Amaryllis rather than snow Friday, Feb 14 2014 

gardening and Modern Photos , , acairfearann 08:15

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These photographs aren’t from this year; but it looks like all but one of the dozen amaryllis (some of which are many years old) will bloom this year.  Not bad, now if we can just remember what we did with them last year.  I think we just chucked them out on a shady porch for the summer and let them go dormant in the fall for a month or two.

For those wondering, top to bottom: ‘Apple Blossom’, ‘Apple Blossom’ and an unidentified red, ‘Jewel’ (double, tall, very fragrant), ‘Red Lion’ (very tall), ‘Apple Blossom’ red, and ‘Picotee’.

 

Connecticut Winter Woods Wednesday, Feb 12 2014 

Landscapes and Modern Photos , , acairfearann 08:11

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Old Roses Tuesday, Feb 11 2014 

gardening , acairfearann 07:17

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One of the old Moss roses in the garden. This is the only nearly white one; most of them are light pink with deeper pink edging.   It is not uncommon for the medium pink ones to have flowers that range in shade from white through blush pink to a classic rose pink, all on the same bush.  The buds are always edged with dark pink. There are one or two bushes as well that are a solid deep pink.  They do not repeat bloom and have only a little fragrance.

These roses date from an unknown era; they resurfaced when the Norway Maples were cut down about fifteen years ago.  It is remotely possible that they date from the 1960’s; but it is much more likely that they date from the turn of the century.  They are tough, but not overly vigorous, sometimes having only one or two canes.  Although apparently disease free, they tend to be attacked by Japanese beetles and aphids.

 

Cabin Fever Monday, Feb 10 2014 

Esperanza acairfearann 13:31

is a mostly useless phenomenon, something along the lines of the wet cat in a room full of rocking chairs: pissed off, paranoid, and pacing.*

On the other hand, one sometimes manages to do something useful with it.  As it might be rearranging the artwork on a staircase wall.  Artwork that had not been changed since the 1920’s when it was put together as a nod to the Ellsworth/Webster family history and the Century Company publishing business.  Only a few shifts here and there, not a complete turnover.  But a refreshing change of imagery.  I got tired of two dour old men watching me.  I am sure that Mr. Caine and Mr. Gilder were good friends of William Webster Ellsworth, but enough was enough.  The Sphinx and the Cell are now balanced by an English church and a New York canal scene.

Changing the artwork actually isn’t the easiest decision to make, for the simple reason that the wall in question uses hangers driven into the plaster as opposed to the picture rail.  Hanging things off a picture rail is fiddly business, getting the wires the right length and all, but nothing compared to the question of ‘do you really, really want to drill a hole here?’  Colored plaster, or plaster with a custom paint job, does not take kindly to patching if you get it wrong.

*Combined with stewing about an article that I need to be writing.

 

Good deeds Friday, Feb 7 2014 

Uncategorized acairfearann 18:28

There is a dirt road that runs along one side of our property, an unimproved town road which is sort of two cars wide….if the two cars pass in a polite fashion with each putting a tire on the edge of the ditch.  For years it wasn’t open in the winter and had little traffic on it.  However, it is the shortest route between the state road and several large subdivisions.  Because of this, it is kept open in the winter and has much heavier traffic.  I don’t object too much to the commercial drivers on it (though there is a UPS truck that goes too fast). I get that the advent of the GPS means that the bosses want the drivers to follow the shortest mileage routes, and further more can tell if you have done so.  An occasion for merriment is that this sometimes causes a semi to start down the first pitch, eyeball the road that they don’t fit on, and gingerly continue on down the hill.

I do strongly object to the people living in the subdivisions.  It is the shortest mileage route.  It is the shortest route by time, however, only if one takes the road at about forty miles an hour.  (It is an article of faith that an SUV cannot be driven at less than forty, the world will end apparently)

The result is predictable.  The very nice FedEx delivery guy came and knocked on the door.  (This driver always comes decorously up the road, he enjoys looking at the woods and the pond)  He was stuck, could we help?  An individual had gone bombing down the road, forcing the FedEx van to swerve to avoid said individual.  The van was now solidly in the ditch.  Needless to say, of course, the individual had not slowed or stopped.

