Baxter day care

 We dog sat for Baxter yesterday.  I went over and picked him up...he was happy to see me and to go with me.    

I wondered how he would do in our yard and how good his recall would be.  He visits often so he knows the yard.   He came every time I called him...treats in my pocket helped as he is food driven.

We went over to the neighbors and he ran and played with Titus and Opie.  His tongue was hanging out!  

He has some separation anxiety...he would be just fine and then realize he was missing his people. 

This is like find Waldo ...can you find Baxter?

Hey Lady ...lets go! 

Toward the end of the day I had to put the leash on him...he acted just like he wanted to take off down the driveway.  He was done with doggie day care and wanted to go home...so we gave him a ride....his people were back anyways....with little people that will keep him busy for many days! 

The Gator belongs to my baby brother and we use it from time to time.  Baxter and I gave it a good wash cause it will haul around lots of little kids in the next few weeks. 

Baxter is about 10 months old now.   He has the same dog trainer as we had for Chance.   

Far Side

A day

 It was a day yesterday.  I sorted through some stuff in the garage and sprayed some Ivy and Thistle before the smoke descended on us from Canada. 

My Dad was diagnosed with a blood clot in his leg...the Doctors think that is the source of his pain...and that his Cellulitis is better.   He was released from the hospital and my baby brother brought him and Mom home.

Son in Law Andy's Mom had a stress related heart attack...scary for sure.  It is their 50th Wedding Anniversary this Saturday and a party is planned...hope it still happens. 

Far Guy brought his woodcarving project into the house...he would rather carve outside but that is just not happening this week. 

I crocheted in the afternoon while watching The Mole on Netflix.  Supper was ribs, baked potato and fruit. 

I am real tired of summer...the smoke, heat and humidity...

Far Side

Busy Monday

 We are all done with the garage sale now, our last day was Saturday, we did quite well and got rid of lots of "stuff."   Monday morning I packed up a few things (mostly books) and donated them to the thrift shop in town.  They are happy to get the donations! I am packing up a few things to take to my parents...they want to have a garage sale sometime in August. ...so I will help them with their sale.  

I put away the signs and straightened up...and then a cold front blew in and it rained a bit not much but it was wet. 

I have a few more mornings to work out in the garage before I can relinquish it back to the new old car/Tilly.

Mom called in the afternoon...they admitted Dad to the hospital for IV's to try to get his Cellulitis under control.  He will be there a few days.  He might have to miss Bingo this week.

One of the fawns in our yard...they are tasting my flowers.  

Supper was  an adventure.  I was following a recipe and figured it was just not going to work for us.  So I made my own version.  It was pretty good!  Kinda like a chicken pot pie.   Add I can cream of chicken soup to about 2 cups of cooked shredded chicken, add about a half of a can of water, stir well and put in baking dish, top with Crescent rolls...just stretch them out...at this point I was exclaiming loudly that I sure hope this works...Far Guy said "Do you know what you are doing?"  Nope but I put some cojack cheese on top and baked it for about 25 minutes...and it was tasty. 

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Sunday Visits

 We had a great lunch and visit with Savannah and Paige...what a couple of giggly girls!  

They are beautiful young ladies!  They make us smile!  Savannah is working at the Radio Station and she has her own Lash business.  She will go back to school this Fall...she has one year left...business is her major.  Paige is heading off to school in a month...Dental Hygienist a two year school in a town new to her.

25 years old!

There were hugs and I love yous...see you soon!  Be careful out there! (Be aware of your surroundings!!)

After lunch we drove North to visit with cousins Jack and Pat at their lake cottage. 

Stories were flowing back and forth...it was a fun Sunday afternoon visit.   Brought back many memories of lunch and Sunday afternoon visits like in the "olden days."

Far Side

 

25

 Twenty Five years ago we were blessed with our first Grand.  When I told her she was half way to 50 she said "Don't say that Gramma!" 

