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Good Grief, August already?
Aug. 1st, 2013 09:04 pmThey say time flies when you're having fun, so by those lights I must be having a hoot and a half, LOL. It's just been one of those really busy times, and the days zoom by. And all of a sudden, July is over and we're halfway through summer. Sheesh.
July officially became the driest on record here. Not one day of measureable precipitation the whole month. The rain held off until last night, when we got a shower or two. I think it's going to be a great blackberry season..I was checking o.ut all the blackberry bushes that line the fenceline at the farm this afternoon, and the bushes are loaded with berries that are actually ripening. I picked a couple of handfuls to sample and was pleased. I'm going to have to put on my body armour and go do some serious picking. If I can get enough, I think I might make some jam. Didn't have a garden this year, so I'm getting my fill of fresh local veggies from the farm markets around here. The only veggie that is growing on the farm right now is a giant squash plant that self seeded on the manure pile. Not sure what kind of squash, but it's big!
All the horses got their feet done today. The farrier got there early so we got all 10 done by lunchtime. They were all good this time, unlike last time when every horse seemed to think it was rodeo time! Nick was relieved I'm sure.
I'm glad I'm going to be out at the farm tomorrow...it's going to be very noisy around here. My landlord has to repair the patio because there's a problem with water leaking down into the stores below, so tomorrow they're going to jackhammer the concrete on half of the space and put new waterproof barrier down and then pour on new concrete. I came home last night to find that all the plants had been moved onto the other side of the patio, so I figured something was up; today we got the notice from the landlord. Poor neighbours, it's going to be unpleasant here tomorrow.
Still very pleased with my new car. I've put almost 2000km. on it in just over 3 weeks! It's proving very handy when I have to get grain and hay cubes for my horses. The hatchback makes it super easy to haul stuff.
I have had some time for summer reading, and in the hot weather my tastes lean towards the kind of stuff that doesn't require a great deal of brain power; fluff for the lazy hazy days of summer.
What I've been reading this past month:
Crown of Vengeance: The Dragon Prophesy by Mercedes Lackey and James Mallory. A big (almost 800 pages) tale of magic, war, world building and destiny, set in the world the authors explored in The Obsidian Trilogy and The Enduring Flame trilogy, both of which I really loved.
The Fate of the Jedi series: nine novels by Christie Golden, Aaron Allison, and Troy Denning. Set 43 years after The Return of the Jedi, it follows Luke Skywalker, his son Ben, and Leia and Han Solo's quest to discover why their son Jacen turned to the Dark Side. I picked up the first one out of curiousity, because I haven't been reading much Star Wars for a few years, but out the need for reading material I started rereading the Timothy Zahn series that started the novelizations (Heir to the Empire)and started feeling the Star Wars magic again. I liked the series, and it certainly did the trick for summer fluffy reading.
Tarnished and Torn by Juliet Blackwell: a mystery featuring a witch who runs a vintage clothing store and picks up vibrations from the clothes she touches..often leading to the discovery of murder and mayhem. Quite fun.
Tulle Death Do Us Part by Annette Blair: another series that features a psychic detective who gets pulled into mysteries by touching clothes and jewelry that others have worn. This one has a resident ghost, Wiccans, and Goth girls. Not great literature, just good entertaining reading.
So far, I've had a good,if uneventful, summer. Can't ask for much more.
July officially became the driest on record here. Not one day of measureable precipitation the whole month. The rain held off until last night, when we got a shower or two. I think it's going to be a great blackberry season..I was checking o.ut all the blackberry bushes that line the fenceline at the farm this afternoon, and the bushes are loaded with berries that are actually ripening. I picked a couple of handfuls to sample and was pleased. I'm going to have to put on my body armour and go do some serious picking. If I can get enough, I think I might make some jam. Didn't have a garden this year, so I'm getting my fill of fresh local veggies from the farm markets around here. The only veggie that is growing on the farm right now is a giant squash plant that self seeded on the manure pile. Not sure what kind of squash, but it's big!
All the horses got their feet done today. The farrier got there early so we got all 10 done by lunchtime. They were all good this time, unlike last time when every horse seemed to think it was rodeo time! Nick was relieved I'm sure.
I'm glad I'm going to be out at the farm tomorrow...it's going to be very noisy around here. My landlord has to repair the patio because there's a problem with water leaking down into the stores below, so tomorrow they're going to jackhammer the concrete on half of the space and put new waterproof barrier down and then pour on new concrete. I came home last night to find that all the plants had been moved onto the other side of the patio, so I figured something was up; today we got the notice from the landlord. Poor neighbours, it's going to be unpleasant here tomorrow.
Still very pleased with my new car. I've put almost 2000km. on it in just over 3 weeks! It's proving very handy when I have to get grain and hay cubes for my horses. The hatchback makes it super easy to haul stuff.
I have had some time for summer reading, and in the hot weather my tastes lean towards the kind of stuff that doesn't require a great deal of brain power; fluff for the lazy hazy days of summer.
What I've been reading this past month:
Crown of Vengeance: The Dragon Prophesy by Mercedes Lackey and James Mallory. A big (almost 800 pages) tale of magic, war, world building and destiny, set in the world the authors explored in The Obsidian Trilogy and The Enduring Flame trilogy, both of which I really loved.
The Fate of the Jedi series: nine novels by Christie Golden, Aaron Allison, and Troy Denning. Set 43 years after The Return of the Jedi, it follows Luke Skywalker, his son Ben, and Leia and Han Solo's quest to discover why their son Jacen turned to the Dark Side. I picked up the first one out of curiousity, because I haven't been reading much Star Wars for a few years, but out the need for reading material I started rereading the Timothy Zahn series that started the novelizations (Heir to the Empire)and started feeling the Star Wars magic again. I liked the series, and it certainly did the trick for summer fluffy reading.
Tarnished and Torn by Juliet Blackwell: a mystery featuring a witch who runs a vintage clothing store and picks up vibrations from the clothes she touches..often leading to the discovery of murder and mayhem. Quite fun.
Tulle Death Do Us Part by Annette Blair: another series that features a psychic detective who gets pulled into mysteries by touching clothes and jewelry that others have worn. This one has a resident ghost, Wiccans, and Goth girls. Not great literature, just good entertaining reading.
So far, I've had a good,if uneventful, summer. Can't ask for much more.
