Sunday, September 30, 2012

Morning walks

purple flowers and fall leaves purple weeds with red fallen leaves

Wow, 2 posts  in one day after a month of no postings. I had written this post yesterday, but accidently deleted it...urgh!!! Hate when that happens.

Recently I started walking again, as I want to lose some weight. You know the nasty 4 letter word.. D-I-E-T? Well, I am watching what I eat, eating smaller portions, trying to eat more fresh veggies and fruit. I use to walk 3 miles every morning and then again in the evening with our beloved golden retriever, Bear, but after he had to be put down due to cancer, the walks just weren't the same. I fell into a rut and just stopped. Anyway, now that I have started walking again, I find it very relaxing. I love being outside in the fresh air, and I just let my mind wander. Great stress reliever.

But, I want to love 20 plus pounds before I head to Florida in the spring.  On my walks, I carry my camera in my pocket to take photos of anything that catches my fancy.

bittersweet vine w unripe yellow berries bittersweet berries starting to turn color, soon they will be orange. the leaves have already been frosted by the cold nights.

teaberry single tea berry plant and berry. As a child did you ever eat teaberries? We did, and loved them. If you have chewed teaberry gum the gum taste just like the berries.

teaberries1 most teaberry plants have 2 berries. On the plant above, I ate one of the berries

mushrooms 3 3 mushrooms pushing up thru the pine needles

mushroom1  dome shaped mushroom

 mushroom2

mushroom breaking thru the pine needles top viewtop of mushroom

mushroom breaking thru the pine needles  side view

mushroom puff ball from top puff ball. Don't know the real name of these, but as kids we loved to step on them and watch the puff of smoke like stuff come out of them.

mushroom puff ball inside bottom of the puff ball

mushroom breaking thru the pine needles white top view

mushroom white puff ball at auntysthis mushroom was in my aunts yard, and reminded me of a piece of brain coral.

A short you tube video that my niece did. Click here: just using 3 watercolor paints for your nature journal

Yesterday morning I emptied 2.5 inches of rain from the rain gauge, and today it is raining again, but our cranberry harvest continues rain or shine.

Have a wonderful day.

Elaine

Fall Festival Family Day at Assumption

Assumption college weekend foliage 9.29.12foliage starting to change in central Massachusetts

Yesterday I went to Assumption College in Worcester, MA to see my oldest granddaughter, Katie. It was family day at the college. The college grounds are beautiful. I had never seen the college before. We saw Katie's room, dorm, and Katie gave us a tour of the whole campus and had a lovely brunch in the lunch room.

Assumption college weekend 9.29.12 red berries1berries dripping raindrops on the collage grounds

Assumption college weekend 9.29.12 red fruit on treedon't know what kind of tree this is, but the bumpy fruit was pretty

The weather was overcast, and a little chilly but at least the rain had stopped. The night before we got 2.5 inches of rain, and it is raining again this morning.

Assumption college weekend lily katie clock. 9.29.12Lily and Katie

Assumption college weekend lily tommy katie kelley clock. 9.29.12Tommy, Kelley, Lily and Katie

Assumption college weekend lily katie on greyhound 2. 9.29.12near the football field

Assumption college weekend tommy lily me katie clock2. 9.29.12

Assumption college weekend 9.29.12 hawk head shot 1 Assumption college weekend 9.29.12 hawk head shot 2 Assumption college weekend 9.29.12 hawk head shot 3 Assumption college weekend 9.29.12 hawk head shot 4     Assumption college weekend 9.29.12 hawk standing sideways1 Assumption college weekend 9.29.12 hawk standing sideways2   Assumption college weekend 9.29.12 hawk taking off taking off

Assumption college weekend 9.29.12 hawk on light pole back to2flew to light post with it's dinner

The red tail hawk above had caught a squirrel. I was able to get about 5 feet to take the above photos. I only posted a few of the pics I took, because I know some would find them disturbing, but it is nature, and to survive the birds must eat. I know..gross, but I couldn't pass up this opportunity of capturing this large bird of prey when the opportunity presented itself. A staff member told me that the hawk is around the college grounds.

After leaving the college my son drove me around to show me some of the area.

Assumption college weekend 9.29.12 Union Square train station lion one of the lions on the front of the newly refurbished Union Square Railroad Station.

Assumption college weekend 9.29.12 Blackstone valley foliage1foliage starting to turn in the Blackstone Valley area.

