A few of my Tiger Lilies escaped the deer foraging through the wild gardens. These were a long ago gift from my Uncle Otto.
The patch used to be larger, but I am thankful to have just a few.
My Mother had Tiger Lilies growing on the farm in the little flower garden that was planted over the old outhouse hole. We got a flush toilet in about 1960 and after that the old outhouse area became a flower garden…the flowers grew quite nicely there.
I can also picture Tiger Lilies along side my Maternal Grandparents home. They really popped against the white house….Grandma had chicken wire around her flower beds…mostly to keep the dogs from laying in her flower beds.
I know they come in all kind of fancy colors nowadays…but I like the old fashioned ones the best!
Years ago in May of 2009 I bought a spinning wheel at my Uncle Otto and Aunt Marie’s Auction Sale. It belonged to Otto’s Grandmother and it came on a ship from Norway about 1880 something.
It has been on my bucket list. First to see if it spins. Not sure if I can learn to spin but I wanted to know if it still worked. We had so many oddball accessories, who knew what went with the spinning wheel and what did not.
This is my wheel and the accessories. Only two of the bobbins and the bobbin winder go with this wheel. The blue and red bobbins are too long to be used with this wheel. The rest of it goes with some kind of Industrial Spinning “stuff.” The one long handled piece of wood might be a laundry stick.
I met Bruce back in May. He was anxious to see my wheel and see if it worked.
Bruce put cord around the wheel and oiled it here and there. He said “It is in pretty good shape for how old it is.” He also said at one time it was painted blue.
The winder was stiff, it took awhile and some more oil before he gave it a whirl.
He adjusted it here and there…see it does spin. He used T Pins to hold the leather in place he said I could switch them out for toothpicks.
I took lots of photos because we had to take it apart to bring it home. As soon as we got it upstairs we put it back together again.
One of these days I will give it a whirl. Not that I need another hobby…but at least I can say I tried to spin.
Most people name their spinning wheels. Most of the time they are named after women. Mine will be different….Otto Bruce has a nice ring to it!
After finishing up the Christmas Ornaments I was faced with the dilema …what to carve next? During our weekly carving get togethers one of the gals was carving a daisy. I asked her if she would like to teach a few of us the technique…she said “Sure.” She is a very talented woodcarver…she graduated from high school with Far Guy.
She took the time to make study pieces….step by step carvings that help you to carve a piece along with very detailed instructions. Far Guy cut out a few round pieces of basswood. Bit by bit we learned how. In my case it is a good thing that no two daisies are alike! I struggle with transposing the position of the petal on top and what parts are over or under to the bottom of the petal…it must be a right brain left brain thing so I usually end up guessing!
The one on the right is pretty much done and the one on the left is in progress.
I woodburned a design on the underside of the daisy…a stem will be attached…and these five will someday be a bouquet. SOMEDAY.
I would like to carve one more project before Christmas ( a gift) and I would like to do the prototype of next years ornament before we are forced to carve inside because it will get cold on the patio!
My carving skills are improving. I began carving in the winter of 2004 at my Uncle Otto and Aunt Marie’s dining room table. Uncle Otto took Far Guy, Cousin Kathy and I under his wing and taught us the basics. Uncle Otto died on September 13 2004 his 68th birthday. After he died we didn’t carve for a long time…but eventually we all began to carve again. I think he would be pleased with how far his students have come.
A long time ago Uncle Otto gave me some Tiger Lilies for the wildgardens that weren’t so wild back then. They bloomed wonderfully then the deer found them….you can imagine what was left. It didn’t matter how much special “deer stuff” I sprayed on them…they ate them flowers and all.
This year they have re emerged and are finally blooming.
I was happy to see these, they reminded me of the gardener that so graciously shared with me so long ago.
My Mother always had Tiger Lilies in her garden at the farm…out past the old outhouse…later exactly where the old outhouse was…the lilies liked it there.
We need rain, the grass is turning brown in sunny spots, the brush in the woods is turning yellow…leaves crunch underfoot in the yard.
I ran onto an old photo yesterday. Taken 1976… There was a family gathering in the summer. My Aunt who used to live in Washington was home for a visit and almost the entire family gathered for a picnic at my parents resort.
The In Laws in my Dad’s family. My Grandfather with his son and daughter in laws.
Most are gone..but there are a few left.
Back Row: Aunt Violet, Aunt Lila, Uncle Stanley, Uncle Otto, Aunt Sharon, Aunt Grace
Front Row: Aunt Jenny, Aunt Senia, My Grandfather, My Mother Madeline, Aunt Mia
There were two Aunts missing from the photo: Aunt Joan and Aunt Eleanor.
