A most unusual visitor

Living on the side of a mountain means I share my space with a host of critters. There are deer, foxes, rabbits, raccoons, skunks, possums, turkey, numerous birds including hawks and owls, the occasional coyote, snakes, turtles, frogs, toads, and salamanders. And yes, there are fish and such in the creek. But this morning there was a first - a SNAPPING turtle in the yard. Box turtles are the norm.

Being that there is a creek nearby, seeing the occasional snapper isn't too rare. Seeing one strolling (?) through my yard is something else. 

It came across the front yard, through the west forty (where the wood yard is) and down over the hill. I think it was lost. The creek is in the exact opposite direction. 

Speaking of directions, I tried to tell it to turn around and go back, but it didn't listen to me. It must be a male. 

The Lady of Holly Tree Manor/The Hideaway

Holly Tree Manor, The Hideaway, snapping turtles, rural living, country lifestyle, a writer's life, wildlife, KC Kendricks, unusual sightings, reptiles

Another one bites the dust

For no apparent reason, one of the trees along the lower stone fence uprooted and fell behind the leaning cherry tree. It's safe to say the fun never ends! 

It's a bit of a mess, but just like every "project," if I take it one step at a time, it's manageable. It also means more firewood.

My cousin and I already had the leaning cherry on the agenda to harvest. The tree is leaning, sure, but it's not a threat to my house so there's no hurry. Now that this other tree is behind it and applying pressure, it may come down on its own. It's okay if it does. 

Hopefully, before that happens, we'll be able to cut the uprooted tree in such a way to relieve the pressure. I certainly wouldn't want the cherry coming down on top of me while I'm mowing the front yard. 

The downside is we're both well-stocked with 

firewood for the 2025-26 season. My cousin has a space problem.  I don't. I can store a lot more split wood than he can. I'm pretty sure we'll cut the rounds now and split later.  And if we need to store all the rounds here on the manor, that's fine. He'll know where it is when the time comes. 

While I have enough trees to keep us both in firewood for as long as we both live, I do worry about the condition of the trees. I don't think our forests are as healthy as they used to be. We have several non-native insects causing damage and there is no way for me to protect the trees on my property. A homeowner can't spray an oak that is one-hundred feet tall. 

But that's a worry for another time and another person. I'll do the best I can do for the years left to me. That's all any of us can do. 

The Lady of Holly Tree Manor/The Hideaway

Holly Tree Manor, The Hideaway, forests, trees, firewood, property management, insect damage, oak tree, cherry tree, rural living, country lifestyle

The Old Spring

I grew up in my maternal grandparent's house. My parents lived with them until I was eight, and then they bought their own house about a mile away. I don't know why because I swear all we did was sleep there. Weekends were spent at the grandparent's place. After school, I rode my bike to my grandparent's house. When we cousins wanted to "camp out," it was in our grandparent's meadow. That's where the action was. 

Growing up, I didn't think it was odd that my grandparent's water came from a spring. I just know that a lot of family members would bring a jug and take some spring water home with them to make iced tea, my mother included. These days, heaven only knows what has leached into the water, and we don't drink it. There are houses above it now. Back then, there was only forest. 

The picture is the inside of the spring. My grandfather walled it up, dug out the bottom for a reservoir, and eventually installed a reinforced concrete roof. This is how the spring looks today. 

I'm very glad that the cousin who got the homeplace didn't fill in the spring. Pop's roof is still intact and the water still flows into the spring branch and down to the creek. We don't use it any longer, but it's there if my cousin wants to water his grass. 

I suppose it's rather unremarkable, but it's a memory from my youth. I thought I'd share.

The Lady of Holly Tree Manor/The Hideaway

Holly Tree Manor, The Hideaway, rural living, country lifestyle, KC Kendricks, grandparents, old ways, spring water, changing times, safe drinking water

Sometimes cheap ideas look good - new decor items

Have you ever gotten a notion to do something you would have done over thirty years ago? Yeah, me, too. 

I'm not complaining, but living with a man is living with compromises. Take my kitchen, for example. The Lord of the Manor had differing opinions on what should be displayed on the island. He wanted a knife block so he could grab a knife when he needed one. Same for the Kitchen Aid mixer. It had to sit on the island, not in a cabinet. I wanted the island to have a cleaner appearance, but it wasn't a battle I chose to fight. 

Now, sadly, with his passing, I can please myself. I think one simple décor element is all the island needs. It's less to move when I need the entire work surface. 

I was at the Dollar Tree and saw small metal planters that look like little buckets. I wasn't sure what I'd do with them, but I got three. Fast forward to the approaching summer, and my desire to have something different than silk florals in a vase. I saw a package of succulents and the light bulb went on. 

Sometimes decorating on the cheap really works. These will be fine until it's time to celebrate autumn. 

The Lady of Holly Tree Manor/The Hideaway

Holly Tree Manor, The Hideaway, decorating, country lifestyle, rural living, Dollar Tree finds, KC Kendricks, a writer's life, simple things, choose your battles, granite countertops, succulents 

The family plan?