Photo taken in 1996

Photo with her Grandpa taken at Andy and Jens wedding she was the flower girl in 1998.

She and Chance were best friends... she was throwing water in the air for him.

Happy Birthday Savannah! 

Far Side

Hanging out

Yesterday we hung out at the garage sale all day.  We had some customers even though it was a warm day.  Today we have shortened the hours as it is supposed to get real warm and we need our naps. 

We had a picker come by and buy a bunch of stuff.  I don't care if they resell "stuff."  Better at their place than ours. 

For supper I steamed those Crawfish...yum...but I have forgotten how much work they are to eat.  They had good flavor.  Not as good as in the Gulf Coast...but still good.  So much for our foodie adventure!

Towards dark we went to town stopped by DQ and then drove over to the  Church parking lot...the fairgrounds is right across the highway.  We ate our ice cream and watched the rides. 

This one gave you a two minute ride and one time over the top...sometimes two times...the two times was probably screaming girls...and they wanted to hear them scream again. 

It was a good date night! 

Far Side

Thursday on Friday

 Wow this week went really fast.  Grocery pickup was uneventful...they are still out of various items...some of which I went into the store to check...and they had cherries and pears...go figure.  Town is still real busy with tourists.   Main Street was full of cars....couldn't find a parking spot if you wanted one. 

I took my Dad to Bingo.  I got a bingo so we were encouraged...I just wish Dad would get a bingo. 

The paper shredder bit the dust this week too...two appliances...I wonder what will be next.  The new microwave works great...it will warm stuff up, bake a potato, pop popcorn and defrost meat...:)  I added a paper shredder to my wally world list and it was delivered to the vehicle... :)

Found some Crawfish at the Butcher Shop...frozen...they are thawing out...we will steam them one of these nights. 

A old friend  (age 67) died recently.   She opened a freezer and fell backwards hit her head and died the next day.  One just never knows. 

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Smoke and Tomato Report

 The smoke from the Wildfires in Canada moved into our area yesterday.  They say it will move out sometime on Friday.  

I had a day where I did odds and ends all day long...the Electrician was back again due to problems with the  new thermostat...a special part was ordered.  In the meantime he hooked up our old thermostat and it works perfectly.  I sprayed Thistle and Poison Ivy and weeds in rocks around our home and up at my other baby brothers shop.   I am caught up for a few days. 

We will be doing very little outside today because of the smoke.

I took this photo about 7:30 PM.

The tomato plants are really growing! 

I think I may have to trim them some...so they don't get so tall that they fall over.  They are loaded with tomatoes...so it looks like a bumper crop.  

Far Side

Loony

We were invited to go fishing.  Far Guy fishes...I do not...I took my camera. 

 

Loons on the lake, there are two pair; one pair has one baby and the other pair has two babies. 

We were trolling along and all of a sudden a Loon surfaced right by the pontoon.  Exciting...It was diving and swimming under water...I have not seen that before!  Wow!  

It has a fish! 

Later we saw it trying to feed two babies...

There was some Loon talking going on....the fuzzy youngsters didn't seem real interested in the fish...Sunfish again?  Perhaps they are at the teenage stage...they should be about 8 weeks old. 

It was a fun evening (Monday) out on the water.   My brothers each caught fish...Crappies...my other baby brother filleted them out and sent them home with us...we had them for supper last night!  They were very good.... coated with flour first, then dipped in egg, finally in Ritz Cracker crumbs and fried in a bit of bacon grease.  That is how I fry fish.

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Improvements

 

Last Thursday the heating people were here.  Last winter when we had the new furnace installed we asked for a furnace that would also do Central Air Conditioning.  It was installed except for the electrical work. 

Yesterday the Electricians were here...three of them...six hours later the AC is now ready to go...it is way cool in here!   We have a fancy thermostat that we will be able to adjust from our phones once the Security System that we ordered is in place.

