Kylee - Leashless in Wisconsin

Word of the Day

Tangentwoman - The feminine variant of tangentman.

Wow! I can't believe that it's been so long since I blogged last. It's been a busy summer. I've been spending a great deal of time with my new doctor (s). When I fell in July, I tore a ligament in my knee. Since then I've been having to wear a knee brace and endure a lot of physical therapy...which...I will have to continue this winter. This slowed me down when it came to doing anything else. There just didn't seem to be time for blogging.

In September HTP and I enjoyed a nice visit with DD Daughter, GI Joe, and our grandkids, Ms. En and Mr. T.


Happy Birthday GI Joe!


A Special Dinner for the Special Birthdays


Happy 1st Birthday Mr. T


Happy 3rd Birthday Ms. En


Birthday Cake!


Yumm!!!!


Raggedy Ann and Andy

All my tomatoes have been picked and canned. Instead of making piccallili relish this year I experimented with making some Green Tomato Salsa. I love it. I grew a lot of habanero peppers this year which worked well in the salsa...as soon as I figured out how REALLY hot the habanero peppers were. I made a lot of hot pepper jelly to use and give away. Raspberry/Habanero Jelly, Habanero Gold Jelly, and Blackberry/Habanero Jelly. I also made Habanero Hot Sauce. Waste not, want not. I ended up giving away a lot of the habanero peppers and in the end, they were all put to good use.

Sis and I bottled all our summer wine. Lots of wine. Keep in mind that we also bottled the winter wine this spring and a batch of Mulligan Berry Wine at the beginning of summer. I'll be bringing a lot of wine back to Arizona. We've discovered over the years that sometimes mistakes make the best wine. This year's mistake in wine-making has led us to a new, improved recipe for Rhubarb Wine. We also discovered a neat new tool which makes our bottling experience A LOT easier.


Buckets of Wine - Before


Empty Bottles Waiting to Be Filled


Bottles Filled and Ready for Labling


Sis and Me and the Summer 2010 Wine

HTP and I and our new dog Kylee will be hitting the road tomorrow morning. We'll be on our way to Arizona after a quick stop-over to see DD Daughter, GI Joe and the grandkids. Kylee, a Wisconsin native, will get her first real experience traveling cross-country. It'll be her first road trip. Then, she'll get to experience a fenced backyard and the more restrictive life-style of living in Arizona. Hopefully, she'll learn quickly not to mess with scorpions and black widow spiders....which I'll try real hard to keep out of said backyard.

I won't promise to blog in the coming days because it's really not easy to blog while traveling. However, I'll try to be better about blogging once we get back to Arizona.

Random Thought of the Day

Why do British people never sound British when they sing?

Noteworthy Quote of the Day

The problem with political jokes is they get elected.
Henry Cate VII

Tomatoes on the Deck - August 10, 2010

Word of the Day

Tangentman - Any individual prone to suddenly change the current subject of discussion without either warning or due cause. This is usually done to bring the discussion to a subject either close to the tangentman's heart, or to make the tangentman the centre of the discussion.

Woodtick Count - 30

The weather here at The Lake this week can be described using two words. Hot and Humid. With dew points in the 70's, it isn't uncommon to wake up to windows fogged up with condensation due to the indoor air-conditioning. It's not exactly like walking out into a huge steam bath but it's darn close. Actually, I wouldn't really mind it too much if it weren't for the mosquitoes.

I'm heading out this afternoon to see a guy about a couple of eyes. I haven't seen an ophthalmologist for three years. I think it's time to get my eyes checked...maybe get a new pair of glasses. These days you can't just walk into Walmart, hand them your glasses, and ask them to make up a pair of glasses with the same prescription. Why? If you're happy with the glasses you have and the only problem is that the ones you currently own are all scratched up or you broke the rims or something, why can't they just make up a new pair for you. It's not like they can't figure out what your prescription is by putting your glasses into one of their neato machines. But....it has been three years. I suppose I could go see the Walmart optometrist but I figures since it's been three years I'd better go see a guy who could identify any real problems that my eyes could be subject to because of my aging body. However, I may go over to Walmart when it comes to taking care of ordering new glasses. There really isn't too many choices when it comes to getting glasses here at The Lake. Or...maybe I can wait until I get to make a trip into The Big City. We'll see.

Random Thought of the Day

Why do people never say "it's only a game" when they're winning?

Noteworthy Quote of the Day

The truth is that there is nothing noble in being superior to somebody else. The only real nobility is in being superior to your former self.

- Whitney Young (1921 - 1971)

Wild Turkeys - August 8, 2010, Picture taken by T-Square

Word of the Day

Tangentalize - To go off on a tangent or bunny trail in a conversation.

Woodtick Count - 30

Turkeys! Several years back the powers that be decided to re-introduce wild turkeys to the area where we live. They've been very fruitful and have multiplied. It isn't uncommon to see rafters of turkey wandering up and down my driveway or hear them calling out in the woods.

The other day four large adult turkeys and all their off-spring came strutting out of the woods, heading straight for my tame raspberry bushes. It's fun to see them but I'm not going to let a rafter of wild turkeys come in and strip my tame raspberries bushes of all their fruit. Not happening. I went outside to chase them off and Kylee got her first experience with wild turkeys. She loved it. She chased and leaped and ran and grinned. She loved it. Me? Not so much. It was hard getting her to come back inside after all that fun and after I finally got her back inside, it was hard getting her to settle down. Since then, I've been a bit more cautious about letting Kylee outside when I see anything that she may decide to chase (herd). Unfortunately, Kylee is a lot better and seeing things than me.

Interestingly enough, Kylee doesn't bark when she's in pursuit of whatever she happens to see and want to chase. Sure enough, a few days later, I took Kylee outside for our morning "perimeter check" and off Kylee shot like a bullet. Some turkeys had decided to overnight in our backyard, in the wooded buffer-zone between our house and the lake. Off she ran, chasing and leaping, all four legs of the ground and grinning, tongue hanging out of the side of her mouth. *sigh* Thankfully, she does come back when she's called...eventually. Heaven help me if she actually manages to catch on of these wild turkeys. They're bigger than she is but so far they've flown away rather than face a 20# bundle of energy. Also, thankfully, Kylee hasn't learned to stalk her prey.

This morning, I was quietly sitting on the couch, watching TV and crocheting when Kylee stiffened up and sat at full alert. She bobs her head when she's on alert and makes this chuffing noise in her throat. It's weird. Anyway, she shot off the couch and raced to the window. Her head nodding while she chuffed. Sure enough. I looked outside to see a huge turkey pacing back and forth on my lawn. Meanwhile, Kylee raced back and forth between the windows and our front door to stare, nod her head and chuff. Needless to say, I didn't let her outside to "play".

Of course, as usual, I'm slow with my camera so missed any interesting shots of the turkeys. However, my folks had a visit from a rafter of turkeys this morning as well at their place across the lake. T-Square is a lot quicker than me when it comes to getting a Kodak moment shot. Most of the turkeys had escaped into the woods before Dad got his shot lined up but he caught three of them. Me? Zippo....again.

Random Thought of the Day

Why is it called a funny bone, when if you hit it, it's not funny at all?

Noteworthy Quote of the Day

I can't listen to that much Wagner. I start getting the urge to conquer Poland.

- Woody Allen (1935 - )

Ms. J and Kylee - July 2010

Word of the Day

Syntheticity - An object's state of being synthetic. To possess syntheticity is to be a synthetic thing. As opposed to organicity.

