I haven't forgot about you!

Yeah, I know.... I made a personal promise to write at least three times a week. Well, we can all see I have failed miserably on that one! It isn't because I don't have anything to say. Actually, quite the opposite. I just seem to be away from a working computer whenever I have the time to sit and compose a posting. My life goes in stages, and right now it seems to be taking me away from home quite often. When I am at home, there just seems to be so much to do that I haven't had the time to give myself the quiet time I sorely need.
Here are a few of the highlights of these past few weeks:

Every weekend from August 22nd through Sept 20th (5 weekends) Joe and I were cabin sitting for Albert. I have promised, and will fulfill that promise, of a post describing this awesome opportunity. Yes, pictures too!

My tiny garden is still producing, but I think this next week will send it into it's last days. We have been having some record high temperatures and I finally have some ripe tomatoes that the deer haven't eaten! The carrots are still in the ground and seem to be doing great. I do pull a couple out each weekend to eat as a snack, and they have grown from the size of my pinkie to the size of my thumb in two weeks! I may be able to get enough to actually do something with! The parsley will be cut and laid out to dry on Sunday since that will be the beginning of a whole week of nights in the 30's. The lettuce was doing great, but I have eaten as much as I want and have a bit in the fridge, too. I uncovered it and left it to the grasshoppers and rodents who have feasted well on it. I may get a little more from it before it freezes out.

Last Sunday (9/20) Brooke managed to get herself sprayed by a skunk. How? I don't know. She was in the fenced in yard and the skunk was out of the yard but by the gate. I guess the skunk was spooked and got the poor girl right in the face and neck. Brooke is well into her winter coat so the musk soaked through the long outer hair and into the soft downy stuff... and into her collar as well. To make matters worse-- Joe didn't realize what had just happened and let her into the house where she proceeded to rub her just-sprayed muzzle onto my living room carpet! Monday evening after work I gave Brooke a bath (have I ever mentioned she HATES baths?) with a Peroxide / Baking Soda / soap mixture. It worked really well... on the parts I was allowed to get washed really good. The other places? Well, It cut the smell down alot, but she still smelled pretty bad this past week. As for the carpet? Carpet Fabreeze, Oxiclean, and more Fabreeze. When the house is closed up tight it still smells. Looks like another week of the same! On the bright side? The stench is slowly fading from carpet, dog, and yard (where Ms. LaPew sprayed).

On the work front, The Owner of my place of employment has been to town the past two weeks, and has promised another visit next week. He is not coming into town to check up on us, but to supervise a remodel of a hair salon he owns next door to us. In the past two weeks I have now seen the man more than I had in the nearly three years I have been working for him! There was a good side to this, too: since he didn't "have time for us" and really wanted to take us out to dinner he just gave us each $100 to spend "on the town". Not a bad, and totally unexpected, bonus! Did we go out? No, but Joe and I are heading up to Glacier Park on Saturday so the extra cash will come in handy for that. We haven't been up North for quite a long time....

And, tonight I just finished dying Krystle's hair. I don't see much of her anymore since she is pretty much living her own life and with the girls all grown, I am living mine. This gave us a bit of a chance to catch up and chat. SOooo NOW it is going on 2:30 in the morning! One more spray down of the carpet with Fabreeze and it's off to bed! Tomorrow is Glacier, seeing Heather and Lucas, and hopefully our friends Stacey and Trudy either tomorrow or Sunday before heading back home.
Busy, Busy, Busy... but soon winter will be here and life will slow WAY down!

A really, really quick post...

...But I will try to cover everything!

The garden would be doing great if the deer wouldn't have found it. They ate all my green tomatoes (6 at the time) and my (so far) one and only bell pepper that was the size of a baby's fist. They also stomped all over one of the squash plants.
All of the radishes have been harvested. I learned that if I sliced them thin they weren't too bad in a salad! I have a few left in the fridge. Carrots are about the size of my pinkie, and lettuce continues to grow nicely. I did resort to Sevin bug killer and treated the areas around the garden. The next few days I was literally walking over a grasshopper killing field! There must have been hundreds of them! Seriously. I am a grasshopper killer on a major scale and I am not upset about it one teeny-tiny bit! Now that they are gone the parsley, carrots, and lettuce are able to grow! I do have weird patches where the hellions killed the young plants by eating them continuously all the way to the ground. I will have to do another treatment soon as I am seeing evidence of encroachment of the bugs from outside the treated area.

