My world, at times, seems intentionally narrow. This is because the animals (see previous dispatch) tie me down. If I was irresponsible and less caring, I would not tend to them or ride them as judiciously as I do. Maybe God cast Adam and Eve out of the Garden of Eden because they were becoming slackers and not tending to their charges. I wasn’t there, so I don’t know. I’m usually here, and this I do know.

As I’m writing this, Ryder and Shadow are here, upstairs, playing with one another. Ryder is teaching Shadow what is going to be expected of her as a dog, which is something that I, as a human, can’t do. I’m constantly surprised that Ryder is as

Split wood ready to stack

fierce as she is with Shadow. She often bars both teeth and makes very threatening sounds. However, she never leaves any marks on Shadow or draws blood, and Shadow always comes back for more.

Today I rode Tyra and Pete rode Hrimmi up to the bench. It was a very good ride. The horses are not in great, but rather in okay shape. I haven’t been riding them enough. Plus, they are getting their share of hay and greens. I took Tinni out after we took the other two out. He is doing the best of all, condition wise.

Nowhere in the above do I mention weeding. Weeds, they became a mainstay after Adam and Eve were kicked out of the garden by God. Weeding – I have become adept at finding other things to do. I did (with the use of mechanized splitter) split a few cords of firewood, which I tossed in the woodshed. Pete is going to stack it all. I can’t imagine splitting wood by hand – it would be a slow, tedious, and I think, dangerous process. I can just see me coming into the house with an axe imbedded in my foot. Time spent at the emergency room is time better spent doing other things.

I became aware that I have a narrow world view when our friend Bonnie dropped in for a visit. We ate lunch on our front porch and watched her border terrier Ollie lift his leg on all visible vertical surfaces, then feign disinterest in playing with our dogs. He did bark at Buckwheat.

We gave her the tour after eating some of Pete’s strawberry pie. Pete led the garden tour since this is his bailiwick. I followed along and then saw all he’s been doing with fresh eyes. We now have Swiss Chard growing in the upper garden. The strawberries in the hoop house are plentiful, and the two peach trees are bearing fruit. Yep, we are soon going to have peaches with our strawberries. The bees are seemingly pouring out of their two hives. The tomato vines are inching up the baling twine, both in the hoop house and in the lower greenhouse. And the beets and carrots in the lower garden are doing okay. It’s hard to see what’s going on because there are so many weeds.

I led the way and showed Bonnie the manure management system. We have approximately twenty buckets on hand; our friend Bill will soon come and claim them. The winter manure has cooked down in the two compost stations, and the worms in both their permanent and temporary residence are thriving.

Yep, soon this will be the Garden of Eatin. I haven’t done much, but I won’t be evicted, because I’m with Pete, the head gardener.

Next; 187. 7/6/20: Under the Weather (again)