Woodtick Count - 30

There's so much to do these days. I really should go out and pull weeds...or spray them...but that would mean that I'd have to go outside and brave the mosquitoes again. *sigh* Oh well, I did spend a great deal of time outside yesterday despite the mosquitoes. I watered all my container plants. I dead-headed my geraniums and got rid of all the radishes that I'd tried to grow in my tomato pots. They didn't do. What a waste of time and effort! I can't grow radishes here in Wisconsin. I used to be able to grow wonderful radishes back in Arizona. Here? They all grow to tops with now bulb. I think I'll bring all my radish seed back to Arizona when HTP and I go back this fall. Waste not, want not. And besides, it won't take up that much space. Oh well....I digress. I picked all my tomatoes. Lots of cherry tomatoes. And then, I mixed up some fungicide and sprayed all the tomatoes and my zucchini plants. I've given up on my cucumber plants. Actually, nothing seems to want to grow in my dog kennel garden this year. *sigh* I did pick some beans but although HTP and I have enjoyed having them with meals, there haven't been enough to can for the winter.

I made squash blossoms and fried green tomatoes for breakfast...for me. HTP wanted a more traditional fried egg breakfast. Mom gave me some of squash blossoms from her garden and something (raccoon?) knocked a perfectly nice green tomato off one of my plants. Waste not, want not. Yummy! I probably won't be running out to pick green tomatoes to fry up on a daily basis...or ever...but the one I fried up this morning was wonderful.

So, today I'm going to can tomatoes because HTP and I can't eat them all fast enough. Plus, the reason I planted so many tomatoes is that I'm running out of my home-canned tomatoes and need to stock up again. Some for here, some for there. Some that will stay here in Wisconsin, and some to bring back to Arizona.

Random Thought of the Day

Do you yawn in your sleep?

Noteworthy Quote of the Day

Meetings are indispensable when you don't want to do anything.

- John Kenneth Galbraith (1908 - 2006)

Brewing Prickly Gooseberry Wine - D Buddy, Ms J (D Buddy's Daughter), and Me - July 2010

Word of the Day

Symbolify - The act of relating something to something else.

I haven't blogged in ages! Sorry about that. I just haven't felt like blogging. Blame it on the new Kindle that I bought. Every spare moment that I've had in the last few months has been spent reading.

Highlights for July? Sarge, D Buddy, and D Buddy's daughter came to visit over the 4th of July. Sarge and D Buddy hired a U-Haul and moved all the stuff that they'd been storing in our basement. D Buddy's daughter spent a lot of time playing with Kylee. She also picked out some yarn for an afghan which I've started to crotchet for her. I'm hoping to have it completed by Christmas. I hope.

We had fireworks off the dock. D Buddy, #1 Son, #1 Son's girlfriend, Sarge and D Buddy's daughter all participated. I sat in relative safety on the deck. The operative word in the last sentence was "relative". However, due to all the rain that we've had this year....nothing caught on fire. I've been picking up bits and pieces of fireworks that the wind blew all over our deck and yard since said firework display. We're going to have to be more careful when it comes to the direction the wind is blowing next time.

While D Buddy, Sarge and D Buddy's daughter were here, we went out to pick the wild gooseberries. I'd already picked and juiced the black currants and the red currants. I promised D Buddy's daughter (my step-grand-daughter) that I'd save a bottle of the gooseberry wine that we started while they were here...along with a bottle of each of the wines that Sis and I have started this year. It's tradition. I gifted bottles of wine for each of my grandchildren that Sis and I made during the year that they were born. I couldn't do that for D Buddy's daughter because Sis and I hadn't even started our little (growing out of hand) hobby at the time she was born. However, I decided that I could save a bottle of each of the wines that we brewed this summer for her (to be enjoyed on her 21st birthday)to commemorate the summer that HTP and I finally got to meet her.

My garden is NOT growing well. I've had a couple of meager picking of green beans and peas. The weather has been ideal for blight. I've been spraying my tomatoes on a semi-regular basis but I've lost a couple of my tomato plants to the blight. Some of my tomato plants have only produced tomatoes with blossom end rot. *sigh* For all the hassles of growing things out here, I've decided that the only tomato plant that really works out here is my First Lady tomato plants. Oh well...next year. Tomorrow I plan to spray all my tomato plants AND my zucchini plants for blight and mildew. Sadly, my zucchini plants have been suffering from the heat and humidity. I've harvested only two zucchini from my plants. Maybe I'll just have to buy zucchini at the farmer's market from now on. Ditto when it comes to cucumbers. I've got LOTS of cherry tomatoes but even those plants are suffering from the blight.

This summer has been a fungi summer. Lots and lots of wild mushrooms. Sis gave me a huge sack of wild oyster mushrooms which HTP and I have been enjoying. We also harvested a nice giant puffball. And today, Sis and I harvested six pounds of something they call, "Chicken of the Woods". Unfortunately, I'm afraid that I'm one of the few people who end up with gastric distress when they eat "Chicken of the Woods". So...after cooking up my share of the fungi, tasting it, and finding myself with gastric distress...I'm going to give Sis my portion of our find. Maybe she'll give me more of those wonderful oyster mushrooms that only seem to grow on her side of the lake.

Meanwhile, Sis and I racked and blended all the wines that we started this summer. We're collecting and recycling wine bottles so we'll be able to bottle Dandelion Wine, Rhubarb/Strawberry Wine, Rhubarb Wine, and Wild Gooseberry Wine. And...today...the UPS guy delivered my order of corks. We're set for years to come when it comes to corks.

Tomorrow? Tomorrow is another day. Will I blog? I'll try. Habits are a hard thing to break and a harder thing to form. I've got company coming to visit in a bit more than a week and I haven't made up the beds in the guest rooms.

Meanwhile, Kylee has finally learned (knock on wood) that it is better to "do her thing" outside. In other words, dare I say, Kylee has been housebroken. Knock on wood. She is one exhausting dog. She's been spayed. She's up to date on all her vaccinations. And...I've only had to dose her twice with hydrogen peroxide....so far. She weighs 21+ pounds. I think she's full grown, but she's a bundle of dynamo energy.


Random Thought of the Day

Do Chinese people get English sayings tattooed on their bodies?

Noteworthy Quote of the Day

And so faith is closing your eyes and following the breath of your soul down to the bottom of life, where existence and nonexistence have merged into irrelevance.

Word of the Day

Sydnocentric - Attitude peculiar to residents of Sydney that asserts that only events and objects based within Sydney have any cultural worth.

OK. I give up. I refuse to constantly dig up excuses why I haven't blogged. I'll blog when I blog. I'll try to blog on a daily basis. However, sometimes there just isn't anything worth blogging about. If I hear one more News Alert about the oil rig explosion and resultant ecological disaster in The Gulf, I may just puke. I'm sorry. I really am sorry. However, there's nothing that I can do about it right now. If that makes me a bad person...well...I'm sorry. I can't stop Iran from developing obtaining a nuclear weapon. I can't stop someone from bombing the Pentagon. I can't stop some stupid fanatic from blowing up a plane full of innocent travelers. I haven't discovered a cure for cancer or any other disease that plagues mankind or even those that plague members of my own family. I'm sorry. Crap! I haven't even been able to trap the raccoons that have been coming up on my deck each night or the chipmunks that keep digging up the bean seeds that I've planted out in the garden as soon as they've started to sprout. *sigh*

