The Dog Days of Summer...

...are winding down!


The chill of this morning’s air, a mere 33 degrees, fills my nostrils with a cool reflection of the days ahead. I am sitting on the front porch wrapped in my blanket (“Hydro” promises the robe is in the mail TODAY!) sipping my first cup of coffee and I see two deer heading towards the creek for their morning drink. They trod down the same dusty path that has been worn over the seasons,
they know their way.
* * *
I trampled the same paths every day for the past 3 months. I know my way.
But today, with the last of the tomatoes turned to sauce and the final Jalapeno’s thickened into jelly last evening, I can embark on a different route.
I’ve packed away the canners, the jars and the tongs; the kettles, the knives & the clean kitchen towels. What remains growing in the garden will garnish the chicken’s plates for a few weeks to come.
In a different time, in a different home, this time of year, the deer would come for their desserts of summer. I would watch them tenderly climb through my maze of tomatoes and vines, selecting only the finest at first. My garden beckoned them when I was through, and somehow they knew.
The deer here, in this place and time, seem to prefer the wheat stubble where the splattering of wheat kernels from the harvest now complete, will fatten them up for the long winter ahead.
I am grateful for this bounty that’s filled the freezers and lined my pantry shelves. We will reap the labors of my summer in the months to come.
When the killing frost arrives, I will pull the wilted remains tossing them on my newest compost pile. I then will do one last weeding, and fill my wheelbarrow over and over with compost from the 1st pile (I maintain 3, of different stages) dumping them into my raised rows, turning it into the soil lightly for winters rest period.
BUT… after this year? I may not plant another!
I say that every Fall!

I’m ready to enjoy the changing season.
With little time left before the cold Northerns begin to hover, I need to take the time to enjoy the warmth and colors of a lingering fall.



Today~ I will begin to breathe the sweet fragrance of the rose as it warms with the morning sun, and inhale the pungent Sage dripping in dew.



While Purple Verbena creep tenderly across the dampened soil,








a Yellow Rose will glisten under the
new blue morning.

Tea Roses will quietly open in a cool display,
as the “Flame Pot”warms with the breezy air.










My Crimson Roses will splash with color and profusely spread its perfume.
I love the mornings when they are living and vivacious!





The fresh cut grass lazily shakes its blades sending the bouquet of greetings to my senses, now renewed.

Even the spice of Marigold is welcomed this day as things awaken.



I am nauseous from the garden flavors,
their aromas drenching my walls.
So...
Today, I begin a new journey.
A new season awaits me.
I know there are more chores that await my attention, but for the moment, I plan to savor these mornings in their complete splendor.

Cowboy has been patient over the summer as he knows my passion for gardening, and he loves the rewards it brings, to his senses and his palette.
He does love to eat!
His labors are more intense without my help yet he never complains.
Secretly, as I stashed and stored my processing supplies for winter, I know he was grinning. Within a few days he can count on my shoulders to help him with summer’s neglected duties.

And I’ll be ready and eager for something “new”.
It will be a treat of sorts to get out in the barnyard, get a new kind of dirty!

Even back to the good old mucking!

I never claimed to be...

...the smartest duck in the lake!
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Today, I went on a rampage in the garden wielding a pair of scissors!

The grasshoppers were plentiful and I had a brainstorm!

Chase them down, catch those buggars & cut their heads off!

Cover them in chocolate…everybody loves chocolate, right?

(I didn’t think it would be too appetizing to leave heads on)
I thought if I packaged them real purty like, I could give boxes of Chocolate Covered Grasshoppers fresh from A Cowboy's Wife's garden ~

as great gifts to all my friends at Christmas!

Sounding pretty good, eh?

*****
HOW TO: If you want some before Christmas
**snicker, snicker...
Melt baker's chocolate in double boiler.
Fill molds halfway with chocolate, add grasshoppers,
fill rest of the way.
A tasty surprise in every one!




*****


Place your orders now if you want my surplus!


