May Day

Sky is back, after his week with a pretty little tri-color springer.  He is tired and quiet and has managed to erase the smug grin.

Rainy weather pattern for a few days.  The lawn is lush and the fruit trees are in bloom.  Wife planted a trunk load of woodland wild flowers  in our woodland garden, and our yearly wren nest is filled with 5 chicks doing well.  Rhubarb is almost ready for pie making.

If it stops raining, I will take Jr to the park.  He needs a bath anyways, and a chance to run will be good for him.

"Freckles with legs" -- UGH!  Even with that euphemism, I still got the willies reading that, Doug!  Sounds like you had a wonderful getaway with your friends.  Spending time with very dear friends that you can't see as often as you like is great, even though there's a tinge of sadness when you say goodbye because you know it may be a while before you're all together again.  Sounds like Sky had an equally nice time with his girlfriend, too!  :-)

It's been busy at home and at work lately -- my To Do List keeps growing, despite crossing things off.  The days fly by.  We did a bit of sprucing up in our front yard, a few new perennials in one bare area near a coral bark maple tree, as well as some new bark mulch in the flowerbeds.  We don't have any fruit or vegetable plants or trees, but our neighbors have raspberry bushes that are looking very healthy.  Ruby always enjoys when their kids feed her fresh berries through the fence!

The news coverage of the fires in Alberta and the tornadoes in the Great Plains is unbelievable.  I can't imagine what people are coping with in those areas.  So frightening.  I always think of the animals, too -- whether they're family pets, livestock, or wildlife, it has to be terrifying for them as well.  

Back to the stacks on my desk!

We have a strange orange orb in the sky--I think it's what is called the sun. We haven't seen the sun in a long time!  We got just over an inch of rain this past week, which we needed, so I was glad for it. But, it made the lawn grow, so I need to mow! I got two fence panels installed--5 to go, along with 2 gates. We've been picking asparagus--yummy! I made quiche with asparagus and gruyere cheese for Mom for Mother's Day.  Ronnie continues to do well with his off lead "practice" (when no people are around). Lots of treats, but he is developing a pretty reliable recall--we'll add a couple people we know and see what happens. Rock and I have obedience class on Friday (private--can't get to the evening classes because of the ferry schedule). He is doing well, so I hope we get some good feedback and a plan for how to move forward, improve and fine tune.

Tracy, I've watched the news about the fires and the tornadoes--it is unbelievable, and I worry about all the animals, too, along with all the humans.

The ticks are out in abundance here--yuck is all I can say! Doug, what kinds of plants did your wife put in?

Our friends own a fair amount of woodland. We replanted Hepatica, Trillium, Bloodwort. Anemones, and ferns. The rain now is helping the plants settle in. Also making the dandelions get big and ugly.

I did some wood turning the other day. Cut up a few pieces of scrap and glued them into a blank and made a nice stripped bowl. I totally surprised myself. It is pretty. Daughter said she wants it. My son has an oak tree down in his yard. next trip, I'll cut off a chunk to make some blanks to turn. I set up a little booth in the garage to trap the chips and dust, and it is a relaxing activity-once you get past the fear of working the lathe with sharp knives.

News points out that the Black Legged Tick is in the river valley by us now. Always good news. Sky gets his bug killer monthly, and gets his body sprayed with a good repellant before hitting the brush. Mosquitoes should be showing up soon, if we get some warm weather. I've got a couple of boxes of 7 shot for the 12 gauge, so we should be safe from the bigger mosquitoes.

Sky amazes me. He is such a good dog. He was playing with another ESS at the park, and when I decided to leave, I just said "Heel". Not even loud, but he dropped in at heel and walked with me to the truck. I am going to work at getting a pup. The man running the other ESS is 5 years older than me, and just got a pup-his wife insisted. By the time the pups show up, I might be able to convince wife. Either that, or see of the 24 hour rule will work.

Just watched an English Setter at the dog park.  She was pointing Robins.  Really pretty to watch.  Tail  up and feathering waving in the wind.

Got a new refrigerator and dishwasher coming today.  Dishwasher going out is over 20 years old, the fridge  is only 17.  Read an article saying that if your refrigerator is over 10 years old, you are money ahead to replace it with a more efficient unit.  But nothing gets thrown out until it isn't working right and costs too much to fix, which is why I drive a 1997 F150.

My grass is looking really nice now after cool rainy days.  I keep telling myself that dandelions are mostly green.  I used a weed and feed fertilizer, and the feed part worked really well.

Turned a couple of bowls with my lathe.  Slow and steady seems to do it.  As with most of my projects, the finishing sucks.  But I will get better.  And there is no such thing as a flaw on craft work.  It's a feature.  I planned it that way.

Been a couple weeks since I've checked in.  Hope everyone is doing well.  It's been ages since we've heard from Glenda, Callie, and Ginger.  

Doug, I hope you're enjoying the new fridge and dishwasher.  I prefer using things until they totally wear out, but sometimes it's better to be proactive and replace things before they fail.  We just had a recent bad experience -- we've had a leaky kitchen faucet for ages.  DH repaired it once, then replaced it (with the same kind), but it leaks, too.  Ultimately, we want to replace our sink, not just the faucet, so we did some preliminary research on what we'd like to have.  Well, we never got around to ordering anything, then one night the dripping faucet turned into a fountain.  DH spent 3 hours trying to remove the bad faucet, but it was corroded too much to remove it.  It became clear we had to call in the professionals.  So, we had a couple days to find a sink and faucet replacement.  We didn't want to be without a sink/faucet in the kitchen for more than 2 or 3 days, so we had to buy whatever we could find in stock, and use whatever plumber was available.  Needless to say, it was far more expensive than what it would have been had we planned and shopped in advance.  Ugh.

