I Love To Go A Gardening
Growing Our Life in Northern Michigan
I Gave My Love A Cherry
Yesterday morning I went outside to fill the birdfeeders and found a ripe cherry. We have six little cherry trees and I found only ONE ripe cherry. I put it on EJ’s plate when I served him his breakfast. “Where is yours?” he asked. I told him that I had found only ONE ripe cherry. I think the birds ate all the other ripe cherries. EJ was going to cut the cherry in half to share with me, but I urge him to eat it. He loves cherries. EJ said we will probably have to get something to protect the cherries so the birds don’t eat them all. It’s probably too late for this year, but we can maybe get something for nest year.
That is a danger in trying to make a yard attractive to birds. They don’t just eat the food in the feeders, they also eat the cherries and berries.
After the baby sparrows in the blue birdhouse left the nest, the sparrows had another family. I have been watching Papa and Mama Sparrow bringing seeds to their new family for several days now. Today I got a glimpse of the babies. I love seeing them. I have been watching but have not seen any babies at the other sparrow birdhouse or the one with the wren nest.
This weekend is/was our village’s annual festival. I actually thought last year was the final festival, but organizers changed its name and, I think, maybe, reinvented it a little so maybe this is the first annual festival of the reinvented festival. When JJ was little I used to take him to the activities in the town. Our favorite activity was the Book Sale at the library (of course!). JJ also enjoyed making a tie dye T-shirt each year. And there were other activities such as a parade, a frog-jumping contest, belt sander races, and other such things.
Now, however–and especially this year–I am not all that interested in the festival. EJ had to work today so we enjoy a quiet morning studying and talking together. The festival offered horse-drawn buggy rides and we were on its route, so every few minutes a horse and buggy drove past our house. The first time it drove by our house, Timmy and Little Bear were sitting in the kitchen window, and they starred intently at the strange beast clopping by. A little later I let Danny outside and he quivered with excitement when he saw the horse and ran along inside the fence barking. He almost never barks so I know he was excited. After a bit, the animals all got used to the horse going by and didn’t pay much attention to it.
After EJ left for work, I took Danny for his walk, along his regular route. I had to keep him on a shorter leash because there were more people around. We walked by the church yard, which was filled with pony rides, a bouncy house, and a yard sale. I’m sure there was a lot of other things do downtown as well, but we didn’t go there.
JJ didn’t wake up until late afternoon, so I had a quiet, peaceful afternoon.
Boogerized
Today was mostly almost good.
I always make Challah bread on Fridays for Shabbat. I always begin making it as soon as I get up in the morning, even before I make coffee or check Facebook, because I have to prepare the dough, let it rise for an hour, punch it down and let it rise for another hour, braid it and let it rise again, and then bake it. If I get too late of a start, I don’t have time to make it. Shabbat doesn’t really start until sundown, but we always at our Shabbat meal at noon so EJ can enjoy it with us.
A couple of days ago, I got an email from the gift catalog company saying they had shipped my camera binoculars. They included tracking numbers. I love tracking numbers because I can follow an item as it gets closer and closer to my home. Yesterday I saw that the binoculars would be at the post office today so this morning I walked to the post office to pick them up. Our village is so small that everyone in the village limits has post office boxes. When we first moved here years ago, I thought “What??? No home delivery? That’s just crazy!!!” but I quickly grew to enjoy the daily walk to the post office. And I like the postal workers. They are very sweet. Anyway, there was no yellow card in my PO Box indicating that I had a package. I told the Postmaster that I had a package that was supposed to be here today and could he tell me when it would be ready. He said that normally it would have been ready “an hour ago” but the regular carrier was sick and the substitute was doing two routes so it would probably be there in the afternoon. Bummer.
On the way to and from the post office, I saw a garage sale sign. Our neighbors were having a sale. We love garage sales, so when I got home, I told EJ about it and we walked to the sale. As soon as we got there, I saw a little bird fly into the back corner of their garage. He looked like he was just a fledgling Robin and was confused so I went to help him. He didn’t move when I approached and it looked like I was going to have to pick him up and carry him out, but then he clumsily flew away. I am glad I rescued him because my neighbor said that just a few days ago she discovered a dead bird in the garage near the window. The bird must have accidentally got shut in. Poor thing. Wherever I go, I seem to rescue birds. I am the Bird Rescuer. Also “the Cat Lady.”
We visited with our neighbor for a bit. Her teenage daughter came outside eating a piece of banana cake, so she (the Mom) asked us if we wanted a piece. At her urging we said ok so the daughter got us a piece. It was delicious. And then the daughter went and got us a piece to take home to JJ. He thought it was delicious too. We had visited with our neighbor longer than we should have, so I had to scramble to get our Shabbat meal finished before EJ had to leave.
I have been watching a live stream of an eagle nest in Decorah, Iowa, for weeks. I have enjoyed watching the three baby eagles grow bigger and bigger. Two of them left the nest a couple days ago, and the third one looked as if he might take off today so I brought my laptop to the kitchen to watch as we ate. Every time the young eagle went to the edge of the nest, we exclaimed, “You can do it! Fly!” but he didn’t. After EJ left for work, I took Danny for a walk, and when I got back I checked the live stream but the eagle was still at the edge of his nest looking around. So I decided to walk to the post office and when I got back, the nest was empty. Bummer. I missed the first flight.
However, my package was at the post office. Yay! I got it home, put in the AAA batteries that I had bought a couple weeks ago, but I couldn’t get the camera to work. When I plugged the USB cord in, the display turned on. It think the batteries aren’t working. I dug up some rechargeable batteries from a drawer and am charging them now. I also think I need a SD card before the camera will work. Bummer. I ordered one from Amazon. I will have to be patient.
