We live in a rural area of Maine…. and wouldn’t have it any other way.
Peace and quiet.
Visiting wildlife.
And beautiful scenery.
Some days more than others…
Living across the road from an organic vegetable farm has it’s benefits.
And fresh veggies aren’t the half of it.
Right now, the poppies are in bloom.
Glorious, riotous bloom.
And I’m enjoying every minute of it.
I mean really….
How can you not?
While relaxing on the barn porch the other afternoon…..
Our peace and quiet was disturbed by one very perturbed rodent.
Momma squirrel was back and chattering up a storm.
She was scrambling up and down the posts.
Running back and forth along the eaves.
And most definitely making her presence known.
Her memory is long.
And apparently all has not been forgiven.
Different day…
Different beverage….
Same deer paying absolutely no attention to us when we mow the lawn.
*Rest assured no alcoholic beverages were consumed while operating heavy machinery.
Or light machinery.
Or, Hell…. even the stove now that we bought a new grill.*
Life is good.
The unthinkable happened last week.
Our beloved… and only 3 years old damn it… Weber grill died. Not wanting to spend a summer without one, we immediately went hunting for it’s replacement.
I wanted a small one without a side burner, so naturally all the husband looked at were large ones with side burners.
Ah, marriage.
Have you been grill shopping lately?
Holy crap!
I’ve paid less for cars.
Here’s the husband taking one for a test drive.
Literally driving it…. he spun it around a corner and had it up on 2 wheels.
Because Christ, at over a thousand dollars? That bastard better taxi us to the pub on its day off.
I found one I wanted.
Really wanted.
It came with wine!
But no. The husband dragged me to 5 other stores and ended up choosing one from Tractor Supply.
Large?
Oh yeah.
Much larger than we need, but it has stainless steel grates and radiant embers.
What the hell are radiant embers?
I have no idea….
But I bought some lovely filets and we’re going to find out tonight.
Since the baby barn has been hogging all the attention lately, let me reintroduce you to my favorite spot to spend late afternoons.
Comfortable furniture, blooming pretties, a good book and a cocktail.
Lowers my blood pressure just thinking about it.
I planted this garden bed two weeks ago, took a picture and realized there’s a hole.
Damn… another trip to the nursery will be necessary.
How awful.
😈
Big barn dwarfs baby barn.
And it’s where you can find me most evenings in the summer, surveying my domain.
Cheers!
But I think I’ve found it.
Adult popsicles.
It’s basically frozen sangria on a stick.
Find it here.
You’re welcome.
Day lilies.
They’re vibrant…
And colorful…
(Is it me… or is that mildly disturbing?)
They’re prolific…
Long lasting…
(Well that explains why my refrigerator died. They wanted it to.)
And easy to care for.
Plant… forget… and enjoy.
The same goes for Hostas, although they prefer some shade.
Everything is in marvelous bloom right now.
Except the sunflowers the chipmunk from Hell planted in my petunias.
They may take a while.
Happy gardening!
(Not to be confused with actually fluffing… because, damn. That’s another blog entirely. )
The silver mounds are mounding nicely….
And the red geraniums you all told me to plant? Made the bulkhead doors look even more red…. so, yeah.
Day lilies are popping up among the peonies.
As well as in the shadow of the giant quince bush.
Not sure how that red fellow got in there.
Are there daylily postmen?
Begonias are begonia-ing.
And the lawn that never stops growing affords ample opportunity for the neighbors to test drive the husband’s new toy.
If only they wanted to take more than a few swipes, we could sit on the porch with an adult beverage and enjoy the summer….
Last week I was doing what I love most in the world, kicking back with an ice cold margarita while being hand fed tasty morsels by Bradley Cooper, waiting in an urgent care clinic for my SIL who I agreed to drive there.
** Warning for male readers – this post is going to go south about halfway through. Literally and figuratively. **
Medical facility waiting rooms are my least favorite place in the world. Crowded, obnoxiously loud, human petri dishes. Breeding grounds for the passage of whatever plague is currently circulating. Worried about mad cow disease or the bird flu? Forget the barnyard…. you’ll catch it here. Had I owned a bio hazard suit, I would have worn it proudly. With triple duct tape at the joints.
As I was sitting in an unobtrusive corner trying not to breath, I realized my phone had died and I was at the mercy of the magazine rack. (Not reading is out of the question. Someone might want to start up a conversation and that’s entirely too much close contact when you’re trapped in a disease ridden incubator from Hell.)
As you know, medical waiting room magazine racks are filled with riveting copies of Breast Feeding Monthly, How to Avoid Herpes newsletters and Let’s Identify that Secretion Digest.
I figured Oprah’s magazine would be the least revolting choice and grabbed her new issue.
Oh, Oprah…
( Now would be a good time to point out that I detest women’s magazines in general. I have never needed to know how to bake a better bundt, why the soles of my feet are making me unhappy or what to do if my husband is cheating on me with my mother. )
And Hell, I didn’t even get past Oprah’s cover before I was rolling my eyes.
While I have a girlfriend whose husband thinks hers has been on vacation since 2006…
I was guessing this article wasn’t about sex and shuddered to think about the tips hidden inside.
I’d rather you didn’t, but thanks all the same.
The teaser didn’t bode well.
And it made me wonder how mine has survived all these summers without the benefit of expert advice.
There…
Now that’s advice you can use.
I refuse to go into detail about the article, but will post a picture of it for anyone who’s interested.
In a nutshell? Treat Her Right.
Remember..
You heard it here first.
The automatic ice maker in our refrigerator is on the fritz.
Again.
Just in time for the annual 4th of July heat wave.
I am not happy.
The ice cube tray I now have to use?
Entirely too happy….
Sorry.
I had to….
River's world..... 