We're So Lucky!

 Aren't we lucky we live in Vermont? The colors are beginning to show, and I'm amused that, like many Vermonters, even our weather seems to have an independent streak. I'm pretty sure most of the forecasts late last week and over the weekend indicated mostly rain for this week - and indeed, we have had rain nearly every day, but mostly in the evening hours, so days have been very pleasant.  In fact, as I write this, the sun is shining brightly and it is pouring! I ran out onto the deck and got this shot of the rainbow - it was so large, I couldn't see it all from that vantage point, but it was beautiful. Now the shower is over and the trees are glistening under the late afternoon sun. The air is cool, in the low 50s, and steam is coming off the roof of my garage. 

Note: After I finished writing and posted this, I found emails from Gretchen Farnsworth with these absolutely gorgeous photos of the rainbow, taken from their house on Sandy Beach Road. I came back to post them here. Thank you, Gretchen! 

 

 

 

 

 

 Many of us are watching closely as Hurricane Ian barrels towards Florida. We can only hope that the predictions of 10+ ft. storm surges are off the mark. I would not want to live there or own property there. I'll take the Vermont winters, happily.

I received these photos from my friend in Randolph, Mary Whitcomb,  today. She was very excited to have seen this unusual fellow on one of the streets in town. He is apparently a gray squirrel that is black! I've heard of albino squirrels, but this is a first for me. Mary found this explanation online:

Some gray squirrels are black! Yes, I realize that it's a bit strange that some Eastern Gray Squirrels have black fur, but it's true! These black squirrels appear as a morph, and genetically speaking, it's believed to result from a faulty pigment gene. No one is really sure why the black morph evolved, but several theories have been offered. Some scientists think it may be a selective advantage for squirrels that inhabit the northern ranges to help them absorb heat since the color of black conducts heat best.

That may be true, but being black will certainly set them up for problems this winter if there is a predator around! I read online that black squirrels are very rare, only about 1 in 10,000 are black. Mary has every right to be excited at spotting one! While black squirrels may blend into the dark forest better than grays or reds, this fellow will certainly stand out against the snow this winter!

After my post about my mother cleaning house so thoroughly spring and fall, I had a couple of comments reminding me that back then we were heating with wood and also did not have some of the other advantages of present-day living. That is absolutely true. However, my mother scrubbed the enamel off at least three sinks and bathtubs that I recall. At least two bathtubs were replaced for that reason, and I remember we had one re-enameled; but that job didn't hold up against her zeal to clean, and it finally had to be hauled away. I think she found scrubbing an outlet for frustrations. I remember using a bit of that years ago when my life was a whirlwind of work and young family, but I never wore out anything except my energy. Also, we used "Dutch Cleanser" at home. I found this photo from an ad on ebay - you could buy today it for $19.95!  I expect the price in the 1930s and 40s was more like 95 cents! It was very abrasive - I think even more so than modern-day cleaners. We also used Bon Ami, but I seem to recall that we used that for doing windows. It came in a cake and we used a wet cloth to apply it to the glass and then polished it off with a soft, dry cloth after it had dried to a white dust. The windows  sparkled, but it made a lot of dust! I found a picture of Bon Ami, too - not very pretty, but for sale on ebay for a mere $25! Gosh, I hadn't thought about these products in years. I also remember having to roll up rugs each spring and haul them outside where they were spread out on the lawn and were first swept, then "washed" with a broom and a pail of warm, sudsy water. It had to be done on a hot, dry day, and we had to be careful not to over-soak the rugs. They sometimes had to be hung in the woodshed for a day or two until they were completely dry, and then spread out and swept again to loosen up the pile. While the rugs were gone, the floors usually got a new coat of paint. Later my father installed hard wood flooring, but we could only afford to have the hard wood around the edges of the living room where it would show. The big rug covered the softwood boards in the center. 

The rug we had in the living room was made from recycled cloth. There was a company that sent a man around about once a year to pick up bags of clean rags. These were weighed and earned credit towards a new rug. I still keep a rag-bag and raid it fairly often when I need a small piece of material for something or other. Usually whatever project I've dreamed up turns out to be a dismal failure. But for me, the fun is in the planning and trying. If things don't turn out as I'd hoped, that's ok, and I don't mind tossing it in the trash. I consider it therapy. I'm getting better at throwing absolutely useless stuff away, as I get older. I'm also learning that my crafting ideas usually aren't successful, so I don't attempt as many as I used to. Or perhaps I cope with life in general a bit better than I used to and don't need those "therapy" projects quite as much. Or maybe it's just in my DNA. My McAllan aunts saved literally every scrap of seemingly worn out cloth and made wonderful rugs with pieces as small as two inches long and half an inch wide that they knit into colorful "shag" rugs. I learned how to do it, but it took too long. I like projects that I can finish quickly.  The McAllan women were frugal Scotch ladies, and every one of them was a scrubber! Here is a picture, probably taken in the 1970s, of four of the seven McAllan sisters: from left to right, twins Jessie and Bella, Jeannie, and Lettie - my mom.

Enjoy Vermont's fall weather - and I'm truly hoping the forecasters got it wrong and Florida won't be as hard hit by Ian ans predicted.