It rained on Friday. I don’t do well with rain on the road since my accident in California in the rain. I totaled my car and permanently injured myself. Anyway, I no longer spontaneously burst into tears at the sight of a wreck in the rain (It’s PTSD the Dr told me way back then) but OH-BABY I don’t usually go looking to drive in it… EVER.
That said, I had an appointment with the Octogenarian to see her gardens and I was going to get there!
So, I bundled the dogs into the car, brought plenty of water and a bowl for Tucker, dropped Buddy off for the day at the groomers, stopped 5 times in 80 plus miles for the Little dog to PEE (I couldn’t leave him home all day in his condition now could I?) paid for insurance on the new Farmlet, transferred the water into our name, found out I need proof of ownership and $160.00 to transfer the electric into our name, and that the trash service office is only open for business for one hour a day (because it’s a one man office and he wears four hats, and three of those hats require him to be out of the office!!!) and somewhere in all that I ate the ugliest lunch in history (normally I would have asked the cook to try again, but under the circumstances I don’t think it would have helped and I was really hungry, and it didn’t poison me) and then it was nearing 2:00 PM and time for my visit!
In short it was a busy day!
(Insert a rather long inhale here) 😉
I arrived on time and she came out onto the porch to greet me. We then proceeded to go inside because it was still raining cats and dogs! He daughter was visiting, introductions were made, and we sat round the table in the breakfast room, drank coffee, and visited for two hours or more!
As we got to know each other better I was struck with the thought, that it was sad that we couldn’t be neighbors. She is such a lovely and sweet woman.
Later when the rain let up and the sun pretended to burn through the clouds, we peeked at the gardens from the back deck and from the front porch. Even with all the pelting from the heavy rain, the flowers showed me their potential and it was amazing! Lilies, roses, iris, and so much more await me when we finally move up on the mountain. And get this!
Even though she is moving away in a few short weeks, she and her daughter spent quite a few hours out in the garden weeding it! (I understand this, and probably will do the same before we leave our current Farmlet. 🙂 )
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Now, about that rain. This was the spent version of the rain that had caused the bad weather in the Midwest earlier in the week, and although we didn’t have severe weather, it was coming down in buckets nonetheless!
This meant that the gardens were tattered and puddled. I’ll say no more except that I promised you pictures and I am delivering on that promise! 😀
Click the photo to enter the Mountain Farmlet…
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- You must enter from here… if you want to …
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- get to the porch and the front door.
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- I have been here three times and never saw this bell until I took the previous picture!
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- One lonely duck.
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- The sign by the road is misleading!
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- Rain on Cedar.
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- The path to the creek.
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- A beautiful boundary line!
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PLEASE NOTE
This post was scheduled to be shared over the weekend, but with all the commotion the severe weather has caused over the past two weeks, I just didn’t have the heart. In retrospect, my annoyances pale in comparison.
I know very well how awful these storms can be because we lived through them in April of 2011. The devastation is incomprehensible. There is seeing it on television, and then seeing if first hand.
INCOMPREHENSIBLE!
My heart aches for all who have suffered the loss of life and property. God bless these people, heal their hearts, and give them strength.
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Be still, sad heart, and cease repining; Behind the clouds is the sun still shining; Thy fate is the common fate of all, Into each life some rain must fall…
from The Rainy Day: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
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Life on the Farmlet 
It looks just beautiful!
Thank you, Connie, we have our final walk through on Wednesday, and sign the final papers on Friday! 😀
A splendid post – you have my sympathy for the fear of driving on wet roads. And my sympathy also flows out to the victims of the tornado and its aftermath.
Thank you, Viv!
Well done you for getting there in the pouring rain. Priceless time you spent with them and the photos are lovely. It’s all go now then 😉 Btw, how is Little dog getting on?
Thank you, Annie!
Little dog is doing better, bit by bit. I guess it is going to be a long process. I got a NASTY comment regarding his medication from a total stranger. Basically, he was telling me that Little dog would die. Gee thanks, and without the medication his life is $#!@ and he will die for sure! I do what I can, yes? Sorry to unload, but I figured you would understand. 😐
I’m a little jealous of your little farmlet. I guess I’ll just let it inspire me to make my little piece of land even better. It seems that both you and little dog are survivors. Good job and stay strong. 🙂
Will do, and thank you, Gardengirl! Garden on!
Quite a gardening prospect there.
Yes, Tom, I look forward to bringing a few of my own favorites into the scheme. I have been air layering some of my favorite antique roses and other shrubs from the lil’Farmlet so I can take them up to the mountain with me! 😀
Yes, images of the Tornado shocked me here in Australia too. It looked like a Hiroshima type atomic bomb had flattened More in Texas.
Love the photos of your new place. Looks like the type of garden and woods that I would love myself.
