A Couple of Errands, Sunshine Returns

The Ridge, Priceville, On

It was 7 am on Tuesday, Apr. 21st when I first opened my eyes. I was toasty warm upstairs under the duvet. We've added our Mexican blankets (they are individual sized so we each have one on our side of the king bed) with these cooler temperatures and Bill has left the fireplace on low.

Good morning!
Another sunset from the evening before.
No sunrise today, too cloudy.

Gibbs saw or felt me move and stretch, so accepted the invitation to give me my morning cuddles and kisses. We got up around 7:30, it felt great to just dilly dally with no pressure on time to go anywhere. I made a tea and sat with Gibbs while Bill finished his cereal and dressed for the outdoors.

It was cold over night and with the winds this morning, a cold start to the day. We knew the forecast was for a high in the mid teens (mid 50'sF) so were not discouraged too much. If you dress warm and remain active, you will enjoy the fresh air. (Mantra to myself)

It's important to note that
while not physically busy,
Gibbs is close by and always
keeping an eye out for us.
Important job!

I'm not sure when I got myself bundled and went out but Gibbs was happy to go too. He tends to sit by the door a lot more here, he knows this is his real home and there is so much to explore and mark as his territory. Who knows what critters have been here over the winter? In his mind, anyway and he just wants out.

Still at it.
I'm inside, Bill's outside.
Neither of us can go anywhere
without him knowing.

After Bill emptied the Bunky, I swept the floors and we were pleased to find only a very few mice turds were found, in the Bunky and garden shed. No damages - nothing! I glanced at my quilling things that I'd left behind and felt the itch but knew there was work to be done first. 😉

The berm garden was covered 
in apples.

All cleaned up and there
he is again.
😎

So, instead, when Bill took Black Beauty down to the Hangar to empty the back, I gathered more of the fallen branches from inside the corral. For my new followers, it isn't 'really' a corral, no horses have ever lived here. Rather it is the shape of one and so the name was adopted when we moved here.

Bill got his chainsaw out
and took down one of the dead
trees that had breaking branches.
Firewood!

The cedar rail fencing around it, and around the whole property, is deteriorating badly and each spring, we've had to try and reconstruct it in areas just to keep the appearance. I think this year, we will be removing some of the badly rotted ones and retrofitting the remaining ones. They look bad.

We came in around 10:30, cleaned up a bit and went into town. I bought stamps, we dropped off our Income Tax papers at the accountants and had a bottle of propane filled. We'll keep track of what we use this spring. Last year it was 9 - 40 lbers, which was way over the 4 from the previous spring. LOL

This garden is frustrating.
I had all these weeds and stones
cleared out.
The frost has brought them to
the surface. I need a tiller!

The day had warmed, considerably, with the sun but the winds were still gusty and cold. After lunch, we all went out and spent the next 2 or 3 hours outside with us as we puttered. I raked the gardens, crawling around on my hands and knees to use the small hand tool and the tall rake to gather the rotten apples in my berm garden.

Bill bought me a seed block
in Arizona so we mounted it
today on the fence posts.
Only the grackles so far,
but hopefully when the chickadees
hear about it, they'll join.

Bill and I discussed the location and size of the raised garden bed he's going to build for me. I don't want a big one. Bill took a wheelbarrow full of dirt down to firm up the mailbox post that he replaced the other day. At 3, we put stuff away and he went to the Hangar and I sat outside in the sun until clouds and wind chased me inside.

These are the guilty trees
that drop the apples.
They aren't good eating apples
so the trees are coming down.
Soon.

What else to do but make more cards! For supper, we had spaghetti. Sharon and Jim had extra sauce from our meal with them, so I browned ground beef to add to it. Bill had the cooked spaghetti from the freezer and I cooked spaghetti squash for my 'noodles' subsitute. Yum, it was very good!

I finished my blog and we watched the NCIS and NCIS:Origins together. This has been a good day, warming up to 14C/57.2F as promised and we took full advantage of it. Bit by bit, things are getting done. I hope you all had a good day too. 

Supper was delicious.
Thank you Sharon!
Good night, friends.

Thank you for popping in.

