Tying Up Loose Ends

I am going to have to get over my procrastination problem and get moving. I was talking to grandson Grant last night, who asked me if I were working on his crocheted hat. Oh my, how I've been distracted with the outdoors. I explained to Grant that one needed to be outdoors when the weather permitted, but I really do waste a lot of time just gazing out the windows at our beautiful Camp Colegate. I don't always walk/round with purpose for aerobic benefit, but stroll and take it all in. I am just loving luxuriating in this fabulous fall.

Anyway, for those of you who can't live at Camp Colegate on a daily basis, here are some of the joys from this week. On my way to the hen house earlier in the week, I caught this rare, very clear sunrise. Something that did not exist in the suburbs.

I've included a snapshot of my amazing Christmas Cactus in earlier blogs. This is the week that this amazing plant exploded in a riot of lovely pink and red color. I was talking to my sister Annie in Florida this week, and my photo has inspired her to bring a Christmas Cactus into her plant mix. Of course, we will be seeing them in the big box stores floral displays from here on out through Christmas, but nothing surpasses the joy of watching the little red buds form and then over a few weeks develop into this showy display.

Yesterday I put the final touches on my Varmit Frame for the garden. I so wanted a wooden handle in the center, threaded with grapevine, to better maneuver the frame more easily in and out of the gardens. I had cut the perfect handle, smoothed the outer edges, but then could not drill it at all. Bruce's drill simply wasn't strong enough, and kept bouncing off the wood. Who would have thought that locust was so hard? So I called my neighbors, and after the midweek rains drove over to the Cases, exchanged a carton of eggs for Ken's efforts. He drilled this and another handle for frame number 2 in no time at all. I ran back home, threaded the handle with the grapevine and attached it to the center of the frame. I designed the frame to fit half the garden, as anything larger would be too cumbersome to work with. The marauders seem to ignore half a garden, and targeting mostly my beets, carrots, and lettuce. As I headed out to the garden, I worried that the frame had wobbled a little too much diagonally during construction, and would no longer fit the garden. As you can see, we have a perfect fit! And here comes Grace to my window. I've wondered where she's been.

Check out the handle