New Decade, New Chapter, New Hampshire

Sunday, July 31, 2011

Author Recommendation

I haven't written a post about books in awhile so here goes for all of you expecting something along those lines.

Do you ever come across an author that you really enjoy reading and end up just getting books by that author? Well, that's what has happened to me of late. I read "Prayers for Sale" by Sandra Dallas and really enjoyed it. So instead of consulting my little book of recommendations the last two times I was at the library, I went to the Ds and looked for more books by Sandra Dallas. In the last two trips there I've come home with "The Chili Queen", "Whiter Than Snow", and "Alice's Tulips" all of which I've read and enjoyed. I'm now starting on "Tallgrass".

These are all historical fiction which I really like. They give you a window into what life was like in the past particularly parts of the West like Colorado during the time of the Civil War or afterward. The main characters are women, so easy to identify with and though I'm not a quilter each of the characters is a quilter and ends up connecting to other women with quilting.

If you have to decide on one of these to read look for "Prayers for Sale". It has been my favorite so far.

Thursday, July 28, 2011

Joe Pye

My Joe Pye weed is in full glory right now and the butterflies are loving it.

Each spring I look for the new shoots to come up and cut back the dead stalks from the previous year. This plant is now in its sixth summer and as you can see has grown massive. It's in the perfect spot next to the pond.

When we moved here there was one in the glen next to the creek but I only saw it for one summer. I discovered one year that the deer eat it and that was the year I had no blooms.

Who is this Joe Pye and how did his name get on such a lovely late summer bloomer? According to wikepedia "Joe Pye, an Indian healer from New England, used E. purpureum to treat a variety of ailments, which led to the name Joe-Pye weed for these plants."