I got 3/4ths of my mowing done and will admit I totally enjoyed myself. I love nature, so seeing all of the butterflies and birds while allowing my mind to wander was nice and relaxing.
I had to take a lot of extra time for milkweed and monarch caterpillars today. We purposely allow patches of milkweed just for the monarchs and we stagger what’s growing so there’s always some “fresh” for them. However, milkweed doesn’t realize it’s supposed to stay in the patches. Apparently our farm got 5 stars on TripAdvisor or maybe even a Michelin Star in the Monarch editions because every single milkweed plant I saw had at least one caterpillar on it, often more - even the 3 - 4 inch tall just poking up plants. Fortunately we have a zero turn mower so I was able to save single plants and where I didn’t want to save them due to other weeds, I stopped the mower and relocated the caterpillars. I can’t even begin to count how many times I did this. I’m sure I likely missed some on the very small plants I couldn’t see, but I didn’t knowingly kill any of them. I’m glad we’re doing our part to help the Monarch population. There were hundreds of caterpillars out there.
When we first moved to the farm it was totally kept up by modern standards using fertilizers and pesticides etc. Everything got mowed. Nothing was left for nature. Since we’ve come we’ve kept almost everything organic and natural, and now youngest lad has it in Permaculture. We leave habitats for all sorts of critters. We now see fireflies (in season) by the thousands. There was every type of Butterfly found in our area of PA out there today - gorgeous colors. My lad has some happy honeybees. And now we’re helping oodles of Monarchs (and other butterflies). Thinking about it all gave me a sense of accomplishment and made me glad we take the extra time to do what we do how we do it.
It was a great day (capped by take out Chinese so I didn’t have to do dinner or dishes)!
Tomorrow mowing gets finished. Not sure what else.
I thought the cold was staying farther north, but the weatherman said it should do something (‘circle’ ‘focus’ ‘organize’?) around Four Corners, so that means most of Colorado will get some snow, and then NM too. It is like this weird storm that will be hear for about 24 hours, snow (Colorado Springs could get 10").
I just hope it puts out the fires. I went outside late this afternoon and it smelled like a campfire. I live about 100 miles from the closest fire but we get all the smells, ash, and cloudy skies.
We have been trying to be active and enjoy the weather. Long walk Friday after work, kayaking Saturday, walk today between rain storms (much needed for the lawn), and picnic breakfast at the beach tomorrow morning. We’ve been doing zoom calls with family and friends and we’re doing socially distanced cocktails and apps in the back yard tomorrow with the neighbors. Very nice weekend.
This weekend is usually our neighbors annual picnic…which usually has about 100 people. This year, they invited only the neighbors. It was outdoors at the lakefront. Lots of space, and lots of hand sanitizer. I made deviled eggs and my Covid serving was that I put each one in a cupcake holder. Like separate plating.
Monday is our annual Labor Day breakfast, also at the lake. Same people. I’m taking blueberry banana bread, presliced and in sandwich bags. Grab and go. We all bring our own beverages, and things like utensils and such. Again, outdoors with lots of space.
DH took advantage of his brother crashing here yesterday on his way back to Austin to replace our eleven-year-old TV with a monstrosity that required two people to hang. Just no.
Phoenix must be in the path of the cold front as it was cool walking this morning, and the forecast is showing 66-69 degree lows here in the SW valley for the next few days. That is coat weather here and unheard of this time of year. Phoenix may be the hottest city in the U.S., but we’ve had some unseasonably cool weather recently. I just wish we’d get a few more storms. We can always use the water and the light show.
Wow, we had the best time with our 22-year-old daughter. She was a joy (something we’ve learned not to take for granted at that age, ha). We had some deep discussions and she said she’s happy she can talk to us about things we disagree about. She also played with our dogs non-stop, so they were in heaven. Today we’re working, but it’s very pleasant because it’s so quiet.
D2 has a friend that is working from her family’s vacation home in Montana this month and she just posted a picture of all the snow they got yesterday!
It was brutally hot this weekend in the Los Angeles area, plus the air was horrible from all the fires, so we stayed inside in the A/C and crossed our fingers that the power wouldn’t go out (thankfully, it didn’t). Last month we made a reservation to go out to a restaurant (patio dining) for our anniversary this past weekend, but ended up canceling because of the weather. We figured eating outside in 100 degree temperatures would be pretty miserable and not worth the cost. We’ll try again in a couple of weeks and hope for cooler weather!
Today we’re working, but it’s very pleasant because it’s so quiet.