Summer..and the Living is Fun

Summer is my favorite time of year. This July had been so nice with family coming to visit and doing all those summer things like toasting marshmellows on a campfire, swimming in a river or pond, watching fire works, hanging at the Mollyockett Days fair and celebration here in Bethel, listening to live music at the gazebo, eating lobster rolls, watching the frog jumping contest, watching the parade, looking at fireflies blink off then on in our yard. Summer is my Nirvana and here are just a few of the photos taken over the last month.

Perennial Gifts

When we looked at our home for the first time last November before we made an offer to buy it, well it was November. The leaves were all off of the trees and covering most of the yard area so we really didn’t know just what to expect come this spring and summer. The bamboo came early and fast and I’m still battling it convinced I’m going to win even though I have heard more than once the phrase “You’re never going to get rid of that stuff.” I’m patient and persistent and I’m giving myself a good two years to fight the bamboo war. On the other side of the worm though came beautiful flowers; Irises, Tigerlilys, Peonies, Hostas and an assortment of other perennial gifts which were unexpected and are delightfully appreciated. Here are some pictures of what has been growing around the house to date. Enjoy!

Dusty’s Alive!

Lauren called me last night about 10:00 pm from Massachusetts and in a very excited voice said “Some woman has Dusty!” That was a shocker for both of us. It has been six weeks since we last saw Dusty and we had final come to accept that she wasn’t going to be in our life anymore. Boy she proved us wrong.

Sarah called Lauren after she was able to lure Dusty into her garage with a can of tuna fish and read the tag on her collar which fortunately remained around her neck. I called Sarah right back, got directions to her house and booked it over there. I couldn’t believe how far Dusty had travelled and I couldn’t believe she was still alive. Sarah and (Dave…I think) live over by Rabbit Road off of Route 26 which is four and a half miles from our house on the other side of town. They were so kind and concerned and were keeping a close eye on her until I arrived.

As soon as I went in their garage I picked her up and said “Dusty…where have you been?” in kitty talk and she immediately started purring. She hadn’t forgotten me. After thanking Dusty’s “Guardian Angels” we drove back home and Dusty chowed down a whole can of cat food. She remembers the house and me and I think she’s wondering where Lauren is. She’s lost some weight and feels boney. I don’t have a scale but I would guess she lost about 3 pounds and because I know she was only 10 pounds before she feels light at 7 pounds. She has a little patch of fur on her head that looks like it got scraped off somehow and is growing back. She has been SO “lovey-dovey” since she came back. She slept on me and tight against me all night long and every time she woke she would talk to me to be sure I was still there and I had to pat her and talk back before she would go back to sleep. She’s wiped out and has been sleeping most of today but every now and then when she wakes she rubs against me, jumps on my lap and relishes every pat I give her. I can tell she is really happy to be home and we’re really happy she made it. If she could only talk what a story she could probably tell us.

Welcome back….you little bugger.

Amber and Tommie

Amber and Tommie sitting in a Tree
Mom is W-A-I-T-I-N-G
First comes LOVE
Then comes College
Then comes Maya and
Then comes Marriage

Yep. Who would-a thunk? 11 years together and Thomas Locke Watson pops the question to Amber Elizabeth Gailitis and she says…..YES. (Although I think she first said…Are you kidding?)

So it is Official. Amber and Tommie are engaged to be married. We don’t know when yet because I don’t think they know when. First the Planners must Plan and then they will reveal that Plan at the Planned upon hour…so stay tuned.

Congratulations Tommie and Amber. Maybe it was Pre-Destined when you could smell each other in the Maternity Ward at Addison Gilbert Hospital 26 years ago. Who knows? You two are definitely kindred souls and amazing individuals.

Thanks for letting us know on Father’s Day. You definitely caught me by surprise and it was such a neat gift even though it’s about you. I love you both and I wish that all your Desires move you True.

Good Bye Dusty Noel

It’s time to say a proper good bye to Dusty Noel our cat of 11 years. She’s been missing for about one month now and given the deep woods which are located behind our house and the variety of creatures which live in those woods, the likelihood that she was caught as prey by one of them seems high. It’s been a sad thought for us these last few weeks. Dusty seemed to have had more than 9 lives. She was an indoor/outdoor cat and did pretty well herself catching the mice, moles, and unfortunately birds around the neighborhood.

She came into our life very shortly after our previous cat Rachel had passed away of old age one weekend. If I remember correctly Amber’s friend Claire Guidry knew someone who had young cats or kittens out behind their house and the family wanted to find a home for them and Claire was the temporary caregiver of Dusty. A cat was the last thing I wanted after our other cat died but Lauren and the girls decided to “surprise” me after work one night and picked me up with our “new” kitten in the car. It’s not easy arguing with daughters who want a kitten. So Dusty became part of the family.

Over the years Dusty and I built a symbiotic relationship where early in the morning mostly just before dawn (if it wasn’t cold and raining) Dusty would rustle around letting me know she wanted to go outside and my bladder said you might as well, you need to pee anyway. So that’s how it worked many a morning. She related to each one of us in the family a little differently. I think we all agree she seemed to like Amber the best maybe because Eva’s music was a little LOUD during those days. Dusty was a well travelled cat and when we moved to California she flew out in cargo and adapted to the life style of big apartment living in San Diego. She remained an indoor/outdoor cat there and when we lived at The Villas of Renaissance it was on the fourth (top) floor, so we would walk down the hallway, open the door at the fire escape and she would walk down the four flights of stairs and hang outside in the tropical shrubs and landscaping at The Villas all day long. Sometimes when we were at the pool or hot tub she would know and come around to visit us. At the end of the day I would jingle my car keys at the top of the fire escape stairway and she would come up and in for the night. We lived in three different apartments in San Diego and each one she adapted to quite well. One night Lauren saw a coyote chase her up a tree upon which I climbed up later to get her down from the tree.

