A Little of This and That...

Hello!
How's everyone?
It's been busy around here with my son, who just turned 14, home for the summer. Trying to keep a boy entertained and off the internet can be a challenge and that's been keeping me pretty busy. We don't live in a neighborhood with boys his age, they're all under 9 it seems, so friends have to be driven here or picked up or he's driven there. It's really no problem, but he's a spur of the moment kind of kid and I am soooo not spur of the moment, so adjusting to his life takes some major adjusting in mine. It's all good though.
It seems the internet and video games is how kids socialize these days. My son gets on and plays with his friends with the whole set up; laptop and headphones and they all communicate with each other. It's like they're together but in a virtual world. It bothers me at times since my childhood, back to the "good ol days", was riding bikes until the sun goes down and just being outside all day. That's my main thing with my son---get outside! Times ARE different and that's just the way it is. So we walk the dogs, go geocaching,  take him swimming, ride bikes and kayak at the river. Since he's not into sports and doesn't play in them, he needs some other physical activity and real life experiences. Times are just different.

Summer has been really great so far and my garden has been so beautiful. I harvested a few Zucchini from a pot I planted them in.

I made vegetarian stuffed zucchini last night that was pretty good. My husband really liked it but I didn't care for the texture, so I'll be using a different method next time for the stuffing. The flavors were great!

I've been so excited that my zucchini has been doing so well since I had so much trouble with them last year with blossom rot. I lost all of the vegetables on my two plants I had potted. My father in law told me it was inconsistent watering that caused it, so this year I've been watching it like a hawk. I've been thrilled with all the blossoms and new growth with the tiny little zucchinis.

Until yesterday.

They're rotting. *sigh*

I tried.
Not sure what I'll do with the plant. Hopefully, it'll only be the few that I found but it looks like it's affecting everything.

This summer has been really nice outside. Usually, June can be pretty rainy and cold only warming up after the 4th of July, but this year we've had a really nice and warm spring and summer. Today it's been pouring but the plants needed it so badly. The neighborhood trees are starting to lose their leaves for lack of water.

I do have some sad news. I'm an animal lover and have quite a few. One of those is a little guinea pig, my son's little guinea pig. Bugsy is her name. Well, Bugsy started acting a little off a few weeks ago and since guinea pigs go down real fast when they get sick, I immediately took her to the vet. He found she had some swollen lymph nodes and wanted to check her for cancer. Two days later the results were in--she had an aggressive form of lymphoma and she only had a very short period of time. I had decided to put her down the following day so she wouldn't suffer. I was given plenty of pain killers for her and we were able to give her lots of cuddles and love but it was so hard and my heart breaks everytime I lose a pet. I know that I give my pets the most excellent care so she had a wonderful life. I miss her. She was a great pig.

In more pet news, I've been looking into getting another bird here for the last several months and have finally chosen which one I'm going to add to the flock. A Green-cheeked Conure.  I'll be setting up it's cage this week. Saturday, I'll be going to take a look at the one the gal has. She's been gone all week and the husband doesn't allow people out to his home when he's alone. (Totally get that) and he said she'll be home Saturday. They're people who hand raise baby parrots and bird of all kinds and have lots of seals of approval. They don't breed but get their babies from reputable breeders. They have a 4 month of Conure that I would like to see. They live about and hour and half away, but I have no problem going there and if the bird will not work for me--going home without one. I'm pretty picky about what I want and the health. They only make appointments for people to come out and see their babies and how they run the place and that's a great sign of a good bird people. But, if the bird doesn't like me..yeah...no. These can live for up to 20 years. I've got to get the one that will work for me and that likes me. I'm excited to get to training but the first month the poor little thing has to be quarantined away from my other birds. Just for a month to make sure he won't make my birds sick. Birds, when under stress, can get sick especially if they're carrying diseases that lay dormant until the bird gets stressed. This can affect my other birds and make them sick, so it's best to play by the rules and quarantine the little one for 30 days.
 
I'm pretty excited and I'll keep ya'll posted.