Wednesday, October 24, 2018

sleet in the weather report

and winter approaches.
i hauled in milkweed
and chopped each stick into three or four pieces so they'd fit into my big pot
 for steaming. then began the interminable stripping
 and scraping
 the next morning a few tiny bits appeared in the sunshine.
there was a lot of pulp in my big pot.
and the leftover stalks which are slick and clean and so lovely.
i've now hand beaten all that pulp 
over 3 or 4 days, 3 or 4 hours daily 
Yes the hands were sore)
 and will make glorious paper soon.
upon coming home the other day i found
evidence.
a narsty squirrel invaded my black walnut stash
ripped my screen door when pushing through a too small tear.
blacl walnuts were lined up in a row across my driveway 
and up the steps, where s/he stopped for snacks.
under the other big dyepot, 
a surprise
goldenrod
in the morning yard today
the light breaks through clouds
the old maples are shedding their varicolored leaves





pileated woodpecker, 
cock of the woods, 
called and flew over
and continued calling while scouting for a good place to feed
in the back meadow
where last week i harvested that huge bagfull of milkweed
light dances.

4 comments:

  1. love the golden shimmer of autumn in your corner of the world

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  2. Beautiful Velma! I always enjoy your posts. I'd be inspired to go out and take photos right now of our changing leaves if it weren't rainy and dark. Love!

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  3. V - a post just so jam packed. I love the collecting and boiling. I guess the temptation was too great for the squirrel . And what a gorgeous bird and colours. Go well. B

    ReplyDelete
  4. The colours are so special aren't they? We seem to be green green green with hits of purple and red so that's not too bad! That squirrel was pretty keen wasn't it?

    ReplyDelete

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