 

This is More Like it! Sunshine and Gardening

 

The Ridge

On our holiday Monday, related to Queen Victoria’s birthday, I was slightly amazed to see blue sky out of my bedroom window. It wasn’t across the whole sky though, as I came downstairs around 7:45 (yes, I slept in) I noticed that it was cloudy over the Suite and to the east.

Good morning!

Bill was determined to take his cargo trailer and go to the flying field to meet his friends and there was no stopping him – well, unless it rained. No forecast of precipitation today though, just mostly sun. Yay! 😊 He left and although it was still very cold (he was layered up), I made plans in my head for the day too.

The temperature was only 4C/39F and it took all day, even under sunny skies, to reach 9C/48F because of a cool wind all day. I hung inside with Gibbs after Bill left, had my tea, showered, played my online games and I started a new book. The one from the other day? Stupid, stupid, don’t waste your time. I got into about chapter 3 and was still ‘whaa???’

I jumped right into the garden work
once the birds were fed.
I moved the hosta into the spot where the R of S was,
top pix, and planted it in the small garden in the
east corner of the berm.
Still so many rocks!!

This one is a winner, David Baldacci called The 6:20 man and I’m already hooked, 40 pages in. 😊 At 11ish, we went outside. I had to get my down-filled winter jacket out of the hall closet because with a hoody and windbreaker, it just wasn’t enough. Brrr. I brought the box with my vegetable plants out of the Bunky so they could get the sun’s benefit and then filled the bird feeders.

At 1 pm, I thought my hunger
was the reason for dragging. 
These tortillas are the best as
quesadillas. No guilt either!

Next on my agenda was to do some weeding and to move the Rose of Sharon to a better location. Since our second year here, she has not flowered and then it was not a very big show. ☹ Maybe because there is shade up there on the hill, it wasn’t getting enough sun. There are a few new leaf buds but that is normal.

 

A walk down the lane with my little
shadow. He's so much better this year
so far.

It took everything I had and then some, phew!, digging that sucker out and then digging the new hole in the old garden plot up on the berm. So many rocks and roots from long gone trees had me huffing and puffing again. It is planted and I can only hope she is happier there. In a couple of years, I should know.

I finished off by weeding around the onions and clearly marking the area for when Bill is weed trimming. He doesn’t recognize garden fare as easily as I do. 😊 I hauled 5 pails of dirt from the pile, and moved a Hosta, that was getting swallowed by Primrose, into that spot. With a pail of rain water, thank you God, I was able to water both new plantings.

Trimming is next. Up on the berm
my Trilliums stand out against the bright green
WEEDS and long grass!
The bottom picture is after I finished cutting
my lawn until the battery died again, LOL.

I was done for a while so moved my chair into the sheltered sunny side of the Suite. Facing south was the way to go this afternoon and it was quite pleasant with my hoody and windbreaker this time. I read a bit and even closed my eyes for a bit. There were NO (non, nada, nil, zero, zilch) black flies to bother me the whole time……..well, except one who’s life was extinguished.

Bill cutting the front field.
Wow, what an improvement!
In a week, it was getting so long.

Bill returned from his fun day with the boys around 3 and Gibbs ran down to greet him when he was parked with his cargo trailer. ♥ When he’d grabbed a sandwich, he hadn’t even eaten!, he went out to cut the grassy fields. Gibbs and I walked down and watched, sitting from a sunny perch on the cedar rail fence.

Gibbs and I were surprisingly
comfortable sitting on the rail fence.
Bill is getting sneaky, taking pictures
from the mower. 💖

For supper, I reheated the ham, the glaze, cooked potatoes for Bill and corn for both of us. When I walked over to weed my 2 original rhubarb patches, I was blown away with the crop I had! Since last week, it has grown like crazy! 

The rain has certainly helped OR…….I believe my Buddy (Angel) Rob has popped in and given them a boost. He has always encouraged me with the rhubarb plants and then always suggested a pie with any results. Oh, I do miss him but am surely grateful for his help!

Pat said Rob would  be very proud of me!

