Weekend Update

We did get a small amount of rain Saturday evening and Sunday morning, but it only amounted to 0.1". We hauled about 60 gallons of water up to the garden and gave everything a good soaking. The corn and beans were completely up, and the beets were starting to peek out. The potatoes looked good and there appeared to be about 20 (out of 25) asparagus plants growing. We pulled up at least 200 milkweed plants and mowed another 100+. Someone needs to invent something useful to do with milkweed. I'm wondering if I can't find some neighbor kid to pull them up at 5¢ apiece. Takers?

We did get some actual R&R this trip. Sunday evening, we took a bottle of wine and some cheese down to Reading Rock and listened to the birds while the dogs wandered off and ate a quart of deer poop. Reading Rock is located along an old logging road, deep in a hollow. It is flat, about eight feet across. It is a nice place to go very late at night and listen to forest sounds. When Lucca was a puppy, I fell asleep there one cool autumn night cuddling her, with our previous boy Palio curled behind my legs. I will occasionally take a folding chair and a book, and spend the hotter part of a summer afternoon reading in the cool shade.

We've got raccoon problems once again this year. I guess Mr. Evans didn't get all of them this winter when he asked if he could hunt on our property. I have nothing personal against raccoons; I just prefer not to have them destroy my bird feeders and gorge themselves on birdseed. We had the same problem last summer, and I guess it will get solved the same way I solved it last summer. The dogs are useless in this regard.