Over the Backyard Fence

It’s been a while since I’ve written much of a blog post. I’d almost convinced myself that Over the Backyard Fence had run its course. However, I just can’t seem to stay away. I think I’ll begin with an update of what’s been going on around here. 

The month of May saw another major repair at our house. After replacing our roof in April, we had to replace the sewer line going from the house to the mainline in the street. No, not very exciting and truth be told if I’m going to spend that kind of money, I would prefer it be on something that I can enjoy. Like new furniture or a big trip somewhere! But both things were quite necessary, even if I can’t really see the fruits of the money spent. Still, another new purchase has made us very happy and that is a new truck for Dan. So, in spite of living on bread and water for a while, we can happily pull our little camper up any mountain we choose. That is an enjoyable thing. 

May has also been a time of planting and gardening, which is always exciting. One raised bed in particular has been completely redone, removing some very old and woody overgrown herbs and replacing them with perennial flowers. There will also be some planting required in the front yard where the above mentioned sewer repair left a gaping hole in the landscape.

Last weekend: We attended my niece’s wedding. She married a wonderful man and the ceremony was held in a grove of cottonwood trees on the ranch where they’re now living.

This week:

Was a good week for nature walks and short hikes. I went out one evening with a group and several mornings by myself exploring nature trails nearby. As hot as the days have been, June provides lovely evening walks and early morning walks.

Favorite things

• I’ve been playing around with a nature journal and having so much fun that I’m doing a little project at our Bird Club picnic today, providing materials for kids to create their own journals.
• Finding a brand new camping spot a couple of weeks ago. We are returning this week for a couple of nights.
• Coffee on the back porch first thing in the morning. A favorite summer tradition.
• Having nothing on the calendar, providing empty days to fill as I please. This week they included going to the library, reading for an hour or two every afternoon, a spur of the moment lunch date with a friend who was in town.
• Watching my grandson play baseball.

Favorite places

• A tea and coffee bar that is just up the road. They make gourmet drinks such as cardamom chai, honey roasted pecan lattes, and lavender lemonade. And just their good-ole coffee is pretty great, too, especially paired with a scone or butter croissant
• A couple of new accounts on Insta. @postscript.press is the account for a wonderful stationery store in Ashland, Nebraska. I love stopping by on the occasion we are driving through on the way to Wisconsin. Following their account helps me feel connected. Another account that I just found is @sophieblackall. A award-winning children’s book illustrator, her artwork makes me smile.

A perfect summer day is when the sun is shining, the breeze is blowing, the birds are singing, and the lawn mower is broken. (James Dent)

Although I have to admit, the smell of freshly mown grass is a scent that triggers summer memories for me. That, along with the smell of simmering briquettes on the barbecue, lime Kool Aid, and suntan lotion. (vs. sun screen -- shows my age).

Going by the calendar, we are just a few weeks into summer. However, now that some of our activities revolve around our grandkids school schedule, I'm reminded that it is half over for younger families. 

For me, it feels like summer has just begun. May and June found us away from home for the most part, and now we are settling in until things pick up in September. With the exception of a few short weekends, I'm looking forward to summer days at home.

Here's what they look like.

Outside my window . . . We just went through a heat spell with 100 plus degree days. This week has been much nicer with cooler mornings. Still, by afternoon, we have the house closed up and the AC running. We've had a couple of good thunderstorms, and between that and regular watering the gardens are still thriving.

In the garden . . . daisies, zinnias, black eyed Susan, hostas, impatiens, salvia and lavender. The only thing suffering this year are the roses. The Japanese beetles are fierce, and I make it a morning practice to go out with my bucket of suds and toss them all in to suffer their fate! This is the third year of infestation, and I do believe it's worse than ever. So frustrating!

I am thinking . . . about this quote from the book mentioned further on in this post.

"Looking for God in prayer is like looking for a path

in a field of untrodden snow. Walk across the snow and there is your path.

(Thomas Merton)

In the kitchen . . . trying some Mediterranean recipes. As long as we have staples on hand, it feels easier to plan. Fish or chicken, fruits and vegetables, beans, olives, garlic, and spices. I've found that the recipes are easy to improvise, in fact it's easy to throw things together without a recipe.  

Books . . .  I'll admit that reading has fallen by the wayside in the evenings as I've been binge watching a favorite series. However, I'm starting each morning reading a chapter or two of this book, and it has made all the difference in my days.

