Park update. Don has added more blocks and also made a little border for the area by the tree, which will be full of periwinkle come spring. He’s very cute. He transplanted some periwinkle from other parts of the woods to this little plot.
We’re on the lookout for a bench. The best scenario is finding it for free on the side of the road. We’re on a tight budget. Except for adding some stepping stones to the area near the secret garden, we’ve spent exactly zero dollars on all the updates on the property. That’s a good feeling.
I’m writing this on Wednesday evening as we just learned that the tree guys are coming tomorrow. It will be too crazy in the morning; we have to move our cars, I have to trim some of the yarrow as it’s right next to where they’ll be working. As they arrive at 9 am and I have to talk to them before they start, blogging would lose out.
By the way it rained all morning and into the early afternoon. Maybe we’ll get a storm tonight but I hope not. I’d like it to dry out before the trucks arrive tomorrow. It’s as dry as a desert all summer long and the day before they come, it rains. A lot.
Since I wear a lot of black, I guess I could also be classified as one of the people in black on a plane that Orange Man is blathering about. I invariably wear black when I fly – I wonder if he’s referring to my flight to Paris last year?
That makes as much sense as anything else he’s said lately. He’s certifiable.
Hey, let’s play “What are you reading?” I’m reading The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern. Don is reading a book that I read earlier this year, The Lost Pianos of Siberia by Sophy Roberts.
Stay safe.
I like your little park very much. We have benches with plaques along the local river that are purchased to commemorate loved ones. My favourite place to sit and watch the ducks is dedicated to a friend and artist that we lost some years ago.
I tend to wear black when traveling (practical) and I’m currently reading Thug Kitchen: The Official Cookbook, so I guess I’d better not get on a plane to America anytime soon.
Best of luck with your tree removal today.
Just imagine if we were on a plane together!
Stay safe, Barbara!
Well, we both like to kit-bash miniatures so I guess that makes us mini-thugs.
xo
Aw, the Lunatic-in-Charge. Ugh.
But I love the little park. That Don is a good one.
I’m currently trying to get through Old Filth. I like it, there are just too many distractions around here right now—read a chapter, answer the phone, read a chapter, get ready for showings or photos or realtors…worn out already.
Hope your tree trimming goes smoothly.
I’m picking up Old Filth from our local bookstore tomorrow!
So you’ve put the lake house on the market??
Stay safe.
We have. Priced on the low side to hopefully sell this season. If we don’t, price will go up and we’ll not show it until winter leaves next year. It’s a funny area around here. Typically things stay on the market for a long time–sometimes years! Right now some smaller ones are selling like hotcakes, so only time will tell.
xo
i feel the need to again say “WOW!” about the park don made for you. it is beautiful and so is his love for you and yours for him.
hope you find a bench to your liking and soon.
that is a mystery about why all those concrete blocks were left out back. whatever … they are now put to a wonderful use.
best wishes and prayers for the tree removal today … that it gets done today (ground not too wet), that it all gets done in one day and is easy on you and don (finances and feelings).
with his crazy ideas and complaints against so many people, i think pino is doing a lot of projecting. latest one i read in the news is that he’s encouraging people to vote twice (mail-in and go to the polls) to test the system, to show the election is “rigged”. surely he has to know that’s illegal?!? praying about the outcome and for our elected “representatives” to drop the partisanship and pick up some backbone somewhere soon … before november 03.
and, finally, finally! i have an answer to your question about “what are you reading?”! :) i am continuing with that agatha christie book of short stories, “the mysterious mr. quin”. as i’ve said before, i am not a fan of short stories. i know there’s talent there and the story might be excellent, but i want a full book so the story goes on and on for a couple hundred pages and takes me along somewhere. that and the Bible. :)
usual day here. already ready to go home, take a shower and relax. eight hours to go.
hope you have an easy, safe day. same for don and everyone who gathers here.
kathy in iowa
Kathy just skip the rest of the stories and go to the novels…you will enjoy I hope. Luck
thanks, brendab.
i will finish this book because the stories are pretty good (better than i could come up with, for sure) and i told myself that if i bought it, i would finish it. for not having read for a long, long time (years … sadly), i will be kind of proud of myself to be able to say i finished a book. :) and i am almost done with it. then … “murder on the orient express”!
i appreciate you sharing suggestions for the better ac books to read; thank you!
hope you’re well and staying safe.
kathy in iowa
I think that Kathy really wants to finish it because she has had trouble committing to a book for a long period.
You go, Kathy!
thanks much, claudia.
and you are right … i am determined to finish this book in part to lengthen my focus and get more reading back into my life (plus, i am enjoying it). after this one, i’m on to one of brendab’s agatha christie recommendations (“murder on the orient express”). :)
glad the tree removal went okay today.
hope you’re having a nice night.
kathy in iowa
xo
Tree removal is almost done. These guys are great. They work quickly, they really know how to prune. They removed the dead tree that fell, two dead ash trees, pruned all of our big maples, cleaned everything up in less than 3 hours. Plus they’re really nice. They listened to all my concerns and worked with me on pruning the big maple. I am now a huge fan.