I have some items I need to ship, so a week ago I asked the postal clerk, who is a real sweetie, if she had small boxes I could buy. She found boxes that were absolutely the right size that I needed, but she couldn’t get the cash register scanner thingy to ring it up. She said she’d have to ask the Postmaster about it. He couldn’t get it to work either. His computer said that he had those boxes in stock, but the scanner said there were “unavailable.” The Postmaster finally figured out that those sized boxes are no longer for being offered for sale. They are like outdated stock. However, they are just lying around so why not sell them to me? So the Postmaster is trying to contact a higher up at another post office to see how he can sell them to me. Every day either the Postmaster or the clerk tell me the progress of the boxes. I almost bought a bigger size box today, but the Postmaster urged me, “Since these are the perfect sized boxes, wait for another day or two until the supervisor contacts me to see how I can sell them to you.” I’m on no deadline and I have to wait to ship them until after EJ’s next payday anyway, so I said I would wait. I think our postal workers are awesome…but leave it to me to choose unsellable boxes.
When I got home, I found Luke sleeping in the basket on top of a loaf of unwrapped Challah bread–the bread it takes me all morning to make. Usually I put the Challah bread away immediately, but today I wrapped up the loaf we ate from, but I didn’t take the time to wrap up the other one because EJ had to leave for work, and then I was eager to get my camera binoculars at the post office….I suppose if I were a cat, I’d also want to sleep in a basket on top of soft, still-warm-from-the-oven Challah bread, but I was SO not happy with Luke. He totally crushed the bread and, besides, he was LAYING on it and he doesn’t wash his paws after using the kitty litter. So the birds got a special treat of a whole loaf of fresh warm Challah bread for Shabbat. I crumbled it up and put it outside for them. I have not been particularly happy with Luke lately. Yesterday morning he was sitting on the back of the couch behind me and he sneezed and I felt a booger hit my head. YUCK! I had just washed and brushed and styled my hair, but I went out and immediately washed it again because there was no way I was going through the day with cat boogerized hair.
I wasn’t going to mow the lawn today because we had had more rain overnight, but the forecast said the weather was clearing, Accuweather radar showed the rain had moved off to the east, and it hadn’t rained for several hours so I thought I’d risk it. I do like to mow the lawn before Shabbat and this week the Village is having a town festival (I think) and they like the town to look nice, so I went out and mowed the lawn. As I mowed, the sky got darker and darker, but I wasn’t worried because it wasn’t supposed to rain anymore today. I was mowing the back yard, which I always save until last, when it began to sprinkle and then rain lightly. I continued until I finished and only got somewhat wet. I guess forecasts can be wrong. It has been lightly raining ever since.
After mowing the lawn, I made potato salad because EJ asked to have some tomorrow. I’m also doing laundry. It’s been a rather busy day.
Toadscaping
Once I got up this morning and had shared a pot of coffee with EJ, I spent the morning making homemade bread and homemade pizza. Last night JJ had said he was hungry for both and because his appetite has been wonky since his cancer treatment, I try to make him anything he says he is hungry for in order to entice him to eat. We haven’t yet sliced into the bread, but JJ said the pizza was yummy. Yay!
While the bread was rising, I went outside to put up the new wren birdhouse that EJ bought me. At first I was going to put it in the peony garden so we could see it from the east living room window, but then I decided that it was too close to the front porch where the outside cats spend most of their time. I was afraid that when baby birds took their first flight, they’d be easy prey for Annie. Then I thought I’d set the birdhouse near the birdfeeders, but was afraid that I’d disturb the birds whenever I went out to fill the feeders. So I finally decided to put it out in the flower garden next to the herb garden. Although I won’t be able to watch its inhabitants when I’m sitting in the living room, I will be able to clearly see it when sitting at the kitchen table.
After EJ left for work, I took Danny for his daily walk. I thought the temperatures had felt cooler this morning, but by the time I finished our walk I was melting again. When we got home, I put on a jacket and my bug net hat as protection against vile mosquitoes and went out to weed the strawberry patch and pick ripe strawberries. My strawberry patch is still pretty small so I only get a couple handfuls at a time. I freeze them so they don’t rot before I can accumulate enough to make something yummy. My mosquito protection worked, but by the time I was finished with the strawberry patch, I was overheated and melting even more. I sat in front of a fan for a while to cool off.
I spent several hours this afternoon grinding cinnamon sticks into powder with my electric coffee grinder. I use the electric grinder for spices such as cinnamon, ginger, and cloves, which I buy at the farm market-ish store. When I have coffee beans, I grind them with an old fashioned coffee grinder. I ground up all the cinnamon sticks and ended up with a large jar of cinnamon powder that should last me a very long time. That is good because I LOVE cinnamon. While I sat at the kitchen table grinding the cinnamon sticks, I enjoyed watching the wrens building their nest in the birdhouse condo. So far the sparrows haven’t kicked them out.
After EJ read my blog post last night, he said we could easily make toad houses with the two or three hollow logs that were in the load of firewood a friend gave us a few months ago. Ever since he first saw them, EJ has been saying that we ought to be able to use them–maybe as a planter or something. He wasn’t sure exactly. But last night he said they’d make dandy toad houses. We could partially bury them as the article suggested. I thought his idea was spendiferous. I will have to consider where to place them. Obviously I will have to put them where the slugs are so I can attract the toads there for a yummy meal.
I have been focusing on birdscaping my yard–making my yard attractive to birds. Now, apparently, I have branched out into toadscaping as well.
By the way, yesterday I wrote about panicking when JJ told me there was a bug on me. I want to tell you that even though I hated bugs on me, I didn’t want JJ to be afraid of them too so when he was little, I took him on “bug hunts.” We’d sit and watch a colony of swarming ants, or overturn rocks to see what was underneath. We admired the leftover skins of cicadas or the beautifully woven spider webs. One time we watched a praying mantis lay eggs on our house. We researched unfamiliar bugs so we could learn about them. Neighbor kids also joined us on our bug hunts. None of the kids knew that I was scared of bugs until one day one of them told me that there was a bug on me. I did the “Get it off!” dance and then looked up to see a row of children looking at me with their mouths opened in shock. So I confessed to them that I thought bugs were interesting until they were on me. LOL.
