Every summer i spend a few weeks outside with my sewing machine. i used to do this out of practicality because my house was about 10000 degrees in the summer and i would have to strip down to my underpants and a tank top, bring out a lamp the radio and a bottle of wine and craft through the sufferingly hot evenings.
now i do it because it is fun…if only i could figure out what the heck i was doing half the time, i would be really good…maybe its the wine
i realize that the weekend is not close to being over (thank god) but i just have to write now while i have a minute and the energy…I discovered a few things while poking around the green bean yesterday and fortunately i took pictures to prove it…well sort of.
First of all, i struggle daily with the garden. I want to be one of those people who gazes over my yard with satisfaction while sipping a glass of ice tea and getting some sun on my legs…but i am generally pacing about restructuring a fence to keep the chickens controlled, rolling my eyes at an out of control weed issue, or plotting where the stream is going to be and where the mosaic tiled fire pit will end up (that is my favorite part). Until someone asked me to take some pictures of the chickens this weekend and i decided to take some garden photos too.
I think the garden looks amazing in pictures! Everything is in bloom right now and i am sitting at my computer drinking a smoothy made from the berries i picked this morning. this combination of efforts put a smile on my face. Plus the girls were so excited to see me they followed me around eating the blueberries i dropped and making noises that i can only compare to those deep throat sounds your mother made when you were about to do something really dumb. I dont know what it means when the chickens do it but they do it ALL THE TIME. 
Mieke came over that morning to go see the Fremont Street Fair with the Hanson ladies two of their hanson nephews (whom i adore) and me. We were our own parade making our way to the chaos and fun of the fair but we sadly missed the parade…by like 2 hours. and why do you suppose we missed the parade? I personally blame Penelope. Mieke and i spent the morning playing with the chickens and feeding them blueberries. We had a blast and i am constantly amazed by Mieke complete lack of fear. She just gets right down there with those feathered nutties and loved it! I love her for that.
Well it was time to go to the fair and we had to get the ladies into their coop…it seems that the older they get the more surly they are about taking directions…is this their teen years? anyway, gladys and jennie are squawk and flap but eventually head into the coop. Pen on the other hand is flapping around making so much fuss i think she is being attacked by some invisible possum…so we chase her and chase her and we go in circles and under bushes and over bushes and then silence. She is just gone. i think WOW she has flown over the fence into one of the 4 neighbor’s yards i have with large savage dogs (except) Tator Tot who lives next door…but he a fierce little jack Russell. So i tell Mieke to stay put and tell me if she hears anything and i go to all the neighbors and peak over fences. I know this doesnt make sense because i dont hear dogs or chickens or death of any kind. I also thought in the back of my mind, chickens can die of fear and did i really scare her that much? I go back into my yard and think, well if she comes back she comes back and then i spot her…i kid you not this chicken is hiding under a bush totally silent, not moving a muscle. She is HIDING from me! she knows exactly what she is doing and she is good… So i go over to her softly, tell Mieke to stay at the coop door and hold it wide open when she comes near and i get behind her and tap on the bush. Well all hell breaks loose and Penelope in up in a tree…next to the fence…with the biggest meanest dog on the block. i race over to the tree and reach for her and she flies off squawking and flapping straight at mieke who is squealing with delight as Pen runs right in to the coop. PHEW! Penelope is my trouble maker. now when i let her out, i just let her put herself to bed when the sun goes down and hope for the best…of course this is day 2.
Mieke and the boys got some great tattoos (doesn’t she look tough?) and Juliet got some drool on the gelato case mmmmm
