friends, babies, dogs and swimming
My bullie-dog Molly got too close to a porcupine again last week! I can't believe I didn't think of taking a picture at the time, but my focus was rather on getting the quills out. It took over two hours, the first hour involving a wrestling match that left me bruized, scratched and sweating. The last hour, Molly was tired too. Or perhaps she realized that I was trying to help her with the porcupine quills. She still could not resist the involuntary pulling-away whenever I touched a sensitive spot, the touch of the pliers on the end of a quill doubtless an instant stimulus. The last hour was a lot of wheedling, cooing and distracting as I edged the pliers close enough to the end of a quill to grip it. I lost count after 25 or 30. Our housekeeper threw some away, afraid that the other dogs might step on them, and the rest that I saved on the railing of the side-door porch blew away in the storm today. Nothing left to remember the day by!
My old friend Connie invited me to her place on Saturday to chat and swim in her pool. (I can just hear her saying "what do you mean by old?") OK, Connie, who is much younger than I am, whom I've known and treasured as a friend for years. (Better?)
It did not take long, even sitting in the shade of an umbrella on her deck, for that pool to be too inviting to resist.
One of the bunch of friends over there that day, Mary, brought her Baby. He was only 7 weeks old, over for his first swim. If you don't count the uterus and his baths. (His mom said he loves his baths.)
We got around to talking about feeding schedules, and sleeping schedules, the mostly unwanted advice new moms always get, etc., as women do. Mary has recently moved here from Ottawa, and is trying to learn English as fast as she can, Connie highly praising her progress.
Mary said she had tried a colic remedy containing "how you say, in English, aneth? Anyway," she continued, while I tried to get my sluggish brain to recall...I knew I knew that French word..."it does not work, and when 'e burp, 'e smell like pickle!"
"Oh, " my sluggish brain finally makes the connection, "Dill!"
It finally rained on Sunday evening for us. Oh yes, many storms had passed by us, we could even see the lighting and smell the rain, but our gardens were turning to dust! When the rain came, it came gently, as rains after a long drought should, wetting the ground slowly so it did not wash away, then an hours-long gentle steady soaking rain. We had so much rain that first night and on Monday, that the cistern was half-full by midnight Monday.
On Sunday afternoon, I had weeded a bunch of seedlings by hand. I reasoned that using a hoe would only stir up more seeds, exposing them to the warmth of the sun etc, so I weeded all over the place by hand, leaving the uprooted weed-seedlings lying on top of the soil. At least 50% of them have at least one rootlet re-connected in the right direction (for the weed) and are re-growing after the rains pushed them in the right direction! I was counting on the sun to fry them dead--it has worked for me before in newly established/refurbished gardens where I expect a lot of weed-seeds to be in the soil. I then usually have maybe one new crop of weed seedlings that is perhaps 25% of the first crop...Hand-weed, fried by sun, water, mulch, Voila! That plan was foiled by the rain this time. But I'm still so grateful for the rain.
Ann treated me to a movie at the Kinmount Highlands Cinemas on Sunday evening. It's a museum and cinema worth visiting! I plan to go again very soon. We saw "Mr. and Mrs. Smith". I thought it was quite entertaining, but wondered sometimes why I was the only one laughing. I know I don't get out much...
My old friend Connie invited me to her place on Saturday to chat and swim in her pool. (I can just hear her saying "what do you mean by old?") OK, Connie, who is much younger than I am, whom I've known and treasured as a friend for years. (Better?)
It did not take long, even sitting in the shade of an umbrella on her deck, for that pool to be too inviting to resist.
One of the bunch of friends over there that day, Mary, brought her Baby. He was only 7 weeks old, over for his first swim. If you don't count the uterus and his baths. (His mom said he loves his baths.)
We got around to talking about feeding schedules, and sleeping schedules, the mostly unwanted advice new moms always get, etc., as women do. Mary has recently moved here from Ottawa, and is trying to learn English as fast as she can, Connie highly praising her progress.
Mary said she had tried a colic remedy containing "how you say, in English, aneth? Anyway," she continued, while I tried to get my sluggish brain to recall...I knew I knew that French word..."it does not work, and when 'e burp, 'e smell like pickle!"
"Oh, " my sluggish brain finally makes the connection, "Dill!"
It finally rained on Sunday evening for us. Oh yes, many storms had passed by us, we could even see the lighting and smell the rain, but our gardens were turning to dust! When the rain came, it came gently, as rains after a long drought should, wetting the ground slowly so it did not wash away, then an hours-long gentle steady soaking rain. We had so much rain that first night and on Monday, that the cistern was half-full by midnight Monday.
On Sunday afternoon, I had weeded a bunch of seedlings by hand. I reasoned that using a hoe would only stir up more seeds, exposing them to the warmth of the sun etc, so I weeded all over the place by hand, leaving the uprooted weed-seedlings lying on top of the soil. At least 50% of them have at least one rootlet re-connected in the right direction (for the weed) and are re-growing after the rains pushed them in the right direction! I was counting on the sun to fry them dead--it has worked for me before in newly established/refurbished gardens where I expect a lot of weed-seeds to be in the soil. I then usually have maybe one new crop of weed seedlings that is perhaps 25% of the first crop...Hand-weed, fried by sun, water, mulch, Voila! That plan was foiled by the rain this time. But I'm still so grateful for the rain.
Ann treated me to a movie at the Kinmount Highlands Cinemas on Sunday evening. It's a museum and cinema worth visiting! I plan to go again very soon. We saw "Mr. and Mrs. Smith". I thought it was quite entertaining, but wondered sometimes why I was the only one laughing. I know I don't get out much...
posted by Kati at 9:33 p.m.
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