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| Our three new girls - barred rocks. |
Friday 5/6. This morning we tilted the solar panels all the way up to catch the high sun. Then I raked fir cones from the grove and took three full wheel-barrow loads to the new swale. JB used the weed eater to cut the "grass" in the front yard. It's all looking domesticated again.
So much for the hot day that was forecast. The clouds moved in til about 1:00 pm and we had a very pleasant high of 68.
I finally capitulated and made humming bird syrup. I hung the feeders out at 1:50 pm and fully expected the hoards to descend within moments. But I guess their scout had left for the day. It wasn't until about 5:30 that I noticed one of them at a feeder. Then a few more arrived.
I think picking up small sticks for kindling and fire starter is very much like the new adult coloring craze. I am so involved in the minutae of the project that the big things just fall away and disappear for the moment. A very zen experience.
JB left at about 3:00 pm to go play Magic cards with his Jeep full of our winter collection of cardboard for recycle. Unfortunately he got to the recycle center at 4:05 and they close at 4:00. . . He did have an enjoyable evening though and was home by 9:30.
I stayed outside til almost 8:30 cleaning up fir cones from the front yard, pulling yarrow and chopping bushes. I also sat on the porch for a while just enjoying the evening and had a nice chat with my Aunt Nene.
I am fortunate to have the family Persian rugs from my Mother. I grew up with them on the floor of our various homes and by now they are a good 100 years old. But they are from a time in my life when the most important decisions I had to make were - should I go to Brownie Day Camp or Bible School; should I spend my allowance on a pack of Juicy Fruit gum or a Big Hunk candy bar; should I spend my babysitting money on an album by the Righteous Brothers or the Beatles; should I dye my shoes to match my prom dress or find a matching pair? The carpets may seem out of place in a cabin in the woods, but they provide a subtle comfort and an obvious beauty in our home.
Saturday 5/7. This morning was 54 with clear skies. We sat on the porch with our coffee and listened to the birds. There was one sparrow collecting material for her nest, including hair that I had brushed from the dogs. A perfect time to call Sandy.
After chores and lunch, JB got out the weed eater again and attacked the grove, around the parking area and the east side of the chicken run, while I hacked away at more bushes. Then I decided it was time to start splitting the wood. I split two tractor-bucket loads and JB dumped them by the wood shed. After I stacked it all, it was time for a nap.
After dinner we drove down to Larry and Elsie's to pick up our three new girls. Elsie gave me a beautiful hanging basket for Mother's day that she had planted! By the time we arrived back home at 8:00, a cool wind had picked up. It felt good after our high of 74.
We got the new girls into their pen, but after a while it was obvious that I was going to have to physically put them into the dog igloo to show them where they needed to be for the night, even though it is identical to the one they had at Larry and Elsie's. As Elsie says, "Chickens aren't known for their intelligence."
Sunday 5/8. Mother's Day began with 50 degrees, a partly cloudy sky and a wind gusting to 12 mph. I didn't really want to take the day off sitting around reading a book and eating bon-bons, so I got outside and weeded one of the raised beds in the garden and then used the pitchfork to turn the dirt. JB got the small planters ready and weeded the other raised bed. I wanted to finish breaking and stacking the pile of kindling but it just got too hot in the sun, even with the cool wind.
I don't always mention our son's phone calls. He calls two or three times a week, and of course this morning.
The new girls seem to be adjusting just fine to their new home, even with Dinga's intense interest in them.
I did take some time to read and finish a book that I started a couple days ago, State of Wonder by Ann Patchett. Had I known what it was about, I probably would not have bought it from the second-hand store, but I am so glad that I did. It was fascinating! And I will probably read it a couple more times.
Our high for the day was 65, which is usually very comfortable, but today was quite chilly with the biting wind. But it was a very good Mother's Day.
Monday 5/9. This morning is 42 with mostly clear skies and a wind in from the north, gusting to 14 mph.
Thought for the day: It is useless to hold a person to anything he says while he's in love, drunk or running for office. Shirley MacLaine
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