Animals

Run, Run, Run!

/ cahall63 / 3 Comments

Seems like all we did this week was run.

We made two 100 mile round trips to Liberty. and one 140 mile round trip to Independence this week, for doctor’s appointments and other personal business. Needless to say, we didn’t get much done on the homestead.

However, we did find a supplier for free wood pallets and other cool stuff from a store in Liberty. Look what we brought home yesterday!

wood frame with pallets in the background.

wood frame with pallets in the background.

Since we still don’t have the cold frame finished, Ed is thinking about using part of one of the pallets to frame the windows. Lord willing, his next two days off (Monday and Tuesday), will be “stay at home and catch up on projects” days.

Even with all the running, we did manage to get some school done. Most of what we did this week was literature. Since she was having to do a lot of sitting and waiting, I made her take books with her. She was not happy, but she did it. Today we started some Shakespeare, as well as reading “Rime of the Ancient Mariner” . Next week will have some “catch up on school” days as well.

The days that Ed worked, I got a few projects finished. I got some goldenrod picked and then I hung all my herbs out in the garage to dry.

goldenrod

goldenrod

drying herbs

drying herbs

I started drying them this way a few years ago, when we lived in Independence. I had a bumper crop of herbs and needed to get them all harvested before a forecasted frost. I crammed everything I could get into paper grocery sacks and stuck them on a shelf in the back of the house. Time got away from me and I didn’t get anything done with them. A few months later, I opened the bags, expecting to find rotted plant matter. What I found was perfectly dried herbs. I’ve been drying them that way ever since. The challenge this year was finding a place to hang the bags. I thought about the basement, but its too damp. I finally settled on the garage. I would have suspended them from the rafters, but I didn’t have any way to reach that high.

I also finished my first fall decorating project.

maple syrup bottle candle holders

maple syrup bottle candle holders

It’s the same concept as the blue ones I did awhile back. These are maple syrup bottles. I coated the inside with a shade of acryllic paint called “nutmeg”. Since the little handles are solid glass, I covered them with hemp rope. The leaves on the front are real maple leaves from the trees in our front yard. I coated them in about a ton of Mod Podge, to make them stay on. Then I tied on the raffia bows. I think they turned out well. The candles were too big for the bottles, so I had to whittle them down a little to make them fit. I guess that is as good a reason as any for learning to make my own candles!

Of course, on the days that Ed worked, we still had school, and Katherine still had to read. Here she is reading Les Miserables. Bookworm is reading along.

Kat and Bookworm reading Le Mis

Kat and Bookworm reading Le Mis

Ed is working on a series of posts about our critters, but I have to say something about Bookworm here. She is Captain’s daughter, from her first and only litter. At our last house, she practically lived outside. Now, she won’t go out unless we make her, and then she climbs the front door screen, yelling at us to let her back in. She divides her time between Katherine’s room and the tables in front of the picture window in the front room. I’m not sure what she was  thinking here. Maybe she thought she looked better in the pot than the avocado tree did.  That tree is tougher than it looks. It stood right back up when I made Bookworm move.

Bookworm in the avocado pot

Bookworm in the avocado pot

Our weather has been typical for Missouri fall. Two temperate days, one hot day, and then a “but I don’t want to turn on the furnace yet” day, and then back to a temperate day. We are getting very close to our average first frost dates, so I would really like to get some things finished outside soon. I also need to bring in some potted plants and herbs from the front yard. Then I’ll have to work on some interior lighting.

Hope everyone has a great evening!

Connie

Captain My Captain

/ soldat1950 / 3 Comments

When Connie and I got together, Katherine had just got a new cat which was named, for no particular reason I ever learned, Captain. Captain was about 9 months old when we came into contact. Let me assure you, neither of us was overly impressed.

I am not a cat person. Now cat people take the fact that I can get along with cats as a sign that this is not true. I can get along with Democrats too, that does not mean I believe that Roosevelt saved us all.

