Summer Snow

 

We had snow!

Okay, okay! Maybe it wasn’t really snow — but looking out and seeing all of this white fluffy stuff lazily falling from the sky sure reminds me of snow!

It piles up under the tree like snow.

It puffed up around my feet when I kicked my way through. I picked up a handful.

“What is it?” you wanna know.

I think it’s a Cottonwood Tree and I Googled it to be sure.

Cottonwood leaves are large, shaped like a triangle, have toothed edges, and grow alternately on branches.

Well, I’ve never paid much attention to the leaves and Mike’s cut off all the lower branches because they hang over the driveway. How am I going to see the leaves? A lightbulb goes off in my head. I’ve got a zoom lens!

It’s raining here today. But I’m not a-scared. Besides a zoom lens, I have a brelly and rain boots. I geared up and dug the umbrella from the collection of stakes and garden implements piled in a corner of the patio. It was the whole way in the back. I guess I haven’t used it in a while. I opened it and stepped out from under the awning. I was immediately serenaded with the magical sound of raindrops pitter-pattering on my umbrella. Halfway down to the tree, I see a little spider hanging from a strand of silk at the edge of my brelly. I stopped at a patch of daisies and dipped low enough for my hitchhiker to get off.

Juggling the umbrella and my camera, I zoomed in on some leaves and snapped a picture.

The leaves are toothed, triangle shaped, and grow alternately on the branch. I bet it is a Cottonwood. I’m not going to narrow it down any farther than that, even though there are several varieties.

I get back up to the house and see I had two other residents of Umbrella Land. 

I took their pictures, gently folded the brelly back up (hoping I didn’t smush anyone), and set it back in the stack.

My umbrella wasn’t the only place I found a spider this week either. I was doing computer work and our back driveway beeper went off and kept going off, one series of four beeps after another. I went out to see if maybe the deer were standing in the beam grazing or what was going on.

I get out there, walk around the fence, and no deer. I look inside and what do I see? A spider running around in the eye.

“What do you think you’re doing in there?” I asked him.

Believe it or not, he answered me! “I’m making my home here.”

“Oh, no, you’re not!” I looked around, found a dried weed, and broke it off. Then I went fishing! After running him back and forth a few times he gave up and jumped out. In a matter of seconds he’d burrowed his way down into the grass and out of sight.

He didn’t come back to the driveway beeper but he might’ve moved to the mailbox. I opened the door and a look-alike came charging out.

I really wanted to get a good closeup picture of him because I know you love spiders as much as I do, so when he let himself down the side of the mailbox, I used the mail to pick him up again.

Isn’t he a beauty!

“Peg! Aren’t you scared of spiders?” you ask.

How can you be afraid of something that’s even more afraid of you?

It was really a spidery kinda week because I found another on a daisy. This is a flower or crab spider. I really like when I spot one of these guys. Besides being little, they often blend in with whatever flower they’re sitting on.

“Peg, what do you know about flower spiders?” you ask.

I’m so glad you asked! These guys don’t make webs. They have great vision and prefer to hide out and wait for their prey to come to them. When a bee, fly, or some other yummy treat lands on their flower, the crab spider attacks, injects venom into its prey, then holds it while drinking its juices. Mmmm.

And this guy appears to already have his lunch.

Flower or crab spiders only live one summer. The egg cases overwinter and hatch in the spring.

I was given a little rose bush two summers ago and I didn’t get any roses last year. This year I got my first rose and a bud to boot! I was so excited!

Later in the day, my watch cat, Tiger, was on my desk, sees something outside the kitchen door, jumps down and runs to the door. Out in the yard, fairly close to the house, was a doe.

The next time I went out, I went to admire my rose and it was gone! That stinker! She wasn’t content to eat only the rose, she took the bud too! Now I’m wondering if I had a rose last year and the deer got to it before I saw it.

I’ve got more flower pictures to share with you but this seems like a good place to tell more Tiger stories.

“I’ve been waiting for an update on Tiger,” my beautiful cousin Stacey told me. If you remember, she’s the one who gave him to me.

Tiger had that ulcer on his tongue three weeks ago. The vet prescribed ‘magic mouth wash’ to numb the pain so he could eat, as well as an oral pain reliever. Tiger was an absolute bear to try and get medicine into. The first day he was more trusting and I could squirt the medicine in. He hated it and would rocket out of my hold and shoot off to a hiding place. He’d come out after a few minutes. The second day it was harder to get him to open up. By the third day he was starting to recognize when I was getting the medicine out and coming for him. He’d hide, then when I did nab him, he’d stubbornly keep his mouth closed. He ended up with more on the outside then in. The next day was a lost cause. No way, no how could I get him to open his mouth. I poked, and I prodded, but he flat-out refused to open.

“Fine!” I told him. “You can just suffer then!”

Wednesday he has a follow-up but he’s eating well and doesn’t do that lip-smacking thing anymore, so I guess he’s healed.

Tiger still hasn’t forgiven me for making him turn his bird loose. He brought a mouse in this week and growled at me if I got too close. I don’t think he’ll ever forgive me.

