Random Acts of "Kindness"

Posts tagged ‘fall’

NEW VISTAS

The landscape at Woodhaven Lakes has changed because of the damage caused by the tornadoes. What once were shady tree lined streets are now sunny. A few trees have survived, mangled branches providing some shade. We have lost more than nine trees on our lot alone. It was possible to spend time on our deck in the morning enjoying a cup of coffee. Now, by eight o’clock in the morning, the summer sun makes it very hard to sit outside. We have a clear view of the street and the park across the way, no trees block our view.

When we contracted to have some of the tree stumps removed, I noticed that the apple tree our friend Muscles planted is sending up new shoots. We kept the stump — hopefully a new tree will soon be growing. I noticed the crab apple tree in the back yard is also sending up new shoots. Acorns are already falling from our lone oak tree. I have found a few new oak trees sprouting in my flower garden. Decisions, decisions — should we pull them out or try to transplant them to a better location. We have ordered three new trees to be planted this Fall — a maple, a huckleberry and a red bud. Spring color as well as Fall will be different, oak leaves turn a golden brown.

While we were at the nursery, we learned that plans have already been made to plant some new seedlings. In the Fall, I always enjoyed a sunset maple tree on a corner lot. They lost not only the maple, but three evergreens too. Four new trees have already been planted. In a year or two, I’ll be able to watch their maple change colors. We are going to get our own maple, it’s leaves will change to red in the Fall.

Going for a walk on the nature trail, I spotted a tiny new evergreen and a small green leafed sprout that someone had planted. They have black circles on the ground to help conserve moisture.

The playground across the street only has a set of swings that survived. The slide and climbing bars have been mangled and roped off but children still stop by to swing. The tree stumps have been removed, the ground is safer, but less places to hide when playing hide and seek.

My serenity garden has been mangled by fallen trees and equipment. I was very surprised when I noticed the rose bush had a few flowers and more buds. The hostas that were stubs have regrown, ready to be eaten by the deer. I will admit that I have added many new plants, some that are tolerant of the sun. It will take a few years but the new growth has begun.

Category:

Uncategorized

Tagged with:

Go Home

I think that I have mentioned that the Fall is often a sad time for me — I’m older, winter is coming and we have to close our camper for the season. I have to pack up all the food and take it home. It is never something I look forward to. When we were younger, we didn’t close the camper. We left the furnace on, the food in the fridge and cabinets and wandered between city and country as the spirit moved. Sadly we became older — the winter sports and cold weather, icy roads became more of a challenge. We haven’t gone to the country in many years in the winter.

I tried to use up the food stored in the freezer — the freezers at home were already loaded. I tried to use up the food in the cabinets — the pantry at home was well stocked. I tried not to load up the camper for food for the summer but God laughed. Our granddaughter from Florida was only at the camper for two days — including travel time. Our grandchildren in Illinois were not out as often — the rainy weather cancelled a lot of plans. Food I bought for their stay was still in the camper.

Then to make life more interesting — a friend noticed edible mushrooms on our lot — hen in the woods. I learned another friend knew how to clean them. I have to admit that I wasn’t successful in harvesting — hopefully they will return next year. I spent a full day cleaning and preparing for freezing — 10 quart bags full. Thankfully our son came out to the camper and I had packaging to transport the frozen mushrooms back to the city. Our son found room in the freezer at home for the mushrooms. Finding room for the rest of the food would be interesting.

When we planned our last trip — the weather was supposed to be in the 60’s, rainfall limited. Our first two days were beautiful. My husband raked and burned leaves. Then the clouds arrived, the temperatures dropped and the rain visited the area. The clouds and rain were VERY comfortable. They didn’t leave for more than four days. We extended our stay, hoping for sunny weather. The day before we planned to leave the sun came out at 2 in the afternoon. We took the scooter for our last ride.

That night, both of the heaters in our room addition stopped working. The temperature at night was close to freezing. Was someone telling us to go home? We packed up the freezer, fridge and cabinets and left the next afternoon — more clouds coming in, more rain predicted.

Category:

Uncategorized

Tagged with:

Tag Cloud