Happy Birthday Zed!

This morning my walk with the dog, Aesop, went really well... until I fell.  Even then it could have been much worse.  Having let go of the leash to fall,  Aesop came right to me when I called him from the ground.  He was such a good dog and let me hug him before I got up.  I'm happy that, other than being a little more bruised, I'll be okay.  Other happy things for today:

• .I decided to go back to the store for more of the raised bed kits I got yesterday.  There was no time to make them today... soon.
• There was a thrown weapons practice here.  I got to throw knives and even managed to make some stick to the target.

• Keziah has been planning and preparing for Zed's birthday by making a big dinner for friends to come by and have.  Everything came out delicious.  
• There have been a few butterflies that I have had a hard time photographing.  I was able to get one of them today.  Lens identifies it as a cabbage white butterfly.

I think it is pretty.

☮

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


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

Busy Saturday

My day began and ended with dog walks and I had a walk in the middle with a friend.  Actually, my day began with me finding both the cats on my bed and then I took the dog for a walk.  Nanni, the brown tabby, is often in my room.  Winston, the orange tabby, is not.

These cats didn't used to be so close.  I think having a dog is bringing them closer together.  Other happy things for today:

• While walking the dog I saw a pileated woodpecker.  Taking pictures while walking the dog can be hard.  This time, it didn't work. The woodpecker kept moving and so did the dog!  
• There was a bee on the back of the car.  

I really like how the picture came out.

• I went to Home Depot to look for some bulbs to plant.  I've been wanting to make some raised beds and decided to look and see what was available, maybe price things out.  They had some on clearance that were smaller than I wanted.  I looked at them and decided that if I was going to pay that much I wanted them to be bigger, but these would be easy, maybe I'd just get one.  Then I noticed another tag, looking closer it was a second, much more reduced, clearance price.  I asked the cashier to make sure I got it right, then bought six of them.  I may go back tomorrow for more.

I'd guess it took less than 15 minutes to assemble-I didn't
quite have it fully in place with this picture.
The little wooden blocks are optional.

• For a few different reasons my friend, Amy, and I weren't able to do the fire tower we had planned this weekend.  Instead, we went up the Oak Hill Fire Tower that is closer to home and familiar to me.  Great time and great views.

Some color starting in a few trees.

• A friend of Keziah's came by and visited for a while.  We also got to play games (We Didn't Playtest This at All and Snake Oil).  She was kind enough to teach us some things to help teach our dog, Aesop.  

☮

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

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

Overslept

 Yesterday's goal was to get a nice long sleep.  I did sleep a lot, but it wasn't in one chunk.  I forgot to turn off the ringer on my phone so I slept until it rang, and then a little more for almost four hours.  After tossing and turning about two and half hours I slept for a little over three and a half more hours.  This would be great, right?  Except the one alarm that was set I dismissed and went back to sleep and actually woke up AFTER I should have been to work.  The good part in all of this is that I still have a job, they seemed relieved to have a person there, I wasn't a no-show.  The happy part is that after work I talked to HR and learned how to "call in" should anything like this happen again.  It is all through an app, not a phone call, and I just didn't dig deep enough and went to work.  Other happy things for today:

• They had me do a different thing at work, divert.  I push, pull, or leave in the middle the packages as they go by on the roller style conveyor.  So there I am, the packages going by, push, pull, push, pull and I realize that it is like swimming.  So I decided I should try to write a poem or something but whenever my mind got too far off the task, the task let me know that it was the important thing that I should be concentrating on.  So no poem.  I get home and I look at my Fitbit app and it tells me that it noticed that I went swimming and logged a 40 minute exercise session for me.  Hahaha!
• After work I pulled out some more energy and took the weedwacker to the back property.  Okay, not all the back property, but I made headway on wacking a path through to make it easier to see the hazards we are stepping on while walking back there.  

So much green!
I feel a little guilty wacking the green down,
Last year things were more brown than green.

The majority of white poofy things are from 
wild lettuce.

Yellow Toadflax.

• It is Minecraft Friday!

☮

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

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

Sleep

 Falling asleep is getting harder for me.  Instead of doing lots of things after work today, I have just done a few things and I'm going to try to sleep the afternoon away.  Happy things today include:

• TF did some looking back and we have been doing the weekly accountability thing with each other for about nine months!  Having support and someone to talk to about all the things to do has helped to keep me on track.
• I'm planning a hike on Saturday with a friend and I am excited about that.

☮

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


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

Poison?

 My initial plan for this afternoon was to get to sleep as early as possible after work.  That didn't happen.  Well, I might have drifted off to sleep for a few minutes when I was stretching out my back after work, but that doesn't count.  Instead I mentioned that the Zed's car needs to get inspected and the next thing I know we are driving to drop it off.  Yay proactivity?!  Other happy things for today:

• While mowing this afternoon I saw a praying mantis in the area that used to be a garden and I hope will be again some day.
• The car has working headlights again.
• We stopped at Dairy Queen and they have pumpkin pie blizzards for the fall.  I had them add extra flavor.  It was yummy.  I have no idea if there is any real pumpkin in it or just flavor.
• According to Lens, I have belladonna or nightshade in the sheep manure compost pile.  I'm happy that I am able to identify it.

Black nightshade...

• 
  

  

  Storms comin'.

  
  

☮

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

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

Looking for a trail...

 Zed had a minor surgery this morning and everything seems to be fine.  Because of this I took a half day off work to be home for Gideon and the animals.  Since I didn't sleep well before going to work this made the experience so much better than it would have been had I worked the entire shift.  I am happy that Zed's surgery went well and these other things too:

• Aesop and I had a rough walk this morning.  When we got home, I started watching dog training videos on YouTube.  I am happy that we made it home safely.
• While out on that walk with Aesop, there was a lovely view.

• Weird happy thing for today... I installed a bidet to the toilet (it was a kit).  Perhaps I should go into plumbing as a new career choice?
• I worked on mowing down some of the growth on the back property.  I had wanted to maintain the trails that I used over the winter but it didn't happen.  Now hoping to find them to use before everything dies and snow falls.

Making my way through here.

Results!

☮

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


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

Positive Thinking Day

 This morning pretty much started with me taking the dog for a walk.  This afternoon has ended the same way.  Aesop was much better behaved this afternoon compared with the morning.  I'm hopeful that there will start to be more good than bad walks with him.  Other happy things for today:

• Keziah drove me to my eye appointment.  We got to talk and go out to lunch.  It was a nice mother/daughter time.
• My appointment with the eye doctor went alright.  I have developed a floater and we will follow up with that next month.  It is a sign of my age...  It will be a few weeks before my new glasses arrive, but the prescription didn't change much over the last three years.
• During my walk with Aesop this afternoon there was a hawk (I believe) flying over us.  I couldn't take the picture and keep Aesop calm at the same time.  

☮

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


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