Friday, May 27, 2011

 

On my way

Hey folks, don't despair. I'll be there this afternoon.

B

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

 

Another day this side of paradise

Another day of cleaning at Sidetrack. Oh, and getting summer furniture out of the garage. And planting the rest of the new plants.

There are now salvia planted in three pots for the hummingbirds later this summer. I saw two of the little birds today already, so I might go looking for artificial hummingbird food (colored sugar water) tomorrow morning. There are some mums in the RedTom planter.

The contractor came by in response to a call from a neighbor, and I got him to come over and take measurements on the siding that's rotten, the roof damage, and the rain gutters we need to prevent further damage to the deck and the siding. Cost estimates to come.

While I was moving patio and deck furniture, I got my canoe out of the garage too.



That meant that after supper I was able to get out on the lake for the first time. As I checked out the neighbors' places from the lake side, I found that one of them is for sale. The owner died unexpectedly a year ago. It's a great looking two story house at the very end of the road. Hard to get to when it snows.



As I pulled the canoe back onto dry land, I looked up at the sunset and got to see a marvel of technology and pollution. Contrails.




A few more things to clean up and then I'll head home tomorrow afternoon. Take care of things there and head back up here at the weekend.



Tuesday, May 24, 2011

 

Cleaning

Yesterday was mostly a cleaning day. The lake room, the bedroom, and the living room had been pretty well dealt with last fall. The kitchen had been neglected. Today was the day I moved things around, washed implements that sit out, washed the floor, and cleaned anything that didn't move.

Nothing exciting to take pictures of unless you're Martha Stewart — and I probably didn't do a job she'd approve of.

It was also a day of inventorying the garden and the planters. The jack-in-the-pulpits are up and opening.

The tiny violets are gorgeous in the garden and in the lawn. They are the same color as the creeping charlie blossoms, but creeping charley is creepy and is crowding out the grass all over the yard.

Even the pine seedlings that have volunteered in the garden and the courtyard are growing tall quickly. This one is adding a quarter of its old height to itself.

But the stars are mostly in the woods: the trillium (trill?). They're everywhere; alone and in bunches; almost all white, but occasionally with tinges of color.





A neighbor down the way has corralled a few in his garden.



And I stopped and bought 21 new plants this afternoon. Salvia for the hummingbirds; mums for the RedTom pot; and bleeding hearts for the terrace wall. Tomorrow I'll work on getting them in the ground.





Monday, May 23, 2011

 

We're back

We came up to Little Blake for the first time this year. It's a month later than our earliest opening and a couple weeks later than our usual opening.

Saturday afternoon was pretty. It was even prettier to see that the dock had been put in the water and assembled for us.



The rest of the place looked pretty good. The deck had been attacked by another large branch in an early winter storm. Damage to bench and dents in the roof. We still need rain gutters and new siding.

Then there were the three blind mice. Last fall, I hung the electric blanket over the closet door to keep it out of reach of mice. Didn't work. When I hoisted it down, momma mouse flew out onto the floor and ran under the bed. When we took the blanket out on the deck, we could see where the mouse had chewed he blanket and some of the wiring. As I unfolded the blanket, three baby mice — blind mice — fell onto the deck. Nan took the little critters to the woods. I set a couple traps in the house.

The neighbor boys have been busy already this spring. They've been here several weekends already this year. When we arrived, they were busy catching dinner off the dock. Their dad was reluctantly volunteering to clean more fish and cook them.

The older of the two has been practicing with his hatchet on a stump in our yard. He'll be good in a couple years.



We had some rain Saturday night and a bit more on Sunday morning (interspersed with sunshine). Nan went home and I stayed to clean and plant flowers.



Even some storm and tornado warnings. No big storms here, but there was a tornado in Minneapolis. We lucked out this time.

About sunset, the weather cleared. I read and napped. Today I will do somethings constructive. I promise.

It's great to be back looking at the eagle trying to fish and hunt on the lake (one of the eagles was diving on a duck Monday morning) and seeing neighbors here again. Oh, and we had another great breakfast at Cafe Wren.


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