I really don't plant my garden on the family plan. I simply share if I have enough to share. This rationale escapes a few family members. Well, okay, only ONE family member.

At a recent family gathering, I was asked if I planted a garden this year, and if I did, what did I plant? When I told her I planted Bell peppers, she jumped on the "gimme" train. I told her, with the appropriate amount of sadness, that last year I had four pepper plants and I got ONE pepper. This didn't make an impact.

I feel like my pepper harvest is now doomed. Or jinxed. Something. 

Gardening is intensive work. The seeds are planted, then the sprouts are transplanted to larger individual pots to grow. Soil is amended with expensive fertilizers. Young plants are replanted yet again in their permanent location. Pest controls are implemented. Watering and weeding are daily chores. If there is produce to harvest, it goes on for at least a month. 

And you want something for free? 

It's not that I don't enjoy sharing my harvest - just not with anyone who EXPECTS me to share.

There is a difference.

The Lady of Holly Tree Manor/The Hideaway

Holly Tree Manor, The Hideaway, gardening, Bell peppers, produce sharing, managing expectations, rural living, country lifestyle, a writer's life, m/m romance 

Cherokee wax beans and strawberries

This is the first year I've planted Cherokee wax beans. Wax beans are basically a yellow green bean. I always liked to switch it up on my late husband, and he didn't mind at all.  

The seeds have finally sprouted, and just that fast some critter has had a nibble. This will not do. Earlier this morning I put a row cover over the raised bed in the hope it will do the job and discourage whomever visited from a repeat. I won't get enough of a harvest to can beans, but I do want enough for several meals when they're fresh. 

Of course, my Henry 001 is also "discouragement." I just hate to bury the bodies. 

In better news, the strawberries I planted in the Greenstalk are doing fantastic! I hope to get a large enough harvest to enjoy some fresh and to share with my cousins. I also need to look for a muffin recipe that uses almond flour so I can make a batch of strawberry muffins. I think I can modify the recipe I love by simply adding a third egg. It's worth a try.

There's quite a few days to go before I harvest anything but lettuce. I have four plants of a variety that is Butter [something] and it's pretty good. My trip around the garden this morning showed it's time to harvest some, so it looks like a salad will be on the menu today. I've nibbled at the Swiss Chard and it's too bad none of that is ready to add to the salad. 

I'm excited about the strawberries, though. This is as close to actually successfully growing them as I've gotten. My grandfather had a huge patch, but I'll never match him. But I can see myself expanding to the older Greenstalk that is beside the patio, or even purchasing a third one. We'll have to see how it goes. 

That sums gardening up in one sentence: we'll have to see how it goes.

The Lady of Holly Tree Manor/The Hideaway

Holly Tree Manor, The Hideaway, KC Kendricks, gardening, strawberries, Greenstalk, animal control, rural living, country lifestyle, home food preservation, Swiss Chard, butter lettuce

What a day - things went wrong

You know the old saying - if something can go wrong, it will. Yeah, I got the T-shirt today. 

I had a few chores to do. First up - vacuum the floors to get up the dog fur. The Dyson cordless threw a fit. It simply had no sucking power. I took it apart and couldn't find a clog, put in a new air filter, and it still wouldn't work. I've only had it a bit over a year, so I'm pissed off about it. It's time to ditch Dyson and try another brand. I had to use the old corded upright I keep in the laundry room to de-fur the living room.  

Next on the list - tidy up the garden. It's the time of year when the maple seeds are flying, so it's get the leaf blower and blow off the woven weed fabric. That went well until I treated the baby pepper plants to a brief tornado. (time to put the blower away)

The heat pump sits just outside my office on the north side of the sunroom. Every spring I need to weed the area and then spray weed killer. We put down a tarp and then a thick layer of clean crush run (gravel), and it will stay tidy now. Did I mention I inadvertently sprayed one of my sneakers?

I got the John Deere x370 to tidy up along the edge and then, although not planned for today, mowed the front yard. Then I decided I'd better fill the gas cans. I called Deuce and we headed for the nearest filling station. I filled the cans and one of them sprung a leak. At $3.12 a gallon, this was not good. I rushed home and transferred the contents of the can into whatever I could find - a temporary solution until I can get a new can. 

Aaaand of course Deuce turned stubborn. Once we were back home, he refused to get out of the pickup. He wanted to go for another ride, and I was not in the mood. I had to literally climb in the back seat and push him out. 

Then I needed to make a pit stop and the toilet kept running. This was a step over the line for the day. I closed the intake valve and I will deal with it tomorrow.

If I even get out of bed tomorrow.

The Lady of Holly Tree Manor/The Hideaway

Holly Tree Manor, The Hideaway, John Deere x370, black Lab Retriever, Colorado pickup, gas cans, rural living, weeds, procrastination, home repairs