Friday's drive home was very relaxing. I headed out on my usual route and even though I did end up in the school zone, it wasn't anything like the school zone when I had to drop Rebecca off at the 7-11 right there by Lake Brantley High School. What a pain in the patooty that was! This school zone is directed very efficiently by Brentwood's finest.
In less than 2 or 3 minutes, I had passed all the parents in the pick-up line and was on may way through the hilly, gently curving, streets of Brentwood that lead to my new home in the woods. I had no stops to make and plenty of daylight ahead of me. I was out of work by 2:30. It was so nice! There was a very light sun shower as I drove through Fairview but other than that, just rolling hillsides, pastures and farmland. There is a McDonald's in Fairview - just so you know.
Daryl and Kurt (I've been spelling it wrong all this time) were at the house when I got there. They were just finishing up for the day and packing their tools to leave. I think they were fencing for the better part of the day. There's just a little bit more to go before the whole property is fenced. It's been a lot of hot, dirty, work for them but it sure will be nice to be able to let the horses go. They'll be able to eat all the grass up the driveway pretty soon.
We gave the horses their baths Friday evening. Wally had already caught them and tied them up to eat some sweet feed so we gathered up the "Main and Tail" shampoo and got to work. Wally showed me how to get them wet by using the spray nozzle. They are not real happy about the beginning of it. They shy away from the sound of the spraying water and are not even fond of the coolness of it hitting their backsides.
We got Jimbo wet and I washed him while Wally went to get Smokey. I think Jimbo liked his bath the best. At one point he appeared to be resting his head on the hitching post railing! It was pretty cute. With Smokey getting wet next, Jimbo's nap came to an end.
Smokey was snorting and pulling back and generally acting like he was being sorely mistreated. The whole ordeal for him consisted of being a) tied to a hitching post, b) sprayed with cool, refreshing spring water, c) rubbed all over with a soothing shampoo and d) rinsed with the same gentle spray and rubbing off of the shampoo. Jeez, I'd have traded places! I was working up a sweat just trying to cover all that ground. He's a big horse! I have to admit I was a little leery of scrubbing down his backside and his hoofs but he let me take care of him without issue. He really only hated it when his face and ears were getting wet but from the sound of him you would have thought we were torturing him. Wally had to get the very top of his head and his neck because I just can't reach that high and he was keeping his head up as high as it would go to avoid that water.
Well, while I scrubbed and rubbed Smokey until the lather was coming off orange (from the dirt he rolls in), Wally went to get Rebel. Rebel was liking it even less than Smokey but he wasn't grunting or snorting like Smokey was. Once he was wet, he settled right down and let me scrub him too. He's such a beautiful copper color when he's clean and he shines with a gold tint to him when he's in the sun. Just a truly magnificent piece of horseflesh (as they say lol). He did have his eyes all bugged out when Wally started rinsing off Smokey. I guess he knew he was next. I rubbed his nose and he let me give him a kiss on it.
We left them tied up so they could dry and we went to Pee Wee's for a little while. I finally got to see Claudia again for the first time in about a month. She didn't have her hubby with her but promised to bring him to Wally's birthday party. It was good to catch up with her, she was very funny in her storytelling of the neglect her garden suffered as a result of her husband and son both being home at the same time :)
The next morning we were sitting on the couch deciding what all needed to be done when Rebel walked up between the hitching posts, stared into the front door glass, lifted his tail and dropped poo right there in the walkway... His way of thanking us for the bath I guess.
Speaking of gardens... I did get out there Saturday and I discovered that something is eating my plants again. It has eaten the tops off all but 1 and I dont' know why it left that one alone. There is also something (possibly the same thing) eating the new tomatoes. It doesn't eat the ones that have turned yellow (yellow is ripe for this variety) only the green ones. It doesn't eat the tomatoes that are on lower branches either, only the tops. We have fishing line strung from one side to the other at varying levels so it would be difficult for a bird to get at them... possibly more of those big, fat, green worms!
