Deer Slayer

We had a little excitement on Miller Creek the other evening.  The folks were just settling in to watch "Smokey and the Bandit" when, of course, Jacob Barker had to go outside.  He has impeccable timing.  So the movie was paused, and the dog was let out. 

Usually when Jake wants in he gives out a "woof".  Just one, unless I'm not fast enough for his liking.  I wasn't back on the couch two minutes before I heard woof.  I went to the door, but he was laying in the yard looking toward the field, not interested in coming in.  I said "no barking", and went back to the movie.

"Woof.............. woof........................................woof."   I went and looked out the window.  Nothing there, and he didn't want in, so I told him to zip it and went back to the movie.  Maybe another minute passed and he was barking like crazy.

I went outside, but still didn't see anything amiss.  This time, he came over to be let into the house, so in we went.  Maybe another two minutes went by before he went absolutely bonkers.  This time he and The Brown Eyed Man went out to investigate just what the heck was going on.

I took the opportunity to catch up on some WWFriends on my phone, but didn't get far before I heard "JAKE GET BACK" being shouted from somewhere in the yard.  Now, I have mentioned before that when things I love are threatened I tend to react first and think later.  Although my mind was racing,  I knew The Man went out unarmed, and I knew I needed some sort of weapon to defend my boys.

So I jumped up (in my jammies) from the couch, ran to the door, grabbed the ball peen hammer that was sitting in the tote I keep near the door for any tools that make their way into the house, and shot out onto the porch.  Dead silence.  No man, no dog, no noise.   What the hell??!!

I walked out into the yard, calling out "Are you o.k.?", and was met with a "Yeah." from the general direction of the garage.  Then Jake came running around the garage.  I expected he might smell of skunk, but he didn't.  I gave him a few pats, and then The Man came around the garage.  He saw me standing there with the hammer that is almost to heavy to hold, and laughed his head off.  Fine way to treat your defender........

So here's what happened.  Jacob must have had his eye on two deer that were way back in the field in front of the house.  When he and The Man walked closer the deer ran , and Jake took off like a shot after them.  Apparently he was fifty yards out in seconds.  When The Brown Eyed Man yelled "Jake get back here!" the dog screeched to a halt, turned around and came right back, because that's how good he is.

So I ran out in my jammies to defend against some deer, because that's how I roll.  It makes me think of this hillbilly woman I saw on t.v. once.  She was wearing a moo-moo and went running after some folk because, "You upset my goat, and my man!"  I thought it was hilarious, because she put the goat first.  (But I get it.........)

Gardening Anyone?

Whew!  I am exhausted.  I love to garden, but getting new gardens set up takes a LOT of work!  My plan was just to put in two 4x6 veggie gardens, but I have also dug out an iris bed near the house and am starting a flower garden in the back, on the side of our very steep hill.  There's a section of it that gets overgrown because you can't get in there with a riding mower, so we are going to make it a "formal" garden.  There will be some old rail ties holding it all in on one side and the bottom, but the rest will just be part of the natural hill.

How many of you think at some point I am going to do a terrific slide/roll down said hill while I am trying to dig out this thing?  Well, it almost happened today because I did not have appropriate footwear on.  Old crocs are great if your feet are hot, but they have no grab.  Note to self, keep the tennis shoes on. 

The only thing I planted today are the Spicata bulbs.  There were twenty five, so it was quite a job.  Hopefully the dang squirrels weren't watching.  I would also like to know what the devil happened to my lil spade?  That would have come in handy........  Guess it will go on my shopping list.  That, and more dirt.  The dirt is so sandy and nice by the house.  Of course where I tried to dig out the veggie gardens and the flower bed is fabulous old Superior clay. 

Getting Started

Saturday morning we headed to town for breakfast, lumber, and a couple different kind of bulbs.  The flower garden is going to be mostly perennial.  I smashed my thumb before we even got home with the lumber, The Brown Eyed Man said, "That's a project well begun."

