SERVICE BERRIES AND BOBWHITE

July 3, 2014

We all knew the score. Mike was dressed in motorcycle duds. That meant he was leaving without us. By 6:45 a.m. he had ridden into the sunrise, so to speak.

Nellie stayed on the cushion and moped, while Bess kept an eye on me. When I opened the back of the pick-up, she hopped in, but I still had the packing to do.

We arrived at the farm before 10:00 a.m., and I had things to do.

July 9, 2014

Water on – check

Hot water heater turned up – check

No mice in traps -- check

Modem on – check

TV working – check

Open windows – check

Make hummingbird nectar – check

I had a list of things to do. Watering is always a priority but takes only five minutes. What cherries remained on the tree were ripe, and we picked them, making seven pints in the freezer. I also picked raspberries – half a cup or so – and there will be another small picking before it’s over.

I took a notion to pick some service berries this year, but I can access only the ones on the road. In the afternoon I picked about six cups of berries while Bess and Nellie ate them off the ground.

July 16, 2014

In the evening I heard the call of a bobwhite. What joy! I haven’t heard a bobwhite since my teen years. It seemed to come from the lane, and in the beginning it sounded so clear and bright that I thought someone was whistling for a dog. Eventually it moved toward the pond and continued calling until dusk.

Hearing a rustling in the field, I looked up from my crocheting to see a young buck just beyond my summer squash in the raised bed – very close. The squash is safely behind fencing, but the deer do nibble this and that while we’re gone.

July 21, 2014

This morning it was cloudy and I thought sure we’d have a storm. I lamented that I had left the laundry until today. I decided to get started with the washing anyway. Glad I did – the storm moved on and by 10:00 the jeans and rugs were about dry.

July 21, 2014

I was up by 5:45 and by 7:00 the dogs and I had found a new service berry source near our mailbox. I picked for half an hour – lovely big berries. As we walked back to the house, I picked again at the tree on the road, and the magpies took exception. “Heckle and Jeckle” and their friends heckled poor Bess, swooping over her and scolding until we got to our lane. I worried a bit about Bess until I noticed her tail. She was enjoying the banter.

[The pictures on this post illustrate how quickly the fields have ripened since early July.] KW