Flowers for next Year

There was an old foundation on the property with some nice stones.  Dave brought them up to the house and is making a flower bed for perennials.  Next is the compost and then after it sets over the winter - planting.
It is going to be excellent.

Mower Give In

We really prefer the totally natural look, but tall grass draws more bugs and ticks.  So after replacing the fencing this year, we decided to bit the bullet and mow some grass.  Thus the new mower - must say, it looks a lot neater and the dogs seem to enjoy it also.
It is a Cub Cadet rider -

Early Fall Walk

Beautiful day - 38 degrees this morning and now sunny and crisp.  Love September in Maine.
Took a nice walk with Milos - ending with a quick swim.  As you can see the rains from Hurricane remnants have filed the pond.

Elderberries for winter

Last winter, I made a point of adding elderberry sauce and/or juice to my diet.  I don't know if it was the reason, but I seemed to have escaped all the bugs traveling around the office.  Not one to tempt fate - picked, cleaned and frozen for winter 2011-12:

    

Canine alternative medicine

Milos heading down the berry path.

From early spring until they are in full bloom and dry, Milos devours goldenrod leaves.  He can smell them from a distance and zone in on the first green sprouts as the snow melts.  I used to worry that he ate so much, but it never seems to harm him.  He also like to leave a steady trail of markings all along our paths - and we have quite a few in our 140 acres.

GoldenRod

Today, I discovered that he is a genius - goldenrod leaves increase urine flow!  The tasty solution to running out before reaching the end of each walk :) While not yet popular in the United States or approved for use by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA), goldenrod is used widely in Europe to treat urinary tract infections and help eliminate kidney or bladder stones. It is used to flush the bladder and prevent infection.

That's my boy!

A great loss

This posting is for Sharon's mother, who we lost on September 18th. She would have celebrated her 81st birthday this December. There are no words for the hole in our lives left by this kind, gracious, generous, loving and downright impressive lady. Her loves in life were many with her family leading the way. She was so excited to see the postings of our home and the flowers in Maine. Here she was napping during her visit.

Yea - its Spring

The weather has been great and we have been taking advantage - not much happening inside this weekend. I will get something posted about finishing off the range hood and starting the tongue and groove walls. For now, you may enjoy some of the wildflowers that are growing on the lot. There is a movie posted with quite a few - check it out on the Betts Video Blog.
Or just see the flowers (I have many to post - check in later this week also) in the Gallery.