OK...let the chasing begin!
I put on my racing shoes,
(and mind you, I NEVER wear shoes, so this was meant to be hard core competition!)
donned my knee pads for the crashes I knew awaited me,
And headed for the gate!
Bucket and scissors in tow!

The Game is on fellars! Here comes the tough Cowboy's Wife!

"....ran through the briars and they ran through the brambles. And they ran through the bushes where a rabbit couldn't go...."

(Oh, those are Johnny Horton's words...

and besides...rabbits DO go where I am about to go!)

I made a wide sweep around the corn stubble, through the strawberry patch.
Danged!
These grasshoppers wanted to play a wild game of "Catch me if you can”!

Given that I had nothing better to do today, (if you believe that, I have ocean front property to sell you right here in the Palouse!) and with grandiose visions of the approaching “season of sugar plums” dancing in my head…or at best…Chocolate Covered Grasshoppers,
I advised them that I was up for a full eight innings…more if required!
After the ‘trip’, ooops, around the 3rd row of stubble, collecting my footing,
fist still curled...
I opened the fingers ..and.. lo and behold! Ten catches in one!

Hey, this is going to be fun!

So, I crouch low, sneak around the jungle of tomato bushes,
and dove into the compost pile!

Howdy Doody! Now I have 28 in the bucket!

I’m not tuckered yet nor am I suffering any pain, so let’s keep playing!

Tromping through the bean patch (because I am soooo done with them!)
I managed to tackle 33 more of these feisty varmints.
The bucket is yet to be heavy in numbers, so let’s continue!

Once more around the strawberries, through the carrots that refused to produce

(I just know where I planted them) ...up to the zucchini!
May as well trash through them I figured,
even the chickens are tired of ‘em!

Onward and upward!

Stumbling through the mighty Dill, scattering seeds to wind…....
oh well, next year my whole garden will grow already pickled!

Tiptoeing through the cantaloupe.....
(no I wasn’t thinking of Tiny Tim’s Tulips...but since you mentioned it...)

Tiptoe to the window, by the window that is where I'll be......

Come tiptoe through the tulips with me!

Tiptoe from your pillow, to the shadow of a willow tree.....

And tiptoe through the tulips with me!

Knee deep in flowers will stray,

we'll keep the showers away.

And if I kiss you in the garden,

in the moonlight, will you pardon me?

Come tiptoe through the tulips with me!

....and leaping over the peppers I finally decide to call it quits, there are more than enough for dipping in chocolate...for the trip to Grandmother's house!
Oh...I am the Grandmother...come on over and get your

Chocolate Covered Grasshoppers!

Over the river and through the woods
To Grandmother's house we go.The horse knows the way to carry the sleigh, Through white and drifted snow.
Over the river and through the woods,Oh, how the wind does blow.It stings the toes and bites the nose. As over the ground we go.
Over the river and through the woods, To have a full day of play.

Oh, hear the bells ringing ting-a-ling-ling,For it is Christmas Day.
Over the river and through the woods,Trot fast my dapple gray;

Spring o'er the ground just like a hound,For this is Christmas Day.
Over the river and through the woods, And straight through the barnyard gate.

It seems that we go so dreadfully slow;It is so hard to wait.
Over the river and through the woods, Now Grandma's cap I spy.

Hurrah for fun; the pudding's done;Hurrah for the pumpkin pie.

Oops, I almost forgot, there are those gorgeous red beets over yonder!
I'll bet there are more than 100 of these 'dying to be' Chocolate critters in there...

OK...One more round guys!
Here I come!



The Cheering crowd of pumpkins was driving me on!

Even the competition was slithering out of my way!

I'm running towards the finish line!

Beets! Here I come, yield into my bucket, those grand grasshoppers!

!
!
!
!

OUCH!!!!

!
!
!
!

Game is over....

I lose!

No Chocolate Covered Grasshoppers for the giving at Christmas!

Garden is trashed!

And I don't care..

Beets are the end of my gardening career for this year of 2008...