Laying Out Pieces

I played puzzle for awhile, trying to get a feel for how I want the two gardens to go.  They will pretty much be how they are right here, just a bit closer together.  That leaves lots of room for expansion. Somewhere during this part of the project The Man got a big sliver in his thumb.  He said, "That's a project half done."

The Claw

I borrowed the "garden claw" from my brother Jerry, because it's the easiest way I know to rip sod out of the ground.  I started working on that, while The Brown Eyed Man began cutting and putting together the frames. 

Shadow Selfie

When The Man was finished with the frames he took over the sod removal job, and I started filling in spots in the back where sod was needed.  Then we both piled sod in the garden cart to be used in the big mud hole in front.  We still have one more to build, so we should have enough sod to fill that bugger up!  The garden cart has a new wheel, and it rides a little differently than I'm used to.  When I dumped a pile of sod it popped up and caught me in the leg.  I said.......... well, I'm not going to print what I said. :)  Sore and battle scarred, it was a good day!

One Done!

The Dan Phannes Chair

I can not remember the exact year, but it was sometime in the early 2000's.  We had been visiting down in the cities at my ex sister-in-laws house, and happened to mention that we were looking for computer chairs.  Her boyfriend Ric was a postal carrier at the time, and his route took him through downtown Minneappolis.  Apparently the large office buildings have huge walk in dumpsters.  Ric had quite a collection of things that had come from these, including some beautiful plants, and several computer chairs.  I know that day we brought an orange computer chair home, and the Dan Phannes chair.

I call it the Dan Phannes chair, because on the back it says Dan Phannes in permanent marker.  This is my brother (Bumpie) David, sitting in said chair, fixing my computer, on Christmas day 2011.  If you look close you can see where the name is.

There's something very special about the Dan Phannes chair. It doesn't grab when you sit on it, (probably why it was in the dumpster) so you can't set it to any height.  It just automatically goes to the basement.  That is perfect for me, because I have lil legs.  I could always have both feet firmly planted on the floor in the Dan Phannes chair!  The added bonus was watching unsuspecting tall people go to sit in it.  BAM, to the basement!  The Brown Eyed Man took a few trips, and every time my sister in law Elise sat in it, away she would go!

The Dan Phannes chair made the move out to the country with me, but for whatever reason never made it through the front door.  I sit in my rocking chair at the computer these days.  We probably just didn't have the need for any more chairs, so it spent the entire winter outside behind the garage, waiting for Spring clean up in town. 

Today I took the Dan Phannes chair to town and set it by my sister's curb for the city clean up.  When Kate and CeCe went out to play this evening, it was gone.  Yep, someone took the Dan Phannes chair.  Saved from the garbage dump once again!

Got Gas?

When I was a little girl, back in the seventies, my Mom would always gas up the car at "Panks" full service gas station, which was just around the block from our house.  She would pull up, unroll the window, smile purdy at the man who came a runnin' and say "Filler up please."  Then she would light up a cig, take a few long drags and relax, while the three of us were distracted by the goings on at the station. (Please see her in cat eye glasses, with red lipstick, because that my friends, was my Mom.) The best days were when we would get the car washed too.  That was awesome!  I couldn't tell you the last time I was in a car wash.  My current vehicle has a disappearing paint issue, and I'm afraid that if I take it in there I will come out sans paint altogether!

I have owned a couple of cars in my life, and they were fine, but this car, my Mitsubishi Eclipse, I love.  I don't care that it's 14 years old.  I don't care that half the paint is gone.  The car runs well, and got me though this winter alive.  It was love at first sight actually.  I saw a for sale sign in the window, realized it was a Mom's car from my four/five year old class at the Y, asked her the price, drove it around the block, and it was sold. 