I decided to use the 2 cups from the plots along with strawberries and make a crisp for dessert. Ooh, it was delicious! I didn’t even go keto (I just euchered my weight loss that I saw on the scales earlier) but it was worth it. ♥ After supper, the sky was still clear blue but we knew it could be an overnight frost so weren’t fooled. I brought the plants back into the She-Shed/Bunky for hopefully the last night.

I didn’t sleep well last night for some reason, even though I was up until 11 watching the finale of American Idol. Our choice didn’t win but I won’t spoil it for any of you who have it recorded and not yet seen it. I’m not too bummed, these last contestants will still go very far in the music business.

Strawberry rhubarb crisp.
Yummy

Nothing special on tonight so I may be in bed early. I saw every half and full hour on the clock until 2:30 so I was certainly not in a hurry to get up today. I need my 8 hours! After the work outside today, I’ll be sure to drop off fairly quickly when my head hits the pillow. A few stretches should help as a preventative from soreness in the morning.

It was a good supper.

This was a wonderful day! My spirits were indeed lifted with the appearance of that big ball of Vitamin D. I hope you enjoyed your Monday too. We should be about 12 degrees warmer tomorrow so that will be nice. 

Thank you for popping around!

Only One Job Today, Guests Leave, Cleanup

The Ridge

On Monday, July 25^th Bill was up getting ready for work at 6. I was happy to be able to roll over for a little while longer. Gibbs returned and cuddled up on Bill’s side of the bed, keeping a bit of an eye on his goings-on. He and I got up before 7 and I left the Suite soon after for town.

Baptist Church Road
Lush and green

The 'little' imps were at it again
at the Mat

Bill thought he’d be working in Durham today but he texted me at 7:30 and he was going to Hanover instead. I picked up some milk at Foodland and drove back to the Ridge. Duncan and Patty were getting ready to leave and so I made my tea and Gibbs sat out and watched. 😊 They didn’t mind. 

Gibbs is so funny
The treat Bill gave him wasn't eaten
by the time I'd returned
He tried to hide it under this stair mat
(ignore the dust, pls)

The weather was certainly a change from what we’ve been having and, in a way, it was a welcome change. I wouldn’t want it to be like this from now on, but a nice relief all the same.

Sitting outside watching and chatting
with D & P

All set to leave

Bye guys! See you soon!

They pulled out after hugs all around at 9:30, right on schedule. I’m happy to see they’re enjoying their Airstream and new truck. I love to see Happy Campers! ♥ We’ll see them again very soon. Yay! With my one job done for the day, the remainder of my Monday was free and clear to do what I want. First off, I played my Wordle games, made my tea and cut myself an apple with yogourt for breakfast.

I made some progress
and emptied some hangers

Upstairs, Gibbs laid on the bed and watched me purge my closet and drawers of clothes. I’ve been feeling that I have way too many long sleeve tees now, they were bought the year we were winter-stayed here, and pants/jeans. I was pleased with what I removed and bagged up but now that I think of it, I forgot one drawer of summer tops. Woops! I’ll do that tomorrow afternoon. 😊

My supper for lunch

I made a coffee at 11:30 and decided to reheat my liver and onions meal from Friday night. It was very good and hit the spot. I debated sitting at my laptop to start writing my Blurb book but wasn’t in the frame of mind and the day was a perfect one, albeit cloudy, to be outside doing some work. There were tree branches that needed trimming over the outhouse, (they scratch the roof and also block the sun from the solar panel), as well as some with dead branches.

The cornflowers are popping

Pop!

I didn’t realize it would be such a big job but it felt great to get at it and I soon had my jacket off. The clouds cleared away for the most part and the sun was nice. I gathered the branches and vine (which takes over the trees every summer) into a couple of piles until I was done. Bill texted that he’d be taking Mike’s trailer to the Acreage for him so I didn’t expect him too soon.

Even the flowers are confused with this weather
They are starting to bloom all over again!