Yep.....

You know those danged scissors I was wielding around?

GOT ME!!!!

Snipping the leaves off the beets!

Cut right through the band-aid & into my two day old Pinkie wound that has yet to quit throbbing when abused & made it bigger yet!!

Anyone got a knife? Oh...I forgot, I do

...someone want the job of chopping the durned thing off so it's out of my way??? I won't even charge you!

Wonder what it is....about me, my Pinkie, and RED food???

....how's that TW?

Desperate times...

...calls for desperate measures!

By the time I got done with evening chores & was ready to mow the grass, I decided to take another pass thru the veggie garden to see if any of my concoctions had killed the pests.

What did I see? Or rather what was gone now?

Beets ~devoured; Spinach~no sign of; Carrots~ 75% gone (however, I do know that they grow new tops & should be OK...don't know that about beets); Green, Banana, Habanero & Jalepeno Peppers~covered with bugs! I hadn't even thought to look before, but the Brussel Sprouts and Broccoli (the parts you eat, not the plant) were demolished! Gone!

As I walked through, it was the eeriest sight, sound & feeling! I felt like I was in a Sci-Fi world, truly!

They'd 'fly' past me, some would land on me, Ewww...to their next plant! You could actually hear them as you walked in my garden gate! I'm not sure if it was their munching away, or rubbing against each other or what! NEVER, NEVER, NEVER have I seen the likes of this! They were working their way down (my garden is on a hillside) row by row! Some had reached the tomatoes, watermelon & squashes, but no real damage yet......and they were eating weeds along their path!

I made a frantic phone call, and luckily someone had SEVIN. I've never used pesticides & hate to, but......I wanted, I needed to save the rest of my garden!

This morning.......the ground, literally, is 'black/gray' and crunchy between the rows!

I have a bazillion garden books that I've look through, spanned the Internet last night...hoping for a clue! Nothing. I did gather up a few of these 'things' in a jar & will have that friend who works for WSU take them in to see if they can give me some insight.

The Eve of Destruction....

....at it's "FINEST" !!!

HORSES can be real Destructive!!

This one is getting a taste of my NEW remedy...we'll see if it works!
I mixed 1/4 cup Cayenne pepper, 20 drops of Tabasco into 1 1/2 cup water.
I just 'painted' it on the chew shots! Hope it burns them into quitting!
Figures...they just HAD to get it chewed through while Cowboy is gone! I'll be keeping an eye on them all today....see how well they like HOT LIPS!

~~~~~~~~~
Is there CROP INSURANCE for a homeowner???
~~~~~~~~~

"I am sooo BUGGED" !!

Something is eating my plants!

These are just a few! Coleus & Japanese Maple

Then....there is THIS! I haven't a clue what this bug is...I saw them 2 days ago, eating the weed Koshia, no problem! Go for it! Yesterday...they just about consumed ALL of my beets!

Today.............my spinach is gone!

If you look really close, maybe you can see these blackish/gray 3/4" bugs, devouring the beets!
They don't seem to sting...just cling when I walk through them!

Just hosed them off my beans, because that seems to be their next course!

I need to find something that works!
Preferably in the next minute!
Seems as this swarm can consume everything in sight within minutes!

Between the wind storms wiping out the corn & now this infestation, I'm ready to go out with a machete and destroy whatever is left! I've never had problems in my veggie gardens in all my years!

With the state of the economy...

I NEEDED this garden to be productive,

not destroyed!

~~~~~~~~~

MICE have invaded my domain!

~~~~~~~~~

During the wee hours of the last few nights, I've been "hearing" something... I donned my slippers, a flashlight & a bat....guess what I found!

They are chowing down on the dog food in the hall closet!

They like sunflower seeds too! Even the Jalepeno ones!!!

They found these in the basement!

~~~~~~~~~

DOG GONE IT...anyhow!!

~~~~~~~~~

Just got 'caught' red handed! Ooops....maybe that is 'brown-pawed'...