Work has been very busy. Word of mouth seems to be the way many customers are finding us. I guess that means people are happy with our work! I am also happy to tell everyone that I found someone to car pool with. Joe found a post on Craig's List asking for a driver three days a week to Great Falls and back to Helena. I called, we met, the first week went great! Her name is Michelle, too! Strange, huh? She doesn't like to drive as much, so I am the driver and she pays half the gas. She also likes Books on CD, too, so I don't have to stop listening to them. Works out great.

Life is going good. I went to a Dr's appt two weeks ago. Different doc, this time. She ordered a whole slew of blood work tests (I swear she drained me dry!), then put me on Flexarill and Nurotin. I am sleeping much better, and I hurt much less! YEA!!
I was able to sit and finish my "101 goals in 1001 days" AND begin actually working towards a few,too! Life is great when you don't hurt 24/7!
The only other news.... I will be heading to Rockin' the Rivers this weekend. The classic rock festival runs three days and music plays constantly from noon until about 2am Fri, Sat, and Sun. My one and only party /vacation of the year. This will be my 10th year (it has only been running 11). Weather looks unsettled, so we may get rained on, but Hey! That is part of the fun! Of the 10 years, it has only rained badly only three or four times.... but then it clears up and is nice the rest of the time. Oh yeah, it did snow one Friday night! That was insane, but it warmed up to 75 on Saturday and in the 80's on Sunday. This is Montana... the weather is crazy. I will be hitting the road in about 10 minutes....YeeeHAAA!
If I have signal, I will try to post a photo or two while I am at the festival!
Have a great weekend... we'll chat when I get back to civilization!

Happy July 4th, American Independance Day!

I have been back from Idaho/Washington for six days now. I have some photos I'd love to share, too, but here is how things went for me:
When I was out of state, for some reason while roaming off of AT&T cellular service, I could not send photos from my cell phone to my blog. Heck, about half the time I couldn't even get a call to go through! I don't know what was up with that, but it was irritating, to say the least.
I have downloaded the photos onto my home computer, and posted some to Facebook, but that is about as far as I got.
I usually use the slow periods at work to write my posts, but this week my lap top here at work is not working very well. I know I really need to just buckle down and buy a new one, and I have been budgeting for one, but that is quite a bit of cash to save up! It takes about five minutes to just log into an Internet page, and about half the time the page crashes the computer. I just don't think this little baby can compete with the newest technology. Her processor is too slow, her hard drive too small.... but she has been good to me and I seem to have a strange attachment to her!
I was planning to write a post about my trip on my home computer, but that hasn't happened, either. Lately, When I get home (Helena) I am just SO tired. I try to not let my physical troubles get in my way, but this week I just couldn't help it. I have been very run down, fatigued, and in a bit of pain. Today (Friday) has been especially bad. I was able to rest up all day on Sunday, so I don't think the road trip is the cause. We have been having some strange weather passing through, so maybe the barometric pressure changes are messing with me... or those pesky hormones? Whatever is the cause, I can't wait till I feel better.
Other items to catch up on:
The garden is doing great... well, it was! On Sunday I had a row of peppers about half an inch tall, and a whole row of onions about 4 inches tall. Last night, as I was watering, I noticed all my peppers are gone, and half the row of onion tops. Also, many of my carrot tops are half gone, my lettuce is looking munched on, as well as the tops of the radishes. A closer look revealed why-- GRASSHOPPERS! UGH! I made a little tent out of nylon mesh to keep the buggers out, and sprayed Sevin onto the plants that were left to kill the 'hoppers that managed to get trapped inside. I did try to get them all out, but some insisted on jumping back into the garden area. Hopefully, all the plants will send up some new leaves. I'd really like to get at least one or two of those pepper plants to grow.
The trip last weekend was awesome! I will post about it in the near future. I promise! If you want a preview of the photos, check them out HERE.
This weekend Joe and I are heading up to our friends mountain home. He lives off the grid high up in the Helena National Forest. If you want to know more about him, check out my followers and click on MountainManAlbert. We are going just to relax, with BBQ'd steaks to celebrate the 4th. Just peace and quiet. No fireworks, no yelling kids, no crowds. Sounds like a perfect holiday weekend.
Hope everyone has a great weekend! Stay safe!

Summer Storms and More Garden Sprouts

My drive from Great Falls to Helena last night was awesome! Many might not have thought so, but I LOVED it!

