Eating Out

We have had such a strange summer this year that our little back deck hasn't gotten much use. April wasn't bad, but it rained consistently through May and June, and then the beginning of July warmed up, but the rains continued right on through the first two weeks of the month. We made our annual trek upstate for the fourth, but Lord knows, I had my little zipper hoodie on every day. (I would have made a selection other than white if I had known it was going to be a daily accessory.)

Finally we are in some pretty days, and looking to have supper on the deck under our honey locust trees. Those trees give lovely shade to the deck, but they certainly have their share of drawbacks. In the middle of June they are infested with aphids that drop down on you if you are out there sitting or weeding, and the rest of the time they drop these tiny leaves that shrivel up into loose clumps that do not biodegrade. You could use them for mulch...But I digress.

So--dinner on the deck. Ah, but look! MyTreasure has built a scaffold so that he can finish the shingles on the back of the house. There are tools on the table, and a step ladder, and boxes of shingles. This has been going on for many years. MT decided when he retired he would reshingle the house himself. The house is HUGE. After several years of planning and measuring, and stain-testing, he started on the front. Each year he moved to another side. Some years he didn't finish a side, and continued the following year. Last year he made it around to the back side, but didn't finish. This summer he has made it around to the back deck. There were a couple of complications--the little old light fixture was about as rusted as it could get, but still clinging to the wall next to the back door. Wiring and repositioning were required, and a new fixture was obtained. That done, the shingling continued. The supply was dwindling, however. Would it come out right, without having to purchase another box?

Yesterday was a celebration of sorts. The shingling was finally finished. There were only six nails left, and all the shingles were used up. MT was so happy! I confess it was a joy to see his sense of accomplishment. What an undertaking. We had our dinner out on the deck--a lovely evening. Today is foggy, muggy, gloomy, with thunderstorms on the way. It's okay--our shingles will keep us dry. Great job, MT!

Art With Attitude

I took myself (by myself) into the city a couple of weeks to drop in on some of my favorite places that I cannot take MyTreasure to--the Design Shop at MOMA, the Paula Nadelstern Quilt Exhibit at the Folk Art Museum, and the Shop at the MAD at Union Square. I need to check in to these places once in a while, just to see what is going on in the heads of the fine designers who "exhibit" there, and I find that by doing so, I am renewed. I am not an artist, but there must be some part of me that finds the need to create, and I find it very satisfying to glimpse into the minds of other creative people who work in tangible materials. A musician works always in the abstract, but I find I need the physical part of art too--fabric, metal, color, paper.

What a joy to be able to purchase some of these things and take them home to my house to enjoy. A set of vases caught my eye--all lined up on a high shelf--all little pieces of sculpture, very individual, even though the shapes were similar. I had a hard time picking just one, since they were all colors and patterns of my favorite things--dresses. So I narrowed it down and picked one, brought it home, and it has been sitting on my kitchen counter, until I went out to my garden, and fulfilled it's function. I confess, it makes me laugh, and I think I made a great choice.

Meanwhile, Back At The Birdfeeder...

We went on our yearly loop upstate to hook up with relatives who gather at the old family homestead for the 4th of July. The town has a great little parade and fireworks exhibit (on years when it doesn't rain), and there is a bbq at a big old house near enough to walk down to all the town's festivities. This year it didn't rain, but it wasn't warm. It is interesting to catch up with folks you only see once a year--there is always something to talk about.

So, we got back last night--and thank heavens for that. This morning the news is full of the traffic mess at the Throg's Neck Bridge, which is still closed in BOTH directions due to a fire under the roadway. I have never been so unfortunate to be sitting for hours behind a big road disaster, and I hope I never have to.

I'm looking out my kitchen window and enjoying the last of the bird feeders, which happens to be a goldfinch thistle seed feeder. We stop filling the bird feeders for the summer as we run out of seed, and then start again in the fall. The thistle seeds last the longest, and we have half a bag left, so the birds are still out there checking it out. We have enjoyed watching the goldfinches turn from olive to bright yellow for the summer. They have to tip upside down to get the seeds, and the feeder is designed especially for them. Since it is the only feeder out there, the other birds have been eyeing the finches, and the chickadees have figured out how to eat from this odd arrangement. There has been one persistent sparrow, and low and behold, this morning he was tipping himself upside down to get at those thistle seeds. He isn't too good at it yet, but I bet he'll succeed, since thistle seeds seem to be particularly tasty.

Underneath this feeder is a pot with two cherry tomato plants. The cardinal was in it picking out the seeds that have fallen down into the pot. Everybody has their way of coping, each in his unique manner, some by adapting and trying something new, and some by staying with the tried and true. I confess to finding pleasure in observing the process--and not just in birds!