Me, Myself and Memories

Updates from July, 2014 Toggle Comment Threads | Keyboard Shortcuts

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  Noreen 3:37 am on July 2, 2014 Permalink
  Tags: Sweetie Pie   

  Tree Huggers 

  Over the course of several seasons I have posted photos of our alley cat Sweetie Pie.  She cradles herself in the crook of a Lilac and will sleep for hours.  During the cold winters I would glance out the window and see that yellow fur ball.  It made me want to go out there and pick her up and cradle her in my warmth.  When I would be within several feet of her she would begin to back up on the branch, ready to bolt if I continued to get closer.  Dennis and I just let Sweetie Pie be and be thankful that she kept herself fed to maintain body heat.

  

  The tabby and the yellow kitten hidden
  among the Lilac branches.

  They always say cats are curious creatures, but that can’t hold a candle to Dennis and me being curious about Sweetie Pie and her fear of getting close to us.  This spring we knew she was carrying babies.  As time went on we felt she must have miscarried or they had not survived.  Things were looking up as we could walk within several feet of her when she sat on the patio and she would not run away.

  Friday morning Dennis had news.  Sweetie Pie had brought a yellow kitten to our patio for the Meow Mix and water. Saturday morning Dennis came to wake me early as we now had a family of kittens.  Sweetie Pie had three yellow kittens and one tabby colored kitten.  She had brought the entire family.  The kittens were old enough to get in the food dish with all fours.  Proud Sweetie Pie brought us her family as she knew they would be fed and not be injured.  Getting close to the kittens will now be the next challenge.  I think we are up for it as we are out in the yard often and sitting on the patio in the evenings will be the ideal chance to get them closer to trusting us.

  

  A yellow kitten wonders how close I intend to get.

  The kittens romp and play as if this has been their home since day one.  The first few days the kittens would scatter as soon as Dennis and I came outside.  In the last several days they do stay closer and keep a very watchful eye on us. As their mother, they have taken to be little tree huggers.  Needless to say, photo ops are not the easiest things to acquire, but in time Dennis is sure he can wear them down.  He has made it his personal challenge to get them to trust him before the harsh winter sets in so shelter will be available.

  I will say that since Dennis has been taking care of the four legged orphans that come to our patio for food and water, we have not seen a mouse or a mole.  We do wonder what happens to some of the cats that no longer are around, but it is the nature of the wild.  If they can get to our home they are guaranteed a nourishment.

  Life on Stauffer is never dull.

   
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  Noreen 6:35 am on July 1, 2014 Permalink  

  It was a hustle but Dennis and I got the yards mowed after supper. With all the rain it’s been hard to find a time when the grass would be dry enough to do a decent job. I was really sprayed down with Deep Woods Off and towards the end as the perspiration began to trickle I could tell it was moving towards my mouth and eyes. The good thing was that I escaped being attack by the swarms of mosquitoes that were around me. I did go through two batteries for the weed whip, but the yards look very well manicured. Dennis finished with the rider at the same time I finished trimming. Yes, it was a great day even if we did get a late start. Stauffer is still the most sought after location in town.

   
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  Noreen 8:14 am on June 30, 2014 Permalink  

  Busy Sunday of visiting. My aunt is here from Arizona and this 84-year-young gal is amazing. We spent the time today at Lakefield, Minnesota, where she is visiting her daughter. Catch ya all later.

   
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  Noreen 5:08 am on June 29, 2014 Permalink  

  Fleeting Thoughts: 

  Last year at this time Megan and Nicholas were with us for the Railroad Days Parade.  We had an up close and personal location, and periodically Nicholas would get pulled back by his shirt by Megan.  He was so close that his reflection could be seen in the French horn of the marching band.  Priceless.

   
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  Noreen 5:14 am on June 28, 2014 Permalink  

  Spit and polish was the order of the day. Dennis’ 1966 Ford Galaxy convertible is ready for the car show tomorrow in the downtown area. Railroad Days Celebration is in full swing in St. James. Cleaning and polishing would have been fun and enjoyable if the mosquitoes had not bombarded every minute of every hour. The inch of rain last night surely didn’t do anything to hamper the next batch that no undoubtedly be hatching out. I am sending Deep Woods Off with Dennis tomorrow.

   
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  Noreen 4:01 am on June 27, 2014 Permalink  

  When Dennis admits to being barraged by mosquitoes I know they are bad as they generally don’t like how he tastes, or perhaps the blood type hat he has does not appeal to them. Mosquitoes love my “type O.” I filled all the bird and kitty dishes with fresh water this morning singled handed as the other hand was busy brushing off stinging mosquitoes. I don’t think using both hands would have done the trick. I use the full coating of bug spray for those times when I am going to be outside for several hours. Short trips for outdoor necessities . . . result in welts.

