March crocus and March winds

My mother's garden was full of little "snow" crocus. I'm not sure how she accomplished it! I've tried to get the smaller varieties established on the manor but to no avail. This property seems to support the larger varieties, and that's really okay. 

Years ago I planted a row along the eastern side of the patio and finally - finally! - this year they really put on a bit of a show. I wish the Lord of the Manor was here to enjoy it with me. 

It seems strange that I've spent over forty years planting bulbs all over the place and I still don't seem to have enough crocus, daffodil, tulips, snow glories, and bluebells. I've reconciled myself that I never will have my woods full of daffodils, or if I do, I'll be dead before I see it again the next spring. Such is life. 

Today was the classic March day - rain, wind, sunshine, snow squalls, fluffy white clouds, blue sky, and then do it all over again. I hated to go outside in the wind, but the Lord of the Manor is in rehab for physical therapy and I'd promised him coffee from home. Now that I've returned home, I think a cup of tea in front of the wood stove may be in order.  

March always brings a mixed bag of weather that can be frustrating to those living in rural areas. I, and many others, are eager to be outside preparing for a garden and tidying the yard. A cold, wet, and windy March doesn't lend itself to such activities. 

Some days my outside activities are no more than walking around the property and observing what is blooming. And some days, that's enough.

The Lady of Holly Tree Manor/The Hideaway

Holly Tree Manor, The Hideaway, March, crocus, daffodils, bulbs, country lifestyle, rural living, gardening, yard work, tea, coffee, weather

Dreary days

It's a given that our Mid-Atlantic January will be full of dreary days. We had a day of sunshine yesterday, but we knew this storm system was coming. I'm grateful it's rain and not snow, although I am seeing the occasional odd snowflake. 

We're warm and dry. The woodstove is cranking out the BTUs, but since the Lord of the Manor isn't feeling too well these days, we've cycled the heat pump to bump it up a notch. 

We doggy-sat Sadie this morning, and I think the weather brought out an entirely different side of the dog. She was not her usual nice little girl. Ohhhh, no. She paced the floor, refusing to sit or lie down, and trying to use telepathy on us. She stuck her head through the cat port to try to get to Loki's feeder and getting her loose wasn't fun. I took her outside for her outside activities, and she almost pulled me off my feet. It was so bad I did give her a yank, which she ignored. 

But not even Sadie was a diversion from the weather. I spent some time writing, and then an hour or so doing some promo while I had that "forbidden" third cup of coffee. The wind is constant, and my sunroom office gives me a good view of the treetops swaying back and forth. So far, only one dead stick has hit the ground. The rain is good for the trees, though. 

With the rain beating on the windows, I got this notion I should take a picture of the raindrops. It was harder than it seemed, but it's a good record of this dreary January day. 

It does make one appreciate the sunny days even more.

The Lady of Holly Tree Manor/The Hideaway

Holly Tree Manor, The Hideaway, rainy days, winter storms, January weather, rural living, country lifestyle, a writer's life, sunshine, high winds, maple trees, coffee 

Sitting by the fire on a rainy day

Living in the country as I do, I constantly find joy in the simple chores around our little homestead. And a lot of those chores are cyclic. By that, I mean they need to be done at about the same time every year. Burning brush isn't cyclic. No matter if it NEEDS to be, it can't be done until certain criteria are met. 

Having acres of woodland we end up with a lot of brush. Branches and limbs fall to the ground on a regular basis. There is pruning to be done along the lane and along the edges of the yard. Getting whacked in the face while mowing isn't much fun! It can hurt! 

Rose bushes get trimmed, the garden gets weeded, shrubs and bushes die and need cut back in the hope of new growth, and yes, sometimes we help out our city-bound family members and bring branches from their yards to burn. 

I won't light a fire unless it is raining or rained in the night enough to make the ground wet, or unless there is a cover of snow on the ground. This is the way I stay out of trouble. This is how my grandfather taught me to burn, and it makes good sense. 

This past Sunday, we got a wonderful soaking rain. We don't typically do a lot of chores on a Sunday, but I didn't think sitting in my pickup watching the fire would be much work, and it was not. It was actually rather pleasant. 

I took my Kindle and a travel cup full of coffee with me. I stuck a stick in the USB port and cued up my playlist. I left poor Deuce inside with the Lord of the Manor and I had some quality alone-time. 

After a bit, Himself sent a text asking if the fire was burning. I took a picture and sent it to him. It wasn't until I took the picture off my phone that I noticed the Universe had had a little fun with me. Take a look at the photo. The song that played when I took the picture was Fool in the Rain by Led Zeppelin. 

Funny, Universe. Funny.

The Lady of the Hideaway

The Hideaway, Holly Tree Manor, homesteads, simple country pleasures, rural living, burning brush, soaking rain, Chevy trucks, common sense, country traditions, coffee

Working in a wintry mix - in comfort!

Happy anniversary to Holly Tree Manor! The blog is three years old and has two hundred eighty-eight posts, and nineteen pages now. I like to look back and see what I was doing a year ago, and apparently, I was amused by finding a counterfeit bill someone had donated to where I worked. 

We woke to a wintry mix this morning. Snow, sleet, and rain all fell at the same time. I gave it an hour or so to cover the ground and headed to the west forty to burn a rather substantial brush pile. 

I say "brush" but it was a lot more than that. Taking down three large trees made quite a mess. A lot of the brush from those days was disposed of promptly, but as we got into the actual cutting and splitting of firewood, we created more. This pile had some large chunks in the middle and I knew from experience this pile would burn for hours and hours. I needed snow to be on the safe side, and this morning I got it. 

Experience has taught me a few other things, too. I drove the Colorado over and parked it at a safe distance. Once I lit the fire, I hopped back in the pickup and watched the fire in relative comfort. I had a heated seat, a good stereo, hot coffee in my fave travel cup, and my dog in the backseat. That was at nine o'clock this morning. 

It's after six and after dark, and a lot of hot coals are still blazing in the rain. And it's raining pretty hard. I'm not worried about any sparks given how wet it is outside. The rain will create a cold crust over the top of the ashes and the coals beneath will continue to smolder until they've gone to ash. What's left, the potash, can be used judiciously in the garden. 

I can check the brush pile off my To Do list, at least for now. It never takes long for a new one to get started. Some rainy summer day, I'll burn again. Burning in the rain is a safety measure. And yes, we'll sit in the pickup with the AC on and watch the fire. Work smart, not hard. 

The Lady of Holly Tree Manor (The Hideaway)

Chevy Colorado, Holly Tree Manor, The Hideaway, work smart not hard, rural lifestyle, country living, brush, coffee, splitting firewood, wintry mix