Slugged!
The last couple days have been hot and humid–today was worse than yesterday. Storms have been predicted for almost every day this week so I didn’t water the gardens yesterday even though the plants looked thirsty because I didn’t want to water unnecessarily. However, although the clouds looked dark at times, the storms all moved north of us any we didn’t get any rain.
Today we saw a line of severe storms moving toward us on Accuweather radar so EJ and I drove to the post office for our mail in the morning rather than wait for me to walk to the post office later. The library next to the post office had their “Book Sale” sign out so, of course, we stopped in at the library. When it comes to book sales, resistance is futile. We bought at least a dozen books.
When we got home, I took Danny for a walk. Usually I don’t take him until after EJ leaves for work, but I knew the storms would make an afternoon walk unlikely. It was so hot that I could feel myself melting. I sometimes think I am part snowman.
When the storms came, they weren’t that bad. We had a downpour that didn’t last long but not any real thunder. For the rest of the afternoon, we had light rain. I was glad for the rain to water my garden. It is still rather humid outside, but the temperature dropped to 68 degrees, which makes it bearable.
The mosquitoes had not been much of a problem for the last few days, but the rain caused them to flourish again. When I went outside to fill the birdfeeders, I was attacked. Sigh. I hadn’t worn protection since the mosquitoes had mostly left me alone, so they really got me good. I hate mosquitoes.
I also spotted several slugs in my garden. They are quite big and rather interesting looking. I didn’t know much about slugs because I have never seen them before this year so when I came back inside I googled them. I learned that they are a garden villain. Boo! Hiss! I read on the Garden Know How website that “Non-poisonous snakes and toads are the best animals to attract to your garden for slug control. These animals exclusively eat small pests and will not damage your plants.” This is why I am glad for the snakes in my garden. They are my friends. They eat bad things like slugs. I am hoping the snakes–and the toads–find the slugs and eat them all.
The Garden Know How site went on to suggest “Build small woodpiles and put out toad houses to create a home where these animals will feel welcome.” We have plenty wood piles in our yard because we have a woodstove, but I had never heard about toad houses. I looked them up. They, of course, attract and provide shelter for toads. Toads are good for a garden. They “consume 100 or more insects and slugs every day.” Yay Toads! Although cute houses can be bought at places like Amazon, they are very easy to make. We already have frogs and toads in our yard, but I might consider making toad houses. However, snakes like to eat frogs and toads, so I wonder how to prevent the snakes from trapping and eating the toads in their cute little houses. Maybe I should just let the toads find their own hiding places.
A few days ago I was washing my hands in the bathroom after rescuing the sparrow from Annie’s jaws when JJ said to me, “You have a bug on your back!” He disputes this vehemently, but I am certain he then said, “Oh, my goodness….!” I had a sudden vision of a monstrous bug from a Science Fiction movie latched onto my back, inserting it’s stinger into my brain, and taking control of my mind. I panicked and yelled “Get it off! Get it off!” JJ said that I elbowed him in the stomach and almost pushed him into the bathtub. I felt very, very bad because in my panic, I completely forgot that less than three months ago, JJ had a large incision made in his stomach so a surgeon could remove a cancerous lymph node. However, in my defense I said, “How many times over the years have I told you NEVER to tell me that there is a bug on me but just quietly brush it off? How many times have I panicked when told there is a bug on me? EVERY TIME! So what did you think would happen when you told me THIS time that there is a bug on me? Duh!” JJ exclaimed, “You need to not panic, Mom! Seriously!” Like I can help it. I can admire snakes and spiders, bugs and slugs, and enjoy learning interesting facts about them, but NOT if they are on me!
My garden provides me with interesting adventures.
Mostly Good!
I woke up this morning when I smelled the coffee. EJ had gotten up before me and made a pot and the aroma wafted all the way upstairs. By the time I got downstairs–before 7 a.m.–EJ was falling asleep in his chair. He works second shift so “before 7 a.m.” is much too early for him.
I poured a cup of coffee, checked FB, poured more coffee, and started some laundry. I thought that I would dry the clothes on the clothesline for the first time this summer. Usually I always use the clothesline during the summer but this year either it was raining, or I didn’t have time, or I just felt too tired to lug baskets of wet clothes out to the back yard. But the weather was beautiful and it felt like the perfect morning to hang clothes. I ran into a snag when I stopped the washer to add another pair of jeans and then couldn’t get the newfangled computerized machine to start again. EJ got it started for me an hour or two later by unplugging it and then plugging it back in–sort of like rebooting a computer–so eventually I was able to wash the clothes and then hang them outside to dry. A couple of years ago EJ installed a retractable clothesline for me that we can pull out when we need to use it and then retract it when we don’t. It’s very handy.
Anyway, when I couldn’t get the washer started, I poured another cup of coffee, grabbed a book and my camera, and went out to sit at the patio table on the front porch so I wouldn’t interrupt EJ’s sleep. I tried to sit very still so the wildlife wouldn’t be startled. I enjoyed the wren’s beautiful song and watched it go in and out of the birdhouse near the east kitchen window, which is close to the front porch. The sparrows haven’t thrown the wren out of this house yet.
I also saw a baby squirrel eating seeds from the large tray feeder by the pine tree. It was very cute and small–maybe a third of the size of an adult squirrel. I took a picture of it and then watched it for a while. Then I heard EJ stirring so I went inside and made him a delicious pancake breakfast. I sort of lost track of what I was doing and made the pancake too big. EJ said, “No pancake is ever too big!” but when he saw it he agreed that, yes, a pancake can be too big. With a breakfast like that, he didn’t need to eat any lunch.
