Ladybugs Swarming the House

Ladybugs are swarming the house in early November to find shelter from the cold weather.

Walks Around Blackberry Homestead

November 5, 2025 Friday (October 31), was a beautiful clear day. The song “Sweet Home Alabama” said it well: “Sweet home Alabama, where the skies are so blue.” The leaves are changing to their fall colors. On Saturday (November 1), I got up at sunrise since Nox needed to go out. The clouds were back […]

Painting the Dining Room

November 2, 2025 With rain predicted for most of the week starting October 26, I decided to paint the dining room. Bruce wants to pick up our hutch from storage soon. The hutch is big and heavy and requires more muscle than both Bruce and I have to move it. I wanted the walls painted […]

Back to Blackberry Homestead Days

November 2, 2025 On October 24 (Friday), I stopped to look at the red pineapple. I noticed some damage to one of purple basil plants. There was a minor windstorm the night before. The Japanese mustard, radishes, and garlic looked good. I need to mulch the garlic. Some sweet potato vines are still growing under […]

Yay! Bruce Is Home!

November 2, 2025 Yesterday (November 1, Saturday), Bruce made it safely home around 7:30 in the evening. On the way from Augusta, GA, to Muscle Shoals, AL, he stopped in Woodstock, GA, to visit a college friend. Bruce spent four hours hanging out and catching up with his friend. They went out to lunch at […]

Visiting the Huntsville Botanical Garden

October 31, 2025 Happy Halloween! On Thursday (October 23), Bruce and I had a meeting in Huntsville, AL. After our meeting, we visited the Huntsville Botanical Garden. When we lived in the Huntsville area, over 30 years ago, the gardens had just started. They had big plans. It is thrilling to see how those plans […]

Planting Flower Bulbs

October 29, 2025 On October 22 (Wednesday), Bruce and I were sitting in the living room reading. Nox slept beside me on the sheepskin rug. She woke up and came over to me. On the way down to the mailbox, I admired the neighbor’s pumpkin patch. While I can clearly see the orange pumpkins in […]

Lunch with Friends

October 29, 2025 On October 21 (Tuesday), I went out and looked at the garden. It was nice to see how the sprouts were growing. We walked Nox and let her wander around the yard doing Nox things. We headed to Rogerville, AL about 25 minutes away to have lunch with Jenny and Tim. I […]

The Remains of a Windstorm

October 24, 2025 On Saturday (October 18), Nox needed to go out at 4:30 am. On the horizon, the moon was an orange sliver through the pine trees. The moon didn’t come out clearly in the picture, but you can get the idea of what I saw. The red pineapple continues to be a delight. […]

Harvesting Basil

October 24, 2025 On October 16 (Thursday), I had to take Nox out at 4:43 AM. I was able to get this picture of the night sky. During the day, we walked down to the mailbox and discovered the creek had dried up. I continue to be fascinated by my red pineapple. The bees were […]