Have You Ever Heard of "Vaulting" in the Horse World?

Sorry I've been away so long, but nothing exciting is happening at my house lately.
I have been lazy.  No Sewing.  Not much walking.  The garden is seeing its last days before winter so no lovely flowers except some Dahlias that are still blooming.

My Red Sox have settled for a place in the playoffs now and still playing, but some of their games have been a shame.  The last 3 with the Yankees were pitiful.  We lost the first two but won the final third game last night which makes the fans feel very good indeed.  I worry that in the playoffs, facing all the best teams, we may have a problem winning the Series this year.
We have a great team and a great manager who believes in playing his men in more than one position and its been working fine.  Our pitching staff needs some improvement which will have to come with trades or free agent contracts.  I hope the Red Sox remain strong and win the World Series.

I have been watching something called "Vaulting" on the Equestrian shows.  I am a devout horse lover.  Even when I do not like the contest, I like seeing the horses and watching how well-trained and smart they are in their entries, from Cross Country, Jumping, Barrel Racing, Pole Bending, Cutting, and even Dressage, though I do not know enough about dressage to know what really constitutes a winner in that category.
Vaulting is like gymnastics with the pommel horse, only the humans are vaulting on the backs of real live horses that canter slowly around a ring with a lunger (person with a rope and a whip) keeping the horse in rhythm.  I have never seen this before.  I find the horses lovely, but the humans are a bit too affected for me, especially their prancing to and from the horse itself, like high-stepping horses.  The antics on the horses' backs are graceful and smooth though.   The costumes are colorful, but the guys wear such thin costumes their private packages are easy to see in their different positions.  Something from which I try to keep my eyes averted.

Here is a view of what I'm saying.  As yet it is not in the Olympics, but like synchronized swimming I'm sure it will make it eventually.  For now they have the World Equestrian Games and that brings out many countries doing this. Last night both Switzerland and Italy got golds in different categories.  The US did well but didn't win even a bronze yet.

Here's a short film of the Italy winners in their category.

My plans for the day are easy.  I will be making a big pot of chicken rice soup.  I always send home a couple of quarts with my son when he visits so he and my grandson can enjoy some at home.  I think I might also make some Italian wine cookies.  I bought more walnuts yesterday while grocery shopping.  I use a lot of nuts.  Thankfully no one I know is allergic to them and I love them.

I hope you all have a good day now that its cooling down with fall arriving soon.  Our days are in the 70s and 60s days and usually the low 50s and 40s nites lately.  I still keep my bedroom window open as its been since May.  I love fresh air.  But the last 2 nites I have not had to use the fan.  Love this kind of weather and looking forward to Maine's fall colors.

Enjoy. 

Black Ducks on the River Today

I tried to get some pictures, but they either swam close to the water's edge where they were hidden or behind the parking sign.  In any case, there were black ducks on the river.

Its very difficult to see, but notice the black image above the railing just left of center.  That's one of about a half dozen black ducks on the river today.  By the time I unpacked my camera, they were moving out of site.  But they were all black in color.  I did not notice any other color on them unless it was dark gray so very little difference in shading though their bills may have had some color other than black.  I think maybe reddish, so they may be Coots or Moorhens.  Distance made it hard to see many details.

Its a hot day today, high 80s and humid.  Not usual for early September in this part of southern Maine but if it means a little longer summer, its fine.  According to the Farmer's Almanac, our winter will be long and cold and snowy this season.  Lots of days to stay indoors and make sure the cupboards are filled in case of power outages.  I have several battery lanterns so I will not be without light and I always keep a container of spare batteries ready.  Tins of tuna, sardines, fruits and peanut butter will keep me from starving.  Like a Girl Scout, I am usually Prepared.

Have a good day.

Roasted Some Tomatoes Today

It turned cooler today, hitting the 50sF this morning and by afternoon only in the low70s with a nice cool breeze.  An ideal day to turn on the oven low (275*F) for a couple of hours to roast some tomatoes.

I bought a gadget that holds up freezer bags so they can be filled without toppling or messing.  It works great.  I scooped up the roasted toms after removing the outer skins and filled some freezer bags.  Then into the freezer they went.
These tomatoes will be perfect to add to chili, sauces, and soups to give them an added desirable flavor.  I roast my tomatoes after stirring in salt, pepper, thyme, minced garlic and olive oil.
If you want the recipe, check back a few months to find it complete with pictures.

Have a nice day.

Sunflowers Are Raising Their Heads

A walk among the flowers this morning was colorful as usual.  I noticed the Sunflowers, both the tall ones and the shorter ones, are starting to bloom.

These have large heads and have flying visitors browsing among the seed heads.

These are shorter ones and their petals are brighter yellow.  So very pretty.

For a little contrast, the Russian Sage is in full bloom.

