The Weather Made Me Do It

 For days leading up to our most recent trip to the land, I told myself and Woodchuck that I wasn't going to do any work out there when we went. None. I had a bag of projects packed, that also included the most recent book I am reading (The Dark Side of the Light Chasers) and I was going to plop my tushie down in a chair, maybe get up and do some yoga, and just relax. But when we got up Monday morning, it was Fall! Chilly and overcast, it took the pressure off of my body that heat and humidity put on and I actually felt well enough physically and mentally to feel like doing some work.

So the plan then changed to only doing what I felt up to and once it got to be too much, I would stop. Woodchuck was going to continue moving things into the pole barn and organizing them, but while we were together he wanted to cap off that drainage pipe coming out of the forest. In less than three weeks, we went from massive flooding to just a little muddy and being able to walk in the back ditch again. Wild!!! 

I have been finding a lot of gifts from Mother Earth these past few days. From cicada wings, to crystals and other beautiful stones, to interacting with nature on a peaceful level.

                                                    She had a baby with her as well 👆💓

                                            

                                            Starting to get some sunflowers sprouting up! 👆💛

                    So many tiny wood frogs in the grassy area that had flooded recently! I do not pick them up, as they have a protection layer of "slime" on their skin and I don't want to remove that and make them susceptible to anything. 👆🐸

                                        The fourth cicada wing I've found in three days! 👆

So many huntsman on the land! 👆 I used to play with them as a child when I lived in Louisiana for a bit. 

Once that was done and I made sure he didn't slip and fall, it was time to go our own ways. I couldn't remember exactly where I had stopped working in the forest last time, so I decided to go in where I knew the LOV had been a repeated issue and where I thought I had to leave a patch undug. While I was at peace here at Das Zem, I wanted to cry and get all of my woes out. I wanted to disperse them from me to dissipate into the wind. And I just couldn't get it out. So I smudged myself in incense, gave thanks to the beautiful day I was privileged to participate in, and asked my ancestors to be with me, to ease my heart, and help me to do more good than harm in the forest on this day. 

Getting into the forest is always the hardest part at this time of year because of the greenery at the edges of it that I won't let Woodchuck mow because there is good stuff and good for pollinators stuff growing. It's a small price to pay to provide what the land and its inhabitants and visitors need for a small window of time. Once I trudge through the brambles, raspberries, jumpseed, poison ivy, virginia creeper, sweet cicely, etc. 👇

                                            I can appreciate more the clearing that I enter. 👇

It was a tad windy, and I could hear the trees creaking. I always have my ears open for cracking sounds, as some of the trees in the forest are not healthy since the previous owner did not thin it. Each time I go in, something else has fallen. But on this day, all was well. 👇

I filled two bags with invasives, mostly bittersweet. I cut down two very large honeysuckles that were hiding lots of bittersweet, and LOV, but also this good sweet cicely. Unfortunately, I have to go back to that spot because I laid down my hand trowel and then couldn't find it to continue digging the LOV out. I may even go in with the metal detector next time to help me find it and then I'm going to paint the handle fluorescent orange! 

Once again I found a lot of bones and lived up to my title of a Knochenhexe. I placed them at the foot of a large tree that was marked to girdle but I couldn't bring myself to do it because it's a good (native) tree. I could see that the critters have been gnawing on the bones and utilizing it for some minerals. I have more than enough bones in my personal collection for art, and left these for the wildlife. 👇

Once my two bags were filled, I went in search of the Twayblade Orchid! I was not only hoping to see the blooms, but to also be able to identify if the plant next to it was a baby orchid. I found it quickly enough, was glad to see it unharmed, and even more glad to be able to positively id a second orchid next to it! I sent the picture to our previous caseworker at the NRCS for her to enjoy as well. I had *just* missed the fresh blooms, but to see it healthy and thriving was more than enough for me! 😍👇

I also found something new that I missed previously. It's whispy, firework bursts caught my attention and this forest witch was very happy to see it identified as native Witch Weed. 

Once we were done at the land, we had to head to Plymouth to Lowe's to get some supplies. I took Woodchuck out to lunch at Arby's (we very rarely eat fast food!), stopped at the new Goodwill that was built there (so nice smelling and clean! Didn't see anything we had to have), saw that the store strip was filling back in with new stores and businesses (yay!), and then headed South to a bakery for a dozen donuts, lol. That was a beautiful day spent in comfort on many levels and I wanted to take full advantage of that with the extreme heat we have coming our way starting today into next week. Keep Woodchuck in your thoughts, as his truck he drives at work does not have a/c and he has to keep the windows up when it's dry out because of the dust and dirt that kicks up from the vehicles and lake front winds.

Yesterday was my day home to try and get caught up around here. Aside from the usual cleaning, organizing, bill paying stuff, I also went grocery shopping. But. I also made time to finish some art pieces and start another one that needed to be redone. Though sunny, the temps were comfortable and I sat outside under Father Sun, connecting with a part of myself that I rarely get to connect with anymore.

