Lonely vs. Alone Time

One of these are welcomed, but not so much the other.

Having a very busy schedule for the past several months has definitely kept me from feeling lonely. I was told on several different occasions that the cast and production team likes how I work, that I make the work fun and enjoyable, that the cast really likes me (with the added indication that its not always that way with music directors). My response was usually something to the tune of, "Well, maybe its because I truly like people." Not to mention that I enjoy teaching harmonies and working hard with the peeps until they get it. Its never a waste of my time, but apparently not every music director feels that way.

My musicals are finished for the season. My upcoming musicals have an audition at the end of June for a Nov show and an audition at the beginning of Aug for an Oct show. Its something to prepare for, but at the moment I'm taking a breather--forced, though it may be. I have done well to fill my time with end-of-the-year events at school [note picture above which was spontaneous yesterday]. Being that I'm on child number 5 and 6 still remaining in school, the events are... maybe a bit predictable! and the pictures mostly the same as the former years, just with different kids. I celebrate with them, but its not very fresh for me. However the dunk tank was new!!!! HAHAH

I really love having my older kids all home for the summer. They are so much fun and quite beautiful to look at if I don't say so myself. Still waiting for Jennah to return home from Zambia in a week from now. That's when the house will really be jammed packed. Then we are on to graduation for Elizabeth (June 24th) and SUMMER!! Yayyyy... I say yay, but truth be told, the kids all work like crazy, so we don't really have dinners together, and Terry and I have been too busy for hosting parties. Which means, I really miss my dear friends whom I've rarely seen all winter. I miss my kids as I mainly see them ducking in and ducking out. I miss my husband cuz we are like two ships passing in the night. I miss my work and the people I've made friends with in the various casts--in which we have had many laughs together. The only consistent companions I've had for months now are my dogs and they are very one-track minded. "Take me to the beach and throw me a stick." So, I'm scared about summer. Who am I really connected with anymore? How hard is it going to be to get back to the "real" stuff. Have my cronies decided they can't take the long absence of time and moved on. I know I've felt that way about friends I've been close to who would drop off the face of the earth for a while and then reappear. It was difficult for me to hold on very tightly to those people... and now maybe I'm that person... (except I share a lot of what I'm actually doing on social media. I've definitely NOT disappeared).

Some daze, like today, I wonder why my life is always in a state of change. And on these lonely daze I wonder if its really worth it. Truth be told, I would be bored senseless to have the repeated pattern day after day, month after month, year after year. I'm inspired by the ongoing challenges, the learning and growing, the newly opened doors and especially the new friendships. But once the shows close, those new friendships lose touch. Always! What I don't like is the grieving period and the anxiety of feeling lonely. There is no one to grieve with me. The connections with friends are all scrambled and choppy and awkward. I have to work through it on my own. I'm too tired and down to fight through and re-establish things when I'm have this kind of day--weeks really.

So, I've picked back up with my classical music. Getting reacquainted with Mozart, Beethoven, Schumann, Debussy, Chopin, Ravel, Brahms and others, has been a great activity to keep me feeling grounded when I'm sad. And as much as I stumble through this music, which literally got put on the shelf for 25 years, I do wish I could share it with someone.  The family hears me practicing. I don't even know what they think. Am I annoying them greatly or do they appreciate me getting back in the saddle? (One of my kids actually did mention in a mother's day card, his great appreciation of what I gave up for all the years to take care of them and how inspirational its been to see me take off in a career now. My late-in-life career. That acknowledgement touched me deeply.)

I need the give-and-take with humans. All my work is about give-and-take. All my ridiculous amounts of social media and trying to stay connected with people is about give-and-take: a mutual exchange. That's how I'm wired. That's what I need. Its times like these where I would love to have someone draw me out, someone who gets me and understands what goes on inside of my head at this point--especially in this seasonal transition from "way busy" to "nothing." But you know what... everyone has their own lives. And most people are a lot less public then I am. They figure I've put all my information out there for everyone to see and yet they don't know that there are still things about me that I'm not sharing. I know. I know. I don't leave much of a mystery... but don't judge me! You be you and I'll be me.

