Not for the Faint of Heart- (Vermin Alert)

That delightful trio of grubs is a tiny reminder of the legion of Biblical plagues besetting the hapless gardener. (Maybe it was my recent allusion to the non-rapture, but Job does spring to mind.) We have a lot of grubs- millions of them. They all seem to live in the area designated "The Agricultural Triangle"... doesn't that just figure? So every time we turn over a shovelful of soil, there's got to be a dozen grubs. Squishing them is tedious and disgusting but terminal!
And that leads to a less noxious pest- the simple small rock.

Okay, so rocks aren't gross outs like grubs, but there's more of them. For every grub, we have six rocks. And they're not pretty or glittery; these are the "garden variety" (hahahaha) lumpy little brown things.
And as far as dangerous plant life goes, check out the poison ivy. It's everywhere! Both Bob and I have succumbed to itchy, oozey skin eruptions.

The vines ascending the pine trees are like thick hairy legs. They have these amazing trunks and are actually intimidating. We've been carefully lopping them off so that the vines die, but they seem to sprout more. We are not inclined to resort to poisons...

Games People Play

We've been working, we've been working REALLY hard on the house and property. Sometimes, we just need to unwind. That's when we play computer games.
It has been suggested by several philistines that only pimply faced adolescent boys play computer games. Ha! I suggess that there is a thriving middle-aged gaming population.
I'm hooked- completely and irrevocably addicted to Zuma. That's a shot of the screen above. I'm on the ninth level (and really stuck there). I'm sure there are eight year olds that have blown me out of the water, but I've played long and hard to get to this stage.
And in response to my sister Beatrice's asking how well we've done at Bejeweled, Bob's the better player there. Here's the screen proof:

Hey! Sometimes the "escapism" of computer games beats the reality of leaks and varmints and work,

work, work! 

The Rapture-Less Saturday

I guess we can all thank our lucky celestial bodies that the world didn't end on Saturday! And although I've started complaing about all the mother f&^%ing rainy days we've had, the above picture is a grim reminder that it could be snow- the frozen equivalent!
Today I was informed that there is a new date set for the end of the world- October 12th or maybe it was the 21st? I was also assured that anyone who died on Saturday or before went to heaven and the rest of us are screwed... we're going to hell. So go ahead and have fun!

Gardens Away

This is what happens when you move a garden. I suppose a brief aside is called for in addressing the "perfect universe" idea of how to move 20 years worth of plants. I thought I was so smart; I was going to hold a "Garden Tag Sale" and sell of many of my perennials and with the amassed proceeds, I would purchase a whole garden's worth of flowers and shrubs! Ha! As we all know, Bob and I moved in January so that was out of the question.
In the meantime, our truck was out of commission (don't even ask- another long story) so we were unable to move the plants until now. (In the midst of pouring rain and mud, but I guess the upside is there's no need to water!). Bob was a good sport and helped despite it being one of the top ten unpleasant days to do it on. Now we have to heal them all into that virgin vegetable patch as we don't really have perennial beds laid out.
But anyone who has gardened for any length of time knows that a  favorite plant (or twenty) are like good friends and you don't just abandon them. Additonally, perennials aren't cheap and many hard to find ones are even more expensive so replacing them is a costly enterprise. (Have I mentione dtaht we have a million other things to spend filthy lucre on?)
I will also admit to a tinge of sadness on seeing my old gardens. The new tenant has apparantly had no interest in maintaining our gardens or starting new ones. The property looked abandoned and unloved.  I was very happy to rescue as many plants as I could. They deserved better!!!

On a postive and potentially humourous note, however, I can attest to the antics a drenched woman in a clown suit as being a real conversation starter for our new neighbors (their house in above photo).  I have an embarrassing plastic rain coat that did little to camoflage my being adorned from head to foot in mud.

Leave it to Bob

Here's an ingeneous use of a broken broom. Bob fashioned a boot scrape from it, and mounted on a metal footing right by the side/front door. (We're still not sure of our orientation...) Our feet are always muddy so this will work like a charm.
You can see in the back a bit of that white quartz rock border that I started to ring the foundation. Back when I posted that entry, it seemed like it would take ages to complete, but it's coming along nicely. Here's the long view:

It's getting there! This is a fine reminder that a project that seems like it will take an eternity simply needs persistence. I fill my pockets (or, if I'm feeling ambitious, I bring along a bag) with white quartz when I go for a walk or go riding (there are white rocks in abundance at the horse farm). It pays off. Bob now wants it to continue all the way around the house. I think I will take that bag with me tomorrow!

Many Headed Hydras

Our friends are so generous! Thanks to their largesse, we will have a garden.
We planted the three hydrangeas that our good friend John gave us around our well head. (See John? We didn't kill them). Bob and I figure they'll grow about five to six feet tall and fill in and provide an understory transition between the lawn and the very tall evergreens behind. We're not sure what variety they are so John? If you read this, let us know.
I think Bob's going to make a cover for the well  and plant a sculpture on top of that. It would be nice to camoflage that not-so-attractive well cover. Our friend Claudine is a big inspiration in the wonderful covers she made- ceramic heads, no less!- for some pipes that stuck up out of her yard. Decorative and fun.