Victoria, it is just so sad what nature can do. Many ask how you can live in a place where there are (fill in the indigenous disaster) and it comes down to what you have grown up with. When in California earthquakes were the norm and we just ‘went along for the ride.’ We saw the outcomes of several of the most serious on television, and always were grateful that ‘it wasn’t us… this time.” Cyclones, firestorms, earthquakes, volcanic eruption, hurricanes, ice storms can all take life and destroy property. It is the same no matter your disaster type, you are saddened for those who suffered loss. ~~~~~~~
I am glad to tell you we will be signing the papers next Friday, and then I can really get busy about the place.
I loved the photos of the mountain farmlet! I’m so excited about the move! Glad you took Tucker along. I do hope his health is improving? I don’t get out in the rain unless I have to. There is so much more to be aware of and responsible about when driving long distances in rain storms. Glad the day was a good one!
Thank you, Lori! It was hard to go picture hunting with the Octogenarian there. I felt a bit voyeuristic, and predatory. (Weird, but true.) Yeah, he seemed to enjoy the ride, and the smells! When we were in the woods he perked up when he caught scent of some wild critter there. I think the move, though perhaps stressful at first, will be very good for him! The progress in only about two weeks is very minimal, and yet, there is some noticeable progress. 😀
I understand about not getting out in crazy weather! Trust me on this; I would have never ventured more than 100 feet from our storm shelter if I thought for a moment that we were to have severe weather. 😉
ptsd has a strong hold and can be quite unsettling. hearing a telephone is often a trigger for me, though i am better.
i am glad that you braved the rain and added sunshine to your new friend’s day. you were also very kind and sensitive to offer empathy to those who endured that tragic storm.
It is a strong hold. That accident in the rain happened almost 20 years ago. I am glad to know that you are getting better too, Lisa!
yes, for me, i call it ‘combat mode,’ and all senses are on high alert… i understand how you can be equally affected – to the 9th power.
z
Somehow, I think I know of what you speak…
😦
but of course; it’s part of what makes us stronger and wiser.
Yes.
ha! my son hooked me in the temple with a treble hook while fishing for bass; i still duck every time someone to my left casts a rod and reel!
You know, I looked up treble hook. Seeing it gave me that queasy feeling deep in the pit of my stomach. YIKES, Lisa!
Ja! The ‘ker-THUNK’ slammed my head, and I instantly put my hand to that spot and thought ‘oh no. (insert other word.)’ It did not hurt at all, but I said, “Charles, I think we should crank the boat and troll back to the shore and wait for Doc. A good friend of mine, who happened to be an ER doctor, was fishing that day. It was almost dark, and I preferred for him to remove the hook than drive half an hour to the nearest hospital. After the hook was removed, Doc found that the top of my ear had been ‘split’ by the hook before it lodged in my scalp! “Uh-oh,’ he said, ‘looks like we need a few stitches.’
My dear son still turns a bit green when we (i) joke about that day, so i try not to ever mention it when he’s around!
AARG! 😯
Believe it or not, my mother went through that driving in rain bit. She must have been about…. 75 years old at the time. She was living in Kansas City with my aunt and uncle (she was there for five years before moving down here) and she got turned around in a terrible rain storm, and drove and drove because she couldn’t figure out what to do.
Eventually, she ended up at a guard gate at a warehouse about 30 miles from her home. The guard, bless his heart, was astonished. He said, “You really don’t want to be here – you’re right on the edge of the red light district!” Luckily, I had put her address and phone number in her purse on a piece of paper, and she remembered it. He called my uncle, who came with a cousin and they got her and her car home.
But, she couldn’t deal with bad rain from that point. She got better. but it wasn’t easy. So you have all the sympathy in the world from me – I’ve seen it!
Now – as for the place… beautiful photos! And a wonderful tale of your visit. I’m just so happy for you. This is going to be a wonderful move.
Linda, I actually did get turned around this last trip. It was raining heavily, and the cars and trucks were whipping up a lot of road mist too. I got confused at the interchange and had find my way back to the 565 freeway! It wasn’t too hard, but is was disconcerting!
I am glad you like our new place. We are so excited to finally get there and start to work so we can make the move. We are going to do all the repairs and painting etc before we try to move in! 🙂
I guess you have to bring your own ducks! 🙂 It’s even more lovely in bloom!
Patti, I may, but first I have to get the geese settled in! Yes, and because all the trees have filled in I hardly recognized the place. Finding my turn on the country roads was interesting for this land mark person. NOTHING looked the same as it did in winter! 😉
Good for you, for braving your way there!
The gardens look AMAZING! (And a bit of a challenge? 😉
Are there fruit (and/or nut) trees & shrubs, etc as well?
Not a challenge, Deb, just fun! Wait till you see what I am doing here in my gardens in preparation for there! Yes, there are some apples, persimmons, and pears. No nuts though.
I am bringing the bare root trees I planted in the fall with me. Those are apple, plum, fig and peach trees. There are also, blueberries, muscadines, blackberries and elderberries coming with me too! 😀 Lots of planting this fall. Huff-puff, huff-puff…