty of the snowy landscape. It's quite mesmerizing when you are moving through a snowstorm, the millions of flakes swirling hypnotically against the glass and headlights. I was admiring the holiday lights on the house we were passing, when I spotted a large stautue in the front yard display. I hadn't noticed that statue before, on our way to town. Suddenly, the statue came to life, turned it's head and looked right at me! It was a very large, male, white tail deer with a headfull of antlers. He calmly watched us go by, all while leisurely munching on some tidbit he had found in the snow. He was so regal and beautiful, standing in the silent snowfall, at peace with himself and his surroundings, Christmas lights illuminating the whole magical scene. I felt like it was my own private Christmas card, embodying what, for me, is the true essence of the season.....Peace in my heart, the uparalleled beauty of nature, and the magic in these unexpected moments of life.

Traditions

My newest Thanksgiving tradition is to serve my turkey feast on "His Majesty" china, by Johnson Brothers of England. Taking it out of the box every November is like revisiting an old friend. Details are very important in my style of holiday decorating and entertaining, and I love acquiring and using different dish styles and patterns in my tablesettings.
"His Majesty", is a brown transfer ware with a turkey image in the middle and gentle tints of burgundy and aqua blue decorating the scene around him. This year, I set my tables with crystal glasses, amber hurricane candles and white and ecru lace tablecloths. Truly a treat for the eyes before the feasting begins.

A Blessed Thanksgiving

I am truly grateful for all the blessings I have in my life and my world, and find it wonderful that there is a holiday dedicated to giving thanks. My family and some new friends were invited to gather with us and share the traditional turkey feast that I had prepared. This marks the 17th year that I have hosted Thanksgiving in my wee crofter's cottage. It's a tight squeeze, but, there is always room at my table for one more person.

We all shared a day full of good food, conversation and hopefully, creating new memories and traditions-especially for the littlest ones. I have so many reasons to give thanks and genuinely hope I inspire gratitude in others. Happy Thanksgiving to all.

Many thanks to the two followers of this blog. I truly appreciate your interest and now feel like I am sharing thoughts with fellow nature lovers!

November Garden

I am really NOT a winter person and this picture can tell you why. It's the end of the gloriously long outdoor gardening days and things are looking rather bleak here in Wisconsin. All the autumn colors are gone, raked into the gutters to be taken away, the sun takes a holiday and the beds are ready for their long winter's sleep.

My dear husband knows how deeply affected I am, and cheerfully takes on the the unrewarding task of emptying and scrubbing the flower pots of death! (And never a complaint. How lucky am I!) The outdoor furniture and the gas BBQ grill are safely stored in the shed and there is only one last outdoor chore left to do. At the end of the month, we have to cover all the tender perennials with straw, making little protective nests around each one, to see it through the freezing, snowy months ahead. (And the freeze, thaw, freeze cycle that sometimes occurs.)

I leave a lot of my dead plant stalks standing throughout the winter. They provide seed for alot of the smaller winter birds, like chickadees and gold finches, to eat. It's great fun to see them flit from stem to stem, gleaning the last offerings the garden provides.

For now, I will have to content myself with dreaming and planning next year's beds. The garden catalogs are already arriving in my mailbox as I write this. Here's to warm breezes, sunshine and the delicious feel of hands deep in the dirt, planting new life.

Halloween Night

Halloween was a rousing success! The weather was absolutely perfect, no rain, no wind and temperatures in the 70s! Definitely a "treat" for us here in Wisconsin. Normally, it's around 40 degrees and coats are worn under costumes. The beautiful night brought out about 150 trick or treaters to haunt the neighborhood (and no one wore a coat!). A spooky supper was served to my family after the festivities were over. A magical enchanted evening was had by all.

Countdown To Halloween

Six days and counting! Halloween is one of my favorite holidays. Not only is the natural landscape putting out glorious autumnal colors, my personal landscape is also decorated with the icons of the season. Every year my front yard is transformed into a Halloween wonderland with lights, wooden cutouts, lights, ghosts, lights, witches, lights and pumpkins. Did I mention lights?? If I add anymore things to be plugged in, I will have to use a generator or risk blowing our subdivision's electrical grid. Each year, I try to add some new things to keep it fresh, but always recycle and rotate the things I have already collected and made.

