Winterberry Season

This isn't Winterberry but it is one of my favorite photographs.  Well, it could be Winterberry.  Every other day the greenhouse gets a car load of newspaper wrapped bundles of bright red orange winterberry branches.  We buy them from a woman who goes out each morning and cuts and bundles the branches. She goes out by boat and pulls in to the shore line and cuts.  Not easy and on these cold mornings-- shiver!

I have helped unload the wrapped bouquets of Winterberry and they are heavy.  Full of bright berries.  Joyful Noise on overcast cloudy October days.  As are the bright orange pumpkins. Mother Nature has given us such bright, joyful fruits of the season to brighten our days.  The outdoor growing season is coming to an end.  When I lamented the shorter days, a friend reminded me that in a few months, the days will start getting longer.  December 21st.  A nice way to look at it, huh?

Evergreen branches are being delivered at work today so we'll begin making the Holiday Boxes for the cemeteries this week.  Our Florida customers will want to set the boxes out before leaving for warmer weather.  Maine is a 6 month state.  Six months here and six months somewhere warm.  No Maine taxes that way.  Best of both worlds.

My List for today includes: Southern Pulled Pork into the oven at noon (the oven will warm this part of the house).  I already did the bleached, white wash.  The dark wash is drying.  I have only 50 pages left in my book.  Riley gets his walk.  I want to embroider a Magic Feather today.  And make the background for my Beet 12 inch square.  I WANT to start doing some handwork.  A NEED to start doing some handwork.

I just walked down to my nearly empty old studio space.  It's SO nice in there with all the boxes of things gone (upstairs) and room to walk and turn around and sit and even FIND things.  I decided to make my beets out of deep dark red felt.  I wish I had more of the yellow green hand dyed cotton.  No one here in Maine sells hand dyed cotton.  Isn't that odd?  I've visited and called all the quilt shops locally. I will have to order on line and hope I strike it lucky and get the green I want.

Now, I intend to dress warmly, pull on my wool socks, pull the bed sheets off the bed and into the washer. I have a new Cloth Paper magazine to look at while I have a second cup of coffee.  And my book.  And my felt beets.  Have a wonderful day!