So Captain and I have been kind of tolerating each other for oh, about seven years now. In fact, we have tolerated each other so long now that we have formed our own kind of weird bond. Kind of like that long standing crick in your neck. It’s a continuing pain, but you would miss it were it to leave.

Captain is probably the sanest of our cats, but you best not forget that she is the mother and grandmother of crazy (Bookworm) and “oh dear heaven look at that!!!” (Adora, AKA Arrhythmia). So Captain, in a pinch, can show you her mind blowing spells of the crazy that she so liberally passed on to her progeny.

For instance, on two occasions Captain has deserted our lovely home complete with heat, air-conditioning and cat food to live in the woods by herself for months at a time. We would get an occasional glimpse of her from time to time; distant and unresponsive to our calls. She was somewhat like a land version of the Loch Ness Monster. Living on mice and surfacing occasionally for the amusement of the gawking masses. (Katherine, Connie or me).

Both times she came home thinner and quite proud of herself. Once, after one of her walk abouts, I saw her catch a mouse in our old house. Most cats play with Mr. Mouse for awhile and generally just scare the pour thing to death. Captain pounced on it, ate it whole from tail to neck, turned to me and spit the head out. “Take care of that won’t you.” She seemed to say and then walked away disdainfully.

When she has decided to stick around the house, she has just this summer decided to sleep most nights in the barn. Having met her child and grandchild I often wonder if she is not smarter than all of us on this matter.

She will leave the house about dusk, go out to the barn where her only trouble might be raccoons, foxes, the occasional coyote or snake, and sleep under an unused feed stall. Of course, being a cat, she cannot come when called in the morning. That would be so beneath her dignity. So Connie and I, after calling a number of times, feeding the other cats, calling again, feeding the dogs, calling, and checking the garden, walk out to the barn where we find Captain in the same spot each time. After some coaxing by Connie and/or Katherine (I can forget about it) she will come out look at all of us like, “Well what are you waiting for?” And go to the house to be fed.

Captain is really a quite pretty cat. Now you cat people are thinking “See he really likes cats.” Rattlesnakes are really very beautiful, but that does not mean I pet them. So my ability to see Captain’s beauty does not make me a “cat person”. She is white mostly with colors around here and there. A picture would do best I think.

Captain showing her love and affection for Connie. One interest we both share.

Captain showing her love and affection for Connie. One interest we both share.

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Captain, showing her ultimate distrust and disdain for me. And I am so nice to her. Reminds me of several of my ex-girlfriends.

Captain likes to sleep on my pillow. I have no idea why. I often come to the dining room table all set for a meal to find her sitting in my chair. Again, I have no idea why she would want to do that. Maybe she likes to hear me growl, “Get down you silly cat.” When not trying to sit in my chair or lie in my bed, the cat seems to spend a lot of time on my dresser lying atop my “Stuff Box” Connie made me for Christmas a couple years ago.

You would think that sometimes I petted her, rubbed her, and treated her like she was welcomed or like I missed her when she wasn’t here. ‘Course we all know better than that don’t we?

Take Care,

Ed

Yes, We’re All Ok

/ cahall63 / Leave a comment

It’s just been a crazy week.

In the last 10 days, Ed has had one day off: yesterday. Of the nine days he worked, he has put in mostly nine and ten hour days, in addition to the hour or so drive time. The drive time has extended too, due to road construction. He’s spent what little spare time he’s had, building the chicken coop. I know he’ll want to tell you about that, but I will tell you that it’s finished enough for the chicks to be in it, in relative safety.

Since yesterday was his only day off, we had to run all day. First was a trip to the vet for Libby. I was concerned because she seems to be losing weight. She’s always had trouble with flea dermatitis, and I wanted to take care of that too. It was our first visit with that vet, and it won’t be the last. He was very good, and he didn’t charge us an arm and a leg. He said that Libby’s issues are more than likely flea related and he put her on the flea pill. We took care of her shots while we were there. He told us we could just bring Meeko over and he could get his shots and a flea pill. He wouldn’t charge us for an exam. You can’t beat that.  We brought Libby home, and headed back out for the hour drive to Liberty. We were home long enough to put groceries away before I had to be at a Sisters-in-Service meeting at church, and Ed the men’s Bible study out at the preacher’s farm. It was a long day.