We had a wall unit Air Conditioner that cooled the whole house...we purchased that about 21 years ago...we don't use it often but it sure was nice on hot days.  I have been worrying about it conking out on a day when it is 100 degrees.

Improvements all around.  ESPECIALLY the Electrician...one wire in our breaker box was arcing and could have caused a fire...now  all the breakers have been checked and wires tightened. 

Our microwave decided to bite the dust...it would not shut off.  So we ordered one at the local Wally world went to town and picked it up. 

It was a busy day.  Oh yes Far Guy had a video appointment in the morning too. 

Anyways we can cross one "summer project" off of our list.

Far Side 

Quiet Sunday

 It was a quiet sale day, I got some more sorting done in the garage and washed my baby brothers Gator.  We got rid of several big items...a plow, disk and an old hog feeder.  Several people were interested in the plow and disk so we had more company!  

In the evening we went for a ride. 

The sun was fire red most likely due to the Wildfires in Canada.

The neighbors Sorghum field.  Sorghum looks like corn but much shorter.  It will be baled once it is dry.

We have a busy week coming up...Tuesday is the only day we have as a free day. 

Far Side

Another sale day

 We had a good sale day yesterday.  It hardly seems like we are making progress because we keep adding items.  Saw a neighbor we had not seen in quite awhile...known for his jokes.  Had a number of out of State customers. 

One more day today and we will close up for the week.  We will see what next weekend brings. 

I walked through the East Wildflower area after supper...I need to put on my boots and take care of some poison ivy...again.  Leaves of three let it be...or let me spray it away:)

That is PI snuggled up to the Gaillardia....PI is an opportunist plant...it will snuggle up to something worthwhile to increase its chances of survival. 

We took a short ride and took care of some more Canada Thistle....miserable stuff anyways.  There was an area I was hesitant to drive into...but Far Guy managed.

The East Wildflower area is finally getting some Milkweed.  Not sure that it will flower this year because it is so dry. 

We have been noticing an increase in Monarch Butterflies around the yard.

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Stuff

 Animals are just like people...some are better babysitters than others. 

This years calves must like their babysitter. 

We are busy again with the ongoing weekend garage sale.  Getting rid of "stuff"  when no one is around I have been working in the other garage trying to clear some "stuff" out....finding out from Far Guy what stuff goes with other stuff.  I will most likely forget...but he has forgotten about some of the stuff he has out there.  "Oh yea I remember that now."

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Lead Plant

 The Lead Plant is blooming.  It is a plant that is native to Minnesota.   

Grocery day was uneventful...missing a few things.  The  person that delivered to the car at wallyworld said that the store should order more when they know that the tourists will wipe out the shelves.  Town was very busy.   Gas is up to $3.09 a gallon. 

I took my Dad to Bingo, we didn't win.  We missed last week as Dad was real sick...he had cellulitis....he is much better now.  ( Cellulitis is a bacterial infection of the skin)  He told me he was so sick he nearly died.  He did well at Bingo...he only missed a few numbers....I either point them out or daub them for him.  

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Auditions

 With the rainy cooler weather came thoughts of Winter and Christmas...I had stamps waiting on my desk...for Winter and maybe a Christmas Card...so I did some stamping and watercoloring.  The jury is still out on the auditions.   I will try a few more techniques before I make a decision. 

The project kept me out of trouble for almost the whole afternoon.  

I watched a movie on Netflix...  Hampstead.  It was entertaining...I give it an 8 out of 10. Perhaps it is just me but I enjoy movies with older people in them.  It was an easy movie to watch and crochet at the same time.

Far Side

Rain

We got some wonderful rain!  My rain gauge shows 3 1/2 inches of rain in one gauge and 3 inches in the other one.   The grass is green again thanks to the rain.  It is delightfully cool after the rain...the high yesterday was 73 F or 23 C eh!

 The flowers in the small garden look pretty good. 

Pay no attention to the weeds...I will weed one of these days.  Every time I get down on the ground to weed I think of that ole bear...and wonder how fast I can get up off the ground or should I just fall over and play dead.

