Composting and Looking Ahead

This summer, I spent a lot of time existing and not much living. If you've been around these parts for a while, you've probably guessed from my (few and far between) posts this summer that I've been in a bit of a slump. I can think of more things that I didn't do this summer, than things I did and when people ask how my summer was, I'm not sure how to respond. It came, it went and here it is, mid-October, my season full time employment wraps up this coming Sunday, and the long winter is staring us straight in the eyes.

I spent a lot of this summer in a state of melancholy. I've always been prone to glumness, but usually I buck up and shoulder on. This time however, I went for the full wallow. My creative well felt all dried up. It was all I could manage to work full time, fix dinner, tend and harvest the gardens, clean the house, run, and keep up with Etsy.(Okay, maybe I wasn't melancholy, maybe I was just tired.)

But last week I woke up on Monday morning and felt, like myself. I was awake. I was ready. I was tired of wallowing (or whatever the last few months have been about) and ready to get down to business. I'm calling this summer my "composting" summer; a fallow time necessary to grow great things in the days to come.

So here we are, a week later and I'm declaring it business as usual again here at Of Woods and Words. I'm committing to much more regular postings (I have so many post ideas floating around) and since this winter is appearing to be a little less project-heavy than last year, there may even be a blog redesign in the works before year's end. (Sorry layout, you're soooo March 2011.)I'm thrilled to be a mere week away from working from home and today has been a delicious little teaser, as I've been working from home (with the exception of a late morning board meeting) and actually working on my first freelance article in a couple months.

While it may feel (to me at least) that not much happened this summer, here's some of what's been going on during my absence:

We had our best garden year to date, despite a pretty cool summer. Last night was the first night we had a killing frost, which actually feels like a major blessing after harvesting gluts of green beans, kohlrabi, kale, potatoes, tomatoes, and so much more. Our freezers are filled to the gills and an empty mason jar is rare find in the cabin these days.

I've continued with my running and have 8 miles on the schedule for Friday's run. Whew! Running hasn't gotten easier per se, but it definitely has become a habit and I look forward to my runs, even though the decreasing amount of daylight has made it trickier to get my runs in before work. I got really into the Chicago Marathon yesterday and was so excited to think that in two years' time, I'll be one of those runners. Running = the bomb-diggity.

 

Over the last couple months, I got the lovelies above ready for a consignment order from Doodle Bird Design and Gifts in Minneapolis. I'm excited to have my knitting in an actual brick and mortar shop. If you happen to be a Twin Cities dweller, Kristin stocks a fantastic selection of handcrafted items from Minnesota artists and the shop is well worth a visit. Plus, you can buy a pair of my mittens, if you're not the sort of person to like waiting for Etsy orders to arrive. ;)

It's been a while, I know. What's new with all of you?!

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Wordless Wednesday: Bear 1; Ada 2

Remember me moaning when a bear took off with our compost bucket back in August? We found it! A little bitten, but still functional.

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Friendship TERMINATED!

Back in my college days, during my semester in Ireland,  because we weren't being academically challenged and had a ton of free time, we did things like hold Napoleon Dynamite theme dinners, award people with points for witty quips and whenever anything wasn't going well, yell at each other, "Friendship TERMINATED!" Of course it never was. In fact, I'm still in touch with several of those Ireland/college friends today. But I digress . . .

After Tuesday's post about good friends, I thought for the sake of balance, I might as well devote today's  post to fair weather friends. Yeah, you know the type.

Remember Al?

Who couldn't love a face like that?

Oh, Al, our friendly little pine marten friend who liked to show up at our bird feeders on a daily basis this winter to gorge himself on sunflower seeds. He had such a sweet little face. I was charmed by his preference for sunflower seeds over nommy, yummy red squirrel. Our very own vegetarian pine marten.What a pal. And he was CUTE!

As the winter progressed, I began to suspect that Al wasn't a true vegetarian. He was just lazy. Why bother chasing red squirrels when there were oodles of sunflower seeds to be had and a compost pail on the porch to root around in?

Don't worry. You're safe.

But about a month ago we ran out of sunflower seeds and I didn't bother to buy anymore. Spring was coming and the birds could find plenty to eat out in the world beyond our backyard. I was also sick of Al going through the compost pail, only to remember every single time after he'd scattered the contents across the porch that "Oh yeah, I don't like onion skins and lemon peels." The compost pail came back inside.

Al was not pleased. Not one little bit.

In protest, he marched out to the actual compost pile out back and hurled the top layer of compost all over the ground surrounding the pile. As I scooped all the compost back onto the pile, I had to admit, he'd made his point. But his childish behaviors only hardened my resolve. No more sunflower seeds for you, Mr. Lazy-Pants Pine Marten. 

When I went out back a couple days ago to dump out the latest compost pail and found yet another thin layer of compost hurled in a circle outside the bin, I was feeling a little less forgiving about Al's misbehaving. (I know it's you Al, I can see your tracks.) "Enough," I yelled at the skies, shaking my fist in frustration. Spending ten minutes a couple times a week playing with compost just isn't that much fun. 

Then the other day, I headed out to shed to grab some plastic containers to transplant some of my seedlings into. Since the shed wasn't completed last year, Al can, and is apt to, get through the gap between the walls and ceilings. He likes to lick out the recycling stored in there. As I reached in the recycling bin to pull out a yogurt container and I hit instead upon something soft, cold, and smooth. When I pulled my hand out for inspection, I was holding a handful of Al poop. Now I am not a mother and I have yet to be desensitized to the grossness that is poo. Yuck, yuck, yuck!

Don't you get it Al? My seasonal affections for the birds has now been transferred to my little seedlings. Eating my plants' compost is not a good way to endear yourself to me. And pooping in the recycling? Not cool, my friend. Not cool at all.

Friendship TERMINATED!

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