Garnering

"Autumn asks that we prepare for the future—that we be wise in the ways of garnering and keeping. But it also asks that we learn to let go—to acknowledge the beauty of sparseness. "
--Bonaro W. Overstreet

What have you garnered today?

Mosaic Monday: Firemen's Parade

On Saturday our local volunteer fire company celebrated it's one-hundredth anniversary with a parade. All the equipment was lovingly shined, including the antique hose trucks and vintage ambulance. They were joined by neighboring fire companies, the high school marching band, several bagpipe bands and a local private school drum corps. The weather was beautiful, the parade route was lined with appreciative families, and there were cheers all around. :)

Now let's have some mosaic fun! Here are the instructions:
1. Publish your Mosaic Monday post.
2. Once it is published, click on the title of the post. This will lead you to the static link for your post. The static link is the page with only that post on it. Copy the url from your browser at the top of the page.
3. Paste the url into the appropriate inlinkz box in this post.
4. Type your name in the appropriate inlinkz box in this post.
5. Click on "Enter."
6. Please link back to this Mosaic Monday post so that your readers can find other wonderful mosaics.

That's all there is to it! It's always a good idea to then check and see if your link is working. If you have any questions, feel free to email me: mrcarroll(at)optonline.

A Sale and a Spoon

I went to an estate sale yesterday, just to have a look around. I wish I had brought my camera, because the house was so beautiful. Not beautiful as in perfectly decorated and lovingly kept, but beautiful as in "oh, this is my dream renovation house!"

It was a small nineteenth-century farmhouse, which looked as though it may have been the caretaker's house for some great estate. It was painted white with black shutters and a red door -- that almost iconic scheme for old houses here in the northeast. Just inside the front door was a small central hall, painted with a beautiful scene of the rolling green hills that this area is famous for. The hall led straight back to a sitting room with the most gorgeous old wainscoting and huge hearth. All the floors were wide-board pumpkin pine -- to die for! There was even a big sunroom at the back of the house -- definitely a more recent addition but beautifully scaled and executed.

Oh, my.

Of all the people who were at the sale while I was there, I think every single one of us asked the same question: "Is the house for sale?"

The house had already been sold. :( Which was probably just as well. Can you imagine me telling my husband when he walked in the door from work last night that we had to buy a rundown old house ten minutes away and move immediately? lol

So no, dear readers, I didn't buy a house. But I did buy a spoon. It's Sheffield silver, with a carved bowl (is that the proper term?). I have no idea what it is used for, but like a magpie I cannot pass up something old and shiny. :)

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Are you ready for another Mosaic Monday? I'm not, but I'm sure I'll figure something out by the end of the weekend. lol Mr. Linky will be up by 8:30pm Sunday. As always, I look forward to seeing your wonderful links! :)

My Thoughts on Your Thoughts

First of all, I have to tell you that I really enjoyed reading all the different opinions you shared here yesterday on the lost art of letter writing. I must say that I have not really written a long letter since college. But I loved hearing all about the letters you treasure. What a beautiful thought that is!

I can remember the substantial heft of a fountain pen in my hand, and the beautiful texture of fine stationary... and I think we are all missing something when we lose that. *Sigh*

As for the books vs. Kindle debate, I must make it clear that I LOVE books. My family is a family of readers, and we have many more books than space to store them. :) And while I will never have a home without all my books, I do find myself intrigued, not so much by the Kindle, but by the ipad. You see, I'm a Mac girl through and through. :)

And I would LOVE to try out the ipad! It would never replace real books for me, but it would be a neat way to take books along when I travel and to read all the newspapers I would like. There are also some new online magazines that would be fun to read on an ipad.

So that's where I stand. Thanks so much for taking the time to share your thoughts with me here.

Oh, and the little white pumpkins are my first attempt at some natural autumn decorating! Aren't they adorable? ;)

A Lost Art

Does anyone write letters anymore? Not texting, not IMing, not a short and sweet email. No messages on a Facebook wall, no tweets at 140 characters or less.

