I Love To Go A Gardening
Growing Our Life in Northern Michigan
June Flurries
I think summer has finally arrived: the last couple of days the temps have reached close to 80 (F) degrees. It’s hard to believe that just a few days ago we had frost/freeze warnings. To be honest, I actually prefer the temperatures remaining in the 60s or low- to mid-70s. When they climb beyond 80, I think it’s too hot. My friend in Texas told me their temperature was 106 the other day. Ugh. How do people endure it???
As I always do, a few weeks ago I put all my house plants out on the deck for the summer when I thought the warmer temperatures were here to stay. I totally forgot to bring them back inside the first time we received the frost/freeze warnings. I did remember to bring them back in before the next frost. Some of the pots are very heavy and hard to lug into and out of the house so when the temps warmed again, I took out only the small pots. Most of my plants survived the frost ok, but the spider plant, which I’d had for years and years, usually looks poorly at the end of winter (especially since the cats like to sit on it) but it revives and thrives outside every summer. However, after being left out in the frost, it’s looking mostly dead. I hope I can revive it.
Some of the trees outside–we aren’t sure what kind–are releasing billions of fluffy seed pods. There are so many filling the sky that it looks very much like it’s snowing in June. Neither EJ nor I have ever seen such a sight before. I took this video of it, but it doesn’t fully capture how thickly the seed flurries fell.
Last week–I think it was Tuesday–I tied Hannah Joy outside so she could enjoy herself. Sometimes she keeps asking to go outside so I think she just wants to enjoy the day. We don’t want to risk losing her by letting her out without a leash. Her tie-out is right outside the door so I can see her through the window. Conscious of the fact that her previous owner had kept her outside in all kinds of weather, I bring her inside whenever she wants to rejoin us. I looked up and noticed that Hannah’s tether had gotten wrapped around a birdfeeder pole. I had been trying to reposition the pole so both EJ and I could see it through the window as we sit in our chairs. I have since moved the pole right up to the deck so Hannah can’t get wrapped around it again.
So I went out to untangle Hannah Joy and bring her back into the house. She was excited and twisted away just as we reached the door. She went racing around in circles–we call her crazy running “going Taz” because she reminds us of the Tasmanian Devil in the old Looney Tune cartoons. She raced in circles around and across the deck, and as she ran through the flower garden I heard her yelp. There are rose bushes and rocks in that garden, and she had dug a hole that she could have stepped in. She was limping badly when I finally got her into the house, not putting any weight at all on her leg. I didn’t see any obvious wounds and she didn’t act as if she had broken her leg, but I was still concerned. EJ examined her leg the next morning and said he thought she had probably just strained or sprained it We decided to just keep an eye on her and see if there was improvement over the next day or two. She is still limping but every day she is putting more weight on her leg so we believe she is going to be fine. she has even brought her ball to us for games of “Fetch,” but we are careful how we throw/roll it back to her so she can rest her leg.
Hannah created her own twist on the game of Fetch. EJ often tries to vary how he throws the ball to her and Hannah varies how she brings it back. She doesn’t just place it in our hands. In fact, she grips it more tightly if we try to take it from her. She waits until we aren’t paying attention and then she hides it close to us. After she has hidden it, she sits a few feet away and stares at us expectantly. If we don’t notice her, she begins barking/growling at us to get our attention. Sometimes she has hidden it so closely that we can’t find it. When we ask her, “Where is your ball, Hannah?” she stares directly at it. If we still can’t find her ball, she gets it herself with a sigh. She has hidden the ball on either side of our chairs, on our laps or feet (how she gets it there without our knowledge, I’ll never know), under the coffee table between EJ and me, in the table drawer (in which I put the yarn of my current project), on the window sill. She recently put her ball in the box that I’ve been putting the completed squares of the afghan I’m working on in to keep them safe. I had to open the box to find the ball and take the photo.
Hannah sleeps on our bed at night, but the first few nights after injuring her leg she struggled to get into the bed so I lifted her up. Thursday night Hannah looked up at me like, “Well, you going to lift me into the bed or what?” I did, and as we cuddled together, I said to her, “You realize that once your leg has healed, I’m not going to help you into bed, right?”
Miss Madeline Meadows, our sweet half-feral serial cat, has been missing for more than a week so I suspect she has met with foul play. I have mixed emotions. Madeline was an endearing, interesting cat who was an incredible huntress. She kept our little homestead free of rodents that would menace our chickens and their food. However, I was always appalled when she went after other prey. I hate to lose her, but I am relieved that the songbirds, rabbits, and chipmunks will be safe. As I said: mixed emotions. Annie looks lonely without Madeline, but maybe I’m just reading my emotions into the situation. Annie is a terrible hunter. We need a cat with hunting abilities somewhere between Annie and Madeline.
EJ works ten-hour shifts Monday through Thursday so he always has a 3-day weekend. Yesterday EJ worked quite a bit in the garden. Many of the seeds he has planted are growing. Yay! We made a quick trip to the grocery store (we had run out of popcorn!) and discovered they were having a sale on vegetable plants so we bought a few tomato and pepper plants, which EJ planted.
I Love To Go A Gardening 
Love to hear of your journey in your magical forest, and I think Hannah has your #, may she heal well. Say hi to EJ and enjoy this summer that is underway. Sorry for miss Madeline.
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EJ says “Hi!” to you. We are sitting in our chairs eating popcorn and watching the birds at the feeders. I hope you are enjoying a pleasant day. ❤
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