I've been listening to . . .  Bird song in the mornings. The birds have gotten so friendly. While we have our coffee on the back patio, the feeders are busy with goldfinches, chickadees, nuthatches, finches, and humming birds. The sound of towhees and Say's phoebe float over the fence. We've never had a busier summer at the feeders.

One of my favorite things . . . is this small vase that belonged to my mother's mother. It holds just a few stems of flowers and I keep it on the windowsill in the kitchen where I can enjoy the daisies (my mother's favorite flower) and smell the lavender.

From my photo album . . . a walk with my grand-nieces earlier this week.

We've been home a little over a week since our trip to Wisconsin. It seems it takes me a bit longer than it used to to "re-enter" so to speak, after we've been gone. We arrived home a couple of days before we planned to, and it was nice to have that extra time with nothing on the calendar to ease back in slowly. 

Mostly, I've been working in the gardens. I hadn't done a thing before we left, other than tidy up just a bit. So, I went to the garden center and had fun choosing some plants and flowers. All of the pots are now planted, the raised beds (mostly) done -- there are two that really need to be tamed and I'm out of steam at this point! When we arrived home, two of the climbing rosebushes were in full bloom! I missed our peonies in bloom, but the neighbors said they enjoyed them. 

Bunnies. They have taken over our backyard. Without Lilly here to discourage them, we have SO many. I love the babies -- but they do get bigger! -- and so we've made the tough decision to start relocating at least the bigger ones, and as the babies get bigger, they'll need to go, too. They are so tame, that one of the adults sits beside me as I garden! I talk to her and tell her "home is where the heart is" and soon you will have a new home that you'll learn to love. Am I nuts?

I brought some Hostas back from Wisconsin. Miranda's grandmother was thinning hers and offered me as many as we could take. So, last night, Dan and I finally planted them. I'm surprised at how well some of my others have done, especially since we are in such a dry climate. There's a shaded area that stays very moist all along our backyard fence, and they seem to thrive there. So, we'll see.

Otherwise, it's been very low-key around here, which is great. We don't have plans for camping again until later in the summer. I'm looking forward to finding some routine in the weeks ahead and just lying low. Today, I'll pick up a book that's on hold at the library, do a bit of housekeeping, and finish some work at my desk. 

I hope to get back to some regular blog posts, and I'm looking forward to catching up with all of you, too!

I'm still clinging to summer mode, even though our street is filled with school traffic on weekday mornings and my favorite hobby store is filled with pumpkins and scarecrows. We had a busy first half of summer, and I'm enjoying the - for us - slow pace of August. Here's a list for Friday's Fave Five.

AARP day at the Botanic Gardens ~ As card carrying members of the American Association for Retired Persons, my friend and I embraced our older status and went to the free day at our local Botanic Gardens. We strolled among the beautiful gardens, took notes of plants that we'd like to try in our own gardens, and ended the morning with almond croissants and lemonade (for me), chai (for her) at the coffee shop.

Pool Day with the Grandkids ~ As an end of summer celebration for Brooklynn and Bentley, who returned to school yesterday, Dan and I took them to our local water park. They are both tall enough to go down the slides by themselves now, which was confirmed by the neon green bands on their wrists after the lifeguard carefully measured them with his measuring stick. Brooklynn asked, 'Grandma are you going down the slides with us?' To which I gave the lifeguard a pointed look and asked, 'Do you have black wrist bands indicating one is too old and not allowed?' 

We had a fun-filled afternoon none-the-less, and Brooklynn gave me water ballet lessons, and I was a willing participant for that. They got to spend the night with us, and for supper we made individual pizzas.

Summer veggies ~ The garden has been hit or miss this year in supplying us with veggies. Peppers, zucchini, and cherry tomatoes are plentiful. Supplemented with corn, peaches and blueberries from the market, we are enjoying lots of salads for dinner and filling the freezer (and our friends and family) with zucchini bread.

Coffee with friends ~ Yesterday, I met a couple of girlfriends at a coffee shop and we enjoyed sitting on the patio for sunshine and conversation. It's my favorite local shop, located in an old house with a huge patio area filled with places to sit and fireplaces for colder weather. 

