Sowing Seeds, Baking, Lawn Gets Cut

The Ridge

On Thursday, May 12^th I got up to say goodbye to Bill with the full intention of going back to bed with Gibbs. I didn’t sleep much between 10 and 1:30 and there is only one culprit to blame for that! He’s a furry little 4-legged squirmer. Granted, it was up there in the bedroom and I’d closed the big windows that faced the yard because of the noisy frogs. However, I did open the little one beside my head. 😊

Well, that just meant ‘someone’ had to be next to it as he was very hot. That in turn meant that he was laying above, near and beside my head to get close to the window. Good grief! When I repeatedly told him to lay down and go to sleep, he laid right where he was, which didn’t help me at all. Bill seemed to be sleeping soundly through it all and once he woke enough to admonish Gibbs to go to sleep…….and the little pooper did! At my feet. The rest of the morning, I slept.

If I look distressed, it's because of the darn
black flies
I don't think I got bit ✌
but I'll know that tomorrow

We went back to bed after Bill left and at least I rested until 7:30. Gibbs and I went for our walk to the corner and back. There was nothing definite on my plate today but soon after my tea, at 9, I went up to the garden to plant some of the spinach and Swiss chard seeds. Gibbs was allowed off leash but that lasted for about 15 minutes and he was playing in the garden where I was working. That was no help at all so I coerced him into coming down to his rope leash. He’s too smart for his own good and hence avoids me like the plague. 😊

The rhubarb is coming but slow
Two rows planted for starters
and the rest of the garden is prepped
Each year, the earth gets better

I finished two half rows and IF they come up properly, in two weeks I’ll thin them and replant more. I was disappointed though to see and feel the black flies are back. LOL I had to cover up and don my netted hat in order to finish hoeing the rest of the garden. It is ready for planting now.  I should have some tomato and pepper plants soon to get in the earth as well. These are the only things I’m really needing in my garden; I think.

When we came inside, I made another tea, instead of a coffee, and dusted the entertainment woodwork and coffee table, replacing things that had been tucked in the table since before we left for home. We’ve had seagrass baskets on the lower shelf of the coffee table since 2016 and although they are really handy for storage when travelling, they scratched the wood and the plastic shelf liners just made it sticky. What a mess.

since we came home, the bar fridge sat on the table
so I was happy to lift it and put some things out

Time to get rid of the baskets, at least from there. I might be able to use them in the SS. I had to use rubbing alcohol to get the stickiness off but eventually had success and finished by polishing the wood. My Photo books and a few coffee table books of Bills fit nicely on the shelf – for now. When we move, I’ll come up with something.

If there is a scent to follow
Gibbs will find it
It might be something to eat!

With that done, I had my shower and then refilled the soda in the fridges. Now the obar fridge can be used for its initial purpose again. ♥ Yay! I’ve had 2 shortbread pie crusts that I bought in Quartzsite for $1 at Ken’s Grocery and finally decided what to make. A pineapple cheesecake pie. Oh my! It was a no bake recipe and the pie crust was ready to fill. It’s going to spoil my sweetie but after working so hard, he deserves it. He just has to share with me.

I can't take credit for the pie crust
but I can for the filling!
It went in the fridge for 4 hours

My lunch was healthy and I cleaned
up the last of the pork

I was tired of listening to Sirius radio as well as the local station so played my cd’s while I was working inside. Blue Rodeo, Pokey LaFarge, Billy Ray Cyrus and Johnny Reid are my favourites. Throughout the day, between Gibbs and I, we kept Ma and Pa Goose at bay. They come up from the east pond about 2/3 of the way down the hill and attempt to come up. If Gibbs sees them, we allow him to bark at them to shoo them back down again. Today, he was sleeping on the floor when I saw them so I had to go out and shoo them off.

Gibbs and I sat in the shade while Bill cut the grass
It was too hot inside

I missed getting him on the mower
but it was a job well done
with a mower that is running like a top!