Those still with us are Aunt Lila, Aunt Sharon, Aunt Grace and My Mother.
One by one this generation is leaving us behind.
When I look at this group..I remember mostly..bingo, hunting, apple strudel, black coffee, flat bread, chicken and dumplings, cookies of all shapes and sizes..and from my Grandfather the smell of moth balls on his wool clothing and the taste of the pink peppermint candies that he used to carry in his pocket…good memories all:)
I found a little surprise out in the “wild” gardens.
I have not seen these in years. Years ago..most likely about 12 years ago my Uncle Otto shared his Tiger Lilies with me. He had too many. Did you know Tiger Lilies are a favorite food of deer? Well they are and they mowed them down year after year. This one popped up at the edge of the woods..a lone survivor.
Far Guy and I planted Echinacea (Coneflowers) both Purple and White along the driveway years ago. They are doing surprising well..but they are prairie plants with deep roots. We babied them the first couple of years. Far Guy rigged up a watering system of two huge barrels that he put in the wagon and he used a bilge pump that was connected to the riding lawn mower battery.. the pump was connected to a watering hose. So you could ride along the drive and squirt water at the flowers. It was an ingenious way to water new seedlings. ( He has watched many episodes of the Red Green Show.)
Obviously deer don’t like Echinacea…either that or they are not real high on the snack list.
Every year just like clock work Far Guy drags me down the driveway to look at the pretty red flower that he has discovered. Bee Balm..I say..and he says “oh yeah..how did they get there?” We used to collect seed in the wild gardens and then in the early spring I would toss the seeds along the driveway and some of them grew! :)
I have always liked black licorice. Well I cannot lie. I love black licorice. Especially the licorice from a long time ago. The licorice taste was dark and intense, you could smell and taste the flavor at the same time.. they were unwrapped in a box, free from plastic wrap, they were shaped just like a small pipe, their luscious pipe bowls had little red candies on the top of the pipe bowl to simulate a flame. You reached right into the box and grabbed how many you wanted and plopped them down on the counter..where the clerk counted them again. Then someone apparently got sick or something and rigorous candy handling standards were implemented. For years we found them in Canada. Then they disappeared completely until someone reinvented them and wrapped them in plastic. They were almost the same..very close to the original.
My Uncle knew of my passion for licorice.. He was a traveler, during his many travels he would look for licorice pipes. He would tuck them into the side pockets of his suitcase..then he would dole them out throughout the year..he knew that a licorice pipe would get him a big old hug.
During one of these trips, he died. My Aunt found licorice tucked into a side pocket of his suitcase. She called and said “Otto bought you some licorice, I found it in his suitcase, it must have been for your birthday.”
I had one six year old licorice pipe left from Lake Tahoe, in a Christmas tin upstairs. Hard as a rock, from my Uncle’s suitcase back in 2004.
Happy Birthday to me! Thanks Jen, Andy, Noah and Adam!
Yes, today is that dreaded day I turn one year older or perhaps it is just that I am ageing to perfection:)
And then there were two, my Dad comes from a large family, there were fourteen of them. Now there are two..my Dad and his sister Anna. Their sister, my Aunt Marie who was 82 just last month and diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer twenty- four days ago died yesterday afternoon.
I sat with her the other night, I am not sure if she knew who I was, but at least she knew someone that loved her was there.
I learned many things from her over the years. How to take care of two babies at once, as she was the mother of twins. How to knit, she took the time to show me how to hold the needles and my thread just right to make stitches that are not too loose and not too tight. How not to be quite so cranky..she was a bit of a crank, that is probably why we got along so well together.
Some of my favorite memories were long conversations on an Amtrak trip from Minnesota to Seattle one year for a cousins wedding. We made good traveling companions.
She was not only my Aunt, but also a good friend. Between my husband and hers they could tell some awfully funny stories and she would giggle so hard that she would practically wet her panties.
I will miss her, but it was time for her to go on, she was so tired and worn out. I am positive that she will be there to greet me whenever I am called to my heavenly home. Her faith was strong, it had to be, she was widowed twice in her life. The first time on her tenth wedding anniversary, and the second time many years later on her second husbands birthday. She leaves behind three sons and five beautiful grandchildren.
I visited her years ago in the hospital when she had her open heart surgery, I brought her a couple of yellow roses..she said “ Yellow Roses are my favorite.” :)