Love a rainy day...I caught up on things around the house and started some new projects...and had a nap. 

Far Side

Lakes, Deer and Bear

 When the power went out the other night we both needed to charge up our phones just in case it was an extended power outage. So we went for a ride. It ended up being about two hours.  

Shell Lake

 Bass Lake

There is a bean field catty corner from us.  Makes for fine gazing for deer.  Our deer that usually comes for a drink out of the bird bath is missing...we noticed a dead deer on the corner one day last week....most likely her.  We are not giving up on her yet...we are keeping her bird bath full.

 

Now for the bear report;  My other baby brother and she who sees Robins first saw a bear run out of our driveway about 11 PM on July 4.   The next morning a piece of decorative driftwood had been carried out into the old parking lot...there was an ant hill under it that was pawed around.  Apparently ants are tasty snacks for bear.

We did not get the bear on our trail camera....so he must have been traveling in the woods.  We bring the bird feeders in every night so there is nothing to eat.  I asked a few "Lake people" if they have seen him or if they had damage to bird feeders and no they have no problems. 

Yesterday I mowed the lawn and we are supposed to get rain! 

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Progress

 We are making progress selling "stuff."  Many of my cousins have visited so that has been fun also.   The weather has been a tad warm sticky hot.  We will take a break from sales this week and see what the weather does next weekend.  We run the sale about six hours a day so we can get in our nap time.  We take the signs down and close the gate...it works for us.

We went for a ride the other night...we heard that the neighbors have a new driveway....of course we had to check it out.

Seems kinda strange to have gravel roads from all directions and then a tar road on an old farm....it takes all kind to make the world go round.  

Last night we were cooking supper and then lost power for a couple of hours.  Cheese, crackers and fruit was supper.  Not sure what happened but it was a widespread outage. 

Far Side

Happy 4th of July!

 

Flags and fireworks!  Fireworks have been going off down at the lake the past few nights...hope they keep them over the water...the poor fish.   We always hear of so many lost dogs after the 4th. 

Far Guy and I are still keeping busy with the garage sale.  We have nothing special planned for the day...maybe a nap after we close up the garage sale.  We might watch fireworks on TV!

Far Side

 

Down to the River

 We went for a ride one night down to the river that feeds into Straight Lake. 

It was a warm day and was much cooler in the woods. 

We thought we might get a glimpse of that bear that has been in the area...no luck.

It was a nice quiet cool ride....we didn't see anyone else until our ride was almost over...and those we saw were relatives:) 

Far Side

The Point

 Grocery pickup was uneventful on Thursday.  Far Guy had an x ray at the clinic...we had a few extra minutes to wait in town so we drove out to "The Point"

We found a sculpture  ...the ant one.   Why not some art at the point. 

In the afternoon I had bookclub.  We discussed Life in a Jar The Irena Sendler Project by Jack Mayer.  I found the whole book just sad, I was sad for the children, sad for the parents, sad that no one knew what horrible things the Nazis were doing to the Jews.   Even when people spoke of the horrors no one believed them...not even Churchill or Roosevelt.  Irena Sendler was a small beacon of light...she rescued 2,500 children....either orphans or children given up by their parents.  I give the book a 9 out of 10. 

Next month is a recipe book...that will not be as sad. 

Far Side

Summer Morning and Evening

 Yesterday we spent the morning in town.  Our car went to be washed and waxed.  We drove the new/old car around town.  Far Guy cruised Main and got on the webcam.  I had him stop by the Fire Hall in town they have red, white and blue flowers there. 

The light was not great on the flowers.  We went through a drive through for breakfast and then went to a park to watch people and dogs while we ate.  Then we decided to visit Far Guy's cousins...and take them for a ride. 

Cousin Wayne getting his first look at the new/old car.   They enjoyed the ride. 

