June 15, 2016 A Racing Bear, Mixed Girls & Cold Weather

The top of the box that I
decorated and gave to Sandy
for her birthday. . .

. . . and the front of the box.

Monday 6/13. I had washed the dishes, done the morning watering outside, gathered and stacked the pine kindling that was in the shade, and reorganized the storage side of the outhouse by the time JB left at 10:45 am for his doctor's appointment and errands.  And I didn't stop then.

There was a nasty odor in the house this morning that we figured was a dead mouse or two, so I pulled all the linens out of the linen closet to get to the door to the space around the tub.  Sure enough, there was a mouse.  I couldn't reach it, so I sprayed a lot of Lysol and deodorizer.  Then loaded the closet back up, and changed the sheets on the bed.

Then I reorganized the pantry to make items more easily accessible, and wondered why I hadn't done that years ago. . .  After that, I had to make another gallon of hummingbird syrup.  The hoards have arrived.

JB was home by 3:30 pm with a clean bill of health, other than his gout.  The wind had picked up during the afternoon and our high for the day was 66.

I bought the book Meals In A Jar several months ago and have been looking through it lately and planning what I want to try.  Before preparing a lot of one recipe for storage, I wanted to try it out.  So I made her Broccoli-Cheese Soup for dinner tonight.  It was with a bit of trepidation that I did this, as she uses a lot of freeze-dried foods and I really didn't want to waste any.  But it turned out quite delicious!  Next I plan to try her macaroni and cheese dish.

This has got me going on canning things like cheese and butter, as they are ingredients for many of her recipes.  So I will be looking for good buys on those and other items.

I was on a roll today.  So much so that I rolled into bed at 7:30 pm.  Just couldn't keep my eyes open any longer.

Tuesday 6/14. I went to bed so early last night that I got up at 5:30 am this morning.  Had to put a fire in as it was 37, cloudy and breezy.  Brrrrr!  By the time JB got up at 7:30 am, it had warmed up to 40.

I had a nice, long talk with Sandy, who usually gets up around 5:00 am.  She is looking forward to the rain they are supposed to get on Thursday, but seeing is believing.  While we were talking, I was watching nine hummingbirds at one of our feeders.  Nine!  They must have all been part of the same family because none of them were getting chased away.

JB went Down There again today as he forgot two important items yesterday.  One was actually on his list and he had forgotten to put the other one on.  I figured that since he was going down, he could also pick up some groceries.

After he left a little after 10:00 am, I took the dogs on their morning walk.  It was a very chilly venture.  Then I gathered and stacked the rest of the pine kindling, but the wind was just too icy to stay outside any longer.

I did a few things around the house, but pretty much made up for yesterday by taking it easy.

JB was home around 1:30 pm with news from Elsie that we needed to cover the tomato plants tonight as there is snow in the forecast!  On his drive home, way down in the canyon even before Larry and Elsie's house, a cinnamon-colored bear came racing down the steep slope on his left, across the road and down into the canyon!  It was probably a two-year old, but he figured that if the bear had hit the car, it would have taken them all over the side.  

Our high for the day was just 58 with the wind gusting to 13 mph.  We did get out and cover the plants after dinner, all bundled up like it was February.

Since I went to bed before the girls last night, I had to put the little ones in with the big ones tonight.  This afternoon I moved the large, hanging feeder out of the hen house and hung it in their outside covered area so the little ones could get to it more easily.  At 8:00 pm the big girls were already inside roosting, so I shooed all three little ones inside and blocked the door with the dog house.  Hopefully they will all survive the night being together.

Wednesday 6/15. It is 36 and clear this morning.  There is snow on the passes, but it didn't get this far east.

I got up at 6:45 am to let the girls out and the little ones had already wiggled their way out of the small opening.  I just hope they spent the night inside.  I will take the dog house out of the pen today.

Thought for the day: For who can endure a doctrine which would allow only dentists to say whether our teeth ache, only cobblers to say whether our shoes hurt us, and only government to tell us whether we are being well-governed?  C.S. Lewis

June 13, 2016 Two More Trips Down There & A Great Weekend

Dinga's nest in the bushes
while we were using the
tractor.

Friday 6/10. We were on our way to JB's 8:20 am doctor's appointment at 7:20.  I was driving, but not even sure I was really awake.  The doctor drained his elbow; couldn't make up his mind if it was pseudo-gout or some other infection; called in a different prescription.  JB was feeling well enough that I was able to get all my grocery shopping done, too.  We were home a little after noon.

