Category Archives: Country Life

Flights of Fancy

Country Life, Dogs & Other Animals, Gardens, ,

I have been enjoying all the butterflies and moths in our garden. They are constant visitors right now.

The most common one I am seeing is this yellow tiger swallowtail. There are often several at one time.

This is the pattern on the bottom as one feeds while hanging upside down. We also have a few monarchs but they are much more skittish. Every time I am almost close enough to snap a photo, said subject takes flight.

I also captured a photo of this little guy. I believe that he is a moth that is active during the daylight hours. I see a few of these each day. It’s wings stand up when it is at rest so I think that makes it a moth.

If you look closely, you can see a hummingbird moth in this photo. Their movement is fast and jerky like a hummingbird but they are actually a moth.

One of the things that all of these have in common is that they are drawn to our house by our butterfly bushes. We purchased the original bushes from our County Extension Office. They reseed and come up prolifically. Gladiolus and petunias are also a big draw.

These flying gems are an added bonus to our garden. They bring much enjoyment along with them.

Restoration

Country Life, Dogs & Other Animals, Gardens, ,

Gardens can have such a peaceful, tranquil effect on the soul. If you can stop yourself from jumping up to grab the shears and dead head a few roses or pulling out “just a few weeds”, that is.

I do pretty well at relaxing and reading a good book or magazine though. It is a good way to pass an hour before going back to the rest of life and responsibilities.

I find that sitting still and watching butterflies, bees, hummingbird moths, and hummingbirds fluttering from flower to flower collecting pollen, has much the same affect on me as watching fish in an aquarium.

I am removed from my own world for a while and enter into an alternate one. That of various animals. It is definitely also a restorative way to pass some time. I encourage you to give it a try.

Random Gifts

Cooking, Country Life,

It’s that time of year. This was yesterday’s harvest from our vegetable garden. We get this much every second or third day. There are zucchini, yellow squash, cucumbers, tomatoes and turnips. We also have basil plants that are the size of shrubs.

We are fortunate to have such gifts from the garden. I have already made two batches of zucchini bread. One year we had so many yellow squash that I used them to make scads of muffins for grandma’s 90th birthday party. No one realized they weren’t zucchini muffins.

My coworkers will soon be gifted with vegetables. In fact, if you see me coming, you may want to keep your car windows up, lest you return to find produce on your seat!

A Day at the Beach

Country Life, Dogs & Other Animals, ,

On Thursday we had our annual trip to Lake Erie with the grandkids. Each year I am amazed that we have such a gem only a little over an hour from our house. We usually go to the beach at Geneva State Park but the beach at Mentor Headlands is a fine one too. This time, it was to Geneva.

It is always a great day. The waves and sand are relaxing. Even the cloudy days there are great because then it’s not crowded. As you can see, our weather this year was perfect.

We spend the whole day there. That is a long time for me to go without a dog fix. Luckily, other people brought dogs. This one was named Cody and built like a Labrador but had slightly longer brindle fur. It’s a good thing he was there with his family because I loved him! He wanted to go in the water but every time a wave came near, he jumped back.

There are impromptu works of art that people leave as monuments to their beach trips. I saw a couple young boys make this one. They set the sand with water and kept exclaiming to their mother “It’s so sturdy!” They were very proud. Future engineers?

My granddaughter Maddie spent some time swimming with her Papaw, while grandson Tyler hung out with Aunt Livvi and me on the beach. Later we switched and Maddie and I strolled down the beach looking for beach glass. I realized I was too late to add to my beach glass collection this year as we passed a woman with a sieve, panning for the glass.

No trip to the beach is complete for us without a trip to the ice cream stand at the end of the day. The stand has a soft serve flavor of the week which this time was banana. The banana and chocolate twist was a hit. My granddaughter and I got the Lake Erie Salt Mine ice cream. Lots of chocolate in various forms with whole cashews. No salt in evidence. (The actual salt mines are under Lake Erie, hence the name.)

After such a perfect day, I can hardly wait until we go back next year!

Share the Joy

Country Life, Dogs & Other Animals, ,

There are numerous benefits to having well trained dogs. One of these benefits is that you get to go places and do things together. Here are Nikki and Shelby (The Girls) after our walk at Bear Town Lakes Park over the weekend. They are sitting and laying down (on command) for their post-walk photo while my niece played on the tunnels and slide. The Girls also did some socializing with some other children at the park who wanted to pet them.

My older niece got to walk Nikki. If the leash is dropped Nikki will just sit down and wait. My niece did a great job of walking Nikki though and had so much fun that she wanted to go around the lake a second time. So we did.

After we got back to the house and ate lunch, we all played with hats. Shelby and Nikki are trustworthy and able to play with and be petted by my nieces who are 5 and 1 years old. (Never leave dogs unattended with small children, even reliable ones. Accidents happen.)

The dogs and I also stopped at my workplace on our way home. It had been such a wonderful day that I wanted to share the joy. Everyone feels better after a little dog therapy.

If Shelby and Nikki were unruly and disobedient, we would not have been able to have all these fun experiences together. Training your dog/s pays off.