The news here is our neighbors next door finally decided to get another dog after losing their beloved Schnauzer last summer.  After much discussion, they decided to adopt an older dog from the shelter (they've always gotten puppies, but are now seniors themselves and need something a bit less demanding).  I helped them find a great prospect at our shelter, and they now have a darling 9-year old Jack Russell Terrier mix.  There have been some adjustments, but food and treats have helped a lot.  He and Ruby have met through the chain link fence.  She's fascinated by him and seems to want to engage in play, but he's basically ignoring her, which is good at this point.  She can be terribly rude in her play behavior, so we'll let them spend several more weeks just touching noses with a fence between them.  He is so cute and has hit the jackpot with a home with retirees who will dote on him.  We're enjoying him, too.

Early Memorial Day wishes to everyone and to those in your families who are to be honored on the holiday!

It looks like we're going to have a bit of a warm spell--so that means I might get most of the veggies planted! We need rain (but not the tornado storms, thank you).

We had to make an unscheduled trip to the vet for Rock--he was having horrible diarrhea--which hasn't happened in months. So, he got a shot, some oral meds, probiotics and he is now fast asleep in his crate. Poor beast--not sure what was going on (or he was just stressed-his routine this week was totally disrupted). I'll keep an eye on him--fingers crossed everything will be back to normal quickly.

Has anyone dehydrated rhubarb? I Think I might try it just to see how it works. We do have a good crop of that this year. Speaking of crops--the ticks are in full force, as are the aphids. Oh yippie.

Tracy, what great news about the senior pup getting a new family! I love hearing stories of adults pups being adopted, especially senior adults!

Doug-what is the saying? Use it up, wear it out; make do or do without--I think that's what is hanging in a friend's kitchen. I, too, am loathe to throw out something that still works--I like the idea of a "feature" instead of a "flaw" in craft work. I've turned one bowl--it's about 5 inches in diameter (at most) and I liked the process (which means I didn't plan the form at all!).

Happy Memorial Day, everyone.

Rainy day.  Had to clean the patio drains(lots of leaves and maple seeds).  Wife noticed lots of action in the fish pond.  We added plants, and the gold fish are using them to lay eggs.  Joy.  Apparently we have a mixed population.  But the goldfish we have are from an earlier hatch in the pond.  Don't know what we will do if we get hundreds of little goldfish again.  Last time, my wife was teaching and lots of kids went home with bags of fish.  

Apparently my kids are afraid I will have nothing to do.  Son wants another Adirondacks  chair.  He makes his own super hero back to them.  Daughter wants chevrons .  I have no problems doing nothing.  Usually, it is a conscious decision.

"Use up" explains my 1997 F150.

Hi all, been missing my friends here.   We have been so busy at work and I just don't get to the computer much at home.   Hope everyone is happy and well. Reading thru the thread sound like everyone is busy and gearing up for summer.  I hit the big "60" last week , I am feeling it too.  Trying to get the yard in shape but I seem to do 1/2 as much in twice the time, ha!  Garth had his first birthday and Hot Shot had his 8th gotcha day. Garth is getting some better and Hot is slowing down like us.  

We have had a mostly cool May and the last week has been very wet.  Not near  as much water as our friends in Texas.  Our Idog friend  Barb got  water in the house although they are safe could use some good vibes I am sure.

So Doug will we be seeing little "Sky pups" around here?   Tracy it was very nice  the you helped human and doggy seniors find each other. I told Hubby if we ever add another dog, we should get a little older....puppyhood with Garth was a bit more work than we remember.  Kate, how is your garden this year?  Mine has been scaled back quite a bit,  After the last 2 years of no gardening to speak of most of my time has been spent taming the unruly vines and trees.  Hard to believe how fast it can all get out of hand.

Gotta start dinner.  Tonight menu is bacon wrapped pork tenderloin, baked potato, corn on the cob, eggplant parm     As you can tell it is not on the low carb menu tonight.

Take care my friends, I'll try to drop in more often.

Happy Memorial Day!

I don't know if I dare even see the puppies.  I have been informed by she who must be obeyed that I really do not want another dog.  And I was so sure I did, but I've been wrong so often.  I have two brothers who are interested.  One really wants the pick of the litter.

Guy showed up at the dog park with a pair of Basset hounds.  The young one is 63# of bullheaded dog.  Guy said the walked a trail once with him.  At the 2 mile point, the dog realized they were getting farther from the car, so he laid down and refused to move.  They had to call someone to come and get them, because 2 miles carrying a 63lb load of relaxed dog just wasn't on the agenda.

Got sick.  Don't do it often, but I make up for quantity with quality.  Apparently I dehydrated.  Bad shakes.  Sounds like a good sick.  The cure is apparently to sit, watch tv, and drink fluids.  Sounds like it could be fun, but they mean water.  Seems like all the new doctors I meet are younger than my daughter and very pretty.  Very unsettling to realize that I am old.

Our service provider for DSL was bought out, and we had to set up new accounts to access their home page.  I am computer literate.  I've used them since the internet was only a thought.  The new home page was described as "an improvement", but I am just tired of changes for the sake of change.  The new home page is just different, not better and seems to be more complex and has a learning curve.  Sound familiar.  Took me a bunch of tries spread over several days to complete the application process and included one call to customer service-who told me to do what I had already done but it didn't work.  Tried it again today, and it worked.  I may need to rehydrate again.

Keep well.

Doug, I hope you're feeling better!

I just tried to start a June thread, but it said a Moderator had to approve it, so we'll see.