PREP!

I'm back. My sweet black lab mix, Miller, crossed the Rainbow Bridge in early spring after a struggle with Addison's Disease and Lymphosarcoma. He was so special and attentive and snuggly that I just couldn't blog about it. I think I'm ready to move on

Miller loved fruits -- bananas, apples, pears, and blackberries that he picked himself, so I decided to remember him by planting two pawpaw trees to mark his grave. I've never tasted pawpaw, but I'll bet Miller would have enjoyed sharing one with me.

Miss Mo resumes her Reading Education Assistance Dog visits next week at the public library and at Good Neighbors Camp at our church, Trinity Ecumenical Parish. She's still going strong for an 11.5 year old lab. Shiner Bock and I have spent a number of weekends working on his UKC Conformation Championship which still eludes us. He has plenty of points but needs 2 more competition wins. We may try AKC in Roanoke this summer since it's nearby.

I've been gardening ferociously this year, determined to conquer our ravenous deer, and with the help of a special person who came into our lives, am finally able to have gardens. A mystery lady appeared this spring in desperate need of a place to board her stallion. She couldn't pay but offered barn and yard work instead. What a blessing she has been! She helped make my Labyrinth presentable, brewed up hot pepper spray to deter deer, rigged up a 10' high deer net, grew lots of flowers from seeds and created a lovely new flower garden complete with a marble path. She has also added little surprises of color throughout my gardens. What a treat it has been to have her with us. Her stallion has been a lovely guest and we will truly miss them both when they move home to Colorado this summer. I know she was meant to be here for me!

We've had drought for years and are thrilled with the frequent, soaking rains we've been blessed with all spring. My veggie garden is full of green and yellow snap beans, tomatoes, potatoes, peppers of various ilks, Japanese eggplants, zucchini, watermelons, lettuces, honeydews, and cantaloupes. Probably some other things I can't think of right now. Oh, lots of herbs -- a whole row of summer savory, my new fav. Yesterday I dug up my 20+ year old rhubarb plants and moved them to a new location prepped with lots of organic matter. If all goes well, I should be selling rhubarb again next summer.

Speaking of prepping -- today's my prep day for a routine colonoscopy tomorrow. If you've experienced that delight, enough said. If not, it's something you can research on the Internet!