Lazy Saturday

 This was such a lazy day.  Perhaps the heat contributed to my lack of wanting to accomplish things. I did do a few things.  Zed walked the dog, Aesop, this morning so I tried to play with the cats.  Zed and Keziah went off to help some friends and Gideon and I stayed home with the animals.  The van broke down so I got things ready to go help them out, then waited to find out that I didn't need to.  Other friends were able to help them out and AAA got the van to a shop.  Happily, the van got repaired and they have it back.  Other happy things for today:

• Aesop likes people.  It may seem small, but it is so important for us who go to events with lots of people.

• In the late afternoon I made it out of the house to run errands.  This put me in the right place to see the beginnings of the setting sun.

The picture is a blurry mess!
Thankfully the live, in person version was lovely.

• Zed and I stopped at the ice cream shop while walking Aesop.  He got a doggy dessert!

☮

Currently reading: Backpacking A Hedonist’s Guide, by Rick Greenspan and Hal Kahn. 

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

Memories and Mourning

 After spending the afternoon at the Celebration of Life for my uncle, Keziah and I went out for ice cream.  That is what one does in New England, we eat ice cream.  There is a particular ice cream stand, Hodgies, that is pretty popular in the area near where we were.  We went, even though it was in the opposite direction from home.  It was worth it.  Other things that are happy things for today:

• We got the trees that were cut down yesterday cleaned out of the garden.  That was one of the morning chores before the Celebration of Life.  I'm wondering if the garden will get too much light now.

This area still needs so much work... baby steps.

• We drove by a church on the way home.  It is under some kind of construction with scaffolding pretty much covering the front of it.  For some reason it struck me as beautiful.  There is a part of me that wants to go back there, take a picture from a better angle, and then turn that into a puzzle.

Scaffold Church.  😉

• There was a lovely sunset.

• It was very good to see family at the Celebration of Life.  It has been quite a while because of the pandemic.  The uncle that passed away was my father's twin and the last of that generation. 

The twins.

My uncle always had a smile ready to share.

☮

Currently reading: The Backyard Homestead, by Carleen Madigan.

Thank you for reading, stay safe.

Bobcat?

 It was another rainy day, or at least the morning.  I pretty much took the day off from gardening.  I did check in on the plants and see that things were alright, but I didn't weed, re-pot things, build a fence, or any of the other tasks I could have worked on.  Tomorrow, when I only have a little bit of time because of the pre-hire appointment, I may regret this.  For now, it was a fairly relaxing day and I am happy with this choice.  Other things I am happy for:

• We live within walking distance of an ice cream stand.  
• I've still been posting on YouTube some of the videos captured with the wildlife camera.  The one that was posted tonight, I am not sure of the identity of the animal.  I think it might be a bobcat though and wanted to share that with my blog readers too.  Here is the link.  I'm still really enjoying seeing the wildlife on the back property.
• One of the things I had to do before the pre-hire appointment was to take a picture of myself for a badge.  I had a problem getting the lighting right so Zed helped by taking the picture and using the flash.  Zed decided to make this process hilarious so I had to ask him to leave and go back to doing a selfie.
• There is a plant that Lens suggests is either a type of sage or a wild clary.  I posted about it a week or so ago.  Whatever it is, it is blooming now.  I still don't know which it is, but I think it is pretty.

☮

Currently reading: The Backyard Homestead Seasonal Planner, by Ann Larkin Hansen.
    I finished the spring season section today.

Thanks for reading, stay safe!

Sleep is Important

As the days get longer I want to wake up earlier.  I believe that last night was the first time I got into bed before eleven since January.  The only way that happened is by writing this blog earlier in the evening.  I'm not sure if I can make that happen always, but I think I should work towards it.  I'm fairly certain I have come to this realization multiple times.  People tell me that sleep is important.  The ice cream place opened today.  Writing this I can hear people talking while waiting in line for their orders.  They close at nine, at least this time of year, so that doesn't keep me up.  I'm glad that they are carrying peppermint stick ice cream again.  It's my favorite. 

Yes, we got ice cream after dinner tonight.  We were also their first big order at lunch time today.  Other happy things for today:

• Thursday was Bel's night to make dinner.  They are leaving on Sunday to go back to Texas and I requested that they make beet burgers.  I really enjoy the beet burgers and the bean burgers that they make and I was curious which I like better.  Turns out the burgers are different enough that I have no favorite.  They are each delicious in their own way.
• Zed and I are editing the downsizing footage we have so far tonight.  We crack each other up.  Hopefully this will mean less edits on Sunday.  It does mean I won't be in bed by eleven tonight.
• After dinner Zed, Gideon, and I went for a walk that ended at the ice cream stand.  We only spent a few minutes out on the property because it was wet, muddy, and sprinkling.  I wanted to show Zed a tree that had fallen sometime over the winter.  The tree actually landed on another tree that we may be able to save.  I took some pictures of the brook and some trees.

The brook could definitely use some clearing.

It looks like the downed tree was right over the brook.

Paper over rock.

• Along the walk Zed noticed some droplets on a branch and Gideon asked me to take a picture.

Some of my favorite people.

☮

Currently reading: The Burgess Book of Nature Lore, by Thornton W. Burgess.

AND
The Backyard Homestead, by Carleen Madigan.

Stay safe.