aspens, etc.

a few weeks back we purchased five aspen trees.

after planting we were instructed to water them heavily

for a couple weeks then taper off a bit, with the tip

that one can not water aspens too much.

one concern with aspens as well as many other tree, bush,

flowering species is that the dear deer *love* them

and have the ability to absolutely decimate

every living thing. 

such as all the tulips when our fencing

was down. hmpfh.

so i checked pinterest and some folks swear by

hanging chunks of irish spring from the branches

to deter the munchies from deer.

well - if it's on the internet it must be true.

ahem...

immediately i dashed out and bought

irish spring soaps, chunked them up,

tied them with string and hung them on

the branches. with great success.

for about a week.

until i saw tommy

{no longer sporting training wheels on his antlers}

munching away. 

running 

(more like walking swiftly but let's go with it)

outside on the deck i clapped my hands loudly

saying to tommy,

"shame on you!"

he was startled and leaped across the ditch

then on to the road then on to the new 

neighbor's property, and kept looking back

at me - surely to make his return once i 

took my leave. the gall of him!

i added yet more irish spring..

reducing the term aspen to soap trees.

then ordered deer stakes which claim 

great success. we'll see. they're due to arrive

today. gotta love amazon prime!

this better work.

and the aspens best grow fast

so the deer can't reach the leaves.

i warned them of possible destruction.

.aspen. 

they quake in the mountain breezes,

and i'm looking SO forward to autumn

when they'll change color to bright yellow!

the hubs has been busy with putting our multitude

of rocks in a creative pattern, making a pathway.

soon we'll have wood chips in the garden areas

which besides trees, include many flowering

bushes the deer aren't fond of - thankfully.

i saw this birdhouse on pinterest.

this is a must do!

will you, too?

a ready reminder .. always.

yesterday morning we brought water and books

and jeep'd to this new to me lake.

perfect spot. but golly there are *many*

perfect spots where we live.

thankful for beauty..

appreciate beauty when you see it,

up to and including romaine chiffonade. wink.

and put that charming veg on tacos. on tuesday.

with illinois hot sauce. {catsup}

don't judge me! lol ... it's how i grew up.