That telltale dusting.
Pale white. Like a ghost at
dawn. Sprinkled over the tops of
the round bales in the meadow,
like sugar on a doughnut.
Frost. Imminent hint of
what’s to come. Sooner. Or later.
So the calendar says October.
But in reality, the first real Big
Chill turns a pretend-page to an
imaginary 13th month squeezed
in. A time-period of lingering
year-end chores. A tffee we
might call the month of
Transition.
During the month of
Transition, otg comes the elec
tric blanket. Away goes the win
dow fan.
Up go the screens and down
come the storm panes in the
house windows. Completing that
dreaded job is always cause for
celebration - it means the annu
al window-washing is over.
Which always desperately needs
to be done.
Transition means putting the
shorts and lightweight teeshirts
into the back of the closet. And
replacing them with thermal
underwear and heavier socks.
Away go the sandals and out
come the knee boots. The sum
mer blessing of running bare
Morton Build!
, 800-447-7436
MORTON BUILDINGS
PO Box 399, Morton, IL 6)550
www mortonbuildmgs.com
©1999 Morton Buildings, Inc
WV Contractor’s License #WVOO7B4B
footed is a bane in winter to
those of us-- who are cold-feet
intolerant. While we’re at it,
unearth the lightweight gloves
and sweatshirts and sweaters
and quilted flannel shirts for
Jjarn chores on freeze-flirting
■* mornings.
Banished during Transition
are the cotton-poly-blend sum
mer sheets and warmly
embraced are the soft, fluffy,
flannel replacements. Crawling
electric-blanket
sheets in a non-
on a frosty
night is a cheap luxury. Why
shiver when one cao
warm with little exts?6bst-or
effort?
Transition closes the base
ment and upstairs doors, slow
ing the flow of chilly air which
permeates every comer of this
old house. Transition fires up*
the woodstove, burning it low,
but generating drying warmth
to chase the perpetual fall chill.
When this shaded, brick house
gets damp, it stays damp until
coaxed into comfort with supple
mental heat.
We begin hoarding our dimin
ishing supply of ripe
and lean more on a refrigerator
Farm/Shops... Efficient I E
stash of the gorgeous heads of
cauliflower which come into
their glory during Transition
The Farmer and our grandson
hauled some beauties home
from a roadside produce stand, a
seasonably-dependable treat
sold along one of the routes they
travel for equipment parts.
Keeping the white curds compa
ny was the largest head of cab
bage I have ever laid eyes on.
Even after slicing off and shar
ing part of it, we went into cab
bage overdrive to keep it from
going to waste. Our Transition
time dining has leaned toward
Cabbage slaw, boiled cabbage,
cabbage-based vegetable soup,
etc., etc.
Transition clears the porch of
its summer houseplants, moved
to the greenhouse and win
' lowsills, or reduced to cuttings
for the first gardening season in
’ the next century. (Or the last one
Jp this century, depending on
• which math philosophy you fol
jAw.)- Spurred by frost threats,
we lift amaryllis bulbs and
Hahlia roots, lop, off sunflower
heads, pick the last lima beans,
pot up the geraniums, and mark
colors of the mums in bloom for
dividing in spring.
Replacing them in the ground
are bulbs - tulips and hyacinths,
daffodil, daffodils and more daf
fodils. While planting out sum
mer annuals in May, I
unearthed several clumps of
“daffs” which needed to be sepa
rated. Now a bucketful of them
patiently waits to be tucked into
hew homes on some nice
Transition afternoon.
During Transition, the “girls”
get a daily vacation outside, as
we turn them out on the fields to
tender ryegrass and
alfalfa. Despite having
‘ v - *
N
* >/ >/*
s' '‘l*;
• A continuously ventilated ridge.
• Vented overhangs.
• Cupolas and weather vanes.
• Hi-nb acoustical steel panels.
• The Energy Performer* insulation system
• Heavy-duty, tedlar-coated skylights,
• The AlumaSteel* sliding door system.
• A heavy-gauge, aluminum gutter and downspout system
• Insulated overhead doors in widths up to 40'.
• Insulated bi-fold doors in widths up to 60’.
• Many styles of insulated walkdoors and thermal Andersen, Pella, or vinyl
windows with or without shutters.
• A protective lightning rod package with concealed cables
• Raised chord trusses in widths of 42’, 48’, 54’, and 60’ are available
for greater interior clearance and larger overhead doors.
Gettysburg, PA 717-624-3331 Meadville, PA 814-336-5083
Pleasant Unity, PA 412-423-7477 Phillipsburg, NJ 908-454-7900
Centre Hall, PA 814-364-9500
Lancaster Fanning, Saturday, October 16, 1999-B3
half the farm to roam over - season of Transjtions most
temporarily fenced -at least one notab , e „ f black . and .
or two daily must go poke- Wn Woo 6 , Bear cate illars
around along the interstate m wonoi wa int( f a t
highway barrier Blessed are our ace betW€en th br J
friends, neighbors, and perfect
strangers who call or stop by to , ,
warn us of these adventurous d °? E '
troublemakers. ap f are f d to be deliberately
trying to get in the house.
Wooly Bears seeking house
intenor refuge during
Transition.
It that scary or what?
And greeting me on the front
porch just moments ago was not
one, not two, but three of the
Generate Daylily Plants
COLUMBUS, Ohio There
are many diverse varieties of
daylilies. Wild daylilies are yel
low to red, by hybridizers have
created many new colors. A vari
ety named “Outrageous” is a
bright-orange color with a
bright-red eye (inside the throat
of the flower) that bleeds into
the petals.
Ohio State’s John Finer, a
plant geneticist at the Ohio
Agricultural Research and
Development Center in Wooster,
said it’s simple to make your
own flower crosses and generate
intriguing new colors for your
garden.
To cross dayhlies, first tear
out the anther - the part con
taining shedding yellow pollen -
from the flower. Next, gently rub
the yellow pollen on to the end of
the stigma of another flower. In
each flower, there will be six
anthers, or male parts, one stig
ma, or female part. If the cross is
successful, a seed pod will begin
forming inside the flower in
about one week.
After the pod forms, seed har-
n
* a •* <
jLr.
vesting is necessary. The seeds
should be harvested before the
pod dries out and spills its con
tents. Remove the pod and open
it, removing all seeds. Allow the
seeds to air dry for about two
weeks. After they air dry, store
them in the refrigerator for two
or four more weeks and then
plant them in moist soil and
allow plenty of sunlight.
Finer said his daughter, who
helps him cross dayhly varieties
at home, likens the process to
painting. “We mix colors to cre
ate new shades, and by mixing
the proper combinations of
genes from a daylily cross, you
can produce new and unusual
flower colors.”
Anyone can cross daylilies or
other flowers and harvest the
seeds that develop. Crossing
daylilies can be both fun and
rewarding, but patience is
important in the creative
process. Finer said it could take
up to three years before the
seeds produced from your
daylily cross are mature enough
to produce flowers.
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SELL,
TRADE
OR
RENT
**
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