STAYCATION 2023 DAYS 7 & 8 – FINAL

Friday. I awoke with a start at 5:30, thinking that I had heard Bess whine, but it didn’t continue, so maybe I whined. It was time to get up anyway. I pulled the sheets off the bed and started the laundry.

A beautiful pumpkin blossom

Already the sun was up above the eastern hill. The day will be hot. At 6:45, Bess and I started down the lane. She paused to sniff around a rock, and when I got to the bottom of the lane, she wasn’t with me. I called her to no avail. I decided to walk to the top of the pitch and if Bess still hadn’t joined me, I would return to find her. After all, chief among my few responsibilities is Bess’ care.

“It would be terrible,” I say to myself, “if when I walk back down the pitch she comes along and I have to ascend it again.” However, that would be unlikely. Bess has a timid streak, and she would probably return to the house before seeking me out. And that’s what she did. As I came into the yard, she begged my forgiveness and suggested a game of fetch, but I made her wait while I hung the clothes.

And on this wonderful day, I finished a long-abandoned project – my very first quilt. I’ll tell its complete story another day.

For the afternoon walk, I decided to skirt around the north field as far as I could go. (It becomes impossible on the west edge.) Bess was quite a bit ahead of me as we returned to the house, and when I heard her bark, I knew she’d crossed paths with a rattlesnake and I hoped she was leaving it alone. I hurried as best I could over the uneven ground, taking care to watch and listen. As I approached behind Mike’s shed, Bess was nowhere to be seen, but I heard the telltale buzzing and stopped short to locate the source. I found it and took a mostly useless photo since the snake is camouflaged in the soil. Thankfully, Bess escaped harm. She was waiting in the yard to play fetch. KW

Saturday. Sadly, today Bess and I must return to town. Mike will be back tomorrow.

We took our customary early morning long walk to the mailbox, and I took a few pictures. The fields are ripening quickly, so when we return in a couple of days, the landscape will look different again.

The hummingbirds – at least five and probably more – are draining the feeders rapidly now. Four of them were feeding in peace at one time today – a rare sight because they usually fight each other off. Before I left, I made sure both feeders were full.

The cherries are ripening quickly, and this morning I thought perhaps I should take the time to pick them. However, they didn’t come easily, and the sample I tasted was rather tart. I do think that Mike and I will be picking them when we return. I hope the birds let us have some.

When I opened the Jeep to begin loading, Bess hopped in and made herself comfortable. She probably expected to be reunited with Mike. I didn’t have much to pack – just a little food and our electronics – but it was still six trips back and forth to the house.

It’s simple enough to drive the Jeep, and I can certainly do it. I just don’t understand its “brain” and leave all of that to Mike. It’s really his vehicle. He thought I had enough gas for this trip to the farm, but as I approached town, I realized that IF I got to the house, we might not have enough gas to get to the station. So, I did something else outside my comfort zone. I stopped at the station where we use our grocery reward points and filled up. The pumps aren’t exactly user-friendly, but I figured it out. I didn’t know how to reset the Jeep’s “trip-o-meter.” Oh well.

We arrived at the town house at 1:30. It was hot – 96. By 2:30, my Fitbit buzzed that I had 10,000 steps for the day. (I have reached the 10,000-step goal every day this week.) KW