Congrats on the Christie!
Stay safe, Kathy.
LOCK HIM UP . . . IN A STRAIGHTJACKET!
I agree!!!!
Amen!
Thanks, Chris.
Reading again Ruth Rendell and again, movies better than some of the books-not all. Love anything British. Also reading some books for Net galley review-nothing fantastic. Love the park…as soon as Covid is over, a vaccine, whatever…I am getting on a jet plane…lol…de stress…vacations heal…also when health problems are worked out…have a good good day…good luck finding a bench.brenda b
Thanks, Brenda.
Stay safe!
Greetings,
Reading your post I remembered I have a black Obama election tee shirt, from the good old days, before we lived in these times of lunacy and corruption . Time to start wearing it.
I hope your tree people are quick and efficient.
Take Care,
Kaye
Park City, UT
I have a blue Obama T-shirt and I’ve already been wearing it, along with my Nasty Women Vote t-shirt.
Stay safe, Kaye.
I am reading a couple. “Benjamin Franklin: An American Life” by Walter Isaacson. What a fascinating man Franklin was. It gets slow going at places, and I find if I read just one page a day, I will catch the vibe again at some point. Then I am reading “Summer at Fairacre” by Miss Read. I love my Miss Read books! I have two of her Christmas books that I read every year in December. Lovely books about small villages in England and the characters that inhibit them. The one I am reading now goes on and on about all the gardens. Just lovely.
I love the new spot Don has made for you both in the woods. Just the right place to meditate. Hope all goes well with the trees today. I am now going to have my tea. Just after 7:30am here!
I love the Miss Read books. The guys who came today were fabulous. They cut up the huge maple, took down two dead ash trees, and thoroughly pruned three maples in under 3 hours!
Stay safe, Tana.
Such a lovely place. I’m reading a book by Dora Heldt. Just an easy read I can manage after a loooong day of work. ;-)
All the best!
Regula
Are you back at school, Regula?
Thank you and stay safe!
Love the little spot Don has created
How, much land do you have?
I am reading The Growing Season by Sarah Frey
In a way it is similar to Educated b y Tara Westover (one of the best books I have ever read)
Just under two acres, Linda.
I have Educated on my TBR pile. I can see it from here!
Thanks!
Stay safe.
I wonder if you could take a part of the tree trunk from the tree you are having cut down and make into a bench? The spot that you all are making is so inviting. Makes one want to sit and think. I am reading As Bright as Heaven by Susan Meissner. Just started it. I haven’t decided whether I will continue. Have you noticed that seems that historical fiction books almost always have people walking away on the cover? There are a couple of books that are coming out soon that sounds interesting The Wife by Shalini Boland and A Question of Betrayal by Anne Perry.
trina …
that is a great idea to make a bench out of wood from the loved maple tree! applause! applause!
hope you’re having a nice, safe day!
kathy in iowa
No can do. A large section of that half of the maple was rotten. We took one small section and Don moved it up into another area of the woods.
No, we can’t. We really don’t want to, first of all, because we already have lots of logs up in the woods. But primarily because a big part of that side of the trunk was rotten. We salvaged a little section, a single seat, and Don has it in another part of the woods.
Thanks, Trina!
Stay safe.
Just finishing Heart & Soul by Maeve Binchy. Light & an easy read. No more political books for a long time! I just can’t stay in a depressed state all the time.
Your spot in your yard looks so peaceful. I think I’d find just a tree log, have it cut to fit over the blocks & call it a day. No $$ spent (maybe to have it sliced) & all would be lovely!!
priscilla c …
you also have a great idea for a bench! applause! applause for you, too!
and a nice, safe day to you as well.
kathy in iowa
No, we want something with a back to it so we can sit there for a couple of hours if we want to.
We have plenty of cinder blocks made into benches and those only work for a few minutes and then our backs are tired.
Thanks, Priscilla.
Stay safe.
Claudia, you might try checking around with some older churches to see if they would have an old bench you could have.
xo
Don’s park area looks lovely and peaceful. Looking closer they look like air vent bricks, maybe a small manufacturer’s building once stood on your land.
I’ve just finished ‘ The Ice Twins’ by S.K.Tremayne. A slightly supernatural thriller set on the Isle of Skye in Scotland. Good but not great.
A friend has given me some recently published psychological thrillers so I am working my way through them.
Happy Thursday
They’re what we call cinder blocks. I don’t think there was ever a manufacturing facility here. They’re an inexpensive way to make a small out building. When we found them 15 years ago, they were all on the ground, no structure at all.
