Smelling of elderberries

My good friend Rebecca brought over a bag full of elderberry branches this afternoon, a most generous gift.  I have no time right now to do anything besides freeze them, but when life settles down a little bit I will make some elderberry syrup.  I hope it will help ward off the worst of my family's flus and colds this winter.

Two weeks

This is a drawing of Fort Ridgely, located near Fairfax in south-central Minnesota.  The fort served as an army outpost from 1855 to 1867 and played a prominent role in the Dakota War of 1862.  The Minnesota Historical Society has marked the 150th anniversary of this war with a series of educational programs and museum exhibits, including one we visited while at the Minnesota History Center in July.

This is also the location of Fort Ridgely State Park.  And where, in approximately two weeks' time, I will be starting my new job.

Yes, you heard me right, my new job.  And yes, in two weeks' time.

Life right now is pretty crazy, and it's about to get a whole lot crazier.

Wordless Wuesday

 

Okay, that's enough of this wordless stuff.  Look at the picture above -- doesn't that look like tomato hornworm damage?  Me too.  The tops of my tomato plants all had this munching stuff going on last week.  But after searching those plants from top to bottom, could I find a hornworm?  No.  My friend Rebecca suggested that the birds got them.  Plausible, since the foliage on the plants is beginning to grow back.

Sigh, I guess I just can't avoid the tomato blight/wilt issue in my garden.  It's there for keeps.

Beautifully blooming marigolds.

Beautiful blooming asters.

Stunted ugly carnations.  Will these ever flower?

Rub a dub dub

Four men in a canoe.  It was the first time canoeing for Graham and Benjamin.

Owen loved it, Benjamin liked it, Graham wasn't so sure.  I'm afraid he's inherited my Nervous Nelly genes.  We'll try it again on a less windy day.