I could shut it all down and pull out of everything. I could stop all my sharing. See if anyone notices... Try to regroup. Yea right!!! LOL. I hate when other people do that. Its like, not letting anyone know its your birthday coming and expecting everyone to magically remember, once it arrives. (That rarely works). I'm a lot more direct. I love to know things about people. I ask questions. I study people. I'm curious about what makes a person tick and also about what makes me tick. And basically, I tell people the things I want them to know about me. None of this "sideways "stuff.

So, if you have some encouragement or want to share something with me, that would be great. If not, that's fine too. I'm gonna go take some alone time now. FORCED ALONE TIME. wah waaaah.

My Once-a-Month Blog Post

To think that only a few years ago I posted something on Kool Daze practically every day...

Well, it's September!!! Labor Day has finally come and gone. Where I live in the Hamptons, Labor Day is a marker for us. Its the big send off! Unlike Memorial Day, which marks the big parade of summer traffic coming into the Hamptons, which remains for a few months and swells significantly on the weekends, Labor Day marks the mass exodus. (Some do stay longer). During the summer months, if you choose to go out in public, you will notice a vast difference in the attitudes of people you pass by on the road, at the beach and in other public places. Plenty of the peeps are upbeat and relaxed and having fun, but there are enough of those who have this air of entitlement, who drive like maniacs and take advantage of every person they possibly can, to cause great annoyance. They are nasty and extremely full of themselves. They really believe that everyone must cater to their every whim and if you don't, you must be stupid. These people are rats. They truly make a relatively mild-mannered person want to throw up or punch someone in the throat.

My five older kids (and my husband) all work with these kinds of people, and the stories can be quite entertaining. Just a few days ago, Nate drew this chalk line for a person who thought it was ok to park like this in the village. hahah. Lizzy was telling us about a woman in her store who was trying on all kinds of clothes and coming out of the dressing room naked to find something else to try on. (In the woman's defense, she was European--haha). Terry had a client call him to DO SOMETHING about the MOTHS that had come into the house. Terry is a construction manager for a company that builds multimillion dollar homes, not a housekeeper. Those same people also wanted him to do something about the ticks. Haha, if only!! Jennah had a man strongly reprimand her for not responding properly when he said hello. He must have been the keeper of "proper store etiquette" and he was out to change the world, and get everyone back in line. Jennah, one of the most steady, reliable, hardworking teens you could meet, just smiled and said ok. Her coworkers couldn't believe she was so gracious about the whole thing. On the streets, I've seen drivers practically run down pedestrians because they are in such a hurry to get somewhere. It's CRAY CRAY!! In the drivers' defense, pedestrians can be awfully stupid in their attempts to cross the street, but I don't trust anyone when I'm crossing the street on foot.

I tell my kids that we live in an environment that is different than most other places in the country.  I want them to know that its unusual for a small community to be in this ultimate mode  of a competitive/survival mentality for 3 months out of the year. But that's what happens when you live in a small, country-like resort area that overpopulated with fast-paced, NYC and Jersey dwellers looking for parties and relaxation. They don't free themselves from the competition, and certainly not the entitlement. They probably become more entitled while being in the Hamptons because its VACATION for them, whereas its a regular work day for the rest of us. 

True confession: I don't mind it so much. Makes life exciting. Sometimes I get mad at a driver who may be behind me at a stop sign, honking at me because I've decided to wait a little longer in order not to run a pedestrian over getting to the next spot on a bumper to bumper road. I'm so glad I'm not an angry person (anymore).

Anyway, buh-bye crowds and bad drivers. TIME TO GO HOME!

Couldn't we at least have a really beautiful and quiet week to spend at the beach before school starts back? Right now its 70 degrees and flash flood warnings out there. POURING!! Booooo!

I Don't Feel Inspired

This summer has been going well. It started off with Lyme's Disease (pooh), but we took care of that right away and I think I've recovered fairly well.

Jolene has been here for the summer, visiting from Germany. She's having the time of her life taking trips to the city, and touring around the area with her friends and even doing some side jobs to gain some extra money for college when she goes back home in September.

