1500 Walks and Counting...

 

Through the back gate and up the meandering old trail, Millie and I walked this morning for the 1500th consecutive time.  That really is quite a milestone for we've never made it that far before. One might think it tiring to walk the same paths day after long day, but that's not me - or Millie.  There's always something new and different to see or hear, if one only takes the time to notice. Where better to watch the comings and goings of the seasons than on that old hill?       

"Come forth to this hill at sunset to behold and commune with something grander than man."

~Thoreau

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"I used to long for faraway places.  Now, this patch of earth feels like the whole world.  The older I get, the more I see the gift of staying, not stuck, but rooted.  The same sun rises, the same soil softens under my boots, and somehow that sameness feels like grace.  Adventure is fine, but peace lives close to home."  `Author unknown

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"Might I...might I have a bit of earth?  To plant seeds in.  To Make things grow."

-Mary Lennox, A Secret Garden

So, I have that patch in which to plant in and to make things grow, but it's not always as easy as it seems.

"You want clarity?  Plant something tiny and trust it with your patience.  Watch how slowly miracles happen.

You want strength?  Carry the watering can Even on the days you don't feel like showing up.

Then show up again tomorrow. That's gardening.  That's devotion.

Still is..."  

It seems to be a year for critters, which is both good and bad.  Hoppy little rabbits (or maybe it is squirrels, for we have both.) have developed a taste for zinnias, of which I have always taken great pride.  So, there are few zinnias this year!  

The garden does look rather dull without them, I think.  But, hey, as a trade off, we do have paths.  I created them with  old dead cedar wood that I found in the woods.  Dan doesn't care for the look, but, then,  he has no imagination!  :~)

From last year's garden....

(I know it makes me sad too.)

In the Garden...

One of my old favorites...

Spring migration has been ongoing here for several weeks, and I have said not a word  about it.  It's also the same story about the making of the gardens... "Where go the days down that tunnel of time..."* 

The Summer Tanager did not come back to his post in the garden this year.  And, the hummingbirds are scanty few, at best.   Of course, change is a way of life that we must learn, at an early age, to accept, but still...  It's the song I will miss on those long summer evenings when a warm breeze blows and those soft sweet notes linger on..."Chick-tucky-luck, chick-tucky-luck.... "  

Now, this is not to say that there are no Tanagers here this year, for I have seen a male and female pair when going up the lane to the main highway, and another male near the old barn where the kitty cats first lived.  

Speaking of cats...  Do you remember when they were just one big happy family? Well, I suppose an update is long overdue.  You may remember that the sweet little black one, Baron I called him, went missing, causing me great worry and grief.  But, gone he was!

 However, the remaining three seemed happy and brought me much pleasure.  To tame four feral cats, mean little hissing things, was no small task.  I had accomplished much! (I am still amazed that I was able to catch all of them, one and a time, and take them to the Vet Clinic for their vaccinations and little operations.)  

And, then, the unexpected happened.  The little tabby with the white markings began to be absent quite often at feeding time.  And, then, she, too, was gone.  More sadness and worry!  

It was at least two weeks before we found her at another part of the farm, living among the hay bales and in one of the long barns.  So, that's her new home. She chose it.   I feed her there every day.  But, I still have trouble imagining why she, the most lovable of the four, would do this.  I told my family that I didn't love her anymore, but I DO.    

The other two are a pair and stay together.  They seem content with one another, eat together, hunt together, and sleep together.  I love them too.   

I had intended this post to be about gardening, but I suppose that will have to wait for another day.  I will write then about the Flickers and the rabbits.  And, the ground hog.  Take care!

Blue On Blue...

 

It was a glorious morning to be out walking.  Millie and I took the long way around and enjoyed ourselves immensely.  " My cup runneth over," for sure.  If there had been no chores to do, I think we would have stayed all of the day. 