The temperature today is hovering in the ‘summer’ range but I know it will only last until the weekend before it drops off below seasonal again. Such strange weather, everywhere. The winds have been good for a couple of days, increasing a bit this afternoon but pleasantly.  Bill was home early, around 3:30, so it was a nice surprise. After Gibbs greeted him, I got my turn. My tail doesn’t wag quite as sweetly as a little puppy dog’s does. 😊

Gibbs hadn't eaten yet so before supper
Bill sat on the floor with him

That did the trick!
It is obviously 'separation anxiety' 😢

Bill hopped on the mower and got ¾ of the grass cut on the property. It isn’t all in need of a low cut by any means but some areas are quite long and with rain coming on the weekend, he wanted to get it done. We had haddock and chips for supper and I had coleslaw instead of the fries. I knew that dessert would surely fill me up if the entre didn’t. Bill was pleasantly surprised with the cheesecake and we both savoured every creamy bite. ♥

fish and coleslaw and it was good

After turning the dishwasher on, I worked on my post and Bill turned some of our recorded programs on. Magnum PI and Swamp People was a good start. This has been another great day. I hope you are getting this decent weather too and if you are in the areas where the rains are drenching your land, I hope it clears up for your weekend at least.

and then the Cheesecake Pie - oh my!
Easy recipe
good night!

PS - last night, we had Chapmans Black Cherry ice cream. It hasn't been in our freezer for about 6 months!

Thank you for your visit! Your comments are welcome!

Morning Walk, Back at the Garden, Gloria’s Invite, Sweeter Invoice

The Ridge

On Monday, July 12^th, I never heard Bill get up at 5:45. I never even heard him bring Gibbs up to the bed so he must have been very quiet and convinced the little guy to be the same or I was in a dead sleep. 😊 When I did wake up about 5 or 10 minutes later, Gibbs came up gently and gave me a morning kiss – even before Bill did! Nice and gentle so he is learning to be gentle around our faces. Licks are better than nips.

It was opening up to a lovely day

Good morning for a walk

We stayed in bed until Bill was ready to leave but it really bothered Gibbs that he wasn’t free to help Daddy tie his work boots! While I was in the bathroom, he couldn’t stand it any longer and jumped off the bed all by himself! That took courage! Bill was just pulling out by the time I was dressed and had Gibbs out on the leash but he at least got to see Black Beauty pulling down the lane so he was happy.

A new turning point about 1/4 mile further down the road
Every little bit helps

He has really spent a lot more time with Bill this past weekend, especially yesterday, so I wondered if he would whimper more when he left. He did the usual whine and was content to be with Mom again. 😊 I sat with him until 7:30, he was so cuddly and sleepy! Then I put him in his crate and went for my walk. I likely could have left him out but then I would worry about the time I was gone and my walks are all about me and everything around me.

It was a great walk, past Turbine Lane to the gate entrance of the gravel pit property on the hill and I turned around. I could feel the humidity already in the air so glad I walked early. 

A close up of Sumac blooms

And Queen Anne's Lace

Furry Gnome gave us hints to look for on milkweeds
evidence of Monarch caterpillars
this area in the ditch is full of milkweeds but
the grass was wet and I couldn't see any holes from nibbles
from the distance

Back home, I had my tea outside with Gibbs and when he started barking, first at the geese bathing in the pond and then at something by the storage shed. I looked up just in time to see 2 adult skunks sauntering down the berm to the shed. Now we know what critters dug that hole! Crap!

A couple of peppers from my garden

Gibbs saw them too and was off leash. You can imagine my heart rate at that moment. I called sharply to him and he stopped halfway across the lot and looked at me. Still barking. I squatted down as if I had something for him and coaxed him back to me where I grabbed his collar and put him on his rope. Phew! He actually came to me which was the biggest surprise. 😊 I’m sure there is a family under there, and have set up house for the summer. Darn it all!

Pictures from our drive down North Line

Lots of old and new bridges

Lots of sheltered areas with nice forests

After that, I wasn’t comfortable letting Gibbs out free so kept him tied up. At 9:30 we both hopped in Ptooties and went down the road to pay for our Cub Cadet but the invoice wasn’t made up yet. We were quoted about $700 a few days ago which stunned me but at the same time, it would be a great mower with all the wee issues fixed. That is always a good feeling to know Bill wouldn't have problems.

