Fall Mums

Just when I thought the gardens were finished for the season, out popped the mums, and glorious they are, in great bushes in the front gardens. Before we know it they'll be covered by snow ... !

Burnin' Down the House - Part II

It took the better part of the day, and needed encouragement to get going, but the fire burned up the shed and all but the most wet and rotten tree stumps.

It was smoldering for hours until the last bits and pieces finally collapsed under Bop's watchful eye.  Now, to gather up the nails and metal roof and haul them away!

This area just might make a good fire pit on a permanent basis; it's sheltered from the wind and has a shade tree close by.  It'll look great once we trim up the long grass around the edges of the old shed.  With this eyesore leveled, our farm looks a little bit tidier!

Burnin' Down the House - Part I

Thanksgiving weekend was gloriously sunny and amazingly productive at Hawthorn Creek Farm thanks to GT and Bop's inspiration.  The biggest project was getting rid of the apparently mis-named Skunk Shed, reducing it to ashes.  The weather was warm and bright and the leaves golden and red, a perfect autumn day!

Autumnal News

In May, GM brought over a clematis for our new garden on the east side of the house, and it struggled all spring and summer to anchor itself and embrace the wooden trellis against the house.  And finally, after hours of tender, loving care (and encouraging sniffs from Scooby) it has bloomed gloriously!

All this gardening resulted in a nasty hawthorne thorn in my finger, so I dialled Dr J to operate.  You'll be glad to know that all is well.  I can still count to 10.

The Long and Short of It

Here is Scooby, king of the matted fur.  Scooby was in dire need of a hair cut, so I took him to the groomer who fed him too many treats and cut off all the mats, which didn't leave much fur at all.  Now, he looks like a skinny Mexican Hairless Cock-a-poo, but with a poofy tail.  For some reason, he can run a lot faster.  Why is that?

Before:

After:

Today a Teen !

Today J is celebrating his 13th birthday!  It's amazing to think about that crazy day so long ago when he decided to arrive two weeks before his due date, which meant going to the hospital instead of staying at home, which meant that only action the birthing tub saw was S in his bathing suit.

    
These years have been so fun and amazing!  Happy birthday, Mr. Stinky-pants!

The Big Wind

In the spring, a big wind forced some trees down in the back woods, some large enough to completely block the trail. We had hoped that they'd be hardwood we could use for the furnace, but unfortunately they were rotted through, spongey and soft.  With trusty chainsaw in hand, P and his pals cleared the trail.  Can't wait to get those snowshoes out!

You're Only As Old As You Feel ...

Or as old as the numbers on the top of your birthday cake.

It was so much fun celebrating my birthday with friends and family, with lots of good food (including a red beet chocolate cake) ... and honestly, I don't feel a day over 85.

An envelope came through the door today and it was marked 'PLEASE DO NOT BEND'. 


I still haven't worked out how I am supposed to pick it up.

Getting Rid of Porky

Well, since the porcupine moved in to the front pine tree, we've been trying lots of methods to encourage him (or her) to move out.  First, I tossed stones up at him but I never actually hit the target (as the kids can attest, I am not a good thrower).  Then, J got the hose, but the pressure wasn't strong enough to hit high enough on the tree.  Then, we got the slingshot, with which I almost busted both my front teeth until I figured out how to work it, but again, my shot was pretty far off.  Meanwhile, J had dug out a few water shooters (formerly known as waterguns) and he had some luck hitting close to the rodent, but it began to get windy and poor J was getting soaked.  

Then P came home and showed off some impressive slingshot skills, thumping that poor animal in the ribs.  He moved up a few branches (the porcupine, not P) but stayed put in that tree.

We slept on it, not sure what to do next, and this morning, the wee critter is nowhere to be found!  I hope that doesn't mean he (or she) is loose in the yard, waiting to terrorize Scooby when I'm not looking.  What to do??