Saturday, September 22, 2012

Tough Summer

Seal in the kitty basket

Indy in the greenhouse
Lenny trying to mess with Sebastian.

I didn't realize how long it had been since I posted until I actually went to the blog to enter this post. Yikes it has been months!

News-wise it was a rough summer. I lost two of my kittens from last September and my Indy cat was a victim of a hit-and-run driver. Losing Seal and Lenny was hard but losing Indy was especially difficult. She was the one who would sit on my lap and begin nursing on my clothes. I wouldn't be paying her any attention and when I would get up from the chair I would have a large soggy spot on my clothes. She was my shadow. (sigh)

The super early spring/summer we experienced messed up my garden plans, as it did most gardeners. Such a crazy season. I learned quite a bit about using my greenhouse. This was first season using one and there is a learning curve. Working full-time makes it hard to keep the temperature regulated. When I work 12-8 it's not too big a deal to check the thermometer and make adjustments. The days I work 8:30-5:00 are a little more tricky. I must come home on my lunch hour to unzip the mesh covered windows, doors and if it is really warm roll up the sides.

My peach tree had an abundance of fruit but I was only able to enjoy one peach (which was fabulous) because someone waited until the peaches were dead ripe then stole every last one of them. Angela and I had planned to make a small batch of peach jam to give as Christmas presents. The loss made me mad then made me sad.

The little fig trees have held their own. They are still pretty small but considering the weather I felt just staying a live was quite a coup for such small starts.

My grape vines and blueberry bushes didn't make it.

I visited Leahy's Greenhouse, a local greenhouse, a few weeks ago to buy a new rhubarb plant. After thinking about it I went back the next day to buy a second rhubarb and three blueberry bushes. The following day I added  2 red current bushes to the mix. Daddy was already planning to pick up my mess of plants. Then I called Mom and told her the number of plants had increased I asked her to let Daddy know the number of plants he was hauling. I didn't want him to be surprised. lol

We were finally able to attend Market today. Between a show, sickness and chances of rain Angela and I had missed the last four Saturdays. I sold a hat, a scarf I had just finished weaving in the ends and one skein of yarn. I have another scarf on the hook and need to dye some more yarn. The skein I sold was dyed using Osage Orange shavings. It made a neat mix of dark and light tones.

My sisters and grandniece and I are having a girls nite at Angela's house this evening. Homemade pizzas, ooey gooey butter cake, a. new Barbie movie for Jaidyn and a little crafting for the sisters ... should be a fun evening. [smile]