Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Feelin' It

Temperatures have jumped up into the eighties and the warm days have brought out the lilac blossoms.  The lilac blossoms have brought out the butterflies.  It's exactly what I'd hoped for when I stuck six bare, eight-inch sticks in the ground the first year we lived here.  The wisteria vine out in the corner of the garden is heavy with buds.  It also was planted soon after we came and took a number of years before it bloomed.  Once started, it kicked into overdrive and now it's like working in a Chinese pagoda out there with the drooping lavender blossoms wafting in the breeze.

 On my morning walk-around, I started weeding the "rock garden" in the front yard; all that grow there are the granite rocks, daffodils in their time, a couple of hardy iris...and weeds.  My hands were already tired by the time I went down to the barn.  Bess and I took a breather while I put in a load of laundry, and then we headed down into the new pen.  There is a long (and I do mean long) stretch of four-strand barbed wire fence that has to come down.  Tree Guy/Fence Guy has promised to roll it up later for me, but I needed to take off the many, many clips holding the wires to the T-posts.  Those clips are a lot easier to put on than take off, each one needing to be untwisted.  Working in the afternoon sun was not unpleasant, but I was sweaty and tired by the time Tree Guy and Number Three Son pulled up with an industrial chipper to get my neighbor's yard cleaned of all the felled leafy stuff from the oak, blowing the mulch onto my side of the fence.  The goats won't mind.  Tree Guy needs to take down two more huge branches that are in danger of falling.  I will be so happy to be done with this project, and so will my piggybank.

Saw the buck again in the early evening, and his antlers are starting to branch, making him a two-point (California count) and eligible as a target come hunting season.  With apologies to the hunters, I hope Buck has enough sense to stay on the property come September or October.  I become very proprietary about "my" wildlife.

Bessie Anne and I were both pretty whupped last night, and she's behind me on the bed, still snoozing this morning.  I think I'll alternate watering and weeding days...and today will be a day to water.  I'm feelin' it.

1 comment:

Kathryn said...

Oh...heavenly, I can smell the lilac from here! I was going to ask you to come down here so you could take your morning "walk-around" and just casually weed a bit each day for ME, but I guess I'll give you a break - sounds like weeding, milking, and untwisting barbed-wire clips in one day is enough for TWO people - not to mention one. Enjoy watering!!