The Old Man Mac....must be UPSET he got left behind!


He probably knows the Cowboy went to his old stomping grounds! Where he was born & raised, and learned to work cattle!

Here's two of the 5 holes I've found that he has dug thus far!!

~~~~~~~~~

....and then in comes RELIEF!

~~~~~~~~~

Yesterday....I was blessed with a visit from FedEx!

I received a package from one of my dear Blogging friends...TOCCO!

"The Original Coffee Company Online"!

A sampling of her Gourmet House Blend & Sumatra Black Satin!

MMMMmmmmmm ... GOOD!!

Sat on my front porch last night as the sun was setting on the horizon beyond those "amber waves of grain"

...sipping a cup of Sumatra Black Satin....AWESOME!

I'm all de-stressed now after all the de-struction!

Thank You TOCCO!

Got Our Hearts Fed & Bellies Full...

....being neighborly for the past 3 days.

And we enjoyed every minute of it despite the heat! Today, it got up to 104*, but plenty of water and lemonade was provided for our work drenched bodies & parched gullets.
One of our closer "neighbors" (several miles away) needed some help with fencing in their 40 acres for their 2 bottle fed/to butcher calves, repairs of water lines & weed control. I can't call them elderly, as I hate that term...mainly, because someday someone will be calling me that & I don't like the sounds of it! They are wonderful people and their grown kids & grandkids don't live very close to help, so we try to help whenever they will let us.

Not that we didn't have things to be done here at home, because that is just a given....but making the time, having the opportunity to help others is such a pleasure for us! And one of the great rewards, according to Hubby, is we always get fed well! Boy .. do the country farmers & ranchers know how to take care of one's appetites! (I've always enjoyed that privilege when it is put on my shoulders. I love to cook for those who love to eat!!)
Noontime is suppertime...always was, and still is for that generation of this culture. Early to work, supper break, back to work for another 7-8 hours..light snack of leftovers, relax a spell & off to bed~ to do it all over the next day. Although the women do help some, they generally spend the mornings preparing the noontime supper.
These past 3 days, the "Mr." was out with us, handing out more fencing nails, gathering the fencing pliers we'd dropped 100' back (which would allow a break for us to dose ourselves with water...since he'd would walk back to the spot, look around a bit & then come back..... I'm not too sure that he walked any faster than we would have! The heat drains ya!) or he was mixing up more weed killer.
Mostly, he sat on the tailgate of the pickup propped against the rolls of barbed wire and the cooler which was filled with water, jugs of lemonade & fruit. He told story upon story...the words would just flow off his tongue, hour after hour! Not only did it help the hours pass quickly, it also filled our hearts with times of the past. He was born & raised on his place. His Mom just passed away this winter at 98 years. We heard stories of his childhood, his & the "Mrs." years as pig farmers on this ground. The raising of their children. Tough times, glorious times, none with regrets or sorrow. There was a constant twinkle in his eyes.......it never clouded over.

The first morning, arriving there at 5 a.m., they were disappointed we didn't come at 4:30 for breakfast! Now I am NOT a breakfast person, and getting up at 3:30-4:00 a.m. is not a real easy task for me, as I am a night person! But, Hubby, on the other hand, LOVES a good country breakfast to start the day. Truly...I USED to make them for him. I used to be up before everyone, and make breakfast time a great start to a new days beginning...but he certainly does not expect it from me now (he's never "expected" it but loves it when it happens!). I will surprise him once in awhile, usually in the winter, getting up before him. I'll make the coffee, get the fires stoked & house warmed, so when he comes out from the depth of dreamland, it is the aromas of a warm house, sizzling bacon & the love of his wife...filtering through the hallway to his nostrils that awakens him.
Needless to say, day 2 & 3...we were there for breakfast! Yesterday was Hubby's fav...biscuits & gravy (ALL food is his fav!). Today's fare was bacon, eggs (ours that we supply them with), & french toast ("Mrs." homemade bread style!) with homemade huckleberry syrup. Yummmm!
Day 1, I helped Hubby with the fencing & soaked up all the wonderful stories told by the "Mr.".

