Bits and Pieces

I stayed home this weekend, partly because rain was in the forecast and partly because there were chores to be done around the house. And, frankly, I needed a weekend off.

So I cut some firewood, mowed the lawn, went grocery shopping, bought my “full” load of gasoline (35 gallons using our fuel point discount from last month) and did a few other things around the house. This made it a pretty normal around-the-house summer weekend.

Our cherry tree is producing more cherries than it ever has; I may have to get out the ladder and do some picking! This is the end result of all those blossoms and bees earlier this year. As far as we know the fruit is good to eat. We never put any pesticides or spray on the tree. I’ll have to try a few and see how they taste.

Cherries on our tree

My main Saturday chore was cutting up that first small load of firewood I had brought down from The Lot. This load was made up of trees that had died in areas we had cleaned up in the past. With aspen being the predominant tree at Sanderling, there will always be some maintenance in cleaned areas, as a few trees die every year. New growth makes up for the lost trees pretty quickly.

First firewood of 2018

Our hollyhocks have begun to bloom. Normally the flowers are bright red but we have some that are a pastel yellow, a nice change.

Yellow hollyhocks blooming near our privacy fence

During the week there was a forest fire west of us in Utah (Colorado has 7 major fires burning at the moment) and the smoke made for some interesting “red sun” sunsets:

Forest fire smoke makes a “red sun” sunset

Next week I plan to make my Lead King Basin ATV trip, a highlight for me as this has become my favorite ride in western Colorado.

On the “this is life” front, my mother’s health appears to be deteriorating. She now has 7-day a week house care (not nights, though) and cannot get up if she falls, which has happened a few times. New is a hospital bed with side rails that will help prevent her from falling out of bed at night.

A neighbor lady, Jolene, has been hospitalized and is now suffering from early signs of dementia. She is 94. Her husband, Jim (89, I think, who is not in the best of health), is struggling to cope. We do what we can, and a few other neighbors have pitched in, but it’s not easy for them to manage. Saturday I mowed their lawn and did some weed-wacking while Jim was visiting Jolene in the hospital.

A few years ago, the details of aging and geriatric care would not have resonated with us.  What a difference now, though, as we look forward to retirement.  Illness and aging around us becomes a constant reminder that our time is coming, and to enjoy the health we have.  Life is made up of bits and pieces like these, some good, some not so good.

That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!

Pam’s Two Cents Worth:

On Thursday of this coming week I will note the arrival of the Summer Solstice. When I was working, the annual cycles of the Earth were very low on my priority scale. But this year I plan to totally enjoy the day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere with the longest light. Twilight around 9:00 p.m. is groovy.

Deb, I did order the Simply Soothing bug spritzer. Very satisfying to see the gnats approach me and then turn away.

Foster kittens are starting to be placed with “barn folks.” The litter of four never did warm up to humans much; they are now three months old and ready to get to work as mousers.  Feral moms are on schedule to be spayed in the next two weeks, then released back into the neighborhood.  This will leave Solette, the single kitten from the second litter, still in-house as we head into July. I am really tired of cleaning and maintaining [the current] four pens in the cat room.

Foster kitten Solette

Happy Trails.