   
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  Noreen 5:12 am on June 26, 2014 Permalink  

  Priceless! 

  

  A great friendship that grew out of
  a career of working with taxes.

  A trip for an hour to the northeast today for a lunch date with a dear friend.  Doreen and I were first acquainted when she worked in the Nicollet County Assessor’s Office and I worked in the Watonwan County Assessor’s Office.  As years went on, ironically we both were appointed to the post of County Assessor within months of each other in 1988.

  Getting together for business meetings could have been very dry and dull if it were not for the point that we shared a love of gardening.  We would sit among the group and when the meetings were adjourned the majority of those attending would head for the bar for Happy Hour.  Doreen and I would seek out a nursery or green house and poke our fingers into pots of soil that were growing flowers.  As decades went by we also got together when we could have the entire day to chat, try different places for lunch, pull out photos of families and fill our trunks with new plants for each of us to take home and add to our gardens.  We didn’t always collect plants.  This pictured concrete goose that graces one of my flower gardens came from one of those road trips.  Every fall when Dennis grunts as he tucks the goose into the potting shed he can’t believe that Doreen and her van were able to trundle this heavy item to St. James.

  I have been retired for five years and Doreen has a date set in late 2015 for her retirement.  Though she has that date in mind she also knows if push comes to shove she has the option of leaving sooner.  I have to catch myself as to not embellish retirement too much as I know when her time is on the schedule it can seem like a lifetime away.

  Ironically, we both have young grandchildren and there is nothing to keep us from sharing their antics or adventures. Our lunch visits will continue as we squeak them in with busy schedules.  Friendships either grow or they die, Doreen and I will nurture our friendship for continued growth, but that is not to say that all the plants that we purchased over the years have been quite so lucky.  But . . . we know where we can always find more.

  P.S. Doreen had sent me materials and instructions for knitting so I could teach Megan. I did take my knitting along to allow Doreen to know I am working on even tension and stitches. I may frame this first project and call it abstract art as so far each row takes on its own look.

   
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  Noreen 2:05 am on June 25, 2014 Permalink  

  Fleeting Thoughts: 

  I realize that the huge amount of rain has caused displacement.  I cannot believe that ants have no other option other than coming into my home.

   
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  Noreen 5:23 am on June 24, 2014 Permalink  

  It was a good workout. The French Lilacs that are on the north side of our front door are enjoyed in the early spring. They usually bloom before we need to have the air conditioning on, and their fragrance floats through the home via open windows.

  Over the last ten years the bushes had become a bit willy from trimming them back. One branch gets cut off and three branches sprout from the trim. By the time Dennis got home from morning rounds, the two French Lilacs were trimmed down to two six-inch mounds of “wannabes.”

  With all the rains that we have had I was not worried about taking them down that far. That’s what gardening is all about . . . wait and see.

   
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  Noreen 4:04 am on June 23, 2014 Permalink  

  The Beast Turns into the Beauty 

  A while back I was enjoying one of the first spring flowers and that being tulips. Tulips appear as if of wax with the delicate shapes, but just as the shapes are delicate, so is their lasting power when they come up against the wild spring winds. At that time the cactus was getting the short end of the stick in the compliment department. In time the tulip’s greenery near the cactus dies back until the next year.

  

  In time the beast becomes a beauty.

  Beating all odds the Prickly Pear Cactus that looks as if it is dead when the snow melts does rebound and flourish.  It is the only cactus that can survive the freezing winters of Minnesota.  I have had several stems that have broken off of the parent plant due to the weight of it hanging at odd angles. After having stuck them in some soil near by they root themselves and take off as if they have been there from the start.  The joy of the Prickly Pear is when they become the beauty of their domain.  The yellow blooms are intricate and I am here to tell you my photo is not giving them due diligence.  Just as other blooms, the staying power is never long enough for my liking.  There have been as many as eight buds showing, but unfortunately they don’t open in unison.  Having them open here and there does prolong the enjoyment of the color.

  This would be a great plant to protect against home invasion under house windows.  You may not realize that your hand has brushed too closely, but immediately a tweezers is sought for relief.  I can not imagine coming in contact with an entire stem.  As the photo reveals, a few little weeds are allowed to live another day until some heavy canvas gloves are donned.  It all makes for the wonders of gardening and the enjoyment of having dirty fingernails and weary backs.  I love it.