I call Tiger my watch cat for a reason. The first night that Mike was in the hospital and I saw him in recovery, I told you he was pretty groggy and out of it. I didn’t stay long. I was walking away when Mike said something and I went back to his bedside.

“What, babe?” I asked.

“Drive careful,” he mumbled.

“I will,” I said, gave him a last kiss, whispered, “I love you,” and head for the door.

Mike mumbles something again, but since the nurse was waiting to show me the way out, I decided he must’ve said that he loved me too and I didn’t go back.

I went to bed that night, silencing my phone, and sliding it under my pillow. When notifications come in on my phone in the middle of the night, they ding and wake Mike up. He hates that! So silencing it allows me to still take advantage of the alarm function and not bother Mike with notifications. It’s just my habit at this point.

I was laying there reading, Tiger laying half on me and half on the bed. I hear a soft thump but think it’s one of the cats. All of a sudden Tiger jumps up, goes to the edge of the bed, and alerts on the window. I look and see a soft light from outside. I didn’t hear anything and I didn’t think much about it. When the moon is full, I often see just that kind of glow. Then I heard another soft thunk and light cascades across the wall as a car backs up and drives out of the driveway.

I freaked! I was so scared I grabbed my little 25 from the headboard, jump up, grab some clothes, and wait. No other sounds come and no glass breaks. Who’d be coming to the house at 10:00 at night and why didn’t they knock?

 After my heart stopped racing, I realized if I heard them drive out and they didn’t knock, maybe they left something? I investigated and didn’t find a note or package on the patio.

“Do you want me to come over?” my beautiful Jody asked? I’d been talking to her on Facebook when all this went down.

“No. I’m okay now. But thanks for asking,” I told her. I’ve stayed by myself a few other times in our 26 years together and never been scared, but then, no one had ever come in the driveway in the middle of the night either.

“Peg! Ten o’clock isn’t exactly the middle of the night,” you say.

It might just as well be. It was dark.

The next day I find out it was that handsome neighbor of ours, Lamar. It seems, when I was leaving the hospital, Mike must’ve said something to the effect that I should let him know that I’m home safe and sound. When I didn’t answer my phone, he worried and called the Kipps. Lamar drove up here to see if the car was in the garage. It was and Miss Rosie called Mike back so he wouldn’t worry.

I never thought about not silencing my phone because I never dreamed Mike would be in any condition to call me. I worried him with my thoughtlessness and I’m truly sorry for that.

And here’s that beautiful lady! Jody brought me some marigolds and sweet peppers. I love both those things but I love Jody more! She’s such a good friend and a blessing to me.

Let’s go through a few bug and flower photos, shall we?

I don’t know what he is.

This is False Hellebore (with a spider). A great example of a green flower.

 It has many other names including Indian Poke, Bear Corn, Corn Lily, Poor Annie, and Itchweed. It’s extremely toxic if ingested.

My first Deptford Pink of the year.

A Lacewing.

Milkweed.

The only food of the Monarch caterpillar. A beautiful flower with a lovely fragrance. The deer have devastated one of my patches.

Silky Dogwood flowers.

Rough-fruited Cinquefoil.

A Skipper. Their wings make them distinctive.

Lanterns on my Chinese Lanterns!

Woodpecker.

Swamp grass. 

Eastern Comma.

 Cabbage White.

Indian or Mock Strawberry. You can eat them.

Heal-all.

Horsefly.

Close-up of Golden Alexanders. 

Our state flower; Mountain Laurel.

A Turkey Vulture taking flight.

I broke my sink-top dish soap dispenser. I went to get a squirt of soap, the bottle fell down into the sink and kissed the measuring cup. The measuring cup was tougher.

I’m so sad! I’ve had this bottle for ten years and thought it was indestructible — as many times as I dropped it into the sink.

I didn’t want the gallon jug of soap sitting on top of the counter and I didn’t want to have to get it out from underneath the sink every time I needed a squirt. I went looking for a bottle to replace this one with and found an old juice bottle.  

I doesn’t look too bad, right? Well, thanks to this girl’s clever photography tricks, you can’t tell the top is screwed on crooked. The threads don’t match. I kept changing the angle until I got one where you can’t tell. The pump is on there pretty good and won’t come off if you pick it up by the top, but I wasn’t happy with it.

The day I did a little ‘retail therapy’, I found this two-dollar, hard-plastic dispenser. It should last me for the rest of my life, then the kids can throw it away.

Oh! And speaking of retail therapy… I stopped at my second-hand store on the way home from the hospital one day. I parked in front of this building and saw this. I’m not sure what compelled me to take a picture, but there you have it.

And this building, right on the main street in Towanda, I’ve always thought it a handsome building with all the fancy brick work on the façade.

At the thrift store, I found a loom! It’s in great shape and as far as I can tell, it’s all there. The only problem is there are no accessories, like a boat shuttle or instruction book.

The price was right so I brought it home and started researching online. It’s made by a company called Leclerc and it’s model is a Dorothy. I smiled when I saw it bore the same name as my mother.