What am I doing while Ed is working?  To be honest, since we started the Whole 30, I’ve spent most of my time in the kitchen. Since processed foods are out (as well as grains, dairy, and legumes),  I am spending a whole lot more time cooking. There is no “grabbing a sandwich”. There is a whole lot more clean up too. The up side is that I have energy to do it all. Looser fitting clothes are a bonus too. We have ten days left before we enter the “reintroduction” stage.

When I haven’t been cooking, I’ve been planning for school, which we start next week. I did have one day where I was able to get outside and do some clean up. That is when I got our Thursday picture of the week. I went out to the barn to look for something that I had misplaced (that happens a lot), and saw this guy on the door. I called Kat to bring my camera, and we used hers for scale.

Kat and the praying mantis as long as her phone

Kat and the praying mantis as long as her phone

Lord willing, I’ll be able to get the herbs harvested tomorrow, and set to preserving them. Oh, we harveseted the potatoes this morning. It was disappointing. I’ll share more about that next time.

Connie

Murder Most Fowl

/ cahall63 / 5 Comments

It was a beautiful Sunday morning when I went out to move the chicks from the garage where they spend the night. About halfway there, I saw Meeko come around the side of the garage. After verbally expressing my irritation with him, and physically putting him back in his pen, I went back to my original plan: I got the cage full of chicks and sat them outside. I made sure they had food and water, and went back to the house. About thirty minutes later, the phone rang. It was Mrs. “A”.

“Do you have your baby chicks in that little cage?” she asked.
“Yes…”
“Well, your big black dog has got that cage, and he’ll kill ’em”
“Okay, thanks!”

I dropped the phone and ran outside, screaming for Meeko as I went. The cage was not where I left it. Following a path that would take me to Mrs. “A”‘s line of sight, and still yelling for and at Meeko, I found him (he was actually coming to me) and the cage.

The cage was upside down, and three of the five chicks  were still inside. One of those was dead. I don’t really remember a whole lot of the next few minutes. I did get Meeko back in the pen, and the cage turned right side up. Then I went to look for the other chicks. About that time, I heard Ed inside the house (he had been asleep…Friday and Saturday are late nights for him), and met him as he was coming out the door; dead chick in my hand. He took that one and the one other that we found, and headed (still barefoot) out to the dog pen.  That left me with the task I dreaded most: telling Katherine.

I went to her room and told her to  wake up. She saw my face and asked what was wrong. I told her Meeko killed three of the chicks, and she asked which ones. I told her I wasn’t sure and she flew out of her bed crying “my babies…my babies!”  The little chick that so loved to roost in her hair was one of the casualties. She found the last missing chick, and when Ed came back from chastising Meeko (which I believe included some aversion therapy) and tying him up inside the pen, we found a small box and had an impromptu chicken funeral.

When I said there would be more chicken stories,  I expected there would be some like this, but I wasn’t expecting them so soon.

Connie

A little Garden Update

/ cahall63 / 1 Comment

Well, the garden is still intact. The new chicks kind of put all that on hold. Additionally, I think something out there read the blog and told everyone to shape up or else! We got more from the garden yesterday than we have for the last month, but it’s still not a lot. The only plant I really want to leave is the basil. I always plant basil and marigolds near my tomatoes to deter horn worms and other nasties. I bought a basil plant this year, and then found the seeds I had saved from two years ago. I planted those just to see what they would do, and they didn’t do bad. I’m thinking I will harvest the leaves from the plant I bought and then let the other produce some seed that I can save for next year. I have one die hard marigold too!

