Crack for the Soul

I love summer.

There's no doubt about it.

This summer I have made a concerted effort to grow a garden.

It shouldn't be too hard .... after all, I come from a long line of gardeners.

Granny had the ultimate garden.

Truth be told, I didn't enjoy visiting with her nearly as much as I enjoyed visting her garden.

Especially the raspberry patch.

So you can imagine how excited I was this spring to see this.

Granddad Pipe had the best strawberry patch,

so naturally I had to grow strawberries too.

I put them in an old wash tub this year

and the bunnies have yet to find them.

This week we started picking ripe berries.

That has made Mardell very, very happy.

Grandma Hall was best known for flowers.

Didn't matter what kind, she could grow it.

I'm not nearly as prolific a flower grower as Grandma,

but I have enjoyed the ones that I do have.

We dug these up from a roadside patch on our way to Ogallala last summer.

These came from Ingrid's garden last summer.

The butterflies have especially enjoyed the yarrow this summer.

Grandma Lou was well known for her geraniums.

She always grew geraniums to put on grave sites.

Then there was Dad.

He grew everything .... and lots of it.

He gave me a currant bush and it was in full bloom this spring.

I have since split the original bush into three bushes

and the birds have spread them as well.

I often find currants when I'm hiking in the pasture!

But I imagine he was best known for always buying more

even after his garden was already planted.

It's a sickness that I inherited.

Mernard's had a sale this past week

Plants were on sale for a quarter.

I didn't NEED a thing.

I made three separate trips.  

See all of the hanging baskets in front of the house?

All made from quarter plants.

18 baskets cost me about $50.

Two weeks and they'll be lush and full 

and no one will know that we didn't spend $20 on each one.

As for my garden, I started out with a small plot.

 Here the potatoes are just peeking out of the ground.

I've never grown potatoes before and you'll notice I had just gotten started on 

the permanent garden path.

A month makes a lot of difference.

 The path is complete, but you'd never know it because the

potatoes have taken over that portion of the garden.

I decided it was full and needed more space.

 After all, I somehow ended up with 50+ tomato plants.

 So, I rototilled more space to the south and east of the house.

It's a good thing .... made more space for  all of the 

onion sets that I somehow ended up buying and my zucchini plants.

 I didn't go as crazy with pepper plants as I usually do.

I have always subscribed to the theory of companion planting,

but this year I wanted to try companion planting for pest control.

Beets are supposed to deter cabbage moths as is basil.

So I planted beets in between my rows of cabbage and 

basil in between my cabbage.

It has worked well .... for cabbage moths.

It didn't turn out so well for the canteloupe.

The grasshoppers enjoyed it immensely.

That's okay, because they are also enjoying the Sevin right now.

I wasn't about to let them eat my watermelon ....

... especially since I actually have a baby watermelon set on.

The pumpkins are also setting on.

 The one thing that has been all mine and 

not influenced by anyone has been the herb garden. 

We decided to move it up front by the pond this year.

We had it in the back by the pond, but the dogs were hard on it

and since they have so little space to run we gave in and moved it.

 It always looks so puny to start with and yet

I always think that it looks fantastic.

 Now, I'm just overjoyed.

The move was a good decision.

Now, when the dogs wag their tails 

as they come in the house it is very fragrant.

The pond started out looking pretty barren as well.

.

 Now it's tough to even find the pond ...

... unless you're a frog looking for a cool dip ....

 ... or a cushy place to float ...

 ... or perhaps just a pond edge to wait for a dragonfly snack ....

 .... or you're just meeting a friend.

 If the day gets too hot, simply find a shady place to sit ....

 .... or sun bathe on a rock.

 It didn't bother this guy at all when I laid down on the ground

and started snapping pictures.

 He refused to smile though.

I also have elusive frogs in my garden.

 Why not hang out in a pot of basil?

 This guy is really burrowed under .....

 right underneath my ornamental pepper plant .....

 in my herb planter!

As much as I love my gardens,

I just hate it when I run across this guy.

 I just don't like getting up close and personal with ANY kind of snake!

What to Do Today

CHIP: "So, what do you guys want to do today?"

ANNIE: "We could go swimming in the creek."

                                                                            

CHIP: "Nah, we did that yesterday."

ANNIE: "Let's chase the cats."

CHIP: "Ummm, that's not very likely."

CHIP:  "Besides, there isn't much sport in chasing a one-eyed cat."

GOLIATH:  "Well then, let's take a nap."

CHIP:  "That's all you ever do is sleep!  I know, let's take the little ones on a snipe hunt.  It'll be an adventure."

ANNIE:  "Do you remember what happened the last time we had an adventure?"

GOLIATH:  "Yeah, and I'm not too fond of ticks."

CHIP:  "Oh you big wusses.  We'll leave the porcupine be and they'll pull the ticks off of us."

GOLIATH:  "How do you propose we take the little ones snipe hunting when They Who Feed Us don't let them out of their sight?"

CHIP:  "Easy.  Didn't you notice what they carried in today?  Plants and seed packets.  We'll tell Sammy and Griff to sneak out when the plants get carried out.  Chances are while the one is planting, the other one will take a wee nap."

ANNIE: "Ummm, aren't you missing something?  She'll be out here WITH us."

CHIP:  "Have you not noticed what happens as soon as she bends down and begins playing with the dirt?  The rest of the world ceases to exist.  She won't even miss us."

CHIP:  "So, who wants to go on an adventure with us today?"

PUDGE:  "Ooh, ooh, can I go?  Can I go?  Huh, huh, please?"

  CHIP:  "Sorry Pudge.  Your legs are too short and they call you Pudge for a reason."

DEWEY: "How about me?  Can I go on an adventure?

