Fosters, Flutes and Frost

You know when you say yes, then some days go by and certain information makes its way into the dark crevices of your cranium and then....WHAM!?  No?  Some days ago, I got an email from Peanut Butter's foster parents (who I secretly think wish they had never given him up - too bad ... ) asking if there was any way I could look after their current foster for a weekend.  Of course.  I can certainly relate to wanting to get away for the weekend... 


Because we live so far from each other, it was decided that I would toss the dogs in the car after work on Thursday and drive to meet them halfway at a popular dog-rescue-meet-and-greet area.  Sounded great at the time but I failed to realize a) it now gets pitch dark by 7 and b) I loathe driving in the dark.  They failed to realized that the favorite spot was not lit.  After an hour's hair-raising drive, we finally made it to the abyss meeting spot.  They pulled in and we tried our best to light the area with our headlights.  How did it go?  There were four dogs involved; Peanut Butter thought he was going home with them; Lovey, tail firmly cemented to her tummy, was having nothing doing with this new dog, the dark and strange people all in the dark; we were all afraid someone would call the police.  I finally just said the heck with it, put Lovey and Peanut Butter (his foster mother, still trying to get one last cuddle in) in the back seat and put Rusty Jones in the front.  Rusty, poor lad, thought it was the end of the world.  I drove back with Rusty trying to get onto my lap (he's Lovey's size) and everyone else exhausted.  By the time we pulled in, it was 10P and they had not eaten.  Soooo, in we went, with Lovey still giving Rusty The Lip every once in a while.  I got their dinners together and then there was calm.  We took a little time to peruse the chicken yard in the dark, then came inside to collapse.  I had had the foresight to take Friday off, which was a very good thing, as I think I got four hours of sleep.  Everyone settled down and Rusty was actually playing with Lovey and there was much kissing, on and off all day.  I renamed him Velcro and got almost nothing done.

Are you now my mommy?

What's going on over there?

The dark lump is PB...

This is more like it!

Saturday, however, I escaped and met my sister at The Clark in Williamstown, MA, for a telecast of Mozart's The Magic Flute.  OMG!  It was quite wonderful, especially compared to the bizarre rendition of Obsession we had witnessed the previous week.  The costumes, staging and talent were spectacular and I developed a major crush on the baritone.  It was a beautiful autumn day.

NOT the baritone.  He had dimples...

View from the museum parking lot.

Luckily, Rusty's foster parents swung by on their way home Sunday, so I didn't have to repeat the night-time drive.  He was thrilled to see them - having believed he had been abandoned...again.  The four of us (Slimbo ventured out after he was sure the monster was gone) stumbled to our positions (Peanut Butter is back by my side) and made it an early night.


Monday night brought freezing temps.  I knew it was coming but had very little time to spare over the weekend to get things battened down.  I did manage to empty the duck pool and drag in the Meyers Lemon tree - without putting my back out - and repot the geraniums for their indoor hiatus.  Sunday was a very windy, warm day - the precursor to the cold front, thundering toward us.  It brought some rain, so I left the geraniums outside for a free watering.  Yesterday I brought them in, along with the fig tree, and I had all good intentions to cut my herbs when I got home from work.  Instead, I spent ONE HOUR inching through traffic caused when some nimrod rammed into the back of another car in one of two lanes.  I am sure he/she was texting something of incredible importance - the state of their adenoids, perhaps?  I was sure to put the voodoo curse on them as I drove by at one mile an hour.  By the time I pulled into the driveway, it was too dark to clip herbs.  I did a very fast round of evening chores and then put my headlamp on and covered the oregano and marjoram and clipped a few sprigs of pineapple sage.  Everything else was on its own.

Beautiful flowering pineapple sage

I have not had a chance to reconnoiter the garden since the freeze.  I doubt if anything survived except for the kale - that survives almost anything!