Basil among the weeds

Basil among the weeds

Die hard marigold

Die hard marigold

The front yard is doing much better. We harvested the three little cabbages that survived from the seeds Kat and I started indoors last winter, and turned them into a nice batch of slaw (whole 30 compliant, of course). The green beans out there are still steadily producing. I am thinking about leaving them now, and using what else we get for next year’s seed. The strawberries are sending out runners everywhere, and I am looking forward to seeing what we get next spring. We also have sunflowers growing from saved seeds. They are working nicely as a trellis for our best producing cucumbers.

sunflowers and cucumbers

sunflowers and cucumbers

just about ready

just about ready

I have been working on covering the strawberry and herb beds with newspaper, cardboard and mulch to cut down on weeds and provide some nourishment to the soil. So far, most of the mulch has come from grass clippings, and it has been a slow process. This week, I was determined to get finished. Technically, the herb garden isn’t much of one yet, although most of the transplants I put out there have done well. So, I was out there, pulling the bigger weeds, and covering the smaller ones with newspaper and cardboard, when I came across a vine with some interesting, feathery leaves. Then I noticed a few red blossoms. I headed in the house to see if Google could shed some light on my mystery plant. Success! They are rose feather morning glories, and they are rare. Considering where I found them, I think a previous owner had to have planted them. So they can stay for now. I just mulched around them.

Rose feather morning glory

Rose feather morning glory

mint

mint

Rosemary and thyme

Rosemary and thyme

Oregano getting ready to bloom

Oregano getting ready to bloom

Sage

Sage

Rosemary

Rosemary

more oregano

more oregano

Since Ed has decided that he can rake grass a lot faster than I can, he started helping with that last time he mowed. Yesterday, he determined that it was just going to take too long to get enough grass to finish the job. We have a ton of old hay in the barn. So, we went and filled the truck bed with hay and quickly finished the mulching. I just hope its dead enough to not try and give me new growth in my herb bed, next spring.

Tossing hay from the loft

Tossing hay from the loft

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mulched herb bed and extra mulch

Oh, and here’s a little chicken update:
As Ed said, Katherine has already named the chickens…much in the same way she names her drawings of dragons and My Little Pony characters. They are Free Fall, Sunrise, Noon, Dusk and Moonrise.
Here is a pic I shared with our facebook friends.

Kat and baby Moonrise

Kat and baby Moonrise

Today, she came inside, grabbed a pair of plastic gloves and headed around the corner toward her room (and the bathroom). She came back a few seconds later with a wet washcloth, holding up her gloved hand which now displayed a dark runny streak. Yep, she had just been pooped on by one of her “babies”! As I struggled not to laugh, she did too. Then she begged me not to tell Ed, but he figured it out when he saw her wiping her hair down with the wash cloth. I have a feeling the chicken stories are just beginning!

Have a blessed weekend!

Connie

Chicken Son…. I’ll Show You a Chicken

/ soldat1950 / 6 Comments

A couple weeks ago, we were headed for the big city of Chillicothe, Missouri when we passed a sign that read, “Eggs, Chickens and Fowl for Sale”. We were past the turn before the sign registered on us, so we just kept going but made a note to remember it.

This afternoon we, again needing to make a trip to town, made the turn onto D Highway and drove right by the place of course. We missed a big sign in front of the place saying that they did indeed sell chickens fowl and eggs and another sign that said, “Caution Protected by Guineas”.

We went on to Chillicothe, but would not be denied so we came back up and this time we found it. Actually, we were looking for a connection for free range eggs and chicken meat. I had no intention of buying a live chicken.

Meet the new members of the Hall family farm. Now they must compete with 2 dogs, 3 cats and assorted wildlife. Good luck chicks.

Meet the new members of the Hall family farm. Now they must compete with 2 dogs, 3 cats and assorted wildlife. Good luck chicks.

Being a firm man, I stood my ground. We did not buy a chicken… we bought five chickens. We have no chicken house and we had no chicken feed, but we bought five baby chicks.