Anika was home from college since April. She wasted a good month not getting a job, because she had secured a job early on with a woman. babysitting everyday for the summer months, however, the job didn't start until June. I finally convinced her to go back to her old job at least until this one started and wouldn't you know, after the woman assured her it was happening, she canceled about a week before it was supposed to start. Grrrr. So Anika played amazing catch up with two and three jobs for the rest of the summer. Now she's back in Florida in her new digs right next to the beach (doh). She has her first car and took her first solo road trip... well it was solo for the last 10 hours but she shared the drive with her friend for the first 17 hours from NY to Nashville. She also has her first apartment and is going into her second year of college. She is thrilled about her life and all the new things she is learning about living on your own, and I hope she will be super responsible. Please God! Give her loads of wisdom.

I've taught two one-week-long theater camps this summer, which went well. My 15 year old, Lizzy was my assistant for one of the weeks. That was really fun to do the camp with her. She's definitely growing into her own, I've noticed. She and Jennah and Caleigh went to Word of Life camp for a week along with 4 other kids from our circle of friends and they LOVED it! They all want to go back again, and Jennah is even talking about going to Bible college for a year, but she has also revisited the idea of going to ORU which gets my vote. This is the big year for her to start figuring out what she wants to do after graduation this coming June. Can you believe I have another senior?? Holy Moley. Jennah also had a boyfriend. He is a really good guy, a ginger who stands about 10 ft tall. He just got back from a mission trip to El Salvador, building 2 houses for some needy families.

My parents were here visiting from Florida with their dog, Grace. We had a great time with them. We took a 5-day cruise together to Nova Scotia and New Brunswick and that was a lot of fun. They stayed for another week, we had a family party at the house and now they are in NC with my sister, to celebrate her birthday. She's getting REALLY old!! hahaa Also, she had a new grand baby boy as of last night. Woot woot. Welcome, Zachariah Wayne. Zachariah's daddy, Kris, was so excited for a boy this time, to go along with his one year old daughter. And he gave him his brother's namesake which is very special, too, after losing Zach at such a young age.

Caleigh and I hit the beach three times this week. It was almost the only times I've been all summer. How sad not to be at the beach all summer. People pay lots of money to come here and do just that. Oh well, It is what it is. I plan to go back for several more days before school starts again. Its pouring rain today, so I will get work done. I have homework to put together for Caleigh's teacher (who happens to be a good friend of mine). She wants a letter written by a parent about the child. Well, you can be sure she is going to get a LETTER!! Its going to be a book. I'm going to start at Caleigh's birth, include pictures and anecdotes. Hah! She'll be reading it for weeks. Maybe that will encourage her not to give the kids way too much homework this year... or it could cause the exact opposite. Oh boy. I must play this game wisely.

Well, there is the update. Lots of excitement happening, but no real motivation to blog regularly. I'm just living life.

I'm taking the youth group to Great Adventure next week. That should be a hoot. Oh and I am music directing a show which will perform in Oct. I didn't pick the show, nor did I know what it was going to be when I accepted the position. Ends up we are doing Best Little Whorehouse in Texas. Ahhh gotta love a decent whorehouse. "Cuz there ain't nothin' dirty goin' on". It's certainly going to be a ride.

My Former Driven Life

Have you ever discovered an unhealthy behavior about yourself, decided to get the help and endure the  pain to become a healthier person, only to work doubly hard not to judge someone else close to you, who seems to display that former habit you overcame? Its impossible for me to get "close" to another person who displays certain characteristics that I walked away from, because it triggers me. I become very bothered by what I think they are "stuck in" and I WANT TO FIX THEM! haha

I spent a good couple of years working explicitly on changing my co-dependent behaviors which I knew nothing about until my life wound up in a heap of unmanageable chaos. My personal tendencies included things like:

• having no real boundaries in relationships, 
• taking care of everyone else's needs to the point of my needs not being important (to me or anyone else), 
• having an inability to say no because I didn't want to disappoint anyone, 
• being a total people-pleaser, 
• not valuing my own opinion enough to feel ok if someone disagreed or challenged me, 
• spiraling into self-hatred if I made a mistake no matter how minor,
• needing everyone to feel good and happy

I put a lot of pressure on myself to help everyone I possibly could. It was a formula for continual disappointment. People like to complain about their problems, and they want others to listen, but that doesn't mean they want me or anyone else to fix them. And 9 times out of 10, if someone tells them what they "need to do" they won't do it, just because. People want to found their own answers, which is why I've learned to listen and let people feel whatever they are feeling without correcting them. Its been much more effective when I share my own stories in life, without having those underlying motives, to somehow help others finding their way. Its not up to me to do it for them.

