Mowing and Playing

Elderberry

The mowing never stops. We are still mowing out at the farm as it hasn’t changed hands yet…but mainly, because I love it. I love how it looks when it’s mowed. We stopped on the way out and got some lunch and a drink to take with us. We sat on that front porch after the mowing was finished and just admired how lovely it all is. I love how there’s always a new flower to replace something that’s spent.

Clematis

The clematis vines were spectacular. The elderberry bush is laden with clusters of small, white flowers that will turn into little purple berries. You can make an elderberry wine, but the most common use is an elixir that some swear improves immunity during cold and flu season. There are sprays of tiny pink multiflora roses climbing up the banks of the creek and on the hillside above the driveway. And under the dining room window are Grandma’s Evening Primrose. She called them “9 o’clocks” because that’s what time they bloom. You can sit and watch them open.

Pink Multiflora Rose

Even without seeing the nearly four inches of water in the rain gauge, you would know we’d had big storms out there. The grasses and weeds along the creek banks are swept to the left in the direction of the rushing water, and clearly rose at least three feet. It’s no wonder it looks like a tropical rainforest out there. The vegetation is so thick and lush and green. I know I tell you this every two to three weeks…but this is my absolutely favorite time of the year.

Smooth Hydrangea aka “Snowball Bush”

After we finished mowing, we came home to unload and drop off the trailer before turning around and going back to a cookout at my cousin Rick & Charlotte’s bunkhouse. Their driveway goes down a steep embankment and then you drive through the creek to the other side…not something you can do with a trailer and mower on the back. I don’t know why I didn’t think of it, but we could have dropped the trailer off in their barnyard and picked it up afterwards. But, hey…it was a beautiful day for a drive. It felt so incredibly normal to sit around a fire and have a meal with people. I will NEVER take that for granted again!

Nearly 4” of Rain in a Week!

It was so incredibly relaxing to just stop, let someone else do the cooking, and sit with a bunch of people around a fire. I knew about half of them. Well…I’m RELATED to about half of them. And I was related by marriage to another one I’d never met before. It was fun to meet new people and to tell great stories. We told them all we could hardly wait to do it again sometime. Such nice people.

Evening Primrose

On the way home, we stopped at the gas station. I rolled the window down and there was this awful smell. Mr. FixIt got back in and I asked him what on earth was so stinky. We went around the corner and found it. The catalpa trees are blooming. They smell sickeningly sweet and somewhat rank…like something died, maybe. Let’s just say, I’m really glad we don’t have them in OUR yard!

New Mown Grass

It’s time to mow again here at home. Mr. FixIt will put another coat of paint on the new bathroom door and then we’ll go to town to buy a new door and frame for our bedroom, run some errands, and get back home before it rains. The heat comes back today. We were really blessed with three straight days and nights of unseasonably cool weather.