Not really gone, just busy.

Well, I've not been blogging much for a while.  Summer busies have pounced on my world.  That and extreme emo keep my words at bay.  It has been a good summer so far in most ways, but there are always those little things -and some bigger things- that just drive you nuts.   Don't certify me yet, though, I still know how to get back to reality.  I have been visiting pages, though I don't get everyone every time and I don't often comment because I end up saying hurried stupid things that are misinterpreted.
My mother's visit was good over all.  We had our moments of peace and sweet; we had our moments of wide eyed tooth grinding.  But as a whole, it was a nice visit and though it was almost two weeks, we had no major breaks in the universe.  94 is a curious year.  She actually won't be 94 until September, but we're both saying 94 anyway.  She had stopped going to water aerobics and it was showing in her strength and stamina.  She began again as soon as she got home.  The pool which is close to a hot tub now, was much to cold for her to get in while she was here.  We got her up and down the hill without incident so she could see my veggie garden.  I didn't get to paint with her because she hurt her right hand pulling weeds.  We went to see Dad's grave, and spent a moment reflecting on his life.  Actually we spent many moments throughout the week reflecting on his life, but then I've already mentioned the tooth grinding.  She told my niece that Louis and I don't sleep together any more.  And she told me that the bible I read was evil. Yeah, more tooth grinding.  I suggested that she go home after Bible study on Sunday and watch one of the services on TV.  I was relieved when she agreed to that.  She really hates my church and I didn't want to hear it again.  But I got to hear over and over how much better the other churches are.  Did I mention that I really do love my mother?
We got the main part of the deck extension finished this weekend and I got all the ornamental grass out of the area I'm going to 'improve'.  Last week, I got the okra in the ground and I've been reaping cukes, peppers and raspberries.  I taught Olivia how to put a plant in a pot and I intend to teach her to take care of them.  Jackie wanted some apple trees so we dug up some babies and put them in pots.  We also separated and pulled the weeds out of the grass I dug up.  Louis wants it planted in a specific location which will be okay if we can keep the vines out while it takes root.  My flowers are blooming, the pool is warm and clean and the bridge and observation deck are ready to build.  The new sink is a bonus and I'm enjoying the sectional bench and my tension recliner.  AND-  yesterday we got rain.  There is an ominous cloud moving in from the west and then it looks like we will clear up again for a while.
Olivia has been here for almost a week.  We've had a few skirmishes, but mostly we've had lots of fun.  I explained yesterday that I've been spending too much time playing and I've got to get things done.  She was quite unhappy with me for a time, but eventually, she dropped the self-imposed 'woe is me' and began being my little buddy again.  She's growing up.  Growing changes much, but it is inevitable and desirable...sigh.  Sarah came yesterday for awhile to take her for icecream and visit a bit before she went to work.  I enjoy the visits even when they're more about Liv.  It's just nice to see her around.
Hope your day is nice and you get rain if you need it.

Goodbye little friend.

Today ended twelve years of a special relationship.
She was 8 months old when I walked into the animal shelter that day in response to the call informing me that they had a dog like I was wanting.  She got so excited she trembled as I walked up to her cage.  Really, she looked like anything but what I was expecting.
The lady who was showing her to me explained.  "She was taken in by the vet in Fianna Hills, but before we could get her she got out and was on the run for a week or two.  When we got her back she was so full of cuckleburrs and matts that we just shaved her."
I looked in the eyes of the trembling, pitiful creature.  "Is she good with children?" I asked.
"We don't really know.  She belonged to an elderly couple that were moving and could not keep her.  She's had all her shots but she's not yet spayed."
I told her I'd like to bring my grand children down and check out how they got along and if it seemed good, I'd take her.  She said that would be fine and I turned to go.  The little shitzhu looked like her world had just fallen in.  I told her I would be back and went home to get the troups.
When I walked back in the door an hour or so later, she jumped and danced in her cage.  They took us to a little room with chairs and brought the dog in.  She promptly peed all over the floor and they gave us another room.  The little girl was beside herself with joy at all those kids.  Thus began her time as our doggie.  
I named her Phizgig from the movie 'The Dark Crystal' in faith.  It wasn't long until she sported a thick wavy brindle coat.  She travelled okay and was really good with everything but other dogs.  In fact, in all her life, there was only one other dog she tolerated.
Her death was not unexpected.  For a few months she has been having spells where she would lay in one spot for a whole day with her eyes glazed, barely breathing.  Then the next day, she would be up and about as normal.  Last winter, I brought her in some, but it became obvious that she had lost the ability to be house broke.  So she had to stay in the back room where the mess was easier to clean up.  We tried using training pads, but she would move them aside or hunt out a place where there was none.  I was glad when the weather warmed and I could feel good about putting her back out in the garage.
Yesterday she was up and about, but today she lay in one spot.  I went in to check on her often and found she could not get up at all.  She lay and breathed heavily and yipped constantly all day.  About 4 I texted Louis to tell him I thought she was dying.  So many times I've thought so before, but she would come back the next day.  Yet this felt different.  Late this afternoon, she just closed her eyes and stopped breathing.  Her quality of life was not good on the best days of late.  She could get down the side hill, but could not get up it again.  She had tummy problems frequently and sometimes she would foul herself.  About a week ago, she tried to go up the hill.  It tired her so that she just lay down beside a tree and would not get up.  Louis took her back to her bed in the garage and the next day, she was out and about again.
I will miss her.  I will remember her.  She was my little doggy.