What's for Supper?

 

Occasionally, we are pressured to arrive at a food solution on short notice, like this night last week when there was no dessert in the house to be had. I remembered there were a few frozen blueberry muffins left over from a batch I had made, but they seemed a bit plain for dessert. So I concocted a blue frosting to complement the blueberries. Add a blue plate (very special) and success is ours. A blue hallucination.



A Rude Awakening

I can think of few more calamitous events to encounter first thing in the morning than no electricity. This is because with no electricity comes no coffee. Bob went down stairs to make our morning brew and was greeted by the apparent death of Mr. Coffee and then realized we had no power. I went outside to relieve Jules and happened to encounter our neighbor Meagan. She was also out of power (which at least answered the question of whether it was a blown fuse or neighborhood-wide). But she saved our lives by providing an already made 1/2 carafe of coffee. Yay! Hoorah for neighbors.
We in turn assisted her by schlepping buckets of water from our stream so that she could flush their toilet. (She has four children to prepare for school; I just can't imagine). Of course, after hauling seven or eight buckets of water, the power was restored. I'm not going to complain about that.
But, sadly, our Mr Coffee did die; the timing of his demise was simply a peculiar coincidence.

Springtime Flowers

Another advantage to my morning walk is the quantity and variety of wild flowers in bloom that I get to see. And the nicest thing is that all of these flowers are on our property, down near our stream. The trillium pictured above is an especially happy discovery; there are plenty of them here!
There is a single marsh marigold blooming quite contentedly at the side of the water. From afar I thought it was simply a dandelion, but I was surprised to see this scene below. Our old residence was mostly very dry woods and we had a whole different sampling of wild flowers.

Another flower in abundance are the anemones. They're very delicate and there are handsome colonies of them, again on the "almost island" that is across the stream.

Happy Birthday to Jules!

Happy Birthday to Jules! He's one year old on the 8th of May and he's the best dog (even when he chews the sofa cushions and steals our socks).
This particularly flattering photo of the Birthday Boy occurred because he lays on his back and was trying to gnaw on my shoe. It serves his right as he's now immortalized as a trully deranged being. I was fortunate that the camera was at hand.
Here's another picture-  more complimentary- of Jules and I on our morning walk. Contrary to appearances, he is not a St Bernard but doing what comes naturally. Being a retreiver mix, he will pick up and carry anything, in his case beer. Not being a beer drinker, I informed him that I'd prefer he find and carry a nice Pinot Noir or Bordeaux.

Oh! The Things You'll See... or Smell

I have been going for a walk every day for years. Generally these walks take place after breakfast and before I do anything else (like work in my studio, go riding, go to work etc). This is such an ingrained habit that if I occasionally can't go early, I spend all day anticipating my walk. I feel it in very fiber of my being.
This winter was a peculiar exception. We had (obviously!) just moved and it snowed what seemed like every day. I wasn't sure where the local hiking trails were located and in any event there was so much snow (as in over my knees) that walking was almost impossible. It was more like wading. To boot, the road was treacherous as it had been plowed so often that it was dangerously narrow and the banks were too high. (People are terminal speeders...)
So I'm happy that the eventual thaw allowed a return to my 14+ year morning ritual. Jules and I have discovered really wonderful places to walk- like at the very end of our road where it turns to dirt and just keeps going. Besides the great exercise, I get to see all kinds of stuff.
Last week I was accosted by the smell of a very dead thing indeed. I am lucky that I interceded before Jules decided to roll in- our taste! the superbly rotting snapping turtle.

What's For Dinner?

Often when we have friends over to dinner, all hell breaks loose and they start seeing things.  For example, our friend Joe stopped by for a chicken dinner and he pronounced the chicken's internal cavity to look like a grotto and the next thing we know, the Babee Jeesus has appeared. Thank the goddess for digital cameras that allow us to document such modern day miracles!



Fascinating Faucet Symmetry

I notice one day that the bathroom faucet downstairs looks like the bathroom faucet upstairs. Well of course I always find a million other things to do so I never empirically compare them by taking a picture of the one, than the other. but I keep wondering. Just one of those weird quandries to keep the brain working!
In the meantime, I like where the corner of the sink meets the mirrors and keeps repeating. Makes a trip to the bathroom fascinating!

Fruitful Gifts

Anyone who knows me knows that one of my primary reasons for owning a house was my constant chant of "I want fruit trees! I want berry bushes!" And so we have begun the vegetable garden and started to lay out beds and borders...
The other day I spied a UPS package in a very vertical shape and checked to see if it had been mis-addressed as we hadn't ordered anything. Lo and behold, it was a simply wonderful gift from my friend Laurie in the form of a peach tree- and not just any peach, but a "Belle of Georgia". We were thrilled as we can begin our orchard. What a great gift because everytime you pick and enjoy fruit, you can remember the thoughfulness of a friend. The peach tree has been planted and guy-wired (as seen in above picture) in our "agricultural triangle".
My sister Beatrice and her partner John gave us some raspberry shoots from their yard, so we're off to a flying start. We are still at work erecting the perimeter fence.