Mike and I went to the farm on Sunday (Father’s Day) and began a vigorous regimen of belated spring housecleaning and grounds maintenance in preparation for summer visitors. Mike mowed and trimmed the yard and washed windows, and then rewarded himself with a bike ride. I puttered along with my chores. Neither one of us whistles while we work.
Our first visitors arrived Monday afternoon. Son Murray brought a friend who was visiting from Philadelphia. They had been driving and hiking – seeing the sights of scenic central Idaho. They stayed for supper – Warnock turkey burgers and pecan bars – and then they left in hopes of seeing more sights before dark.
Tuesday,
we suffered setbacks. I discovered that the ice maker wasn’t filling with water.
Hence, it had not made ice for a while. Mike diagnosed it as pump failure. I
researched the part and Mike ordered it. It will be here by the weekend. Meanwhile,
we have ice trays on hand, and we made ice the old-fashioned way. Mike has
issues with our medical insurance and spent over an hour talking with reps
while he washed windows. Then the electricity was off for two hours. In a
sense, it didn’t affect my cleaning work too much. I just couldn’t run the
vacuum. Of course, we had no internet. I like having the internet.
Also on Tuesday, the farmer sprayed the fields. How I wished Silas could have seen that spraying monster traveling up and down over the fields. Silas loves monster trucks.
The beds are ready now for Hallie, Nick, and Silas. Hallie plans to attend her 25th class reunion in town, and then we’ll spend a few days at the farm.
The tomato plants I bought at Walmart have made wonderful progress. I can practically watch them grow. The zucchini and yellow crookneck have finally germinated, and the strawberry plants are flourishing and sending out runners.
The deer ate the leaves off several bottom branches of the cherry tree, so I swathed them as best I could – perhaps too little, too late. The tree is so loaded with cherries this year that its odd topknot is bent under the weight.
I
didn’t take time to look for the Mallard family. Thanks to Bess, we found a
rattler in the grass at the bottom of the lane. And mid-morning on Wednesday, I
heard coyotes near the pond. We seldom hear them during daylight.
I hung the hummingbird feeders on Sunday, and gradually they began to visit. Their numbers are few, but even so, they will fight with one another. I put out fresh nectar as we left on Wednesday, hoping to keep up the momentum.
Later. KW
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