Day 2, I stayed back, while Hubby fixed water lines & got more stories..some I'm sure that shan't be told in mixed company :)
.... I helped the "Mrs." in weeding her flower beds and veggie garden. I even hung out some laundry to dry in the warm breezes. "Mrs." doesn't handle the heat too well, I could tell even though she would not admit it. I had to battle with her to let me work outside & her inside! I did take a lot of breaks to go inside to keep her company and watch her skillful hands preparing supper. She'd eventually, wipe her hands on her apron, bring the coffee pot to the table, shove the plate of fresh snickerdoodles at me (yep, she'd made them that morning!), then sit for a spell and tell me some of her stories! On my..........how I love the stories from that generation...especially the folks who lived on farms & ranches! The love in her words spoke loudly of her contentment & joys of a good life. I had such a wonderful time and I am ever so grateful that I opted to stay behind to spend the day with her! We giggled so much my toes hurt!

Day 3, today, was weed spraying...I'm not totally for it, for the environment and my nostrils...but it is their choice, and rightly so...
as it is their calves out there grazing ... there is Wyeth Lupine, Kochia, Field Horsetail in too large of quantities to feel safe. Their land hasn't been grazed & maintained for the past 10 or so years, to keep these noxious weeds at bay. There is plenty of grasses to last the summer, but...you never know, cattle won't usually eat noxious plants if there is plenty of good feed...but they needed to nipped in the butt now!
I told my Cowboy, he had to slow down today! I worry about him being in the heat so long, as he had a heat stroke while in AZ when he was shoeing horses. He is more susceptible now, we are told, and his tolerance to heat is much less. Sooooooo, being the 'other half' of this helping party...I packed the sprayer on my back for most of the morning. I was never so happy as to see the watch strike 11:00 a.m.! It was suppertime! Not that I was hungry.....but I needed to get cooled off and sit awhile with only my 105# of body weight instead of that pack on my back...which added half again the weight my feet are used to packing! There was only about 2 hours left of work to be done...fixing the automatic water fittings & filling the water troughs, hanging one more gate...one last 'trip around' to make sure all the fencing was secure...the neighboring wheat farmer might get a tad irate to find cows grazing in their fields.
Whew.....glad today was done! We sat in the cool shade of their locust trees with ice water and fresh Rhubarb pie!
(Which by the way, is my absolute most favorite dessert ever! No strawberries, no apples to tone down the tartness...just Rhubarb and a little sugar!)
Once we cooled off & got our bearings back, we came home. One more job had to be done...but luckily my Cowboy didn't need my help for that...gathering up the one Shorthorn which calved so late & her calf....loading them and taking them over to the "Mr. & Mrs." place to turn out with their 2 ~freshly weaned from the bottle~ calves....to keep them company. I climbed in the shower for a long cool one, then sat on the front porch with glass of iced tea...........ignoring the ache in my legs, my hands, my back....
Just savoring....savoring the stories told....savoring the giggles....savoring the memories of the past 3 days!
I will cherish them forever!

******************
PS...one of these days...I'm going to figure out some way to attach my cheap ol' camera to my hip `permanently~so I can take pix like everyone else does!
******************
AREN'T YOU CURIOUS??
I've got to tell you what was on the daily Suppertime menu...prepared lovingly by "Mrs."
DAY:
1) Fried Chicken (yet another Fav of my Cowboy! His Fav list goes to eternity...really!)
mashed potatoes, milk gravy, home canned peaches, home canned beets, cornbread!
2) Baked ham, scalloped potatoes, spinach salad, homemade rolls, home canned applesause!
3) German Sausage they made themselves, potato salad, cranberry muffins, fresh sliced strawberries!

Hungry yet? Come on over!

A little slice....

...out of life! Ooops.....no that was out of Me!

