The Weekend

Carol here ~

Vanessa, Lucas, Kailey and Jakob came for a visit on Saturday. They brought their canoe to leave here for the summer. I’m hoping I am able to get in it soon ~ I am missing my paddles around the pond.

Dan's Ramblings

Dan here. All well here on the pond. Been either way too hot or too cold and windy. I guess the wind is keeping the black flies away. Too windy for fires the last couple nights. Fire danger way too high to take a chance.

Been trying to get figured out what will get planted this summer. Carol showed you the window boxes on the retaining wall last time. I have planted a few other pots and have planted the big planter at the back of the house. Still need another trip to the greenhouse for a couple more plants for the front of the house towards the pond and beside a little fence between us and the neighbors.

Planting beside the fence is on hold as I wait for the landscaper to put the last capstone on the retaining wall.

I have been waiting since last fall. I now will be reminding him daily. 

Thank you!

Carol here ~

Thank you, thank you, thank you for all the prayers, positive thoughts, kind words and messages you sent my way following my post last Friday. I truly appreciate every single one.

My Vertebroplasty surgery is scheduled for Thursday, June 3rd.

I will be having radiation. On Tuesday, June 8th I will meet with the radiologist where he will “map” the exact area on my spine to be treated. I will then have ten treatments.

The combination of the surgery and the radiation should get me pretty much pain free. YAY!

I will also be going to PT twice weekly. I can’t wait to be able to move again!

Dan's Ramblings

Dan here. All is well here on the pond. 

Thought we were all going to blow away on Sunday. In the morning it was really nice out. Daughter Erin had arrived on Saturday to sit by the fire with me Saturday night, and had gone kayaking after her first walk Sunday morning. Real calm, until later. While I was at the grocery store the wind started to wail. I arrived home from the store to find all the chairs from the front seating area scattered everywhere. Even the four seater 3’ square table with an umbrella in the middle had blown over. My empty pots from planting the window boxes were everywhere. I counted them as I picked them up and think I got them all.

Prayers and Positive Thoughts Please

Carol here ~

Dan got the flower boxes planted along the top of our new retaining wall yesterday.
Going to be beautiful!
I supervised from my chair in the corner of the living room.

**Long post alert ~ you might want to grab a cuppa before you settle in**

I debated sharing this but as we stated when we started this blog, it was to be a journal of our lives here at the pond and well, this is how my life is at this time.

Nature

Dan here.

I write this Tuesday evening sitting with Carol beside the fire ~ listening and laughing as the bull frogs croak over on Mud Pond. There are several of them over there. 

Photo by Erin

The peepers cry rises and falls depending on how many have chimed in but always present in the background. The tree toads and frogs take turns adding their reverberations to the ballad. The train whistle blows it’s mournful cry and the rumble of the train cars sounds like we should get out of it’s way. But nothing to worry about, it’s just another evening sitting by the fire.

Turn up the volume!

Dan's Ramblings

Dan here ~

Sorry to be MIA most of last week. Lots happening here, Carol will probably give you an update at the end of this week.

I think we are getting some warmer weather. I don’t know if I really want it though. Warmer weather will bring out the black flies in hoards. I have had a few nice evenings by the fire lately. Here is my after sunset picture from the other night. 

Carol has joined me briefly most nights but the chairs by the fire need upgrading to something a little more comfortable. Most nights it’s still been windy until dark. I like to start the fire, either before supper or right after. I’m usually ready to come in by 10:00. Then I go up to the studio and sew for a couple hours.

Some progress happens almost every day on whatever my current quilt project is. I very seldom have more than one quilt in construction at any one time.

Family

Carol here ~

I had a great day yesterday! Vanessa, Lucas, Kailey, Jakob and Erin came for a Mother’s Day visit. They brought me this beautiful yellow petunia plant.

 

Jakob had wanted to go fishing and Lucas had brought his drone to play around with but it was too windy (again) for either so…next time, I guess.

Erin and Dan got their steps in. They texted me when they were ready to start down the ridge and I walked up to meet them. I’m getting around a bit better, although I’m a bit pokey.

Dan's Ramblings

Dan here, it’s Friday. That means week 18 for the year ended yesterday. My walking total has reached 887 miles. The last few days have been a struggle. No idea why, each step was torture. Probably why milage totals were low this week with only 45 miles for the week.

I did see a fox yesterday. I saw where it crossed the road about 100 yards up ahead of me. When I reached the location, I slowly walked off the road and up into the woods. I wasn’t in the woods too far when I saw it. 

At first it did not seem to mind me so much as it was checking out the brush pile, I’m sure looking for a squirrel or chipmunk. There is no shortage of them running around the woods around here. After a bit it must have gotten camera shy as it took off deeper into the woods. I turned back and continued my walk. 

Weekend Retreat

Carol here ~

This past weekend I attended a Virtual Quilt Retreat with Michelle Hiatt and Lynn Wheatley. My back was tolerable as long as I kept icing it. I have two large ice packs so kept switching them out throughout the weekend. (gives a whole new meaning to the word “numbass”). 😉

I was working on the project LIBERTY COURT and managed to get this much done and up on the design wall.  The dragonfly fabric will be my border ~ love, love it!

I still have nine of the small Liberty Lemoyne stars to construct then will be able to sew the wallhanging together.

Dan's Ramblings

Dan here ~

Has been very windy here, does not really make much difference but when I go for my walk it’s hard to judge what to wear for clothes.

Speaking of my walks, they have been going on schedule. Last Thursday ended week 17 for the year. So far I have walked 841.7 miles with 180 miles in the bank for rainy days.

There is a spot on my walk where there seems to be a lot of wildlife. I’ve seen fox, deer, porcupine and an abundance of birds. The other day I heard a bird call and thought it sounded like a cardinal. I like to whistle and mimic the bird calls, so I started answering it’s call. We talked back and forth. He probably had more of an idea what we were talking about then I did, but like with most conversations, that didn’t stop us and we talked on. I finally got my new friend to come close enough that I could see who I was talking to. Sure enough it was a male cardinal, beautiful as ever. I recorded him and his song. Be sure to turn up your volume.

Later walking back by the same spot I used his recorded call to lure him back in again. On another pass through the area I had a conversation with a tufted titmouse and again called him in pretty close. It’s fun.

Finally found some pink Mayflowers.

I like them better than the white ones. I hope I can still say that. I’ll probably have a bunch of white Mayflowers picketing the house once this blog gets out. I hope they are not violent.

Saw these on my walk recently as well. 

The single was cool but the fungi appeared to have taken over the taller tree. I think these are bracket fungi. Cool stuff to see when you keep your eyes open.

I had to go check out Carol’s turtles since she can’t get up the pond that far. 

Oldest Grandson, Evan, won first place in the NAGA (North America Grappling Association), 16-17 year old division. Proud grandparents.

Till next time, have fun I try to, and remember, where ever you go, there you are, if I’m supposed to meet you there and you get there first, draw a blue line where we planned to meet. If I get there first, I’ll rub it out.