May you find, and honor, those pieces of yourself that everyday life and society buries deeper and deeper. ☮☯ॐ

A little bit here, a little bit there, and then the snafu

 We recently made a trip to the land after work to plant sunflower seeds. Originally we were going to plant a nice patch up front, but Woodchuck changed his mind and wanted to plant them farther back and then we can harvest the heads/seeds and use those to eventually plant up front. After being stuck inside all day, it was nice being out in the fresh air, even though the sun was hot and intense.

This is the spot he chose. We had recently tried transplanting 5 elderberry sprouts nearby. 👆

We brought the tiller from home to make it faster. I am continually in awe of this man who had shoulder surgery barely a year ago. 👆

While he tilled, I enjoyed watching the turkey vultures soar overhead in the sunshine! 👇

A good friend of mine gifted these to me, so the first row of the patch was where I planted her seeds 👇

This past Saturday, Woodchuck had to take the day off from work to pick up the fish he ordered to put in the pond. After wasting A LOT of money and effort on chemicals to clean up the pond that didn't make ONE BIT of difference, we were told to try Tilapia. He bought 5 pounds, which ended up not being nearly enough, but we'll know better for next year. He stopped in at the bakery where I work and I got to run out to the car really quickly and look at them! I wanted to be with him when he put them in, but there was nobody to cover my shift and we didn't want to lose the money. He plans on getting more next year, so hopefully I can be with him on that trip! The pond is currently a swamp and because of the small amount he bought for the size of the pond, they said it could take a few weeks before we start to see any difference. They spawn every 28 days though!

We also checked on the status of the concrete in the barn that he sealed! I honestly wasn't sure that it would be dry with the rain and humidity that we've had, but it was perfect!

                                                            Ohhh, that looks nice! 👆

                                                    We did the water test and it beaded up! 

He put boards down behind and then one in front so that when he lowered the implements, they weren't sitting right on the cement. Ginny is now parked in the barn again!👆

Time to start moving stuff inside! On our most recent trip out, he built himself a workbench (he says it has to weigh at least 600 pounds 😏) and picked up some linoleum remnants to top it with to make clean up easier.👆 His next goal is to start emptying duplicate items out of the shipping container and into the barn, that way we have one of each thing at each end of the property and it frees up space in the shipping container to make it more organized and easy to move around in.

Speaking of shipping container....I think our Woodchuck is getting bigger, because it had to expand its hole entrance underneath, lol. 👇

My most recent trip into the forest on a humid day, while fighting mosquitoes, was spent removing bittersweet and Lily of the Valley. I didn't realize it when I went in, but I only had three trash bags. I have a system that works out really well for me since I work alone and because of the forest debris on the ground, I can't pull my work cart through the forest anymore. With it being a CRP forest and the trees are planted in rows going North and South, I enter in one row from the South, go North, and then come back South in the next row. If my bag is too full or heavy to continue with it, I leave it out on the edge of the path for Woodchuck to eventually pick up with the tractor. I grab a new bag and then head back in going North on the next row. On this trip in, I filled three 55 gallons bags with invasives. These next three pictures are Oriental Bittersweet and a very big problem on my land. I've been fighting it for just over 3 years now.

But I've found some great things along the way, both at the land and at our home where I've been working for four years to clean up a tiny strip of railroad land next to my yard and driveway. These next pictures are from the land and home.

                                            Carolina Cranes-bill (a species of geranium) 👆

                                                                        Bracken fern 👆

                                                                        Four o' clocks 👆

                                                                         Solomon's Seal 👆

                                                                    Oxeye Daisies 👆

                                                                            Fleabane 👆

                                                                Red Twig dogwood 👆

                            A very happy juniper tree with lots and lots of baby berries! 👆

                                                                        Elderberry 👆

                                                    A honey bee on the Black Walnut tree 👆

While the plant life continues to explode, the water in back ditch continues to go down and when I went to it last, I heard trickling water and was confused for a moment. The pipes leading to the pond were completely out of the water level, I got closer to them and still heard the sound but saw no water movement. I looked farther up in the ditch and there! The drainage pipe coming out of the forest, where we have no idea where it starts, was draining water into the ditch. Woodchuck bought the cap and we will seal it off the next time we are out there, though I still have reservations about it. I understand his worry that if this is coming from somewhere North of us that isn't clean, that is draining into our ditch and pond, etc., but I am also thinking about water levels in the pond. We have talked about also having a system on the culvert pipe at the end of the ditch coming off of the pond where we can close it off and keep the water in the pond during droughts. The company that we had out to access the flooding and slumping brought it up to us, but as usual, we are grasping at ideas and how to go about them with no idea really if we are doing more harm than good.