Another call from the doctor at 4:00 pm that it was indeed really gout and I needed to go pick up a new prescription!  As Larry would say, this guy is really just practicing medicine.  Maybe one day he'll get it right.

On this trip Down There (this made four trips in two days), I treated myself to a big, juicy hamburger.  Probably my favorite red meat dish, and I only have it about three times a year.

It's been a long two days, but at least JB's problem is only gout and not any of the other life-threatening possibilities that the doctor mentioned. . .

Saturday 6/11. My brother came up for breakfast and we had a really nice visit.
After he left, I finished clipping ALL the pine clusters off the branches, and began cutting the small branches into kindling and stacking them in the wood shed.

It was a great day, simply because I did NOT have to drive anywhere.  JB took the day off to rest his arm.

It was breezy and clear all day with a high of 64.

We relaxed in the evening, watching the first Lethal Weapon movie.  Will probably watch the other three soon.

Sunday 6/12.  Today began with a temp of 47 and partly cloudy skies.  A very pleasant day with a high of 67.

Right after breakfast we got to work outside.  JB used the tractor to move all the pine needle clusters to the fourth swale we are creating.  Then he was able to cover about 1/3 of it with dirt before lunch.  I raked each bucket load and tromped it down while he got the next load.

After lunch we were able to cover about 1/2 the swale in dirt.  Then I FINISHED trimming the pine branches.  Hurray!!  Now I just have to stack all the kindling I made in the wood shed, and eventually cut the large branches in the cradle.  A good day's work.  

I opened up the little door between the little girls and the big girls this afternoon, then sat and watched them for a while.  No problems, so I left it like that.  I was going to leave the door open and then tomorrow night put the little ones in with the big ones to roost, but the little ones had a hard time finding the door(!!), so I just took the whole fence down.  

Tomorrow I will work on the fir branches, but it is supposed to be a wet week, so we'll see just how much I get done.  JB has a follow-up doctor's appointment tomorrow, but he is feeling well enough to go down by himself.  Thank goodness!

I am so saddened and distressed by the shooting in Orlando for which ISIS has claimed responsibility.  So much obvious evil in the world today..

Monday 6/13. It is 50 and partly cloudy this morning.  Looks to be a good day for working outside.

Thought for the day: He who plants thorns must never expect to gather roses.  Arabian proverb

June 10, 2016 Again With The Branches & Trips Down There

Tuesday night's sunset.

The socks Sandy gave
to me for my
birthday!

Wednesday 6/8. Because the heat had dried out the huge pile of fir branches on the north side of the house, turning the needles orange and creating bonfire fodder, I got out there before breakfast and moved them all to the west ridge.  Now they are about 30 feet further away from the house and I feel much better.

JB took the dogs on their morning walk for the first time since the heat arrived.  After hanging up the laundry, I went to work breaking small branches off the large fir branches that I had moved earlier.  JB mowed a bit on the south ridge.  Then we both sat on the porch and watched the wren building its nest in the bird house.

The wind blew all day, increasing in speed as the day wore on.  Our high was 80, but it sure didn't feel like it, or maybe we are just getting used to the heat.  By 5:00 pm the wind was gusting to 16 mph, and by 9:00 pm the temp had dropped to 54.  

I just have to post a photo of the socks that Sandy gave me for my birthday.  She is just never going to let me forget my story about my boob falling out of my tank top. . .

Thursday 6/9.  It was 45 with clear skies this morning.  Just lovely!  We got going early, as JB had a doctor's appointment at 11:00 am and we had several errands to run.  Since Memorial Day he has been having a problem with his right elbow.  We thought the bursa sack had burst, as it had many years ago.

After waiting an hour to get into see the doctor, we then had to get him over to the lab for blood work and an x-ray.  It wasn't the bursa sack after all and there were many other possibilities.  He has another appointment tomorrow morning at 8:20 am.  We picked up a prescription and were home a little after 2:00 pm.

At 5:30 pm, the doctor called to say JB's blood work was back and he had very elevated levels of uric acid.  His gout is back.  Not only that, but the doctor had another prescription he wanted JB to take today.  So back Down There I went to get to the pharmacy before it closed at 7:00 pm.  With all this going on, I also picked up a couple tubs of ice cream.  It is going to be a very early morning tomorrow.

