This is not an update on my life but a quick note of congratulations to several friends, because I am both extremely broke and extremely busy this week:
For my friends Rachel and Elin, both of who have recently had beautiful baby girls!
For my friend Sara, who is expecting a baby girl, who I am sure will also be beautiful!
For my step-sister-in-law, Stephanie, who just had or is about to have a brand new bundle of joy!
For my friend Tina, who FINALLY got a proposal out of that man of hers!
So, excitement all around me. Ah, I must live vicariously through my friends...
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Thursday, June 25, 2009
While My Sunflower Gently Weeps
Our field neighbors are reckless drivers…or at least one of them is. M watched a couple of days ago through the kitchen window as a sprayer went by, driving like a bat out of hell, with the sprayer hanging over our property line. I then watched through one of our living room windows while the driver swerved and sped through the field on the west side of the house. We hoped they were spraying fertilizer, or even a pesticide, but we discovered today that it was herbicide.
The last time they sprayed, several of our newly transplanted evergreen trees nearly bit it. As a result, I’m now leaving weeds up between the evergreens and our property line to act as a bit of a barrier for the young trees. But this time, because the sprayer was hanging over onto our property line, a whole swath of sunflowers and cosmos that M had planted and that were thriving, are now yellow and dying. (This after they bad driver had crossed our property line and driven THROUGH the patch that M had just planted with those sunflower and cosmo seeds.)
I suppose it was silly of me to assume that neighbors would be as considerate of our property as we are trying to be of theirs. Yes, we felled a tree into their field, but before the beans had even sprouted, and we cleaned up our mess immediately afterward. *sigh* Now we are going to have to track down the people who own the farm and ask them to be more careful and considerate of our property, as we are trying to grow things that are just as important—if not more important—to us as their corn and beans are to them.
Ah, will the “excitement” never end?
The last time they sprayed, several of our newly transplanted evergreen trees nearly bit it. As a result, I’m now leaving weeds up between the evergreens and our property line to act as a bit of a barrier for the young trees. But this time, because the sprayer was hanging over onto our property line, a whole swath of sunflowers and cosmos that M had planted and that were thriving, are now yellow and dying. (This after they bad driver had crossed our property line and driven THROUGH the patch that M had just planted with those sunflower and cosmo seeds.)
I suppose it was silly of me to assume that neighbors would be as considerate of our property as we are trying to be of theirs. Yes, we felled a tree into their field, but before the beans had even sprouted, and we cleaned up our mess immediately afterward. *sigh* Now we are going to have to track down the people who own the farm and ask them to be more careful and considerate of our property, as we are trying to grow things that are just as important—if not more important—to us as their corn and beans are to them.
Ah, will the “excitement” never end?
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Fleshy-headed mutant, are you friendly?
We met our new neighbors today—well, “the mom,” at least. Really, we learned about them. JJ & J are dad and mom, and they have three kids. J is really nice and really talkative. We learned a lot J. It turns out they’ve been trying to buy the house for a year. They’re still in the midst of painting and updating (it’s been unlived-in for 4 years now, but it’s “stuck in the ’70s,” as J says).
We’ve already been invited to come over any time to visit, and J already acts like it’s a foregone conclusion that we will be there and get to know the house pretty well. So that’s awesome. I mean, come on, they bought the house and its 23 acres so they can dirtbike. Yes, that’s right, a family of dirtbikers. Considerate dirtbikers…there are whole sections of their property they won’t bike on because it might disturb the neighbors.
And from J we learned that our neighbors down the road did move in about 6 months ago, so they aren’t the family that owned the property to begin with. Yeah, we need to make friends with them, too.
And J has noticed us peeking out and watching them. So, hopefully that comes across as neighborly concern and not wackiness/craziness. But, hey, the basket of goodies we left them seemed to score some points. J
Now, we just need to walk the thin line between whacko/crazy/considerate/nosy. Hmm…a very narrow line, apparently, since the only good term in that list of adjectives is “considerate…” :D
* Stringham high: Raspberries blooming! Potato plants blooming! 1/2 - 1 pint of strawberries every day! Radishes, beets, and spinach, oh my!
* Stringham low: The highs (temps,---it's miserable out there :( )
* Stringham super-high: Promise of awesome neighbors. (Oh, and I saw Wicked yesterday. Fabulous! I laughed, I cried, it was better than...some other musical that shall remain nameless.)
* Stringham laugh of the moment: George chasing his tail. I think he's rediscovered it again. There are few things so funny as watching a 15-year-old cat chase his tail like he's a kitten again.
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