Lord Roman feels so good with his Adequan that we have run into a problem. He thinks he can take a long walk now, but finds out in the heat and with the distance he went, he cannot get home.
Two Fridays ago that happened around 4:00, I watched him go under the magnolia tree, go back into the woods to the path by the chicken coop and come out under the other magnolia tree and make his way to the pasture. He has a lot of stops along the way. He weighs 90 lbs. and once he gets too far, I have to pick him up, he walks two steps and lays down to rest, I repeat and this time it took two hours to get him up to the house.
I brought down my chair because with my injured knee I couldn't stand or get on the ground with him, so while he rested, I sat in the chair. I have to follow up with his water bowl and make sure he stays hydrated. And speaking of being hydrated, I remembered I had a little tequila left in the freezer and some lime jalepeno juice from Trader Joes, so made myself a little cocktail and sat in my chair.
This is when the idea of Friday night cocktails occurred to me, with just finger foods and maybe setting up the chairs and trays in different areas each time to sit and observe what's in bloom and watch the wildlife and fireflies. Atena who came to get bamboo said she and her husband pick a night a week to have dinner in their gazebo to just relax and take in all the hard work they do in their garden, and sitting there that sounded like a great idea.
I was under a magnolia tree that was just starting to bloom.
Lilies were in bloom at the top of the path.
I could smell the gardenias in full bloom.
And take in the hydrangeas in front of the house that have been in full bloom for quite a while and will soon fade.
My flock of geese (gooseneck loosestrife) are doing gangbusters!
Bee balm is mixed in with the flock. First year in bloom.
And something not so pretty, the pileated destroying the fascia board on the garage UGH!!
The farmhouse was the first site of the first Friday night cocktail hour. I brought down my vintage trays found at a Frog & Swan estate sale.
When gardenias are in bloom, I have one in a vase everywhere I sit. One of my favorite fragrances!
Geisha saw the food and came down for a snack.
The cocktail, found on Pinterest, is a version of the Long Island Tea. There is so much alcohol in it, one was plenty. There is Spiced Rum, Gin, Tequila, Firefly Sweet Tea Vodka, sweet and sour mix, homemade, of course, Coke and sweet tea. It was very refreshing.
The farmhouse was picked because I wanted to sit Bob down in front of it and discuss renovating it. I have lots of ideas, and I'm already on the hunt for vintage windows and light fixtures. We have a contract on the boathouse for the price we wanted and should close in August if all goes well. Soon as that happens, I hope to have Jake take the roof off, bust through the bedroom, kitchen and living room to have vaulted roofs. The little vents in the attic is where I will put vintage glass windows to let in more light. I can't wait to get started!
Tryon is looking a lot like Nantucket right now. Some of the hydrangeas in my yard.
I love this pure white one and have a few stems held down in the dirt with bricks so I can transplant a few new bushes down at the farmhouse this fall.
A huge bouquet from the old house. Never cut your own hydrangeas!
Geisha in the garden.
Hydrangeas seen on our Sunday drive.
Lacecaps
Sabra's hydrangea. A friend by the lake.So not much was accomplished this weekend. Thursday when I was out doing errands I had a "mishap" too embarrassing to go into detail, but I was laid up Friday, Bob had to work at home to take care of the dogs and the weekend was a total washout. I did separate and replant my Praying Hands Hostas, but that was about it. The video above shows how amazing Lord Roman is walking after a month of Adequan injections we have been giving him. Before the shots he would walk a couple of steps and lay down. I would have to pick him up (he's 90 lbs. so I was lifting about 1000 lbs. a day) he would walk a couple steps and sit down. Now you can see how fast he is going and smoothly, not much limping and going a long distance. I did consider an injection into my knee after my mishap as a friend told me horse people give it to their horses and themselves.
Praying Hands Hosta
One plant yielded six new plants! As you can see, some of my pots are still waiting for flowers, which I hope to do this coming weekend if my knee is cooperating.
This is my seating area in the courtyard. Working on my fountain, too.
The path and gate to my very tiny rose garden. I added an iceberg climbing rose and a red tea rose that was supposed to be white, but it looks really pretty next to my hot cocoa tea rose. All are doing better than expected as I am not very good at growing roses.
Eden climbing rose at the farmhouse.
Hot Cocoa
Red rose with no official name. An $8 rose from Tractor Supply actually doing pretty good, but was supposed to be white.
The Asheville Greenworks garden tour was to be next weekend, but will not happen again this year, I don't know why. I was very disappointed. I did some videos of the garden, a little tour of my own that I will post next time.
