All By Myself

I'm usually pretty busy at home. I'm head cook and bottle washer, taxi driver, educator, vet, and the list goes on, depending on the moment. But that usually involves being with my people, my family. I'm used to being around my family. It's a routine. It's comfortable. But what's a girl to do when she finds herself at home and the rest of her family isn't? What happens to my routine then? What shall I fill this large void with? And, as if that's not enough to wrap my brain around, I will be by myself all day. And, not just today, but all week. Yeah. All day. All week. As in Monday through Friday. As in five (5) whole days. Baby. That's some pretty heavy stuff.
I could work outside. There's always tons to do out there. Hmmm, like, maybe put the chicken feed away?

Or maybe I should chip eucalyptus.
Or spread the chips that we already have made. There are new trees that don't have mulch yet, and around here, mulch is good. Really good.


I could make pickles. Again. My cucumbers are producing like crazy.

The marigolds are just some of the flowers around here that need some attention. I could start by deadheading them.

I only made one batch of mint jelly, maybe I should make another. It's my favorite, and the mint is more than able to give up a few cups of leaves.

The scarlet mallow needs to be pruned, maybe I will do that. Oh, and the, " e come" sign needs to be fixed to say, "Welcome."

My basil. I have tons of it. Perfect for pesto. I really need to do that.

We have really nice chips for close to the house, and here's a pile of them that I got last week. Lots of spots are a little on the bare side and could use some extra.

Or, I could just wander around taking pictures. Here's one of Sassy, our old mama cat. Dozer, our 100 pound lab, gives her a wide space when he walks around her. The guys say she's cranky. I wonder why they say that?

This is on, "The Hill." It started as a big pile of eucalyptus stumps that were dug up to make room for a new set of leach lines. We took out a whole row of trees for the new lines. (Did you get that? "We?") Let me tell you, leach lines that work are the best. Especially in the rain. Anyway, the stumps were put in a big pile to be burned. And we did. We burned them once, and then the leftovers just sat there. And sat there. So we decided the whole thing would look nice if we covered it with plants and stuff. We carted leftover clippings and dirt, and all manner of waste stuff we get around here, and dumped it all on top and around the edges. Pretty soon, it started looking like an area that we might like, and we planted flowers and a lilac, then some trees, and, "Poof!" This is what it has turned into. It's really cool.



"Lori And The Beanstalk?"

Cucumbers early this morning.

Oh, my gosh! I've got it! I know what I will do today. Our oldest son is storing a small boat here. I could take a short cruise around the lake. It looks pretty seaworthy, don't you think? Yeah, it's perfect. It even has a name written on the side. It's called the, "SS Minnow." I wonder where that came from? Anyway, I wouldn't be gone long, maybe 3 hours.