Does anyone write real, live, honest-to-goodness letters -- filled with stories and passion and wit?

My husband and I have been debating the Kindle -- I think it might be kind of neat, and he says he will never get one. I recognize now that this must be an extension of the letter writing debate.

So I guess maybe I am romanticizing the whole letter writing thing?

Tell me, what is your take on this? Letters or emails? Kindles or books? I'd love to know what you think.

Mosaic Monday: Goldenrod

Some of you probably cultivate goldenrod in your gardens. It's a beautiful late summer perennial that grows wild in the meadows near our Little Red House. Goldenrod is a member of the Aster family, and it is a lovely companion to the purple autumn aster.

Goldenrod is often confused with ragweed, which causes hay fever. I checked it out on Wikipedia, and learned some interesting facts. Did you know that parts of the plant are edible, and it is sometimes brewed as a tea? Goldenrod is used in herbal remedies as a kidney tonic. And most interesting of all, Thomas Edison experimented with extracting rubber from goldenrod:

"Inventor Thomas Edison experimented with goldenrod to produce rubber, which it contains naturally.^[7] Edison created a fertilization and cultivation process to maximize the rubber content in each plant. His experiments produced a 12-foot-tall (3.7 m) plant that yielded as much as 12 percent rubber. The rubber produced through Edison's process was resilient and long lasting. The tires on the Model T given to him by his friend Henry Fordwere made from goldenrod. Examples of the rubber can still be found in his laboratory, elastic and rot free after more than 50 years. However, even though Edison turned his research over to the U.S. government a year before his death, goldenrod rubber never went beyond the experimental stage."

How cool is that?!

I've often tried to photograph goldenrod with little success, but this time I had a little helpful companion. Isn't he adorable? I'm not sure what kind of bug this is, so if anyone can identify him, I'd love to hear about it. :)

Now let's have some mosaic fun! Here are the instructions:
1. Publish your Mosaic Monday post.
2. Once it is published, click on the title of the post. This will lead you to the static link for your post. The static link is the page with only that post on it. Copy the url from your browser at the top of the page.
3. Paste the url into the appropriate inlinkz box in this post.
4. Type your name in the appropriate inlinkz box in this post.
5. Click on "Enter."
6. Please link back to this Mosaic Monday post so that your readers can find other wonderful mosaics.

That's all there is to it! It's always a good idea to then check and see if your link is working. If you have any questions, feel free to email me: mrcarroll(at)optonline.

Where does the time go?

Well, this has been one of those weeks when life gets in the way of blogging. lol I've tried my best to create something, anything, to post. But it was not to be. So here I am on Saturday, hoping all of you will forgive me for not being around, and asking you once again to join in Mosaic Monday. Mr. Linky will be up by 8:30pm Sunday.

Oh, and the picture? Has nothing to do with anything in this post. I just like it. :)

Help Wanted

Well, the brown paisley tablecloth and the fall silk flowers have come out. It must be autumn at Little Red House. :)

Yes, I know silk flowers are tacky. And I really wish I had fresh flowers every day. Wouldn't that be wonderful?

And one of those living wreaths made with succulents would be lovely, too. But unfortunately, all I have is this silk one which is beginning to show it's age.

I'm going to have to see what I can do about celebrating the season more naturally. Any suggestions? You are all my design gurus. I'm counting on you! :)

Mosaic Monday: Evening at Natirar

I know I've shown you this before, but my life is so exciting that I just had to show you again. lol

My husband and I like to take long walks on the weekends, and this is one of our favorite places to walk. It's a park called Natirar, which is about ten minutes from our house. The name Natirar is Raritan spelled backwards. Raritan is the name of the river that runs through the park. Originally part of a great estate, Natirar is over 400 acres of beautifully landscaped parkland, with majestic trees and a nature trail that winds through an open valley.