I thought my Evening Primrose were done
but this little fellow is blooming

He was home around 4:30 and we cleaned up the piles together and tossed them into the brush pile. It’s a good thing it slowly sinks down and basically ‘mulches’ itself to make room for more. Gibbs and I had taken a walk a couple of times today, couldn’t neglect our good little boy! Duncan and Patty are impressed that he doesn’t make a sound when we’re gone but he sure knows when our vehicles turn into the lane! ♥

The solar light for our Bunky has not been getting
enough sun to charge the battery
Time to trim!

What I thought might be a small job,
turned into 3 hours of clipping

At 5, I made my afternoon tea, done work for the day and Bill and Gibbs had a snooze together in his chair. Supper wasn’t on the healthy side of the menu but it was a fall-back option for us. We had chicken nuggets/balls and vegetables on the side. Oh! I forgot that before I worked outside, I made a batch of chocolate chip cookies and they turned out awesome! Bill and I both had one to taste. Thumbs up! 😊

Both of my boys were kapooped today

A tasty supper

We spent the evening together, all 3 of us, and have the first day of the week behind us already. Can you believe that this is the last week in July? The days are zipping by. Bill informed me today that in 89 days, we’ll be headed south!

There is a bush that grows here and I needed to cut it back
Right back

My hostas bloomed on the weekend,
without my even noticing

The trees that had dead branches from last
spring's cold snap, got a grooming.
Good night!

Thank you for the visit. You can come back anytime too!

A Repeat Day, More Physical Work, Half Day for Bill

The Ridge

Wednesday, May 19^th, hump day, already. The month is going quickly. It was going to be another summer-hot spring day. No complaints here but then I’m not working outside like many are. Seems like us Canadians are never happy with the weather!! 😊 I had a plan in my head to go for a walk first thing but that changed.

Gibbs plays with Bill's laces
He has actually dragged the heavy boot across the floor

Bill first woke me at 4:30. He was dressed and told me that there was something on our roof and he was going up to check it out. I could hear it too, sounded like something chewing or scratching up there. When he came back in, he reported that he couldn’t see anything nor could he see any damage or evidence of a visitor. We’re not losing our minds though, must have been a bird?

After Daddy left, Gibbs went to sleep by the door
between our clogs

He did report that the solar panels are really dirty so I guess that is a job for another day. Meanwhile, Gibbs woke up with the excitement of Daddy being up so Bill took him out for his piddle and poop. Back in his crate he went and we all slept until 6 when the alarm went off. Bill wasn’t 100% sure where he’d be working today so had his coffee and I got up with him around 6:30 to sit with him. I would walk when he left.

Gibbs decided through his last two feedings that
he'll only eat his food off the floor

It wasn’t until almost 7:30 when he got his destination and was on his way down North Line. By that time, Gibbs had fallen asleep in between our clogs at the door so I decided to have my tea first. You know what happens with that? Later turned into not today. 😊 Oh well, I’ll be doing some physical work today so that will suffice for my exercise. Gibbs had been out a couple of times with me and seemed to be ringing the bell each time. He rings it though and then hides under my dining chair. Not sure the message is getting through. Ha ha

The Baltimore Orioles frequented the feeders today

Once I was ready to get to work, I put him inside. In the storage shed, I retrieved my lightweight weed trimmer. Bill said it had gas in it but it turned out to be just a bit, maybe half hours’ worth of trimming. I actually managed to get it started which amazed me! After restringing it, I went to the corral where I want to plant the shrubs and cleaned it up in those areas. It was hot out and I had my screened bug hat, long sleeves and long pants on, making it even hotter.

And male and female Goldfinches liked that i filled
their feeder too

I dug two holes deep enough for the root balls and then trimmed around a couple of other areas until the gas ran out. Walking back up the lane, I decided to transplant some of my phlox. It would be great ground cover along the rocky areas too. Again, the problem I have in that area is not having enough good earth. I used some that I dug up from the holes and got three batches planted and watered. I hope they take. They seem to just lay on the ground to root.

Digging the holes was the hardest

They'll need to be deepened once I'm ready to plant

Oh, my goodness was I hot! When I came in and washed my face, neck and hands, my face was scary red. I gulped a lot of water and sat under the awnings where there was a bit of a breeze. Donna and Gerry were going to bring us some dirt that they had from when the boys extended their deck so I was hoping to use some in the holes when the shrubs go in. As it turned out, they wouldn't be over until late this afternoon so I thought after lunch I’d go get some black earth.

