Monday, June 15, 2009

Josee Josie

I'm sorry you haven't heard from me lately, but we've been very busy. Seems the to-do list is long and the season is short, so we are always on the go. When I do have a spare moment I'm researching my family tree. Proving to be a little bit obsessive about that. I'm not really doing anything else. I take pictures, but not fervently....more for documentation of the work we're doing. I don't have any knit or crochet projects going. Maybe more balance is required. We took the D-Day weekend off, and I was just wiped out.

We built 3 gates. One on the road to "Gramma's" .... (before) ........ (after) ....One near the house .... (before) ........ (after) ....And one at the entrance to our driveway from Savory Road. Art has those pictures on his blog.

There was a lot of drilling post holes ....cutting boards ....and haulin' stuff around. Art was getting tired, so Xena took over the driving for awhile.We even stopped to watch this guy (actually, there were two, but one had gone into the trees) cross the field nearby.It was very tiring ....and thirsty work ....
But all in all, very satisfying.One day in there we had a visit from Viki's parents, Al and Jean (Vicki is Cleo's former Mom). They came to see Cleo, but I'm pretty sure they also came to see us (wink).It was funny because Jean is obviously not crazy about the dogs being all over her, but they were loving her to death.

The boards we've been using to build the gates are off this old shed. It's the one that was holding up that tree that fell down a few months ago.The planks are fir and have a natural weather-worn beauty, so we're going to clear-coat them rather than paint. Slowly, this monstrosity of a building is disappearing. Here it is from a different angle. There are still two more trees growing up through the middle of it. One is dead, so it will have to come down soon.All of this gate/fence building has been in aid of the return of the cows.and evidence of their return is obviousThe gate project was a good one, but I have two complaints. I don't work well in the heat, but it kind of came and went, so it wasn't horrible horrible. Actually, Art found my sweaty dirty face amusing so posted a quite UN-flattering picture on his blog. Yeesh! My second complaint is the *&%$! black flies. They were thick at times and although I was well protected with bug repellant on exposed skin, I forgot to put it on UNDER my clothes. Black flies are insidious. They crawl into your hair and under collars and up pantlegs. I don't feel them bite, but am left with golf ball welts. I hate them.But the bugs here are nothing compared to those farther north. A few years back we went to the Northwest Territories in June and holy cow, I couldn't talk while walking outside for fear of the bugs getting in my mouth. This is the repellant they sell in the stores.The bottle on the left is what you can buy here and in the south. Nothing stronger than around 24% deet. The bottle on the right .... 95%. It melts plastic. Amazing stuff. You might not even be able to buy it anymore, who knows.

Other things that are new.... Cleo is becoming less afraid of water. There's a picture above where she is drinking from Art's cup. Xena is showing her that it's fun to drink from the hoseand little by little Cleo is getting closer and closer.The garden is growing like mad. All the veggies are doing very well, but also the lilacs are in full, glorious bloom.I love lilacs so much and they really thrive here. The whole of outside is sweet with their aroma. Last year I mail ordered some live plants called "Josee". Part of the attraction was their name (I have a niece named Josie). They didn't arrive until late Fall and I wasn't sure they'd make it. We put them in a tire, covered them with moss and I kept my fingers crossed. Come Spring they didn't look too good. I think 3 of them are sticks, but the 4th has made a comeback.It's uplifting to see because 2 weeks ago Josie (my niece) was badly injured in a boating accident, her foot close to being severed by the propeller. It's sad because she's young and active and vibrant, but this summer isn't going to be a lot of fun with a tough recovery ahead. So, every day, when I go out to check the progress of my little Josee and protect it the best I can, I think of Josie.

4 comments:

Viki said...

Sorry to hear about your niece. Looks like Cleo likes the digging part best--she's very good at digging you know.

Carol Browne said...

Beautiful! Beautiful! Your fences are amazing. I didn't realize you were tearing down that building to make the fences. I LOVE them. They look great. And the lilacs are awesome. The Endako Moose Reserve (and apparently Black Bear Reserve) is a great place.

Anonymous said...

Enjoyed your blog, Nice gates. Good for you. We really enjoyed the visit with you all,{Dogs too} Thanks. I'll be writing a letter soon.

Way Out Wear said...

What a wonderful photo journal! I love all your photos and all your descriptions! I practically feel like I was there - without the skin welts!

And your garden is looking lovely too!