Clouds moved in during the day and a light rain began to fall just as I left for Down There the second time.  Our high for the day was just 64, but it was at least 75 in town.

Friday 6/10. It is 46 and partly cloudy this morning.  Looks to be another long day.

Thought for the day: Sometimes you're the windshield.  Sometimes you're the bug.

June 8, 2016 Names for Our New Girls & More Hot

Where a wren is building
her nest.

Monday 6/6. Again, dealing with the laundry was the most energy I spent today, hanging up, taking down & folding.  Our high for the day hit 90!

There is a wren building a nest in our "Bear Country" bird house.  So glad it is finally being used.

I have finally decided on names for our new little girls - Blackie and The Twins.  I know that sounds like a '60's rock band, but it fits.  They will come over to the fence and take greens out of my hand now, although one of the twins seems more interested in my finger than what I am feeding them.

Tuesday 6/7. It was 70 and clear this morning with that nice little breeze.  Still an inside day.  My house is going to be so clean and organized by the time this heat wave ends. . .

Had to make another gallon of hummingbird syrup today.  After dinner I actually was able to take some of the kindling I cut before it got so hot to the wood shed and stack it. 

Our high for the day was 86.  Wow! Four degrees cooler than yesterday.  By 9:00 pm there were black clouds on their way in from the southwest and a brilliant sunset.  Sure hope we get some rain tomorrow.  At least it is supposed to be much cooler.

Wednesday 6/8. It is 64 and overcast this morning.  Woo Hoo!

Thought for the day: Depresso: That feeling you get when you run out of coffee.

June 6, 2016 Hot & Hotter

Fiery red paint brush
on our west slope.

Friday 6/3. This morning JB began mowing to the north of the outhouse, but he has been having problems with the tractor over-heating, which it did again today, so he had to stop.  After it cooled down he got the book out and did a thorough check.  May have been low transmission fluid, which he took care of.

Larry and Elsie put their little hens in with the older ones yesterday evening.  When they were all roosting, Larry carried the little ones into the large coup and put them on the roost.  One of them got so excited that it pooped on him!  Hopefully they will get themselves up there tomorrow night.

When we take down a tree, we cut it into 16" rounds for our stove.  When the tree removal guys cut down our three trees, they really didn't have time to measure each cut, so we will have varied lengths, many of the rounds being shorter than 16".

Our high for the day was 74 with a breeze.  I waited until after dinner, when the day had cooled a bit, to start clipping branches, but just about then the breeze disappeared, so I didn't get much done.

While sitting on the porch, we watched a bird collect dog hair for its nest, one hair at a time.  She ended up with a huge handlebar mustache!

Saturday 6/4. It was already 70 with a light overcast when I finally got up at 8:00 am, so I knew it was going to be another hot one.  Definitely an inside or sitting-on-the-porch day.  Our high was 80!  Way too hot for expending any energy outside.

I had a nice long chat with Sandy, during which JB left to go with Gridder who was going to take Miss Kitty in to the repair shop.  After that, he ran a few errands.

Neither my lilac bush nor any of my irises are blooming this year.  Maybe I need to give them some special fertilizer or something.

In the past twenty years or so of presidential elections, I felt I had to vote for the lesser of two evils.  Well, this year is certainly going to take the cake!  Never in a million years did I ever think I would vote for Donald Trump for President, but it looks like I am going to have to.  Sandy and I always said that we would vote for the devil himself before we would vote for the current President (I refuse to say or write his name), but last election we thought, "Oh, wait!  We won't have to vote for the devil because he is already in office!"  One can only hope and pray that the she-devil doesn't make it in this year.

I puttered around inside all day making chicken soup out of two carcasses from chickens I had baked earlier this week.  Also worked on Sandy's birthday present that is going to be late again this year. . .  I did laundry, and hanging it outside was the most energy I spent today.

Sunday 6/5. It was 78 and clear this morning, with 100+ temps in the forecast for today and tomorrow.  Not looking forward to it.

So, again, it was a mostly inside day with outside chores getting done early.  I finally finished Sandy's present, read magazines and papers that JB brought up yesterday, and installed our new printer.  Anything that didn't require much energy expenditure.

Our high for the day was 86!  That says it all.

