Afta the Contender
b. Oct 22, 2000
d. May 23, 2013
Sally's dreams of 2000 are slowly falling away. I hit a deer in her 4Runner in November 2012, and now we have lost our dear sweet boy. This era of our lives is coming to an end. Serenity Farm is the last piece of this trilogy, and we know its end is also coming – at least for us.This picture was taken October 20, 2013, two days before Tender turned 13. I almost deleted it because he is just a blur, running into a shot I was trying to get for advertising the farm. I am so glad I didn't. Now, I have trouble just imagining him running that recently. But what I see is a spirit running free, as I hope he is doing today – as in that dream Amanda had the day after his passing, as I remember him doing so often through the fields below. We dearly miss this best friend and constant companion.
Weather
It had been cloudy, cool, rainy, and very humid all week in town. I was surprised to find only a quarter inch of rain in the gauge. Daytime temperatures were in the low 80s and there were quite a few clouds. In fact, a shower kicked up Saturday afternoon. It kept me in for a couple of hours, but we only received about .2 of an inch of rain. The newspaper reported we are 5 inches below normal for the year.
Craftsman Mower
Having been three weeks since mowing to the pond and two weeks for everything else, I was anxious to jump onto this job. First I headed to the pond. It was along the road going down the hill I saw this snake in the road. I meant to look him up, but never got around to it.Once I got on the other side of the pond I began to see parts of the drive belt being left behind, and then it started slipping and began to smoke. Drats. I drove it back to the house, figured how to get the belt off, tried to measure the length of the belt, looked up the mower model, and did a little internet searching trying to find specs for the belt. No luck. I then checked the yellow pages and saw there was Sears retail store in Berryville and decided to go to town Saturday morning.
After a bit of trouble at Sears (I had copied the mower model down wrong, but luckily had a picture of the tag from last summer), I purchased a new belt. I was so relieved. I really get stressed when I have mower problems since I am so dependent on it this time of year, especially when I haven't been out in two weeks. I just have such a short window of time available, and don't want to skip another week or haul it into town. Of course some of that frustration may go back to my history with this mower. (From the belt replaced I learned that this is a pre-2000 model. I can't believe I paid $500 for this piece.)
I got the rest of the grass cut without incident. Poking around under the deck I also found a way to raise it slightly, even though Bill the Lawnmower Man said it couldn't be adjusted. (I have to cut most everything on the highest setting it has and would like more lee-way in order to miss rocks.)
Spray Pond
The pond is looking good, but there were still some areas of grass. I don't want to let it get the upper hand, so after the mower problems I decided to spray the pond Friday afternoon – another application of Cutrine Plus. I saw two turtles (bad) and several fish (good).Clean the Living Room Tile
The ceramic tile looked good except for a few spots on the grout, so I decided to see if I could get them out. Sure enough the stains came out pretty well, but during that process I noticed I was also getting more than a little dirt off the tile (I guess it hides it well). So I began tackling the whole floor. I worked on it both evenings, covering about 60%. There will be some follow up work for the next weekend.
Bluebird Nest
This nest and eggs was in the fancy bluebird house out front, the one with the plexiglass side for viewing. Still no second nest at the pond or out back. There is another nest in the house on the hill, but I never peeked in to see what kind or whether there were eggs.Paint Closet
When the rain chased me indoors Saturday afternoon, I decided to paint Sally's closet. It has really been needing it. I don't know what had been thrown in there, but the sides and the back were really stained. It looks great now.Garden
There are lots of radishes, but I want to save them for Sally so I left them in the ground. Some green beans are coming up, the onions that have survived looked good, the garlic and the one kale plant from last year are doing well, the basil is coming along nicely, the summer spinach is filling in, and one Italian pepper seed has sprouted. But it was dry and there are lots of weeds. I did some weeding Saturday and Sunday, planted a tomato I picked up in Berryville, put more green bean and Italian pepper seeds in the ground since we had room, fertilized, and watered.Walnuts
I finished cracking the last of the black walnuts I had picked up and hulled last fall! Now to get them picked, along with the other four bags I have stockpiled.Waterproof the Siding
I brought my extension ladder out and was able to cover the high areas on the ends of the house with the Flood waterproofing finish. I continued to use the cedar tone on the areas that were turning dark. On the east end I mixed some of the cedar tone with the clear, which worked well. This project will stretch into a few more weekends. I must say I really like having the extra day out here.
Fawn
Before dusk Saturday I thought I would walk up the road and see if I could get a view of the turkey nest. While walking above the spring I noticed some movement in the grass on the hill below the spring. I stood and watched and waited hoping that it would move and I could determine what it was. At first I thought rabbit, but then realized it was too large. Then guessed it might be some kind of wild cat. I started throwing rocks at it trying to get it to budge, but it only flinched when one almost hit it. So I decided to walk around and get a close look. I actually thought it would be gone by the time I got there. I felt bad about throwing rocks when I found this scared little fawn. I just took a few pictures, and it never stirred.I never found the turkey nest, just looking from the road. I thought I would come back with the field glasses, to help my aging eyes, but never made it back up there. I did not want to wonder down by the nest and flush the hen again, just wanted to check on her and her eggs/babies(?). I hope nothing got them.
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