Quiet Days ~ The beginning of the week was very quiet with nothing on the calendar. It was an opportunity to get caught up with house chores, read in the afternoons, and just BE. I love days like this.

~~~

Dan and I are heading out on Sunday for a couple nights of camping. As always, I'm thankful for my nephew Tommy who looks after Lilly for us. He's a gem, that one.

Happy Friday, everyone.

Karen

The days go by so fast. Those that I long anticipate arrive sooner than I expect, then fly by in minutes. Later, snippets of memories float about, like bits of confetti wafting through my brain. I blog and keep a journal so as not to forget.

For me, my house is at its best when it is filled with people I love. So, when my two out-of-state kids decided to come visit for a week, I was elated. Luke's family of five set up house in our finished basement, and Joe got the guest room. The only disappointment to the week was that Sam was unable to make it, and he was definitely missed. Even though most days the house was filled to the brim when Emily and her family drove across town to join us.

The week went by like a whirlwind as I knew it would. Joey arrived on a Wednesday, a few days earlier than Luke and his family. Dan and I enjoyed having just him to ourselves for a couple of days. We had lots of time to chat and catch up.

Then on Saturday, Luke and Miranda and Siefer (9), Sawyer (7) and Ivy (4) arrived. And the party began.

Looking back, the days all flowed together, and I can't recall what we did when. There was a baseball game one day, a day at the pool, a visit to the planetarium, parks, lots of corn hole games, a 4th of July barbecue, marshmallows toasted in the firepit, miniature golf, stargazing at night. It just went on and on, and it was wonderful.

I recall lots of moments holding grandkids on my lap, being read to by Siefer, moving car seats back and forth so everyone had a chance to ride in Grandma and PopPop's car. And precious quiet moments on the patio in the mornings, sipping coffee and waiting for the first grandchild to come outside and snuggle on my lap.

Brooklynn and Bentley loved having their cousins in town.

3. This morning I played golf with my friend Mary. Just a few weeks ago, her husband - our dear friend Gary - passed away. It was early in the morning and we had the course almost to ourselves. It's a place Dan and I often played with Mary and Gary. On the eighth hole, I commented how I always thought of Gary because when we were playing once, I hit my ball into the pond and he went to retrieve it. He had one of those long poles to pick up golf balls, and after he found mine, he kept fishing more out of the pond, until we had 11 balls! We were all laughing so hard as he flipped them over his shoulder to us. Well, this morning, Mary got a par on that hole! 👼

4. On Tuesday, we got to see Brooklynn and Bentley for the first time in weeks! They looked like they'd grown so much in that time. It seems to happen that way with kids. Either they are sprouting up over night, or I'm not paying attention. We received lots of hugs and though they did play t-ball in the yard for a while, they were also content to sit and visit with us for a long time, which made my day.

5. On Saturday, my niece Elsa stopped by so I could do a quick alteration on a dress she's wearing for a wedding this weekend. She brought a friend with her who she played volleyball with in college years ago (I remember meeting her way back when). She is the sweetest young woman, and the three of us had such a nice visit. Nice to reconnect.

On a side note, our state has set a new record for the amount of rain we've had in June. For the most part, that is a good thing as we've been in a drought for several years. But, it's brought on flooding, sink holes, and mosquitos :(  Fingers crossed for good weather this week.

Happy Friday to all,

Karen ☔

It rained a lot here while I was out on the east coast. I was surprised and pleased to come home to lush gardens, trees fully leafed out, and the roses in bloom! The next day, the hot weather rolled in, so when it was nice and cool on Monday morning I was up early working in the garden. The rain brought on lots of weeds, too, so I cleaned those out, trimmed some more dead branches from a couple of climbing roses, and planted some squash, pumpkins, and watermelon. 

Yesterday, I made up some little bouquets of the flowers from my garden. Roses, lupine, lobelia, and some delicate yellow daisy-like flowers. I forgot to take a photo before giving them away, but they sure turned out pretty.

As always, I feel like I hit the floor running when I come back from out-of-town vacations. It's been crazy getting caught up this week. Appointments, seeing folks, but certainly not cleaning my house! Yesterday morning, I said to heck with it and left the house in ruins to go for a walk. One of my favorite places is about a half hour north of us where there is a lovely trail that goes around a couple of ponds. It was nice to get out, and I'll leave you with some photos. 

I still plan a little summary of my trip, just need to go through pictures!

Not the greatest photo, but it was sweet seeing this western kingbird holding onto a ball of fluff.