Sunday, August 02, 2020

Snowballed

Nearly a week has gotten away from me so I'm buried in blog fodder again. Kinda like housecleaning, or yard work, or pasture maintenance; if you don't stay on top of it, the work snowballs!

Last week started off with the hottest temperatures of the year so far. Fortunately that has moderated, but it's DRY (as summers here are) and the plants are sucking down all the water I can give them. I have pots on the deck and at the front of the house I water nearly every day, the vegetable garden that I water regularly, and this week I started water CPR on some landscaping plants that were clearly stressed. The sheep and horses are sucking down the water, too; stay strong, little well! The well is getting a bit of a breather starting today, because Brian's combine crew is up in Scappoose, OR for a few days' work. That boy goes through a lot of water in baths and showers.

Tuesday morning I picked up two lugs of peaches. They weren't as ripe as they looked, so I waited until Thursday evening and Friday to put them in the freezer. We also ate quite a few out of hand, and I made a fresh peach pie (not a baked peach pie) for Sabbath dinner. I met up with a friend on Wednesday, and she brought me a box of fresh figs from the parent tree of our little figlet (that still needs an in-ground home). This was the lunch I took to work Thursday:

Wednesday morning I spent hours chopping tansy and thistle. The tansy is really bad all over the area this year; I certainly don't want to add to the problem by letting any here go to seed. I still need to go through the upper pasture.... Anyway, I took some photos while I was working outside:









I've collected an assortment of skyscapes, some of them taken from Lance's back while riding down the lane. I tried to capture tonight's beauitful full moon, but my efforts weren't worth sharing.
several nights ago

the north neighbors' house now has windows, and most of it is roofed

Stella and the neighbors to the east

Stella has a new friend – the north neighbor discovered she LOVES carrots

click to biggify for the crows!


last night Rick rode with me!
the view tonight from Stella's window
I'll try to post again soon, as I have Poppy and Chuckie photos to share. I've been dealing with dental discomfort again, which is zapping my motivation and concentration. I'm praying it's temporary!

That's it for now from . . .

6 comments:

Retired Knitter said...

Watering can take a long time when you have so much to water! It has been pretty dry here as well. Typical July August stuff.

Mountaingmom said...

Michelle, loved your photos and a glimpse into your week.

Mama Pea said...

The necessity of watering can take a LOT of time and effort. I hope you get a good soaking rainfall soon. We got a little bit of rain over the weekend but also lots of wind which dried things out again. Our temps have dropped a bit though. Not good for the squash and pumpkins, but better for us humans!

Tim B. Inman said...

Brian's water needs made me laugh. When our boys were 'cleen-teens' I was always last in the mornings for a shower. No hot water left! So after several unheeded lectures, and me still cold showering, I sought revenge and to make a point, turned off the water heater. Result? They were both star athletes in their sports, so they just started showering at school. I was left still with no hot water. The best laid plans..... Cheers!

Michelle said...

Yes, dry summers are typical here, too, Elaine. The Portland weatherman said we've had 26 consecutive dry days so far; we usually get 30-40 consecutive days per summer. Would love a good ol' summer soaker with thunder and lightning but they are very rare here in any season. And of course lightning brings the risk of wildfires....

I'm so glad you liked the post, Mountaingmom! Welcome!

Well, a soaking from the sky isn't likely, Mama Pea; see my comment to Elaine above. At least we're out of the high 90s and above!

Tim, I can't really blame Brian for the water use; he's putting in long, dirty hours during harvest. And fortunately, we all shower at different times of the day, so we all get hot water!

Jeanne said...

It's good to get your post! Thanks!

I grinned at Poppy drinking from the sprinkler - so cute!

It's so terribly dry here in the Upper Willamette area! I pray for rain for our whole state!

I got a chuckle out of Tim's effort to have hot water for his shower, wondering why he didn't take his shower first!

Have a great day!!