Saturday, July 23, 2011

Dear David and Cathy

Cathy, you sent the best card and letter at Christmas with a photo of your horse, and David's old show bridle, which I loved. I hope we get to see your place and meet all of your animals some day...of course I understand that now is a bad time but please let us know if and when you'd ever consider it. We like to have a project to help with instead of being entertained so maybe that will trick you into letting us come visit.

And I thought maybe if I did this electronically a letter would actually get sent instead of just rattling around in my head. I started this blog a while ago but only my sister has read it, and Terry. It's just for practice.

So it has been too hot everywhere, even up here in Wisconsin (especially up here?), but when the weekend comes and the garden is in danger of disappearing under the weeds, we get out there anyway. By "we" I mean Terry, of course.
And it happens eventually, like today...but first we have to walk around holding cups of coffee, looking at things. It was easy to decide to pick some raspberries first, because those are my favorite things to eat (except strawberries, which did NOTHING this year so no point even mentioning them).
Then we needed a break so I hung some clothes out, Terry made a list for the grocery store, and we went to buy groceries including garden produce because Terry gave Cully and Laura all the ripe stuff we had from the garden when we went up Thursday night to help them move the last couple of things from Laura's apartment into Cully's.

When we came back from the store I had visions of making a really good lunch but we had leftover pizza instead. Then it was time to look at the garden again and really decide what to tackle. But instead of doing that I looked at all the flowers I planted. I always wanted bunches and bunches of tall annuals to cut however many I wanted for bouquets in the house and this year I have them.
I also love the scent of lavender and grow that. I snip the flowers and then dry them in the living room window because it's so hot and sunny there.

I have experimented with sewing little sachets for them for putting in dresser drawers so your clothes smell good.

Almost every single time I go out and snip the lavender flowers our next door neighbor Virginia, who lives to garden and take care of her huge lawn, comes out and asks what I'm doing.

I also wanted to mention the animals we have. Here's where one of them lives.
Terry likes to greet him or her with a shovel whenever he can. But this family of groundhogs has a real survival instinct.

We also have raccoons who love to visit with us. We take them for a ride out to the fancy neighborhood on Lake Mendota and let them go so they can get to know other people, too.
So I guess that's plenty of our garden tour for now. I'm inside in the air conditioning writing this while Terry finishes weeding the worst spots, which happened to be the leeks and onions. In a while we're headed to my parents to help them with hanging a quilt thing mom made for above their staircase and then to their neighbors' for a cook-out.

We think of you all the time and treasure the notes you both send. You guys are terrific writers and have a beautiful optimistic and can-do spirit of handling whatever comes your way, which is inspiring. I know you draw strength from each other, your faith and, I hope, from the support and love of your extended family.
Shirley