Keepin' Busy

Well It's best to keep busy when you have a heavy heart.. I luckily have many things on my "honey do list" the first being mowing..Oh I forgot to mention that Cap'n Steve had to go to Florida to do some important errands. His timing was in no way coincidental to Lass' situation. So I needed to step in and do his "part".. This means a 4 -5 hour mow (We have 4 acres that we groom and 4.5 acres of woodlands).. A 4-5 hour mow isn't bad when you don't have to do it every 5 days. We share the weekly task and my side usually takes 1.5-2 hours while Steve's side takes 2-2.5 hours. Cap'n Steve normally powers a commercial size mower, the Snapper, that he handles beautifully, a throwback to his younger days when he worked on golf courses.





I have a John Deere lawn tractor.. a heavy duty one - not one of those you see in Home Ripoff.. okay - so I am proud of the machine.. but it has earned it over the last 6 years... not a hiccup.. and perfect for me - but not for the entire yard. We purchased this jewel after we realized I could not manage the Snapper - my hands were just too small.. Now I don't understand that since we all have seen many commercial mowers with people operating them who hardly seem taller than my 5'5" but alas I just couldn't span the grip/gear shift. Also we knew it was best to have a two mowers in case one went down. The yard can quickly get away from you if you miss a mow and then it is hell to catch up. The Snapper can operate like a zero turn radius when you walk behind it, thus getting in lots of tight corners easily that the JD can't even think about..My normal mowing is what we affectionately call the fairway (an easy 7 iron - par 3), not too many trees and a lot of wide open space..When Cap'n Steve must venture away I also mow "his" side of the property that has the trees and planting beds. The JD does a good job and I am along for the ride - so to speak...but I just can't get as close to the trees/fence line that Cap'n Steve and his fine machine can.


Mattie loves to roll in fresh cut grass.. one of the simple pleasures..

Odds and Ends

It's getting toward the end of the Gladiolas.. I have enjoyed them so much. I thought I would share these two pictures.. I only had this one gladiola that had multicolor like this.. I thought it was beautiful. Wish I had more of these - Also I shot this around 9:00 am but the light was too harsh even then..

Also we are arranging for the carpet for the Guest Quarters today. So probably in the next few weeks we will be completely done. We are both looking forward to it. Cap'n Steve is definitely ready to move on. He is talking furniture making and I am encouraging it so that should keep him occupied and not driving me crazy! He did rebuild our back steps earlier this spring. Our BC, Lass, is to the point that she has problems going up stairs. These back steps were starting to give her fits. I couldn't pick her up and carry her up/down like I did with the corgis as they became unable to negotiate them so Cap'n Steve redesigned them to be wider and smaller rise. We just put the outdoor carpet on them this week as Lass was really starting to slip. Mattie, my ham, is modeling them for us. Lass is definitely a camera shy BC.. I have come to the conclusion it is the infrared focusing that makes her uncomfortable...

I'm No Martha Stewart

Having a bit more company this weekend than last. 8 people.. Which is fine except that we don't have more than 6 plates/wine glasses and not to mention we can't sleep more than 4 very comfortabley, which is one reason for the guest quarters. But I guess my friends (more on MY friends vs Cap'n Steve's friends in another post) finally got tired of waiting on the guest quarters and decided this is the right time to visit. Which is too bad in a way because the quest quarters are just a couple of weeks away from being completed.. Hooray!..

So back to my Martha Stewart comment. I am no pro at cooking/nesting/entertaining and don't really spend a lot of time fretting over it... but luckily my friends all realize this and still like me.. I feel lucky..I used to go all manic when we have company - I mean really bad - drove Cap'n Steve up the wall.. I have learned to relax a lot and it makes for a much more enjoyable time for me...(and Cap'n Steve). I usually try to do the food a day in advance (even when my guests graciously bring goodies) and then I usually run the vacuum the morning of the day of arrival... with 5 animals and living on the river bank with lots of sand, it's always a losing battle - but at least it helps initially.

