Starting the Summer with Mustangs & More

Now that they live in Montana, Sarah and Todd are spending a lot of time traveling and visiting the parks and scenic areas of the West. The Memorial Day holiday was no exception.

They drove to the Bighorns and looked for mustangs and moose.

Two mares with foals and a third pregnant mare. (I love how Sarah talks to me as she films.) I don't have any more pictures from the herd yet, but I will post them when I do.

Here in Indiana, Curt and Vanessa invited us to join them for a BBQ. Knowing my family members well, I made potato salad to share.

A BIG bowl. While Curt loves potato salad, Mila takes it to the next level. She will tell you that it is her favorite food of all. No birthday cake for her; make her a potato salad on her big day!

Sure enough, she filled (FILLED!) a dinner plate with the potato salad, grabbed a book, and snuggled into some blankets. No hot dogs or chicken, no pasta salad or fruit, just potato salad.

Now that school is out for the summer, we can play games later into the evenings. Curt had joined Jessica and Andrew earlier this spring in Las Vegas for a board game convention and he'd come back with some new ones to teach us.

Tumblin' Dice was one of those games. Easy to learn and play, it's a lot of fun. Lukie beat me again - I don't know how he does it, but almost every game I play with him, he wins!

Down at our park, I got to check on the mallard family I have been watching. It is an unusual group of two males and one female that I first noticed in March. It is not uncommon when females are in short supply that two males will share a female mate but I had never seen it before.

They have five ducklings that they are raising together.

Pepper and I walked the lake's perimeter a bit and discovered some mulberry bushes that have taken root along the banks and are currently fruiting. The birds will love those! (So will the turtles, and the raccoons, and the muskrats, and the deer...)

I also came across a patch of purple crownvetch. 

I always plant my flowers around Memorial Day and this year was no exception.

Because they are pretty, easy to care for, and will grow quickly and fill out a planter, I always plant begonias. White, pink, or red, I love them all.

I wish I could figure out how to repair this fountain's pump so I could use it as a fountain again, but it does look nice as a planter.

My patio is bookended with two large planters, both with horsey garden stakes in the middle. The one closer to Nan's house has my dragonfly solar light next to it. When her husband died last year, I bought two - one for her and one for me in his memory. I always make sure she can see mine from her windows.

It's been years since I planted a large tomato garden and canned all the produce. My canning days may be behind me, but I still like fresh tomatoes straight off the vine. So, yesterday I planted two tomato plants and one bell pepper. I still need to put in some support stakes as they will grow and branch quite a bit.

I hope to finally get to the front porch flowers today. And the stepping stone garden needs some weeding and new mulch. Ian, Mila, and Lukie are going to help me with that.

It's not quite summer yet, but it's feeling like it!

Boing! Boing! Boing!

Right now I feel like I am bouncing from one thing to another. I finished up the haversack orders and did some much needed house cleaning with Craig. When that was done, I started pulling models off the shelves that I am thinking of taking to Clover City in June.

I prefer to bring 30 or fewer models, and I'm up to 20 already so I may need to do some paring down. Still, figuring out your show string is a fun task and I am enjoying myself.

Teacher Daughter Lisa had to run out of town as soon as school let out and we had Nash and Molly come stay overnight.

We love to have them come over - they are very personable and always make us laugh.

They have lots of FOMO, so you do need to be prepared to have a companion wherever you go, and I mean EVERYWHERE! (Yep, that's the bathroom Molly is entering.)

Lis got back to town Sunday morning. In the hustle of packing up leashes, bowls, and other doggie things, we realized we were late for Church. Lisa had to take the dogs home and would not be able to be there before the service was over, but Craig and I had time. We hopped into the car and headed off... 

... only for me to realize halfway there that in my rush, I'd forgotten to change my slippers for my sandals! Oh, well! My feet were VERY comfy at Church that day! Haha!

Summer is ratcheting up here in Indiana. There is a hay field at the edge of our neighborhood, and as we passed it on our way to Church, I noticed that it had had its first cutting of the season.

A flock of Canadian Geese that had wintered on our lake has been summering in the field and they took advantage of the insects and other edible things stirred up when the hay was cut.

But geese aren't the only water fowl that have joined our neighborhood for the summer. We have another family of aquatic birds living nearby.

A group of Mallards!

Part of Pepper's guide dog training was to not bark at or chase other animals, and she doesn't, but she sure was interested in this pair early this morning. She tagged along behind them until they went to the neighbor's yard. (She's also trained to stay in our yard.)

One of them even flew up to our neighbor's roof! Seeing a duck  on the top of a roof is more than a bit unexpected!

Like I said, I feel like I am bouncing all over with things to do. And when I need a break, it's good to sit down with my new favorite flavor of ice cream, one my family suggested I try.

I am a Vanilla Coke girl through and through, but this Dr. Pepper Float really does taste like a Dr. Pepper Float. It is now  Lynn's Official Ice Cream of Summer, 2023!!

Don't forget, it's the last day to enter for the Brighty haversack drawing! Just comment on today's post or send me your comments to enter! (horsiemama8@gmail.com.) Entries close at 11:59 EDT today! Good luck!