Homebodies - A bit of this and that

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Published on Saturday, April 18, 2015

By Rita Friesen

There is a new canine on the block! Meeka is a retriever/lab cross. She is all puppy. When Meeka joined the household she was smaller than my fur people. Now, not so much! The play time is becoming more aggressive, provoked by any or all dogs. The growling is fierce, and the melee of moving energy astounding. So far no damage has been inflicted on anything or anyone. I rue the day when Meeka becomes too big for all four of us to cuddle on the sleeping chair. Right now, with a careful arrangement of limbs, Hoover, Miss Daisy, Meeka and I can all relax on the recliner and rest. I no longer need a blanket!

The gentle sound of the coo of the pigeons has always been welcome. They have lived in the old granary, and so if tarps needed to be strategically draped to prevent acid discoloration of tractor hoods, so be it. Now that shed is empty and so there should be no problem with pigeon poop. Except that the lovely grey/blue birds don’t want to live in an abandoned building. They want to live in the attic of ‘the shop’. Above the cars. Now the call of the birds has become a dreaded drone! So I enlisted the assistance of able bodied youth and the attic is, please dear God, pigeon proof. I saw several swooping around the coal barn. That building is utilised for some extra storage space, and so, technically, not abandoned. May they live well and multiply.

 With the warmer weather has come the desire to work at cleaning up the yard. The evergreens in the low lands have always been a pet. Last year we cut back on mowing as much, and then the weeds took hold. Travellers on sixteen may note a lone individual, well, lone save the three dogs rambling nearby, hacking at towering ragweeds and thistles. Axe in hand, I hew and stack, then travois bunches to the burning pile. It is slow going, twenty minutes at a time, but I see progress. At least from the dining room window! I am tackling the unsightly mess that can be seen from my viewing point. Should the good Lord tarry, I may complete the task!

 It is with a sense of reluctance that I have stowed my quilting projects. The hopes and plans had been to complete at least three. One finished, one ready to be filled – that means I have the top and bottom ready!, and for one fairly large blanket, the squares are fully finished but I need to border them. Back in the box for the lot of them. Summer is too short for me to dwell indoors! 

Enjoy the season, take time to note the changes, and embrace change!