Echo Apple Streamers

It's apple season - time to make crisps and pies!   That leaves a lot of apple peelings, which means Echo (our guinea pig foster from Dakin Humane) gets what I call "apple streamers."  I hook pieces of peelings around the cage, then Echo has to find them.  

Not too many - I don't want to give her a tummy ache from eating too much apple.  I tuck a few around the top edges of the cage.  I've done this enough times that she runs right to the usual places I hide them.  Occasionally she needs to follow her nose to locate them.  This last time was tricky - I put one in the corner where it usually goes and hooked another from a binder clip nearby.  Echo quickly found the one in the corner and could still smell the second apple peel.  She kept looking in the corner... but it wasn't there!

I Like Thursday: October Is Not Quite Done Yet

One more I Like Thursday post this month.  Crazy, right?

Ooh - what do you think of this crazy-elegant Halloween lady with her pearls.  Totally styling, right? 

Mmm... black and white.  I spent Saturday buying yards and yards of black, white and grey fabric for a king sized quilt I'll be making.  How appropriate for October - I'm terrified to tackle this project and yet I can't wait to start working on it! 

I Like Thursday: Pigs, Poets, Pumpkins, Prancing and Paddling

Whew!  Lots going on in the last two weeks!  So many great things to make me happy.  Let's see - the Powerpuff Girls are settling in.  There's been much loafing when they're not fiercely demanding treats.

There really is a guinea pig in that photo... the first week Bubbles tried to hide under everything. 

They're learning to beg properly and they're enjoying the three level cage - everyone has favorite spots.  And they were pretty excited to check out the cleaned cage.

I Like Thursday: Cukes, Cape, Chicks and a Little Frog

How can it possibly be the end of September?  The trees are turning and it's starting to feel like autumn.  I'm happy with the cooler weather (but not the shorter days).

This year's cucumber harvest was disappointing.  I had hoped to make more pickles!  But this cheeky slice looks like it's winking and smiling at me.  At least the few cucumbers I got were tasty.

My biggest like this month was spending the better part of a week at Cape Cod hosting my annual Chick Weekend.  We had beautiful weather every single day.

I Like Thursday: July's Highlights

I'm still mostly on hiatus, but I had several likes during July that I wanted to share with with LeeAnna and friends over at I Like Thursday. 

A few weeks ago Rob and I headed to my mother's to help clean out her basement.  I fretted over the undertaking for weeks prior to the date.  However, the planning and research were rewarded!  Amazing  how much disappeared in less than 24 hours.  Freecycle, Craigslist and nextdoor are wonderful resources!  So many things walked away on their own.  (And some people made out like bandits with the items they picked up.)  Win-win as far as I'm concerned.

Added bonus - I had time on Friday evening to pick blueberries from Mom's massive blueberry bush.  I ate a bunch of them but the rest are in my freezer. 

I Like Thursday: Little Miss P and the Big E

Miss Piggy has been staying with us since last Thursday.  She is very, very shy.  It was only yesterday that she started to stick her nose out for treats.  She spent most of the week crammed into the corner of the cage.  <sigh>  I'm spending my time trying to convince her that we won't eat her.  I don't think she believes me yet.

I Like Thursday: Gardening, Greens, Buns and Birthdays

The likes are short and sweet this week.

My garden is doing great.  This batch of carrots seem to be doing well, and since they're indoors, no one but me should be eating them!  I need to harvest that kale soon.  And my volunteers have produced!  The squash is not nearly ripe, but I didn't want them to grow any larger (and was afraid the woodchuck would take notice).  I picked a cucumber earlier in the week and my tomatoes are starting to turn.  

I Like Thursday: Blue Heron and Bright Colors

Our excitement of the week - this blue heron showed up in our yard.  I have no idea what drew him to the yard (although I know we have frogs).  He strolled around for a while, then flew off into the trees.  Very odd!  

We had our regular visitors, too.

I Like Thursday: Pipe, Purple, Popovers

I spent some time on the roof this week.  First was cleaning out the gutters - I found it best to walk softly and carry a big stick.  The new back gutter had stopped up completely; I'm surprised the gallons of standing water didn't pull it down.  Impressive.  It was mostly gummed up from the moss coming off the roof - I need to remember to inspect that regularly.  I have to say, it was deeply satisfying listening to the water drain out.