Gifts of Summer

Country Life, Gardens, ,

Peaches are in season! We got half a peck at the Farm Market nearby this morning. So this evening I made pie. Pie prepared with fresh fruit is a whole different experience than having a store bought pie.

Honey Rocks are also in season! They are a large muskmelon. They are slightly different than a cantaloupe, they are, well …, muskier. And they have visible ribs. Delicious!

A few weeks ago I picked enough black raspberries from our bushes to bake a pie.

And a few weeks before that I harvested service berries from our bushes and made a pie.

See a theme here? Living in the country does have numerous benefits!

Best Friends

Country Life, Dogs & Other Animals, Rescue Happenings,

It is good to have friends. Best friends. I firmly believe that you can have more than one best friend when you are an adult. There are friends for different occasions. These two are my reliable best friends.

Yesterday we volunteered at the County Fair together. I have no doubt that I can trust these girls to be well behaved with hundreds of people around. I don’t have to worry about incidents with adults, children, other animals, or unexpected circumstances when they are with me. They can handle it.

Shelby, of the red scarf, is the most obedient, well behaved dog I have ever had. We are a finely honed working team. She watches me to determine whatever it is that I want from her. She responds to my requests, verbal and often hand signals too. I also listen to her. If she indicates that she is unsure or stressed, I either reassure her or provide her with a short break, depending on the situation.

Nikki, in the green scarf, does her best to comply with my wishes although she doesn’t have quite the ability to figure things out that Shelby does. Still, I know that she will be well behaved and not cause trouble because that is her nature.

Yesterday at the Fair we participated in three things. First was the Therapy Dog Demonstration. Both girls are veterans with close to 100 visits under their belts (leashes?). Most have been to nursing homes. After that we manned one of the entrance gates for a couple of hours since it is easier if everyone takes a turn. Above are the girls at our station by the gate wondering why there is so much traffic. For our last event of the day we participated in something called Meet the Breeds where each of the handlers told a few facts about their Breed. The audience was then free to meet all the dogs.

What fine little ambassadors these girls are, for their breed and dogs in general. Also, I adopted them both from Northeast Ohio Shetland Sheepdog Rescue so they represented how fine Rescue dogs can be. They make me proud.

And after such good and hard teamwork, good girls get ice cream. (I got ice cream too, but I will spare you that photo!)

The Top Five Best Plants Blooming in My Garden This Morning

Country Life, Gardens,

1. Cleome

The cleome are an added bonus. We have not planted any in about five years. They are a prolific re-seeder. We just move or weed out what we don’t want and enjoy the rest.

2. Morning Glory

The morning glories are also re-seeding plants. I have never planted any. They were here when I moved into this house 14 years ago and have come back every year.

3. Gardenia

The gardenia provides blooms with a two-fold gift. Not only are they are delicate and beautiful, their scent is also divine.

4. Verbena

I have to say, this particular verbena is the best one I have ever grown. I believe it is called “Cherry Blossom”. It has become the focal point of this urn.

5. Hibiscus

The hibiscus put on such a show! They have large, tropical blooms and new ones open up every day.

Stay tuned for more photos of new blooms as they arrive!

The Perfect Evening

Country Life, Dogs & Other Animals, Gardens, Thoughts On Life, , ,

I’ve never been much of a summer person. What, with all the heat and humidity, it’s too much. But on evenings like this, I will concede that there are some wonderful, beautiful experiences.

This evening is pleasantly cool, after days of unrelenting heat, with temperatures in the 70’s. I hear the splashing sounds of the fountain. I have all my dogs with me in the garden and I am sitting down to finish a good book. There are freshly baked biscuits to put strawberries on for shortcake later. Life doesn’t get much better.

A dear friend recently asked what type of books I like to read since I do so much of it. I enjoy many subjects and genres, mostly it depends on my mood. Here is what I am finishing up tonight.

It’s a murder mystery that takes place in Maine. The main characters run a chocolate themed bakery. Also there is a dog or two in the story. I have enjoyed other books by this author and then you add in so many of my favorite things, how could I go wrong?

I wish you, my friends, an evening that is as enjoyable as mine.

Zekie the Wonder Dog

Country Life, Dogs & Other Animals,

Zekie the Wonder Dog strikes again. Proving once more that a smart dog is not always a good thing.

We have doors on our kitchen. They meet in the middle and are for protecting food from those of our animals that are sometimes less than well behaved. A number of our various cats and dogs can open these doors with a paw or a nose. So for some time we have also put a dining room chair in front of the door as a barricade. This has worked quite well.

Until, as my husband sometimes calls him, the Zeke Monster came along. Dinner was awaiting behind these doors and I needed to go outside for a minute. I came back and the chair was moved, the doors were ajar and I came upon Zeke finishing the top half of the bun and the melted cheese off of my salmon burger.

Not wanting it to be said that my dog is smarter than me, I have come up with a new system. In addition to the doors and chair, I have added a bungee cord to my methods.

This picture is from my first trial. Zeke did move the chair but was foiled by the bungee cord. So I win. For now…