Maybe I'd find a new bone."

CHIP:  "No, you're what we call hawk bait.  Not a good idea."

SAMMY:  "Surely, you'd consider taking me ...."

 ".... I even have the wanderlust look in my eyes."

CHIP:  "Okay, there's one .... now we need one more unsuspecting shmuck, I mean, pooch."

CHIP: "Yep, you'll do.  Ya interested in an adventure?"

GRIFF:  "You bet."

And off they set 

following the creek bed to adventure.

Something tells me that this isn't the first time.

What a Week! Part II

Breakfast was at 7:15 and then it was back to the Harms Center for presentations.

We had a presentation by Barb Netherland entitled, "Settlement of the Panhandle."

Somehow, she managed to do in two hours what 
Mom could not accomplish in a lifetime:




she caused me to be interested in genealogy.  


I don't know what it was about her presentation, but
I sat there thinking about the boxes and boxes and boxes of 
clippings, photographs and notes that Mom left behind.


I guess I can quit cussing my cousin for dying now
and leaving the #%$^#& family tree stuff.


I seriously doubt that I'll ever be into it like Mom was,
but I was intrigued enough to want to go through the boxes.


After her presentation, Lonnie showed us how he uses video clips in his classroom.
He had taken video clips of the DVD entitled "Beef State".


The third clip showed this man:

I recognized him as the kindly gentleman who bought my dog, Spotty,
every Wednesday when he came to the sale barn for the weekly sales.


He'd give me a dollar and ask me to watch her while he attended
the sale because he couldn't take her in.  I always obliged him.


I'd thank him as I snatched the dollar.
Then I'd high-tail it to Hazel's cafe and buy myself two
oatmeal raisin cookies that were as big as my head.


She made the best cookies.  I always tried to be around when
she had groceries to carry in because she would give me a cookie for helping.


 Spotty and I would head for the quonset where we would hide 
and nibble on our cookies until the sale was over and Mr. Sibbitt was gone.


He must have bought Spotty at least 
once a month while we lived at the sale barn.


I hadn't thought about that for years.




After that, we had another presentation by Lonnie
on Physical Geography of the Panhandle.


He showed us a really cool way to teach landforms.

This is Oscar, showing off his final product.
Oscar is from Spain and speaks six languages.


After this exercise, Shari gave us a box of building materials and told us to get into groups and build a house.  My group was so inspired by Barb Netherlands talk and her stories of Terry Carpenter that we felt compelled to build one of the first trailers to be put into Terry's town, now known as Terrytown.

Isn't it obvious that we were having way too much fun?!


We gathered all of the goodies that Randy 
had given us and bid the Harms Center good-bye.


Then we headed to the North Platte Valley Museum where we had a picnic lunch.

I felt compelled to buy the book that Barb had about Scottsbluff, Gering and Terrytown.
Mom is sitting somewhere laughing her ass off.


We traveled out to the Wildcat Hills Nature Center

 where we endured a lengthy spiel about geology of the Hills.

There's a reason why I didn't become a geologist.
I was doing well to keep from snoring while the speaker was talking.


Afterwards, Anne James took us on a nature hike.
Vicki and I had done the same hike during our science camp.  
It's always enjoyable to hike with Anne.
I was surprised that she didn't have us smelling trees.
She usually does.

We had taken the Germans there when they visited and did some hiking.
Fortunately we didn't meet up with the poison ivy that Anne pointed out.


After that, we spent some time perusing the Nature Center,


Then, we drove back into the hills to one of the shelters
for an "exotic" cook-out.


Tom and his wife were fixing five meats:
antelope, elk, trout, wild boar and venison chili.
He also had venison jerky available for us to try.

I discovered that I LOVE venison jerky and venison chili.
I especially enjoyed the wild boar and had to go back for more.

I had been dreading the exotic cook-out, 
not knowing what food would be served.

Tom said he usually has rattlesnake, but couldn't find it in his freezer
when he got ready to come west.


Oh, darn.




After we ate, Jedidiah Smith paid us a visit.

 He pointed out the trail that he had followed on his trek west.

 Once again, as the sun was setting, we were headed back to the dorm ---
with one big difference.  Tomorrow would start at 6:15 and we would be traveling to Wyoming and spending the night in the fine town of Wright.  


That meant we needed to pack a bag.


Of course, I hadn't even thought about packing yet.
So what else is new?


I managed to throw some things together 
and to be back in town by 6:15 a.m.


We loaded the bus

and headed for Fort Laramie.


Naturally, on our way Lonnie took advantage of our captivity
and gave us the basic background of the fort and historical
points along the way.

Once we arrived at the fort, our interpreter for the day was Ron Jones,
a history teacher from Detroit, who spends his summers at Fort Laramie and 
Scottsbluff National Monument.


He was an exceptional guide and we learned a great deal.

His stories brought the history to life and made it much more
interesting than I had ever found it to be before.

We got to see the officer's quarters

as well as various markers and monuments on the grounds.

        

We had a second guide who explained the fort trading post.

This gentleman was a colleague of our guide 
and was very informative about sutlers and their role throughout history.


Bedlam Hall was our last stop on the formal tour

and naturally we had to have a group photo.




 After the formal tour, Lonnie imparted more stories.

Then we had a picnic lunch on the grounds and were free to peruse the gift shop
or to patronize the saloon.  Fortunately, Vicki and I have honed our book-buying skills, so it took us no time to drop a tidy bundle of money and still partake in birch beer.

Then we loaded up the bus and drove all the way to the front entrance

Our next stop was Register Cliff, but since we seem to have a storm moving in, 
I'll continue this at a later time when the satellite signal is stronger.