So today I went to Bristol, and I took both dogs. Luckie and Gracie needed to get out of the house as they were going stir crazy, and I had a couple of errands to run so off we went. We have a lock system on our Taco Mama (Tocoma…we think that’s funny) that allows us to leave the engine running with the AC blowing while we step in and out doing errands. I would never leave them longer than five minutes this way as it would be a disaster if the air conditioning failed. I’m going somewhere with this so just stay with me….

I got up between 5 am and 6 am this morning to feed the bees. They are all in the hive at the very early hour of the morning, and I don’t have to wear the protective clothing during this time. I go in PJs…barefoot. It’s so nice to have the hives near the house. This morning, Luckie accompanied me and I thought she pooped.

Later, I showered, let both Luckie and Gracie pee and then we all climbed in the truck and took off. I was at one of my stops paying the cashier, and I noticed the woman beside me had a “stinkin” problem. It was strange because she looked clean. “Poor dear” I thought and moved away. She had such a pained look on her face. When I got back in the truck, there was a piece of smashed poop in my seat. Apparently, Luckie had accidentally pooped a little bit, I had sat on it and I’d got it on my white shorts (unknown to be me). Luckie is “regular” and poops every morning, but on this morning, she did not poop between 5 and 6 am. Nosiree. Coincidentally, it smelled exactly like the woman that I had thought stunk. Do you know who had the stinkin’ problem? Shame. I just wanted to run back and explain, but I was too busy cleaning the seat.

Meanwhile, in the unlikely event you would ever want to eat at my house after hearing that, I’m working in peaches. We have not had good peaches in years. In fact, we had decided not to replace the peach trees. We’ve not sprayed them in years and the limbs break easily under rotting, bad peaches. However, this year, they aren’t rotten…

Isn’t she a beauty? Poor Valley ain’t so poor this year!!

I was in the shop earlier today working on my yard sale stuff, and I got so hot that I came up to the house and fell sound asleep. I have got nothing done.

When I was a child, my mother used to motivate me to do my chores by telling me to pretend the President was visiting. I’d get busy right away. It’s not working today. I am totally unprepared for President Obama or even the Vice President whose name slips my mind at the moment (Shame), I’ll focus on something else. Delay that visit a bit by taking pictures.

Like this little wall vignette I threw up a few months ago and am now a little tired of. Or not.

Or the cane that our sweet young friend Neth made Mike following his knee replacement surgery. How many 17 year olds would take the time to do something like this completely on their own? I placed it on the mantle to remind me of the goodness that exists in the world.

And…because I’m fooling around with my camera trying to learn how to take better pictures, I was able to get one shot of our small bathroom wall. The walls are painted a color called “herbal wash” and the reds just make me happy. I like warm colors.

Now….if Airforce One landed at Tri-Cities right now, how much cleaning can I get done before they arrive?

  Irksome. That is how I felt today when Gerald and I looked at the bee enclosure. Here’s what we saw…skunk poop! Skunks scratch around in front of the hives and when the bees come out, they eat them. They can destroy a hive.

I am so mad…our mean little pets are being picked on, and we’re not going to take it!!

The bees are enclosed because of skunks, but apparently, they are climbing the fence or they are squeezing through the fence. They aren’t digging under. We’ll have to put some electricity on this fence. Mike and Gerald will take care of that.

I have been thinking of schemes all evening to get rid of the skunks. I’m going to put contact paper all around the enclosure tomorrow evening. If a skunk walks on it, it’ll get it on its feet which should make for an interesting evening. We might also have to shoot them.

Other critters…I walked to the truck today and ran into this guy lady. We call them mud turtles but they are actually map turtles. (I know ’cause I read it on the internet so it must be true.) The girls are laying eggs everywhere, and I believe this young lady targeted my garage as her labor and delivery room.