The images shown here were taken on Saturday night. The light was golden as we made our way along the nature trail. By the time we were walking back through the trees, the sun was beginning to set. The shadows were long and the air was cool.

Evening at Natirar.

Now let's have some mosaic fun! Here are the instructions:
1. Publish your Mosaic Monday post.
2. Once it is published, click on the title of the post. This will lead you to the static link for your post. The static link is the page with only that post on it. Copy the url from your browser at the top of the page.
3. Paste the url into the appropriate inlinkz box in this post.
4. Type your name in the appropriate inlinkz box in this post.
5. Click on "Enter."
6. Please link back to this Mosaic Monday post so that your readers can find other wonderful mosaics.

That's all there is to it! It's always a good idea to then check and see if your link is working. If you have any questions, feel free to email me: mrcarroll(at)optonline.

September 11

Please remember them in your prayers today.

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Please join me for Mosaic Monday this week. Mr. Linky will be up by 8:30pm Sunday. I look forward to seeing you all after a week off. :)

A Sweet Lunch

Well, the days are getting just the tiniest bit cooler, and I'm already in autumn mode when it comes to lunch. I've been on a spinach salad kick lately. :)

My current recipe includes baby spinach leaves, half of a thinly sliced Fuji apple, and honey baked pecans. I dress it with a honey mustard creamy yogurt dressing and some drizzled honey.

Are you sensing a honey theme here? lol All that sweetness might be better balanced with some crumbled goat cheese... I'll have to try that next time. ;)

Anyway, it is seriously yummy. Try it!

So tell me, what is your favorite lunch these days?

Willowwood Arboretum, Late Summer in the Cottage Garden

Isn't there something just so happy about yellow flowers? I used to be a real English garden snob -- nothing but blues, pinks and whites for me. But that meant that there were not many choices for late summer blooms in my oh-so-genteel pastel garden.

No room for exuberant heliopsis, or the smiling faces of black-eyed Susans. No beautiful bronze chrysanthemums. Nothing to relate to the fast-approaching autumn colors.

But I have learned my lesson thanks, in part, to the many local gardens where I take my camera out for a spin. ;)

These images are from Willowwood Arboretum, which I have visited several times this year.

The cottage garden in front of the house is laid out on an axis from the front door, with a crazy paving stone walkway bisected by a grassy path.

The plantings crowd the stone path with a wonderful exuberance, softening the hard edges. The view (above) shows the house at the end of the garden.

I just love this beautiful iron gate, which leads into the garden from the lawn in front of the house. There is a wonderful combination of stone, evergreen shrubs and plantings which together make this garden a very inviting place.

Willowwood Arboretum

300 Longview Road
Far Hills, NJ 07931-2625

Happy

Just a little update for those of you who are interested: my daughter is settling in nicely at college. Hearing her excited and happy voice when she calls home is the best! So although I still miss her, I'm doing just fine. :)

Taking lots of pictures and playing with Photoshop helps, too. The photo above is Coreopsis Moonbeam and purple Angelonia against the red of Little Red House. I'm really loving the colors. Isn't it amazing how bright colors can affect your mood? :)

This is a three-day weekend in the United States, where we will be celebrating Labor Day on Monday. Let the grilling begin! Wishing you a wonderful holiday weekend, dear bloggers.

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There will be no Mosaic Monday this week because of the holiday weekend in the United States. Mosaic Monday will return on Sunday, September 12th.

A Gentle Reminder

Just a gentle reminder to all gardeners who have spent the summer battling oppressive heat, and parched earth, followed by biblical deluge...

For all of us who have fought the good fight against rabbits and ground hogs and deer... Many, many deer...

For all of the gardeners who have been disappointed by seeds that didn't germinate, or colors that clashed, or plants that just plain disappeared...

Yup, gardening grows the spirit. And there is always next year. ;)