This time of year our gladiolas are blooming which is a treat - at least for us. But somewhere recently I heard them referred to as funeral flowers and now I can't get that phrase out of my head and as I look around at them all over the house I can't help but think about that phrase... ticks me off.. I shot these yesterday very quickly with the P&S (and it shows) but the colors or pretty true - very brilliant with a preponderance of white gladiolas this year I have these spread all throughout the cabin.. in fact I need to go tend to them and make sure they look fresh for company.. It will be a fun group - lots of laughs and lots of good discussion - I am looking forward to it..

Good thing I love the color green....

There is one thing about North Georgia - it is GREEN most of the year.

Now I am no master gardner - but we do have a few flowers around the place that I thoroughly enjoy. And they are starting to pop.. We have our day lillies that provide some nice oranges:



Our sick Hollyhock is giving it a good try..




It really should be producing something splendid like this:




And our first Gladiola is blooming - we should have a bumper crop this year. Finally after 5 years of these beautiful flowers, I have purchased appropriate vases. I am looking forward to using them instead of my old wine carafes and pitchers: Yes it does take me awhile to get around to some things...

A Love Affair From the Beginning

Many of you know Mattie, one of the two remaining dogs that seems to tether Cap'n Steve and myself to home. Now she doesn't do that by any conscious effort on her part, we seem to make that decision on our own. But she is THE dog... She is MY dog.. She is THE Mattie.. an 11 yo Australian Shepherd that is huge, at least as female Aussies go. She is the apple of my eye, the "chosen child", the bossiest dog, the loyal companion, my love. She is fodder for the camera and my eternal practice of depth of field..since I have no small children to practice with, she suffices and is willing to do so, thanks in no small part to several obedience classes! She is smart, and unfortunate for her, and me, she was the first dog I ever really trained. We did obedience and agility and she was a quick study at both. She loved the frisbee and tennis ball and still does, but a torn ACL 2 years ago has put an end to those days. When I first laid eyes on the cabin, my first thought was not of our desires for a home out of the city, but how great this would be for the dogs (4 at the time, 2 corgis, Lass the BC, and Mattie). She spent the first several years in the river. She could not be outside playing without taking a dip or two. She was 2 when we purchased the cabin, and they seemed meant for each other. She chased rabbits, geese and turkeys, made peace with ducks and squirrels..She barks at passers by on HER river, letting them know that she sees them and they are on "her turf". Her days now are pretty content to hang around the groomed areas (4.5 acres), even staying loyally by my side as I do my chores. She loves summer as it brings the wild blackberries that she pulls from the thorny vines with ease. She relishes fall because it brings wild cherries which she gorges on until we make her come in, as we try to avoid the inevitable regurgitation of 10 too many cherries. She is showing the signs of aging. Her stiffness in the cool damp mornings has me feeling sorry for her. As I reach for Ibuprofen for myself, I check to see if she is in need of Ascriptin or Rimadyl. Rimadyl, now there is the drug of choice in our home.. When Tucker (numero Uno Corgi) began using it 6 or so years ago for his arthritis, and I got my dog back, so to speak.. I have been buying in bulk ever since.. Bogey (numero dos Corgi) was on it for 3 years, and Lass has been on a daily regime for the last year. I pop Mattie a Rimadyl on the really cold evenings/mornings, but as summer approaches and the weather warms, she will be fine without - at least for this season.. I fully expect within a year or so for her to be on the daily regime of this miracle drug. She will be the last to go of the dogs, and probably in the not too distant future. I can't imagine this place without her, but hopefully for me I won't have to for awhile.

My World and Welcome To It

I love this picture. To me it epitomizes my world, which I dearly love. Our 8.5 acres borders on a small peaceful river. The cabin is small and cozy. And the room this place has is dog heaven. The first time I saw it I said, "if it was half as good on the inside as it was on the outside, it was ours".

This picture is taken with an extreme wide angle (10mm digital which is equiv to 15mm in film slr). I love that wide angle, though you have to be careful with your composition or you get very mundane shots. Wide angle landscapes should have an interesting subject in the foreground without distracting your eye from the grandness of the 'scape. I think I accomplished this. Mattie, our aussie, is such a good model and a natural ham in front of the camera.