A few years ago, we had a whole bunch of babies hatch out in our impatiens. I wonder if they return to where they hatched out? Anyway…I opened all the doors to the garage and left her alone as I think she just got off track. She was gone when I went back out. I actually did look these turtles up on the internet and a great deal of their day is spent “basking”.   I’ve seen them sunbathing on logs in the river but I didn’t know that it’s just really important in the turtle world.  Our river must the the turtle riviera — they love it!!   When I was a little girl, I was told to stay away from the mud turtles because “if they bite you, they will not open their mouths to free you until lightening strikes.” I was terrified.  I envisioned myself having to carry a turtle around hanging off my foot while waiting for a storm.    Who told this scary story to a child?  Mom!!  I guess she just wanted me to stay out of the creek.

Did I show you what happens to four cucumber seeds after being planted in our raised beds? Four tiny seeds.

We’ve been getting about this many each day…

However, these little creatures are on the vines and we’re starting to get “wilt”. If I’d planted only two cucumber seeds, I could place the protective cover on the raised beds and keep the squash beetles out. However, the four seeds exploded and there is too much vine to cover.  I’m not going to use pesticides.  I’ll just replant so I’ll get more cucumbers.

It’s a darn war out here…we’re fighting the skunks and squash beetles while tripping over turtles…all the while trying to save the bees that want to sting us!!   When I see a squash beetle, I show it no mercy.  I pinch it to death and leave it on the vine.  I think the dead squash beetle might just send a message to other squash beetles that this is not a safe place.   You never know.  

Here’s the pumpkin vine that volunteered in the potatoes in the raised beds. Potatoes are gone but the pumpkin vine is going crazy.  Mind you.  This is from one pumpkin seed.  Warning…never plant a bunch of these.  They are like kudzu.

Our yard has a couple of these kind of things going on, so we’ll not be in Southern Living any time soon, but it’s so worth it to mow around this monster as it’s got some “Cindy Rella” pumpkins growing underneath it. Here’s one of them.

Hope you are having a great evening. I’m going to run out and check on the bee enclosure one last time. I might also pee beside it. I think that might be a deterrent for the skunks. This is not based on any scientific knowledge, but I just think it might work. Maybe I’m onto something!

Ahh…the house is quiet following Aaron (my husband’s son) and the granddaughters visit. I hope they had a good time. I wrongly accused all three of them of leaving with my iPad. They were 25 minutes up the road, and I texted all three of them in a panic…trembling hands…sweaty brow. I mean…how does one exist without one’s ipad?

While Mike and I turned the house upside down and the cars wrong side out looking for the prized ipad, Aaron and the girls pulled over and searched desperately. Not once but twice. (These girls understand how important our electronic devices are to us…we must have them!!) However, no luck. I just knew it was gone for good. Most of the day passed with me texting and asking “did you find it?” And then…I found it. It was in the strangest place…a place I never expected to find it…. in a drawer by the bed. It’s where it’s supposed to stay. Either I put it back in its rightful place or they did. Shame on me. Moving on…hoping they forget about this.

At any rate, it’s time to rest a bit. Kick the shoes off…

And sit down and rest in a seat of flowers…(conveniently purchased off the half-dead plant rack at Lowe’s — my True Love.)

This chair actually was headed to the trash dump many years ago but it arrived here instead.

“Hen and Chicks” are great ornamentals to grow in old shoes and chairs (or anywhere else)! Since they are succulents and need little soil, water, or attention, they’ll take right off in most anything. I move these boots which belonged to my cousin and former pastor, Randy Powers, to the barn in the winter. With a little compost added to the inside, water and sunshine, they return when moved back out in the spring.

Don’t you just love nature’s resilience?

Speaking of nature…look what came out of my sister’s garden that she shared with me? If you are from the south, you know how we prize fresh green beans. I’ve washed these and they are now on the stove top. We’re having green beans, rosemary potatoes, and cucumbers and onions with Grainger County tomatoes. Droolworthy.

Oh yea baby.

Thank you for reading RiverCliff Cottage.

Our granddaughters were in this past week, and I enjoyed doing some crafts with them. We got out the Mod Podge. We had a ball!

There’s always dogs present here at RiverCliff Cottage, but were there beagles?

Nope! Something much sweeter was here than a beagle…

And…

Hope you are having a wonderful day!