Category Archives: Country Life

A Proud Moment

Country Life, Dogs & Other Animals, ,
The three boys-Zekie, Baxter, Cassius

This morning I took Zekie, Baxter, and Cassius for a walk. It was just me and the three boys. I didn’t take any other dogs because Zekie is often leash reactive and I knew this was the amount of dogs I could handle if that happened.

There wasn’t too much traffic today. Two cars passed us. And there was a large paving truck and a pickup truck at the intersection where we turn to walk to the park. Zekie did not bark or lunge at any of them! He also did not bark at the two workmen on the corner or the men working on the entry to the township hall. We walked right on by! I was so proud. Just me out here walking my well behaved dogs.

I wish I knew why Zekie was good today. Dealing with reactive dogs is challenging. But I’m so pleased he was good. It can be done!

Zekie having a proud moment

Retirement Is a Lot of Work

Country Life, ,

This has been my foot ware for the majority of the summer instead of my new sandals. Why, you might ask?

Generally these are my gardening clogs because they can be washed in the shower. I’m wearing them most of the time now because of an encounter with the spud bar gone bad.

We were working on a drainage project and I needed to break some PVC pipe to fit in the trash can. That ended with a score of pipe-1, foot-0.

I’m finding that retirement is a lot of work with helping with projects like laying the drain pipes. Also notice the paint spots on my clogs from painting new siding panels.

Ahhh, country life.

On Not Lounging

Cooking, Country Life, Gardens, Thoughts On Life, , ,

Well, today I was NOT sitting in a lounge chair enjoying the patio. And not just because it was so hot.

First I helped tie up some loose ends from a construction project. Then I picked up nails from said project. After that it was time to pick green beans. Picking beans seems to be my new hobby. Either that or cleaning and snapping them.

This afternoon consisted of making rice pudding for this evening’s dessert and then working on cleaning up the office. I never did get around to writing which was the whole point of cleaning up the office.

Oh well, as a line from a great movie says (in a wispy southern accent), “Tomorrow is another day. “

Veggie Season

Cooking, Country Life, Gardens, , , ,

It’s that time!

We get this many cucumbers, zucchini, and yellow squash every three days.

We also have more than sufficient amounts of green beans, Roma beans, turnips, snow peas, and tomatoes.

I am trying all kinds of new veggie recipes looking for some variety. We have had Mediterranean pickled turnips, Thai cucumbers, old fashioned refrigerator pickles, zucchini fritters, and all the usual standbys too.

We can only eat so much. Time to freeze veggies!

Planning

Country Life, Gardens, , ,

The key to great things is planning ahead. See that lily pad shaped plant in front of the back stone wall? It is a hollyhock. Hollyhocks are biennials and don’t bloom until their second year.

I grew the one pictured above from seed and it is in its first year. The blooms won’t come until next summer.

Pictured here is the hollyhock I planted last year. It is about six and a half feet tall. I have fertilized it, kept it weeded, treated it for Japanese beetles, and staked it.

A garden can be a metaphor for our lives. If you want good results, you have to put in the work.

Abundance

Cooking, Country Life, Gardens, ,

Vegetables in the garden are ripening at an increasing rate.

Each meal now we must make the choice between turnips, beets, Romano beans, Slenderette green beans, sugar snap peas, cucumbers, zucchini, or yellow crook neck squash. Sometimes we have multiple vegetables.

This evening it was green beans pan fried with minced garlic and a dash of sea salt.

And none of our six kinds of tomatoes are even ripe yet. Summer can be glorious.

Dogs On the Patio

Country Life, Dogs & Other Animals, Gardens, ,
Cassius

Dogs enjoy hanging out on the patio at our house too.

Claire napping

Actually, they enjoy hanging out with us.

Zekie

If Zekie knows I am out here, he will bark every few minutes until I come and get him. As you can see, this makes him very happy.

Claire, Baxter, & Cassius

They especially enjoy laying on the futons.

Shelby & Nikki

Or laying in the shade.

Baxter

Hanging out with the pups makes me as happy as it makes them.

Attack of the Japanese Beetles

Country Life, Dogs & Other Animals, Gardens, ,

Japanese beetle season has arrived. They are eating my roses, our young trees, and my new blueberry bushes. I have been squishing them but I cannot be everywhere at once, and besides that…eeewww, gross.

So, today I set up two Japanese beetle traps. I looked at the box and wondered, do these things really work? Or is it just something that sells because people want it to work?

I opened the box and assembled the two plastic pieces. Check. Then I attached the collection bag. Check. Next step, remove the backing from the pheromone bait and attach. As I held the bait and figured out how to seat it on the plastic fins, a couple flying things hit me in the head and bounced off. Then another flew at me and got stuck in my hair. Yup, Japanese beetles!

I used the wire provided and finally got two traps installed in the yard. The trap nearest my blueberry bushes had about 100 beetles in it by this evening. So, I can report that the traps do work. Just wear appropriate headwear during assembly!

Garden Walk on the First of July

Country Life, Gardens, , ,

I took a quick jaunt around the property this evening to see what was newly in bloom and here is what I found.

Yuccas and a blue hosta.

My hollyhocks are in full swing now.

Pink oriental lilies.

And a second round of blooms on my new dianthus.

Summer is a profusion of new gems in the form of flowers. Each bud opens and reveals the magic inside in its own time.

Day of the Raccoon

Country Life, Dogs & Other Animals, ,

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.