I keep the decorating on a whimsical note and try not to get too scary as we have a lot of tiny trick or treaters (and parents) who wouldn't appreciate being traumatized on their magical night. They are the heart of the celebration and the reason I go "all out" in my efforts. Their little costumes are so adorable and their eyes wide with wonder, trying to take it all in. I only hope that when these same kids grow up, they will have special memories of "The Halloween Lady" who made their spooky neighborhood haunt, light up with magic and fun!

Compulsory Transformations

We have been given the news that my Husband's SUV factory will close at the end of this year. It's not unexpected, as we had been told in June, that production would stop, but, they gave no concrete date. Now that we know when, it still hits below the belt, creating feelings of uncertainty for the future and the possibility that our hopes and dreams will be put on hold indefinitely. Thankfully, there are resources available to us, that not everyone else in this situation will be fortunate enough to have access to.

Our lifelong dedication to simplicity and a modest life style has also prepared us for this rough stretch of road in our journey. I plan to meet the challenges ahead, with grace, humbleness, and creativity...concentrating on what blessings we DO have, and as always, what is really important in our life.

I would like to reach out to others who are in the same circumstances and share their fears and uncertainties, letting them know they aren't alone

and there are choices we can make, so that we don't feel helpless or without hope. Community and sharing is key. Share your story.

I try to see these "forced changes" as a good thing in disguise. It makes me re-evaluate my life, my choices and habits and by thinking outside the "normal", I have to do things and follow paths that I normally wouldn't have considered, which can bring all sorts of wonderful experiences and unforseen oppotunities. Remember, change is another word for transformation.

Wondrous Moments

Throughout my life, I have experienced certain, rare magical moments in time. They happen quite spontaneously, out of the blue and totally unexpected...which makes for utter delight when they occur.

We were on our way to meet friends and family for dinner and on our country drive there, we passed a mowed down cornfield. I saw some light grey blobs of color among the straw-colored stubble, but couldn't quite distinguish what they were. To my surprise they turned out to be a large flock of Sandhill Cranes! I practically yelled at my husband to stop the car and he pulled over to the side of the road. I could not believe my eyes, so used the binoculars that we keep in our vehicle for such viewing occurances. I counted 40 of them. I have never seen more than two at once and only rarely. It's migration time and they had stopped to eat corn and insects in this farmer's field. Wisconsin has harsh and long, cold winters, and these cranes migrate to the southern United States and into Mexico. (Seem like pretty intelligent birds don't you think? I was tempted to go along with them.) They are usually quite noisy, but all was quiet as we observed them. Watching them fly is a gift in itself. I have never seen such slow, graceful wing motions.... and these are huge birds. Their wing spans are six to seven feet across and they are just as elegant when they gently land on those long. slender legs. Truly, poetry in motion.

Because of our dinner plans, I happened to have my camera, which almost NEVER happens. We were rather far from them and the pictures I got, don't show them to advantage, not to mention I couldn't get all 40 in one picture. But, the experience will always be treasured by me. I am constantly awed by the beauty and grandeur of the natural world and collect these "Wondrous Moments"in my heart.

September's Song

For me, September is bittersweet. The days are warm, the nights much cooler. The colors of the landscape are subtly turning from summer's green to autumn's gold and crimson hues-what's not to love?
The vegetable garden is mostly done for the season, a few green tomatoes hang valiantly onto the vines, hoping to ripen before frost arrives, carrots and beets wait to be pulled and then suddenly, it's over. I have to wait eight long months before I can do it all over again.
My little hummingbird is frantically sipping from what's left of the fall perennials. He will have a long flight to migrate to warmer climates, so he has to stock up. I see him several times a day now and always feel sad that he won't be around until next summer.
For now, I will content myself with getting the beds ready for winter, gathering seeds for next year, harvesting late vegetables and planning next year's plantings. One of the joys of being a gardener is that it is a never-ending work in progress. There will always be a new beginning, a new chance to start from scratch and make things better. For now, I must concentrate on enjoying the wonderful blessings of autumn, the here and now, and be thankful for the rewards of being a gardener.

Autumn Brings Changes

As a new Autumn season officially begins, I have decided to expand this blog to include all aspects of my world, the inner workings as well as the outside. Having lived with a panic disorder for over 45 years, I feel that I can give my own unique perspective and perhaps help others who suffer similarly, to understand what is going on and ways to cope or just let them know they aren't alone.
Life revolves in cycles, the good mingling with the bad and not so pleasant, the same as with the cycles of the seasons. With Fall underway, I hope to bring greater understanding and meaning to my own experience and possibly to yours. Feel free to e-mail me with questions or comments.

