July in the Country...

Every year since we retired, my hubby tries to grow tomatoes.  We've given up on the garden thing because of the deer, but Claude just keeps on trying to grow tomatoes.  This year he planted a patio tomato plant on the upper deck.  This picture was taken July 3rd of the pretty plant and our first (and only so far and this is the 22nd of July) tomato. 

We try to make the first harvest of the season a big event with pictures.  Here is my gentleman farmer and his harvest.

 

The wildlife continues to amaze me.  Even after 10 years of living here.  

Last week as the sun was getting ready to set, I found Claude sitting on the front porch preparing a talk he was to give at Church.  I sat down beside him to enjoy the evening for a bit.  We noted the two deer way up on the hill.  One of them walked down the road and well into our empty lot next to our home.  We were talking but this doe just didn't seem to notice us.  About half way into the lot she realized we were there and became very still. She watched us for a long while. I tried to speak softly to her but she never moved.  Then she suddenly made a hissing sound. This was an aggressive sound like she was trying to scare us.  I looked at Claude and he looked at me.  I said, "Did she just hiss at us?"  He said, "I believe she did."  That was all Claude needed.  He hissed right back at her.  She hissed at him.  And the war of noises began.  Back and forth they bantered for a bit.  She stood still but made her noise. Finally, she turned and ran into the tall grass.  I have never heard a deer make a noise before.  I've since talked to a few people and was told the male will be aggressive during the mating season.  This doe may have been mother to the other deer who never came on down the road and did not appear to have any idea what was going on.  It was just an interesting interaction.  (This picture is a bit like the 'Where's Waldo?' books.  There is a deer there but, since the sun was getting ready to go down, it is a little hard to find.)

Yesterday I went further into the county to visit a friend.  On my way home while driving through Sadieville, I saw a male deer with antlers.  I tried to recall if I had ever seen a male deer since living in Sadieville and I don't really remember one.  Lots of doe and fawn but no male deer.  Nonetheless, here was one at 11:30am in someone's yard foraging for food.  The antlers were covered in velvet.  I was able to stop my car, get my cell phone out and take this quick picture of the beautiful thing.

We had another bit of excitement.  Claude and both happened to be home at the same time one day.  I was working in the basement and Claude was working in his office.  There was a pop and all the lights went out in the entire house.  There was no rain or even clouds in the sky. It didn't take long for our next door neighbor to call.  She was also out of power.  But, she called the neighbor on the other side of her and Nancy had power.  This was very odd.  I called Kentucky Utilities and reported the problem.  Then I tried to figure another course of action until we had power again.

After a bit I heard people talking in the back yard outside my sewing room window.  I went upstairs and found Claude on the upper deck watching Dan, our next door neighbor, talk with the Kentucky Utilities repairman.  It seems a squirrel decided it should eat through the electric wires.  Not a good idea.  The end result was the squirrel was now a little overdone for dinner and two homes had no power. 

The repairman was amazing to watch.  He had a long pole and undid something way up top of the power pole.  The electric line is the top line on the pole and the telephone line is the bottom line on the pole.  He was able to undo whatever piece needed to be replaced and then replace it using this extremely long pole.  He did finally have to get a little ladder to replace the gadget at the top. But, still, I was totally amazed as his ability to basically 'thread a needle' with a long, long pole.

 

I was extremely impressed with Kentucky Utilities.  They came out quickly and repaired quickly.  They need to be commended for that.

Lastly, Sadieville was designated a Historic Town.  We were even given a new marker in town to identify us as a Historic Community.  It was placed as you enter the original town of Sadieville in front of our City Hall which was the old train depot.  Nice!!

There are still a few more days left in July.  I'm sure they will bring more things to blog about.  It is an interesting place to live for a quiet little town.