A note about the photo of what I referred to as "clover" on my May 25th posting.  That is not clover, it is actually a creeper called pussy foot.  I have corrected the photo caption.

Monday 6/6. It is 76 and clear with a breeze this morning.  Looks like another mostly indoor day.

In response to the "anonymous" comment - yes, it is a very fine birdhouse.  It has been sitting on the porch for two years just waiting for a perfect, permanent home.  Again, a big "Thanks" to JB's brother and sister-in-law for bringing it back from Montana for us a couple years ago.  The roof is actually a Montana license plate.

Thought for the day: There is no worse tyranny than to force a man to pay for what he does not want merely because you think it would be good for him.  Robert Heinlein  (Think the Affordable Health Plan)

June 3, 2016 A Bird House, Baby Birds & Roses

A Robin at the bird bath.

Wild Roses along our road.

The birdhouse.

Wednesday 6/1. With a garden and potted flowers, our new morning chore is watering everything.  We are still using water from the 200 gallons we had in the barrels.

When I was gone over the weekend, JB was able to watch the baby wrens learning to fly.  Since their nest is under the eaves near the deck, it seems they were using the deck as their runway.  Haven't seen any pregnant hummingbirds lately, so they have all laid their eggs.  Don't know how long it takes for them to hatch.

This morning while it was still cool, I put a bird house on top of the cut tree by the porch.  The one from which the clothes line hangs.  Looks pretty good.

Then I continued clipping the pine and fir branches, after which I gave JB a much needed hair cut.  He felt so good that he baked a pound cake that turned out stupendous!

Our high for the day was 74, but we had a nice breeze that kept the day from getting uncomfortable.

Thursday 6/2. It was 54 and overcast this morning.  I left for Down There at about 8:45 am to pick up a few items I wasn't able to get on Sunday.  Didn't have a lot to do, so I was home before noon.  By then the clouds were opening to the blue sky and the sun was shining through.  The air is heavy with the scent of wild roses along our road.  I couldn't help but stop and take pictures, even though with this being my ninth spring Up Here, I must have more than 1,000 photos of roses by now.

After lunch it was back to clipping more branches, while JB worked on setting up his flag pole in the stump.  After dinner I clipped more bunches of needles off another pile of pine branches.

A cool wind blew all day, gusting to 18, and our high temp was 66.

Friday 6/3. This morning is 50 with clear skies and temps into the 90's forecast for the weekend.

Thought for the day: What I do today is very important because I am exchanging a day of my life for it.  Guideposts June 2016

June 1, 2016 A Gift From A Cat & Wildflowers

Our first prairie smoke blooms.

Tuesday 5/31. This morning was 54 and clear with a light breeze that made our high for the day of 70 very pleasant.

After morning chores, I planted the two tomato plants that Elsie sent home with me.  I put one in the barrel planter and one in the raised bed.  Then I started clipping branches, starting with the pine that was in the shade.  Stacking the small pine branches is a real pain in the patootie, as none of them are straight.  As the sun moved, so did I, to the fir branches.  While I was doing all this, JB was finishing up with the mowing.

After lunch I drove down to see my Brother at his cabin and took the winter collection of glass bottles for him.  He plans to be Up Here a lot this year, which will be nice.

Last Friday JB cut five more fir rounds.  They were so large that he had to make nine trips with the tractor to move ten pieces to the splitter.

On Saturday, while I was house-sitting, Larry and Elsie's little cat brought me a present first thing in the morning - a dead chipmunk.  I would have preferred a mouse, but a gift is a gift, and he dropped it right at my feet.

Most of the rose bushes along our road popped into bloom over the weekend, and there are blossoms on several of the bushes Up Here.  The balsam root has gone to seed, but there are still a lot of arnica flowers all around.  The alpine spring beauties are gone, but there are a few prairie stars left and many Douglas tritaria.  The paint brush began appearing a couple weeks ago and now I see their orange tops dotting the forest and along the road.  Lupine is still painting the ground in lavender, and yesterday I saw our first prairie smoke blooms.

We are not watching movies in the evenings very often now, but rather puttering around outside and then sitting on the porch.

Wednesday 6/1.  Wow!  June already.  The first day of the month is going to be a hot one as it is already 64 and partly cloudy.

Thought for the day: A grateful heart is a magnet for miracles.  Roma Downey