When The Lights Go Out.

There was quite a long power outage on Monday... From 10:15 until 3:30 am and then, it went out again at 4:45 am. It returned sometime around 6:30. Not sure as I wasn't home. Why?

Well, my grandmother and cousin had a grand idea. When I called them at 5:00 am, they were just as miserable as me. No sleep due to lack of A/C and other issues. I had attempted sleep between 1 and 3 am... I snoozed a bit but I woke up so sweaty, it was just misery.

Not to mention, my dogs were panting loudly and just generally unhappy.

But back to the grand idea... My grandmother asked if I'd like to go to McDonald's for breakfast. I initially thought "Are you nuts?!" but then, I figured "what the hell?!" and said sure. So, at 5:15 am, I climbed into my cousin's car in my pajamas with a lighter that had refused to extinguish until I had dunked it in water and my keys. I know, why did I bring the lighter? Because I am paranoid, that's why.

I'm not a morning person. At all. I may be awake at 5:00 am but I'm not out of the house at that time ever. But somehow, we'd made the night from hell into a rather pleasant, funny morning.


I came home and consumed food that I rarely eat... Those hotcakes tasted like dessert, not breakfast. They sent 5 little tubs of butter. Who needs 5 butters?! I admit, it was sinfully yum. Just, not something I plan to do again for a while! I hadn't had hotcakes from McD's since I was 10 or so.


You'll notice the lighter and then, on my key chain, the round pink thing was my savior that night. It's a small flashlight and when the power went out initially, I grabbed my keys from the hook so I could at least see. Thank goodness, for once I had put the keys where they go.

Oh, and when the power went out the second time, I was on the porch, barefoot, waiting for the dogs to come inside from their last outing... I threw out a few choice words and fumbled my way back to the door, dogs following close behind. Note to self - keep a flashlight nearby, even if the power has returned!

While it wasn't the most pleasant night of my life, the 3 of us, in our pajamas, going to buy crap food will always be a favorite memory.

For the record, 1/3 of the county was without power that night/morning. Apparently, a sub-station had something happen to it.

The Happy Bits.

The comforting sound of the train whistle is sounding, Oscar is stretching across the floor languidly and Abby’s tail thumps away on the floor as she watches Grover swat a toy mouse. It’s been a busy week and these slow moments at night are welcomed. But through the busy, there are many happy bits.

It has been a week filled with rain… rainy evenings, mostly. But those mornings I wake to rain pitter-pattering on the windows are so cozy. It makes it not so easy to remove myself from the cocoon that is my bed, Oscar’s purring body plastered against my stomach and dogs lying haphazardly across my feet.




Watching my ducks and Lucy Goose play in the rain. Oh, how I wish I could have had my camera with me. Lucy had never played in the rain before. The ducks splish splashed in puddles and Lucy just ran about, wings spread like an eagle, and danced.

When the rain subsided, she came running to me. I kneeled in front of her, clothes soaked and curls of wet hair sticking to my face. I asked if she liked her first rain experience. She chattered, honked, bobbed her head and bounced on her feet as if trying to tell me just how much she enjoyed it.

The bath after getting soaked, muddy and gross while out with the ducks and Lucy. A hot bath seems ten times more satisfying if you’ve came inside, muddy and dirty.

Picking my girl up from her second day of school and realizing she’s not a baby anymore. As she came out among the other kids, I barely recognized that tall girl with the backpack that is no longer bigger than her as my B.


Silly bandz on little wrists with chipped fingernail polish.


Asking if I’d hold her when she was so tired, she could barely hold her eyes open. Her legs hanging off my lap and her head on my shoulder, I realized I needed that as much as she did.


Fairy dust on flowers. Amazing how happy purple glitter can make a little girl.


Finally getting my hair cut professionally after 2 years. I love it. Pictures to come, later. But it’s what I wanted; fun, spunky, easy to deal with. And to make the deal even sweeter, I had enough to donate to Locks of Love.

Catching up with people I hadn’t seen in years. We talked far longer than I realized at the time… But it was refreshing and exactly what I needed.

The old man in the overalls, crisp white shirt and red bandana hanging from his back pocket. He was like a flash back of yester-year. He smiled when I told him I liked his overalls.

