BBH 409
It is time and possibly past time for another Blueberry Hill report considering the demand for them – one so far – me. Just when we were well on our way to defining in a very literal way the term “endless summer”, the temps have moderated a bit. Though it’s far from being cool, the mid to upper 80s are welcome indeed.
The water level continues to recede on the pond with more land appearing all the time. The slimy, muddy fingers of the shore are reaching further and further out into the water. One of the two front posts that hold up the dock on my side of the pond is now totally out of the water and the other is not far behind it. The 9-member goose family has shown up several times of late, I’m not sure where they go from here but there are several large ponds in the area. It struck me as comical when I saw one of the geese wading from one island to the other – too shallow to swim.
Several of my trees are early leaf droppers and these are starting to do so. The main ones are the figs – only a few scattered leaves remain and many green figs, these latter fruit do not ripen properly. The paw paw trees are also dropping theirs, the smallest one has lost all of them and I’m a little concerned as to whether it will make it until next spring. Since the temps have cooled a bit, it will soon be time for me to start back outside on the cleaning out and re-strawing of the blueberries. Some of the smaller plants have really struggled through the drought we have been having.
The garden is in somewhat a state of confusion with the cucumbers and okra totally quitting and only one or two of the squash plants still struggling on. The tomatoes have quit producing but are still green and it will probably depend on what the weather does as whether they give forth any more fruit. The zinnias and marigolds are doing a great job and look very good out in the midst of the overgrown rows. The growing mass of grass and weeds are not confused at all and are daring me to come out to do combat with them. The last rain we had was just enough to keep these plant pests going.
My evening walks are still going well. Back on the 25th of September I extended the distance of my walk to 2.4 miles and it seems to be helping my back – no idea why. On the 27th, I set out to do that distance but it started raining. The Spice turned back right away but I was determined to get the walk in and continued on. I didn’t mind at all getting wet but I finally quit when it started lightning, in fact, the Spice drove out to pick me up – I guess she figured I lacked the sense to come in out of the rain.
On a recent walk it became clear to me that age had calmed me down a bit, there was a full moon and I didn’t howl at it or anything. The crickets were really casting forth their songs on the airwaves to the nth degree that evening. It was hard to tell whether they were desperately searching for a mate, crowing because they had found one or just making a joyful noise to the Lord. It was probably very plain to other crickets though because it is their language after all.
No matter what language we use, God hears and understands our prayers, complaints and even our joyful noises. He cares enough to answer our pleas, sometimes with ‘yes’, sometimes ‘no’ and many times with ‘wait’ – but He will answer because He is good, all the time. ec
The water level continues to recede on the pond with more land appearing all the time. The slimy, muddy fingers of the shore are reaching further and further out into the water. One of the two front posts that hold up the dock on my side of the pond is now totally out of the water and the other is not far behind it. The 9-member goose family has shown up several times of late, I’m not sure where they go from here but there are several large ponds in the area. It struck me as comical when I saw one of the geese wading from one island to the other – too shallow to swim.
Several of my trees are early leaf droppers and these are starting to do so. The main ones are the figs – only a few scattered leaves remain and many green figs, these latter fruit do not ripen properly. The paw paw trees are also dropping theirs, the smallest one has lost all of them and I’m a little concerned as to whether it will make it until next spring. Since the temps have cooled a bit, it will soon be time for me to start back outside on the cleaning out and re-strawing of the blueberries. Some of the smaller plants have really struggled through the drought we have been having.
The garden is in somewhat a state of confusion with the cucumbers and okra totally quitting and only one or two of the squash plants still struggling on. The tomatoes have quit producing but are still green and it will probably depend on what the weather does as whether they give forth any more fruit. The zinnias and marigolds are doing a great job and look very good out in the midst of the overgrown rows. The growing mass of grass and weeds are not confused at all and are daring me to come out to do combat with them. The last rain we had was just enough to keep these plant pests going.
My evening walks are still going well. Back on the 25th of September I extended the distance of my walk to 2.4 miles and it seems to be helping my back – no idea why. On the 27th, I set out to do that distance but it started raining. The Spice turned back right away but I was determined to get the walk in and continued on. I didn’t mind at all getting wet but I finally quit when it started lightning, in fact, the Spice drove out to pick me up – I guess she figured I lacked the sense to come in out of the rain.
On a recent walk it became clear to me that age had calmed me down a bit, there was a full moon and I didn’t howl at it or anything. The crickets were really casting forth their songs on the airwaves to the nth degree that evening. It was hard to tell whether they were desperately searching for a mate, crowing because they had found one or just making a joyful noise to the Lord. It was probably very plain to other crickets though because it is their language after all.
No matter what language we use, God hears and understands our prayers, complaints and even our joyful noises. He cares enough to answer our pleas, sometimes with ‘yes’, sometimes ‘no’ and many times with ‘wait’ – but He will answer because He is good, all the time. ec
posted by mreddie | 10:40 PM
6 Comments:
It has certainly been good to have the temps cooling off a bit, Mr. E. We here in Kentucky are approaching the 10 inches below average rainfall measurement. The word “drought” is being used more and more.
Hi Mr.Eddie ~~ I have been busy and am just catching up on reading posts. Sorry you had a fall (or slide)but glad it was no worse. Good to catch up on some jobs, and it is great that you are feeling much better. Thanks for your comments. What a huge Wisteria to go up a pine tree to about 70 feet. They sure do take off
and have to be trimmed back often.
Had a good time with my nephew and family. The rhododendrom looked nice in the photos. Take care,
Kind regard, Merle.
I love the way you see the world around you.
I am telling myself I am going to look around more, but it is always when I have time. Can't believe I am so busy. And it is usually doing nothing important!!!
We are surrounded by oaks so their leaves are turning but glued on so tight they stay all winter.
In Texas one year, we were full-timers with a fifth wheel. The owner of the campground said tody is the days the leaves fall.
We didn't know what she meant so thought she was joking.
Well, she was right. They were fruitless mulberry trees and we walked around and around the big campground while the leaves rained around and on us. Unbelievable!!
Betty G
Are you saying there was a time when you did howl at the moon? :-)
It's finally cooler here this morning, and I need to get on a walking program too.
SSN - The weather folks are saying here that by Thursday it will be upper 70's - that really beats 91 today and the promised 92 for tomorrow. I glanced at the docks on the pond and all of the pilings of both them were out of the water - we need rain!
merle - Wisteria blooms are beautiful but if not controlled the vines will totally wrap up a large tree and eventually kill it.
itsboopchile - I've noticed several oaks around here that the only way the leaves drop is when they are pushed out by the new leaves growing in the spring.
brenda - No need to deny that in my army days - long ago - I did do some "howling", in a manner of speaking. Enough to know that it was not the thing to do for a lifetime. :)
AC - The walking is a good thing, even for this old South Carolina codger. It will be good to walk before dark once again - the temps up until now have been brutal. ec
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