Tuesday, May 5, 2020

Taking Advantage of a Nice Day, Goose Gatherings

The Ridge

On Tuesday, May 5th both of us slept in until after 8. This is getting ridiculous! I should have got myself dressed for the weather and went for my walk. The winds were low and the sun was beaming down from a blue sky. I didn’t, the cool 2C/36F temperatures had me wimping out.  We had our morning drinks together and we each had a bowl of Cheerios, I had half a banana with mine. I felt hungry for some reason.

Walking back up the lane this afternoon
 When Bill went out to move more rocks, I went for my walk. I was back to layering up but rather than get my winter coat out, I wore a lightweight and heavyweight hoody with my windbreaker. I wore my neck scarf, my wool hat and my puffy vest. Oh, I had my gloves on too. Do you think I’ll be warm enough?  May 5th ? The wind was very cold on my face so I’m glad I wore what I did.

I took the time for a selfie while having a coffee in the King chairs
Before we headed outside, there was quite a ruckus in our east pond. The geese were fighting, we think, enforcing dominance over their territory. The odd thing though is that it didn’t stop. Two would get chased off and then return and on and on it went. I could hear them all the way down Baptist Church Road. By the time I’d returned, they had calmed somewhat. We are still waiting for the babies to be born. Bill said ‘Maybe that is what all the hubbub is about. Are they celebrating?'

UPS delivered my Avon today
Same nice guy
We chatted briefly and he handed me my box
when I indicated I wasn't worried about the transfer
I wasn’t feeling too energetic at the beginning of the day, well, heck it was already almost noon hour (that’s what happens when you sleep in until late!). I decided to plant the primrose from Gayle this afternoon after it warmed up a bit but first, I wanted to make something using up some apples from my freezer. I need to relieve Rob and Pat from some they are storing in their freezer for us. I left them what I didn’t have room for last winter. I don’t need to be picking apples this fall.

At Costco, we bought carrots and broccoli
the only way you can - Bulk
So, rather than some going bad,
I blanched them and froze them in smaller bags
It was a pretty day to go for a walk
By the time I was ready to go outside, the clouds had moved in. Doesn’t that just figure? Serves me right for waiting. I had a heck of a time today on the corral hill trying to dig and plant as my shoes kept slipping but I managed to get about 12 planted. There isn’t any good soil there, just little rocks and sandy mossy spots so I used some of my own potting soil to give them an extra bit of leverage. I hope they take to rooting, it wasn’t an easy task.


In the bucket of mint I got from our friends, Bill and Sandra, I found
a sweet surprise of what looks like poppies growing


Some evening primrose went up here
I also planted some up in a small garden I created last summer as well as 4 up on the berm beside the peony bush. This old gal was achy today and that makes no sense since I did nothing yesterday. Then again, maybe that is why, so when I cleaned things up, I closed the Bunky doors and went for a walk down the lane. On my way back, I finally spotted where Mother Goose was sitting in the east pond. Bill and I have not been able to find her nest and so I was happy to show him her location.

This garden was new last year
After I came in around 3:30, there was once more a lot of activity out in the pond. It was calm activity though with 6 geese out there swimming around. 

Mother Goose on her nest in the west pond
Turtles, always turtles in the sunshine
I don’t know the ins and outs of what happens when eggs are hatching but it was sure interesting. Perhaps, the swimmers were their goslings from last year, apparently they stay with their parents for a year. I went back and forth from my camera to our binoculars trying to figure out what was going on. It almost looks like Father G. was building a new nest while Mother G. swam around. It was quite the goose gathering.

And there is Mother Goose on her nest in the east pond
 It was time for a tea so I made that and when we turn the inverter off later, I have some baking to do. We’ve taken advantage of the sun and our solar power today and our batteries have been topped right up. That means we also have managed without any heat on other than what the sun is bringing in through our windows. We know that will change quickly and we’ll be relying on our Blue Flame heater and the fireplace.
Now, here, I'm not sure what is going on
Looks like another Papa beginning a new nest
I'm so confused!

Looks like a cold spell, lasting for a week or more, has moved into our area. Great. Two good things: yesterday we had a call from Heinz Auto Body that they can take Black Beauty for her repairs on May 13th. That took longer than we’d hoped but we are at their mercy and they were at the mercy of their parts suppliers. The other thing was a phone call from Tim Summers office that Mom’s income tax has been done. I’ve made a 10 am appointment for tomorrow to look after that.

Yup, this is how I'm feeling trying to figure it all out!

Supper is chicken thighs so I’m doing them in Madame IP and once cooked, I’d like to try and deep fry them in our Fry Daddy. Call me crazy but I’m curious enough to see how they turn out. So, let me explain the reason for wanting to make a crispy coating on the chicken. Bill doesn’t like Kentucky Fried Chicken; I don’t think he ever has. It is greasy but I’ve always liked it a lot. It has been many years since we’ve had it. Probably 20 at least, we’ve never bought a bucket together.

This chicken was so good!
This was my way of getting some deep-fried crunchiness. 😊 The good news is that it turned out great. We each had 2 thighs with a garden salad and I enjoyed mine very much. I didn’t get much from Bill, comment-wise, but I think he liked the meal as well. Now, after dishes we had some apple crisp for dessert. Bill didn’t hesitate there to tell me that it was very good. I know the way to my sweetie-pie’s stomach. I had some ice cream with mine and it was delicious. These are Ridge apples that I picked and froze last year.

Dessert was pretty tasty too
The rest of the evening was quiet, watching The Voice eliminations and FBI:Most Wanted. We’ve had a busy day and got some work done around the Ridge. The geese were entertaining from the beginning of the day to the end when the chorus frogs took over. I have no complaints about the weather today, we made it to 10C/49f and it was a day full of sun. What’s to complain about?

Thank you for stopping by!

10 comments:

  1. Maybe Papa goose has a new girlfriend!!! What time of year do you usually go home? Seems awful cold up there.

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    1. Maybe!! We usually get home the first week of April. This year is just being particularly unusual AND unwelcome, I might add!!!

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  2. It would be interesting to watch the geese nest. I hope you see little ones soon :-)

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  3. Well you've certainly got your own entertainment there with the geese and other animals. I haven't had KFC in forever, but my favorite part was the skin so crispy! Your dinner and dessert looked way too awesome! Love your colorful bowls!

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    1. Thank you Shirley. We do have lots of entertainment. :)
      I love the crispy skin too and now I know it is good fat. haha

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  4. Always fun watching the antics of geese especially when the goslings first leave the nests.
    Supper looked yummy.
    Be Safe and Enjoy the changing weather.

    It's about time.

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  5. Wouldn't you know it, a spring when you have to come home early, and it's the coldest spring in living memory!

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