Not a Working Dog

Sheep Dog Trials

8-28-06 VERMONT: Two rainy days in a row. We got another 0.6 inches. It remains cool. We are wearing pants, sox and jackets instead of sandals, shorts and tees. The leaves are definitely turning, and it seems early.

We went to the Scottish games in Quechee over the weekend and watched border collies in a sheep herding competition. Some are young. They push the sheep around and usually panic them and don’t get the whole course done. The old dogs work more slowly, just nudging the sheep and get all the handler wants done. It is wonderful to see an experienced dog respond to the whistles and voice commands from across a hillside pasture. Also, another opportunity for fair food and a micro-brew.

Colors of August

Early Fall

8-23-06 VERMONT: We had a late shower and rainbow yesterday with 0.05 of an inch and a cool, sunny day today. I finally spread the lime I bought in the early spring. The lawn above the pond was finally dry enough. I checked the pond pH before and will check it again after the next few rains to see if it goes up from Ca,MgCarbonate [lime] washing in the pond.

More signs of fall. I put up traps for cluster flies on the house windows and baited and set mouse traps.

Gardener to the Rescue

8-22-06 VERMONT: Another beautiful day in the Upper Valley. Over the weekend we had rain, which we needed, 1.2 inches. The pond had dropped an inch or so, but is now back to full. Yesterday I found three hostas a blood root and a maiden hair fern underneath the stephanandra in BBP which had rolled over them. I leaped into action and rescued them from the darkness. The hostas went into a bed with kin, and the blood root and fern into the north lower terrace shade garden. Some stephanandra shoots came out with the refugees, and I put them in the propane tank bed. A little dirt to fill the holes and everything is well.

We are living on party leftovers and corn. Yesterday we picked the first tomatoes. Jon and Siobhan sent us peaches from San José via FedEx. They arrived with a few losses, but the survivers are excellent. We also picked wild blackberries, and Judy is making peach and blackberry pie today.

New blooms: wild morning glory, first fall sedum.

Turkey, Opera and Helianthus

Anniversary Party

8-19-06 VERMONT: On the 16th we threw a party to celebrate our 45th anniversary. We had about 70 guests. To expand the size of the house, in case of poor weather, we had tents put up on the deck and yard adjacent to the house. The tents gave the place a festive look. The canapes came from the Hanover Coop, but Judy did the rest of the cooking herself. The food was great. Apparently the wine was good also. The guests included our family, the extended family, local friends, college friends and some NJ friends and was a good mix. I made a short toast, to thank Judy, and concluded with a quote from Ben Franklin, “three things you can count on are: a good dog, an old wife and ready money.” It still works. Ben died in 1790, the year before this original house was built. Neighbors from the road brought a llama and an alpaca to amuse the kids. The kids, our grandkids and grand neices plus other kid guests, could barely be diverted from frog harrassment and playing in the row boat to eat.

By noon the next day, the house was emptied of all guests and the tents had been packed up and taken away. The rest of the day we cleaned up, put away, picked up, swept, and got everything back to normal.

Yesterday Judy went to an auction, and I did yard work including planting a gift day lily, Hemerocallis ‘Siloam Ethel Smith’. I also watered for almost the first time this summer. It has finally dried out, the pond has dropped an inch and a few plants have started to look dry. The jury is still out on the Mosquito Magnet.

Last night we saw the Opera North production of ‘Il Trovatore’ at the Lebanon Opera House. Three of the four principal voices were great, the orchestra was fine, the staging, sets and acting were primitive. Understanding that it was local, I enjoyed it; Judy was less tolerant. On the way to the opera, the traffic, us, was stopped by a flock of turkeys on the road, perhaps fifteen. Today we are supposed to get a bit of needed rain.

New blooms: helianthus, another helenium.