I’m excited to learn how to do this. I don’t know if it can be done, but I’m thinking I’d like to try to weave some unorthodox materials like plastic bags or tee shirts cut into strips. I need to find a book and accessories and until I do, it’s pretty much just garden decoration.

I was working on my computer, writing Mike’s story, and kept getting a whiff of something stinky. I look around, even under my desk, and don’t see anything but Callie sitting near my desk.

That cat needs to do better keeping herself clean, I thought.

Later in the afternoon, I go out to the patio and I’m working on stuff. I made a new tray for the bottom of my butterfly house. 

Then I tore off all the old tape and tulle. The tape held well enough for one season but wasn’t holding anymore. Then I went to the upper barn and found an old screen to replace it with. I haven’t gotten it back together yet but it is on my list of stuff to do.

Then I settle into a patio chair to work on tin can flowers for a little while. I’m cutting, I’m trimming, I’m bending, I’m twisting, I’m rolling, and I’m smelling. I’m smelling that same stinky smell that I smelled when I was at my computer. And this time, there’s no Callie around. What in the wor… then I see and recognize it for what it was. Stinky shoe odor. I have to tell you, I’ve worn the heck out of these little shoes that my Miss Rosie gave me. When the sole started to come off, and my little toe came out the side, I hot glued them back together. I wear them everyday, even out into the grass when it’s wet — oh, that might be why they’re stinky.

“They’re washable,” Miss Rosie told me when she gave them to me. I guess it was time to wash them.

Look at this!

“What is it?” you ask.

I think it’s cat fur. I just got done telling you that I’ve not seen Whiskers up at my house since I took his picture months ago, then he shows up here, looking for food.

The next morning I find this and think Mr. Mister gave him a trouncing.

I drove up to the hospital to see Mike three times.

“Does it feel funny to take a road trip and not take pictures?” my beautiful West Virginia friend asked. “I can imagine you pulling over every 4-5 miles to take one.”

Luckily, it’s a road I’ve been on many times so I don’t think I missed anything.

Mike was released on Sunday. I skipped church to go stay with him until discharge. On the way I see two dead deer laying together.

Did one car hit them both or was it two cars? 

And the first fireworks tent of the season.

“Peg!” you admonish. “You shouldn’t take pictures while you’re driving!”

Actually, I took them on the way home from the hospital when Mike was in the car with me. I knew I wanted to snap these two so I had the camera ready. No fumbling for it. And I didn’t look through the viewfinder. I used the Andrew Method of taking pictures. I held the camera up, pointed it in the general direction, and hoped I got it.

Discharge was to be noon. “But it won’t be noon, I’ll tell you that,” Mike’s nurse Lisa told him. “It could be a couple of hours later.”

Mike dressed and gave me a tour of his wing of the hospital. While walking the halls, we pass a coloring board.

“Look at that,” I said to Mike. “What a great idea!” He probably walked past it dozen times and I don’t know the he ever paid much attention to it.

Noon came and so did Mike’s lunch. “My last meal in here,” he said.

“What is it?” he asked the gal that brought it.

“Manicotti,” she answered. “And it’s pretty good, too.”

Mike’s not had much solid food in almost a week and could only eat about half of it.

It was about one o’clock when they let him go. Now he’s home, and I’m taking care of him. The biggest issue we’re having, the thing that pains him the most, is they let him develop bed sores.

Look at this dear sweet man. Lamar brought his mower up and spent two days mowing our yard while Mike was in the hospital. He did half one day and half the next.

We were sitting on the patio visiting with the Kipps and Mike asked, “Thank you for mowing the yard, Lamar. Did Peg put gas in your mower for you?”

“Nah. There was already gas in it,” Lamar replied.

Both the Kipps, Lamar and Rosie, have big hearts. Lamar was just doing a nice thing for us without expecting payment. “When you pay someone for a kindness they do for you, you take away the gift,” I explained to Mike. But he’ll never get used to people doing nice things for him just because they want to and not because they’re being paid to do it. On the other hand, Mike likes to do nice things for people and doesn’t expect payment.

But I can do a kindness in return. “I’m gonna make Lamar a batch of Dream Bars,” I told Miss Rosie. “I know he likes them.”

Miss Rosie grumbled. “Yeah, so do I and I can’t have them.”

I got to thinking about it later. I could make them gluten and dairy free. Miss Rosie can have one then.

I used coconut flour and butter flavor Crisco. The first thing I noticed was the crust browned a lot sooner than it normally would. So I cut down on the baking time after I put the top on and put it back in the oven. When it was done I did what I always do. Loosen the edges and dump it out on my freezer paper-covered cutting board.

The second thing I notice is it didn’t stay together well. Crumbs went flying.

It was still a little warm when I cut it and it fell apart even more.

Maybe it’d be better to wait until it’s completely cool, I thought. And it did help.

“How did it taste?” you wonder.

I don’t like them. But I packed ‘em up for the Kipps anyway.

“If you hadn’t told me they were Dream Bars I wouldn’t have known,” Miss Rosie said. “I don’t really care for them but Lamar ate them. His taste isn’t as discerning as ours.”

And I’ve jabbered on long enough.

Let’s end this one with a sunset picture from the front patio of my mountain home.