Long Weekend Re-cap

This is probably the last non-crazy weekend before camp starts, so it was pretty relaxed around here, at least for me. Bryan spent most of Saturday and Sunday taking a course to get his motorcycle license. I went shopping a bought a dress to wear to a wedding in a few weeks. We made a pizza and some cookies, and watched some movies. Today, we spent most of the day wandering around Cambridge, and we had some Whole Foods takeout for a late dinner. Now, Bryan is bottling some beer, and I'm watching Mamma Mia (again - he can only sit through so much). And then, next week will feel short and crazy since it starts on Tuesday in stead of Monday. Here we go!

On-line

I have been enjoying a new blog I just discovered called GardenMama. She has something for the month of May called Wash Wednesday and people send in pictures of their wash on the line. The pictures are fabulous.

I decided to wash this quilt yesterday and hang it on the line and then take a picture of it. Quite lovely really.

Lonely in Wrenshall

This week has been a big burning week, so I have not seen much of Joe. Probably will go on all week.
Got the garden all tilled up. Joe bought a new little tiller for those in between times, as opposed to using the behemoth, which we will save for big jobs.
I bought tomato plants, peppers, cukes, zukes, etc. Today I bought seeds. Need to get the garden planted now. Funny how they don't plant themselves.
Mowed once so far, weeded some in the flower bed. One flower bed looks good, one not so good, one cannot quite tell it is a flower bed.
The crab apple trees are absolutely gorgeous, in the yard and out in the fields!!!! They smell so sweet.
So much to do, so little gumption.
Thinking of dreadlocks (not sure I can be patient enough to grow my hair out).

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This and That

Well when no one is posting I know we are all busy.

On the dashboard I see that Emily started a post called "Trip to Nashua" and all she got written of the actual post was "Yesterday......
Emily is at Acadia this weekend with Trekkers.

Jeff is working a lot and with all the rain already having a hard time keeping up with the grass. Rachel is now working at Subway. She likes the job but every night at the end of her shift, she has to count all the bread, cookies, plates, flatbreads, etc. She doesn't like to count.

My cough is finally better but I have been weeding and planting outside so now my back is complaining. Jeff and I have been over to the wayside garden a couple times and that is under control. Technically a 4-H Club project, we have people signed up for the summer to cover watering and weeding. Unfortunately the water is so low in the lake and the zebra mussel shells so high, it has become really hard to dip a pail at the wayside's boat landing and come out with any water.

Tuesday we start sitting for my friend Rosemary's dog. Skye is a 12 year old West Highland Terrier and is used to lots of walks, play dates with other dogs, baseball games etc. so I fear she might be bored here. I have only been with Skye a handful of times so we will see how it goes.

Guess what day it is?

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JEFF!!!!

Bird Wars

We bought a new
"Spring Banner"
for our back porch.

Audubon's Nesting Robin




Well, it is more than a spring banner, it seems to be the equivalent of Motel 6's "We'll leave the light on for you."




The trouble all started last week. I have a twig wreath on the back door. We often have a nesting bird in it. Not a big deal, we go in and out the kitchen door for a few weeks, happily watch the progression from egg to fledgling from the utility room, and when it is all over---wash both wreath and door in bleach. Lots of red finch and even on pair of cardinals have chosen the center of this wreath as good nesting territory. I agree. It is a nice place to raise a family; out of the wind and sheltered from the rain and it comes with two bird baths, a pond, bird feeder and various other natural bird designed plantings.

But last week a obsessive compulsive robin moved in ON TOP of the wreath. She is pretty large, I guess she thought she couldn't fit in the center. I thought OK, she is on top shouldn't be that bad, but being on top must not be as easy to secure a nest as soon she started spitting out a little mud to stick the nest also to the door. I was still OK. Within a day, she soon revealed herself as the messiest bird in the world. I swear she is dragging whole bales of hay onto the porch. Some clumps of grass were used on the nest but large piles draped down the wreath, lay on the floor and fold over the porch railing. The porch was beginning to look more like a hay wagon when a string broke on a bail. I was still OK.

Then, the nest must have been done and it was time to mud. I missed the actual process but the product was unbelievable. The interior of the nest was pretty impressive. It looked like it had been coated evenly in chocolate. But the bird must have done the work with a shovel - the mud splattered most of my door, the door frame and the door sill. I was done. It may be the 40th Anniversary of Earth Day but I can only do so much for the wildlife in my yard. The wreath came down. The door, door frame and door sill I washed in hot, soapy, bleachy water. I slept better that night.

The next day, she was back. Since the weather has been so nice, weeks ago Jeff set up most of our porch furniture and hung up the wall shelf that goes behind the love seat. The robin simply moved to the top of the wall shelf. Not only did she drag enough dry grass that I could have bedded down a cow, s/he or they, built not one but three nests on top of the shelf. Dry grass draped down from the shelves like Spanish moss- the entire love seat was covered in stands. Do I have a gang of robins fighting for turf on my porch? Could it be a robin commune? Rachel helped me take down the shelf Monday night.

So, I look out Tuesday morning and this robin ( I am assuming it is the same one- arrogant, cocky, unreasonable, - think Tom Cruise as a bird) is strutting on the porch railing looking at me. I didn't notice until I went out to get the mail that all the "hay" is back on the porch and s/he is NOW trying to build a nest on top of the porch light. I have ripped it down so many times I don't even have the count anymore.

The robin is sitting on a Ginkgo tree limb right now, looking in at me in the kitchen. Pretty song, maybe she is a male? I have lots of nice trees-one would think she would give up. Other years, all the robins have just been happy in the trees. Obviously building nesting shelves will have to be in our future but where to put them is the problem. They are not going anywhere near my porch.

Rachel's Prom

Prom was last Saturday. Rachel looked lovely in her full-skirted black ballgown. I especially liked her hair, which was just big curls and very low on the back of her head.

Jeff and I went to the "Presentation of the Juniors". When Emily was a junior they just walked across the gym. Not anymore. Now, while up on stage, the junior class members had to climb 4 or 5 steps to the top of the choir raisers, walk down the raisers to the front of the stage and then out. I was terrified! I couldn't see how Rachel wearing such a long full skirt, could possibly do that without tripping, even holding onto Coleman's arm. ( Think Scarlet in "Gone with the Wind" running up and down that big curved stairway. Rachel needed both hands to hold up all that shirt) To make matters worse, her shoes were like flip flops but with high heels.

Well, she did just fine-- they even wore their matching sunglasses while doing all this climbing, but I sure held my breath for a while.

Rachel and Coleman

A trip to Wal-Mart to show Dad......

Caught Grandma and Grandpa just as they got home....


Anyone having any formal events?
Rachel is looking for additional places to wear the dress.

Nothing to do with prom but just a funny photo of Rachel and her friend Abby. I'm not sure if they are practicing for a bank robbery or what? I love Rachel's eyes!

They're off`

The great turkey hunters are off! I offered to wrap up the kitchen sink. I tell ya, I think Joe took everything else in the house.

I took the week off myself to get some things done and especially to have some fun. I have a several things set up to visit with friends. I am also hoping to tear the wallpaper out of the bathroom and if all goes well, get a coat of paint slapped on until we go further with that. That is my biggest plan.

However, as we know, the best laid plans of mice and men... I may end up reading all week. The weather is supposed to be beautiful here.

Happy turkey hunting week y'all.

Spring Flowers

Here are some reasons I like Spring. These are flowers in our aspen grove . In another couple of weeks other spring ephemerals will be blooming.