Rudbeckia

My first flower from seed sown last year! I've never grown any perennials from seed before, so this little flower is special.

This December I will start delphiniums under my grow lights to bloom next summer. I have gathered seed from aubretia and dianthus to start next spring.

A Project for Fall

There's some wood splitting and stacking in my near future!  This will be a project for September and October.  Firewood is my favorite chore; there is something very satisfying about filling the woodshed.  It won't be long until the woodstove is back in use...I was tempted last night, but opted for an extra blanket instead.

The Tomato Thief

Here's a guilty face if ever I saw one...Rudy has been helping himself to my meager crop of tomatoes in the greenhouse!

Beautiful Lucy

Summer is Slipping By...

Early mornings this week have hinted that fall is most definitely on its way to Lone Butte. The dawn air is chilly and moist; a flannel workshirt is required over my nightgown when I first venture outside. A few willows are starting to turn yellow.

After almost two weeks of intense heat, things have cooled down dramatically. Tonight we have rain accompanied by distant thunder. Forest fires have blazed to the northwest, southwest, and southeast of us, but our immediate area has been untouched since early in the season. I woke in the wee hours of Saturday morning to a strong odor of smoke, sure that there was a fire very locally. There was nothing in the vacinity, it turns out that much of the province was shrouded in smoke all day.

All the critters are well...Rupert has had his annual bout of August lameness. Every year he gets sore for a few days; we treat him with rest and painkillers. After a few days of confinement (which he complains about at full volume), he's fine again.

One pot of cherry tomatoes survive the frost at the end of June, and I've been waiting to be able to pick some. They're always just about, but not quite ripe when I go to pick them...yesterday I found out why...I caught Rudy in the greenhouse, blithely helping himself to ripe tomatoes off the vine!

Woodpeckers

July wasn't all sad. A pair of downy woodpeckers had hollowed out an alive and well aspen tree near the house, and entered into several weeks of servitude to the tiny tyrants inhabiting their nest. The babies peeped incessantly from the minute they hatched until they left the nest, getting a little louder each day. They were only quiet if it was completely dark outside.



I was hoping to see the babies out of the nest, but I came home from work one afternoon, and the whole family was gone without a trace.

Gillis

On July 10, we said a very sad goodbye to our oldest dog, Gillis . I am very comforted by the fact that he is no longer lost, restless and confused. Dogs with dementia seem to follow pretty much the same disease path as humans...their blessing is that their suffering can be ended when quality of life is gone. Things are very different around here without him. He is much missed.



Gills - In my care January 21, 1997 to July 10, 2009.