Right after leaving Great Falls, heading south on I-90 (Big oops! I mean I-15! Thanks for the catch Mountain Man!) to Helena, I could see a major storm only a few miles ahead of me. By the time I got to Ulm (a tiny community 10 miles from Great Falls), I was picking up a few raindrops on my windshield, and the ionized smell that is associated with thunderstorms was coming in my open window. I breathed deep... that smell is one of my favorites. It has a way of calming AND energizing me at the same time. I know that sounds weird, but my troubles and thoughts all leave my head, and feelings of... how do I describe it... I guess of Life, unlimited energy, natures power... all that and more... energize my very soul.

A few moments later, the first bright flash of lightning.... then another, and another... all around me. The rain increased from a few sprinkles to a torrent in a matter of seconds, creating a loud pounding sound inside my vehicle overpowering the thunderclaps outside. I know they were loud, because I could actually feel the rumbles. By this time, I had closed my window most of the way. I was still getting some rain in the car, but I didn't want to close out the smells of the storm. I was driving along, big grin on my face, passing other drivers who looked like they were annoyed by the storm. They must have thought "Look at the Crazy Lady!" Hahaha!

The rain began to let up, then the storm was off to my left... then the sun came out. I looked in my rear view and I knew I had to stop and get a photo of the storm (please be kind enough to ignore the dust or hair that seems to have been over the lens.):

Looking North:

Looking North West:

And, finally, I turned around and THIS is where I am headed! Blue skies and sunshine!

Once I got home, I checked on the garden. The ground was still damp, but no longer soaked. The evening was beautiful, and the sun was still pretty high so I dropped my keys in the house and went back out to finally thin the row of radishes. I have to say, I did this with mixed blessings. I was so happy to see all these little plants popping out of the ground, and now I was about to yank about half of them out before they really had a chance to grow. I know that if I didn't, the final product wouldn't be as good, so it had to be done. I couldn't help but laugh to myself about the irony. Me, who can't keep anything alive, is pulling green shoots.

After I finished that chore... Ok, not much of a chore as the row is only 7 feet long... I took a good look at the rest of the garden. Oh Joy! The lettuce is dong great and will need it's own thinning in a few days. The majority of the lettuce plants are about an inch tall already. There are tiny green feathery sprouts where I planted carrots, and half inch tall green onions! Now, I am only waiting on the peppers and the parsley to show.

I am a little worried about my pansies, though. I think the deluge of water and the soaking of the soil has taken it's toll. Many are limp, and some of the leaves are turning yellow. I am going to keep them away from the next few waterings to get all the extra water out. The drain holes in the bottom must have plugged up and the pots were unable to drain properly. Pansies seem to be pretty forgiving, so they may make a comeback.

After playing in the dirt, I fed Brookie-Dog and noticed she was nearly out of kibble. I washed up and headed into Helena (10 miles from home) to Wal-Mart. I couldn't help but notice the cool cloud formations over the eastern mountains. It was getting dark, but there was enough evening light to get a photo:

All in all, a pretty good Monday evening, wouldn't you say?

It Could Be A Fruitful Summer!

I may be succeeding at this gardening thing. Yes, I AM amazed that I have all these tiny little plants poking out of the ground!
Last week, the first of the sprouts came up... the radishes, which ironically I don't eat. I planted them because 1) I was told they were easy, and 2) My dad, Joe and Krystle's boyfriend like them. I figured if I totally failed, especially with radishes, then I would have to be satisfied with the Farmers Markets and produce sections of the grocery.
On Saturday I noticed another row of very tiny green sprouts! This is my row of lettuce! (See, OHN-- patience-- the lettuce is coming! LOL)
I am thinking the other rows, consisting of Bell Peppers, carrots, parsley, and onions will be peeking up out of the dirt this week.
I do have tiny sprouts of mint in a pot on my porch, right alongside the two strawberry plants that are loaded with green berries!
Even the flowers are doing well, and that is a major accomplishment for me as I tend to kill anything that is green and requires regular care. Good thing my kids were normal pink and not green! hahahaha!