Soon it was time to pick up the other vehicle, buy some gas...prices are $2.99 a gallon here now and head for home.  By 11 AM we were back home.  

We had an uneventful afternoon....after supper we went for a ride...and visited with neighbors and petted their dogs. 

Putz and Titus

Sadly Snoopy is no longer part of that pack...he went over the Rainbow Bridge all by himself one morning....Snoopy belonged to neighbor Dave and when he could no longer care for Snoopy he went to live with Steve and Jo. ( Snoopy used to come here to visit Chance)  Putz is mostly blind but Titus keeps him out of trouble herding him around.  Funny how dogs just know what other dogs need.   

Far Side

A Tuesday

 Usually Tuesday is a "no mail" day but hey we got a new phone book! 

We had no place we had to be so we could do whatever we wanted all day long.  Far Guy woodcarved, watched birds and held down the fort for a delivery.   I had an adventure spraying Thistle and Poison Ivy and tried a new ant bait....by 3 PM I was tired and hungry...had lunch followed by a nap.   Far Guy cooked supper...I woke up from my nap before he could wake me up and say "Supper is ready sweetheart."   I told him he could say it anyway. 

After supper we sat outside watching a mama bird feed her noisy babies.   In the afternoon Far Guy witnessed a Hummingbird chase a Robin and the Robin had something in its mouth.  Not sure what it was...but it was a strange interaction.  

We went for a ride.  We met a very friendly Labradoodle named Louie....he wanted to go for a ride with us!

The potato field is in bloom.   The air smells so fresh and clean after the last rain we got...not many skeeters yet.

We had a really nice Tuesday.

Far Side

Tomato Plants

 So far the Deer and the Bear have no cravings for green tomatoes. 

The sheep tank is working well! All the plants have multiple flowers...I won't count our tomatoes before they ripen but we should have enough to share.

Three plants have filled the tank.   The warmth of the steel on the south side of my garage must be a great growing place!  So far the old dog kennel is working well to protect the plants...but who knows. 

I had a kerfuffle with the new hose I bought...it leaked and was spraying water all over me....I returned it to the store and got a refund...thank goodness I did not order it online.  That was our big outing yesterday...town is getting busy...the 4th of July tourists must be here. 

The Pipeline is going under the highway now...no protesters in sight.  Everytime we go to town we wonder if they will be laying down on the highway stopping traffic.  

Far Side

Bear news and other stuff

 The bear is still around.  I forgot to bring the feeders in one night and went out in the dark very late to get them.  He is visiting my brother's dumpster every night.  I can see where he is also digging up ant hills and he tipped over a bench that we have along the back road.   He may have to be relocated....My other baby brother has one of those dumpsters that has to be unloaded by a truck...I wonder where the bear sleeps:)

In other news, I finally got the garage cleaned out and got everything put out for a garage sale the next few weekends.  We had a trial run yesterday and sold some stuff to relatives and friends.  We will see how it goes.   We got in some good visits yesterday!

We had a really nice rain yesterday...we heard thunder...a first for this year!  It sounded good!  The grass is greening up again...and I will probably have to mow soon.  We got about 4/10 of an inch of rain,

 

We have a nesting pair of Bluebirds...but I have yet to get a photo.   When I was cleaning out the garage I found my Ant tucked away...so I put her by the bird bath again this year....she makes me smile! 

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What's on my desk

 My desk is a mess.  I have way too many projects in the works. 

I have new stamps to try out, a plate from my Aunt Anna's Estate sale to hang up,  two different crochet projects and several more in that bag that I carry almost everywhere.   My Uncle Hugo's Bible in Finnish..waiting on my desk for a response from the grandchild he raised. Various containers (beautiful boxes) filled with "stuff"...

From my desk I can enjoy the wild daisies that grow on the edge of the river rock.

Perhaps I spend too much time gazing out the window....or outside cleaning up the garage. 

Far Guy is doing some practice carving on this years Christmas ornament.   I have not joined him yet.  The design is being refined:)

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