Pear Harvest

My pear trees are literally dripping with fruit, the branches sagging with luscious treasure. It's time once again, to harvest the bounty. Pears are picked while they are still green and will ripen on racks in the cool confines of my basement throughout the autumn months.

I can tell the fruit is ready to be picked when the pear breaks away from the branch with ease, in fact, so easy, I have to be careful about dropping them. I easily fill my basket several times and have to get the ladder to reach the top- most branches.

I firmly believe in growing as much of my own food as possible, cooking and eating seasonally. I preserve what we can't eat right away and that ensures the flavors of summer can be enjoyed year round. Pears are a versatile fruit, they make wonderful muffins and breads, pear butter, salads and poached for dessert. No grocery store pear can compare with the flavor of home grown. In fact, there is nothing more sensual than biting into any fruit, still warm from the sun, fragrant with the ripeness of summer, and juice running down your chin. Heaven has to be a garden!

The Labor Day weekend signals the "unofficial" end of summer here in Wisconsin, land of the short growing season and extreme weather changes, so, it's not a holiday that I particularly look forward to. Summer is my favorite time of year and I would be more than happy to enjoy warm sunshine and year-round gardening. I already notice the shorter days. After supper dishes are done, there isn't much daylight left to enjoy time in the garden. For every other holiday throughout the year, I am ecstatic and love to decorate my house and front yard for the season, prepare special foods and host festivities, gathering with family and friends to celebrate. Labor Day is very low key, although there are a few traditions that I try to keep each year, the Walworth County fair, our annual downtown Labor Day parade and gathering with family to grill outdoors and eat our favorite summer foods.

Soon, there won't be the opportunities to enjoy these outdoor pursuits, the balmy breezes of summer will soon turn to the crisp winds of autumn. I intend to savor every last bit of warm, summer weather...it has to sustain me through the long, cold months ahead.

The opportunity arose today, to engage in another one of my favorite pursuits. I call it meandering. We hop into our truck and explore the surrounding countryside, taking scenic back roads and discovering new vistas of the southern Wisconsin landscape. Often we have no destination, the fun is being surprised by the journey itself and the discoveries we make.
Our part of the state is rich with incredibly beautiful scenery, which I plan on sharing in future posts since I left my camera at home.
Today, we headed west, through rolling hills and cornfields as far as the eye can see, interrupted only by stands of hardwood trees and the occasional lazy stream. Everything is lush, ripe and green, waiting for the harvest soon to come. Cows of every variety and color fill the pastures and barnyards, placidly grazing or relaxing in the shade.... we are America's Dairyland after all and we love our cows.
Wisconsin is also home to many Amish families. We pass their quaint farms and I am awed at the lack of any modern amenities. Today, one family's horse was hitched to their buggy, waiting to travel on a highway shared with motorized vehicles. Another farm had the hand wringer washing machine sitting on the front porch, a cooler and more scenic spot to launder their clothing and just a few steps from the clothesline where they hang them to dry in the summer air. A different world altogether than what we are familiar with.
So, our meandering adventure was a success. I feel very peaceful and grateful that I am able to live in such beautiful, natural surroundings, close to the land and its seasonal rhythms.

My home is the center of my world. I've lived in the same house for the entire twenty-eight years of my marriage, creating every aspect inside and out, crafting the home of my dreams. We've all seen the magazines featuring dream homes that have every imaginable luxury and comfort that money can buy.......and it takes a sizeable amount of money to make those wishes materialize. How many people dream and wish and postpone their happiness until they attain that mythical house that will allow them to live the wonderful life they imagine?

As a child, I would amuse myself by planning what sort of house I would live in, how I would decorate it and what I would do there. Being an avid reader with an overactive imagination, my dream abode was an underground burrow in the woods and all the woodland creatures would be my neighbors. I would host tea parties, plant hollyhocks beside my kitchen door and live happily ever after.

