I've really got to do this more often

More frequent posts would mean fewer photos and less mental effort to put them all (not that you ever get them all) together with thoughts and words, but I'm having trouble managing that. So here goes another big catch-up – and I'll try to check in with shorter posts in the future (she says hopefully).

HAY

The very afternoon of my last post, we picked up and unloaded the first of four loads of hay. Our local hay guy had stored first cutting orchardgrass in his barn for us, and needed it out because he was getting ready to bale alfalfa. We were going to haul it all on Sunday, but with a chance of rain in Sunday's forecast, we decided we'd better not wait. So we got a load Friday afternoon, another load Saturday night, and two more loads on Sunday – and managed to avoid the rain! Now our barn is satisfyingly full; we left enough room for a couple tons of second or third cutting orchardgrass for the sheep.

Poppy's first hay season

safety inspector

supervisor

Hay crews were busy on our hill that weekend, too, trying to beat the rain that never really materialized. (I'm glad the hay we got was put up several weeks earlier; this was too mature.)

CHICKENS

I was sure we were losing another one. One morning last week I found one of our Black Australorps on the floor of the henhouse. She couldn't stand and I figured it was only a matter of time. To let her die in peace without getting henpecked, I placed a bottomless wire cage over her in such a way that she could access food and water, and picked a few tender greens for her. Every time I returned I expected to find her dead, but by afternoon she actually seemed a little better. That night when I shut the pop door, the wire cage was empty and she was up on a roost, and she has been fine ever since! That's a first.

GARDEN

Last Sunday I finally got Rick to fix the water lines so I can more efficiently water the garden plants. We also picked the last of the strawberries, the first flush of marionberries, a small bowl of black raspberries, a smattering of boysenberries, and a mediocre harvest of red and white currants. The currant bushes were hard to access for all the grass and weeds. Rick said with some surprise and frustration, "I weeded these earlier this spring." Uh, yeah; weeding is not a 'one and done' thing around here, especially this year! I also picked basil and made pesto; yum.

Wrens serenaded my berry picking

POPPY

Will this heat cycle never end??? It does, finally, seem to be waning, and Rick confirmed that with cytology today – but she's still not safe to socialize with the intact neighbor boy. Poppy really needs regular romps with other dogs; humans just don't cut it in the energy expenditure department. She did get to play with her sister after we finished hauling hay Sunday before last; Penny and her people were going out of town and they were showing me what needed to be watered.

Here is a much mellower Poppy the next day. As I've said before, a tired terrier is a good terrier!

This week I've worked my usual two days, and covered for Rick's vacationing secretary the other three days. I took Poppy with me to the clinic which was BOR-RING –

but we did stop to play with a friend's terriers after work Tuesday (Poppy wore them out!),

and on Wednesday another friend brought her dog to the clinic.

I played with Poppy when I got home from work Thursday,

 but like I said, humans don't cut it. When I turned my back she jumped back on the bed and destuffed the little pillow I use to support my shoulder at night,

and when I put her in the laundry room to work Stella and do evening chores, she destroyed the pink bed she sleeps on. Used to sleep on . . . it's in the trash now.

It's a good thing she's so stinkin' cute!

PANDEMIC TIMES

Last Sabbath we had our first in-person church service in almost four months. It was a physically distanced, outdoor affair, which we can easily do behind the church on our very large lot. Everyone brought their own chairs and signed in at tables in case contact tracing was needed; the building was only open for restroom use with masks on. I was comfortable with the protocol, although I don't crave the physical gathering as some do. The plan is to continue doing this for the time being. In the meantime....

Yesterday afternoon, Penny and her people got back from their camping trip in eastern Oregon. They attended an outdoor July 4th gathering, at which one of their friends didn't feel well. Too much to drink, he thought. A few days later, still not feeling well, he got tested and found out he has COVID. By then, Penny's 'dad' was having symptoms, and is still sick. Penny's mom feels fine, but they are both planning to get tested and are presuming he, at least, is positive . . . and over 70 with heart problems. 😳 Obviously Poppy won't be going over to play with her sister for awhile. And maybe I'll stay home and watch church on live stream tomorrow!

Stay safe out there, people. Love from . . .