While I love my car, it hasn't changed the fact that I have issues with car maintenance.  If there was a full service gas station close by I would pay more to go there.  I absolutely abhor anything that has to do with caring for the car.  I blame my Mom.  It was formed in my brain during my early years that there are people who take care of this sort of thing, but by the time I needed them, they were gone.  So you would think some big ol man in my life would just take care of it.  You would think that wouldn't you.  Nope. Never.  Not even the race car driver, although he will if I ask him, but I can tell he would prefer it if I were a grease monkey kind of gal. (NEVER gonna happen.  N.E.V.E.R.)  Although, I am so good at putting air in tires that I can eyeball when they are good to go.  Gauge smauge.  For whatever reason, I can't even remember to get the oil changed when I should.  The thought crosses my mind, and then seven months later it crosses my mind.........

For the record though, I did check the oil the other day, and when I had no heat in the car one day last winter, I knew the coolant was probably low.  I was the one who filled it.  I have learned where it goes and what to do, although I hated every minute of it.

That's a lot of rambling to get us to the story!  Oh well.  If you made it this far, here goes:

Every time I put gas in the car, and I have had this car for something like eight years, I eye ball the gas cap.  It's freewheelin', no cord to attach it to anything, so I am always terrified I am going to leave it behind.  You know, I'm me, and it doesn't take a whole lot to distract me from what I'm doing.  I have a ritual of how I do things at the station, so that the chance of leaving it behind is slim.  It ends with listening for the clicks as I tighten it back on.  I do the same thing each and every time.

Imagine my shock, surprise, and horror this past Saturday when I went to put gas in my car and the gas cap was (gasp) GONE!  What???  I had been driving around for days without it.  I tried to remember when and where I had gotten gas last, and I think I know, but I'm not sure.  I asked if they had a "lost and found for gas caps" but they didn't have any. :(  I always set it on the car, so I really could have driven for awhile before it fell off.  I'm not totally convinced someone didn't take it, because I am so dang careful about that.

So today I drove over to NAPPA before CeCe's spring concert at school, and bought a new one.  It's a cheap plastic imitation, but it fits, and it makes the clicking noise, so I should be able to continue my gas filling routine and not lose this one.  The guy at NAPPA asked me if I wanted a locking one.  I practically shouted NO at him.  "NO, I obviously have enough problems." is what I said.  :)  Cheezits, I can see it now.  Locked out of the gas tank...........

For the record, I handled it myself.  I did, however, try to get The Brown Eyed Man to do it for me.  "It's your gig." was the reply.  I can't wait til the next time he needs something.  (big grin) 

SPRING

Spring has finally sprung in the Northland!  I have never spent a lot of time out here on Miller Creek during the spring I guess.  I never knew the trees over by the septic are Pussy Willow!  What an awesome surprise when I went to hang up my garden gnome.  It honestly almost made me cry.  The day is so beautiful, the winter was SO long, and this is so overdue!  The sad thing is, because they are willow trees they seek water.  We can't have them burrowing into the holding tank, and they will, so...........  *sigh*  At least there are others a ways back.

Yesterday I had some things to do, but when I finally had free time I headed out to the south side of the property and started to dig a little trench, where I am going to put some iris.

A start

That's the beginning to a little flower garden.  The Brown Eyed Man would like to see it come around the front of the house, but I have other things with flowers that I want to do on the hillside, and a vegetable garden to create.

I can see veggies!

Hopefully next weekend we will have a start on some garden sections.  I like to make 4x6 boxes that you can get around, so you don't have to climb into the dirt.  I would rather sit or kneel in the grass and pick weeds, or veggies than crouch to stay out of the dirt.  Two four by six are going in for sure.  Possibly something smaller for strawberries, and something for herbs.

Number One

Ashlyn is probably the only Goover who will remember my gnome garden.  When she was young she would search every time she was over to see how many gnomes were there.  There would always be at least one more hiding somewhere.  I only have three (technically four, but two are together) left.  I'm looking forward to building my collection up again!

So many exciting things!  I'm exhausted from all the fresh air and yard cleanup today, but it's so much better than being exhausted from sitting on the couch watching it snow!