This afternoon I went outside and discovered Annie with a little sparrow in her mouth. I’m assuming it was a fledgling bird on its first flight. We have three outside cats. Rikki-Tikki-Tabby and Tesla are too old to be interested in birds, but Annie is still young enough to go after them. I was horrified. I rescued the little sparrow from her jaws. It was still breathing, but it had a puncture wound in its neck. It kept very still and I didn’t know if it was just very scared or was near death. I held it gently while I tried to decide what to do. I didn’t have a way to care for it and I didn’t want to put it where Annie could reach it. I tried to put it on a branch in the wild rose bush, but it was too scared/weak to grab the bush. Finally I decided to put it in the tray feeder—the one the baby squirrel had been eating from earlier this morning. Annie couldn’t reach it there and it would not be able to fall out. I went out and checked the tray a little bit later and it was empty so I think the bird was not seriously wounded and just needed time to recover. Yay! I did not get a picture of the little bird. I was too busy rescuing it.
In between bringing the dried clothes inside and rescuing the baby bird, I sat down at my laptop. I turned it on and it stayed on for about two seconds and then shut down. I turned it on again–several times–and each time it flickered on and then shut itself off. Oh, no! A major catastrophe! I was afraid something very major was wrong with the computer. I finally searched the Internet using EJ’s laptop and found a Youtube video that said that this problem could be caused by a dirty fan. It showed how to blow the dust out of the laptop using a straw. JJ blew the dust out with his can of compressed air instead. Then we turned on the computer and “Voila!” it worked!
This is the third “problem” today that was resolved: First the washer, then the baby bird, and now my computer. Yay!
JJ suggested that I defrag my laptop, so while it was defragging, I watched live-streaming coverage of tornado chasers on EJ’s computer. There are very bad storms in the plains today. I watched two tornadoes as they caused massive destruction in Pilgner, Nebraska. Almost every building in town was destroyed. Later I watched other tornadoes form. I like storms–I think they have a very powerful and interesting beauty–but I don’t like when they are destructive. It seemed particularly sad to see the tornadoes in real time. That was one “problem” today that was not resolved happily.
My Father’s Day Gifts
Danny sheds a lot, so many times I throw his hair outside so the birds can use it for their nests. But late last week I read–probably at FB and maybe on the Birds & Bloom page–that a person can provide nesting material for birds by putting pet hair and dryer lint in a suet feeder. I don’t have an extra suet feeder (yet) but EJ suggested I use the wire basket that held our onions. I thought that was a good idea so I dumped out the onions and hung the basket on a sturdy branch of the lilac bush. I keep adding Danny hair and dryer lint to it. The basket is not where I can see it so I don’t know if the birds are using it, but it’s there if they want it.
Yesterday was Shabbat so we rested and studied all morning. Before EJ woke up, I went out on the front porch and I read a book while Danny sat at my feet and the outside cats sat on my lap or near me and purred. I watched and listened to all the birds swooping and chirpy in my yard. It was very pleasant. EJ had to work, so after he left, I continued to rest and study.
Yesterday I discovered a live-streaming storm chaser website. The site shows a map with various storm chasers on it. A person–like me–can click on one of many storm chasers and watch a live stream from the cameras on his or her vehicle. I had fun watching the storms. I love storms. I really love my life now, but in another reality I might have been a storm chasing meteorologist.
This morning EJ and I had a relaxing morning. I made him a really nice breakfast. We relaxed a little bit more, and then we drove to the farm market-type store. We took our time, enjoying the beautiful day, and stopped at a couple of yard sales. We didn’t buy much, but we did enjoy petting a very wonderful, gentle Great Dane at one of the yard sales. We enjoy giving lovings to animals wherever we find them.
At the store, we tasted a sample of a cheese called Beemster Graskaas Gouda. The lady handing out the samples said the cheese is from the Netherlands and is made only one time a year from only the first milking of the cows. The cheese was absolutely delicious and so we bought a small chunk. One thing we love about this store is that in addition to the produce we are familiar with, they sell strange and unusual fruits and vegetables from all over the world. We enjoy sometimes buying items we have never had before, just to try them. Some foods we like and some we don’t, but it’s fun to try. We loved the Beemster Graskaas Gouda cheese.
The other day I realized with horror that my basil had died over the winter so we bought some basil to replace it. There were lots of different kinds–I never realized there were so many different kinds–and I had trouble deciding which to buy. Since they were very inexpensive, I bought four different kinds at this store:
Holy Basil which is very aromatic, with clove-scented leaves. Best used as a salad garnish or in herbal teas.
Cinnamon Basil, which has purple stems and flowers and a distinctive cinnamon taste and scent. Best in fruit salads, herbal teas and Mediterranean dishes. (I love anything and everything cinnamon.)
Red Rubin Basil, which is fragrant and flavorful. Its purple-bronze leaves make a unique-colored pesto and a pretty vinegar.
Thai Basil. The tag was missing from this one–either it didn’t have a tag or it fell out–so I don’t know exactly what it is or tastes like. I don’t know if it was just “Thai Basil” or a particular kind of basil from Thailand.
I suppose I should have also gotten Sweet Basil because I know how to cook with it, but in the thrill of learning about the other types, I didn’t think to get just regular basil. I expect some culinary adventures as I experiment with my unique basil plants. When we got home, I planted all the basils in pots so I can bring them in during the winter.
For Father’s Day, EJ also bought me a little wren house with a hole small enough that the sparrows can’t fit through and kick the wrens out. As soon as I get something to hang the wren house on, I will put it up…I think I will put it in the Peony Garden so we can see it from the living room window. I am trying to put all the bird houses, feeders, and baths where we can see them from the windows.
Oh, I got EJ a pepper plant for Father’s Day. And also a book. And a really good breakfast this morning. And a wonderful day together. We don’t really bother much about Father’s or Mother’s Days. Mostly we just enjoy hanging out together.