Oh, I have plans for a chicken coop. I probably have five or six really good ideas. I guess its time for me to get off the dime and build a chicken coop. Right now they are small and we have them in a wire cage that was  left to us by a previous owner.

Meanwhile Katherine will be making pets of my chickens and teaching them how to line dance. I am just thankful her and the local skunk family have not gotten together.

So I stopped by the local Co-op and bought a fifty pound bag of starter feed. I think I am going to need some more chickens. When we got home, we cleaned out the cages and choose the one we would start them in.Then we cleaned out the water and food dishes and we put them all together in the picture you see above.

So now, I guess, I am a Chicken Farmer.

Ed

Making Plans and Picture of the Week Thursday

/ cahall63 / 4 Comments

Yesterday morning, as we looked at our still overgrown, under producing garden, I told Ed that I am ready to “be done with this”, and start working on a fall garden. He agreed. So probably some time today or tomorrow morning, we will mow it all down.

While we were out there, we also discussed where to put a temporary chicken coop. I told him that I want to be able to look out either the kitchen or the den window and see the chickens, which basically means they will be in the back yard. He should like that. It means less to mow.

Since he is off today, and we don’t have to do a bunch of business in town, we should get a lot done around here. Lord willing, he’ll be able to tell you about it tomorrow. I have a few things in working on too. I’ll share those this weekend.

Now for the Thursday picture(s)of the week:

As most of you know, we have three generations of cats: the daughter (Adora), the mother (Bookworm), and the grandmother (Captain). Adora’s nickname, given to her by Ed, is Arrhythmia, since she pretty much stays in freaked-out mode. She will eventually get her own blog post.

Like all cats, she likes to cram herself into places where she really doesn’t fit, but the last few days, she has taken it to a new level.

Adora in the ktichen drawer

Adora in the ktichen drawer

She used to do this when she was a kitten, at our last house, but it was usually a bathroom drawer. She stayed there about five hours. I just let her sleep.

"Tater"

“Tater”

Ed says her new nickname is “Tater” This roost didn’t work out quite so well for her. Its wasn’t so great for the potatoes either.  I wish I could have got a shot of her in the pot with the avocado tree!

See ya tomorrow.

Connie

This, That, and The Other Thing

/ cahall63 / 2 Comments

Last weekend marked our first anniversary on the homestead. This weekend will mark a year since my accident. A lot has changed in the last year, and in some ways, not nearly as much as we would have liked. However, in all things we are thankful to God. He allowed us to get this place, and He kept me from being crushed under the wheels of my son’s car. Life is good!

Earlier this week, when we were out feeding the dogs, I told Ed that although we seem to have the ticks under control, the dogs (Libby particularly) were still infested with fleas. He suggested we bathe them Thursday morning since he didn’t have to be at work until three. I thought that was a good idea. By the way, the DIY tick repellant recipe that I use on the dogs, as well as the one for us, can both be found here. It works great for ticks, but like I said, the fleas are still a huge issue.

So, early Thursday morning, Ed, Kat and I, did dog bathing duty. We hadn’t bathed them since we moved. Bathing them at our last house was a super challenge. If you are interested, you can read about that, and a couple year’s worth of other dog and cat stories here. (I went back and read Ed’s post about that bathing, and noting his analogy and vocabulary choices, I am amazed at how much the Lord has worked on that man!) Of course, he told you a lot about Libby yesterday. I  can add a little information: Before I got Libby, I was told she was a “pure bred Lab”. Obviously, she isn’t. As I’ve often said, “She’s no more pure bred Lab then I am!” You cannot bribe her with food. She just dosen’t care. Our last vet witnessed this and told me that training her was going to be challenging. He was right: Libby is now eight years old, and she still won’t come when she’s called, if she has something better to do.