Bein' in a hurry last nite, sharp knife in hand (sharp is a must in my house!), rushing to get yet another late supper made at 10:15 pm...I sliced the tip of my pinkie off...my left one even..so this typing thing is kinda hunt & peck as I go. We don't 'do' Dr.'s, should prob'ly have gotten stitches but driving 40 miles to a clinic & the wait & the $$...No...not worth it. ....as the Grandkids call me "One Tough Bird", that I must be. And heck, what is one more scar to join the company of so many more? Hopefully the "chunk" we quickly bound w/gauze and tape, will reattach it's self...if not? It' will just be 'sensitive' forever like one of my other fingers, that was created by a rope on a raunchy calf!
*******************************
My Cowboy & I took a drive today, to deliver a 2yr old stud colt he started back to it's owner & pick up another one. (Luckily she pays for the gas! WOW! Cost $160.00 today!) We never go anywhere, never take a day "off" & vacate the premises together...but decided we needed to today. One day without a human here...all would survive. We needed a break...together. We loaded the "girls" (Millie & Tess~teenage Border Collies) and they were chained on their short leads in the back of the pickup as they like to"heel" cars in passing. When we hit the freeway, they freaked out! They tried climbing thru the pass thru window which wasn't opened, tried jumping on the top of the cab! We couldn't figure out what was wrong........so we pulled off the highway, thinking maybe something 'bit' them, maybe a rock from a passing car hit them...we didn't know. They were truly scared! So we brought them inside the cab with us. A mile or so later, we drove under an overpass (& many more to come!) and both of them ducked!! & hit the floorboards FAST!! at the same time!
We then figured it out!
We took these country dogs out of the country! They'd never been on anything but 2 lane county roads with little traffic! They'd never had vehicles come from behind and pass that they didn't see coming (the horse trailer was in their way today & the cars/trucks came FAST!) They certainly had never been anywhere they needed to duck from something....except for the hind feet of a kicking cow or horse!
Us, leaving the country for the bigger cities and traffic is bad enough, yet it never occurred to us that our dogs would feel the same stress! Now we know!
Maybe we shouldn't live such a secluded life! WRONG!
They are working dogs...they don't need the city life exposure anymore than we do!
*******************************
We spent the whole day with Gay & her family. Hubby showed them what he'd accomplished & how, with the stud. They have a bunch of new colts now, so he showed them some 'tricks' to getting a handle on them, catching, haltering & leading...and even messing with their feet. Keith is a certified farrier too, so he lightly rasped the young feet to help get them in line early. Hubby gets to start her horses & after they are sold, they generally come back to him for another 60-90 days. His mission today, was to get these young ones off to a GOOD start..so when they come to our place, it's makes his job easier & more pleasant for him & horse! Wished I'd have taken my cheap camera & gotten a few shots....those babies are sooooooooo cute!
Hubby doesn't show or compete, he doesn't like that part and doesn't care for the confines of an arena. His passion is with the young ones...the laying of the foundation...from their feet to their mind, instilling good behavior, respect, & safety. He exposes them to anything & everything possible. He loves to take them in the mountains! Or gather & work cattle, whether it's day work for a rancher or feedlot, or just helping friends.
Anyhow, while he "played" with the horses, I enjoyed her "yardscape".
It is so cool! It's done old western style, lots of cowboy paraphernalia strewn in the beds & pathways, along the creeks & bridges. Around the old buildings & barns. (Her Dad was a cowboy, she lived & followed his footsteps....and it's his brand they use...his horse bloodlines are carried on today.) She has FLOWERS everywhere! And luckily, she likes to share! We exchange things everytime we see each other.
*******************************
Oh my Gosh! I feel like I've stepped back in time...100+ yrs ago when I'm at their home...and that is the era I always felt I should have been born in!!
My folks still talk about that today...how that's all I ever wanted as a kid... wishing I'd been born in the 1800's, to be a cowgirl, have a horse, an old run down Victorian house (there was one we'd drive by on the way to camp every year...I still remember it...& that's what I was going to have when I grew up), no neighbors, lots of critters about, a garden...and I'd be content. They couldn't understand it then...& certainly have never understood my attempts at having that lifestyle in this century!
You know.....I almost have it, as I dreamed so many years ago!
I live in 108 yr old house, no neighbors, there are oodles of animals to feed; I have my gardens for pleasure & purpose....and I have My Cowboy!
It's not the 1800's....but I'll take it!