JJ’s Soap
I was surprised when I came downstairs this morning that both my guys were already awake and up. EJ is often up before I am but JJ stays up until the wee hours of the morning so he often sleeps until early or mid-afternoon. He said he went to bed at 1 a.m. last night and he woke at about 3 a.m. and had been awake ever since.
We got ourselves dressed, had a good breakfast, and then drove off to the cancer center for JJ to get his port flushed. As we sat in the waiting room, it felt as if time went backwards to when JJ was getting chemo every day. JJ and I joked and he said he saw smiles on some of the other people’s faces.
JJ really dreaded getting “poked” again, but he handled it as courageously as he has everything else. The medical staff greeted him very warmly, gave him hugs, and admired his hair and beard. One oncology nurse said that she felt panicked when she saw JJ’s name on the roster, fearing that he was back for more Chemo, but she relaxed when she saw that he was coming only to get his port flushed. The oncology really do care about those they take care of.
Before we left for the Cancer Center this morning. we had discussed what to have for lunch, but when we got home, we all craved sleep more than food. EJ hadn’t sleep all that well last night either, and neither had I. EJ’s back hurt so he wasn’t able to nap, I sort of half dozed, and JJ slept deeply for several hours.
After EJ left for work, I took Danny for his daily walk and then mowed the lawn. It was rather pleasant because the temperatures were cool. Last night the temp fell to 45 degrees and today’s high was in the mid-60s. I love the cooler temps.
All yesterday I watched a wren build his nest in the birdhouse outside the livingroom window, but I noticed that a sparrow had kicked the wren out and taken over his nest. I like the sparrows but feel very sorrow about the poor wrens. I will need to get a birdhouse with a hole too small for a sparrow to enter so the wrens don’t keep getting kicked out.
One of my friends makes and sells beautiful soaps through her website called “A Touch of Eden.” A few months ago, she said that she has several friends who have had various types of cancer and she wanted to honor their battles by making a unique soap for each of them and naming it in their honor. She sends each of them one of the bars of soap as a gift. I think that is incredibly sweet. Yesterday she posted that she had made JJ’s soap. I think the soap is absolutely gorgeous.
Misty, Moisty Mornings
One misty, moisty, morning,
When cloudy was the weather,
There I met an old man
All clothed in leather
All clothed in leather,
With a cap under his chin.
How do you do?
And how do you do?
And how do you do again?
The last two days started out cloudy, misty, and damp. I couldn’t help but think of the first two lines of this old nursery rhyme. Although the mornings were misty and moisty, I did not meet any old men all clothed in leather.
Yesterday morning I went with EJ to his doctor appointment in the city. The misty, moisty morning was very pretty. The doctor said that in many areas EJ’s health has improved. However, his asthma has gotten worse. And, of course, his back always gives him pain. I worry about EJ because with back pain and breathing problems, he isn’t able to sleep well.
We had chicken for lunch yesterday. After we were finished eating, I used the leftover chicken to make two homemade potpies. It was yummy. It is one of my favorite meals. JJ enjoyed it too and had three helpings. Since his Chemo, it has been difficult to find foods that appeal to him to I was glad that he enjoyed it.
EJ had slept pretty well last night but he woke up early. Shortly after I came downstairs, he fell asleep in his chair so I snuck out and went to the grocery store. We usually have fun going shopping together, but I wanted him to rest today. I needed to go to the store this morning–mostly to get water because the water from our faucets doesn’t taste all that good. I also needed to get pet food. It was another beautiful misty, moisty morning. I took the back way through the countryside so I could enjoy it. The landscape was softened by the fog. I saw a deer standing in a field.
My friend who lives in Texas told me the other day that she is very surprised that my sparrows have turf wars. She has lots of birdhouses in her yard, some quite close together, and she said her sparrows never fight. I’ve seen the male sparrow who lives in the blue birdhouse locked in a fierce battle with other sparrows, and he has aggressively chased off sparrows and wrens trying to build nests in the other houses when they were closer together. I think that Texas sparrows must be nicer than Michigan ones.
I have been watching wrens building nests in two different houses. I’d love to have wrens build nests in the houses, but whenever they start, a sparrow chases it away. In fact, looked out the window to watch a wren take a stick into a house, and then I saw a sparrow chase it off. The wren has returned so maybe it has not been totally driven off yet. I wish the sparrows would leave the poor wrens alone. As I said, Michigan sparrows seem to be rather angry birds. I am trying to grow some birdhouse gourds. If they grow, I’m hoping the wrens will build houses in them net year and the sparrows will leave them alone. I would love to have wrens build nests where I can watch them. They sing so beautifully.
I have been making Challah bread this afternoon. Usually I make it Friday mornings so it is fresh and hot when we eat it, but tomorrow morning we have to take JJ to the cancer center to have his port flushed. The port will stay in his body for at least a year to make sure JJ’s cancer doesn’t come back and it has to be flushed every couple of months.
This afternoon I went outside to dump the vegetable peelings, etc., in our compost pile. I was started to see a garter snake in the path. If I had kept walking a few more feet, I would have stepped on it. I used to be really scared of snakes, but I do not mind the garter snakes that live in my garden. They do no harm and I have heard that they are a sign that a garden is healthy. I see snakes of various sizes–some tiny and see large ones and sometimes tiny ones, so I know that there are a few living in my garden. I rarely see them but always admire them when I get a glimpse. The snake I saw today was at least a couple of feet long. I quickly ran into the house and grabbed my camera and took some pictures of him before he gracefully glided away. (Click on these pictures to make them bigger.)
Plants. And Chickens. And Binoculars.
Yesterday EJ had to have his blood drawn in preparation for a doctor’s appointment tomorrow morning. We had an enjoyable 30 mile (or so) drive to the lab. Afterwards we stopped at the nearby farm-market type store because EJ had had to fast for the blood draw and he was starving. We picked up sliced roast beef (which I always call roast beast), bread, and cheese and had yummy sandwiches when we got home.
