Look to the Sky

 This morning Keziah and I took Aesop to a local dog park. ALL the dogs were much larger than Aesop. He would have fun, then seem a bit overwhelmed, have fun, overwhelmed. We brought him to the other side of the fence and he played with one of the big dogs through the fence. Eventually we took him for a walk on the trails near the park. They are brand new trails with big bridges near the river.  It is a beautiful area.

We let Aesop be on the long leash.

Deer prints!

Other happy things from today:

• Zed, Gideon and I got up before dawn to try to see the lunar eclipse.  The rain had stopped and the clouds thinned when we first went out.  We got occasional glimpses of the moon, mostly a dark orange color with a sliver of it bright and silvery.

As usual, the camera on my phone doesn't capture the moon well.
The batteries needed charging on the other camera.

• The moon had a magical look when thin layers of clouds would glide between us and the moon.
• The sky got clearer as the time passed.  We all saw at least one shooting star.  These were most likely part of the Leonid meteor shower that was at peak the previous night.
• The constellations were also big and shiney once the clouds went away.

Much of Orion.

• After Gideon went back to bed, Zed and I saw four different satellites.  I Googled where the International Space Station should be and it is unlikely that any of the satellites were it.
• While the sky was performing above, we performed a ritual below.  Zed decided to take an old shirt that he should have just gotten rid of and burn it.  So, I decided to burn something too.  There was a nightshirt of my mother's that I put into my rotation of night clothes after she died.  It was threadbare and tearing but still extremely comfortable.  I recently purchased some new nightshirts and was going to get rid of it then, but didn't.  It had a Halloween-ish theme, so maybe after that, nope.  Maybe it was more autumn and could wait until after Thanksgiving... I have a problem.  It is gone and before Thanksgiving because Zed wanted to burn his shirt.  These two items of clothing as well as some sticks and old mail are now ash.  Zed saved some of the ash, he has a plan.  The rest is for me and it will go to feed part of the garden.

Ash...

The nightshirt went up real fast.

Burn!!

• Another lovely sunset.

☮

Currently reading: The Backyard Homestead Seasonal Planner, by Ann Larkin Hansen.

Thank you for being part of my happy things. Stay safe.

Self Care

Yesterday was hard.   I may not have realized how hard until this morning when I thought about all the people at the yard sale event that I saw and all the ones that I didn't see.  There were people that I spent time with and some that I wanted to spend time with but just didn't have the opportunity or our paths didn't cross at the right time or... or... or.  We are coming out of a pandemic and being with people is way harder now for me than it was before.  It wasn't easy before.  This morning I spent alone in my room recuperating.  I did pull myself up and start being an active member of the house around noon.  After that, there are a few happy things for my to share:

• After helping Zed move some of his things around I went to the garden.  The woodchuck was in there!  I scared it out and looked at the hole that we have twice filled with cat litter and it was indeed dug out again.  Keziah found some metal screen and Zed and I closed in that hole using dirt, the screen, and a big rock.  This doesn't get rid of the animal, but it is a start, and that is good.
• While Keziah was cleaning the shed she found the can crusher that once belonged to my father.  He had a little man cave in the cellar of his house where he drank beer and his friends would come by and visit.  The can crusher was attached to a bench in the cellar and Keziah remembers visiting with her grandfather and getting to crush the cans.  I think when he knew the grandchildren would be there he would let the cans back up so the grandchildren would have something to do.  She doesn't drink beer and was commenting that the can crusher won't crush the tall iced tea cans that she might drink.  It was a touching memory of my dad.

It was a rusted thing that Keziah cleaned up and
painted last year before mounting it onto her bench.

• The yarrow is blooming.  I feel like there is more this year than last year.  

Bees like the yarrow.

• While going to get the SD card from the wildlife camera I did a quick walk around the property.  I found a plant that looked familiar from last year but I couldn't remember what it was so I took a picture.  A little farther down the path and there were more, but this time with flowers.  

Lens identifies this as whorled loosestrife.
So far in my research this doesn't seem to be invasive.
That said, we have quite a bit on the property.

• Turkeys!  34 second video.
  
  

Gobble, gobble.

• Deer prints.

• Blueberries in the wild.

Lowbush blueberry.

☮

Currently reading: The Backyard Homestead Seasonal Planner, by Ann Larkin Hansen.

Thank you for reading.  Stay safe.

