Tomatoes and Basil, Oh, and Kirby!

This year Kirby started his tomatoes from seed and now they are almost ready to harvest.  He brought in a small "Early Girl" yesterday.  Let summer begin!

That turquoise bucket has a hole down near the bottom that you probably can't see - and a tomato plant comes out of it.  It was an experiment and it is working.  That plant is loaded also.  And see that white box in the background, next to the AC? - well that is the pump for the well that Kirby put in.  Now we have the greenest lawn on the block and the water is free.  Having a well here is pretty easy as the water table is so low.  Quite the farmer, eh?  Tomato plants from seed and well water!  And all organic!  Yea!

This picture was taken BEFORE the Early Girl came in the house.

 

 These are little grape tomatoes.  (how can tomatoes be called a "grape" anyway??)

And, did I tell you that he started basil from seed also?  We eat basil salad all the time now!!  That is the grape tomato behind the basil.

Riverdogs Game

Can you find Kirby in this picture?  You might have to click on it and enlarge it.  But he is easy to spot!

We have a minor league baseball team in Charleston (the Riverdogs) and it really has to be more fun than a major league game game.  They work so hard to give us a good, good time.  They have all kinds of silly things going on like a dog that runs out on the field to retrieve bats lying on the ground - and it was a beautiful yellow lab at that!  There are races and a man dressed like a peanut selling Boiled Peanuts, which if you have never had a boiled peanut, well, you are lucky!  But locals love them.  I think you have to grow up with them!

Can you find Kirby here?

You may think I am rather silly to post pictures of all the people in the stands but you see, these are folks that I work with and their families.  Each year I arrange a "Night at the Dogs" and we all sit together and have a great time.  Somehow no one ever sits in their assigned seat and we move around and visit and, oh, "was there a game going on??"

Here is some of the silliness that goes on at the game.  I am never sure what  it is all about but they do try hard to entertain us between innings.

Father's Day Visit to Hampton Plantation

Lucky Kirby!! For Father's Day Jake and I took him to Hampton Plantation.

Hampton Plantation is about 35 minutes north of us on Highway 17.  It is a lovely state park that is open for hiking (walking really) and exploring all on your own and dogs are allowed.  We loved it because Jake could go with us and as there was NO ONE else there - he was off leash which was a first for him in "someone else's yard"!

This is all that remains of the cabin built by freed slaves.

(Click on the pictures to enlarge them)

Kirby is always the faithful one about reading all the postings.  

Then he tells me what he read so I don't have to.

This really, really big oak tree stands in front of the house which was built in the mid 1700's.  When George Washington visited in 1791, he advised the lady of the house to keep the tree even though it blocked her view of her husbands race track.  She took his advise and the tree is magnificent today!

Can you see George Washington standing on that porch looking out at the race track and the lovely oak tree?  I did!  And I stood right where he had!  I loved it!!

This is the backside of the house.  It is in great need of repair and I just have to wonder where the state is going to come up with money to maintain it. It is very sad and makes me want to go up there and peel paint and sand and put fresh paint on and.........well, not for very long.....I am getting too old.

Jake was in heaven with no leash and was very good! 

Look at this visitor I found!  Or maybe I was the visitor??

In this picture you can see Kirby and Jake walking out onto one of the old dikes.  There used to be rice on either side during the "Gold" days of South Carolina.  Once the slaves were freed, the plantations could no longer afford to grow the rice.  This plantation once had 315 slaves!

It was getting pretty hot and Jake thought that water looked pretty good but we convinced him not to go in!

See, he is doing it again!

This has always been my view when on outings.  In this picture Jake is following Kirby.  In the picture below, taken in 2002 our dog Holly was doing the same.  Pretty funny!

After all that excitement we rested on the lovely porch, just like George!

Excitement in the Hood

There seemed to be a lot of excitement in our neighbors yard this week so of course we had to go over to see what was going on.  Arlene had a lot of family over and the yard was crawling with children.  There in the middle was a very dead snake.  Someone had chopped the bejeebers of the poor thing!  After some quick research it was reported to be a Rat Snake.

