SUMMER SOLSTICE STAYCATION, PART 2

The next day, Sunday, it was 7:30 when I was ready to take Bess for the morning walk. She steered me over to the pond, but once we completed a lap, she surprised me by heading down the lane, and we enjoyed another exploration of Pete’s Pond.

Pete's Pond

Sunday was a pleasant day – not too hot. I watered and puttered in the yard – nothing too strenuous. (And all the while I was working on that mountain of laundry.) In communing with the apple trees, I discovered a fifth apple on the Honey Crisp tree and tied a protector over it. I also visited with the cherry tree which is once again bearing a goodly amount of fruit.

Crop germination is sparse on the slope

I picked a lot of strawberries, but they are pitifully small. I wonder why. Too much competition? Maybe I should thin the plants. The “Siletz” tomato plant has three nice-sized tomatoes on it – and that’s all. The seeds I planted – zucchini, beets, spinach, green beans – haven’t germinated. Hmmm. Too hot? Not enough water? It’s mighty dry out there.

Arising early on Monday and anticipating the hot day, Bess and I had an early walk. Again, we did a lap around our pond and then went on to visit Pete’s Pond. When we got back, I baked banana bread (Mike’s favorite).

As I worked around the kitchen, I began to hear persistent chittering outside. It seemed to be coming from under the Jeep. Investigating, I found Bess also listening. Well, I just knew it was some kind of rodent. What else?! In a flash the chittering went from under the Jeep and into the woodshed, but we didn’t see it happen. We cautiously opened the woodshed door and peered in. We knew it was in there, but neither one of us wanted to pursue further.

When bedtime came, I was a little nervous about putting Bess in the woodshed, but after all, she IS a hunting dog. Surely she could cope. At 1:00 a.m., I heard scuffling and a brief bark, and I knew that the critter was indeed still in the woodshed. No point my getting involved. I went back to sleep.

It was 6:00 when I got up and headed downstairs. As I checked my computer for messages, I heard a strange sound at the window, and there on the screen was a chipmunk! Obviously, this was the source of the chittering. He (she?) seemed agitated, I thought, perhaps hoping to evade Bess, but she was elsewhere and disinterested.

We often see chipmunks on the grade but I think this is the first I’ve seen in the farmyard. Like many rodents, they’re super-cute but also pests. With our mammal field guide, I identified it as a “Least Chipmunk.”

Today’s walk wasn’t as successful as on previous days. We made our lap around the pond, but Bess indicated she didn’t care to go down the lane. I was fine with that. It was already hot, and I wanted to get back to town. Mike and I texted Monday evening and confirmed that we would both return to town today. Arriving at the house at 10:45, I was only mildly surprised to discover that he was there just ahead of me. KW