Bird Day

 It has been a long day in which I woke up way before I wanted.  I've decided to play it like I will get the job and prepare myself for the third shift.  It will be a three day work week, about ten hours a day.  Well, night and morning.  I've wanted a three day work week for a while, let's hope I like the schedule as much as I think I will.  Thinking about this as I sat on my hammock swing today I imagined how nice it might be to sleep outside during warm summer days.  Then a helicopter flew over and motorcycles zoomed by.  I'm currently in a how-this-will-effect-my-home-life frame of mind rather than a what-will-the-job-be-like frame of mind.  Daydreaming and the following are my happy things for today:

• I've been trying to come up with names for the different yard areas we have.  I'm having a hard time coming up with anything original.  Where the pool was, the yard by the garden, aren't really names I was hoping for.  Even 'relaxation grove' doesn't quite hit the spot for me.  I'll have to discuss it with the family later.  What I am realizing though, is that ruminating seems to be a happy thing for me today.
• The blueberry and strawberry plants have netting over them finally.  It took some time and mistakes were made, but I think it will work.

Strawberry.

Strawberries and blueberries covered.

• The birds have been enjoying perching on the frame before I got the net up.  They seem to still perch there and I haven't noticed them trying to get in yet.  👍
• While observing the netting and sitting in the hammock swing I had some robins get fairly close while looking for food.

A pretty pair.

• The deer are getting into the garden.  At least I think it was deer.  We haven't finished the fence yet.  The tops of about half the peas are gone.  I did a quick covering of those with netting too.  It will become part of the fence, but for now I hope it will do.  On one of the plants that didn't get the top chomped off there is a flower.

I planted two different types
and don't remember which this is.

• Earlier this week when I was pulling up bittersweet I thought I might be near a bird nest.  Today, I might have found it.  I was getting ready to pull more of the autumn olive tree away and there it was.

Fairly sure it was built after the tree came down.

• Also pretty sure a hawk flew overhead.  

It was being chased by another bird.

☮

Currently reading: The Backyard Homestead, by Carleen Madigan.

Thanks for reading, stay safe.

Cemetery Day-Too Many Pictures

 Before Memorial Day every year we plant geraniums on family graves.  That day was today.  Not everyone could join us, but we got the geraniums planted, cleaned off the stones that needed it, and got a much needed visit with family we haven't seen in a while.  Hugs are a wonderful thing.  Other happy things for today:

• Since I knew I would be gone all day, I started by taking a walk around the property and getting the pictures from the wildlife camera.  Here are some of the plants I saw and what Lens thinks they are...

Common Cinquefoil, it is getting larger.

Possibly a blackberry.

This is coming up as either whorled loosestrife or
northern bush honeysuckle.
I'll try to look for this again as it grows.

Ostrich Fern.

Fern.

This is supposed to be Geranium dissectum.

Just trees.

The witch tree.

The rhododendron.

Iris are starting to open.

• I saw some deer tracks on the property.

At least I think it is from a deer.
It looked like it in real life.

• Some highlights from the day...

Fairly new monument at one of the cemeteries.

This is at my aunt's house.
The tree has grown SO much.

Keziah and the reflection on those sunglasses!

Well water for the flowers.

Up it comes!

Beaver lodge.

Goose family.

On the way home a storm was rolling in.

We had a rainbow after the storm passed.

• We went out for lunch and ice cream.  😃
• There is a tiller in the back of the van.  It may not work, but we will find out fairly soon.
• For that 'just in case' reason I brought my pruning shears with me to the cemeteries.  I don't think we have ever needed them and didn't today.  However, there were some people that were planting flowers on a loved ones grave near where we were and they did need them.  Being helpful is one of those things that makes me happy.

☮

Currently reading: The Backyard Homestead Seasonal Planner, by Ann Larkin Hansen.

Stay safe.  What things make you happy?

Deer

 Yesterday I walked for over fifteen miles.  Yesterday I remembered to stretch.  Today I only have minor aches from yesterday's escapade.  I went for a short (about 2 miles) walk today in the neighborhood and on the property.  For this I am happy.  

This is a garden row I prepared last week.
It should not look quite so crooked.
I didn't see footprints,
so I guess the wind moved the hay.

Peach blossoms and leaves opening
now on Marjorie.

Cherry blossoms and leaves
are now opening on Tucker.

Other happy things from today include:

• Keziah and I got more yard work done today before a company came and sprayed for ticks.  That was all the yard work today because the yard was sprayed for ticks.
• The burlap I ordered for the garden arrived today.  If it isn't raining tomorrow I hope to start using it.  There are a few more things I think I can plant and not have to worry about a frost now that I have the burlap.  Average last frost in my area is June.  
• I planted some more seeds today, in the house.  
• A few days ago I attached the wildlife camera to a tree on the property.  Zed and I checked for pictures this afternoon.  I learned that I need to check the settings.  The placement seems alright, there is a setting that should allow for video too, and apparently I didn't choose that one.  The SD card will go back in tomorrow and I'll try to figure that out.  The pictures either have no noticeable animal or have deer.  I've picked two of the better ones.  Someday, maybe this area will be cleaned up.

Day picture with two deer.

Night picture with a deer.

☮

Currently reading: The Backyard Homestead, by Carleen Madigan.

Stay safe.