Monday. This was our first day of sunshine since the middle of the week before ... five straight days of rainy gloomy weather. Monday morning, I was sitting on the sofa, working on my laptop with Dorothy snuggled beside me as usual. All of the sudden, a sunbeam came through the window behind us, and it startled us both ... the unfamiliar object that it was. I am so glad that I had my iPad on hand to capture Dorothy's reaction.
Tuesday. With an end to the rain, it was a good day to set the trap to see if I could nab the groundhog that had taken up residence underneath our pavilion. This was a wary one ... not so wary as to resist the lure of my best bait, APPLE. Within two hours after I set the trap, I was victorious!! (yes, Folks, this is a war ... with winners and losers.) I can't get to the hole under the pavilion to fill it in with dirt, so I've been lobbing rocks and chunks of concrete into it to make it unsuitable for another groundhog to come in and take up residence.
If you're keeping score, this is Groundhog #9.
Wednesday. All the rain made for perfect weed-pulling conditions. I spent a good part of the day on Wednesday (and Tuesday) sitting on the seat of my pants pulling bushels of weeds in my garden of English roses. It was tough, physical work, but the results are keeping me optimistic ... perhaps I really CAN conquer the weeds at this place. (there we go again, with the winners and losers analogy.) This photo is what the garden looked like before I removed any of the weeds. I will show you some comprehensive After photos soon, I hope.
Thursday. It was another nice day, and I worked outside ... big surprise, huh? My hands and shoulders were sore from pulling weeds, so I worked to continue to tidy the place up a bit in preparation for my Garden Social tomorrow. The Rose Field is still on the brink of ruin, but everything else is coming along very, very nicely. In the midst of all the work, I always take some time to appreciate the beauty that is around me ... like this flower on 'Kathleen'. This rose blooms mostly in the spring, so fall flowers are not to be expected, but she puts out a killer crop of beautiful orange hips that practically glow in the sunlight.
Today. I have a few final preparations for tomorrow's party. Most of these things need to be done anyway ... moving potted roses to a single location, clearing the driveway beside the house of the accumulated crap, wiping down yard furniture, a trip to the grocery store, etc. I like having the motivation of invited guests to keep the process moving.
I haven't decided what I will wear for the party, but I do know that I will certainly wear my new boots. They were a to-me-from-me present for my birthday two weeks ago, found at Class and Trash (one of my very favorite stores!). As far as I can tell, they were probably custom made for someone, because there is no label or size info on them anywhere, and they are superbly well made. (The only marking on them at all is a molded name of the company that made the heel.) These babies are so comfortable, and I love them!!!
Photo taken earlier this week, as I sat on the back porch with Ruby and a cold, long-necked beverage.
Now it's your turn ... how has your week been?