Voile Vole

Gettcha out of here vole. Now with the snow completely melted ... not one smidgen left ... I have discovered the damage created by my dreaded little pesky varmints aka the vole. According to a google search ... they are especially active during winters with heavy snowfall. With plans of planting some apple trees, I come to find out that that's one of their favorite foods ... so now I'm off to the store to buy some mouse traps and 1/4 inch mesh wire to help protect the young trees. Miss Holly, my pooch, has had a field day digging up my infested area ...

Today is a glorious sunshiny day ... the type you only dream about during the winter. My posts will take a backseat to being outside ... leave me a note ... and I'll try to make my 'rounds' in the blog world.

'Dawg Tails' From The Great Northwest

Defender of the woods, my pooch, Miss Holly ... Her 'tails' are great this month ... rather drop kicking. Now the entertainment at our Mangy Moose Lodge just never ceases. With the recent visit from my folks, about half of their two weeks was spent watching it snow. The scene was new for them ... but old hash for yours truly. Never the less, great sport can be found in the last snow storm of the season. Dad was sitting at the dining room table reading the paper, sipping coffee one morning. (Said room is a windowed wing off the kitchen with forest views). He had just mentioned how it would be interesting to see a moose while visiting the Mangy Moose Lodge. Voile ... no sooner had the words parted his lips ... outside lumbered said huge creature. Cameras start flashing from behind the door and windows ... mom is amazed at actually seeing the moose just wondering around my yard. Snow is swirling ... moose is munching the new twig growth on a maple tree ... all is well. Or at least for a short moment. Then the action began. To be exact, my great defender, Miss Holly, decides to take on the 1000 x's bigger creature ... she (the dawg) CHARGED and quickly got kicked in the head throwing her across the yard. Do I feel protected? Do I have a stupid dawg? Yes to both questions! Dawg status: Perhaps some sense was kicked into her ... able to run, bark, play, frolic.

Senioritis My @$$

What's up? I mean with high school seniors and being way too lax about daily attendance. One of my beloved youngins is taking advantage of skipping out on the last period of school ... to the tune of the VP calling to ask if I knew of any recent reasons for leaving early ... four times since mid March. This after said youngin has switched her schedule to include a work release the last two periods of the day ... she gets out at noon and actually does go to work (so I think). My response to the VP was to throw the book at her (no, not literally) ... MAKE HER PAY!! ... by having her attend a few Saturday schools ... or picking up trash ... cleaning toilets ... etc., etc. The school reported it's practically an epidemic this year. I'm not one of those parents to swoosh in to the rescue of poor little youngin ... suffer the consequences as the chips fall ... attend summer school ... whatever it takes to get the message inside her head. Note to youngin: Don't tick me off or I'll turn into a Mommy Dearest!

Savor -vs- Squander

How many years, months, weeks, days, hours, minutes, seconds does a body have here on this blue planet? Only the Lord knows the exact amount ... just as he knows how many hairs you have on top of your head. How many of these units of time do you savor and enjoy. How many do you throw away down the drain? Earlier this year I turned FIFTY years young and I've had time this week to think about this new decade I'm entering. My younger decades were spent in school, and raising a family. Now with that semi behind me ... I'm starting to savor every breath I take and realizing life is too short to not slow down to smell the roses. Somehow, this week the sky seems bluer ... air cleaner ... life more precious. On my morning walks I try to drink in all of the glorious views from the top of the mountain. I enjoy my gardening hobbies and even my housework. And to think I was looking in the want ads a few months ago for a part time job ... silly me ... my hats are tipped to you ladies that can pull off working and homemaking. Exhaustion comes sweetly at the end of each day ... and the cycle of life ... ebb and flow ... arrives whether ready or not. How are you savoring your days?

Photo by Mrs. Mac

Putting The Old Man To Bed

Old Man Winter is away on a journey to the Southern Hemisphere now. He took his sweet time departing our area ... and ... knock on wood ... lest I be cursed and have to eat my words ... will not return for many, many months. Yes, Mrs. Mac still has snow in her yard ... but it's melting more and more each day. There are wide swaths of rich brown earth eager to burst forth in glory.

My home is quiet this morning. The children are off at school, and I drove my parents to the airport yesterday morning. It's so quiet now that my ears are ringing from lack of noise (just kidding).

Chores for the day include a mound of laundry, kitchen duty, burning some piles of yard debris, and planting some tomato seeds in containers. My dreams for a garden this year may have to be scaled down a bit as snow still blankets the two areas I'm contemplating using. It will be a large task to design the beds and install some type of deer proof fencing aesthetically pleasing to our homeowners association. So I may just be planting some patio containers to tide me over until everything is ready. With a u-pick farm just two miles away ... we won't lack farm fresh produce.

The past few weeks I've been stocking our emergency pantry and loading up the deep freeze with meat. My dad showed me how to make jerky ... for which we used up about twelve pounds of buffalo meat ... tastes like beef jerky ... very delicious. On a recent trip to Cabella's I purchased some stacking drying trays to use in my oven to dry meats, veggies and fruits. My goal this year is to rely less and less on the supermarket and more on local produce for next winter by canning, freezing, and drying. I must be getting back to nature, eh.

Well, enough boring news ... I've got to put on my yard gloves and get to work!

Photo: Mrs. Mac and family 4/08

I did not fall off the face of the earth. This is Spring Break, formerly called Easter Vacation, but with Easter falling so early, the schools are out now. But with winter still here, I'm not sure why it wasn't postponed until next month (lol) ... really now, spring is trying hard to arrive ... but the 'old man' just won't go away. My parents are visiting for another week ... so my presence will be scarce (should anyone inquire).

Gotta run. It may be cold out ... but I'm still gonna act like it's spring. BBQ is raring to go and there's a peach pie in the oven. ttfn