Naturally, the answer was yes.  I supplied the shovel.  Jamie supplied the heavy duty Chevy truck and the necessary rope.*  In short order the van was popped back out of the ditch.  Our driver was able to continue on his route; we had a pleasant interlude in the day. Glad to be of service.

*I am useless at such things as how to tie off a tow-line.

 

Organizational skills Thursday, Feb 6 2014 

Esperanza acairfearann 17:53

I am mildly confident that we have found all the boxes of china in the house*….of course, I had assumed that we had previously done so…an errant box packed some thirty-two years ago just showed back up again.  A lovely surprise, but not what we had expected to find buried in that room.  I think I have found appropriate spaces for just about everything that was in it.  I think there are also very few places in the house which contain boxes that have not been gone through in recent years, i.e. the last decade; that lot (which I was not a part of, so it doesn’t totally count for the control freak!) might have been almost the last.  Not quite the last though!

My favorite remains the massive, locked suitcase that was too heavy to move and to which we finally took bolt cutters…only to discover it was entirely full of German textbooks.

I have a warped sense of humor, I have sometimes wondered just how long it would take, and how many people it would take, to do a really thorough job of a search warrant on this place.  Never mind upon which door does that knock (or No Knock these days) happens.

*Let’s leave the barn out of this discussion, shall we?  Let’s also leave the boxes that have been opened and hurriedly shut out too, yes?

 

Winter trees Wednesday, Feb 5 2014 

gardening and Modern Photos and Trees and Uncategorized , , acairfearann 08:30

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It isn’t a perfect job, or even close, but since I simply cut and pasted in wordpress rather than any stitching tools, not too bad 🙂

Just playing around, and how does one take a complete photo of a tree that is over 100 feet tall when one is close to it?

 

Mystery Man Tuesday, Feb 4 2014 

Historic Photos , , acairfearann 08:38

For family members, I’d love some help with the ID of this distinguished looking chap.  It is not George Creevey.  The girl is Eileen Creevey (Hall), so the date is 1916-1920 ish. (update, almost certainly 1916)  The location is somewhere around here.

For everyone else, any guesses on the car or rifle would be nice!

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It is an oddly fascinating photo, I find at least.

 

Reading lessons Monday, Feb 3 2014 

Historical Events , , acairfearann 15:05

From a letter by Julie to Morris, winter of 1859

“The children have an hour’s reading every night, and I believe they will never forget these hours while they live. They are worth a great deal to them and they will thus be well started in what they ought to have read and prepared to keep up with literature of the day, beside which we read you know every morning in the Bible. We are now in first Samuel and tomorrow will read the fourteenth chapter, so you can follow us if you please, and wouldn’t that be pleasant? Will you. A chapter every morning is all we get through and the children are quite interested in the fights and squabbles of the old Israelites I assure you. What queer doings there were in those old days to be sure. If the chosen people went on at that rate I wonder what the heathen did.”

The girls (Fanny, Carlotta, Helen, Lucy) were all, except for Lucy who was then just a baby, in school as well.

 

The first of February Saturday, Feb 1 2014 

gardening acairfearann 18:30

One of the wonderful things about a cold winter is that first day when it feels like spring.  You can only get it if it has been solidly winter for awhile.  There is something about the melting snow, the angle of the sunlight, maybe the sounds of running water or a bird practicing.  You can almost sense the sap in the trees, though they haven’t yet begun the run.  Such was today.

Nothing actually melted of course, though light snow in sunny spots vanished into thin air without a trace.  There will be at least another month to six weeks before anything even considers growing, even the bravest of crocus.  But the world is turning.

 

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