The big question now was how to dispose of it!  So brave Marleen picked it up with a shovel and Kirby provided a large plastic bag for the remains and off he went to the trash.  Fortunately the next day was trash pick-up day!

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Georgetown, South Carolina

 After leaving the fundraiser at Myrtle Beach we stopped at one of our favorite places - the Boardwalk at Georgetown.  I think every time we visit it looks a little better.  The storefronts are really getting spruced up.  You can't quite see in this picture but the clock tower is down for repairs....looks kind of funny.

 There were quite a few people out compared to our early spring visits that we often make when we are getting cabin fever and just have to get outdoors somewhere.  This man was waiting for his wife in the ice cream store.

We were enjoying our nice stroll along the boardwalk when I realized Jake was walking funny.  Poor thing, the boardwalk was hot and burning his feet so we made a beeline back to the brick walkways and got ourselves an ice cream - also a tradition when we visit!  Bad us!

 This place is dog friendly!!  Yea!  It is where we had lunch last year and also where we sat and had some brews with Rick and Tanya back in '06!  Fun place, fun memories.

This is a new outdoor area (to us) across the street from the boardwalk and probably is lovely in the evening.  The restaurant had white tablecloths and was closed so probably only open for dinner.

Follow this link to see the pictures from our last visit to Georgetown.

Boring Blog!

What a boring blog....when you think about it, it is really just about me and the people in my life.  Sorry folks if I bore you...................

And here is a boring squirrel.   Actually he is quite smart...gonna get a bath!  Or at least some fresh water during this drought we are having.

He/She could really use a pedicure...or is that a manicure or a hericure?

Sneaky little guy!

Ah, fresh water!  Quick, before the birds come back!!

WARM's Fun Day

Kirby, Jake and I traveled the 2 hours to Myrtle Beach, SC today to attend a fundraiser for WARM - Waccamaw Animal Rescue Mission.  WARM is where we found our Jake 2 and a half years ago.  Today they had many of their adoptable animals there for everyone to see and hopefully fall in love with.  Jake had a wonderful time seeing some of his old friends.  Since WARM is a no-kill shelter, some of Jake's old friends have not been adopted and are still there at the shelter.

Jake and Kirby

Juniper

I have tried to identify some of the dogs in case you see a sweetie you would like to meet. The volunteers at WARM are miracle workers.  I have never seen shelter dogs so obviously loved.  They are loved and groomed and walked each day by the wonderful volunteers.  Kirby and I can personally attest to the quality of dog they produce!  Jake is a great example of a dog who lived in a shelter for 18 months and came to us full of love and wonder! 

Chelsea and Freckles

Jill

If you or someone you know can find a little space in your life and your heart for a loving companion, you couldn't go wrong with a WARM Dog!  ( there is more information about the dogs - and more dogs - on their website)

Trixie

Minnie

Juan

There was an amazing rummage sale also.  I have never seen anything like this!  And a barbeque lunch that was fantastic!  I hope they raised a lot of money!  They deserve it!  What a needy cause this is!

Cousins Re-United!!

I know I should write a lot about Jeannine and our childhood together but I am tired.  I will say that she is a wonderful cousin that I hadn't seen since 1995 at a family reunion in Colorado.  We used to go to Thanksgiving at her house in Pasadena, CA every year.  She is in Charleston for the wedding of her son, Brad, who I can't believe is even out of high school but she promises he is nearing his 30's.

Jeannine and Me

We spent some time at home trying so hard to catch up and then met my daughter, Christie and her family for dinner at "Red's Icehouse" on Shem Creek.

Jeannine and Christie

Jeannine, Me, Christie, Brendan (my oldest grandson), and Robert (Jeannine's best friend)

I kept waking up last night thinking of questions left unanswered.  It was just not fair to have so little time and so very much to catch up on.  Now, Jeannine, I will miss you even more than I did before!