Perfect end of September weekend

The weather has been less than perfect, but I had a busy and satisfying weekend. It began Friday afternoon when a friend and I went to the Back to School Alumni and Friends Event sponsored by the UW's School of Human Ecology (where I received my grad degree in textile design).

We saw two widely differing fiber exhibits in the galleries of Nancy Nicholas Hall, followed by a fascinating look at the history of reusing textiles by Prof. Marina Mosokwitz — just for starters. I managed to get to two mini lectures before Mark picked me up at 5 pm for an opening at our favorite local art gallery. 

My first stop Saturday morning was the Westside Farmers Market where this trio was performing. After watching all 8 episodes of Country Music on Wisconsin Public Television, they reminded me of all the country music stars who began at this age.

Then I spent two hours at a WHPS free workshop "An Accidental Arboretum," where one of the members talked about all the trees and shrubs in her garden. As we walked through her garden she point out various specimens as well as sharing information about pruning practices, tools, and sources for plants. She topped it all off with cookies, lemonade and a handout with every one of her trees and shrubs listed by their botanical name.

I came home all excited about possibilities in our garden but went to work in the kitchen instead. First I roasted a couple of pounds of Roma tomatoes and froze them for winter soups and bruchetta. Then I made a batch of ginger broth, one of our personal pantry mainstays. Next up is Daikon and red raddish pickles. 

I took the photo above during the morning garden workshop. This is a Korean fir that died unexpectedly and the gardener left it for a snag. I love the pattern the critters who are using it are making.

We spent a rainy Sunday reading, listening to music and dealing with paperwork. Then Mark went off to a new photography book club while I settled in with the last season of Poldark. 

Mark blew our roof and gutters clear of leaves on Thursday just in case the rain was one of those gushers that doesn't move. Luckily it was gentle for the most part. But what a wet month. According to our rain gauge we got 1.48" (3.75 cm.) from Friday through early this morning, bringing our total for the month of September to 8.95" (22.73 cm.). Don't know if this is the new normal or just an unusually wet September.

Comments

[Lisa at Greenbow]

It does sound like you had a great weekend. I love to see kids perform. They often are better than some adults. I think this sparks confidence in them.
Those perfectly aligned holes are made by Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers. Fun to watch them work.
I have recorded Poldark and will watch one of these last hot afternoons.
You are lucky you don't have to water before the cold descends on your area.
We have two more days of near record breaking heat and drought. Then it is supposed to be cooling down to more normal temps. We only got 9/10s rain in September so today I am watering. No sign of large amounts of rain to come. We will have to wait to see what happens. I hope this month was an anomaly.

[Linda Brazill]

The amount of rain in Sept. is astounding. Now they are forecasting 2-3 more inches Tuesday and Wednesday with potential flooding. Definitely not the autumn weather of years past. Hope you get a break in your weather soon.

[Kris P]

That sounds like an excellent weekend indeed. A nice balance of activities all around. I love the trio of musicians at the farmer's market.

[Susie]

What an array of interesting activities. We enjoyed the Ken Burns series on county music too. Would love to steal away a bit of your rain. UPS, USPS or Fed Ex please.

[Linda Brazill]

I know. This rain is crazy that we are deluged and so many other places are suffering. 

We are friends of Bill Malone, the historian in the Country Music series. He has written the definitive history and just updated it for it's 50th anniversary. He live in our neighborhood and is a lovely guy.