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Monday, April 20, 2015

A Wonderful Day(s) in the Neighborhood.

For once, after a long, long, loooooong, winter that never seemed to end, we got two pleasant days in a row.  AND they were on a weekend!  Woot!  Needless to say, the Aleve bottle got some attention last night.  Some things got checked off The List:

  • Little coop cleaned out
  • Chicklets moved to same (out of the HOUSE, people!)
  • Hop vines cleaned out
  • Lettuce planted in cold frame
  • Spinach planted in cold frame
  • Mulch off the garlic
  • Mulch off the strawberries
  • Raised bed cleaning begun
While I can't quite check off the last one, I'm taking credit for getting half the beds cleaned.  For a while, I was so overwhelmed with the immensity of the clean up that I literally spun in place.  Then I took a deep breath and started.

Also achieved were four loads of laundry hung on the line (oh, that smell...) and Dexter graduated from bottle to bucket in only one day (thank you, thank you, Janice!).  I've had to reinforce his pen again, as he's strong and bouncy.  Next weekend he gets banded.  I am hoping that slows him down a bit.  Jersey bulls are known to be lively, but he's going to have to toe the line if he stays.   The sheep and I keep waiting for the grass to grow - they are happy with hay and their Christmas tree.

I also spent some time with my DS at their house near my folks - we moved some of her kitchen stuff in (OMG, I'm so excited) and it appears that she will be there (or at least with our folks) by mid-May.  Words escape me, I am so happy about that.  We (the three girls) have been scattered around and rarely get to spend quality time together.  We poked around in the yard of the new place and discovered a nice bird bath, a outdoor fit pit thingy in reasonable shape, tons of flowering bulbs, and her sweet dog found the burdock.  Poor boy.  There's a lot of work to do inside and out, but the house is really lovely.

The dogs and I got three walks in (Pepper is coming along nicely - it's hard to hold him down) and today I took a big step and left Lovey out of her crate for the day.  Gulp.  I did make sure they all had a nice, big knuckle bone to keep them busy.  I have been letting her stay out of her crate for short times and she seems to have overcome her anxiety at my absence.  Fingers, toes and paws crossed I don't come home to a disaster.

I had to force myself to stop yesterday early afternoon, as I had a housewarming party to attend, but all in all, it was a very satisfying weekend.  Good thing, too, as the rest of the week and through next weekend it calls for rain every day!

12 comments:

jaz@octoberfarm said...

rain and cold temps for us and i am guessing for you too?

Gill - That British Woman said...

I'm on the other side of the lake in Southern Ontario and we even have snow showers forecast......so keep all those plants covered up!

Susan said...

Jaz - Yep. The exact same forecast. I've stocked up on my Vitamin D.

Susan said...

Gill - Oh, heavens! Please NO MORE SNOW. I have my seeds safely tucked into my cold frame - our lows will be in the low 30s, which means low, low 30s here. Hang on - spring is bound to arrive ...by summer.

Candy C. said...

How lovely that you got to spend some quality time outside! Sounds like you got lots accomplished too. It has been so warm here that I'm trying to hold myself back from planting my zucchini and cucumber seeds...

DFW said...

Sounds like a busy & productive weekend, good for you! I know you will be so happy to have your sister near.

Sue said...

A party on top of all that???????????
Good Gawd, dear lady. You are amazing. I get exhausted just reading about it!

Susan said...

Rational me knows it is necessary but I can't help feeling sorry for little Dexter, being nipped in the bud as it were.

Casa Mariposa said...

I spent hours and hours in my garden this weekend and it was the balm I needed. Your Done list is quite impressive! You go, girl!

Sandy Livesay said...

Susan,

What a mighty productive weekend :-)
It's nice to hear you've had good weather, and winter is finally out the door.
Run Dexter Run!!!!! The mean old rubber bands are coming, lol......
Just teasing!!! It's party of the process, before you know it Dexter will be all grown up. Enjoy, have a great week!

Fiona said...

Its hard work isn't it? However there is nothing better than the satisfaction of a series of jobs well done! I often think of people who think they want the blissful, bucolic, quiet, peaceful lifestyle of country living....they need to follow some of the wonderful blogs here just to see what its all about...mainly work! [Followed by intense satisfaction and the power of self sufficiency!]

Mama Pea said...

TWO nice days in one weekend? Wow, that could lead a person like you into serious muscle distress! Just kidding, as I know you're in purdy darn good physical shape . . . even just coming off the winter season. We worked outside like crazy all day Saturday which was a lovely day, but it rained all day Sunday. Yesterday and today? Rain/snow mix. Sigh. But the temp is 36 degrees so none of the snow is sticking.

Hope Dexter does become a little more placid after . . . well, you know. Is his middle name Hamburger??