In reality, my husband and I built a new house in a new subdivision to start our new life together. I was completely in my element, choosing the floorplan, colors, cabinets, and all the myriad details and choices that go into constructing a home. We made a conscious decision to live in a small, affordable house, to make it our own using creativity and ingenuity. It became our "dream" house because we choose to see it that way. I don't want to postpone my life until all my hopes and wishes come true. After all, it's not the material aspects of a house that makes it your dream. It's the life well lived within the walls of a house that truly makes it a home. By the way, I do love to host parties. I've planted hollyhocks (and hundreds of other perennials, trees, shrubs, herbs, fruits and vegetables) outside my kitchen door, and the little woodland creatures are my dearest and closest neighbors.

On this beautiful August morning, I notice a subtle change in the quality of light shining across the garden. It has taken on a softer golden hue, the color of late summer in Wisconsin. I can see the flower borders slowing down, the riotous colors and rapid changes of the early growing season is now replaced by the steady yellow- orange of black-eyed susans, creamy hydrangeas and maroon heleniums. There is a lazy languor among the butterflies and nectar drunk bees....and me. No more rushing to get everything done in our too short growing season. It's all been done and now we can finally slow down and just enjoy the pleasures of the late summer garden. I want to hang on to every golden moment and impress them into memories that will sustain me through the long winter months ahead. For all it's fleeting beauty, I am a willing slave to the garden and all of it's charms, whatever the season.

It's now August and I am deep into the harvesting season, canning and freezing the garden's bountiful produce. The Blue Lake green beans are the first vegetable I preserve and they are the most work. Each individual bush has a hoard of beans dangling from the plant, and it takes

several minutes to pick them all. Multiply that by nine rows and there are a whole lot of beans! Picking is just the first step and I normally fill a paper grocery sack every three rows. My back usually protests this exercise and it can get tiring, however, the fun is just beginning. Next, I have to "snap" each bean into small segments and take the ends off. I usually do this while watching television as it can take a good two to three hours for this step.

Now the actual canning process can begin. I have to gather all my equipment, including the vintage pressure canner that I inherited from my Mother. This canner has stood the test of time and provided our family with pint jars of vegetables too numerous to count, for over 40 years. Having grown up with my Mother canning most all of our food and enjoying the taste of home grown vegetables, I have continued in my Mother's footsteps and each summer is a flurry of planting, growing and harvesting. Yes, it is a lot of work, but believe me, the taste of summer goodness continues all winter long and I know exactly what has gone into my food, or rather, what hasn't gone into my food. The tally is now at 32 pint jars, and the beans are still coming. I also cook up a huge pot of them with bacon, mushrooms and onions, which is a treat we look forward to and only make when the beans are seasonal and at their peak.

Their is nothing like the sound of a canning jar lid when it pings and signals that it has sealed. You know all that summer flavor is safe and will be savored until the next harvest season rolls around.

I have always wanted my property to be a haven for humans and wildlife alike. With so much of their natural habitat disappearing, I have felt it my responsibility, (not to mention pleasure) to provide the ingredients for critter happiness. As a result, my home is also home to all sorts of fascinating creatures, some more appreciated than others.

There are always nests of bunnies found in early spring, usually by accident, their fur-covered burrow snug and cozy, the little babies huddled together, in one of the perennial beds. Mom is usually nearby, eyeing me suspiciously, and I assure her that I won't harm her precious brood. Is there anything as sweet as a tiny, fuzzy, whiskered rabbit, with a miniature cotton ball tail.... or anything more DESTRUCTIVE to a garden? These teeny critters have appetites that belie their small size and easily eat many times their weight, of my freshly planted annuals or newly sprouted green beans. A "rabbit-proof" (and I use that term lightly) wire fence is now protecting my vegetable patch before the seeds go in. One year, they figured out they could chew through the plastic barricade and proceeded to eat every single bean blossom they could get their teeth onto. As a result, no green beans that year for canning.

The bunny in the photo is one of the current residents. Bryan, my husband, has named him/her (how can you tell?) "Nibbles", for obvious reasons. Nibbles isn't afraid of us if we keep our distance and isn't even afraid of Errol, my Maltese, much to Errol's shame. I've learned to expect some damage and also to protect the plants that they love most. We are just trying to live alongside each other in peace and harmony. As Bryan asks, "Wouldn't you want to live in a giant salad bar if you were a rabbit?"