a fungus amongus

I've lost most of my peaches the past two years to a powdery fungus.  This year, I went online and researched it.  Louis sprayed the tree three times during the various growth stages and though we still had quite a few peaches overtaken by the stuff, the tree was loaded with good fruit as well.
A little over a week ago, because the branches were so heavy they were bent nearly over, I picked the largest of the fruit and because it was just off ripe, we put it in a covered box in a cool place.  I cleaned up the bad fruit which must be disposed of.  A few days later, we looked in the box and the whole thing was taken with the gray fungus.  We disposed of that and on Sunday evening we picked as much as we could before it got too dark to see, washed the peaches in the new outdoor sink, and peeled, sliced and bagged them for the freezer. 
This morning, I went up and finished the picking, washing, peeling and slicing.  In all, I put up about a gallon of peaches in quart freezer bags.  If we hadn't lost the first bunch, we probably would have had 3 gallon or more.
This evening, I cleaned up the bad fruit again, bagged it and will send it to the landfill tomorrow. The only other choice is to burn it according to the sources I read on the internet.  We will trim the tree up now that the fruit is off and spray it and the ground around down with this soap stuff that is supposed to kill the rot.  Hopefully the tree will have new growth before fall so that next year it can have a good crop again. 
The sources seemed to agree that the stuff can be eradicated in two years with diligence.  So next year we may have to do the same.  The fruit is good, even if somewhat bird pecked, and will be worth the effort if we can kill the disease.

My own little world.

I stood on my nearly complete deck tonight under the stars with the tiki torches and the solar lights glowing softly.  The big orange light next door didn't seem so ominous.  I was watering the plants in my herb garden and the flowers behind the retaining walls I build this spring.  The plants have been suffering some from the extreme heat.  My clay earth is baked hard. Seems sad to think that two weeks ago, we were complaining about so much rain.  All things in their time. 
There was a sweetness to my world tonight.  Yesterday evening, my granddaughter came over to swim with her little sister, bringing along her adorable bitty little dog.  It was a good time that occasioned many pictures and laughs.  We sat down to a movie when we came inside and the 6 year old was asleep before it was half done.
Today, she and I did some necessary gallivanting and then spent the afternoon playing in the pool.  When her parents came by to get her, her mom, who wasn't going to swim, got in with her for a bit after being soaked with water blown from a noodle.  It's good to watch my family enjoy my world now and then.
So far, my garden has yielded lettuce, carrots, leeks and raspberries.  But the pimento is showing signs of redding as is one of the tomatos and the jalapenos and serranos are about to need picking.  The cucumbers are setting on fast as are the bell peppers.  The squash continues to bloom though it's bright flowers have not yet produced fruit.
Flowers abound and will take their turn astounding me with their beauty.  Right now, the calla-lilies and white easter lilies are doing their show.  The mandevilla is getting ready to bloom and my large white and deep red roses are quite lovely.  The red and white petunia that Olivia picked out and planted this spring is covered with blooms as is the purslane and portulaca.  The rose tree I got as a birthday gift is getting over its transplant and putting on new blooms.  The Thai basil is covered with purple blooms and the snapdragons and four o'clocks have joined the lilies and the water larkspur in adding color and interest.  My small gardenia is covered with breathtaking blossoms and the clematis has not yet given up.  Waiting in the wings are the crepe and the hibiscus.
While it's true that many things in my world are in a state of incompletion, the beauty about me and the echoes of laughter and joy reduce the effect of the 'needs done'.  From my deck with it's sparking pool water surrounded by multicolored rope lights, I can see the glow of the light house and gazebo on the hill, illuminated by solar spots.  It's a sweet and comfortable sight in the dim cooling night.  The replacement lights on the posts shine brightly and are echoed by soft lights at the top of the trail.  The fireflies sparkle on and off in the treetops to the hum of cicadas, crickets and frogs.
So ends a lovely set of days in my lovely little world.