Deer, deer, and more deer...

I haven't said much about the deer I see whenever we go somewhere or when I'm on my way to or from work. I see them all the time now and I don't know if it's because they are more brave outside of hunting season or if I'm just getting better at driving and watching the sides of the roads. Either way, they are in abundance and rarely a day goes by that I don't spot one.

Leaving the cabin the day of the Farmer's Market there was one just before you get to the stop sign at Oak Springs Rd. There used to be a mobile home on the property but it has long since been moved leaving just the wild flowers, day lilies and irises to take over the space. It's fenced in so I can't "share" any of the flowers... but the deer was just standing there watching us as we went by. It didn't run off, it just went back to eating as we passed it by. Wally said he saw nubs on its head but I couldn't see it well enough to know. It was on his side of the road.

Just the other day I was on the phone with Dizzy Debbie while driving to work and when I turned on Murray Rd., the first or second house on the left had 5 deer standing in the driveway! Just standing there looking at me go by. The speed limit is 35 so I was going slow enough not to scare them off, although they may not have been scared either way. They were standing about 10 feet from my car and looked really big to me. Of course the driveway winds up a hill (this is Brentwood after all) so looking up at them may have made them appear bigger than they actually were. Five of them just hanging out in the driveway made me wonder if the homeowner is baiting the yard for them to come there... like maybe he has plans for hunting season???

On another day I saw just half of a deer - no, it wasn't cut in half, the belly and rump were sticking out as his head was in the woods. This was the biggest deer I've seen yet and I didn't even see all of him. He was huge! I was on a pretty back road called Sneed which I had just turned onto at the church by the Loveless Cafe'.  Riding up the hill, I happened to look to my right and there he was in all his deer glory. I say "he" because I can't imagine the females getting this big but what do I know? Again, I was no threat to him as he just kept going at his breakfast like I wasn't even there.

Lately, I can add lots and lots of rabbits to my list of wild life viewing pleasures. They remind me of the whole "breeding like rabbits" saying. I know first hand why that saying was coined. They are everywhere!! It used to be I'd see one or two on the driveway in the mornings or on the dirt road leaving the property. Now, I see 3 or 4 just going from where the driveway starts to the first gate. They are early morning risers because I'm on the road between 5:00 and 5:15 and they are always out there scurrying about. Wednesday when I went to fill the water bucket for the animals, one was sitting right there in front of the bucket. It was maybe 2 feet from me. I turned on the water and waited until the bucket was filled and the little rabbit just sat there and waited too. It's by no means big enough to drink from the bucket but it may have been waiting for me to leave so it could drink the water that puddled around it.

I'm hoping to see some black blackberries this weekend but with my luck they'll turn black during the week when I have less time to gather them. Wally saw one that had turned black down by the barn and he ate it. He said it was kind of small but that it tasted good. I was all ready to get on the 4 wheeler and head down there for some picking when he informed me that it was just the one, not a whole bush like I was hoping for. Maybe tomorrow... 

He has to bush-hog the pasture this weekend so we can let the horses back down there. Since they've been up at the cabin, the thorn bushes have taken over. The horses have mowed around the cabin very sufficiently. I only have one little strip to mow and it's right outside the front door. While Wally's on the bush-hog, I'll take the 4 wheeler and see about those blackberries coming in. I might be able to cut back the rose bush at the trailer too. If it's not blooming, it's coming out and getting replanted by the flag pole where the driveway splits to the right or left. I would love to have some put up to bring down there when we come. Keep your fingers crossed...

Last night it rained just after I got home. It was cloudy, windy and cool enough to open the windows and doors again. We did have to finally turn the air on a few days ago but only during the day. At night we can run the fan and be just fine. I can stand there and watch the rain like there's no tomorrow. It reminded us that we want to put up screen doors because we didn't have them open but about 20 minutes when the flies started coming in. Only 2 or 3 got in but how annoying! There's no way to avoid them when you have horses, you just have to keep the fly swatter handy.

I remember my dad walking back and forth through our old Bambi house swatting flies. He was a watcher of the rain too... He would stand at the front door and look through that little square pane the whole time it was raining, smoking and drinking Busch in a can...maybe that's where I get it. Mom would always be on the couch or in her bed eating popcorn and reading books. Hey, I like doing that too... a little of both of them in me :)

We had the carrots from the farm basket for dinner last night. Oh, they were accompanied by some pork chops and some potato salad but for me the carrots were the best. They needed no seasoning at all - I just ate them whole right off the plate. Yummy!! I know you're thinking they couldn't be THAT good but yes, they were. They really don't taste anything like what you get in the store and I'm seriously going to miss them when the season is over. Who knew carrots could have such a variance in flavors?

We had recorded "Hot in Cleveland" so we watched that while dinner was cooking. It was an okay show. I laughed a few times and I guess we'll give it another chance. I didn't know it would be so much male-bashing. A little bit of that goes a long way - maybe it was just a way of setting the stage so you had background on the characters. Betty White was true to form though. She cracked me up. Archie was the episode where he was a minstrel singer (he pronounced it menstrual lol) and Gloria was having the baby. Oh my gosh, that was a funny one!

I talked to Ernie almost the whole way home last night. Most of the time my phone won't work that long but I was lucky last night. She says she's going to go to the Oriole's so if you don't see her down there, give her a call. I'm sure she wants to go visit... :)   hee hee hee   Don't let her get carried away on those shots... she might be very convincing when she tells you she wants another one but she REALLY doesn't. At least not according to her the next day... William can vouch for her :)

We used to laugh at ourselves all the time on the mornings after our porch parties. We would sit out there drinking beers and talking and laughing and thinking we wanted just one more when we were already at the end of a 12 pack. We would even get someone go get us more if we could talk anyone into it. Who knows why, jeez, neither one of us could handle even one more. We were headed off to beddy-bye but not before making all sorts of plans for the next day. I would always get up early and go garage-sailing my way home and then I'd call Ernie later in the day. We would both be canceling all those stupid plans we made the night before LOL! One thing was for sure, we didn't have it in us to go again the next night...

I haven't been to a garage sale since I got here but not for lack of finding one. Lately they're on every corner. The problem is that I already have so much stuff I don't know what to do with all of it... what the heck am I going to do with more? I just know I'm missing out on some good deals though... maybe I'll just limit myself to one or two things like books or picture frames. Yeah, right.

Tonight I have to stop at the Dollar General for some spray paint. Wally bought me a garden wagon with wood rails around the top of it. The wood is bare so I have to either stain it or paint it. Having never painted anything more than a water color in my whole life, I decided to paint it. It could be pretty funny - I'll be sure to let you know how it comes out when I write on Monday. Maybe I'll even get a picture of it if it isn't too bad.

So hopefully I'll be blackberry picking and storing and maybe even horseback riding this weekend. It's Friday so we might even make it over to Pee Wee's Place. We just never know...

Happy Father's Day to any father who read this, although I'm not sure any do.

"Old as she was, she still missed her daddy sometimes." ~Gloria Naylor