Ever chase a Vole??

...Voles are NOT moles. They don't mound the dirt up and make a mess of your lawn. Voles on the otherhand (a form of field mice, I read) have an endless network of tunnels underground. They undermine the ground to the point it eventually caves in! (Makes mowing tough!) They do pop their heads up and eat the grass, Creeping Phloxes, Dianthus, Pansies, and anything else that appears on the "plate" before their eyes! They can actually devour a whole Creeping Phlox plant...approx 18" diameter and tall, in a matter of 2 days if you don't catch them! Well, I thought they were gone! Hadn't seen the damage for about 2 months now...until today! I saw that little head munching on one of my Rasberry Sorbet Dianthus and I grabbed a shovel and headed towards him! He must have heard my stomping footsteps and slipped back underground though his little hole (about 1-1/2" diam) tucked under the leaves. I've tried before, to no avail, 'flushing' them with the hose, as you can moles...I left the hose running for about 5 hours! NO SIGN of water exiting anywhere! Having given up hope of running him off, I got out my mothballs that seem to work only once in awhile, shoved 3 down the hole & placed dirt back on top. (I have to be careful so our Yorkies don't get themselves in a predicament).
Later in the afternoon, I headed down to the barnyard to gather eggs, when I stopped dead in my tracks to ponder what I'd come upon! What might be about 35o' away from where I had the hose running so long, down below the embankment of my yard, coming up in one of the pastures was a soaking trail of water! Hmmmm.....wonder if that critter ran away?! I doubted it!
I am not a happy camper at this point...and just as I turned to the tack shed, I saw the largest goat was loose and had my pampered new corkscrew willow, that I started from a branch this winter, and had grown to about 7' tall, was between her legs and in her mouth eating all the tender new leaves! It is now only about 5' tall!! I do not care for goats! (Keith thinks he needs them for starting his Border Collies on, and others who want his help.) I am trying to get her to get back to her pen, and she thinks I am someone who actually loves her, because as she did one other time....she come running up from behind me...ducked in between my short legs and decided to give me a ride!! RRRRRRRRRR! Of course I ended up in the dirt!
As per usual, whenever critters are running around where they don't belong....my Cowboy Hubby is nowhere to be seen! Riding off yonder in them thar hills somewhere!
Ok..........I admit, I've done gathering of critters so much of my life, I should be used to it. Should just accept the fact that it is part of my "job"...part of this chosen lifestyle. But you know what?? I hated having to do it years ago....and I hate having to do it today! Today is even tougher cuz I don't move quite like I used to! And my patience isn't what it used to be either, which can create a bigger fiasco!
On to the vole that started my disgust for the day...by sundown this evening...I decided to go check out the initial crime scene. Guess what!!! Laying perfectly innocent on top of the soil, were 3 perfect mothballs.
The rest of my Rasberry Sorbet Dianthus???
History!

Peeplets!

Know what those are??? I've got them! Forgot to mention before that I went nose diving in my veggie garden this afternoon...I've got Peeplets! Spinach is peeping...beets...a few corn and yep, even a few beans! Peeping their tops thru the soil...barely, but promising me more! I am SOOOO excited!!
(There also happens to be a lot of bird droppings...and holes...where they went Beak Diving!)

Ok......so it's a Holiday!

