Country Living and Baking by Candylei

Our cherry tree is loaded with ripening cherries. If I don't get busy and get them harvested the birds will have a tea party and clean them out in a day or two. It's a blessing the deer don't like them. Ours are the baking cherries so good in cobbliers and crisps. I did just that.

I added a little rum flavoring, cinnamon, sugar, flour, and a few slices of peaches. (I only made one individual bowl and will make other goodies with the rest. ) Topped it with whipped cream and a lavender stem. So appealing and tastey, too. You've heard that saying, "Eat locally and buy local produce"... Homegrown and homemade. No nutrients were lost in shipping or transit and I know they have not been sprayed with chemicals. There is a feeling of accomplishment and satisfaction when you can pick produce, prepare and dine on it in one hour.

Sir Salty (our westie) helped pick the cherries by sitting on our feet, and daring any bird to steal a cherry. Later he helped check fences by seeing if he could crawl through the square fencing. He couldn't. I tried to catch a shot of him kissing this ewe's nose, but missed it. He is Mr. Social. He loved romping in the tall hay field on the other side of the sheep. At least he was acting normal again because....

This morning Sir Salty was acting so guilty. He was crawling on the ground like he had been scolded. I thought he was getting sick. Something was drastically wrong with him. What could it be I wondered? After a few minutes he slipped away and came back just as guilty again, but with something in his mouth or not? He looked and me and quickly looked away and slinked off toward the house. His behavior was peculiar. When I caught up with him I lifted his head and here he had an fresh egg from the hen house in his mouth. Oh the little thief. He acted so ashamed and looked at me like "Could you make me a custard since you had a cherry crisp?" Westies. In truth he was eating them and knows he is not suppose to.

Tasha Tudor - June 17, 2008

Tasha Tudor passed away in her home today in Vermont.

I first got a glimpse into Tasha's homestead life through the Victoria magazine. The pictures made you linger and Tasha's spunkiness and humor made you smile. She was living a glorious life in the country with her many pets, gardens, fresh eggs and homemade candles. More magazine articles appeared and a book about her was published. Yet that was just the beginning of learning about her vast talent. Her hands and words could spin and weave beauty like no other could.

Tasha's clothes were simply stunning and many items were knit or woven by her very own hands. Everything about her made you think about a different era...a simpler time where hard work was always rewarded with joy and laughter...where dreams were reality. My mother always said I was born about 100 years too late. Here in my day Tasha was living like I could only dream of living when I first read and reread those glossy pages with plump corgies on the kitchen floor near the stove.

I heard the saying once that "Happiness is homemade". That pretty sums up Tasha's lifestyle and the happiness she made for herself and for so many others. She gave me more courage than she will ever know as an artist. Paint with passion. We are thankful her children carry on her vision and our sympathy is with them during this time.

Chicks, ducklings and Westie???

We got some cute, little baby chicks and ducklings. I am a bit worried if all can cohabitate peacefully eventually here in the country together. The chicks are in a box with a lamp for a few days. The other night the door was closed tight where the chicks are. During the night I heard Sir Salty barking. One bark following the other. I decided to get up and investigate.

Acckkkkk! The door was open and I could only see Sir Salty's tail wagging and hear him barking. I felt weak kneed and did not want to look inside. I did not want to see 17 chicks in disarray. Sir Salty came out, ever so slowly, with his head down and tail wagging, and thankfully, without anything in his mouth.

Could it be he did not harm them? I hear nothing, but move forward. They are all crouched together in the corner of their box......all 17 chicks. My mood totally changes to a jubilant sigh, and... Sir Salty you are the best dog! He got so much love and attention and he probably still doesn't know why. He is a wonder dog. Amazing.

A treat for Westie...by Candylei

I picked up the lumber for the new arbor in the potager garden...now then to keep the roses watered and well till they are planted around the arbor. It is designed after a french one in France. This could be an all summer project? I am debating whether to plant the New Dawn or the White Dawn climbing roses.

I noticed on the cover of the fine gardening magazine they have my favorite planting combination. It is lime green and gray. It always looks appealing even in the dog days of August.