After I moved the birdhouses further apart, I saw the sparrow from the blue birdhouse chase away a sparrow sitting on the other birdhouse so I assumed the houses were still too close to each other. Bummer. I went to my computer and googled how close to put birdhouses and learned that they should be about 25 feet apart. Seriously? I can’t believe that all the birds that visit our yard are building their nests 25 feet apart! However, I have seen the sparrows fighting over territory so….I pulled up the middle post with the birdhouse on it and moved it over near my strawberry patch. I had envisioned birdhouses all over our yard. Spacing them 25 feet apart means that I will not be able to have any additional houses. Sigh. Hopefully the houses are now all far enough apart so the birds don’t fight.
Yesterday I weeded the strawberry patch and herb garden while fighting off swarms of mosquitoes. I really need the bug net hat-thing to arrive soon and I really need it to be effective.
Today EJ and I drove to the meat market for some ground beef and a chicken. We haven’t had chicken for a while because the chickens from the grocery stores are’t very appealing. We hear there are all sorts of unappealing stuff done to them. EJ has a co-worker friend who will sell us some of the chickens he has raised, but until we can get them we bought the chicken from the meat market. Their chickens are better than the grocery store ones. We cooked it when we got home, but it wasn’t done before EJ had to leave for work so I made him a roast beast sandwich instead.
One problem JJ and I are having is that food is not appealing to us right now. Everything seems “bleagh.” JJ, especially, says he just can’t eat anything that he ate while having Chemo. Even when I make something that sounds good to him, he doesn’t eat near as much as he did. That makes fixing meals kind of difficult. So I told EJ, “WE NEED CHICKEN!” to give us more recipes to choose from. Even today, though, JJ said the chicken was “meh” to him. I think this lack of appetite is a “side effect” of his cancer battle.
A few days ago, EJ came home from work with a gift catalog in honor of his 15 year anniversary at his company. He can choose any one gift in the catalog. He looked through the catalog and said that he really didn’t want anything in it and I could choose the gift. I told him that I felt as if I was stealing his anniversary gift, but he insisted. I immediately knew what to choose: A couple of weeks ago I was looking at the birds at our feeders through EJ’s small binoculars that he is letting me borrow. I thought, “Too bad I can’t take photographs of what I see through binoculars.” Then my friend told me that there really are camera binoculars. I thought that was amazing. So when I saw one in the gift catalog, I knew that is what I would choose. It’s not going to be a really expensive, high quality one, of course, but it might be good enough to enjoy using around home. And it’s free. I think it will be fun.
This morning I took a couple of pictures of some of the herbs in my herb garden. I also took a picture of a flower that I noticed as I was walking Danny today. I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to walk Danny because it’s supposed to rain today (and tomorrow and the day after). However, when I looked at the radar for our area at the Accuweather website, I see that the rain is breaking up before it gets to us. That happens to us quite often. Sometimes it will look like a storm is going to hit us directly, and then it either dissipates before it gets to us or it splits and half the storm passes just to our north and half just to the south and we slide through the break. It must happen because of the geography of our area or something?
Squirrels, Mosquitoes, and Stuff
Oh, my goodness, it’s been a week since I have written. I didn’t realize it had been that long. We have all been tired and unmotivated this week. JJ said it’s been really hitting him that he had CANCER and that he could have died from it.
Besides planting various vegetable and fruit plants last week, EJ planted some vegetable seeds. I am not sure exactly what he planted. I forgot to ask. Oops. Last week we had days of sunshine mingled with days of rain. I was glad for the rainy days that gave our “crops” deep drinks to quench their thirst.
I checked the other birdhouse to make sure it was empty, and then I moved it a few feet away from the blue birdhouse. I’m hoping to move the birdhouses far enough away from each other that the sparrows don’t have turf wards. I am not really sure how far apart I should place them. I suppose I should do research but I keep forgetting. I saw a wren singing on top of the birdhouse in its new location, but the sparrows always seem to chase the wrens away from the houses. Poor wrens.
I bought a bag of fruit and nut bird food last week and put it in the big tray feeder near the pine tree. The nuts enticed a squirrel. He (or she) eyed it for a few days and then learned how to access it so the tray has become a squirrel feeder. I decided that rather than battle “nuisance” birds or squirrels, I’d consider them all part of the community and let whoever comes enjoy the food. At least I will do this unless my feeders attract birds like in Alfred Hitchcock’s old movie “The Birds” or huge populations of squirrels invade or something. If my yard becomes a horror-movie type setting then I will definitely make changes and fight back.
One horror-esque thing in my garden are the mosquitoes. They swarm me whenever I go outside, making working in the garden more of an ordeal. Consequently, I didn’t work in the garden much last week. I can wear long sleeves and gloves to protect my body but then they go for my face. So I sent away for a insect bug net to protect my head. It should arrive in a few days. It cost less than $5. I hope it works….
The peonies in my peony garden are beginning to bloom. I think they are such beautiful flowers. My wild rose bush (at least, I think that’s what it is) is blooming too. It has beautifully fragrant little flowers.
Our Little Micro-Farm
EJ and I had a tremendous day together.
After waking up with a cups of coffee and the Internet, we decided to go out for breakfast. JJ didn’t go with us because his days and nights are all mixed up. He stays awake most of the night and sleeps most of the day. We drove to the city and ate at Denny’s. Whenever we go to Denny’s we always joke about the “Denny’s” scene from the movie, The Santa Clause. “I’m going to have chocolate milk,” one of us says, and the other replies, “They’re out.” Actually, the food was delicious.
On the way to Denny’s we came upon adult geese escorting their babies across a busy street. There were several adults and many babies–maybe 40 or 50 geese in all. I had my camera with me so I was able to take a video of them through our dirty windshield.
