Holiday Weekend

We don’t really pay attention to the holidays anymore. Every day is a holiday, since we do what we love and are surrounded by animals and nature. Thanksgiving is quotidian.

Friday continued the trend of wet weather. We had a social engagement Friday evening, and as we were preparing to leave, clouds parted, sunshine returned, and an idyllic close of day ushered in a delightful country dinner party.

First thing Friday, I went over to Three Pines Foster Kennel, which was established by our good friend, Sharon. She was discouraged by work in a no kill shelter where some dogs were “lifers”, considered unadoptable, so she built her own shelter, separate from her own house and dogs, where she walks the shelter dogs every day and gives them a great quality of life. It is truly astonishing to see what she has done. The dogs are available for adoption, and whenever one is successfully placed, she has room for another difficult case. Of course, successful placements are few and far between. The five dogs at Three Pines seem to know that they are lucky. It was fun to meet them.

Birds are a constant delight. The cool weather has been nice, but has given way to more typical warm Memorial Day weekend weather now.

I went over to Jane’s house on Friday to meet Tim Morris, who was a bit shy, but is very beautiful. Visiting Jane is always a treat.

The bad news is that the storm last week knocked out and ruined the pump that powers the stream. The good news is that it’s under warranty, and Connie came out Friday to remove the pump. She will return with a new pump soon. Meanwhile, I am fretting over the tadpoles. So far, they seem fine.

I should be careful what I wish for – the squirrels are getting bolder! I still enjoy them.

Yesterday morning, we both got shingles vaccines, which made us pretty miserable, though Harry, who has had shingles, assures me shingles is much worse. On the way to Walgreen’s for the shots, Harry rescued a box turtle on Highway N. My hero!

Nathaniel and Allison came to mow, so the horses moved to the north pasture for turnout. There is a hole along the fence caused by erosion, so to keep the horses from stepping in it, I put the barrel feeder atop the potential leg breaker as a temporary safety measure. Watching the horses notice something new and out of place in the pasture was very funny.

I have taken a few cat pictures over the past days.

Cedar returns from varmint patrol. She is slower, but still diligent in her job.

A bronze rabbit, and a real rabbit…

I noticed that one of the pine trees looked like it was dying. Yesterday, Nathaniel pointed out that it was being devoured by caterpillars. It’s so disgusting! And the tree next to it is unaffected. It will be interesting to see if the tree dies. I did what I could to get rid of the infestation with soapy water.

On a happier note, the Amaryllis that Jonee gave us last year, when she and Bob moved to Indiana, is blooming again and providing us with a glorious display. The tulip poplar, too, continues to bloom, to our delight, and making the bees happy.

And finally…

Be safe, be well, be grateful. Slava Ukraini! Peace.