Sis and I took a fetter-less, free day on Saturday, away from spouses and parents, to enjoy what we originally thought was a used book sale but turned out to be an Arts & Craft Sale along with a used book sale which the local library sponsored. Sis and I both ended up purchased multiple bags of books. It may sound a bit childish but...Sis bought more books than I did. *sigh* She bought THREE big bags of books. I only ONE big bag of books. Then...after I got home, I discovered that I already owned four of the books that I'd bought. Oh well...it was for a good cause. I'll donate the surplus books to our local library here at The Lake. And then....Sis and I both enjoyed the Arts & Craft part of the SALE. I love Arts & Craft sales...especially when HTP or anyone else of sound mind isn't around to curb my impulsive need to spend money. Hey! I got some good stuff! So did Sis! I bought two new cutting boards...hand-crafted out of Corian. Beautiful! I may even gift one to Sarge...or DD Daughter...or #1 Son. *sigh* I really should have bought two more of those cutting boards. Then, I bought a couple of cute aprons for Ms. En, and a couple of bibs for Mr. T. Ms. En really loves to cook and you really can't have enough bibs on hand. Sis and I both decided that the coasters that this one guy made were a must....especially here at The Lake. We keep hoping that if we provide enough coasters, people will use them so our furniture won't end up having to be refinished after people thoughtlessly set their beer cans, sweating glasses, or whatever directly onto our fine wooden furniture. *sigh* Well...then, not moments after I unpacked and put out my new coasters, Kylee decided that they'd make a wonderful chew toy. *sigh* Oh well, at least Kylee didn't piddle when I yelled at her. Oh...but that isn't all. Sis and I both were astounded and pleased to find that someone had actually made quilted covers for Kitchen-Aid mixers. WOW!!!!! I've always wanted one of those. They always seem to make covers for everything BUT Kitchen-Aid Mixers. Sis and I both bought one. I might have bought the green one that Sis bought but...there was only one. So, I bought the one with the irises. Hey! It was pretty. Then...my major purchase....I bought two new coffee cups which I'll use for tea because I don't drink coffee anymore, but, can anyone have too many really wonderful coffee/tea cups? I love both of the new cups I bought. One reminds me of the moon painting that I've got hanging in my dining room in Arizona. I really love that painting...and my new mug.

So? What did HTP and I do today? After breakfast, HTP looked at the broken switch that controls the light over my cooktop. Then...we went out shopping for a new switch. Plus, the grocery store in the town, just north of us, was having some smoking good deals on meat. I ended up buying a rib-eye roast which they cut into some steaks and into a prime-rib roast. I bought some extra-lean hamburger and I bought some pork riblets (ala Applebee's riblets) Who can resist $1 per pound when it comes to pork riblets? I really wish I had a chest freezer. However, I did manage to package all the meat I bought and fit it into the freezer section of my fridge. Thank goodness for all the training that my years of Tetris provided me.

Anyway, I finished up my day with multiple walks for Kylee, waving at the departing week-enders, taking down and bringing my bird-feeders inside so the raccoons won't wreck them, making ribeye steak for HTP and me for supper, bilging the big boat and bailing the small boat, and...well...that's all folks. I figure I've done enough for one day, especially since I'm nursing a burnt pinky finger which I burned this morning while making the bacon for breakfast.

Random Thought of the Day

How come lemon washing up liquid contains real lemons, but lemon juice contains artificial flavorings?

Noteworthy Quote of the Day

All that matters is the little part you play in the vast drama.

- Real Live Preacher, reallivepreacher.com weblog, September 4, 2003

My Peonies are Starting to Bloom

Word of the Day

Swish-swash - The tendency to leave one's windshield wipers on even after the rain has stopped.


HTP left for The Big City right after breakfast this morning. In a bid to keep my mind occupied on something other than worrying about Kylee, I decided to paint/stain the four 8-foot trellises that I purchased a while ago. I found a bucket of the stain that was used on the siding of our house down in the basement. Spreading newspapers out on my driveway, I got right to work. After completing two of the trellises, I went back inside to call the vet at around 10 AM. Since the vet was busy and couldn't talk to me, with the promise that she'd call me back I took the phone outside so I could start on the other two trellises. After completing one side of one trellis and starting on one side of the last trellis, I was getting a bit concerned. However, the phone did finally ring. I was assured that Kylee made it through the operation (spay) just fine but her tummy was upset so they don't want me to pick Kylee up until tomorrow...after 10 AM. *sigh* Though I was relieved to hear that Kylee was doing just fine, the fact that she wasn't feeling well is a bit worrisome. *sigh* I'm sure she'll be fine but I miss the little stinker. I finished up the staining well after noon. I know this because I heard the town's noon whistle sound while I was finishing up on the third trellis.

Since the stain that I was using was in a REALLY rusty paint bucket, I transferred the remainder of the stain to an old margarine container before discarding the old bucket. Then, I hauled the first two trellises that I'd stained out to my deck and prepped an area so I could stain the rockers for the two rocking chairs on my deck. I figured that as long as I had the stain out there and the paint brush was already messed up, I might as well take care of the rockers that T-Square made for me last year. I've been using them unstained but wood lasts a lot longer out here if it has a nice coat of protective stain...besides...now the rockers match the rest of the rocking chair(s).

My four new trellises are all dry and installed where I want them out on my deck. My rocking chairs are once again rockable. The rain has held off so the stain has dried. I cleaned the paint brush and paint stirrer and put them away, cleaned up all the newspapers that I spread all over the place so that I wouldn't drip stain onto the deck, took the remaining stain down to the basement, threw away my paint-stained latex gloves, and decided to call it quits for the day...after I went into town to pick up the mail. Exhaustion! When HTP comes home tonight, there will be no evidence that I did anything today. Well...except for the new trellises. Do you think he'll notice. Probably not.

I re-set my Havahart trap again in hopes to catch the raccoon that has been plaguing us. He alluded the trap again last night. I set up some card-board boxes on either side of the trap this time. Maybe this will keep him from reaching in through the side of the trap and force him to enter the trap. We'll see. If this fails, I'm not sure what I can do. It's not like I can shoot the dang thing.

Random Thought of the Day

Do you wake up or open your eyes first?

Noteworthy Quote of the Day

Once you can laugh at your own weaknesses, you can move forward. Comedy breaks down walls. It opens up people. If you're good, you can fill up those openings with something positive. Maybe... combat some of the ugliness in the world.

- Goldie Hawn (1945 - )

Word of the Day

Sweave - To swerve and weave about.

A couple of days ago, I noted that the rug by my kitchen sink was wet. My first thought was that Kylee had found a new place to piddle. No animals...including Kylee...were punished for my wet rug. I reasoned out that Kylee hadn't had the opportunity to piddle on my kitchen sink rug. Actually, knock on wood, Kylee has been pretty good lately...when it comes to doing her thing outdoors rather than indoor. So...I checked under the sink and discovered that my cabinet under the sink was wet. *sigh* I unloaded everything from beneath the sink, cleaned everything off, and then notified HTP that we had a problem. Something was leaking and it wasn't Kylee. After drying everything off and turning on this faucet and that, I noted that there was a slow drip coming from the bottom of our garbage disposal. Being of sound mind, I placed an old dishpan under the area where things were leaking and tried to call a plumber. Unfortunately, the only time we have ever been able to get a hold of our plumber here at The Lake is before 7 AM. *sigh* And he doesn't have an answering machine. So...I called yesterday morning and was told that he'd come out to take a look...last night. Then...last night, after supper, he called to ask if it was OK if he could stop by in the morning...this morning. With no plumbing expertise, my suspicion was that there was something amiss with my garbage disposal. I guessed right. I wasn't here when the plumber came but HTP was told that we needed a new garbage disposal. Corrosion had eaten through the casing. HTP ordered a new garbage disposal...which will come next week. Then, we'll need to call the plumber again to schedule him to come out to install it. In the meantime, the leak is a slow leak, so I can use the sink AND the garbage disposal, AND the dishwasher...as long as that old dishpan is under the sink to catch the drips.

Meanwhile, I took Kylee to the vet this morning. The vet is going to spay her, install one of those microchip ID thingies, and cut her nails. I was told to bring her over to the animal hospital between 8 AM and 10 AM this morning. I was told that she wasn't supposed to have anything to eat after 10 PM last night. I followed directions. Only....I think she may have eaten a couple of her baby teeth this morning. That doesn't count...does it? Anyway, I picked Sis up at her place, and then I got Kylee to the hospital/clinic at around 10 AM.

