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| The Pergola has Re-Risen! |
My pergola was re-assembled and is complete, with the exception of one corner brace, that will be installed later today. It has been moved forward to allow clearance from the roof. It is nice to have it back. Peanut Butter is madly in love with the young man who erected it and it was all I could do to keep him from getting out of the door so he could "help".
Saturday was a glorious day - sun, soft breezes. Sunday was its polar opposite - cold, dank, dreary, grey, constant drizzle and downright rain all day long. This was the day the pergola went up! I had my mother for an overnight stay, Saturday into Sunday. It is so nice to spend one-on-one time with her and it gives her a break from Dad. Following our usual schedule for these things, I went up for lunch, popped her in the car and drove her to my neighbor's, who is also her bestie. There they could visit, undisturbed, while I zipped home and picked up Layla and drove to her first adoption clinic. We discovered - ahem - that Layla gets car sick. Sigh. She was a big hit and stirred up some interest, so we might be getting a call soon for her to go out on trial. Poor girl had a completely empty tummy for her trip back. I tucked her into her bed to recover, then retrieved my mother and we settled in for a chat and dinner. She spent most of her time firmly wedged between Mr. Butters and Layla, with Lovey trying to vie for her attention, too. Good thing she likes dogs! Mr. Butters feels the need to show off for visitors - flinging himself about, ferociously dealing with dog toys and sofa cushions. Then, Lovey and Butters staged an epic (and hysterical) wrestling match for our entertainment.
Sunday morning, we headed for the Firehouse Breakfast and she met the Breakfast Club boys and I got hugged more than I have in the last fifteen years. Whoa. I think they missed me and my genuine maple syrup! I dropped her at home, then headed to M's farm, where I put in an abbreviated session in the greenhouse. It had started raining about 5A and did not stop once all day. We got beds weeded and watered, greens harvested and more plants out to harden off. My haul for the day: one bag of mixed Asian greens, one bag of tiny turnips+greens, a bag of mustard greens, two bags of kale/spinach mix, a jar of honey, two boxes of microgreens, and some oyster mushrooms! Wowza! Needless to say, I have a wealth of salad fixings!!!
Layla got her first marrow bone yesterday. And we discovered that she is a super mouser! She has been fixated on an area in the kitchen that mice are known to haunt. I have to say that I have never had a cat with that much focus.
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| Enjoying her bone in full relaxed mode. |
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| Laser focus on mouse-doings. |
Things are starting to green up around the LLF, thank goodness. Now, how to find the time I need to deal with it all!
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| Chives! |
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| Oregano! |
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| Comfrey! |
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| Nekkid sheep! |
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| Garlic! (Weeds!) |
27 comments:
So. Another laid-back weekend, eh? Loved all the pictures and congratulations on getting your pergola back up and situated in a better position. May it stand forever!
You are so far ahead of us here near the tundra gardening-wise. I finally uncovered my garlic yesterday and found nothing is showing yet. Nada, zip. I've even been watering it in our drought so it had enough moisture to start growing. Nope, not yet.
Layla with her bone looks a little like road kill in that position. Daughter's corgi Tucker would lie like that often. Do you think it might have something to do with their long, long back bones? The need to stretch it out now and then?
You're such a caring daughter to have your mom for over-nights. I'm sure it's something she looks forward to and thinks about often after it's over.
Robin is our focused mouser. He even caught one last year. I tried to save it for release but even a playful little JRT snatch was too much for the little white footed fellow. You do know about my mouse relocation program at the barn right? I wish Mandy was a bit more friendly with visitors but she still has many stellar qualities...I'm sure. ;-) So glad you had a great time with your Mom and I'm sure you deserve every single hug you get and more! With luck Layla will get a fantastic new home. Fingers crossed.
Wow, you've got real garden progress! And Layla might earn her keep if she actually CATCHES mice!
The "magazine" came; my goodness, it's a BOOK. So nice to thumb through; I look forward to hours of using. Thank-you so much!
I really should come to grips with the fact that there will be NO laid-back anything in my life. I am trying to ignore the weeds and flotsam of last year that are invading my raised beds. Since I really only have weekends to deal with it, and my weekends are mostly NOT my own, I'm going to have to practice some deep breathing. I do think that she gets in a good stretch by going flat-out. She has a long, lean body shape and spends a lot of time stretching. Maybe I should take a cue from her....she says, creakily.
