Home again

Ahh, home again. We had a great visit, and succeeded in surprising Mom with her new tuteur, but I am glad to be home, and the pets seem glad to have us back. Ocho (left) and Mercedes are not normally so friendly, but they are both eager to be near me while I'm at the Mac, so thus far are tolerating one another.

Antonio reported that the animal caretaking was successful, although the chickens managed to escape one day, through a loose section of fence. He said it was no problem catching them, and that 2 of the girls jumped right into his arms. Good chickens!

The NY weather was not very cooperative -- it was very wet. We had a rain shower every day, and the gardens and basements statewide are soggy. (The week before we visited, a major section of NY state highway washed out, killing a Maine man.) I can't complain too much as we were able to get out and work in the yard a bit and we did manage to visit 2 nearby gardens. (More on that later)

Mom placed her new tuteur, and Dan and I purchased a Grandpa Ott's Morning Glory for it at a farmstand. In just this season she has done wonders with the front gardens -- despite the record rainfall.

In the back yard, we built Mom her new compost bins, and put up a new birdfeeder post. Inside, during the rainy spells, we framed in and insulated the air conditioner, and completed a few other house chores. We also had some good talks with Mom & Dad, visits with Dan's siblings, and I finally got to attend Dan's sister Kathy's famed July 4 party -- complete with roast lamb and enough fireworks to rival our official town fireworks! We didn't miss a thing.