This place was interesting but I only had my phone camera
so it isn't a great photo
This stone foundation structure is historical but
the family's new modern home is behind it 👍
I love that they left it and it is very neat around it

This is from the road, pretty entrance
BurnBrae is the name on that sign

That was a short drive taking about 10 minutes so I decided to turn to the east and go further down North Line. Just a Gibbs and Mom drive. It is gravel so I drove slow and he sat on the passenger seat until we met Gloria from down the road and after we said hello, he sat on my lap. He was a good boy. What a neat drive it is, up and down, over bridges and streams and through sheltered treed curves. There are also some strange, yet interesting sights.

Without driving in, my curiosity to Ziontario intrigued me too

We crossed Glenelg Rd 23 and went as far as North Line went and turned south on Artemesia Glenelg Townline for a short bit before I turned back. I didn’t want to travel on Hwy 4 to come home (boring) so we poked back the way we’d come. We met Gloria again and I stopped to chat. I learned that her working career was with the school board too. She invited us for a campfire this summer and said she’d leave a note in our mailbox. Unfortunately, I didn’t have any of our rv cards on me to give her. This works, she walks by every day. 😊

The green sign indicates it is open to public
BUT.......I wanted to know what it was first
When I met Gloria, she's lived here since the 70's, she told
me Ziontario is a Latter Day Saints Camp

Back home again, Mary at Northline Service called with the final invoice total and it was $250 less! Once they got in there, certain things didn’t need replacing after all so I was thrilled to tell Bill that. They will deliver it home to us Wednesday, all included in the price. I went out to do more edging today along the big garden and tried it with Gibbs on a tether where he had water, shade and a bed to lay on. That worked for about 20 minutes but he wasn’t relaxing so I put him inside where he settled down.

I drove by Keane's homestead
this is where Bill bought his previous Cub Cadet
Interesting place and man!

He hosts gatherings for Harley owners

When I drove by this sign, I had to back up to read it

This short steep hill takes you to the cemetery
No, I didn't drive up yet maybe another day, I will walk up😏

I worked away until 12 noon and I knew the weakness I was feeling was because I’d only had my tea. Time to eat something. I made a coffee and rinsed out my shirts from yesterday’s pre-washing. With them on the line, I warmed up the clam chowder and the leftover omelette from the fridge. It was kind of a mixed up lunch, huh? That was enough to fill me up though and after chatting with Bill about the mower and the skunks, I went back to the garden. I’m almost done that section.

Working around the edge of our big garden
Challenging but I enjoyed making the improvements

This bush/tree just gets sprawly but I don't mind it in the corner
when nothing else has come up

Working steady along the north edge, I decided to trim/cut back the corner bush (of which has no name) because it is crowding out the Shasta daisies and the hosta. Sometimes it seems like they are all fighting for space to grow. That sounds like a grand reason to thin things out in the fall and move them to the ‘dreaded’ corral hill. 😊 It was almost 3 when I got that done and it was time to quit for the day. The berm can wait for another day. I was hot and felt quite 'buggy'. 

The view from the other side
It needs to a haircut

I made a cup of tea and sat inside with Gibbs watching two episodes of pre-recorded Why Women Kill. Bill came in about 4 pm so I stopped there, leaving one more for another day. He and Gibbs went up for a snooze but Gibbs was kicked out soon after, not wanting to settle down. My sister, Gayle, has come up with another idea for our Ladyfest so us girls went back and forth on Messenger about our options. It will be fun no matter what we all decide.

Okay, ready? It needed and got a BRUSH CUT!!

For supper, Bill bbq’d a huge bone-in butt pork chop for us to share and I made rice and cooked veggies inside. Supper was good and we didn’t need dessert. What a nice surprise to have a text from Rob and Pat about popping out for a visit. They arrived shortly after 7 and we had a great catch up visit. We hardly see them anymore. 😞Gibbs was a little monster, being quite excited for their company, so I hope they didn’t mind him too much.

At the entrance to the corral, my Dianthus seems to be
done flowering but we'll see
I cleaned the area up so Bill doesn't have to use the trimmer
in there

Supper was good

I should have grabbed my camera when they left so I could get a picture of them in Rob’s red truck. I didn’t. ☹ For the remainder of the evening, which wasn’t much for me, I worked on my blog and Bill wanted to watch one of his movies that I'd just watched earlier, so I went upstairs and was asleep by 10:15. This was a good day; I got the one garden finished and two down in the corral area weeded as well. I’m happy about that.