After we ate breakfast, we drove to a nearby store that is sort of like a farm market. They have a good selection of bird seeds so we bought a large bag of mixed seed, two bags of fruits and nuts, a box of twelve orange suets and a box of twelve peanut butter suets. Then we went to their plant nursery and bought two grape vines and another blueberry bushes. Afterwards we drove on to the grocery store to pick up a few groceries.
When we got home, I made some bread dough and got it raising (and then baking). I took Danny for his walk, and then EJ and I went outside to work in the garden. We planted the two dwarf cherry trees that we bought the other day. We now have a small orchard of six cherry trees. We planted the new blueberry bush near the other three, and we planted the two grape vines. Then EJ planted the rest of the veggie plants that he bought the other day.
We have a relatively small yard in a small village, but our yard is filled with all sorts of veggies, fruits, herbs, and flowers. We have sort of a micro-farm. We are growing:
Veggies: tomato, Bell and hot peppers, celery, cabbage, cucumber, butternut and acorn squash, and cantaloupe, leeks, parsnips, and others.
Fruit: Rhubarb, Strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, grape vines, cherry trees, and a couple Alberta peach trees.
Herbs: Sage, Oregano, Basil, Chives, Coriander, Winter Savory, Golden Marjoram, Lemon Thyme, Caraway, Lemon Grass, French Tarragon, Bay Leaves, Bronze Fennel, Borage, Rosemary, Pennyroyal, Peppermint, Spearmint, Chamomile, Sorrel, Lovage, Lemon Balm, Garlic, and maybe a few others that I am forgetting.
Flowers: We have Lilac, Peonies, Roses, Sunflowers, Morning Glories, Phlox, Lilies, Lilies of the Valley, Black-eyed Susans, Lavender, Hyssop, Lamb’s Ears, Iris, among others. We also have many shade plants such as Hostas and Ferns and Creeping Charlie. I also planted flower seeds to attract hummingbirds and butterflies this year. And, of course, we have tons of birds. And quite a few cats. And a dog.
In addition, we also have a lot of maple seedlings which I am trying to pull up. Yesterday I saw that millions more maple seeds were raining down from the trees. We also now have a blooming population of mosquitoes that attack me when I go outside. I could do without more maple seeds and mosquitoes.
EJ and I had a tremendous day together. Now we are tired, but it is a good tired.
Houses & Gardens
Yesterday EJ and I worked in the garden for a bit. EJ planted his tomato and pepper plants in his veggie garden and then he planted his blueberry bushes in the area of the yard where the birdhouses are.
While EJ planted, I planted the two cherry tomato plants that our neighbor gave us in a hanging basket. We’ve heard about doing this online and thought we’d try it. I hung the basket on a hook on our front porch.
Then I decided on a location for the second new birdhouse and dug a hole with the post-hole digger and installed the post. I put it inside the fence near the lilac bush. When EJ finished his planting, he attached the birdhouses to the posts for me. I haven’t yet decided where to place the third new birdhouse. Unless we go buy more posts, I will have to put the birdhouse someplace where there’s already a post.
There were sparrows in all three of the birdhouses outside my kitchen window, but I noticed that they were having turf battles. Mostly they just warned each other off, but we saw two sparrows fighting fiercely in “hand-to-hand combat” the other day. After that, I no longer saw sparrows at one of the houses. I figured the houses must be located too close to each other, so after peeking inside to make sure the one house was really empty, EJ helped me move it to where we can see it from the other kitchen window on the other side of the house.
Today we’ve had a quiet day of rest. We are studying and discussing what we are learning. EJ is on call today so he doesn’t have to go to work unless there’s a problem. I hope he gets to stay home because he is exhausted and needs the rest.
The news reported that Thursday morning there was a murder/suicide in a city not too far away. A man murdered his wife and then killed himself. The bodies were found when a neighbor heard the couple’s (now orphaned) 6-year old boy crying in the street at 1 a.m. and called 911. The boy was unharmed and is currently in Child Protective custody while waiting for his mother’s relatives to arrive. I mention this very sad story because EJ worked with the man for about ten years. This has been a shock to him (and other co-workers) and he is trying to process it. This is the second tragedy within the last year that involved a co-worker. Last autumn a co-worker friend of EJ’s was severely beaten up by her son. She’s still alive, but she’s not expected to live much longer. This has been a rough year.
The Trip to the Nursery
This morning, after a pot of coffee and a trip to the bank, EJ and I drove to a plant nursery near his company. On the way we passed a garage sale and we decided to turn around and stop at it. I saw three birdhouses, $7.50 for all three. They were made by kids, the lady said, but they looked pretty good so I bought them all. Then we continued on the way to the greenhouse
They have lots of big greenhouses filled with plants. I got a big cart and went immediately to the greenhouse filled with herbs and veggies. I got a flat of strawberries and a flat of assorted herbs: Golden Marjoram, Lemon Thyme, Caraway, Lemon Grass, two French Tarragons, Rosemary, Hyssop, Pennyroyal, Peppermint, Spearmint, Chamomile, Sorrel, Lovage, and maybe one or two others that I am forgetting. EJ and I filled a third flat with tomato, pepper, celery, cabbage, cucumber, butternut and acorn squash, and cantaloupe plants. Then we added two cherry trees and two blueberry bushes. Our car was bursting with plants and trees and birdhouses.
When we got home, I carried the birdhouses and two flats of plants to the table on the front porch, and the flat of strawberries near my strawberry patch while EJ carried the cherry trees and blueberries to a shady area in the back yard, all to be planted later. After EJ left for work this afternoon, I took Danny for his walk and then I mowed the lawn so it would look nice for Shabbat. Sweetheart (my new mower) started on the first try.
After the lawn was mowed, I planted all the strawberry plants in my strawberry patch, adding the new ones to the ones already growing there. Then I planted the herbs that I want to bring inside over the winter into pots. I put some of them on the front porch and others on the little child-sized park bench under the lilac bush. Then I planted the rest of the herbs in my herb garden. I don’t know how to use all the herb plants, but I will have fun learning.
