into everyone's life a little rain must fall

 We've had a few sunny days...

...but while it seems like most of the country is in a drought/heat wave, it's been chilly and rainy here for a couple of weeks.  REALLY chilly.  REALLY rainy.

Nice misty mornings on the days where it hasn't been too wet to walk.

neighborhood horses

Flooding everywhere!

Everything is very, very green.

American giant millipede

I finally bestirred myself and got my hot annual seeds potted up.

I think I managed 28 containers before I ran out of soil and energy.  It's been so cold that I've worried the seeds might rot, but we do have some green shoots and it looks like the worst of the rain is over now.  

We had a brief, glorious flare of peonies before the rain turned them to mush...

...and even Claudia got in on the warmer-day action and explored outside for about an hour before asking to go back into the barn!

Our indoor cats have taken advantage of the rare sunbeams, too.

Pepita has been going stir-crazy and is loving any sunny minute outside!

There are rabbits out and about every morning and I have to be careful with Pepita, and guard that she doesn't get worked up and try to chase.

And any place that you have rabbits, deer, foxes, coyotes, possums, raccoons, and my new favorite - a ton of skunks!! -

...you're going to have these guys.

This is a male lone star tick that I pulled off my stomach this week.  Normally I am *so* careful to check myself over daily, but the one day I had a migraine, skipped my shower and stayed in bed...he got me.  Todd had a black-legged tick bite recently and had to take antibiotics, since they carry Lyme Disease.  I pulled another tick from his leg yesterday.  It's rough - Pepita runs in the field every day and although we check her all over every single time she's been outside, it's just hard to see the ticks.  She's so dark, and the ticks range in size from poppy to sesame seed.  So small.  They sometimes hitch a ride inside and drop off.  We are incredibly diligent about checking the bed, the couch, and our bodies, but sometimes...we miss 'em.  It's one of the down sides of having a dog...although there are plenty of positives.  :)

Hopefully the worst of the yearly surge in ticks is behind us now!  Ready to head out and enjoy some sunshine.  Happy Monday!

 Well, the election is over, and I need pictures of cute cats more than ever.

Todd stayed up reading "Sermon on the Mount" while watching coverage and marveling/despairing at the results, and I just moped around the house for days.  We fully expect to lose our health insurance and have to close our business in the next two years, but there are quite a few other people who are going to suffer a lot more.  We talked about what we could do and visited a progressive local church on Sunday.  We are going to get involved locally, hoping to make a difference against this red tide that's going to erode away rights, freedoms, and protections.  Sigh...and I'm spending more time working on hobby projects, which is soothing, and having a few more sweet treats, ditto.  I wasn't planning on posting this week, but we've seen the last of the fall colors...

...which seemed worthy of mention.  In this past week, we've spent time with friends...

a hike in Indianapolis

a crafts-heavy slumber party with a friend's daughters...we made these!!

...tried to focus on positive things...

horses across the street

a pretty splash of color in the woods

...and spent a lot of time in pajamas...cat in lap.

Holiday puzzles were finished...

...and games have been played.  In short, life has been moving on.  

Frances gets it.

Beautiful sunrise the other day.  Here is the progression.

I'm too grumpy to make a positive metaphor about this.

Thanksgiving will be here in a couple of weeks.  It will be nice to spend time with friends.  Laugh, have some good food, and get on with the business of moving forward and looking ahead.  Being positive, making positive changes.  2025 is going to be interesting.  

Have a great week!  

not quite sweater weather, but a sweater nonetheless

I have a new camera and it's so fancy!  I learned the basics this week, but it's too hot to go outside and play with it (mid- to upper 90s for days).  I do have a few things to report with the help of my lousy cell phone camera.

I finished a sweater!

I wanted to knit something basic, and I wanted to use up scrap yarn.  I had quite a bit of green, but not enough white, grey, gold, and blue to do much of anything.  It knitted up beautifully!  Yes, the sleeves are supposed to be short (they're 3/4 length).  I've got it blocked and hanging, waiting for winter!  Future note:  I don't think I'll ever knit a bottom-up sweater again (pattern is BLANK CANVAS by Ysolda).  I prefer top down, so the arms can grow naturally out of the yoke.  But at least it's done, and I've gotten rid of lots of tiny yarn skeins!

It's tomato season, and I have A LOT of tomatoes.  I planted around 16 seedlings, and they're bursting with fruit.  Todd brings in a few pounds every few days (our string trimmer is broken, lots of weeds around edge of tomato barrier, and I'm too afraid of chigger bites after that one disastrous episode two summers ago to wade through it).  At first I was just roasting the tomatoes, processing them into sauce, and freezing it.  But I read about another method that I think will be a winner.

Slice your tomatoes and drizzle with olive oil, salt, and pepper.

Roast at 250 degrees for 2 hours, then turn up to 300 - 350 degrees for another half hour.  They dehydrate nicely.

These dehydrated slices can be frozen and thawed whole (unlike raw, which turn into sludge when thawed because of their high water content).  This means that they can be used in fresh salads all winter long!  

Last week was a long, slow week, because I had a constant headache and nausea due to a prescription lapse.  I dragged through work and mainly worked on puzzles (when I wasn't laying down).

Since I certainly wasn't out taking photos, I've been looking over photos that didn't make the cut over the past few weeks, although I certainly liked them.

Lots of flowers...

small sweet pea crop this year...

...but tons of zinnias!

love yellow zinnias in bouquets

amazing 5' dill crop this year!

insane hydrangea blossoms this year...photo doesn't do it justice!  

Cute kittens...

Frances on laundry pile

Frances again

...and some pretty things found on hikes.

incredibly vibrant slime mold!

ditto the blue on these butterfly wings

pickerel weed, beloved by deer, muskrats, ducks, and other aquatic animals!

trumpet vine flower just about to open

I've seen some gorgeous sunrises...

...and some less-attractive things.

horse fly...painful bites!!

All in all, it's been a pretty nice summer with a lot of nice views.

horses across the street

Excited for fall, though...and to get some good shots with my new camera.

Have a great week!