Assumption college weekend 9.29.12 Blackstone valley foliage3  Assumption college weekend 9.29.12 Blackstone valley foliage2

Millbury, MA..

Carpenters Union building Tommy worked on 9.29.12 name on wallmy son has taken classes here

Carpenters Union building Tommy worked on 9.29.12 bldg. logo

Carpenters Union front of building Tommy worked on 9.29.12 and Tommy built did the beam work for the wavy covering over the walkway

Carpenters Union building Tommy worked on 9.29.12 front side bldg

Carpenters Union building Tommy worked on 9.29.12 front bldg2

Carpenters Union building Tommy worked on 9.29.12 wavy cover over walkway

Elaine

Friday, September 28, 2012

Wet harvesting of Cranberries- video

Cranberry Harvest Gerts bog 2011 3 machines 4 wet harvesting..machines knocking the ripe cranberries off of the cranberry vines. The berries float up, and are corralled into one corner of the bog to be suctioned up with a pump to a tractor trailer bed, and then brought to Ocean Spray. Cranberries that are wet harvested are used for juice, sauce and Craisins (sweetened dried cranberries)
If you follow my blog you know that my family are cranberry growers, and that we sell our cranberry crop to Ocean Spray. Click on this link..Cranberry Harvest video filmed by my niece , Sarah of her dad who is my older brother. In this short you tube video, Larry explains the wet cranberry harvest.
More photos of cranberries on my picture trail site in the  first album...cranberry
Yesterday as I was taking a walk I couldn't help but notice that there were lots of big acorns on the ground. I'm hoping this doesn't mean we will have a long, hard winter. If you believe in the old farmers almanac there is a saying lots of pine cones and acorns means a long, cold winter to come. Keeping my fingers crossed that isn't so. 
acorns fall 2012
Nature's Treasures..odd rocks....rectangular and flat round. I love the round one.
rocks rectangular and round
feather barred 5 inches pretty black shape and barred approx. 5 inches long . I think it is from a dove.
cardinal feathers cardinal feathers found near the bird bath
Ginko leaves turning color...taken in Plymouth at my parents doctors. Pretty, don't you think?
ginko leaves fall 2012
moss soft from front yard tree moss with spores that is on a branch that fell from my mountain ash tree on the front lawn. This moss is so soft when fresh, hard when dried out, but when it is again wet turns soft again.
That's it for this morning. I have no art to share today.
Elaine

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

I'm still here

cranberry harvest corralled berries 9.20.2012

It has been almost a month since I last sat and wrote on my blog. How time flies, doesn't it?  Summer was busy and has now come and gone, and fall is making itself known. We've had cold nights, nippy mornings, but still the days are sunny and warm. Leaves are starting to change color and some are already falling. Our vegetable garden has been hit by frost, and  I will miss having garden fresh tomatoes.  The worst part of fall is that it gets dark outside early. Summer passes too quickly and winter seems to stay around forever. Fall is also apple picking time,  and I've already made 3 apple pies, homemade applesauce, and cranberry orange nut breads..so yummy.

And, of course fall to our family means it's time to harvest the cranberry crop. Our harvest  started once again a couple of weeks ago.  The bogs are so pretty flooded with water with a sea of red berries floating waiting to be taken off the bog and brought to the Ocean Spray plant to be made into juice and sauce.                Cranberry Harvest Gerts bog berries1               cranberry harvest josh ronnie kevin and G 9.20     cranberry seeing red in carver newspaper. 9.21.2012 newspaper article on the cranberry harvest, Brockton Enterprise, Friday, September 21, 2012.

What have I been doing in my absence? I'm still making jams, canning pickles and now canning home made jellied cranberry sauce. I haven't had time to create any art, but yesterday and today I had the sewing machine out and I made 3 new pillow cases.

pillow cases halloween HK snowmen 9.27.2012Hello Kitty, Halloween and Snowmen

This afternoon I cleaned out my elderly aunts spare room so a new washer and dryer can be put upstairs. With the washer and dryer upstairs she doesn't have to climb her steep cellar stairs and it is much safer for her.  Tomorrow I take my parents to doctor appointments and then grocery shopping. Thursday, I will get a much needed haircut, Friday the car needs to go to the garage for an oil change, Saturday I will be going to my granddaughter, Katie's Fall Festival at Assumption College where she is a freshman.

Thank you to all of you who have stayed faithful and continue to check and read my blog.

Elaine