Saturday Morning Walk

{Bruce saw the doctor yesterday.  After looking up Bruce's nose with a little light, the doctor informed him that he has a severe sinus infection.  Now that I know that what he has isn't exactly life-threatening, I don't feel the need to be quite so exhaustingly nice to him at all times.  A relief to both of us.  He's back on antibiotics plus now he's also pleasantly spaced out on Vicodin.  We'll be having a quiet weekend at Frogpond.}

    I stepped on the scale the other day and my nagging suspicion was confirmed -- I'm fatter than I was three weeks ago.  I wasn't surprised.  Sitting around reading books while eating fresh cheese and jam on crackers tends to do that to a person.  I am, however, concerned because I have exactly one week to lose these extra pounds in order to fit comfortably into the majority of my school clothes.  So this morning, in a burst of determination, I laced up my walking shoes and took the dogs for a walk.

    The first half of it was a brisk two laps up and down the hills around the pond.  That felt like quite enough exercise for the time being, so we then went through the big gate to our other property and slowed down.  We bought this neighboring 18 acres over ten years ago to protect it (and ourselves) from the threat of anyone ever developing it.  It has a grand view of both our house and the pond, so it was a relief to be able to protect our privacy.  However, we haven't gone over there very much this summer, even though the fence line is right across the yard from the house.  Time for a quick check.

The first stop was this birdhouse we have hanging from a large oak tree on the embankment above our house.  It's made entirely from concrete that's been poured into molds.  It was expensive to buy, but is almost indestructible and should last pretty much forever, unlike our cheaper wooden birdhouses.  No marauding raccoon or raven is able to tear apart the walls or enlarge the entry to scoop out the babies for a snack. It also has a clever metal catch that, when released, allows the entire front to slide out.  This  makes it very easy to open for cleaning or just looking at whatever might be going on in there.  It's a favorite nesting place for one of our favorite birds, the oak titmouse. 


 

Oak Titmouse (Bruce's photograph)









When I opened it today nobody was home, but I found this little nest tucked inside that the parents had charmingly decorated with clumps of red and yellow fibers.  I've been puzzling over what they pulled the fibers from but can't think of what we have outside around here that comes in these colors.  I suppose that I'll eventually find something with frayed edges or missing stuffing and the mystery will be solved.  I won't mind, though -- whatever it is can't be half as cute as this nest is.

The other thing that struck me as I walked the trail on the other property, was the view of the orchard garden from there.  With vines twining up the surrounding fencing and the three canopies looking like miniature carnival tents, the garden was so very green and domesticated - especially plunked next to this hot hillside covered with acres of dry grass. 

When I got closer, though, I could see that my little garden is not as safe or protected as it looks at first glance from a distance. 

Although things are improving due to the efforts our little hunter, Multipass, a few gophers are still tunneling through the garden and chomping on plant stems.  Morning glories are a favorite of theirs and they've methodically gone down the fence and destroyed a whole line of them.

And then the deer absolutely love the taste of roses and have been severely pruning any that make the mistake of growing through the fence.

This can be such a depressingly difficult place to have any kind of garden in -- especially in August.  It's so hard to keep things alive that there are times when I just want to throw in the towel and give up. 

But then, along comes something like this glorious volunteer sunflower growing on the outside of the fence.  It was planted by the birds, has no special soil, fertilizer or protection and only gets the water that I give it from the inside of the garden.  Yet, there it is, radiating with health and vigor. 

Well, alrighty then!