Earlier this season, I shared that hollyhocks are biennials. Flowers that don’t bloom until the second year. And that I didn’t know what color this one was. It was the lone survivor from a pack of seeds that were for multiple colors.
Well, it turns out that it is pink! Pastel pink with darker centers. The blooms are opening up on the stalks more each day. I have planted three more this year that I raised from seed. And I have no idea what color any of them will be either!
We’ve been wildlife central this past week. Earlier we had an encounter with a skunk which you can read about here. Day of the Skunk
We have also trapped four mice, but no squirrels or chipmunks, which is what we were trying for.
Two days ago, hubby looked out the kitchen window and saw a raccoon in the side yard not too far from the vegetable garden. He said “we do not need a raccoon around here” and went outside to chase it away. I went out a minute later and what I saw is pictured above. A tiny little raccoon clinging to the branches of one of our redbud trees about six feet off the ground. He was very tiny, not even an adolescent. He was frightened and seemed barely skilled enough to stay in the tree as he hung on for dear life.
We decided he was so young that we didn’t have the heart to chase him. Just one of the things I love about my hubby. So, we went back inside and a little while later Mr.Raccoon was gone.
This afternoon was baking time. Pie and bread.
I picked serviceberries over the past few days, saving them until I had enough to make a pie. Well, the birds were faster than me. I fell short on the amount of berries I needed so had to round it out with a few blueberries. I also made it a fruit and custard pie. It was delicious nonetheless. I made a butter crust.
I also baked bread. I wanted to make tuna melts and didn’t have enough bread. And the oven was already warm. I only have one full size loaf pan, so made the rest as mini loaves. These are perfect for making garlic toast or having with butter and jelly.
Oh, and I also weeded the snow peas this morning, and drove the tractor this afternoon to help with bringing down an old mulberry tree. Hubby did all the heavy lifting and skilled work. All in a day’s work around here.
Black dog.
White dog.
Black and white dog.
Or even brown and white dog. It doesn’t matter. They are all equally beautiful, each in his or her own way. And they can all sit down side by side, and get along.
Why is this concept so hard for some of the supposedly superior humans? We could learn a few things from our furry friends.
What to do when you don’t know what’s for dinner. Grab something out of the freezer and add a side.
Lightly breaded perch, and polenta with mushroom gravy, peas, and Parmesan cheese. I also keep an all purpose breading in a ziplock bag in the freezer. Usually 3/4 flour, 1/4 cornmeal, salt, garlic & onion powder, and a little dill. The spices may vary.
The breading is suitable for fish or chicken. Keeping it in the freezer let’s you reuse it a few times.
Dahlia
Mandevilla
These are the yellow flowers currently blooming in our garden. I am not generally a big fan of the color yellow but I must admit, these flowers are spectacular.
I spent several hours working on various things and then the rest of the afternoon relaxing on the patio. Everyone needs a place of refuge to recharge. Even if it’s sitting on your bed with a good book or listening to music.
All the more so in these trying times. It’s important to take time for yourself. Be kind to yourself, regain your calm and inner peace. This will help you be kind to others. And the world needs all the kindness it can get.
Can you tell that daddy has food?
Cassius the greyhound, Shelby, Zekie, Claire, Baxter, and Nikki all want some. Nikki is too short to be seen in the photo.
It is easy to get the attention of food driven dogs. They are easier to train. That is if you can get their focus off the food!
This morning got off to an exciting start. Way too exciting.
We have many chipmunks and squirrels around here. They live in various inappropriate places and get in our vegetable garden and flower gardens and eat our plants. So hubby set two live traps last evening. The smaller one on the front porch caught a mouse. He now lives on a nearby, remote, wooded roadside.
The larger trap turned out to be more problematic. We trapped a young skunk. I don’t think an adult skunk would fit, but this youngster did. He was probably an adolescent, judging by his size. Much discussion about what to do ensued. We opted not to relocate him because we didn’t want either of our vehicles to smell like skunk. We nixed a few other ideas and finally decided to just release him.
So how do you release a skunk from a live trap? We retreated to the house and googled it. First, put on old clothes that you won’t mind throwing away. Just in case. Turns out you very slowly approach the trap with a garbage bag or towel to cover the trap. This provides a bit of a barrier and the skunk can’t see you as well. Apparently, skunks have poor eyesight as well. But you don’t want to surprise him, so talk softly while you do this. You should be approaching so slowly that it takes you a couple minutes. Don’t spook the skunk! Once the cover is in place, give the skunk a minute to adjust. Then open the door to the trap. Hold it open with vice grips if needed. Slowly back away.
Our skunk did not come running out. We waited for a while. Nothing. Hubby and I went in the house. Mr. Skunk remained in the cage. In fact, he was laying down. Our dogs were still in their crates from when they ate breakfast. I didn’t want to let them outside in case they spooked Mr. Skunk and he ran. I was afraid our dog Baxter would jump the fence and go after him. Baxter did jump the fence one other time to chase an opossum that was in the yard. After waiting some more, we decided that maybe we should have removed the towel that covered the trap. Maybe this made it seem like a den.
So I slowly crept up to the trap, taking a few minutes as advised. Then I gingerly and slowly lifted the towel from the trap. Mr. Skunk was was curled up having a nap. Minutes went by. I spoke, hoping to wake him up so he would leave. Nothing. We walked around the trap. I could see the little skunk’s chest rising and falling. I went into the house to get my phone to take pictures of this apparently exhausted skunk as the sun shone on him. He kept the white stripe on his head tucked under himself.
This was when hubby decided to take the mouse from the other trap on a road trip to his new home. I continued watching the skunk for a while, but it got pretty boring watching a skunk sleep so I eventually went inside. Hubby came home a bit later and said the skunk was gone. I suppose he eventually got too warm lying in the sun. Or maybe without his audience, the thrill was gone and he went home.
June is peak rose month. I went to the patio garden to read for a bit before dinner this evening. This was my view.
Bliss!
The heat finally broke and we were out of bread and sweets, so it was time to bake this afternoon.
The bread is one quarter whole wheat flour and three quarters white flour. The cookies are lemon almond.
I could have scheduled a curbside pickup order for the bread, etc. but it seemed easier to just bake some. Definitely tastier.
I enjoy baking. I find it to be therapeutic. You take some simple ingredients, combine them, and end up with something that makes everyone happy!
Sanctuary Acres 