Your Neck Of the Woods part 12 Dog Daze

We will continue here from http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1366801/#new

hahahaha cute!

Loving the cool sleeping nights! I might go out and burn up some forsythia trimmings, its cool enough.

Good night to go out and see the Super Moon! and listen to the crickets and cicadas. Paper delivery should be fun in another 5 hours. I feel y o u n g. Must be the gypsy in me

We had a great trip but it is always good to be home. Can't get over the difference in the gardens 2 weeks make.

SO--can someone explain to me what all this excitement is about a
"Super Moon"??? What makes it super?

It is Saturday night. I will stick my nose outside and see if there is a Moon.
Then--hit the sack. Working tomorrow....watering all day--as usual.

Gita

BIG moon last night! The "biggest" we see all year -- that's what makes it super. It's closer to us now than at any other time this lunar year. :-)

Joyanna had her birthday party on Saturday at Free Spirit Stables. I'm really impressed with them -- great instruction program for beginner & intermediate riders, and all their horses are rescues. Joyanna and her cousin were out there last month for an hour long ring ride. For the party, 8 kids took turns on 4 horses & a pony. Then we went to an activity room for snack, cake, craft (pony beads of course), and a quick blindfolded game of "stick the cutie mark on the pony."

We couldn't have asked for a prettier August day! Hot in the sunny riding ring, but nothing like as hot/humid as it might have been. Everybody had a great time!

Here's Joyanna on Opal, who also happens to be the first horse she ever sat on (at a fall festival when she was 3).

now that a reallly fun party idea!

What a cool birthday party! She is not a little toddler anymore - can't believe how time flies!!!

Love the dog pic, Ric! :-D

Jill, I bet you could clean out a corner of the garden for a small barn and corral. LOL Sounds like riding lessons might be in her future in a few years.

Holly, this stables does "horse camp" weeks with kids as young as 5... and I think they'll start lessons at 3. They have a "sponsorship" program (sort of a time-share) for those who want to ride weekly, and they also do leasing if/when weekly times aren't enough (next best option to a barn in the corner of the garden LOL). They teach all aspects of horse care & horsemanship... the kids groom & tack up their own mounts. I'm really crossing my fingers... I love horses, always have, and I'd have such fun if Joyanna got "into it."

Half the kids were done taking turns toward the end of the hour... the others could have stayed in the saddle all day. They ended up with an "available" horse, so "Birthday Mom" got to ride for a bit, too. I think it's been 30 years since I was on a horse, but you just don't forget the feel of it! :-) Jim was kind and didn't take any photos while I sloooowly creaked my leg up & over the saddle. I used the mounting block, shamefully, but at least I didn't disgrace myself with a tumble!

Julie got her first pony at 3. The next summer she didn't want to ride so we found a home for Black Beauty. The next pony Sugar came when she was 8 and the twins were 3. What followed was 18 years of ponies, horses, trucks, trailers, riding lessons, 4H and horse shows. Lots of work keeping horses but very very worth the work. Great way for my kids to grow up. Learning to be responsible, work ethic and lots and lots of fun.

Loved being part of a 4-H riding club as I grew up. Filling in the logbook each day kept the records straight. My uncle had a variety of horses and let me take care of one on the farm. As I grew the mounts got progressively larger.

Sounds like a fun time was had by all. Happy belated birthday, Joyanna!!!!

I think kids can get involved in 4-H even if their homes aren't zoned for livestock... I grew up with Scouting & loved it, but 4-H sounds like more fun to me as a parent anyway!

I knew you'd had horses, Holly... 18 years, though, wow!

Jan, I should have pegged you for a "horsey type," and I mean that in a good way... there's a certain steadiness and kindness among people who love horses.

My great-uncle breeds Clydesdales, so I was put on top of a horse before I was 2... wish we'd lived closer to my Wisconsin relatives, but maybe it's in my blood.

I took one of those Army aptitude tests once, and the result suggested I should consider a career as a pig farmer. LOL I was going for vet.

LOL Jill, a pig farmer!

I love horses but they scare me a bit.

Oh there are all kinds of 4H clubs not just livestock. Check with your local county office to see what is in the area. I think you still need to be 8yr old to join.

So this is day 2 on the flooring project, and it hasn't gone well so far. I insisted that Josh lay the wood floor thinking I was making it easier on Ric. Yesterday late start, big search for missing tool (that I had misplaced). Now todays issue with the nail gun. There is very little flooring down yet, he did come early but had a Dr appt this afternoon so nothing got done after the nail gun issue. He will be back tomorrow. Ric just looks at the floor and shakes his head. He said he could have gotten more done himself with his hammer. The good news is that there is enough done on the one wall that Ric and Josh were able to put the antique desk back in place and at least get that out of the middle of the living room. LOL

Hoping tomorrow's attempt at the flooring goes better, Holly.

Heehee, Jill. Guess what my nickname was in elementary school? Yep, HORSE. Thank you for the compliment. Appreciate it.

There used to be all sorts of non-animal 4-H clubs available. I should google it.

Took my grandy, Hope, out for lunch at a Hibachi buffet. Boy, can she put away some food!!! She is almost as tall as I am and she will be 13 in October.

I got some permethrin spray to treat some of my clothes before leaving on Monday. And some mosquito netting. Getting more excited! First step is to just make it through all the airports and find the people we need to meet. Then exchange our money. Hopefully our visas will be meeting us at the airport in Ivory Coast. Please continue praying for us.