I have been working on knitting some new pot holders and hot pads for my kitchen. My existing supply was in dire need of replenishing, so, instead of buying new ones, I decided to create my own. It's a very simple pattern of garter stitch made in spring and summer colors of cotton yarn. I can easily pick them up and knit a few rows here and there whenever I have a spare minute. I am still working on the red, white and blue ones that I wanted to get finished for the July 4Th holiday...and didn't.

The satisfaction I get from using things made by my own hands is tremendous, not to mention the tranquility I experience when doing the actual knitting. It never ceases to amaze me that you can take some yarn and two "sticks" and turn out all manner of necessaries or clothing and gifts. All you need is patience and perseverance, and the satisfaction of creating something uniquely your own will result in many delightful hours, and projects you can be proud of.

Could a person have a better little companion to share her life with? I think not! This is Errol, my Maltese I have had for eleven years. He has to be in the middle of everything I do and be everywhere I am, especially if it's outdoors and in the garden. I spend most of my time removing him from the dirt and mud in my flowerbeds where he manages to be right in the spot where I am planting or trying to remove weeds. It's a special talent of his. Errol and I have never been separated for more than a few hours at a time over the years, when he has had to have some surgeries. I'm not sure which of us had the worst separation anxiety....him or me. I'm pretty sure it was me.

He tries to keep the bunnies and squirrels out of the yard and gives them a merry chase. They will sit still and wait until he is almost on top of them before they run. I haven't got the heart to tell him that they aren't in the least frightened. He has his job of keeping the beasties out of the gardens, but his most important duty by far is being my little buddy. A job at which he most certainly excels.

I love the garden at night. Evening is my preferred time for working in my beds. The air is cooler and the light soft and diffused. The sky turns pink as the the long summer days whisper to a close. In July, I can garden until 9 pm and enjoy the sunset while watering my potted plants

and refilling the bird baths. I'm serenaded by a brilliant male cardinal, perched on the very top of my tallest pine tree, singing his goodnight song. His less colorful mate is always close by. The day quiets and a feeling of deep peace and contentment wash over me. The perfume of the flowers intensify and hang in the humid heat, as well as the earthy scent of damp soil. July in Wisconsin, is usually humid and hot, so everything gets a layer of dew as the earth slowly cools. My ever constant gardening companion, Errol, is always outdoors with me and by this time, has found every single patch of mud he can run through. His furry legs, caked to the "elbows" in muck, will have to be hosed off. He'll protest, but, it's been a successful evening chasing bunnies and birds, letting them know whose territory this is. By now, darkness has fallen and it's time to go inside. As if by magic, tiny, flickering spots of green light emerge from every corner of the flower borders and vegetable patch. The fireflies are up and about! Their syncronized symphony of light and motion is a fitting end to a day spent in the grace of a garden.

Today was our city's annual garden tour. It's one of the highlights of every summer as it gives me the opportunity to absorb other landscapes and if I am very observant, to see the personality of the gardener reflected also. Everyone was so friendly and generous.....true gardeners have charming souls.
For the past 28 years, I have been nurturing and creating my own idea of gardening paradise. I literally started with nothing, not even a single tree or blade of grass. But, it was a clean slate to do with as I pleased and am now enjoying the reward of my labors.
The months of May through September are Wisconsin's relatively short growing season. At least it's too short for me! Planting, weeding, harvesting and preserving, completely take over my spring and summer seasons. I am totally enthralled with my gardens and every growing thing. After the endless, cold winter months, I can barely contain myself and find any excuse to dig in the rich, fragrant earth. I rather feel like a flower myself, unfurling and blossoming in the warmth of the sun.
There are my perennial borders, which run the length of my backyard against the fence, my very large vegetable patch, various herbs, annuals, shrubs, trees and my tiny "orchard". The gardens enable me to live according to the rhythms of nature, the cycle of the seasons and with all the creatures that come with it. I know where I am in the grand scheme of life and I embrace every moment.

Welcome to Turnberry Croft! Make yourself at home and join me in my pursuit of creating a gentle life. A life filled with all the activities that come with living close to nature and the seasons, making and keeping a cozy, happy home and enjoying all the simple, day-to-day pleasures.
I intend to share my many interests, inspirations, ideas and reflections that make life such an amazing adventure. The best part is that you have only to look in your own back yard to experience daily miracles. They are everywhere once we learn to see.
I look forward to meeting new friends and kindred spirits; those who search for meaning, see beauty in the ordinary and yearn for a gentle life. The journey begins.