Garden update

 Our garden had SUCH potential! 

We added Llama poop, you know- and Alex (past preschooler- now a PROUD Kindergartener) assured me THAT was the BEST!

And the weather has been HOT! even at night!

And I'd been weeding my little heart out!

But what we didn't count on, was the grasshoppers coming in and DEVOURING certain plants... like the beets which were growing so beautifully in this space. In the morning, the beets had been there- but when I came back in the afternoon.... they were GONE!

And then, they started in on the parsnips and carrots... 

since the beets were gone, don't ya know. :(

We quickly covered the "at risk" veggies- but last night, Bruce found some grasshoppers had still found their way under the white cloth.

BUT...

to be fair...

the corn is WAY taller than our knees, and we still have almost a week before the 4th of July!

The beans are healthy, as well as the peas...

We have flowers on our peppers

and baby zucchinis!!!

So, really?  We shouldn't be complaining...

much.

Running rocks

I was driving home from getting a haircut, and toodling down the driveway (which is over a half mile long) when I saw what looked like.... um... running rocks?

Then, I heard an excited Mama, and realized, the Kildeer have hatched!

And, they hadn't yet learned the best of strategies for dealing with a car.

Several of them just kept running down the middle of the road.

I'd stopped the car, by this time, and sort of herded them into a safe direction.

I couldn't help but MARVEL at their defense mechanisms... how MUCH they look like rocks.  I mean, can you see the chick in this photo (above)? 

Here- I'll enlarge it for you below...

 And it's STILL difficult to see, right?  He looks like a little pile of pebbles!

How about now?  Isn't that AMAZING???

This little chick FINALLY made it to the side of the road

And when he felt safe, he just hunkered down, and refused to move. 

Meanwhile, Mom and Dad were having a fit! Trying to get my attention, they ran off a bit, 

and died.

That's honestly what it looked like. And even though I was expecting this behavior... I found myself worrying.... 

and so I did exactly what they wanted me to- I moved away from the baby, and towards the unmoving, brown lump of an obviously dead bird. And when I got close, she jumped up, ran a bit, flapping a seriously broken wing, and then, collapsed. SUCH a good Mommy! (and Daddy, as both adults were exhibiting the same behavior). 

And so, after snapping one last photo, and sending a little blessing their way, I left the Kildeer family.  Life is so FULL of interesting, incredible experiences- you just have to keep your eyes open.

Arizona called...

Montana is setting record high temperatures, and I don't like it.

It was bad enough on Sat. when the temperature registered 113.2

 We spent Sunday on the boat, but we could tell, it was hotter than the day before. Once home, we checked our outdoor thermometer.

There should be a law against this! :(

Unfortunately, it's taking it's toll on the animals. We lost Chloe, a really wonderful chicken due to the heat. Now, I'm scrambling like crazy to make sure I've done all I can to save the others. I've frozen veggies in ice, installed a kiddie pool, and I'm hauling buckets of water into the chicken yard, making mud. I hope it's enough.

Anyway... Arizona? You can come take your heat back. We don't want it!!!

Wind's Echo summer

Is there any more magical time than Summer?

Every shade of every color BURSTING with vibrancy everywhere you look!

And that wonderful feeling of having days upon days stretch out in front of you. PLENTY of time... to read, to relax, to go on trips, or to do whatever it is you want to do.

It's almost too hot to do anything other than PLAY!

In Montana, we're blessed, because although the days can get HOT (it'll be over 100 this weekend), the nights ALWAYS cool down.

The best place to spend the hot days is in the mountains or in the water.

but if you can just hang on through the heat of the day...

You're guaranteed a comfortable night.

Skye has her own way of dealing with the heat.

Isn't this WHY the fountain is here?

Happy Summer!

First fawn

The other evening, Bruce looked out the window, and yelled, "Hey, Mere! That doe has a fawn with her!" While we'd seen fawns during our drives into town and back, this was our first fawn sighting at Wind's Echo. 

But it was a QUICK experience! I scooped up my camera, but Mom had already moved her baby pretty much out of 'good photo' range.

She was marching that youngster as fast as it could move, to a safe spot. March! March! March!

He dutifully kept up! this was no time to "smell the roses" or play! Being in the open makes him vulnerable.

You have to admire a good mother- no matter the species. 

Good life, little one! We hope to see you again soon!

A garden exchange

An interesting exchange between husband and wife this morning- One of those that, I'm certain, would leave all men shaking their heads, and commiserating with their pals, how "you just can't understand women!' So- let me explain.

 As previously stated in another blog post, I've been spending 20-30 min. in the garden each morning weeding. And, it must be said, that my husband has been thanking me profusely for my efforts. But this morning, before leaving for work, Bruce said, "Will you go out and finish weeding the parsnips?" and INSTANTLY, no matter that I'd planned on doing just that.... INSTANTLY, I didn't want to.

 Bruce was bewildered when I sniped irritably at him. He left for the office, and that was the end of the argument. No big deal.  But I can never leave anything I don't understand alone. So, while weeding the parsnips, I pondered just exactly what had happened.

The deal is.... I was weeding the garden because I WANTED to.  

At first, I wanted to surprise Bruce. Soon, I was finding that I enjoyed the peaceful routine. I WANT our vegetables to grow, and I was taking pride in how nice the garden looked.

The bottom line was that my weeding was a GIFT.  As soon as Bruce made a demand (and I get that it wasn't much of a DEMAND... he was asking, though, with confidence that his wishes would be met), it was no longer a gift that I was giving him. It was simply a job that was required of me- and I felt like a little kid who had shirked her chores, and needed to get them done in a timely fashion. I have to interject here, that this was in NO WAY what Bruce intended...

nevertheless...

Well- the parsnips are weeded, and the garden looks great! The plants are flourishing. The corn is tall (for where we live). We have green tomatoes, and tiny peppers, and the beginnings of flowers on the squash. The peach tree is COVERED with peaches!

And life is back to  normal in the Sterling household. I just found it interesting...