Postcards from the Lake: The First Visit

Well, I finally made it to the cottage. As you may remember, Rick came up in May and oversaw work on the ice storm damage and installation of a more reliable electrical system. He was without power and water for about six days! But now we have it and I am back.

 

That first visit always comes with ups and downs. Rick did a lot of the heavy lifting on the house but I needed to do a lot of the heavy lifting IN the house. That includes setting up the porch (which sounds like no big deal) but it takes a surprisingly long time to clean it up, work around the furniture, replace the heavy rug solo and get all the furniture back into place.

 

Meanwhile, between his visit and mine (or maybe he just ignored them!), weeds grew knee-high or taller. These are skinny, grassy things, some with blooms (pretty blooms, too), others just -- well -- weedy.

This tiny flower was bright orange and kind of pretty. But not pretty enough to want to wade through every day all summer!

 

So, you call the guy who cut the yard last year, right? Of course, right! But he bailed on me. "Too much work!" he said, though I think he really didn't want to deal with the weeds either -- they're very bad for the mower. I flagged down the "Noise Boys" who mow the lawn next door. They didn't do one-time jobs. Stuck with no solution, I put on my "Go get 'em, Tiger!" face and grabbed the only thing at hand -- the hedge clippers -- and went at it. 

 

Then, about the time the lower back was feeling it, I saw the new neighbor a couple of doors down. He was cutting up branches from the storm so I stopped over to say hello and we comiserated about getting our places back in order. I mentioned the yard situation and he said his lawn people were coming later and he'd ask if they could do a one-time job for me.

I wasn't hopeful, after one rejection from the Noise Boys. But a bit later, I  looked out and there they were, mowing down the tall stuff. It looks good again. They were my angels of the day. Then I tackled the utility room and got that ship shape.

 

Everything else, though, is in looking pretty good,  more or less. The overpaid workers who chopped up the trees and stumps left all the chopped wood chips in big piles around the yard and that'll have to be moved but that's too big a job for me. But I did get the porch settled and someone was delighted I did!

 

The beach is a weedy mess too. If it hadn't rained during my very short visit, I would have started on that with my claw but hopefully we can arrange a couple of rounds of rototilling this year and keep on top of it in-between times.

 

Lizzie, meanwhile, is mad because I won't let her into the guest bedroom on this visit. She gets under the bed and if she gets the idea we're headed home, she'll never come out. She's opted for the linen closet -- her "fireworks free" zone. And on the plus side, so far she has been 100 percent accurate in the litter box. Yup. She's neurotic. But she's so cute that I'm happy to take it! 

 

The main purpose of the trip was to bring up a bunch of stuff that I'd want there all summer in a carload before I return with a another full load -- this one will have all the plants, which will take up most of the space! Included were some of the books on the summer reading list!

 

I didn't bring up art supplies yet -- that's the next load! But after the Sketchbook Revival tutorials and practice, I'm ready to paint and get back to work on the England journal!

It feels so much better when everything is starting to look ship-shape! I'm ready to get back there, especially as I write this we are in the midst of that mostly-nationwide heat wave!

 

Finally, on the nature scene, I did see a couple of ducks taking a break on the beach. Harry North, Eddie the Eagle and the flotilla of geese didn't show this time, but I know they'll be back!

 

So will I!