And Just Like That It's July

Hangin' out on the studio deck

The year is half over.  I have to admit it has been kind of a tumultuous year around here so far and I don't know that the second half of the year will be much of an improvement.  But we'll hang on for the ride and see where it goes.  That's about all I'll say about that right now.

Relaxation time at the pond.

Since my last post the weather has varied from quite cool overnight (we were in the upper 40's a couple of mornings last week) to typical hot humid sticky weather.  I've been watering the gardens, though not every day, and everything is looking good.  My second crop of lettuce is coming up and ready to be thinned.  We have been harvesting cucumbers and Sam makes pickles and eats them almost as fast as more can grow.  The beets will be ready to pickle and can soon and there are oodles of little green tomatoes.  The pepper plants are also producing and the basil is finally growing.  I made a really good wild raspberry pie last week.  One of the best I've ever made.  And the day before yesterday, I made blackberry cobbler with the first of the wild blackberries.  So yummy.
 
The beehive is thriving.  I gave them another box to grow into last week and in thanks they stung me 3 times on the left hand.  It was itchy for several days.  I don't think I've had 3 stings so close together before.  I can do without that.  I'd been feeding the bees, but right now they are doing really well on clover and orange butterfly weed.  Need to take a new photo of that.

And now sad news.  The township trustee where the beaver pond is got permission to go in and tear out the beavers' dam. When I saw what had been done to the dam I contacted the local game warden and he said we would have to talk to the National Forestry service because the pond is in the National Forest.  So Sam called and spoke with them.  There is a road slip up above the pond and for some reason this trustee thinks he needs to drain the pond to repair it, so he was given permission to breach the dam.  But from what we can see, the road needs repaired from the road, not from down below.  In any case, the dam has now been breached twice and  no road work is commencing.  The beavers are still there.  Unfortunately, if they decide to relocate, their option will likely be private property and if they flood someone's pasture or hayfield, I am sure they will be erradicated.  My hope is that they will be able to stay where they are.  They had created such a nice wetland habitat where before there was nothing but an overgrown weedy hayfield that was no longer maintained.  And I have enjoyed watching their progress.



I have totally finished the first project I started in my new studio, some towels and dish cloths for my own kitchen.  I have also spent some time carding fiber to spin.  The drum carder is under the window.  I think I will use it more now that it has a place of its own.

And here you can see where Rowdy likes to be when I am in the studio, though often he is over to the right where the alpaca rug currently is.  He enjoys being out there with me and his presence means the world to me.

And here is what Grover likes to do while I am busy in studio.

He will lie either inside the door looking out or lie on the deck keeping an eye on his territory.  Or maybe he is hoping a cat will emerge from the barn across the creek so he can chase it.  That's probably it.

I also finished some cotton napkins.  They really came out nicely.  They will either be a gift for someone or maybe I will have them for sale this fall.  

 
I also finished the Mystery Knit Along I was participating in.  So now I have a nice big warm wrap to take along to agility trials to use in the air conditioning. 

Speaking of trials, Grover and I will be traveling to North Olmsted, Ohio next Thursday for a 3 day trial starting on Friday the14th.  This is the venue we went to in May where we took the dogs to the beach on Lake Erie.  I will be going with fellow club member Missy and her 2 border collies this time.   Is it too much to hope for as much success as we had at our last trial?  

Upcoming:  At the end of the month Mom and I are flying out to Oregon for a few days to visit son Ian and his wife, Michelle.  We have not seen them since the wedding over a year ago.  They now live in Corvallis, which is an hour and a half or so from Portland.  I am looking forward to spending some time with them.