As I drank my morning, coffee I watched out the living room window as a herd of deer walked into view. By the time they all arrived there were 15. One of the deer noticed me as I stood by the window. He stamped his feet and walked stiffly in the direction of the house. It's quite amusing when you are inside and not very close. Since I really don't want deer in the garden, I opened the window. At that point the deer snorted loudly. This is a rather impressive noise. Once it sent me scurrying into the house before I knew what it was. I thought I would have to go out to chase the deer away, but when I waved my arms, he turned with a snort, flashed his white tail and rump, and headed off up the hill with the herd following behind him.
Once out in the garden, I had a great time cutting back and weeding. I even saved one huge piece of quack grass that I managed to remove for Ed to see. It was a beauty! Several long rhizomes with their growth tips intact made this pulled weed a real trophy. Ed mixed up some dirt for the shade garden, moved stones, weeded, and carried the plants out so they could enjoy the beautiful day. This afternoon the wind came up. It was so strong it blew the white flowers off the Cyclamen. They do remind me a little of "The Flying Nun". After returning the plants to the safety of the basement, Ed came in and asked if we still had a kite. We did. It was a wood duck. Ed started flying the kite in the garden, but the gusty wind in the shadow of the high meadow didn't allow the kite to get much height. I took a turn with similar results.
Not willing to give up so easily, Ed climbed up to the ridge where the wind was steady. Now he was really getting some height with that kite. It was getting higher and higher right up until the moment when the wind gusted. Our poor wood duck dove and since he was so high he dropped across the open area all the way to the tree covered gravel bank hill. Trapped in the top of an oak tree a wind gust sent the kite spinning. The resulting string tangle guaranteed that the kite had found its final resting place.
The wood duck had ended up in a kite eating tree. Ed tried to retrieve it, but it was hopeless, so we cut the string. As I told the children, kites and balloons are not meant to last! That message was repeated to my much older "child" today.