After dropping Kylee off, Sis and I continued on to the city to do some grocery shopping because we needed a couple of lemons and a couple of oranges to make more rhubarb wine (oops-less rhubarb wine...knock on wood). As soon as we dropped Sis' groceries off at her place, we continued on to my place to work on the wine. Letting the steam-juicer do its thing, Sis and I sallied forth to dig a few perennials from my front gardens as well as some winter onions. She's still working on her landscaping. Landscaping can be a prolonged process.

The oops-less (knock on wood)rhubarb wine is sitting down in my basement, next to the air-locked oops-Rhubarb wine and the air-locked Dandelion wine. Actually, this new wine is a work in progress (kind of like landscaping). Right now it has to be stirred, once a day, for three days before I stain out the citrus fruit and I can add the pectic enzyme, sugar, and yeast. After that it has to sit for two more days before I add some gelatin (flavorless) and can put the cover on and air-lock it. At that point, Sis and I won't need to do anything with it until July....about the same time that Sarge and D Buddy and my step-grandchild Ms. Jay plan to come to visit. I've already got plans to put them all to work. July is when the prickly gooseberries need picking. July is when the strawberries need picking. July is when the currants need picking. July is when the Prickly Gooseberry Wine needs to be started. July is when the Strawberry wine needs to be started. July is when the Mulligan Berry Wine needs to be bottled. A lot goes on in July. I'm betting that my raspberries will need to be picked...not to mention my blueberries. And I'll also have to start making jam in July. July is a busy month. Oh...back to oops-wine. Sis and I tasted the oops-Prickly Gooseberry Wine that we made last summer. Wow! Wonderful! We plan to incorporate the oops back into the recipe this summer. Sometimes it pays to have an oops.

It's so darn quiet here tonight. Kylee isn't here. *sigh* She's a little stinker but she's MY little stinker.

Random Thought of the Day

Did Noah have woodpeckers on the ark? If he did, where did he keep them?

Noteworthy Quote of the Day

Every sweet has its sour; every evil its good.

- Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803 - 1882)

A Family Photo - May 22, 2010

L to R in photo provided by Sis -

HTP, Bro, Me, Mrs. Bro, Sis, Sis' HTP (Husband Type Person), T-Square (my Dad), and Ma


Word of the Day

Swankienda - An extremely nice house.

Woodtick Count - 23

With not much going on here at The Lake, I've been spending a lot of my free time reading. I'm re-visiting Shannon Drake/aka Heather Graham's Vampire series. Since I had all of these books already on my bookshelf, my Kindle has been getting a bit of a rest.

On Friday, I harvested, cleaned, and froze 4 pounds of rhubarb. Sis harvested, cleaned and froze 5 1/2 pounds of rhubarb. We've decided to make a double batch of oops-less rhubarb wine which we'll blend with strawberry wine. We're going to blend half of the oops-Rhubarb wine with strawberry wine but we're going to bottle the other half of the oops-Rhubarb wine as Rhubarb wine. Hey! It might be the best Rhubarb wine that we've ever made!

My brother came up to The Lake on Saturday to open up his cabin. Since he was here, Sis decided to have the family over for dinner/potluck on Sunday. Good food, good drink, good conversation. We celebrated a belated Mother's Day and an early Father's Day. We had baked ziti, King Ranch Casserole, Caesar salad, watercress salad, homegrown green onions (the first that we've harvested), radishes, and rhubarb cake with Cool-Whip. We ate and we ate and we talked and we talked. Kylee played with Tobey (Sis' dog). And we didn't get back home until it was nearly supper time. Needless to say, HTP and I decided to skip supper.

Although I've been attempting to capture the raccoons that visited my deck the other night, I haven't had much success. Although one raccoon tripped the trap, it did so by reaching in from the outside of the trap, through the side...which tripped the trap with him on the outside. Other than startling him a bit, he ate all the bait and dragged the trap around the deck, attempting to take it down the stairs with him. I fixed that problem but haven't had subsequent activity near the trap....which is OK because I really don't want raccoons up on the deck but I've been bringing my bird-feeders in each night and taking them back out in the morning. I haven't been doing this with the hummingbird feeders. Hopefully, the raccoons will leave those alone...or find the bait in the trap more tempting.

Random Thought of the Day

Why are builders afraid to have a 13th floor but book publishers aren't afraid to have a Chapter 11?

Noteworthy Quote of the Day

An expert is a person who avoids small error as he sweeps on to the grand fallacy.

- Benjamin Stolberg

Raccoon in a Trap - 2009

Word of the Day

Supposibly - Describing something that is supposedly possible.

Woodtick Count - 21

Almost a week has passed since the last time I blogged (confession?). Since then, #1 Son came to visit us, we had brats on the grill and belatedly celebrated #1 Son's birthday, #1 Son is now in New Orleans (roadtrip and vacation), Sarge and D Buddy have moved to a bigger rental home in Texas, DD Daughter has posted before and after pictures from the major/kick-ass workout program that she enlisted in...and then she decided to re-enlist...even though I'd LOVE to look like her before picture...*sigh*, I've added 5 woodticks to my woodtick count, Sis and I started the Rhubarb Wine and the Dandelion Wine (both recipes were changed due to a major screw up...MINE...but sometimes major screw ups turn into wondrous miracles (I hope, I hope)...so we've documented the...umm....recipe changes), and, today, Sis and I hiked down to the fresh water spring and harvested four bags of watercress. Sis took one bag, I took one bag, and we gave two bags to my Mom....because both Mom and Dad like watercress. Sis' hubby and HTP don't. Since then, I cleaned my share of the watercress and froze the less tender bits to use when Sis and I make our V-8 juice...when our tomato plants start producing more than we can actually eat. I've got 24 tomato plants growing here on my upper deck and down on my lower deck. According to The Square-Foot Gardener, I've planted way too many tomato plants...however, what does he know.

I had two unwelcome visitors come calling on my upper deck last night. Raccoons. Really big raccoons! I heard a couple of thunks and then one of my windchimes went crazy on a windless night. I dragged myself out of bed, turned on the deck light and there they were. Two masked marauders. I haven't been bringing my seed feeders in each night and the thieves were after the seed in my bird-feeders. My new bird-feeders are supposed to be squirrel-proof but I'm not too sure that they'll withstand an assault from raccoons. Plus, I noted that they seem to LOVE the egg-shells that I've been using in my tomato planters. Thankfully, they didn't manage to snap off any of my tomato plants but...it came really close. *sigh* If I'd had a gun...I would have gone all Beverly Hillbilly on them (raccoon ragu?) but...I don't....have a gun. I would really like to have a gun, but, Sis' hubby commented that he really didn't want to be hiking out in the woods...should I decide to buy one. However... Oh well...while Sis and I were out shopping this morning (buying supplies to rectify the wine screw up of yesterday), I purchased some canned cat food to use as bait in our Havahart trap. HTP told me that raccoons really LOVE cat food. My folks think I shouldn't set my trap on my deck but I'm afraid that I may catch something other than a raccoon in the trap if I set it anywhere else. I mean...what would I do if I caught a skunk? Ewww!!!!!

So, I find myself sitting out on the deck, under the shade of our deck umbrella (blocks the glare of the sun so I can actually see what is being written or read on my laptop screen ), blogging. My gardens are planted. Kylee is contently chewing on the bone that I bought her at Blaine's Farm and Fleet. I'm sipping on the Rhubarb/Strawberry wine that Sis and I made last summer. And...I'm thinking grilling up some burgers on the grill for tonight's supper....and maybe making a side watercress salad...for me.

Random Thought of the Day

If the FBI breaks your door down do they have to pay for it?

Noteworthy Quote of the Day

The only reason I made a commercial for American Express was to pay for my American Express bill.

Peter Ustinov (1921 - 2004)

My Gerbera Daisies - May 28, 2010


Word of the Day

Superfluswitch - The one or more light switches in every house with absolutely no purpose whatsoever.