Someone is going to be very lucky to have her in their life. She is a gem. I'm hoping she doesn't catch one while I'm at work... Butters is a joyful little bundle of muscles. He hasn't ever met a person he doesn't love. In that way, he is very atypical of the sausage breed. Every other one I had was leery at best and testy almost exclusively.
I'm so glad you like it! I've bookmarked about six things to make so far!!
did the guy that originally build the pergola rebuild it? after everything else that has gone wrong here recently, the neighbors tree fell on the roof of my garage and dented and pulled off my copper gutter....grrrrr!!! my a/c is temporarily fixed and today they are laying a new floor in my daughter's bathroom where the old one had to be pulled up to get to the 5 plumber clogged pipes. just shoot me now!
Yes, he did. He can now, officially, say he's built two pergolas. He put the whole thing up in the rain, bless his heart. NO!!!! Why is it that so many things go wrong at the same time! Can you believe having to use the A/C in the beginning of May? Let's hope it cools down to normal!
"Peanut Butter is madly in love with the young man who erected it..." :-) That is so cute!!!!!
You made a nice barter! Lovely veggies.
" ...it gives her a break from Dad" Haven't read here long enough, to know what that means.
Soooo muchhhh growwwwwing! Wonderful.
Having been brought up on real maple syrup, I would hug hundreds of people before I took a teaspoon of Aunt Jemimah or the like.
I am wallowing in all the green stuff going on around me. :) This is the year I fill every pot with flowers and veggies.
Lovely pergola!
You are a veritable human dynamo. Enjoy your salads. One of my cats brought a mouse indoors, a couple of years ago. I swear they kept it as a pet; two cats in the house and it lived indoors for several weeks. I had to catch it (humane trap) and re-home it in the end.
Does this mean we can sit under the pergola next winter when it s-n-o-w-s? And the garden in this short time period wow.
Layla must be a twin separated at birth by another mother to my cat that holds that pose exactly the same while mousing in the kitchen.
You also get the dear daughter of the year award ! You may also get the "how much can I pack into a weekend award" . Good grief woman you need to go back to work for a rest.
Wow, that bunch of salad fixings sounds delicious. Love your photos of the spring plants. Which reminds me, I need to go check my nettle again.
Wow - good daughter. Does your mom live relatively close by? Our cat just brought in a live mouse the other night. He has also brought in a live bird. I'm going with the theory that these are for us because he thinks we are such terrible hunters that we can't catch our own. Both times, the "captives" were released back outdoors. -Jenn
Well, it sounds like things are moving right along over there. you really make the weekend count, even in pouring rain. Is Layla the dog who picked a fight with Butters or is she a different one?
Peanut seems to be drawn to particular people and this fellow is a giant, so it's always sweet to see him get down on the ground to play with him. My dad suffers from dementia and he will drive you mad in about five minutes, let alone having to live with him.
I'll have to remember that...I am in maple syrup country, so there is no excuse for that other crap. I would think someone in town would pony up for the real stuff, but they don't.
Isn't it wonderful?
Sad to say (although riveting at the same time), Layla caught the mouse. I will have to add 'mouser' to her resume.
Why, yes we can! A couple of hot toddy's in hand (one for each hand because, you know, it's cold). Layla was back at it early this morning and caught her mouse! So much focus. It's true - there are times when I cannot wait to get to the office. Then, once I'm there, I'm bored and want to go directly home.
I was thinking about you as I clipped tops off my nettle patch. I'm going to dry it for tea. I love a salad with variety and this mix has a lot of it. Colorful, too, as there is a red tatsoi and the red mustard.
Jenn, they live in Vermont, which is about 20-30 minutes northeast of me. My sister takes care of them, which is a complete godsend. We'd like to give her a break, too, but I can't leave the farm and our other sister is too busy. We do what we can. At least your captives were alive. Mine don't spare their prey, unfortunately.
She's a different one, Elaine. Lulu (my original foster) was the one we had to re-foster. I am very happy to say that she has been adopted into a wonderful forever home! I am sure that Layla will have no problem at all, finding a good home. After all, she can be both dog AND cat!
And when the hot toddy's run out a mug of hot chocolate with a glug of Bailey's.
Let it snow!!
Hi Susan :) Your chives look so good! What's your secret? I keep trying to grow mine from seeds and I get ONE big chive and that's about it! Your photos are great, I love seeing the sheep. Layla is so cute, I hope she finds a really good home! We're having that dark, dank day as I type this. It's okay though, today is dedicated to going to the vet to get S&P checked for Monday's flight back home. Long day ahead. :)
A mousing dog! Good girl Layla! Nice that you are close enough to your mother for visits like that.
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