William’s Pride
A young buck, still in velvet, stood on our east lawn this morning. He was a handsome fellow, as still as a statue, looking at the house and calculating, no doubt, how many apples and roses and hydrangeas he could eat before we noticed.
But it was too late. Osa and I let him know, in no uncertain terms, that even though we hardly ever (make that never for Osa) set foot outside these days, we still hold proprietorial rights to the garden and its bounty. Osa warned him off by heavy purring; I yelled shamelessly and woke the rest of the household. It was five to five – time to get up, anyway.
Dorothy Perkins
The deer-fellow bounded off in a blur and I trotted around the yard to see if he had done any damage. That’s when I realized that our Dorothy Perkins are up and at ‘em, the William’s Pride apples are getting heavy on their branches and the lilies have burst forth in all their glory. Even our Shasta daisies are about to erupt into bloom! Where has June gone? What else have I missed? If only I could clone myself!
It’s been one of those nose-to-grindstone months for me. My own fault, as those things often are. On June 2nd I submitted a book proposal to History Press. On June 4th they accepted it and sent me a contract. The hard part was that they need me to submit the finished manuscript in less than a month – a July 1st deadline! YIKES!
Tiger Lilies
On the plus side, most of the book was already written. On the minus side, Short Notice. Of course I said, “Of course! I can do that!”
So it is that June has gone by in a blur of words and paragraphs and chapters; of last-minute research and evaluating illustrations and photographs; of getting permissions and running down sources. I’m not sorry I said “yes.” I just wish that June wasn’t one of the shorter months and that Mother Nature wasn’t calling me so insistently.
Five more days!!! Six counting today minus one for a doctor’s appointment in Portland. Thank goodness Osa is standing guard against the Deer People and other invaders. July 1st Deadline, here I come!
Enjoyed “the read” and the photos….as you know, our garden is or was, deer proof. Imagine our surprise when we looked out the kitchen window to see a young one standing on the upper patio. When admonished, he/she jumped over the east fence with ease and grace. Our watchcat watched the goings on from the safety of the house.
Sydney: this entry so much reminded me of the dry clever wit of Erma Bombeck. You’ve got a talent my deer-friend!
Thanks, Cate. Coming from you, that’s high praise indeed!