Woodtick Count - 16

It doesn't seem fair that I got a woodtick this morning after vacuuming the deck. This one actually embedded itself in my back. My first embed. Stupid ticks! HTP had to remove it for me because I couldn't reach it. I suppose I picked it up one of the times that I went to dump the contents of the shop-vac onto the compost pile. Oh well...on the plus side...my deck is now free of all the seeds and stuff that has blown in off the trees that surround our house. I won't guarantee that we won't get more of the stuff but right now, my deck looks darn good. I even installed the umbrella so I could sit outside in partial shade. The temperature outside on my deck is 92 degrees, which isn't all that bad if you can find a bit of shade and the humidity isn't too high.

I finally screwed up my courage to get my hair cut this afternoon...to which HTP would say, "Which hair did you let them cut off?" When you have long hair, a loss of three inches in length isn't all that noticeable. Well, I notice but HTP wouldn't notice unless I came back home with something more dramatic like a boys' cut....which I did one time. I liked it, HTP didn't. Actually, I was feeling pretty good about the whole thing until I found out, after my hair-cut, that this was the last day of work for the gal who cut my hair. I hate that. Now I've got to develop a trust for a whole new person the next time I go in for a hair-cut...next month. *sigh*

Kylee and I relaxed a bit out on the deck (in the shade)this afternoon after I finished up my chores (vacuuming the deck, vacuuming the inside, watering all the plants, transplanting my gerbera daisy), and after my hair appointment. As I sipped on iced tea under the shade of the umbrella, Kylee munched on the ice cubes. She kept begging me for them...the ones in my iced tea. She crunching on ice cubes...so do I but it looks like I won't be doing much ice crunching anymore, not when Kylee is around.

I'm going to go fishing tonight. Wish me luck. HTP bought me some bait. Woohoo! Well...I'll probably only go fishing off the dock but it'll only be the second time that I've gone fishing this year.

Random Thought of the Day

In some books, why do they have blank pages at the very end?

Noteworthy Quote of the Day

Heirlooms we don't have in our family. But stories we've got.

- Rose Cherin

Vegetable Gardening at The Lake - May 2010

Word of the Day

Superflugraph - Meaningless pictures taken just to use up the end of the roll.

Woodtick Count - 14

It's #1 Son's birthday today! My baby is another year older. *sigh* Where has the time gone?


Happy


Birthday


#1 Son!



It's also my folks' anniversary today!



Happy


Anniversary


Mom and Dad!




Sis and I went over to my folks' place this morning to plant some rose bushes that we purchased for them earlier in the month. Sis' husband and Dad helped dig the holes where and while my Mom directed. Sis manned the water buckets. And wearing my oldest gardening gloves (the ones with the holes in the fingers), I got down on my hands and knees to do the actual planting. I hope the three bushes we planted will do well. The climate here at The Lake isn't exactly friendly toward rose bushes but...it was well worth the effort. As Sis' hubby removed one woodtick as it was crawling up my arm, I suspect that the two woodticks that have added to my woodtick count today came from my folks' place.

Although the temperatures remain pretty warm, the humidity level seems to be a bit lower today which makes things, like digging and planting, lots more pleasant outside. Unfortunately, we only received 0.02 inches of rain from the late afternoon storm that blew through yesterday. So...it's sprinkler dance time once again. I want to make sure my blueberry bushes on Blueberry Hill and my currant bushes get plenty of water and I've got some cucumber and zucchini plants that are looking really thirsty on the hill by my garage...not to mention my raspberry bushes.

Random Thought of the Day

Why can't donuts be square?

Noteworthy Quote of the Day

Too many people think only of their own profit. But business opportunity seldom knocks on the door of self-centered people. No customer ever goes to a store merely to please the storekeeper.

- Kazuo Inamori

Cooked Italian Pepper Plants - May 24, 2010

Word of the Day

's up - The question, "What's up?"

It's amazing how the cold virus can keep a person from doing much of anything...much less blogging. Eventually, I hope, someone...anyone...will come up with a cure to the common cold but until then one does one's best. Thankfully, my new Kindle has been helping to keep my "woe is me" feelings somewhat tamped down. I'm currently dealing with the coughing fit stage of my cold which isn't all that bad until I try to sleep through the night. Oh well, as an avowed insomniac, I'm used to sleepless nights.

We've been suffering a series of unseasonably HOT AND HUMID temperatures here at The Lake. HTP and I have been enjoying and depending upon our air-conditioning. I woke up this morning to 70 degrees. The rocks that support my the terraces holding the hill by my garage and supporting Blueberry Hill were sweating. Weird...really weird! The mosquitoes have been loving this atmosphere. Me? Not so much.

Regardless, HTP and I drove into The Big City on Saturday to visit with HTP's Mom and help HTP's Sis and Bro write Thank You notes to those who sent gifts and flowers for HTP's Dad's funeral. Afterwards, HTP and I attended an Open House at our nephew's house to celebrate our niece-in-law's MBA. And then...HTP and I and #1 Son enjoyed an All-You-Can-Eat Sushi dinner before HTP and I (and Kylee) headed on back to The Lake.

I was excited to receive my Burpee Italian Pepper plants on Monday but... Our unseasonably HOT temperatures cooked the plants. I'd ordered three Giant Marconi Italian pepper plants and three Godfather Italian pepper plants. *sigh* The three Godfather Italian pepper plants didn't make it. They arrived in a gooey, slimey, mushy state. The Giant Marconi peppers arrived...damaged. I'm not sure they'll make it or not. I called Burpee this morning and they promised to replace my plants but...they don't have any more of the Giant Marconi pepper plants. *sigh* However, they will ship out six Godfather pepper plants (because they don't have any more Giant Marconi available)...after Memorial Day. *sigh* OK. I went ahead and planted the three Giant Marconi pepper plants, knowing that they may not thrive...and I even planted one of the three Godfather pepper plants that didn't look quite as cooked as its brethren. If they grow, they grow...if not...oh well...at least I tried. I also planted the remainder of my container gardens. I still need to plant the Kaleidoscope carrot seeds (shipping pending), the garlic, the Swiss Chard and my six replacement pepper plants (after Memorial Day). I noted that my peas and some of my beans are starting to sprout. At least the hot and humid temperatures are good for something.

A late afternoon rain helped lower our temperatures dramatically. Before the rain...88 degrees...after the rain....70 degrees. Nice. 70 degrees with high humidity doesn't feel nearly as nasty as a humid 88 degrees....97 degrees on my south-facing deck. However, the mosquitoes...well...the mosquitoes are LOVING the humidity and are growing into enormous, man-eating, blood-sucking creatures. I started out the morning, wearing capris. I discovered that it was just too warm to wear capris so I changed into shorts (really brief short, shorts), and now...I've changed into sturdy jeans...with socks and shoes...because I'm not willing to expose that much bare skin to our local man-eating mosquitoes.

Random Thought of the Day

Why put a towel in the dirty clothes basket if when you get out of the shower you are clean?

Noteworthy Quote of the Day

Gratitude is merely the secret hope of further favors.

- Francois de La Rochefoucauld (1613 - 1680)

Ms. En

Word of the Day

Summer teeth - Teeth that do not grow in a uniform direction, such that some are here and some are there.

Woodtick Count - 12

Has it really been over a week since I've blogged? Well, sometimes things happen to make blogging impossible and irrelevant. HTP's father passed away on May 12th. We've known for quite some time that his passing was imminent but still....

DD Daughter, GI Joe, Ms. En, and Mr. T drove up on Thursday, May 13th, so they could be here for the visitation and funeral. Sarge and D Buddy drove up on Saturday, May 15th. #1 Son came to lend his support here at The Lake, at the visitation and at the funeral on Saturday and Sunday nights and on Monday, heroically spending a couple of uncomfortable nights on our basement couch because HTP and I only have limited space here at The Lake.