Peeking from among all the pink Morning Glories, imagine my surprise to find some blue ones poking up their lovely heads.

Most of them are not easily visible, hiding behind the others this morning.

Rudbeckia, aka Black-Eyed Susans, are rampant in several spots in our back garden.

The birch trees make a pretty background for this group of Rudbeckia this morning.

Its another sunny day and will reach the 80sF again today.  Its a very warm August for us but I find that a walk along the riverside for our suppertime stroll, my corgi Penny and I, is refreshing with a lovely breeze wafting across the water, cooling the area.

I am lucky to live in Maine where our summer temps are a bit higher than normal this month, but nothing like the high heat they are having in the western parts of the country.

Take care of yourselves.  Stay cool and drink plenty of water.

Project Keeping Me Busy

Its hot and I've been twiddling my thumbs a lot lately.  I was happy to have some projects to do today.

A neighbor bought three nice shirts but they were too tight around her arms.  She has a problem in that realm quite a bit with clothing.
She gave me the shirts, but I thought maybe we can fix it so she can wear them.
This one above is a trial fix.  I split the sleeve open and hemmed it back up but the sleeve falls wide so it should be more comfortable.  I hope this works for her.  If it does, I will fix the other two shirts the same.

Another neighbor loves the Microwave Bowl Cozy I gave her for Christmas last year and asked me if I would make her four.  She'd like to give them as gifts, too.

She wasn't fussy about colors so I went with what I had available which I knew were definitely 100% cottons.  These Cozies can only be made with cotton fabric, cotton thread, and cotton batting since they are used in microwave ovens.
These are the four I made and sent them to her apt. with a note they were a gift for being such a kind and charming neighbor.  She was out at the time so I left it on her doorknob.

Its been awhile since I sat and sewed at my machine and my neck is aching.  I have to get back in the groove when the temps get a bit cooler.  Even with my fan blowing in my direction in the bedroom where I sew, I was getting mighty warm today.

Temps. here are near 90*F but the humidity is high so it feels hotter than yesterday when it actually was 90* all day.

Have a nice day.

Canada Geese During Rain Storm

The rain sure doesn't stop them.

Yesterday, on Wednesday, our day was turning cloudy when this family with 5 teenage geese came strolling on the lawn.

Like a parade they marched together...…
You can barely see sentinel Dad thru the leaves of the trees on the right, standing guard.

Grazed together...….

Even snoozed together.

And when the rain came thundering down, they enjoyed the coolness of the rain and one took a refreshing drink from a newly-filled rain puddle.  Even now, the sentinel stands guard over his family, ever watchful.

This morning early, before the heat got worse, I took some shots of our two Morning Glory vines.

They are certainly thick with vines and flowers.

Both are growing out of huge planters against the back of our building, sharing space with herbs.

A close-up.  So very pretty in pink.

Unlike much of the country, our temps only soared to 87*F today, which was fine with me.  I had grocery shopping to do and that took nearly 4 hours traveling to the different stores along with my bussing buddies this morning.  I only needed to stop in 2 stores but we go to others as well to satisfy the needs of my traveling companions who always join me in our weekly shopping expedition.
Now I'm home to rest and enjoy the comfort of my a/c living room.

Have a nice day.

Summer Garden Walk on Aug 1, 2018

I brought out my camera this morning, but it was too foggy so couldn't take pictures.  I saw the Morning Glories looking fabulous though.

Later at noon-ish, my Penny and I took our stroll thru the garden.

Here's a look at Penny and some of the garden bed.

This is the view from the bottom of the garden.   Lots of lovely color.

Some of the Rudbeckia (Black-eyed Susans) and white yarrow.

More rudbeckia under the birch tree.

Coneflowers come in many colors.  These are yellow and six feet tall.

These are raspberry-colored coneflowers.

We even have the original color, Purple Coneflowers.

One of the Turk's Cap Lilies is in bloom.

As is the Russian Sage.

We have Snowball Hydrangeas in our garden beds, but also here along the lawn's border.

This is so beautiful, but I can't recall the name of this flower.

In the shade of the building at the front of the house, are many varieties of Hosta. This one is fully blooming.

And on either side of our front entrance doors are these huge planters filled with summer flowers and hanging vinca.

I always enjoy walking with my dog each day and finding some new bloom just starting;

These little lavender clusters blooming among the yellow daisies are some I've never seen before.  They look like little burrs but then those 'burrs' open into spikey flower petals.

I fixed a dress for a neighbor who has offered to take me to my next doctor's appt. in December and received a jar of peanut butter from another.  That's usually a sign for me to make peanut butter balls to share in the building.  I've scheduled that for Friday.   I just tried one of the walnut brownies I made for snacking.  Mmmmm good.

Have a good day.