Now, all of this nearly came to an abrupt ending on Friday...into Saturday morning. Krystle, who is as excited about this garden as I am, decided to "help" but nearly washed the entire shebang into the next county! Yes, Krystle wanted to help with something.... so, no, I couldn't have been mad even if it had led to a farm disaster on a miniature scale.
Here is how it went down:
Joe's mother has been visiting him for the past few weeks, so I have been spending a few more nights a week in Great Falls than I normally do, and Friday was one of those nights. I usually go home to Helena on Friday, but Gretchen was leaving soon and we all wanted to have a nice dinner out (Borrie's, for all you local readers). Krystle noticed I had not come home, called me to make sure, then asked me if I needed her to water the garden that evening. I was planning on thinning the row of radishes on Saturday, so I told her it was not necessary but if she really wanted to, to only leave the water on for 15 minutes. I was hoping I wouldn't be kneeling in mud, so planned to thin and weed before giving the garden a good drink.
I didn't think she would turn on the water. Hell, she doesn't even pick up her dishes from the living room!
I pull into the driveway about 10am Saturday morning (dirt, since I live in the country) and although the entire drive home was dry and sunny, there are three large puddles between me and the garage! I'm not talking one or two foot puddles... I am talking LARGE... one all the way across the driveway, and two others claiming most of the land I usually drive on!
I park in my usual spot, step out of the Rav-4, and my shoe sinks half an inch into the mud! Krystle's car is gone, but where she parked was a rectangle shaped dry spot. (Now is the time to tell you what the ground is like on my land... clay and rock. In order for it to get truly muddy, there needs to be ALOT of water.) My potted pansies had four inches of water above the dirt, and the soil was nearly liquid in form! My two poor tomato plants were sitting in a bog.
I stood there, outside my gate next to the garden space and actually laughed out loud. Brooke, my adorable 10 year old Malamute/Rottie cross, looked at me as if I had gone completely bonkers! I said to her "Well, if Mother Nature isn't in the mood to try and kill my garden this weekend, it looks like Krystle IS!"
I called the daughter.... voice mail. She must be at work. I TXT her: "Soooo... just how long WAS the water going?"
Her reply was " Um HaHa! So, its a funny story...!"
I never did get to hear it.
Most of the mud dried up by Sunday morning (yes, 24 hours!), but when I left Helena to return to Great Falls on Sunday evening the areas where the puddles had been was still very muddy. No, I didn't get the radishes thinned. Yes, the garden got watered!
Teenagers.... Gotta love 'em!

Just when I thought it was a goner....!

Do you remember me telling you about the tomato plant I purchased? Remember I mentioned it was a risk to have plants outside before Memorial Day? Well, turns out I was right. The Wednesday before the long weekend, the night time temps dipped into the low 30's and my beautiful tomato plant with all of it's flowers froze. I thought it was done for, but I took a good look at it last weekend and noticed it was producing new leaves from the base AND from a few of the branches of the main stalk! I didn't kill it after all.

I finished putting in a small raised garden this past weekend, after thinking I wasn't going to be able to manage one this year. On Saturday, I had pretty much given up on the idea, but late Sunday afternoon I changed my mind and decided to give it a go. I was able to construct, fill, level, and plant one tomato plant (a new one after thinking the first had given up the ghost). After work on Tuesday I planted the seeds. The garden is only 8 foot square, so not much room, but I planted one row each of carrots, parsley, lettuce, radishes, onions, and bell peppers. At one end of the pepper row I planted the new tomato plant. The old tomato plant is in a container at one corner of the garden, with containers of flowers at the other three corners. Now I just have to wait and see if anything actually grows!
The radishes and lettuce each say I should have sprouts in about a week and a half, everything else says 14 to 21 days. I guess I'll know just how green my thumb is right around the summer solstice. I know that sounds late to many of you out there, but the growing season here in Montana is short... only about four good months on average (June-Sept). October and May are iffy months. Sometimes they are beautiful, other times they are cold and snowy. A gardener just can't rely on good weather then, but it doesn't hurt to take the chance! SOooo, I am thinking of making another small raised bed and putting in pumpkins, zucchini, cucumbers, watermelon hybrid (small and fast growing), and cantaloupe hybrid. Why not? It doesn't hurt to try and if they don't succeed, I am really only out the $1.00 I paid for each pack of seeds. I am going to start on that tonight after work, and finish on Saturday morning.

Apart from being a beginner, and having either luck or failure on that front, I am worried that my little plants will be eaten by the droves of grasshoppers we seem to get each summer. If any of you readers have any ideas on how to protect my garden from these little buggers, Please, PLEASE share them!