I've been learning from JB that she's been quite the horse person her whole life, and had her kids up on horses at a young age.

Jan, Bet you can hardly wait for this new adventure. Have a great time and tell us all about it when you come home.

Ric's Dad and nephew are coming up from Fl. Got a call last week saying they are coming up after his Aug 15th Dr's appt. So the bedroom that they will be staying in is filled with things from the living room, you can barely walk around the place with everything piled up and we won't have anything for them to sit on till the new furniture comes in on Tuesday. My Dad is going in for surgery to get the battery replaced in his pace maker and I am going for dental surgery. Jamie will be out of town for training practically the whole time they are here. Not sure but I there is a good chance that they could still be here when the kitchen remodel starts. At least they are stopping at Uncles in Chambersburg and staying there for the first part of the visit so that gives us a few days to get things in order after the floor is finished. All this between now and the end of the month. Things are getting a bit crazy around here.

Jan, hoping everything goes smooth as silk!

Holly, oh my!!! hoping everything there goes smooth as silk too, improbable as it sounds right now!

Crazy is GOOD, right? That's what I've always been told!

Going to treat some of my clothes with a permethrin solution. Has anyone ever done that before? Insurance wouldn't cover the malaria meds, but, the pharmacy discounted it for me. I thought that was very nice. One of our group is getting insect repellant wipes for us, too. The one girl who has been having medical issues decided NOT to go. She made the decision with a heavy heart, because she has been looking forward to it since it was first mentioned a couple of years ago. A wise move on her part, but I can totally understand her emotions.

Jan, like they say during the preflight video-- put the oxygen mask on yourself before you try to help others.

Will you be using Deet as well?

Yes, I think crazy is good. LOL Josh is set up with a rented tool in the right size, (his nail gun was too big for my flooring). So we will see how the 3rd day goes.

Permethrin for the clothes sounds like the standard ( it was for Costa Rica in February) and deet will be in the wipes for exposed skin.

We came home to a jungle, our neighbor did a great job as usual. I'm getting really frustrated by the non progress of the floor. I'm just glad we are not paying him by the hour. LOL Maybe I could assess a fee for the privilege to lay our floor. ROT(old)FLMAO At least I'm free to begin working toward preparing for the swap.
The jungle:

WHAT jungle--RIC????
Everything looks pretty good to me...LOVE the "snow" Euphorbia in pic. #2.
The only pic that even comes close to being a bit unruly--is the Glads path to your GH.

I see my Swedish Ivy in Pic. $5. It sure has grown....
In case you are wondering why it is yellowish--it is from a bit too much sun.

BTW--HOLLY!!
I picked off the dried Glad blooms and put them on a plate to dry out.
I cannot help picking off colorful and fragrant spent blooms for potpourri.

The dried Glad's petals are very strong--you can pul lon them and they don't break.
Also--they keep the colors and look very "antiquie"....

Just saying this--as you may want to pick these off, dry them, and fill a nice
vase or brandy snifter for soft color. I nice color accent....somewhere....

See here? I will pick a lot more....

Yes, SS, deet on skin. I will think of you whenever I put it on.

Kelly decided NOT to go. She has a heavy heart. I think it is a wise move, though. She can look toward the next one. She is a nurse, but wants to get into optometry so she can go on medical mission trips.

Lovin the caladiums this year- looks like you got Gingerland also, I LOVE the leaves.

I got a wireless mouse to use with the laptop, I really think it will help. My right elbow was driving me nuts last night, I use the laptop and end up with my arm bent in the same position too long.

Oh I love my wireless mouse.

I came across this and thought it was an interesting story
http://shawnacoronado.com/hoa-fines-force-tear-down-of-the-graffiti-fence/

Oh sally, HOAs are just awful. That's a very pretty piece of art, too.

Thanks for posting this Sally. Really interesting article. The idea of art as a way of deterring graffiti is interesting. I also enjoy articles of homeowners fighting their HOA. I remember when my parents bought their home more than 40 years ago HOA where pretty new in our area. Mom found a home that she just loved but one of the things that you couldn't have was an outside cloths line. She just couldn't believe that there were communities that put stipulations like that in your purchase agreement. Said she wouldn't live in a place like that.

YEA,,,Last day of floor laying. Josh is here finishing up. He'll be back on Monday to install the new (free) dishwasher and pick up all his tools. Of course we still have the tile work to do that will be another huge job. But there isn't much in the way of furniture that sits on the tile section of the floor, that area is mostly plants. Not sure when we will start that good chance that it won't be until after the swap.

Woohoo!!!!

HOAs can be a PITA, chuckle. Glad I don't have one of those. We just have to tolerate a little weirdness now and then. Or the rare persistently weird homeowners. I was happy that the blogger saved the art piece and moved it inside her fence. So beautiful.
We have a local group that is painting art on vacant houses to draw attention to the problem of landlords that don't maintain property. More art is good. I'd rather have art of almost any theme than sad ugly vacant buildings or graffiti with a "criminal intent"

Yay Floor!

Thank goodness there is no HOA here - they may have banned my 300 lb concrete turtle statue and the new little guy I found this weekend to keep it company LOL.

ain't he sweet!!

Very cute, Aspen! :-)