From my journals...

Monday

The mothballs I hide around the settee in our front porch to use as cat repellent seems to be the best remedy to keep those wild cats away.  But I haven't been able to replace the bags lately, and felines don't forget don't forgive.  So the stubborn feral had taken possession of my front porch again.  He has been coming back regularly as days get cooler, and my settee, which I had festooned with new pillows and new red sit covers to match our red front door, is again being soiled by this creature whose ferocious insistence has win over my will, so it seems.  But I'm not giving up.    

Tuesday

I renewed the grout on our kitchen tile floors and on one of the bathrooms today. It amazes me the amount of time I spend trying to maintain our tiled floors looking perfectly white and clean and still not being able to achieve this permanently.  Over time, tiles become hazy no matter what you do and just always look dirty. The only thing that targets grout stains as far as I'm concerned, it is this little miracle product called Polyblend Grout Renew.  I'm loving my super white floors again.

Wednesday

Today, I cleaned the newly renewed floors on both bathrooms and in the kitchen area, including all the trims there are.  Which means, I had to get down on my fours again today to clean the ones closest to the floor.  I am exhausted.

There’s a tool for every job, even cleaning floors, I know.  But I'm one of those who believes that nothing can do a better job than using your own two hands.  Cleaning all those trims closest to the floors had also proven that age plays a huge role in your life when it comes to deep cleaning.  

Tomorrow, or some other time next week it will be retouching the paint on walls, trims and doors and wherever I see a need for it.

Friday

We used the leaf blower today to clean that patch in the front yard where the giant sugar maple tree keeps scattering its big brown jewels in such colossal abundance.  We also trimmed the holly hedge that surrounds and guards our little white cottage and later decided to make concrete stepping stones, using the huge elephant ears leaves in our gardens as mold.  

This was sorts of a test, as we had never tried doing this before.  We learned that to really be able to step on your concrete stepping stones they will have to be made of a thicker width than what we had, and probably use a chicken wire or other type of wire mesh in the concrete for reinforcement.  Ours came out way too thin for its purpose, so these will be used as garden decorations only.

Tuesday

I'm still bringing in flowers from our garden.  

This plant with lovely spires of deep cardinal-red blooms it really is a herb.  We couldn't remember the name of it, so we had to do a little research on it.  The name is Pineapple Sage. 

We didn't know either that this herb was supposed to reach such height and grew into a branching plant of about 3 to 4 feet tall and nearly as wide.  

Their lovely blooms were also a surprise to us late this summer.  And it looks that blooms will continue for a little longer into the winter.  Butterflies and hummingbirds loved it during late summer blooms. I will definitely be planting more of it and filling flower pots next spring.

Today

It's been raining on and off around here for the last couple of weeks and the garden is wearing a suit confectioned in raindrops and autumn tinted leaves. 

It is looking quite marvelous splashed in small raindrops, and it is supple and toned in deep greens. Behind the gardens, the woods has opened up, thinned out now by the cooler season.  You can hear the hum of small insects and tweets of birds with a clearer ear, and although there hasn't been much sun to shine on it, it still shines in a light all of its own.  It is life from eternal life.  

I have so much to learn from my surroundings...

How does fall speak to your heart? 

Do share!