Pretty Pat with a new haircut
making friends with Gibbs
Good night!

Thank you for your visit!

Finishing the Garden, Detailing and Why'd Yertle Cross the Road?

The Ridge

Friday, Apr. 9^th we had a mixed sky when we got up. Bill saw on his phone that the rain would stop in 30 minutes. Well, it hadn’t even started, it didn’t appear at first that we got any overnight either. Funny. He left for work at 7:15 and there were a few spatters just at that moment on our windows. Not enough to wet your ears. He later told me there was evidence on the tonneau cover. I made my tea and watched the sky.

Hopefully the sun would win this battle

Clouds hid the sunrise and then it broke through. Back and forth. The winds were really strong though from the southwest so whenever the sun appeared, it was soon gone. The forecast was for a high of 20C/72F and we were already sitting at 17C/63F at 7 am. I puttered around inside finishing yesterday’s post and had a bit to eat before 10. Unusual for me, but I had to be at M’s for 11 o’clock this morning for a few hours.

The grader went by, this time grading the whole of North Line

The sun made everything golden this morning
And you can see that the sky is winning

I went outside and finished raking and removing dead iris leaves from the garden and then drove around the corner to the shop. Today would be a fairly easy job because I was detailing his GMC Acadia. M is a smoker and is going through online dating sites, meeting new friends. He’d like to quit smoking and wants the car smoke-free as it will also encourage him to abandon the habit. I try to be supportive but I don’t nag and he isn’t my responsibility. I'm getting paid to do it so I don't mind the job.😊 

When I was raking, I saw this 'prehistoric' crossing the lane way
Yup, the snappers are alive and well

It took me 3 hours to vacuum and wash and wipe the insides down as well as washing the rubber mats for the floors. Sounds like a long time but this SUV has leather seating for 6 AND 4 seas fold down flat with carpet backing, so lots of nooks and crannies. At 2, I had a surprise visitor while I was inside his home preparing the Little Green Machine for shampooing the upholstery. It was Bill, he was done work and saw Ptooties sitting in the lane. I would be another hour and he went home for a snooze and some of his own puttering.

Handsome Mr. C was back to check out the feeder

Madame IP boiled more eggs for my lunch and some egg salad

At 3, when I got home, we drove to the BizyBee auction location near Elmwood and picked up our winnings from Wednesday night. Bill got a few new tools and I got a basket of goodies. Garden gloves were my goal, a vintage poncho, unique salad tongs and an InstaHanger that might come in handy in the Bunky. We were pleased with our purchases and didn’t spend much $. I chatted with the owner about the procedure for taking some of our stuff and we were home by 4:30.

When I returned from work, this lady was crossing in front of me
So, I stopped, she stopped

So, I got out and and we had a face to face chat, welcoming her back
Another one of God's beautiful creatures

I was kapooped, after 5 hours of physical labour. I’m just not used to that! Bill said to relax, he was in no hurry for supper. So, I made a cup of tea, wrote some of my blog for today and relaxed for an hour. 😊 Fish and chips were on the menu tonight, a meal we both prepare together. At 6, we started. Bill was on fries duty and I was on fish duty. At least I didn’t have to catch it! The basa filets were delicious and the ships done perfectly.

I got a nice little bundle of things for $24
The handles and drill brush just happened to be in the lot

After dishes, I finished writing my blog and downloaded pictures for today. It won’t be surprising that you are reading this on Saturday morning, nothing will be posted tonight. I can tell you that this was a great, busy day and each small step I take towards yardwork is one huge step to having a more relaxing spring, with a lot of my work done.

By late afternoon, the sky was almost cloudless

The rains this week will help the grass green up
This is an area that doesn't need raking

Supper was tasty, love fish and chips on a Friday night 😃

The weather will be changing over the next week and even though more normal temperatures and a lot of rain, we look forward to the results of that. (she says to herself). We watched a movie called Summer School, a silly one from 1985 but it starred Mark Harmon. If you need help with that, he is also known as Leroy Jethro Gibbs in NCIS. 😊 It gave us a laugh for the evening.

Pretty sky to end the day
Good night!

Thank you for popping in.