The visitation was held in The Big City, in Minnesota, on Sunday, May 16th. There was a brief visitation before the funeral mass and burial ceremony, held the following morning at the church which both HTP's Dad and Mom attended, in the small town in Wisconsin, where HTP's Dad and Mom were born, were married and spent most their lives. #1 Son, DD Daughter, Sarge, D Buddy, and one of HTP's nieces acted as pall-bearers at the funeral. The VFW turned out to give HTP's Dad (a WWII veteran) a final salute and farewell, complete with honor guard, a bugle playing taps and 21 gun salute.

Day is done, gone the sun,
From the lake, from the hills,
From the sky.
All is well, safely rest,
God is nigh.

Fades the light; And afar
Goeth day, And the stars
Shineth bright,
Fare thee well; Day has gone,
Night is on.

Thanks and praise, For our days,
'Neath the sun, Neath the stars,
'Neath the sky,
As we go, This we know,
God is nigh.


Sis and her husband saved my sanity by taking care of Kylee for us during all this. Kylee LOVES people and children but she's still a puppy and she doesn't quite understand the proper etiquette when it comes to children and company.

#1 Son headed back to The Big City on Monday afternoon. DD Daughter, GI Joe, Ms. En, and Mr. T. packed up and hit the road on Tuesday morning. Sarge and D Buddy packed up and hit the road on Tuesday afternoon.

And...life continues here at The Lake. HTP tilled my garden for me on Tuesday so...I planted my garden on Tuesday...so...I put off doing laundry until Wednesday...today. The weather has been warming up so much (upper 70's) that we actually had to resort to using the air-conditioner today. Snow at during the first week of the month and summer heat and humidity by the end of the month. Global warming? LOL.

Random Thought of the Day

What happens to an irresistible force when it hits an immovable object?

Noteworthy Quote of the Day

I know that there are people who do not love their fellow man, and I hate people like that!

- Tom Lehrer (1928 - )

Kylee Likes Snow...but...I really hope we don't get any more snow until we're well on our way back to Arizona this fall.

Word of the Day

Sulduxy - Describing something that is sultry, seductive, and sexy.

No more woodticks, except the one I took off Kylee, despite the fact that I picked, cleaned, and froze my final two quarts of dandelion blossoms. It didn't take me long to pick this final batch of dandelion blossoms. There's a field by our mailbox out at the main road that has LOTS of HUGE dandelion blossoms. It didn't take me long to pick more than enough blossoms for this final batch. I ended up throwing away the excess. Sis will be happy to know that we now have enough dandelion blossoms to make four batches of Dandelion Wine. Although she likes the wine, picking and cleaning dandelion blossoms isn't exactly fun. However, on the plus side, latex gloves ward off dandelion stains on one's fingers...too bad Sis is allergic to latex.

I cooked up the ten pounds of chicken wings that I purchased when HTP and I were in The Big City last week. I made four different variations. Taking in account the fact that I over-cooked (burned) one batch of wings....HTP and I decided that we liked the Old Bay and the Monterrey chicken variations.

Random Thought of the Day

If there's a speed of sound and a speed of light is there a speed of smell?

Noteworthy Quote of the Day

It is a sadness of growing older that we lose our ardent appreciation of what is new and different and difficult.

- Elizabeth Aston

Snow at The Lake - May 2010

Word of the Day

Suffixification - The process by which an unword is made by adding a suffix to a real word.

We did get snow. I'm not sure exactly how much snow because there really was no way to measure it. There wasn't enough accumulation to enjoy a snowgarita, but there was enough that it didn't all melt away until noon on Saturday. Adding insult to injury, the overnight temperatures on Saturday night dropped in the hard freeze range. I dragged all my potted tomatoes into a huddle under my patio and reinforced the pot covers with an old quilt. Brrrr!!!! #1 Son braved the cold to grill our steaks for dinner and I stayed inside to make salt-crusted baked potatoes which I served with some of the compound butter I'd made with wild leeks. We also enjoyed wild leeks in our garden salad. Then...I made some fresh brownies which would have tasted a lot better with a scoop of ice cream but...I forgot to ask #1 Son to buy some ice cream for me while he was at the store.

Happy


Mother's


Day!


#1 Son made me some wonderful cinnabon-style cinnamon buns this morning. Early this morning. He was just finishing up drizzling on the frosting when I walked into the kitchen at 6 AM. Wow! He either stayed up all night to make them or he got up REALLY early. Lots earlier than me...and that's saying something. We each inhaled one of the cinnamon buns before #1 Son toddled off for a quick nap. Me! I was bouncing off the ceiling as I made coffee and took Kylee for our morning perimeter check. However, I was hungry again for the Mother's Day buffet at one of the local resorts where HTP and #1 Son took me at 10 AM. It wasn't the best buffet in the world but...it was the first breakfast that I haven't had to cook in a really long time. That counts for a lot. Hearing from both DD Daughter and Sarge made my Mother's Day complete.

I picked, cleaned and froze another two quarts of dandelion blossoms....and...no woodticks...yet. HTP and I will have to split some logs. With all the fireplace fires we've been having, our fireplace wood in the garage is dwindling rapidly.

Random Thought of the Day

Do people in prison celebrate halloween.... if so how?

Noteworthy Quote of the Day

Americans adore me and will go on adoring me until I say something nice about them.

- George Bernard Shaw (1856 - 1950)

It's SNOWING! Well...not quite as much as is shown in this old photo of Sarge and #1 Son but...it IS snowing.

Word of the Day

Sudoopooscoo - A super-duper-pooper-scooper; A device used to pick up one's dog's poop.

Kylee got her new dog tag and some more puppy kibble yesterday as well some dog treats and a couple of fun toys. Everyone at PetSmart came over to admire Kylee and give her a pat. She loved it. I also stumbled across a new toy for my folks' dog Sandy....one that I don't think she'll be able to destroy. I noticed that she was already having a great deal of fun with it this afternoon after I helped Sis unload her purchases from the Gator and before I headed back home to take care of my own purchases. Hey! I'm allowed to spoil my folks' dog. I think the rule falls under the same classification as the rule where grandparents are allowed to spoil their grandchildren.

Today? Sis and I went out to our local nursery and purchased bedding plants. Of course, with the frigid temperatures and a prediction of 2 to 4 inches of snow tonight...those bedding plants are going to be sitting in my garage for a while. As it is, I covered my tomato plants an hour after I uncovered them this morning and it's doubtful that I'll even bother uncovering them tomorrow. The temperatures outside have steadily dropped. It is currently 36 degrees outside so our precipitation is cold...very cold...rain but we're only four degrees from snow.

Random Thought of the Day

Do the security guards at airports have to go through airport security when they get to work?

Noteworthy Quote of the Day

The only normal people are the ones you don't know very well.
Joe Ancis

Snow at The Lake?

Word of the Day

Sudoopoo - A super duper pooper; extremely downhearted feelings.

Woodtick Count - 11

I thought I'd get away without adding the woodtick count but...I just found the latest one walking across the screen of my laptop just now as I blogged. *sigh* Gotta love live here in the big woods.

It's been one of those days which doesn't encourage a body to go outside. Of course, when that body owns a dog, going outside isn't exactly a choice. Rain or Shine. Maybe if we were back in Arizona where we have a fenced backyard...but...come to think of it, Kylee would probably find a scorpion, a black widow, or even a snake if I didn't go outside with her, even if I were outside with her.

Today was cold, windy, and off and on rainy. Tomorrow? I hear that we may even get some snow? I don't think I'll bother uncovering my plants tomorrow. HTP and I are going to be heading to The Big City right after breakfast and it doesn't look like the temperatures will rise higher than the low 50's with the possibility of snow tomorrow night.

HTP's got an eye appointment tomorrow. Me? Kylee and I plan to make a stop at PetSmart. She needs an ID tag and some more puppy kibble. Aside from that, we plan to make a Costco run. I'll probably bring along a book to read while HTP is having his eyes examined.