I was sent back onto the roof two days later after I discovered a damp spot near the bathroom ceiling.  The flashing around the vent pipe had cracked, and all this pounding rain was coming in.  Turned out to be a very easy fix.

I Like Thursday: Can't Keep Up

I haven't had a chance to write other blog posts this week.  I've made lots of progress on my quilt - I hope to have a post soon.

We were invited to a neighborhood pumpkin party, so I carved a pumpkin to display.  I haven't carved one in years - I forgot how fun they are to do.  I decided to do something artistic instead of just a jack-o-lantern face.  I love how this came out.  Not too sure how structurally sound it would be, but it hasn't collapsed yet.  

The pumpkins needed to be dropped off on Friday, for a Saturday evening outdoor party.  At the time I dropped mine off, there weren't many there...

I Like Thursday: Lots of Orange and Red

 

Lots of orange, red and green this week.  It started out with our misadventure last Wednesday.  We returned home to a dark house.  Yay for a generator!  Water and internet are a good thing (even if I curled up most of the evening with a book by the battery-powered lamp).  

This pretty picture was taken the next morning.  The brush/leaves in the foreground is a tree branch that took out the power line.  Great color!  But I'd have been happier if it stayed on the tree.

I Like Thursday: Feeling Accomplished

It's been a busy week.

Making progress on my quilts.  Creekbed is sandwiched and I know how I want to quilt it.  That's on hold as I get the braid quilt ready for quilting, too.  The borders went on without too much fuss (although I needed to tack on 3" to be long enough).  I stitched together the backing - of course discovering it wasn't quite as long as I hoped.  I'm now I'm piecing together a stripe to go across the middle.  I plan to have that assembled, then sandwich and baste the quilt before the sunroom gets too chilly to work in.  Then I can focus on quilting both quilts.

 

I Like Thursday: Coming and Going

The tomatoes are coming in!  Around four pounds so far.  I'm in a race with the meadow vole on who can "harvest" them first.  Not enough to make much sauce by themselves, but I'll add it to whatever we get from the farmer's market.

I Like Thursday: Still in the Garden

We've gone from summer heat to the first inkling that fall is around the corner.  The sun is warm but the breeze is cool, and it was a bit chilly walking yesterday morning.

I started to pick tomatoes.  Yay!  This one looked beautiful from the angle I was looking at it.  After I picked it, it was obvious that someone else thought it was beautiful, too.  I hope they enjoyed it, because I did not! 

I Like Thursday: Outdoors, Indoors

My potted tomatoes are ridiculously happy.  The others are doing pretty well, too.  I'm not having so much luck with the kale and carrots, but the sage and basil are growing gangbusters, along with some scallions and the mystery melon/cucumber/squash.

I Like Thursday: A Colorful Week

So - I knew yesterday was Wednesday, but somehow forgot that that means it's Thursday today.  I had this post half written up last night figuring I had plenty of time to finish it up (including more photos!).  Well, let's go with what I have....

Butterflies!  They're usually too flittery to get a photo, but this one posed long with its wings open to get a good shot.  So pretty.

I Like Thursday: Bobbing Along

The weather has been nice this week - spent a lot of time outside.

We met friends at the Goodnough Dike on the Quabbin Reservoir Friday morning.  A short walk and a chat.  Oh, how nice to see them after... four months?  Can it be that long?  That's nuts.

There was plenty of people there, given it was a week day morning.  But the dike road was wide, there was plenty of space to keep social distance.  We wore masks regardless, because we weren't the best at social distancing from our friends; we kept gravitating towards each other as we walked. 

I Like Thursday: Fruit, Blinky Lights, Porcupine Butt

Got a little bit of everything this week.

I found this little chest at a craft fair two years ago.  It's made from old cranberry crates.  I had never heard of Decas Brothers before, but I found their cranberries at the store last week.  Cool!

I Like Thursday: Pignic, PFD, Pastries

I headed east on Sunday for several stops.  First up - the Boston Pignic.  Got my fix of loafy, wuzzy guinea pigs.  So many colors.  Such cuties.

I Like Thursday: Greens, Reds and a Bit of Blue

I loved the green from last week.  This week there's a lot more gold in those trees.  Even some reds behind our house.

In the green of last weekend I found little red mushrooms.  Aren't they so bright?




Did you read about the porcupine we met last week?  How crazy is that?