Dreaming of Spring Gardening in the Middle of a Wisconsin winter part 2

At least green beans are a healthy lunch!

Lisa, love that you call the stray boy Doppelganger! I'm still hopeful that because Ozzie, Calypso and Jinx all showed up together and were likely a family before that, they will be able to live together again. Some day.

At this point, sweet Calypso wants me to play with her Every Time I walk into the bathroom. Ozzie wants me to feed him Every Time I walk into the basement. Jinx would like both all the time -- except briefly yesterday.

Jinx was the last of the three to warm up to me and was the cat whose kennel was marked "feral" at the vet's. He always comes up to the walls of the Paw Hut to get loved on. Yesterday afternoon I entered his pen to clean the litter box. Suddenly, he reverted to his initial behavior here and acted terrified of me, crouching and running.

After I got out of the pen, it took him a little while but we were once again friends. This looks to be a very long-term project.

Although the chicks did not enjoy being picked up and carried outside in a cardboard box, they warmed up to their first field trip pretty quickly. I loved watching them peck at grass for the first time.

With no rain predicted, I am hoping to get fresh pine shavings in the coops and runs as well as fresh mulch in some flower beds.

Jim, what project are you tackling now? You always have something going on!
 
Barb cats sure are demanding. I'm glad mine are outside. The roof is almost done, so we can finally remove the glorified cat tower that is the scaffolding. The cats won't be able to stare into our house around the clock and will have to go back to sitting on the deck chairs.

Still hot and humid out. At least I don't need to water the garden. We got a bit of rain yesterday, but nothing too much. It kept going around us.
 
it looks like I can join in the cat discussion.
yesterday Annie told me she saw a jet black cat come out of the shed where the lawn mower is.
later on she saw it going along the driveway.
she said it is huge . almost makes me afraid to go outside after dark. lol
have another chain saw story. my son told me that he bought a chainsaw from a rummage sale for $5.oo.
the man said it didn't work. son took it home and it started and ran. then he took the chain off and turned it around the correct way and all is all fixed.
it started raining last night. and it is raining again right now. nice gentle rain.
the squashes are looking great. should start to spill over the planter soon.
Barb, I have several pieces cut for the shelves in the lawn mower shed . have a poplar tree to cut down with the dreaded chainsaw.
have three small pine logs to drag out of the long weeds and take to the burn pile.
then have to pull the corn planter and trailer plow out of said weed patch and mow the weeds down.
already planning my planter boxes for next year
going to plant squash, beans and fewer tomatoes.
 
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the squashes are just starting to hang over the sides of the planter.
 
We had a sick fox standing in our yard at around 9 am. I'm so glad husband was home, and dogs weren't outside. Husband said it looked all chewed up around it's neck and thinks a coyote might of gotten a hold of it. Might have to put off my dreams of owning a pack of Chihuahuas. Also appear to have a kitty with a broken tail. Will have to call about that tomorrow.
 
Lisa, how terrible for the fox! And, I hope your kitty's tail isn't broken!

Jim, your squashes do seem very happy. I have harvested a few zucchinis from the Walmart plants there were supposed to be yellow squashes. Since Rachel, the ewe, isn't interested in eating the plant, I have even more pumpkins hanging from the vine that's crawling up her fence.

You'll just have to miss my middle-of-the-night rambles for a bit, Jim.

Today, my sister is coming up in the afternoon, we are packing her SUV tonight and preparing to head to the North Shore of Lake Superior first thing tomorrow morning. It would be about a 10-hour drive -- except that we stop along the way. This year, we want to visit the aquarium in Duluth and grab lunch while we're in town.

One of the highlights of our annual trip is a visit to a "healing arts center," where we receive a session of Thai bodywork from a practitioner who actually studied in Thailand for a few years.

As much as I enjoy traditional "Western" massage, the Thai stuff is AMAZING! The constant discomfort ( also known as annoying pain) from my old pelvic fractures totally disappears for a few days.

And, we take advantage of that to hike on the Superior Hiking Trail that runs behind the little lodge where we stay. The front of the lodge faces Superior. The owners are also the entire staff, and we look forward to hanging out with them every year.

My favorite and most trusted pet sitter has already been here to check out all the new stuff (more cats, baby chicks upstairs). She is great with animals and loves to spend time in the country.

So I have a week where the only thing I feel any pressure at all to do is to get out of bed. Critter care, house care, garden care -- none of it is mine to worry about! It is my favorite week of the year.

Because of the remote location, the only way to HOPE to use a cell phone is to walk slowly down the beach, holding the phone in the air while turning in every direction. Or, to hop into the SUV and drive miles down the road to maybe find a signal. It's easier to just ignore the outside world. In case of emergency, pet sitter has the lodge's landline number.

Hope everyone has a good week and good weather!
 

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