Random Thought of the Day

Why are all of the Harry Potter spells in Latin if they're English?

Noteworthy Quote of the Day

Men, it has been well said, think in herds; it will be seen that they go mad in herds, while they only recover their senses slowly, and one by one.

- Charles Mackay

Word of the Day

Succubeebish - The gelatinous substance found surrounding canned hams and vienna sausages.

Woodtick Count - 10

When I woke up this morning, the lake was still as glass. I know. That's a pretty trite way of phrasing things but...I can't think of any other way to put it. Kylee and I went down to the dock and I was afraid that she was going to jump right off the end of the dock, mistaking the surface of the lake for something solid that could be walked on. Never fear, I kept her leash tightly in hand.

Now...here's the deal. Today was laundry day. *sigh* I REALLY wanted to take advantage of the quiet lake to go out fishing...but...I was feeling guilty about putting off chores in order to go fishing. Chores vs. Fishing. Fishing won out...for a bit. Nothing was biting and the wind started to pick up. *sigh* So...I rowed back to shore, stowed my gear, and did the laundry. But...that's not all...

I also picked, cleaned and froze another 2 quarts of dandelion blossoms. Ergo, the addition of three woodticks to the woodtick count. However, I now have enough dandelion blossoms to make two batches of dandelion wine...though...I'd like to pick more blossoms, but, not today. There's a field by my mailbox out on the main road that had LOTS of huge dandelion blossoms. I may try picking there next time. One thing that made the whole process easier this time was the introduction of latex gloves which almost completely eliminated the problem of finger stains.

All my fishing gear is down at the dock, stowed in our big boat. It'll be a lot easier for me to run down to the dock to see if the bass are biting...next time.

Random Thought of the Day

What do Greeks say when they don't understand something?

Noteworthy Quote of the Day

One of the keys to happiness is a bad memory.

- Rita Mae Brown

My Mom says that Kylee always looks so serious. She should have seen Kylee racing around the yard with a huge stick in her mouth...or watch as she rolled down the hill. It's kind of hard to take pictures of that sort of thing.

Word of the Day

Submitication - To submit an entry to an online dictionary or other collection in hopes that one's entry will result in a communication between the submitter and the administrators of said website.

I'm having a lazy day. Aside from making a couple loaves of banana bread and re-filling my two squirrel buster bird feeders, I haven't done anything other than sit and watch TV while holding a chew toy for Kylee (so she wouldn't bite my hands raw). It's been overcast the entire day and it feels like fall and my energy level has been low. On the plus side, I didn't add to my woodtick count. However, HTP claims that he found one crawling on the bathroom floor and I removed a couple that I found on munching on Kylee. I do plan on making some homemade pizza for supper tonight. It's Monday TV night. I'm thawing out some pepperoni that Sis gave me and my last container of homemade pesto.

Random Thought of the Day

Do all-boys schools have girls bathrooms? Conversely, do all-girls schools have boys bathrooms?

Noteworthy Quote of the Day

The place where optimism most flourishes is the lunatic asylum.

- Havelock Ellis (1859 - 1939)

My Boat is Waiting

Word of the Day

Submiss - To click a "submit" button that fails to function properly.

Woodtick Count - 7

Yesterday was the first day of fishing here at The Lake. Sadly, the first day of fishing was definitely a bust....at least for me. There's no way that I'd ever consider going fishing with the wind blowing so hard out there. However, there are some die hard fishermen out there in boats. I know that Sis' hubby and his friend have been out too. Brrrr. I'm not sure how anyone was keeping anchored with all that wind. White caps and huge waves. It was definite rock the boat weather. Our thermometer read 59 degrees outside. I'm not sure what the wind chill was but it felt darn cold. I was hoping that things would calm down a bit by supper time but they didn't.

Instead, despite the fact that it's still too cold to plant anything outside, I did plant another four tomato plants in containers outside down off my lower deck (2 Best Boys, 1 Italia, and 1 Mexicana -- four of the ones that I grew from seed and these four were getting a bit leggy and toppling over in their inside pots -- the rest aren't so big and can wait until Mother's Day?). I'll cover my eight pioneering tomato plants with empty pots (just in case) when I take Kylee out for our last perimeter check each night. I've got more tomato plants that I can possibly use this year so I'm hoping that Sis and Mom are going to take some of my surplus. As it is, I'll be planting more than twice as many tomato plants this summer than I planted last summer. If they all do well, I'll be canning lots of tomatoes and making lots of V-8 Juice.

Things looked a bit more promising, fish-wise, today but, alas, the wind resumed to the extent that I decided it would be best to see if things will get better tomorrow. Instead, I picked, cleaned, and froze two quarts of dandelion blossoms with the making of Dandelion Wine on my mind. In the course of picking the dandelion blossoms, I also acquired four woodticks. One must pay a price for one's art...hobby. I tasted a bit of the dandelion wine Sis and I made a couple of years ago. At the risk of breaking my arm, patting myself on the back, I must say that Sis and I did a terrific job on that wine. Yummm!!! So yummy that I'll probably risk more woodticks in the coming days (and green and yellow finger syndrome) to collect and process another pound and a half of dandelions. Also, ecologically speaking, every dandelion blossom that I pick lessens the amount of dandelion seeds blowing all over my lawn and I won't need to worry so much about using weed-killer.

Random Thought of the Day

Are children who act in rated 'R' movies allowed to see them?

Noteworthy Quote of the Day

I haven't spoken to my wife in years. I didn't want to interrupt her.

- Rodney Dangerfield (1921 - 2004)

More and More Wildflowers are Making an Appearance

Word of the Day

Subatomic toasticle - Any tiny fragment of toast left behind in the butter.

Here we go again. Once again, the days have flown by and I haven't taken the time or had the energy to blog.

Wednesday? I prepped my container gardens and Earthboxes for planting. Done. It took most of the day but I even cut and secured the plastic sheeting that each of the Earthboxes require. As soon as it's safe (no frost in sight), I'll plant my gardens. Next week?

Thursday? Well...I have to admit. I kind of took the day off and vegged out with a good book. HTP and I celebrated our anniversary. We went out to dinner at a restaurant in a neighboring town, enjoying our first night out for a long time. We went out to supper at a place called Hanson’s Hide-A-Way in Haugen. The owner was manning the bar when we got there and made us feel right at home. We sat in the bar to have a few pre-dinner drinks and chatted with her and another couple who had just returned from Texas and who stay at the camp ground on Bear Lake during the summer. They do the whole RV trailer thing and during the winter months, their mailing address is the same town where Sarge and D Buddy live. Small world.

After a few drinks, HTP and I headed off to the dining area. The prawns are fantastic. Too bad there were only four of them but HTP gave me some of his all-you-can-eat shrimp. Next time I’d order a baked potato instead of the sweet potato fries and maybe I’d pile my plate up a bit more at the salad bar. Even though the prawns weren’t cheap, they were delicious and well worth the price.

Today? I baked a couple loaves of bread and made some croutons out of the last few slices of the bread I baked previously. After lunch, I went out and dug three pounds of wild leeks. It took me another two and a half hours to clean, chop, and freeze them in one cup portions. I kept some fresh leeks out to use in salads, but I chopped and froze the rest to use in soups and other cooked dishes. I suppose I may go out and dig more wild leeks to use fresh but with limited freezer space, I don't think I'll be digging mass quantities again this spring. With all the tromping around in the woods, I wouldn't be surprised if my woodtick count goes up tomorrow.

Of course, Kylee training is a daily process and she's making progress. I’ve started teaching her the “Box” command (Kylee, get in your box), using treats as a lure. I break up the tiny treats into six tinier treats…nibbles. Hey! It works. On our obedience training walks, I just started the “Stay” command. Today, when we came inside from our obedience training session, I walked her on “heel” over to her box and gave her the “Box” command. She got right and laid down. Then I told her to “Stay” and I backed away, just using the hand command for “stay”. I repeated the exercise three more times, successfully, and then I put her in her kennel to think about the lesson. We may have another “Box” lessons later tonight but,of course, we always take the time to enjoy some play sessions with her toys.