Sir Salty no longer thinks it's only paradise outside. He has come to realize that it is cooler and quite pleasant inside with the air conditioning. I no longer have to bribe him with a treat to get him back inside.

He loves to hide behind the small boxwood bushes. He thinks the cat cannot see him. I stand above them all and this is what I see. Heads and tails.

Lambie and Westie are Best Friends

One of our Suffolk lambs, that is bottlefed, has become friends with Sir Salty. An unlikely pair, but they both like to run. Lambie is the one who naturally follows Sir Salty where ever that may lead. Usually after a cat or bird, but sometimes it's a moth.

After Sir Salty was bathed I got lambie and my camera for a photo op, but it turned into lots of photo oops. My power shot takes so long to focus and they've turned every which way by the time the shutter snaps. (Blame it on the camera.) Lambie was more interested in eating the phone book. (No doubt looking up dog kennels.) Sir Salty felt he needed to straighten out his hair before having a portrait picture.

Today the lawn was mown and tonight Sir Salty looks like a green lepricon or the incredible hulk.

Westie the Pool Dog by Candylei

Oxygen is a liquid. All of us know that on the east coast. With the temperatures hitting 100 and the humidity in the 90's we are pretty much walking around in a sauna. This weather is what makes the gardens soar to heights that even make the English gardeners jealous.

Sir Salty is such a cool chap and he pretends the heat doesn't bother him, but his gaping mouth as he zips around the yard tells us otherwise. He was the model today for my painting of him in the pool and yes, he was actually in the pool and there was only an inch of water. But not to worry, he comes inside with the air conditioning and relaxes for short stretches of time. He would rather be busy outside checking on everyone and everything.

This painting a little expressionist but is loaded with paint and was painted with gusto and passion. That is the defining character of westies. This is how I imagine Sir Salty would paint if he could.

Westie, the all-around Multitalented Dog

What is green and warm? The state of Maryland. Sir Salty, is very competitive and is not going to let warm weather spoil his racing and chasing. He would have enjoyed the Belmont Races today where everyone was "braving" high humidity and heat.

But no, everyone in Maryland, including Sir Salty, was home in their yards trying to figure out what to do with the large trees lying on lawns from the storm. Sir Salty runs along the branches sniffing out "squirrel trails." We will all have great compost heaps and the best looking gardens. Yes, think positive. (How many more trees to cut up?) I could cut up the smallish, straight branches and use them for garden markers.

Sir Salty believes the gardens are for his enjoyment. I dig and plant and put a marker or two around the he nicely runs over and carefully takes the marker in his mouth and is off with it. He turns his head around as he runs off and gives me a thank you look with a very big grin. But I am getting ahead of myself...after I take the plant out of the plastic pot Sir Salty grabs it and jumps forward, sideways and backward with it...biting it and thinking it makes pleasant crinkle music... the way he leaps like an greek olympian. The sport must be called...Recycling?

Westie wows and Gardening trivia

I think our westie, Sir Salty, could get a part time job as a lei greeter. He always meets us at the door with a gift item in his mouth...drops it, smiles and then kisses us. Oh, and he looks beautiful, too.

Now he doesn't just grab anything it has to be appropriate for the "arrivee" (not yet published in dictionaries). Then he makes a circle around your feet and taps you with his tail with love pats.
When we let him outside he runs out barking. It's his gracious way of giving anyone and everyone a five-second warning he is now in control. Everyone else move aside (animals and birds).

We had a tornado watch and severe thunderstorms yesterday. Our electricity was out for almost 24 hours. Many people are still without it. Five days is the projected time from the power company for most. Several big trees tore in half. Most all of the William Baffin rose petals flew down to the pavement. They rise high over an arbor but now they look like they are ashamed and bowed down. The air is so full of honeysuckle probably from all the jostling around.

The vegetable garden could turn into a sink hole. Then again a sink hole is usually when the water table lowers and then its open and the ground sinks.

Today when Sir Salty looked into a mud puddle he couldn't believe what he was seeing. He tried to smell the face, but his nose got wet. He next put his paw in the water to touch the westie face and his paw gets wet. He turns his head left and then right swiveling it back and forth to see if he can hear anything from this face. It is a mystery.