...after taking a little trip to see Niagara Falls and The Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. Our dog Savannah had her first experience at 'puppy camp' -- which is what we were calling the deluxe boarding facility that kept her for us. The timing for this trip wasn't exactly the best for Savannah, but arrangements had been made and we followed thru with plans that had been finalized before Savannah's 12 days of being a lost dog.
While we were gone, our area in the hills here had nearly 8 inches of rain. We came home to high grass, a filled pond, and flowers blooming with bright colors instead of just the little green leaves that were poking out of the dirt when we left.
In the stack of mail was the bill from the air-conditioning guy.... nearly $500 for repairs on the outside unit because a very long snake found its way into the motor and decided to curl itself around the fan. The snake got as much of a surprise when the unit kicked on as I did when I opened that envelope and looked at the charges. Life in the country... it doesn't come cheap.
Because of all the rain, the humidity levels here have been ridiculous since we got home. So much for the good-hair days of the hills around Niagara Falls. The weather in Canada was unpredictable at best... in a 24-hr period, we had rain, a bit of sleet, and teeny snow flurries. Not exactly perfect weather for viewing the Falls, so we went back at the end of our trip when the weather had turned sunny and warm and Spring-like.
We seem to have a resident skunk here who has made his home underneath our gazebo. Before we left on our trip, I saw that skunk (actually quite beautiful) as he sashayed around the blooming iris plants. I thought that he was just passing through, smelling the flowers, and would soon be on his way. The first night we got home, I saw the skunk again, same place in the yard, just taking his time and picking up the pecans that dropped from the trees before Christmas. (There are a million pecans out there, the very small native Texas variety... way too small to bother shelling, so I leave them out there for the birds and squirrels, and it seems, the occasional skunk.)
The barn swallows were busy when we were gone... new babies have already left the nests, and old nests are again being renovated by adult birds. The nest that's over the side door of the garage has three little baby birds in it now... a nest that was able to be built there because my husband nailed up a little piece of wood for the two barn swallows that were desperately trying to affix a nest to that particular spot.
As always, no matter how much we enjoy a trip, coming home is the best part. Savannah was very happy to see us and now she is settling into a regular routine in her own home, rather than the routine at the 'camp.' One of our friends has already warned us that fireworks will be sold for the Memorial Day weekend coming up.... fireworks... exactly what caused the sonic boom that sent Savannah running for parts unknown on April 27th. We will have to be very vigilant this weekend. One lost-dog fiasco was enough for one life-time.
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