June 22, 2015 Laundry & A Bear

Treasures from our Sunday morning walk:
Prairie smoke & a feather

Our Sunday afternoon visitor.

Friday 6/19. If there was a snake under the porch last night, it left during the night.  No sign of one this morning, thank goodness.

JB brought up several tractor-bucket loads of dirt and dumped them behind the rock wall I extended.  I raked and stomped on it.  Looks great!  Then he mowed a bit around the house.  He didn't get the spraying done on the road when I was gone on Wednesday and it was too breezy today, so he will have to do it when he gets back from the other side of the mountains.

I worked on cutting/breaking a wheel barrow load of kindling from the branches I rescued from the ones being used to create the large swale.  Stacked them in the wood shed and almost have the first row finished.

I found a humming bird egg on the ground near the smaller swale.  It must have fallen out of a nest way up in a tall pine tree.  It had a tiny piece broken out and I could see what looked like a yolk inside.  

Our high for the day was 69 with a chilly breeze.  A perfect day for working outside.

Nene said that she thought it was a timber rattler we had Up Here last year.  She could be right.  I can't remember what I had for dinner last night, while she can remember what she had for dinner 50 years ago!

We sat out on the porch after dinner and were amazed at the number of humming birds at the two feeders.  Each feeder has four little "flowers" and there was a bird at every flower with seven or eight more birds in a frenzied holding pattern.  They emptied both feeders and I refused to fill them again until tomorrow morning!

Watched RED2 again this evening.  So entertaining!

Saturday 6/20. It was 48 this morning with some thin clouds.  I filled the humming bird feeders and it looks like I will have to be making more syrup on Monday.  Not too many humming birds today though.  I think the hordes got frustrated and left.

I got busy yesterday and completely forgot to do a load of laundry, so I did one this morning.  The only items I had left to do were dog towels and blankets.  It has been more than six months since I have done it at home, so I have to get back in the habit.  I usually washed on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.  It felt so good to be hanging the wash outside again.  It was the first time I had a chance to use the clothes-pin apron that Nene gave to me for Christmas and I loved it!

Great Backwoods Home issue, again.  If I could receive only one magazine, it would be this one.

Emergency Essentials has a great sale on their Freeze Dried Exotic Fruits Combo this month - 51% off.  The combo is six #10 cans of fruit which includes limes, blackberries, pineapple, strawberries, raspberries and pomegranate arils.  I use some of their products on almost a daily basis, not just for long-term storage, such as dehydrated onion, green and red peppers, etc.  Much less expensive than buying even the large jars at Costco.  When I open a can, I always vacuum seal the unused portion in large Mason jars. 

Today we both did little chores.  JB vacuumed out his Jeep and attached the trailer, as he is bringing back a small butcher-block table from his brother.  He also checked on the battery connections in the battery shed.  I puttzed around inside and out.  Then we both just sat together on the porch and enjoyed the perfect weather.  Our high for the day was 70.

JB sent out an email to his family inviting them to our annual 4th-of-July picnic for his side of the family.  We planned a menu and will now await the RSVP's.

The fire weed blossoms are full of honey bees.  We had a lot of the bees last year for the first time and now again this year.  Larry said that someone down on the paved road near our turn-off is keeping bees, so I assume these must be theirs.

JB packed up for his trip to the other side of the mountains.  He will be gone for a week.

After dinner and chores, we again sat on the porch and enjoyed the perfect evening.  

Sunday 6/21. Summer Solstice.  Our morning was 50 with a light overcast but with the sun peeking through.

Together, JB and I fixed a double batch of German pancakes for breakfast so I can have leftovers for the next couple days.  He left about 10:30 am and I got busy washing dishes and all the morning chores.

Found a couple great treasures on our morning walk: a hawk or owl feather and blooming prairie smoke.  I picked a stalk of three flowers for the house.

Just as I turned on my computer to check and send emails, Dinga started barking like crazy.  I looked out the front door and there was a bear on the east slope.  I grabbed my camera and went outside while making the dogs stay in.  It has been three or four years since we have seen a bear in person Up Here.  I love it!  Didn't let the dogs out for almost an hour, just in case.

Finished another Jeffrey Deaver book, Roadside Crosses.  Excellent, as always.
Then I went out to cut/break another wheel barrow load of kindling and stack it.

Had a nice chat with Randy.  He finally found his camera and promises to take and send some pictures tomorrow.

After a light dinner, I went out and did some work on the small swale and other planned ones in our yard.  Then sat on the porch for a while.  It was such a pleasant evening.  Our high for the day was 72.  The light overcast had cleared up by noon and we just had a few clouds drift over.

Monday 6/22. It is 59 and clear this morning.  Didn't get much sleep last night, which is typical for the first couple nights that JB is gone.

Thought for the day: When the winds of change blow, some people build walls and others build windmills. Chinese proverb