And with all of this rain we've had, it's not surprising to see villages of mushrooms and other fungi popping up everywhere. Of course, child of the late 80's here, thinks Smurfs when I see these.


Seeing 3 does and a young buck near my house. All at once. The does ran away quickly but the buck stuck around for a bit to see what exactly I was before running away, too.

Mimi’s chili… it is the best stuff, ever.

Especially when followed with homemade peach ice cream. I possibly ate far more of this than I should have. Ben and Jerry’s got nothing on my Mom’s peach ice cream.


The sunset at my step-dad’s house… The mist over the mountains from yet another evening storm. A perfect ending to a perfect week.


And that’s only a drop in the bucket of happy bits…

My Season.

August. Not my favorite month. It has had moments of feeling as if it is flying by and other moments of feeling as if it will never be over. It’s that awkward in between time. Summer is almost over, but autumn isn’t quite here yet. But I might as well enjoy it, it is, after all, the end of my season.







The end of tomatoes warmed by the sun fresh from the vine. Hours of my hands in the dirt, pulling weeds and pruning away the unnecessary growth on tomato vines. Baskets of produce proving my work had paid off. Crisp green beans. Bright, yellow squash. Prickly cucumbers. Shiny, green and red peppers of all sorts. Tomatoes of all shapes and sizes. And the Jackson Wonder Lima beans for my grandmother. An experiment to replace her beloved Christmas Lima beans. It paid off. Exactly what she wants without the use of trellises for vines. Perfection.



The end of spraying the girl with the hosepipe as she squeals, stealing quick drinks from the hosepipe and later wondering if that was the cleanest idea ever. She survived it, though. No ill effects.





The end of chicks, ducklings and broody hens. Oh, I hope it is the end of broody hens. Between the ones who are smart enough to hide away with their nest of eggs to only later return with a clutch of 7 little fluff balls and the ones who stay inside the hen house and sit upon nothing but air… Yet peck my hands unmercifully when I check just to be sure they haven’t laid an egg, I’m a bit done with that.



Not to mention the decrease in their egg production and the sudden increase in interest in my eggs. Why didn’t that happen in the spring and early summer when I had baskets of them?







The end of zinnias… Oh, I’ve had a love affair with them this year. Next year, I want to plant as many of them as possible. A yard of zinnias alone would make me beyond happy. Of all shapes, colors and sizes.









The end of the girl spending the day with me without worries of school, homework and sports. Napping if and when she pleased because her parents do not implement a strict bedtime in the summer. Flowers in her hair, sweat on her brow, dirt on her hands, sidewalk chalk on her clothes. A perfect summer for a 6 year old.



The end of what seemed to be never ending canning and freezing… And thinking if I had to cut more corn off the cob again, I might very well go nuts or toss it out back for the chickens.

Much is coming to an end… and while it feels like this was my season, I can’t help but think autumn could also be my season. Thoughts of all that is to come makes me feel this excitement bubble inside. Excitement for all things I love about autumn. The crisp air, vibrant leaves, carving pumpkins with the girl, pumpkin lattes, the fair.

And I can’t wait for it to begin… Could be my season, too.

I need an outlet for my ramblings about life with a menagerie of beasts, my gardening adventures, living in a small town and such. So, I’m joining the world of blogging, finally.

Sadly, I’m starting my blog when my lovely garden seems to be dying out. The butterbeans, cucumbers and a few tomatoes are still holding on… But everything else stopped producing and what wasn’t toxic, was tossed in for the goats to nibble on. I’ve been eyeing my herb garden and pondering transferring the basil, dill and parsley into pots to bring inside for the winter. Worth a try, frost will kill them anyway.

I’m also tossing around the idea of an autumn garden. I’ve never tried anything beyond a summer garden… but I just can’t seem to let go of the idea of having my hands in the dirt during my favorite season. We shall see, I need to see what could work for that. Other than cabbage and possibly spinach. Oh, and the Southern staple… that, although I was raised in the south, I just cannot bring myself to love. Turnip greens. I may plant them even though I don’t care for them. If only to feed the goats and chickens as a treat.


In other news, my mom and I harvested a bushel of ornamental gourds from her vines today… Now, if they can last until October/November for decorating purposes. One can only hope.