Oh, Deer! and Wild Daisy time!

I wish I could have seen this. While I was at the dentist, a deer I presume, totally mangled the wire around the crabapple tree and broke off the large, floppy, juicy top. There wasn't so much as a twig left around so I assume he enjoyed it. So why am I planting these things... Mother Nature, on the other hand, grows smashing big daisies in hard, dry dirt on the side of my driveway, while I coax what little color I get in MY gardens with water and food and tender loving care. Don't get me wrong, I love the daisies Mother Nature lends me, though they are a little late this year, they are more profuse, taller and somehow decorated BOTH sides of my driveway--kinda cute, I think though some people look on them as weeds. I say, hey, green is good and with a flower on top, even better.

Meagan's Back!

The two world travelers pose together--Craig off to two years in Brazil and Meagan just back from two years in Hong Kong where she learned Mandarin Chinese and became an expert in Yoga and asian food. She will be attending Tufts University in the fall for her Masters Degree in Food Policy. Matt, her boyfriend, left his job in Hong Kong and will get a new job in Boston--oh, to be a computer expert like Matt and be able to pick and choose where you live!!! Michael, who leaves for Humboldt later this summer, is always a nice companion for Grandma. Melissa, who is attending Lassen College, is always dressed like a model. Tanner and Grandma look like they are off to the dance but instead just going to Church to hear Craig's farewell talk.

Craig's Farewell

The Pulsipher clan and many of Craig's friends gathered Saturday night for homemade taquitoes and all the trimmings. They were all there to wish Craig Pulsipher Bon Voyage as he prepares to leave for Rio De Janeiro for a two year mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. His blog which will be kept by his Mom while he is gone is http://calledtoserveinrio.blogspot.com. Brother Tanner and Sister Sarah and Cousins. Sister Kristi and Dad Gary with friends and relatives. Sister Kelly and relatives and friends. Mom Linda and sister Amy and friends. Grandmother Marilyn and sister Joan... Grandfather Frenchie, Dad and uncles and aunt. The little cousins and Sarah enjoy Bandido. Cousin Melissa with Craig--no more putting arms around girls for two years!

PADDLEFISH

This is my nephew Hunter Fuqua with a paddlefish from Intake, Montana. Once a year they let 1000 of them be caught. It used to be catch and release but because of the collapse of the sturgeon stocks in the world there is a big demand for the paddlefish eggs for caviar. Paddlefish are one of the oldest fishes dating their first appearance at 300 to 400 million years ago (50 million years before dinosaurs! If not caught, they can live for around 50 years, can reach 5 ft long and more than 60 pounds. The largest paddlefish on record was caught in Ohio and was 198 pounds! They have been known to travel more than 2000 miles in a river system. There is only one other species as a member of the same family and that is the Chinese paddlefish found in the Yangtze River. Why is this in my blog? Well, because I grew up in Glendive, Montana and actually went fishing in Intake with my father but I had never heard of a paddlefish until last year when my sister Carole was telling me about all her boys coming home to fish for the Paddlefish. Actually they don't fish for them, they hook them with grappling hooks. Now, see you have learned something new---I thought it rather fascinating, myself.

Summer 2006

This is what you have to do to roses here. It is one of the deer's favorite snacks. Along the side of my yard I have some screening bushes started--I will probably be dead by the time they are big enough to screen anything. This is also where I want to create a walk--many times Bandido and I like to avoid the stairs. I realized I didn't show my front yard--there are some things growing there also in the pile of rocks--another mourning garden. Maybe someday the rhododedrons will bloom. Some little critter keeps eating off the buds--they say it is a baby deer who doesn't yet know they are bitter. See my baby Colorado Blue Spruce which will be my Christmas tree with lights (once it is higher than the snow).

My Habitat

Carole wanted to see my yard. As you can see it is more clean than lush with growth. Nothing grows under my trees and I don't know why since the forests are full of bushes growing under trees. Notice my graveyard--that is where all my troubles and sorrows are buried. See the old men trees. Hopefully by midsummer there will be more blooming in my mourning gardens. Matt hauled all the rocks from around the yard and created this with me while I was mourning the loss of John. You can't see but in front of the deck Matt had dug out a flat space for me to make a flagstone patio--hopefully I will do that this summer. Around the sides of the yard are lots of cages of bushes--Michael dug the holes for them. They are very tiny so being protected.

Treasure Mountain

It was a beautiful day and Marjorie and I both needed a day away(she has been caring for her 98 year Mom this week and I have been glued to the computer learning a new program for creating a website) so we drove past Sierraville to Treasure Mountain and attended a Woman's Retreat we had been invited to. The scenery was gorgeous and the food delicious and we had fun "catching up" but decided it is probably too far to drive next year for the few hours we were there. Although we did discover two new Frosty places and lots of quaint shops to explore someday. There is Marjorie in the front row for the closing talk. A young gal named Wendy gave an excellent presentation on the "Language of Love". We both heard things that would have been good to follow when we had husbands... Oh, yes, this week the first butterfly I have seen this year visited my geranium. Just one of the small pleasures of gardening. Unfortunately when I arrived home from Treasure Mountain I saw that a deer had devoured one of my new birch trees. I didn't have the tree caged but had sprayed it regularly with Liquid Fence. So I guess this is one of the frustrations of gardening in the Country Club where the deer are so tame they make their own rules about what they will eat or not.