Random Thought of the Day

How come cats butts go up when you pet them?

Noteworthy Quote of the Day

I never put on a pair of shoes until I've worn them at least five years.

- Samuel Goldwyn (1882 - 1974)

Summer 2009 Wine

I didn't take any pictures of the Arizona wine bottling done here in Wisconsin for the very first time...but...my table looked a lot like it did after bottling the summer wines last fall.


Word of the Day

Stylephile - A person who is obsessive and inundated with current fashions.

Sis and I racked the Mulligan Berry Wine and then racked and bottled the Arizona wines. We ended up with 36 bottles of Prickly Pear Cactus wine, 28 bottles of Pomegranate wine (made with barley water), and 37 bottles of Pomegranate wine (made with white grape juice). We started at around 10 AM and didn't finish until after it was time to start dinner.

After throwing some wings in the oven for our Monday night TV night, I took my share of the wine down to the my basement wine cellar. Lots of wine! I really should start drinking more of it. Oh well...maybe tonight. HTP and I watched a new episode of Chuck, a re-run of Two and a Half Men, a re-run of The Big Bang Theory, and a new episode of Nurse Jackie.

Today? Aside from taking Kylee for her obedience training walk and doing laundry, I spent most of the day hauling wine-making supplies back down to the basement storage room. I also packed away half of my half of the Arizona wine to take back to Arizona, stored three small bottles (one of each wine)up on the shelf where I keep samples of each of our wines, and stored the rest of the wine in the wine racks T-Square made for me. Sis and I will be starting more of our Wisconsin wines...next month. Our first 2010 Wisconsin wine (Mulligan Berry Wine) is one month old.

Random Thought of the Day

What would happen to the sea's water level if every boat in the World was taken out of the water at the same time?

Noteworthy Quote of the Day

An economist is a surgeon with an excellent scalpel and a rough-edged lancet, who operates beautifully on the dead and tortures the living.

- Nicholas Chamfort (1741 - 1794)

Kylee Wonders Why I Can't Walk Faster

Word of the Day

Sturp - The last bead of toothpaste remaining behind the nozzle of the tube that cannot be reached, barring disassembly.

2010 Woodtick Count - 3

We met #1 Son for an All-You-Can-Eat Fish Fry supper on Friday night. On Saturday, we ended up spending most of the day inside because it rained for most of the day. I made some compound butter, using some of the wild leeks I'd dug and cleaned. Then, I made a batch of Italian pizzelle so I could send some back home with #1 Son. We made steaks on the grill for supper on Saturday night with a bit of the wild leek compound butter I'd made melted on top. HTP made French fries and I provided a healthy garden salad...with minced wild leeks, of course. Yummy!

You'd think that I'd have been discouraged from digging any more holes after the two that I dug on Friday. Well...

Our lake is part of a chain of lakes and that chain of lakes has an association that encourages preservation of the lakes and the shores surrounding those lakes. The lake association is nothing like a regular homeowners association. For one thing, there is no requirement to become part of the association and the annual fee is considerably lower than for a homeowners association. Anyway, every year, the lake association provides free dry root trees to its members. The first four trees are free, but, you can purchase additional trees at a nominal cost (a dollar a piece).

This year, for some reason or other, HTP and I never received the association newsletter with the form to request the free trees. So...I thought that we'd missed out this year but, I decided to stop by at the warehouse where the trees were being distributed on Saturday morning, just in case they might have some extra trees. Woohoo! I was able to pick up four dry root wild plum trees! Just what I wanted!

It rained for most of the day on Saturday but, not discouraged, I snuck out between the bouts of rain, dug four large holes (removing lots of rocks...but not too bad) and planted my four wild plum trees. They're small but I'm hoping that they'll mature rapidly so Sis and I can harvest wild plums to expand our wine-making repertoire. Besides, Sis has a wonderful recipe for plum liqueur that uses wild plums. In the meantime, I think I might make some hardware cloth collars for the new trees to protect them from critters. I figure that with the six wild plum trees that she got and the four I got and I think my folks got four or six...we'll eventually end up with LOTS of wild plums.

Random Thought of the Day

How come you never see a billboard being put up by the highway?

Noteworthy Quote of the Day

A successful individual typically sets his next goal somewhat but not too much above his last achievement. In this way he steadily raises his level of aspiration.

- Kurt Lewin (1890 - 1947)

Blueberry Hill - April 23, 2010

Kylee felt like she had to inspect the currant bushes that have been doing quite well...which isn't surprising because I'm the one that planted them...not the landscaper.

Word of the Day

Stuponfucious - Describing something as being awesome.

The two blueberry bushes that I ordered online came today! Both are high bush varieties and both should prosper in our planting zone (Zone 3). One is called Patriot, the other is called Jersey. They aren't much to look at right now but they'll grow. My other blueberry bushes (on Blueberry Hill) have never produced like I'd like...though...I still hold out hope that with proper care and fertilization, they may eventually produce. However, while prepping the holes for these two bushes, I can see why they aren't doing all that well. They were planted by our landscaper and I had my suspicions because I've encountered the same planting style used by him in the past when I've dug out some of the dead and dying plants that he planted for us up here. How can anyone think that something will grow and prosper in soil that contains more stones, rocks, and boulders than actual soil? Today, I dug out an ornamental bush that wasn't doing well in its rocky environment at the foot of Blueberry Hill and found a spare spot on Blueberry Hill to dig the other hole. I could hardly dig for all the rocks and boulders, some of which were so heavy that I could barely maneuver them out of the holes. I dug two holes that were three times as deep and as wide as necessary and back-filled them with a combination of sifted lake soil and MiracleGro garden soil to which I added some aluminum sulfate. Hopefully, all my prep work will produce two very healthy blueberry bushes which will, in turn, produce buckets of blueberries.

Random Thought of the Day

Do the English people eat English muffins, or are they just called muffins?

Noteworthy Quote of the Day

Summer afternoon - Summer afternoon... the two most beautiful words in the English language.

- Henry James (1843 - 1916)

My Hyacinth is Blooming...but quite frankly, I've never thought it looked much like a hyacinth....but it is....really. However, it's never lived up to the display picture where I bought the bulb several years ago.


Word of the Day

Stupiphany - Stemming from a flash of insight: an idea that seems brilliant until one starts to tell it to someone else.

2010 Woodtick Count - 2

I hauled the additional eight cubic feet of potting soil that HTP and I bought yesterday down to the lower patio. I've already used four cubic feet of the new stuff, but, it looks like I won't need to purchase any more this season...I hope. As HTP pointed out, I could have purchased a LOT of tomatoes for what I've spent on potting soil and pots.

Despite the scare of falling off the dock, Kylee has gotten over her fear of the dock. She's not fond of the boats and she's being fairly a bit more cautious, but, she hasn't quibbled about walking out to the end of the dock with me and sitting for a bit.

Meanwhile, obedience training continues. Kylee is doing pretty good with the sit command but I don't think I'll progress to the stay command until she can perform reliably with distractions. Distractions like people, cars, squirrels, chipmunks, mice, June bugs, flying leaves....you get the idea. However, having said that, she's doing quite well with minor corrections. I wish she was doing as well with her house-breaking. She'll be four months old at the end of this month. I suppose I should be happy that she's keeping her kennel clean and she sleeps through the night. I just wish she were more reliable for longer periods of time in her play pen.

Random Thought of the Day

How much deeper would the ocean be if sponges didn't grow in it?

Noteworthy Quote of the Day

I guess we'd be living in a boring, perfect world if everybody wished everybody else well.

- Jennifer Aniston