Eric will plant the veggies in his garden soon, and he will plant the cherry trees out near the bird feeders. We are making a little dwarf cherry tree orchard there. We are not sure yet where we will plant the blueberry bushes. Tomorrow we might go to a different nursery and get some climbing rose bushes for the fence and some grape plants. Our yard is little, but it is packed full of good veggies, fruit trees, berry bushes, herbs, and .flowers.
When I finished all the planting, I got out EJ’s post-hole digger and dug a hole. Then I dragged a post over and set it up for one of the new birdhouses. I set it up so we will be able to see it from the living room window–the one in which we put the air conditioner in the summer. It is on the same side of the house as the other birdhouses, but further down. EJ said he will put the house on the post tomorrow. I’m not sure where I will put the other birdhouses. I will discuss it with EJ and he can help me decide.
After I got all these tasks done, I was very tired and my feet hurt very much. However, I took time to fill up all the birdfeeders, fix JJ some supper, and wash the dishes. I am going to relax for the rest of the evening. Although I am really tired, I had a lot of joy buying the plants and then planting them. There is something deeply satisfying and joyful about working in gardens.
Pulaski
Yesterday EJ, JJ, and I went to visit his sister and her large family. We stayed all afternoon and had barbecue steak, chicken, potato salad, tuna salad, chips….all the foods families have when they get together during the summer. The best part of the day was visiting with everyone. This is the first time we’ve really got together with people since JJ was diagnosed with cancer. Toward the end of the visit I could see that JJ was getting really tired. He said later that he thinks he overdid it a bit. But we had fun.
On the way to EJ’s sister’s home, we drove through a little town called Pulaski. It’s really just has an old general store and a few houses. I think it’s really just a township and not a town. Every time we drive through Pulaski, we have a debate about how to pronounce its name. JJ and I think it’s pronounced PulaSKI with the ending pronounced SKI like the water or snow skiis. EJ says he’s been told it’s pronounced PulaSKY like the blue sky above. Without fail, as we pass through the town, we always say “It’s PulaSKI!,” “No, it’s PulaSKY!” “PulaSKI!” “PulaSKY!” We always tell each other that one day we are going to stop at the little store and ask the cashiers how to accurately pronounce the name of their town. They’d know, we figured, since they live there.
Yesterday on the way home, we were all three very tired so EJ decided to stop at the little store for some Coca Cola to wake us up AND to ask the cashiers how to pronounce the name of the town. I went into the store with him as a official witness. After EJ paid for the Cokes, I said, “Can I ask you a question? How do you pronounce the name of your town?” The older woman (the owner?) replied, “It’s PulaSKY.” EJ was getting ready to gloat in triumph when the other woman said, “No, it’s PulaSKI.” They had a lighthearted argument: “I’ve lived here all my life. You are a foreigner. It’s PulaSKY,” said the older woman. “I’ve lived here a long time. I once asked a Polish man who stopped in here, and he said it’s PulaSKI,” said the other woman.
EJ and I groaned. “You are no help,” we said. We went out to the car where JJ was waiting. “We asked how to pronounce the name of the town. Guess what the answer was?…One said PulaSKY and the other said PulaSKI.” The debate rages on.
This morning we drove to the city to pick up JJ’s laptop which was getting repaired at the computer shop not far from the Cancer Center. It was a beautiful day and a beautiful drive. JJ was overjoyed to get his “precious” back. When we got home, I fixed lunch and then EJ and I fell asleep for a bit. All three of us tire easily.
After EJ left for work, I walked Danny and worked a little bit in the yard. I didn’t do much outside because there were scattered showers–mostly just light sprinkles with a rumble or two of thunder. Also, it was very humid. I also brought the air conditioner downstairs and put it in the window. EJ’s company is always much hotter (20-30 degrees hotter) inside than it is outside, so it helps him to be able to come home to a cool house.
Sparrow Videos
Today the weather has been absolutely beautiful: sunny, warm, with a slight breeze.
EJ and I enjoyed a leisurely morning. (JJ is a night owl who stays up late and sleeps late.) After we drank several cups of coffee and ate breakfast, I went outside and filled up all the birdfeeders and put fresh water in the birdbath. Then EJ and I decided to drive to the home improvement store for fencing. Part of our wooden fence was crushed last winter when a dead tree fell on it. It’s been a trial to get it fixed because we were exhausted from JJ’s cancer battle and then EJ has been working a lot of overtime. But even though EJ’s back continues to really hurt, he thought he’d try to get at least some of the new fence put up. We aborted the mission when we saw that our neighbor had fixed the fence for us. It felt sort of like the story of the Shoemaker and the Elves, though our “elf” was our neighbor. EJ went over to thank him and stayed to chat for quite a while. He still has to put up gates and finish the woodshed, but now he doesn’t have to rush. He can do it here and there when his back doesn’t hurt quite so much.
While EJ was gone, I did dishes, swept the floor, and began to wash the windows. We have windows that we can slide down and out so they are easy to wash. I got three windows washed (the ones I watch the birds through, of course) before EJ returned. He asked that I make potato salad, so I stopped to make it for him and then we enjoyed a summery lunch of hot dogs, potato salad, coleslaw, and potato chips.
It’s difficult to take photos out the window because the screens get in the way when I try to zoom in. However, while EJ was talking to the neighbor, I decided to try to take videos of the sparrows in the birdhouses. They turned out really well so I wanted to share them here. This first video starts out with the baby sparrow looking out of the birdhouse. Then the Mama Sparrow arrives to feed him:
This second video shows sparrows in the birdhouses. They are just moving in and building their nests.
The birdhouses are located just outside my kitchen window so I watch them whenever I am working in the kitchen. It’s a joy.
Tomorrow we are going to visit EJ’s sister and her family.
