Of Mice and Man

No matter how neat, clean and organized I leave the farmhouse at the end of the summer, the first week back is spent doing those same things again to get the house to feel, look and smell like a home.  This year, TJ came up a week earlier than I did and took care of a few little things like planting the garden and cleaning up mouse droppings.  Having a big old house that may or may not be air tight, located in a large field, is like posting a neon sign on the basement door that says, "Welcome field mice!  Food, water and bathrooms available....please come in!".  We have begun our all out assault on the mouse population.  So far the population is down five mice.  The little furry friends did not do much damage this winter but they left their little signs scattered about and it would be nice to rid the house of them...asap!  TJ's morning ritual now includes checking the traps and disposing of the little varmints before I come down for breakfast.  I think we need a basement cat!

One man's playground

During his week of bachelorhood TJ planted the garden and lived the spartan life he dreams of back in Houston.  He is a man of few needs.  Give him a large plot of dirt, a shovel, some sunshine, a few hundred seeds and seedlings, some food and a few beers at the end of the day and he is happy for a week the entire summer.  I won't say the house was a mess when I arrived but I wouldn't say it was neat and clean either.  He tries... I know, but the man is closely related to the Peanuts character Pigpen.  His level of clean is a far cry from mine as are his household priorities.  If left to his own devices he would happily live in a place that resembled a junkyard.  He is a gatherer of stuff and projects.  He uses the stuff and leaves it right where he finishes.  He starts doing a project and sometimes he finishes and sometimes it stays in a state of suspended animation for weeks, months or years.  He is never without something to keep him busy though!  A busy husband is a happy husband.

The garden wasn't the only thing to get planted last week.  One of my favorite things about spending the summer here is being able to enjoy all of the flowers.  We planted the flower boxes that sit on our deck all summer and provide me with joy every time I see them.  We are trying to plant enough different plants around the yard with varying bloom schedules so we have a constantly changing floral display.  The tulips were still blooming when I arrived and after today's storm they are naked, one week of tulips and poof...gone.  Never fear, the lilacs are about to burst and the lupins are close behind.  Yes, I do love the flowers up here!

A truck bed of possibilities!

The other thing that provides me with joy is the ever changing sky!  Last week was a banner week for sky watchers like myself.  We had clear skies, cloudy skies and most things between.  The cloudy sky may have been the most interesting!

A storm is definitely coming!

"Are those funnel clouds, Dorothy?"

and then there were a few clear nights!

All in all, the first week was a good one....unless you are a mouse!