Saturday, September 30, 2017

~ All Kinds of Things ~


 Well Hello!
yes, I have been otherwise occupied from my blog for the past few days.
Starting with my broken heel.
On monday, after returning home from a wonderful weekend spent with Hannah in Richmond, VA
I decided to mow the lawn {about 2 acres}...then clean up the front of the farmhouse with the blower.
AS I was blowing off the front porch of the farmhouse, 
my left foot became entangled in my 3 tier, Victorian wire plant stand...
{{ now mind you, much to the dismay of friends and family, I am barefoot 99% of the time, 
... every day, no matter the season }}
AND I have thee longest toes that you might ever see on a person!!
{{ my 'second' toe is soooo much longer than my 'big' toe }}
so I am always banging them into something....
As I was walking past said plant stand, the bottom  layer of wire loops grabbed my toes, 
and because I didn't want to fall, I made a HUGE step to try to untangle my foot....
well that didn't work.
~ I came down HARD and FAST on the heel of my left foot, 
incurring a lateral hairline fracture along the base of said heel.
Long Story Short:
Broken heel. Ice. Ice. More Ice. Elevation. Crutches. Ugh.
I should be ok in a about a week.....
and I do thank you all for the emails & messages of prayers for healing!

I did get a chance to walk {a little} outside into my garden....
~ where I feel connected to Mother Nature. 
I spotted her....
now don't get all creepy-crawly on me!

this is an Orb Weaver, or Banana Spider.
She is beautiful and important.
{as most of the ones we actually ever see are females}


D you see the zig-zags in her web?
what a needlewoman she is....
 

those looooong legs help her weave beautiful patterns in her web ~
 catching  non-desirable insects such as bot flies, mosquitoes and other bloodsucking flying things.
 

such talent...
don't be afraid of her, she is here to help us.
 



OK, enough of her ~
{I hear you all saying eeeeewwww!!!!}

so a couple of week ago,
I had mentioned that Joan & I were hooking our big Jarrahdale pumpkins
in a wider cut {torn} wool strip.

We both began by ripping our strips into 1 inch-ish pieces.
{I say one inch-ish, because I convinced her that my thumb 
measures approx. one inchfrom tip to first joint.
I might have miscalculated by a smidge, but whatever...hahaha }

Joan's is on the left, mine is on the right:
 

I like hers better.
It is what we wanted them to look like.
I chickened out and cut my torn wide strips in half, and there ya go...
 

 In Other News ~
Peter has been preoccupied with his banana plants.
and his Fig Tree.
Me? not so much.
The banana plant does not produce bananas until they are at least 8 years old. 
and ours are only three.

the fig tree has, for the first time ever ~ 8 or-so figs on it.
They will not mature until the first frost, and
me, having diverticulitis ~ cannot eat them.
*SIGH*
but, he is happy and that matters greatly to me.
 
Peter says,
"we didn't have time to go to the tropics, so we brought the tropics to Notforgotten Farm"
 


Here he is amongst his jungle!
 
 
 

In my needlework and folk art,
I have turned my attention to Christmas/Winter designing....
but you may see a few turkeys popping up here and there
;)


And
if you're in the neighborhood:
that means today!
 

 We will be closed next weekend,
I will be teaching/vending at the

Stitching in the Valley Retreat in Strasburg, VA
Hope to see you there!

Blessings from the Farm
 ~ Lori

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh, Lori...so sorry to hear of your broken heal...I didn't know a heal could be broken! I'm wishing you a speedy recovery...

Love the pics of the Orb Weaver. I think they're fascinating. Maybe she'll lay her egg sac...keep an eye out! They do this before the weather turns and then, in the Spring, hundreds and hundreds of babies are either carried on the wind or they stay nearby for yet another generation of O.W.s!

Your Santa and deer are darling and...wait! Is that snow I'm seeing falling from the cyber sky???

denise said...

what a beautiful spider! sure wish i lived closer because i sure would be visiting you today!

Kathy B said...

Mother Nature is truly awesome. Thanks for sharing. Hope you heal up fast!

Saundra said...

Interesting lesson in nature, thanks. Love both pumpkins and your needlepunch.

marly said...

Wow. I knew nothing of broken heels! I sure hope you are "OK" in about a week, at least reduced pain. I am usually barefoot also, but our yard is hardpan clay with needles for grass blades, always creating new dance steps.

Those plants are amazing. Huge leaves!

Anonymous said...

Oh, Lawd. Did I misspell "heel?" Sheesh.

P.S. Tell Peter his banana trees are lovely!

Jane said...

Glad to know your heel is improving! I had a spider like that, last summer. She is beautiful. I haven't seen her back this year.
Tell Peter that my banana plant is doing well. I'll have to catch up with him to make sure I do the right thing with it for the winter.
I'm getting all my stitcheries ready for the Sorghum Festival. Maybe I'll see you there on Sun.
HUGS.....

NMK said...

Spiders webs are so amazing ..... Your spider actually looks pretty ! I have chills though !!!
I just Love your pumpkins you & Mzz Joan hooked , they are great !!!
Your husbands banana tree is amazing !!!
I am just getting into Halloween & you are on Cmas !!!! I can't keep up !!!
Feel better soon !!!!

Rugs and Pugs said...

Those are some big banana trees! How do you winter them? Do they get cut back.
Love your new punch needle design.
Heal quickly, my friend.
Hugs :)
Lauren

Unknown said...

Yes, I was squirming and vomiting in my mouth at the spider pictures, ugh! But they are very important to our planet along with snake, which I do like.
I had banana plants in my yard growing up in Bermuda, you will enjoy them when they start producing!!!
I hope your foot heels quickly. love you friend!
Becky

elaine allerton said...

Lori,, thanks for the beautiful pictures!
Not crazy on spiders,,, but interesting,,,
Love peter in the leaves, so big!!
Love ur pumpkjn and joans,, they are wonderful,,,
Ur punch needle looks interesting, ( they always are!)
Heal fast, lori,,, doesnt sound like its slowing u down at all,,,
Thanks for sharing,,,,

Mugwump Woolies said...

Lori...so sorry about your big boo boo. Good reason to sit...and stitch! Annie loves spiders! I mean really, really loves them! I remember being fascinated by the banana trees when I came to Florida as a child...my great aunt had a whole wall of them. Glad Peter is enjoying his crop. Love your wonderful punch needle...especially love his brown suit.
Robyn

Jackie said...

I hope that you're doing better! I usually have one or two of the orb spiders in my yard. (One year I had six!) I've always called them writer spiders. Love all the pictures....

Karen said...

Your husband is so cute! He has a little boy smile. And I am one of the crazy women who like spiders, well Brown Recluse and Black Widow not so much, but think Banana Spiders are beautiful and love their zig zag weaving! Pretty post.Hope you feel better soon!

Karen in NC