Anyway, back to the bath. Now we have outside water spigots and hoses; things that make dog bathing oh so much easier. I recorded the bathing this time, but compared to years past, it was a non-event. The highlight of the bathing was probably Meeko running past Libby a little too closely and hitting her right in the jaw with his hard head! Besides, from where I placed the camera, most of what you see is our backsides. Nobody needs to look at that! We don’t even want to look at it!

Speaking of big backsides. Today, we are starting the Whole 30. I will keep you posted as we go through our thirty days of eating only meat, veggies, fruit and healthy fats. No grains, no legumes, no dairy and definitely no sugar or processed foods. I’ve already been doing a modified version of that as we used up food we already have, and I’m feeling pretty good.

Also, earlier this week, Kat and I carried some things out to the barn. While we were there, I wanted to check the two rooms that have doors where we have been storing holiday decorations, things that belong to my boys, and the majority of my book collection.

To be honest, I was most concerned about the books. I had seen rodent evidence around the barn, and I didn’t want them nesting in my books. I turned on the light and stepped up into the room. I had started to check some of the boxes; shaking them first and listening for anything moving. Then I heard Katherine express some surprise. I honestly don’t remember what she said, but when I turned to look, she was pointing at the floor that I had just stepped over.

There was a rather large snake skin. I think I may have jumped. I really don’t like snakes! Intellectually, I understand that there are good snakes and poisonous snakes, but the scared to death side of me doesn’t pay much attention to intellect. My second thought was that if that skin was in this closed room, it’s previous owner might be in here too! We went back to the house.

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Kat and the snake skin. She thought it was cool!

Later that evening, I relayed the incident to Ed, showing him the skin that we brought back to the house with us. He said, “Well, he’ll keep the rats and mice out of your books.” “Yes,” I replied, “and he’ll keep me out of them too!”

We’re still debating on whether we should give up on the garden for this year. It’s really over grown and not producing much. The pole beans have been showing us lots of lovely blooms, and very little bean. If anyone has any ideas about that let us know. Since we were told the previous owners had their garden in the same place we have ours, we are both thinking that we should compost and mulch that area well, and then let it be fallow for a year. That way, if the soil is as depleted as we think it is, it will have a chance to recover. If we can get a cold frame built, I am thinking about a fall garden with some greens and broccoli, cauliflower etc.

beanless beans

beanless beans

I am also working on pulling together what I need for this home school year. We are switching to the Charlotte Mason method of homeschooling, which means shorter lessons on a wider range of subjects. We will still be using Life of Fred for Math. We will be reading from many different books, some of which I already have, and some I will have to order. Amazon and I have become great friends! I would love to be able to take advantage of their affiliate program, but Amazon and the state of Missouri had issues, so I can’t. Anyway, for Kat and I, school starts September first!

Speaking of home school. Last year, during Botany, we stuck some tooth picks in an avocado seed and put it in a glass of water. Now, we have a nice looking start on an avocado tree. Don’t expect to ever bear fruit here, but it is a nice looking house plant. I just have to keep Adora from laying in it.

avocado seed

avocado seed

avocado plant

avocado plant

Well I guess that’s enough this, that and the other for now. Have a great weekend!

Connie

Libby Lou

/ soldat1950 / 2 Comments

For those of you who do not know we have two dogs. At least that is what we refer to them as. “Look dear, the dogs have totally wrecked two days of work and are about to cost you another hundred and fifty bucks in materials. Aren’t they sweet?”

This is Libby and Meeko, Meeko is the one closest to you and Libby is the pretty girl on his right. They look so innocent don't they?

This is Libby and Meeko, Meeko is the one closest to you and Libby is the pretty girl on his right.
They look so innocent don’t they?

The eldest of the two is known as Libby or Libby Lou by Connie. We won’t go into all the things I have called her; this is a family blog. I really have no room to complain about Libby; in point of fact, Connie had her before me so Libby has some claim to Squatter’s Rights.

Libby, the best we can tell, is part Lab and part Akita. This means she is a curious, intelligent animal who loves to play, understands exactly what you want her to do, and will sometimes even do it, if she chooses.