...Memorial Day weekend. Bet most everyone out there is doing something fun, going somewhere exciting, cooking on the barbie, or picnicing...whatever.
As per usual...we are staying at home, doing nothing special. Being a Cowboy's Wife, a self-employed Cowboy you might want to call him, means WE are the one responsible for making sure all the critters are fed, watered, healthy and safe. 24/7 ! Don't live near anyone to ask to watch over things...besides, it's a Holiday! And anyone within a 6 mile radius of us, is no doubt doing things I'd like to be doing!
We miss out on sooooooo many things Rrrrrrrrrr!
So, I'll just do what I do.....garden! and Blog, of course, unless the weather gets warm and beckons me outside, like it did today. I stirred up my veggie rows some more, mixing that wonderful decomposted manure and compost pile additives another time. Besides, everytime I do that until planting time, it rids the space of more baby weeds! The more weeding you do, it's the game "pay it forward" ! Within a few years, the weeds will become the minority! And boy is that ever a reward!
I planted things friends have given me and moved and replanted others to accomodate the new things. I am frequently changing my mind on things, as they grow and as new arrivals show up on my doorstep. But what the heck, it gives me another chance to use some more of my sweet-aroma compost dirt in every hole I dig. And the plants give thanks to me by blessing me with beautiful colors and/or frangrances!
9:30 pm our time...and as the days get longer, we stay outside way too long; eat supper way too late. Not healthy! and no matter hard we try to change that, the habit was established so many years ago, we just can't seem to break it! So, now that is past sunset, I'd better get off my duff & fix some supper! Sorry, Hubby, Beef! is NOT what's for supper tonite! Just good ol' Nachos!

BEEF! It's what's for dinner!

.....so my Hubby says! He also says that if it doesn't walk on the earth's dry ground...than you shouldn't eat it! (obviously, you guessed he won't eat fish!) Yep, so that's what we had...our own home grown beef! (Roast to be exact).
Boy, there is a lot to be said for home grown anything! Be it beef, chicken, eggs, or veggies! Our beef is basically organic. They are born on our ground, raised with their Momma, brought in for weaning, and then left to grow up just grazing. Around 18 months, we bring it back in, and feed it corn (gives THEEEEEEE best flavor!), hay for minimum of 60 days, and water of course. We don't, and wouldn't even if we could afford it, vaccinate, or inject anything into the animals. They are raised like they were 100+ years ago! You know....survival of the fittest....and boy is it the bestest tasting! Healthier too, for the animal and us! Heck, we know exactly what the animals have ingested, so that is what is going into us....all natural foods!
I raise and put up all of our veggies too. Organic also! The pens where the horses, cows and chickens get kept sometimes, need to be 'cleaned', so all the proceeds get dumped in a pile out in one of the fields. The following year, after decomposing, scoopfuls (with the borrowed neighbors tractor...thank goodness) are brought in, dumped outside my fenced garden, where I then wheelbarrow it into my mounded rows and pitchfork "stir" it in. My garden's rows have always been in mound fashion. The soil warms up earlier in the Spring and they never get walked on to be compressed. Except.........by all the durned cottontails we have! I do have a compost pile too, actually 2. Coffee grounds, egg shells, some grass clippings, pulled weeds, you name it, goes there (if the goats or chickens aren't in line for it). One big pile (and I mean BIG! Like Mt. Compost!) I keep adding to, stirring and watering. My other pile, is much smaller and more manageable. I 'pull' from the big one...the what has decomposed the most...add it to the little one, more dirt, more water and more stirring....and it is ready to use at all times. I treat my flowers, my shrubs, my veggies with it! They love it!
It's been a stranger than strange Spring this year. I still won't be planting until June 5-15th. People are amazed that I don't, but ya know? My gardens always catch up and surpass most others! I do plant a few cool weather veggies for the eagerness to get gardening takes over and we did have fresh leaf lettuce and radishes for salad tonite.
Wow........wasn't going to stay on here this long! Get to talking about my passions, and I can't quit!
Spent all last nite, until 3:30am on this darned blog....'playing' and trying to change and add etc. Kind of tough to research and implement, and then change it all over again, with this slow dial-up I have! So calling it quits tonite..................