After getting up at 3 a.m. on Sunday and working until nearly noon, I was supposed to go to my oldest sons home around the corner from us to help him weed I got a text from him midmorning though that he wasn't feeling well again (he is on the spectrum and after four years of asking him to get established with an allergist and GP, I have been ignored.) Honestly, I was really, really tired, but in need of some sunshine and fresh air and was wondering if the lack of it was contributing to being tired; so I told him that I would come by myself for an hour and get done what I could. It hadn't been touched since I did it last year. I spent an hour and 15 minutes just pulling what was along the house on the driveway side and told him that we need to spend time each Sunday when I get off of work pulling weeds. I've yet to be able to find a trustworthy/reliable handyman to take over getting stuff done at his house. He needs stone put down if that is the look he wants to continue with, but he's got so many other things that need to be fixed before he does that. The before and after pictures.

I am again in that cycle of life where my three guys are leaning on me heavily and I have to keep reminding them that they are capable, grown men. The youngest and hubby are at each other again and barely talking and I am always getting stuck in the middle of their egos. Between them, trying to keep up on the housework here, sorting and packing, working at the land, working at my job 45-50 hours a week and being their referee, one day is running into the next and my head is spinning. I married older because I wanted someone mature and stable in his life and damn, it didn't work, lol. So I treated myself to an impulse buy!

 I will never again get in any kind of boat with Woodchuck (I've been in various ones four times now with him in charge and can tell that he has no idea what he is doing in any of them!). I wanted something that was just for me, controlled just by me, and to help me get over my fear of being in a boat on the pond. The Jon boats we have are too much for me to maneuver on my own and we went to a discount ware house recently to look around and I found this for $100 off the regular price. There was only three left and one couple was also trying to decide if they wanted one. When they picked one up and put it in their cart, I went back to hubby and told him about what it was and what was included. We walked away and I thought for sure they would be gone by the time I got back to them. We walked back up the next aisle and he said he wanted to see it too. When we got back to it, another couple was standing there deciding on buying or not. He was impressed enough that he grabbed one and put it in the cart for me! There is no way to look anything up inside of the building, so I knew we were taking a chance on buying a difficult product. Once we were outside and I was able to catch a signal, it turns out that it has great reviews! I did get some helpful feedback from friends about kayaks, and I'm not even going to try it out until the pond water swampiness gets cleared up! 

I also got some new shoes, barefoot shoes in fact! I have tried minimalist shoes before and while they felt great initially, after about 3 months my leg/foot would start hurting again. I can't afford to replace my shoes that often. I have a torn tendon in my ankle that is affecting my whole leg and after trying two pairs of shows in the past 6 months, I thought I would give these a shot. Honestly, I am a bit underwhelmed, but it could be more the styles that I chose that caused that. I got the same size, but two different styles. I love the turquoise ones and they fit great! The gray and orange ones feel tighter and don't offer as much toe protection at work. My leg is soooooorrrrre, but maybe it's getting strengthened? Someone else posted a picture of theirs and they look more like tennis shoes, where mine look more like water shoes. So if I get these again, I won't get the gray and orange style for sure!

The snafu part of life recently is that my work shift has been changed again. To separate myself from the problem employee that works up front, my shift has been changed back to what it was when I started working there. 10:30-6:30. While it is more peaceful, it has caused me some issues. I am now working at the slowest time of day and my tips have taken a 75% reduction while I am now doing the majority of cleaning and stocking up front. It also prevents Woodchuck and I from going to the land together after work on Wednesday thru Saturday. And speaking of Saturday, I have no idea how that will work now because before I was being sent home anywhere between noon and 2:00 when we got slow because there's no need for two of us up there when it's slow, and with me being the opener on Sundays, the boss wanted to make sure I was rested. Now I'll be getting home at 7 p.m., will eat, shower, go to bed around 9 and get up at 3 a.m. All because he doesn't want to fire an issue. I also found out last night that I will have to tag team with the assistant manager at closing to clean because our cleaner just quit. I am frustrated, tired, sore, and counting down the days until I can retire and get away from all of this dysfunction across the board in the workforce. To date, I have applied at 34 jobs since last September and either don't hear anything back at all (my application is still under review), or I don't get selected. I am 50 years old with some minor physical limitations, but give 110%. I mean, I am working 45-50 hours a week where I am, pushing myself physically, and honestly, I just want to climb into bed for the next few days and climb out of it a millionaire. A girl can dream, can't she? 😆

I recently stopped at my moms to see her, my sister, and my nieces. It was HOT and HUMID that day with my mom recently beating lung cancer but still having COPD, she was having a hard time breathing outside but wanted to stay near us. Once we ate lunch though, we all decided that we needed a break from the heat and went inside. I've been sticking to my clean/healthy eating as much as I can and I feel a lot better! Even the reduction in gluten has made a very big difference! My stepdad was grilling chicken and beef burgers, neither of which I could eat. I don't eat red meat and he has BBQ sauce on the chicken. So I brought my own food. Organic blueberries, carrots, hardboiled egg, horseradish cheese, and some herbed chicken breast. 😋I found lots of mock strawberries in their yard, but I don't eat anything from their yard/garden. They were a beautiful color though!

I look forward to the day when I am not busting my ass for money, but am working hard on my own land to get it healthy again and being surrounded daily by the peace that I deserve and try to give. May the sun shine brightly for us all. ☮