leder legends

Alaska is keeping the number of cases of covid 19 low!  How?   Covid testing!  In order to avoid a 2 week mandatory quarantine, visitors must arrive with evidence of a negative test that is no more than 72 hrs old. That sounds simple, right? It seems Covid 19 testing is available but not for everyone. We were not able to go get a test without symptoms. While my doctor ordered a test, that didn't help me get an appointment.  Fortunately, the local health department held a free clinic yesterday for ANYONE who wanted a test. We went, stood in the 88 degree heat for 1/2 hour, filled out a simple form, got tested and left.  The kicker...it might take up to three days to get the result.  Here's hoping it will be sooner .

So many pretty flowers in the yard!

Chipmunks are dumber than they are cute. Chipmunks are greedy and reckless when it comes to a free meal. Chipmunks don't swim well and succumb quickly to gravity in water. Chipmunks don't float, at least not immediately, after they fail their swim test. Chipmunks don't sense danger and will join their companions in the same bucket. Chipmunks are prolific and the herd needs to be culled occasionally.  My defense?? The two rat traps have disappeared!  One is lost and one is broken and in the trash! The swimming pool! Do you see what I see??

For more than 10 years I used the beat up old Envoy as a work truck. It's hauled trailers full of debris on more than one occasion, it's been full of smelly yard waste, it's carried lots of drywall, cement and other building materials. It has served me well. Yesterday I spent around 4 hours gussying him up and he cleaned up well! By 9 PM, he was no longer ours! A bit sad but I am also relieved that there now only 3 vehicles at our house-  a newer Sorento in the garage,  a 1985 Buick on the driveway ( the hubby's hobby car) and a big old Ford pick-up truck.  I'm hoping the Buick will go next! I'm looking forward to driving the truck but it's been sitting in the driveway for weeks.  The DMV needs to open back up so we can get NEW PLATES!

The Deer Herd Before my hosta addiction started, we lived in a house with a shared driveway, sidewalks everywhere and occasionally the city bus was even diverted to our street. The wildlife was limited to squirrels and a few rabbits. In 1996 we moved to a neighborhood that was only 4 miles away but oh so different.  The houses are on big lots, the streets have no sidewalks and nothing shared except lots of space.  The wildlife here is varied: squirrels, chipmunks, rabbits. skunks, opossums, raccoons, voles, woodchucks and, of course, the deer. We love it here.  For 24 years w e have shared the space in harmony with all --except for the deer,  of course. All of the animals mentioned are pests in my yard.  Every season, I tolerate the ravaging of a plant or two. It's annoying and even frustrating  waking up to leaves chewed and buds eaten.  They usually kind enough to leave something for me to enjoy.  The deer have occasionally found the b...

We are enjoying a heatwave! Temperatures have been in the high 80's and low 90's.  That's hot!! Meteorologists have been encouraging us to embrace this because the humidity has been low! That is like saying the heat (100 plus) in Arizona is tolerable because it is "dry" heat!  Yup...right! Hot is hot folks! Add to that the fact that deer have found and are enjoying my yard front and back this year makes this a particularly difficult time for me!  They invaded the backyard for the first time in a long time and ate all the buds of the early day lilies, tops of the phlox and bee balm, and various hosta. I guess I should have expected it but it is depressing nonetheless!  At least the backyard is still green! MY therapy?? I bought 2 more hostas...Great Expectations and Queen Josephine!!

My son rented a gas-powered flowerbed edger and came over and did the entire yard in about 90 minutes!  I love how it looks.         Add caption

A bit of outside inside! Hosta Dancing Queen is the hosta of the year 2020. I finally found one at  local store for $15.  It seems like a nice healthy specimen. I hope it likes it where it is planted. Dancing Queen   I also succumbed to temptation and bought 3 more but they were only $3.99.  Fragrant Bouquet So Sweet That's it for the year... unless I find some good deals at the end of the season. HAHA Last year I bought 3 that way and was too lazy to plant them --two survived nicely.   Loyalist Hans The other one is showing signs of life but very tiny signs.  Hosta Wheee! is hosta of the year for 2021.  I have that one already! I also went to the yard waste dump again this morning! Dump Run

More restrictions for visitors to Alaska.  A second test will be required after being in the state 7 days.  No indoor activities allowed- no restaurants, no movies, etc What a way to kill tourism!! https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/anchorage/2020/06/05/anchorage-outlines-additional-restrictions-on-travelers-from-out-of-state/?fbclid=IwAR10pQzSm5cxREWP1cL9Mhh8C2uVkekDqeRVtQEpzJP2QynWBNcOhnktjss

In a few weeks we will be heading to Anchorage, Alaska to visit our 2 daughters, son-in-law and grandchildren, of which there are four.  Can hardly wait!! Nathania with her loves Alaska has been relatively covid-19 free due to extreme social distancing requirements and self-quarantine requirements. It has worked! The Alaskan villages, many that have access only by air or sea, closed down at the beginning of this pandemic. The medical facilities in the villages are often very limited or nonexistent so that was a very smart move.  J and C have lots of fun together! When we go it will be day 107 of social distancing.  While things are opening up there especially for the local population, visitors are still suspect.  We have to arrive with proof of a NEGATIVE covid test no older than 72 hours. Our concern is that the results won't come back on time if we wait too long.  If we go there with NO proof, they will test us at the airport and demand that we self...

In the past, I have tried to avoid buying annuals for the flowerbeds . It's the Dutch in me perhaps. This year I have purchased a few more than usual. I have wave petunias in pots and a few in a flowerbed and the same for regular petunias . Marigolds always give a pop of color so I bought a flat.  Geraniums, red ones of course, are going in tomorrow . Marigolds This bunch of phlox is a plain garden phlox which my friend considers a weed. I like it because it is the only thing blooming at the moment.