Sunday, July 12, 2020

Hold onto your sun hat – it's another post!

My guys have been gone all day, giving me a day to catch up from last week's hectic schedule. (Apparently Brian will be working six days a week from now on; Rick is on emergency duty and had patients to treat as well.) It's after 6:00 now, and I'm feeling pretty good about the day's accomplishments.

This morning was spent in the garden: watering, weeding, tying up the snow peas, picking boysenberries and marionberries – and anticipating!
blurry bean blossom

snow pea flower

one of three eggplant varieties

variety #2 (the third isn't blooming but looks vigorous)


first cuke (I think this is burpless)!

sweet peppers

this tomato is COVERED with blooms and green fruit!

there were two red cherry tomatoes 😉

getting water on the rhubarb has perked them up tremendously
Next came some tax stuff, which is always a bit stressful; laundry; dishes; and work on next month's church newsletter. Then I filled out a registration form – Poppy is going to school later this month! We're going to beginning agility classes at a trainer's my friend with the furry terriers uses. Bonus: my friend is going with me so we can visit on the trip down and back; she can also be an 'assistant trainer' as she's taken these agility classes with several of her dogs. The session we're signing up for is six weeks long, which will end shortly before Brian is supposed to leave for college. An eight-week session starts after that – which may be an excellent diversion for an empty-nest mom (as well as a smart, high-energy pup, of course), if I can afford it.
"I need a job!"
The other night we went out for a potty break and Chuckie was out front with a big mouse, doing the usual catch-release-catch game that cats do. The mouse ran to the corner of the garage door frame, so I took Poppy over to see if she would catch it. It startled her, but then she was ON. IT. Or rather, she would have been, if it hadn't run under Rick's truck and she wasn't on a leash. OH, she was upset that it got away! Purpose-bred, she is, except that she doesn't think her quarry is limited to small rodents. She really wants to go after the deer she sees as well. Since there are fawns afoot, that could end badly for Poppy (and I have a neighbor who would be VERY upset by Poppy chasing deer),

Yesterday evening's “golden hour” light was beautiful. Today is similar; partly cloudy, not too hot with a pleasant breeze. Just about perfect!

That's it for today from . . .

6 comments:

Retired Knitter said...

Training for Poppy, I would assume, would be a must. Such an active and inquisitive creature that is ruled by her genetics - she would need training to be a truly happy dog, I would think. She certainly is smart enough to benefit from it.

Sam I Am...... said...

What kind of dog is Poppy? Your garden is doing so well! I used to live in Iowa and thought I was a good gardener. Now I live in AR and not so much plus I used to have my own well and here I pay for water and it is so hot sometimes I have to water twice in one day. What lovely blossoms on your plants. I planted late and I have cherry tomatoes but no ripe ones yet.
I love the picture of all the hay. I remember getting the hay into the barn for winter. It's never too soon! You are a busy gal! Enjoy your class with Poppy!

Mama Pea said...

Poppy will have so much fun with the classes! And it should prove to be a good "out and away" time for you and your friend. A win-win situation. Love the pictures of the garden. (What fellow gardener doesn't?) I have green tomatoes on my one cherry tomato plant and blossoms on my two regular sized ones. (I know, I didn't mean to plant any big tomatoes. It just happened!)

A :-) said...

Agility sounds like a great fit. I am concerned that the neighbor going with you is the one whose spouse tested positive for COVID. Or did I get that wrong? In any case, please be careful. :-)

Jeanne said...

Great pictures! And you did have a busy day, for sure.

Your garden is looking really good. But who do you suppose ate that one red tomato?? 😉😀

I'm really impressed with the eggplant blossoms. They're simply gorgeous! I'm wondering what the third variety will look like. Do we get a pic of that one, too?

I'd love to go along to Poppy's agility classes and see how it's done. I've seen the competitions on TV.

Thanks for sharing! I always enjoy your writing.

Michelle said...

I agree, Elaine. I think she'd also love Barn Hunt classes and lure coursing, but those don't seem to be available right now. Outlets! Her brain and energy need outlets!

Sam, Poppy is a Decker Rat Terrier (registered as a Rat Terrier, the Decker strain is on the large end of the breed). We don't have to pay for water but we have a low-output well that we do have to be careful with. That's why I use soaker hoses and water lines with individual nozzles; all the water goes to the plants instead of evaporating and encouraging more weeds to grow.

You only have THREE tomato plants in that big, beautiful garden of yours, Mama Pea???

Don't worry, A; the friend going with me is a widow who doesn't go or do much of anything outside of her dog classes and work (which is on a horse farm where she's outside and pretty much alone).

Jeanne, eggplant blooms ARE gorgeous but rather hard to photograph because they look down, not up or out. I think the third plant will have white blooms, as it is a white Japanese-type eggplant. Thanks for your kind compliments!