I picked probably 20-25 tomatoes, including one of the German Queen tomatoes. I had three on that vine but come Saturday only two were left. I have no idea what happened to the third one but there is a lot of new growth that looks promising. I hope if new fruit is coming that it will be ripe before it gets too cool outside. I took the yellow ones and sliced them in half long-ways (they are shaped like a gourd but really small) and sprinkled them with salt & pepper and drizzled a little bit of Good Seasons Italian Salad Dressing on them. Yellow tomato heaven :)
Two of my squashes turned black and fell off the vine. I have no idea why other than the incessant heat...? I still have 4 coming along very well. Only 3 cucumbers are surviving the heat, I had to toss two of them as they got mushy. Again, I don't know why but I assume it has something to do with getting them in so late and having to survive the hottest part of the summer. I should remember this next year and plant the peppers late since they can take the heat :)
I started the organizing of the upstairs loft. What a chore that was. It's not done but I made a big dent in it. I'm trying to get all the boxes on one side so I can go through each one and put like items together. I already took care of all the extra sheets and blankets and I sorted through some old pictures and paperwork. I have all the empty boxes from when I unpacked so once they're labeled and set up in rows, I can just drop things into them as I go. I'll be just like that one show on tv... keep, donate, trash... LOL Anyone care to join me? I'll cook for you... and get beer :) takers???
Well, while I was up there I decided to go ahead and sweep the top deck area. It had all kinds of stuff piled up on it. I moved the patio furniture back out there too. We had moved it inside when the storms came so it wouldn't blow off the porch. It was very breezy up there despite the 98 degree temperatures outside.
When I came back downstairs, Wally noticed there were 5 deer in the side yard just beyond the outdoor kitchen. They were grazing away like there was no tomorrow. I don't know how many constitutes a heard but I would think 5 would be close :) It's still not hunting season but I'm not ready for that yet. I have to get some practice shooting otherwise it'll be a waste of time for me to even be out there. I guess I can't hardly add those 5 to my daily count since the count has only been for those deer that I see on my way to or from work. Today I saw two on my way in. I think I was up to 15 so that makes 17 now in one week. Pretty good!
Sunday, Steven and Joe came and got the bull-dozer. That meant Wally was off duty for the day. It was so hot I can't imagine him being out there anyway. I headed back upstairs to work on my organizing while he watched some tv. We had to go into town but not all the way to Dickson. The Value Plus Food Store had ribeyes on sale and we just couldn't pass that up. We had to cut these ourselves though because the meat manager was already gone for the day. It was no big deal. I have a pretty sharp knife and Wally did the cutting while I did the bagging and tagging.
I made watergate salad for us. I haven't had it in years but it was really good all over again. I bought the sugar free pistachio pudding and sugar free cool whip. The pineapples were sweet but they didn't have any added sugar so we were okay there too. I left out the marshmallows, not because of the sugar though - I don't really care for them unless they are roasted over a fire to a golden brown color and smashed between dark chocolate and graham crackers :) lol
I made my oxtail and barley stew over the weekend. Oh, it was such a delight after going almost all summer without making any soup at all... I was seriously hurting for that rich, smooth, beef broth and it lived up to all my expectations. It was probably too hearty a meal for summertime but I don't care about that. Soon the soup pot will be filled with all sorts of healthy, hearty, nutrient rich vegetables, beef, chicken and barley. There are so many I can't even list them here. As I make them, I'll share them with you. Some take more time than others but all are worth it when your body is hydrated and nourished by the bone broth (that I know you've been saving up all summer whenever you had a roasted chicken) for condroiton and the added fiber from the vegetables and barley. I'm looking forward to making them if only so the house will be scented with thyme, fennel, celery, onion, etc.
It's basket day!! I hope I get a watermelon so we have it for the party. Some more jalapenos would be good too so I can make my salsa! I'll let you know soon enough...
"Worries go down better with soup." ~Jewish Proverb
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