Early on, this morning, I left my jacket hanging on a Cedar peg, which is a handy thing to have on days that are a bit warmer than expected.  It was the second day this week that I had done this.  On the previous day, it was my new Christmas jacket that that gotten left behind.  That made me a bit apprehensive, but by the time we walked back to retrieve it, all was good.  (It's the perfect jacket, not too heavy, but heavy enough, and is shower proof.  It came with a deep hood, and broad sleeves which are large enough to pull over other layers, if needed.  It has been a good investment.)   

When I was helping clean up in the shop awhile back, I found an old Ladino Clover sack that caught my fancy.  I had already been working on a new jacket pattern, so it entered my head that I might add, just for fun, a piece of this old sack to a new trail jacket.  I wouldn't doubt, however, that it might end up being worn all over town when it is finished.  I will have more about this later on.   

Millie doesn't have the luxury of  being able to remove her coat, but she doesn't hesitate to jump into the pond to cool off, which she did this morning.  I love the big waves she makes.  

"Every morning was a cheerful invitation to make my life of equal simplicity, and I may say innocence, with nature herself...  I got up early and bathed in the pond; that was a religious exercise, and one of the best things I did. ... "  ~Thoreau

On Walden Pond...

I never got around....

 

"Hidden Places"

Picture of the year 2025

I never got around to posting our picture of the year for 2025,  so here it is... only a few weeks late!  (It seems there are a lot of things that I never get around to these days! :(  It's really no surprise that this big gawky bird came in number one again, given how I have chased him many a crooked mile just to get a single picture.  He has had this honor before, you may remember, when "Were you too cold to fly?" took 1st Place.  

Were you too cold to fly?  (A favorite of mine.)

He has even shown up a few times on journal pages, sketched and water colored.

As of yesterday, Millie and I have walked our hilltop trails 1400 times without missing.  It didn't look possible when the trails lay buried in layers of snow, sleet and ice that we would be able to reach that number, but, thanks to a higher power, some man-made trails and  lots of tall sturdy trees to hang onto, we did!!! 

I was so busy hanging onto to everything within my reach,, that I didn't get many pictures of this storm, but here are just a few...

 

Keeping Up...

 

We are still seeing wild ducks on the pond almost every day, so migration is surely still ongoing. It's the time of the year when I pick up my favorite book that delves deeply into the subject ~ My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George.  Yes, it is a book written for kids, but I love it still. 

I have been doing lots of cleaning out in the beds around the house and in the little garden, but still leaving anything blooming for the critters that pass our way. There's just enough, it seems, for the monarchs for they keep dropping by.

Millie and I have made a few more trips back to the hill where the big pine trees grow to bring in another load of pine needle mulch.  This added layer seems to be helping the soil and is certainly keeping most of the weeds at bay. 

 As is our custom, Millie and I do not miss our daily walk.  This morning was walk number 1,290 (without a miss) which is getting close to our old record of something over 1,300.  My motto is "Wear good shoes and keep up."  I don't think Millie has a motto.  She is just out there to enjoy the day, which is, undoubtedly, the best medicine of all.  

Note:  The above shoes are my town shoes.  Below are the ones I trek over the hill in, but the overall goal is still the same...got to keep up.

Sunny Hours and Summer Days...

"I was rich, if not in money, in sunny hours and summer days..."  ~Henry David Thoreau

My latest project has been to mulch the beds and gardens with pine needles and bark of which I have an abundant supply on the hillside where Millie and I walk.  I do enjoy the looks of it piled quite high with pine cones scattered about, but have no idea as to how sustainable it will be.  I wonder if I have the will and the power to rake and load up enough to finish the job. I will readily admit that I do have a ways to go.  And then, there are ticks on that wonderful old hill...     

Pine needle mulch from the hill...

And more in the little garden.   

Feed time with the kittens is sometimes interesting, and a bit challenging.   Not only do the raccoons come calling at that hour, but a fourth cat seems to think the old barn is his home as well.  We call him Hobo.  At first the kittens were afraid of him, but now seem friendly enough with him.  

Hobo