Tuesday Twitterdeedum

These trees caught my attention last night as Lily and I went for a nice ride down Forest Siding Road.

I dressed them up a bit for publication, but the variety of blossom colors made for an interesting picture.  

Our apple trees are just starting to put on their blossom show, and it looks like we may have a decent crop this year.  No freezes on the horizon, so our fruit yield---berries, cherries, plums and apples---shows great potential.

This will be a big change from last year where basically the blueberries were the only real survivors of a hard freeze.

I'm loving the looks of my strawberry patch this year.  Last year I picked enough berries for a couple of ice cream sundaes.  

This year's crop should be about three times of those we've had in the past.

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Last night gave me a good opportunity to try out the dryer sheets.  I bought some at the store and had them on hand when Debbie and I were outside in the late afternoon, watching the dogs play.

The mosquitoes started in.  I ran inside and got dryer sheets for each of us. 

We stood, consciously holding the sheets, waiting for attackers to descend on us.  We did this for about 15 minutes and giggled a lot.

With the exception of a few brave mosquitoes who came in for landings, only to take off again, we enjoyed their absence.

Later, I wrapped a sheet on Lily's bridle and kept one in my pocket.  

I'd say they work about 95 percent.  While stopped alongside the road, talking to my neighbor Billie, a few tried to distract me and Lily, but not nearly to the degree of what we encountered on our Saturday-night ride.

So, Jean, thank you.  I think this will make horseback riding and being outside among the pesky critters much more pleasant.

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I really enjoyed my horseback ride last night.  We went about three miles, and after Lily worked out the early season kinks---mainly laziness and finding ways to be distracted---she settled into a nice walk, and I enjoyed a relaxing trip through the countryside. 

We saw deer.  We saw Harvey Lippert out fertilizing a farm field.  I enjoyed Dan Wood's red Angus babies in a pasture next to Jack Filipowski's Herefords.

Some mules came running up to see us at Gary Beauchene's place.  Lily wanted to dance a little jig---the mules gave her an excuse---but she listened to me and settled down for most of the way past that pasture. 

It was a beautiful evening, to say the least. 

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We've had rain overnight, so everything's fresh and clean outside.  Except for the vine plants and a few tomatoes, my garden is pretty much planted. 

So, the major items ahead include more lawn mowing and trimming and watering as needed.  

It feels good to finally be to a point where some moments of play might match up with all the work. 

Soon, the garden gathering will begin, and that's the best feeling of all---especially when we get to sample the results and save on the grocery bill.

A great time of year for sure.

Happy Tuesday.