Thanks, Dee Dee.
Stay safe!
I’m currently reading Them Son’ by Jo Nesbo, it’s very good.
I love the quiet area, it looks so peaceful. I hope you can find a bench somewhere.
Stay safe x
We will. It just may take some time.
Thanks, Fiona.
Stay safe.
Good morning!
I started “Heaven’s Prisoners” by James Lee Burke; I’m reading the books in sequence – a great story teller!
He is one of my favorite authors. Enjoy!
Stay safe, Deborah.
I love the secret forest garden!
I am reading Louise Penny’s new one- “All the Devils are Here. ”
Good luck with the tree cutting. that’s always a harrowing experience for me.
Betsy
I’m still waiting for my copy but I’m reading something else at the moment, so that’s okay.
Stay safe, Betsy.
Word on the street is that Devin Nunes is the one who started the “men in black” story — he told it a couple of days before, apparently and Trump has added his own details. Doesn’t surprise me. I always wear black when I fly too. I wonder why? Nunes said he didn’t get why all these white people were talking about Black Lives Matter and that’s why he knew they were bad guys coming in to cause trouble. Let it stop!
I love your new garden park! Don has done Covid well and been very productive! I hope you gave the tree trimmers strict instructions and that they did a good job.
I’m currently reading “Don’t Look Back” by Karin Fossum. Interesting to read a Norwegian whodunit. Her detective, Inspector Seger, is interestinh. One more chapter in “Mudlarking” to go. I find that it is well written and fascinating but I need to break up the river digs with a nice little murder now and then! I’ll be back to Donna Leon or British Classic Library by Saturday. I keep looking at Edward Rutherfurd’s 1000+ pages “New York” and trying to decide when to dig in!
I cannot tolerate Devin Nunes. I’m not surprised.
The tree guys were excellent. I would recommend them to anyone without hesitation. I’ll write about them tomorrow, but suffice to say, all my worries were for nothing.
Stay safe, Jeanie.
The area looks like a small peace park…. so very very pretty and quiet. Don did a beautiful job! A bench would be the cherry on top!
Glad the tree work went well. I hate when it has to be done, but they are usually so efficient and fast in doing the job. I am glad you are pleased with the work they did.
I am reading The Captain’s Daughter, and I don’t remember the author, and the book is in the other room. And I am pretty lazy today. Biden is in Kenosha today and I am wishing and hoping that the visit goes well. I honestly don’t know how I am going to “do” the next 61 days, plus the weeks or months of dispute which will follow. If only a few of the repubs would have a come to Jesus moment and remember/ realize that they are Civil Servants and call him on all the crap. But I don’t see that happening. They are all happily wallowing in the filth of this administration.
Yes, and they cut down our dead shag hickory that has been dead for several years. They did EVERYTHING. And they were still out of here in less than 6 hours, 5, really – as they took a lunch break.
The Republicans are part of the filth of the administration. They are beneath contempt.
Stay safe, Chris.
I love your park, as well as the trails that Don’s created throughout your property.
I’m reading The Inn by James Patterson and Candice Fox.
Thank you, Cindy!
Stay safe!
Oh…the park looks wonderful…so peaceful. Good luck on finding a free bench. Do you have any leftover cement blocks? You could make one.
We took an 8 hr drive today…no internet or politics. And that was hard, because every tine we turned around in these small towns, there were tRump signs…ugh. But, it was a gorgeous day for a drive, so we did our best to ignore them!
I’m currently reading the 2nd Detective Michael Bennett Book, by James Patterson…Sorry, I’m too lazy to get up to look at the title.
Hope the tree trimming went well! ;)
We already have a cinder block bench there, you can see it in the photo. We want something other than more cinder blocks.
8 hours! Fabulous! It must have been good for the soul, Donna.
Stay safe.
I’m listening to “The Book Thief” and knitting a baby blanket.
Sounds perfect.
Thanks, Carolyn.
Stay safe!
Saw on your IG the tree removal went smoothly and you found a bonus under your birdbath. So cool.
I’m mostly a non-fic reader and right now I’m reading “Becoming Jane Austen” by Jon Spence. It’s the kind of social history/biography that I love. One of my favorite films, “Becoming Jane,” was based on this book and the author was an advisor to the filmmakers. I’ve probably watched the movie dozens of times. Thought Anne Hathaway was a great Jane Austen. So the book is an interesting and fun read.
Take care.
Kay
Sounds fascinating, Kay! Enjoy.
Stay safe.
It’s nice when you can work in the garden and it doesn’t cost anything. Whenever I can grow something from scratch or a piece which has been given to me it makes me happy.
I didn’t comment yesterday, but I’m glad the visit to the eye doctor worked out so well for both Don and yourself.
Hope the tree surgery and clean up goes well.
Thank you, Robyn.
Stay safe!