That is the genetics of the situation. Then there are the environmental issues. Connie got Libby when the dog was about four months old, and she had already been conditioned to something interesting behaviors and interpretation of human words and behaviors.

For instance, as Libby still understands it, “Come here Libby.” Means “let’s play a fun game of Tag and Go Hide” a hybrid of Tag and Hide and Go Seek where we, being it, approach Libby and just when we get close enough to “tag” her she runs away, hides somewhere and the game starts over.

This game has the potential to go on for hours and end only when Libby has had all the fun she can have. Luckily for us Libby is beginning to age somewhat and sessions are fewer and further between.

Another fun Libby game which got her banned from sleeping in the house except in really inclement weather is, “Lets Chew What Belongs to You”. This game, played by a normal chewing dog, involves finding a shoe, shirt, towel or whatever and destroying them completely. Libby’s version involves finding everything you own which is within reach, chewing a half to a dollar sized, almost perfectly round hole in it and moving on to the next item in line.

Libby is nothing if not creative.

The last of Libby’s little games she learned as a pup was probably re-enforced for her by Connie’s youngest son who used to play with her quite a lot. It is a form of dog/person rough housing in which Libby rises up on her hind feet and almost boxes with you. Of course she does not stand completely up. She only goes up high enough that, when she strikes out she will hit a man who is sixty-seven inches tall right in the groin.

Go ahead, ask me how I know?

Yes, she has her eccentric behaviors, does our friend Libby. What she intends to do with the buzzards she is constantly barking at were she ever able to catch one I have no idea. But when she sits and cocks that beautiful head looking up at you with those eyes it is a different story. When she goes berserk because the child is on the roof, or near the fire, in a frenzy of protectiveness, or when she rests up against your leg waiting for a pat and a smile you kind of forget all that.

After all, I have a few eccentricities of my own.

What Month Is It?

/ cahall63 / Leave a comment

July in Missouri is hot. Sometimes it’s hot and wet, and other times it’s hot and dry, but it’s always hot.

Your garden may drown or it may bake, but it will not be chilled. Until now.

Normal overnight lows for July are 70’s and 80’s. Day time temperatures often climb into the triple digits. As I write this, it is about 9:30 in the evening, and the temperature is 59 degrees. I think the high today was 60. For the second time in a week, the temperatures have been way below normal. According to my mother (who just called) the news said that the July temperatures haven’t been this low since sometime in the 1800’s. On top of that, there has been a slow drizzle all day.

Personally, I love the cooler temperatures. Well, maybe my knees aren’t that crazy about it, but the rest of me loves it. However, I don’t think my garden is very happy. It is already struggling from too much rain, as well as some good old fashioned neglect from Ed and I, but that’s another blog post.

Tonight, being Wednesday, I went to the ladies Bible study at my church. Entering the house afterward, I heard Katherine holler,

“Mom, be careful!”

“Why?” I asked, expecting to hear something about a wet floor or broken glass.

“Meeko is in here. I saw him out in the front yard, so I brought him in the house. I didn’t put him back because I don’t know how he got out.” About that time, our seventy pound canine Houdini bounded out of the kitchen to greet me.

Lovely. Ed will be so thrilled. “Ok”, I told her, “Let me go try to see where he got out”. I trudged (yes, trudged…think tall, wet, hay/grass) out to the dog’s enclosure. I had a second of panic when I didn’t see Libby right away, thinking she might be out too, but she was still there.

I went in with her and walked the fence line. I found what I thought was probably where he had gone over, and noticed the strand of barbed wire was down. I put it back, went back to the house, grabbed two dog biscuits and Meeko (he just followed me), put him back, gave both dogs the treat, and headed back to the house.

“Squish, squish, squish!” Oh the wonderful sound of sopping wet tennis shoes. Actually, I was soaked to the knees. Yes, I love cool weather; I do not, however, love cool, wet, weather!

Meeko: Back inside for now.

Meeko: Back inside for now.

Connie