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.