Pic-of-the-Month for March 2024

 Hola, Amigos,

It's the end of another month, and there are things to share with you.  It has been an eventful March.

With tears in our eyes, we made the hard decision to put Zoey down this month.  She was blind, deaf, incontinent, and always hungry and thirsty (due to Cushings disease).  So, I took her for her normal walk one morning, then we took her to the local vet and he put her down for us.  We were there with her to the end.  It is pretty strange around here to not have a dog to greet us (Actually, lately, we'd been hunting the house for her to see if she was still alive!  She slept so soundly and was so deaf she never heard us come in!)  We miss her a lot, and Ben has been hunting for a replacement, although I'm trying to hold out.  The picture below is one of my favorite of Zoey (left) and Sam, when they were both much younger.  Handsome dachshunds, for sure!  I made an album of Zoey's Life pictures if you're interested. 

We had company at the beginning of the month; our niece Chrys Purkey and her two boys, Devon (14) and Jack (5) came for 5 days.  They were great.  Jack loved the dirt and sand right outside our back door, and the beach was fantastic!  He talked non-stop, and it was fun getting to know him better.  Devon loved the beach, too, and got to use our snorkel gear at every opportunity!  They did a bunch of hiking; shopping and eating around town, hiking home from town, or just exploring.  They were great with Zoey (Devon had known her a long time), and she got lots of petting in her last week. I think I heard the boys talking about a return visit! 

Our garden is doing well and producing like crazy.  We've been making a lot of tomato sauces, and Huevos Ranchero salsa, among others, but I still have a bunch waiting for me to do something with them!  We are also sharing with friends and neighbors.

The poor green beans are another story....again!  A cow got in during the middle of the night and ate most of the leaves on the green bean row, all the blooming roses (which were looking very lovely), and of course, the Hibiscus.  They left my Zinnias alone, and the Geraniums and Petunias.  Ben figured it had done a diagonal jump across the cattle guard, so he has added fencing to stop that trick.  Pic to the left shows the new fence post and barbed wire (that was from the old fence between us and neighbors...nice to have that available to use!) 

Ben got the police involved, but if you don't know what cow did it, and don't have a picture of it's brand or ear-tag, there's nothing they can do.  The police men did say they'd be happy to rope it for us and tie it to one of our trees next time one got in!  That's something I'd like to see!  

I am getting beans, and might have enough to do a canner full soon.  For some reason, the cow eats the leaves, but not the beans or blossoms, thank goodness! 

The Zinnia crop did quite well this year.  Very colorful!  I just need to keep dead-heading them to keep them blooming a bit longer.  

Ben has been very busy with multiple projects.  He's always busy in his garden, and keeps planting new seeds to replace cucumbers, radishes, and lettuce. He's also spent a lot of effort trying to cow-proof our yard, including fixing the neighbors rickety, non-cow proof fence in one area.  (More uses for the used barbed wire!)  Right now he's rebuilding some of our wardrobe drawers that have been termite riddled for a long time, and are falling apart!  He's enjoying getting into wood working again, and is taking advantage of his pretty new chop saw that our friends Jill and Rudy brought down with them.  The old one broke when he was cutting some very stubborn mesquite wood from our yard into firewood.  He'd had that old one for over 35 years, maybe more.  

 

The wall is done.  We didn't have to do much at all but supply the sealer and paint.  The two ladies who painted it did a fine job (Metty and her daughter Betty!)  

I've been working on a quilting project for a month or so.  I looked for a simple pattern because I made two quilts!  (Twins!!).  I used a lot of scraps, but still have plenty left to make more!  In fact, I know  one I used was for Rebecca when David was born, coming on 15 years ago!  I think that one is finally all used up.  These two are definitely "colorful"!  Hope they don't keep the babies awake!  I'll have them quilted and finished by my friend June Macauley in Oregon.  She and her husband do such great work, and I found out that she loves to hand sew the binding, too!  God bless her!  That's not one of my favorite parts of the process, so I'm always willing to let her do it! The convenient thing about all this, is that June and husband John live very near us here in Baja, so I'll be giving them to her to take up to Oregon when they go in May.  Perfect plan!  Now, maybe I should get to work on another quilt....??? 

I have a walking companion for a few weeks, since my friend Jill recently arrived in town.  We're a great pair out there with our walking sticks, trying to keep our feet dry!  I have managed to meet my goals so far this year, in spite of being sick several times.  (Of course, goals are adjustable!)

 View below is what I enjoy daily on my walks. 

 

Ben and I wish you all a Blessed Easter.  Remember that He is Risen! 

Hasta el proxima mes,

Tus amigos en Baja,

Harriet and Ben (and the memory of Zoey)

PS.  Here's the photo album for March 2024.  Enjoy!