Gibbs doesn't mind the rope too much as long as he has
shade

My lunch was a coffee and another wrap, repeat of yesterday. It was very good with lots of good food choices in it and on the side. Bill surprised us again by getting home by 1. They finished digging post holes for a new deck at a cottage and were all too hot and bug-bitten to carry on anywhere else. I’m glad I sprayed Bill before he left the house this morning but the black flies still found a couple of spots on his arms that got missed.

☹

The Baltimore orioles visit a lot 😍

He's chirping at me, look at that leg extension 😃

He snoozed, Gibbs crawled UNDER his raised recliner and did the same. We have to keep an eye on that or he’ll get stuck under there. He seems to like the safety of something overhead. I drove into Durham, first to Foodland for eggs and yogourt for Bill’s lunch, then to FS Coop for bird seed and top soil. The price for the bird seed was ridiculous (is always ridiculous) but the dirt was $2.99 for 25 litres. A great price so I bought two.

I planted the phlox here in the rocky area

Back home, the boys were outside on the patio mat so we sat for a while and then put Gibbs inside while Bill and I went to work. He got his weed trimmer out and I took my wagon down to the corral. I sure hope the shrubs and my other plants survive and grow. After I finished, I refilled the 2 watering cans and went to the dreaded hill where my garden is. I had 4 freshly planted dianthus plants that were looking pretty sad.

a closer look with some top soil

Doing my best to give them a good watering, I slipped and tumbled down the hill. How many times I envision that and today it happened. Out of the corner of Bill’s eye, he saw me on the ground and stopped weeding and checked on me. I thought I’d sprained my ankle but luckily it was just a twist and my knee probably got the worst of it. I told him I was okay and just took my time getting moving again. I knew that was it for me though, today, I was done. I hobbled just a wee bit but it eased out on its own.

Planted and watered

After putting things away, I got washed up and brought Gibbs out to sit in the shade with me while Bill finished. He got a lot done and after a second tank of fuel, he quit too. Donna texted around 4:30 that they were loading their truck with the dirt and would be heading our way soon. Supper wasn’t anything special, just the last of the lasagna so no big deal when it just had to be warmed up.

When I headed into town, the family of 6 were walking down
the lane
You just need to be patient, move slow and they'll find the safest way
to enter the pond with their babies

I was going to use the dirt they brought to plant my shrubs but now we have another use for it. They arrived before 5:30 and Bill showed them where we wanted it dropped. Gerry and Bill set to work emptying the back of their Avalanche and I showed Donna where my shrubs were planted. We talked about how our garden plantings have seemed slow coming up and agreed that it might be from the warm March, a spurt in growth and then the frost in May.

Bill trimmed a lot, here he is up on the ridge along the corral

We sat with the guys while Gerry and Bill had a cold beer. That was when I brought Gibbs out to see our company. He gets so excited to see them and they get a kick out of him too. He really liked Donna’s shoe laces but behaved quite well for the most part. 😊 He is still a pup and knows how to entertain like a pro. When they said goodbye at 6:30, we came inside for supper.

Slowly but surely, this rock man is smiling at the progress of the
Jack in the Pulpits

It only took 7 minutes to reheat and we were eating by 7. Finishing the lasagna as well as the last of the cheesecake. We have a BizyBee auction closing tonight between 7 and 10 so kept an eye on our winning bids. It is like a real auction where you watch and wait and then make the decision when to ‘let go’. There are just a couple of things I’m interested in and a couple more I’m keeping an eye on.

This area of our front 'lawn' was patchy grass so
Bill suggested spreading the dirt here and we'll seed it before the rain

After dishes, Bill made his lunch and then went out to close up the storage shed and Bunky before we joined together to watch some useless tv. There isn’t much on tonight so who knows what we’ll find. This was a good day. We may see some rain tomorrow and that will be good for my new plantings. It will also be quite hot so we should be able to score more solar power during the sunny hours.

So ends this Wednesday night
Good night!

Thank you for stopping around!