When we left San Diego this past winter she ended up being my sole travelling companion in the cab of the Penske Truck for more than 3,000 miles and a full week of driving. At night she would let me know if the hotel/motel room was to her liking. She preferred the Hampton Inns over the Motel 6 and so did I.

When we made it to Massachusetts we left her there in Magnolia with Amber, Tommie and Maya (and Frank and Joan) for a few months until we were able to go back down to pick her up and bring her to her “new” home here in Bethel. It didn’t last long….three weeks…and the last time I saw Dusty she was out behind the Barn with me around 8:00 PM as I was gathering kindling wood for a campfire we had.
Ah Dusty….we all miss you, you little bugger. Rest in Peace.

Spring is here!

I guess once you cut your lawn for the first time of the season it has to be spring. I cut my lawn for the first time last Saturday with the new Honda lawn mower I bought. All I can say is the lawn mower is wicked nice and my lawn seems wicked big. It’s looking nice after I made the cut and raked up all the twigs and thatch in the lawn. No sooner did I finish that and about 200 dandelions popped up out of the lawn two days later. Some people consider dandelions weeds but I actually like them. I think they look beautiful with their bright round yellow heads in contrast against a dark green lawn. I don’t intend to purposely get rid of them except when I mow them down next time. But I won’t dig them up or put weed killer on them. Give me dandelions any day just take my bamboo.
So new events since the last time I wrote would be; I paid my taxes so now I’m broke, our neighbor caught a raccoon that was rummaging around our barn in a Hav-a-Hart trap and relocated it for us, and we now know we have a Porcupine that comes into the barn because I’ve found two quills recently where it seems it has a fondness for the wood which is part of the stairs. It just chews away on the wood. We joined the Bethel Historical Society and attended a talk there two weeks ago.
We also joined the CSA at Middle Intervale Farm in Bethel. If you don’t know, a C.S.A stands for Community Supported Agriculture and what it really does is build a relationship between you and the farmer who grows the food you put in your mouth. When I go to the “supermarket” I have no idea who grew the lettuce, tomatoes, and asparagus or raised the beef I bought to eat. At the CSA I do know. Cynthia Flores and her helpers grow the veggies and John Carter raises the Angus cattle for the beef. The other benefit is the food we purchase here will only travel 3 miles back to my house before I eat it and not a few hundred or a few thousand miles. So with the CSA you pay them some upfront money and commit that you’ll be a customer and for that they give you a dividend of extra food. For example $150 will buy us $160.50 worth of food so it’s equal to a 7% dividend. This farm has a wonderful farm stand where it’s done on the honor system. You select your items, write down your name and amount and leave the cash in the cookie tin unless you’re a CSA member where you just log your purchase. Lauren and I went there yesterday because they just opened for the season. We bought some fiddleheads and some Angus T-bone steaks for the grill and had a feast. Yum!
We finally went to Massachusetts on Monday to pick up Dusty our cat that was staying with Amber, Tommie and the in-laws. It’s been two nights in Maine and I think she likes it. She has new places to explore, new smells to smell and maybe she even missed me and Lauren.
Today a young deer crossed over our lawn and then went across the street to the brook and golf course but Dusty missed that sighting. Finally the picture of the Turkey above Lauren took on Monday in front of Rite-Aid which is the busiest intersection in Bethel…..not that we have a lot of busy intersections to choose from. We’re enjoying spring and hope all of you are too!

How much Garden could a Woodchuck eat if a Woodchuck could eat my Garden

I’ve been thinking about planting a garden in the side yard ever since we bought this house in December. The main concern about having a garden for me was… would there be enough sun? About two weeks ago Lauren and I were eating lunch and I noticed this… movement next to the house by the barn. It started to head in our direction, so I grabbed the camera and told Lauren I thought was a beaver… but it didn’t have that beaver-type tail? We took these pictures of the critter, Lauren did some research and eventually identified it correctly as a Woodchuck, also known as a Groundhog,…. that’s right our own Punxsutawney Phil type character.
As I began to read about woodchucks I found out rather quickly that they are not a gardener’s best friend. They love vegetables and they can do a number on a garden in short order. This started to concern me about the success of any garden I might plant. One website showed me how to build something resembling Fort Knox under and around a garden. First you bury the wire fencing in the ground about 6 inches directly under the garden then come up all sides of it at least four feet high on posts where you then leave an additional two feet of fencing hanging loose so that if they do climb up the fence they cannot hang on to the floppy part and fall back to the ground. Hey, I just wanted to have a garden not a border patrol.
As we talk to people around here we instantly find there is a clear disdain for Woodchucks. We met a local guy just the other night who clearly loves life and has to be one of the seemingly happiest people I have met in a while. He was telling us how much he loved his ex-wife even though he just couldn’t get along with her. But once we mentioned the Woodchuck in our yard his reaction was quick and pointed as he raised his fist and said “Death to the Woodchuck." Earlier we had mentioned our woodchuck dilemma to someone who you may consider your grandmother, and she told us her solution was getting out her 22 and shooting it. She was not kidding.
It seems everyone here has a woodchuck story. When we attended a class last week on Organic Gardening (which was wonderful by the way) the speaker told us she uses the Hav-a-Hart trap and caught nine then relocated them before it seemed they were all gone. I don’t know…Wood it be easier to buy my veggies from the local farmer OR must I battle the Woodchuck?