So, I bite my tongue. When my friend tells me her string of events for the day, seemingly proud of how much she did and how crazy her schedule is and the amount of things she does for everyone... all the accomplishments... sure its amazing. But is it healthy? I am doing my best not to transfer my experiences and shortcomings to anyone else and their life experiences. I can say that just listening to it, though, triggers a sense of resentment towards that life. It was my former life... in the ministry. "Pastor's wife" was my title (how thrilling)... with lots of young kids to mother, and they didn't always behave perfectly in the fishbowl. I remember feeling acceptable mostly based on all of the things I was able to accomplish and do for others. The things I did, the energy I expended for others made me feel valued, but if I were criticized by someone, suddenly my house of cards crumbled. I believed at that point I must not be good enough. I wasn't doing things right. Somethings wrong with me because not everyone liked me. Not everyone was happy with my work. Horrors.

I'm glad to be free of that. crap!!! Yes, I am busy. You can't have six kids, all still living at home, and not be busy. But I'm not driven anymore. I don't care if I please everyone. HAH! Lots of times I know I don't please everyone. Sure it can still be a battle, but I've learned to resist the urges to make everything perfect in order to be acceptable to everyone. < - - how stupid to think that's even possible

So, we had youth group at our house last night for the summer kick off and I wasn't home all day to clean, cook, bake or even tidy up the kitchen counter or the pool area. The kids were home making messed with their friends and doing NOTHING. I was out taking pictures of Jennah for Prom Night when everyone arrived. My house was a disaster!!! ...but guess what. I DON'T CARE!! And neither do the kids. Admittedly, I was a little annoyed when I came home, because I kicked into hospitality mode only to find that we had no paper cups, no plastic forks, were low on drinks, etc. Unprepared! Earlier in the week I made it very clear to the youth leader (my husband) that I wasn't able to help prepare this week. See, I can say "no" fairly easily now. And when I say no, I'm learning to be ok if things aren't done perfectly by someone else. The kids don't care. Trust me, they don't even notice.

Kool Fireside Chat

Some people find a fireside to be a wonderful place to relax. We don't build too many fires in our fireplace through the winter, but we do in the summer at the outdoor firepit. Its not quite summertime yet, but the firepit has been used throughout the winter (not by me... not once).

Lizzy had some friends over a few weeks ago for s'mores around the fire and then a movie on the trampoline. Aaah good times in the cold night air. So they each had their own blanket, some from the attic and closets, and a few from the wicker basket. I had about 13 blankets to wash because they all smelled like a bon fire and were dragged through the dirt and woods. NICE!!

About a week later, the trampoline gave way to a huge rip right down the middle. Thankfully no one was hurt. The winter was brutal on that old thing. Now its been dismantled and on its way to the dump. (Did I mention that one set of legs completely broke off a few days after that?) DANGEROUS!

Now that the trampoline is gone we have a wonderful new area of the yard to use. So, Luke decided to move the brick firepit over to the nice, level, cleared spot... a place where there are less spiders and creepy crawlers to worry about because it gets more sunlight during the day. And the neighbor boys did a fine job of clearing all the leaves out. Next thing Luke decided was to purchase a yard wagon that could also be pulled behind his quad. His new toy. He's been gathering firewood from the woods, wouldn't you know. How much wood could a woodchuck chuck...?

I'm really looking forward to this summer. There is still a lot of work to do around here in preparation, which I'm not necessarily looking forward to. This weekend we will be getting a load of mulch, and when I say "a load"... HOLY MACKEREL!!! Hopefully, the neighbor boyz will be by for some more money-making, back-breaking work. Last year its was just Terry, Caleigh, and me along with my parents (who are in the mid 70s but very strong and spry) spreading that stuff throughout. It was a HUGE amount of work!!!

The pool won't be open until mid-June most likely. It doesn't get warm enough here to swim until about then. However, Peppermint begs to differ. She is already taking full baths in the water, She runs out on the cover and as it dips down into the water the rolls around like a bird. The she runs to the perennials and rolls in the grass and dirt to dry off. DOGGIE DOOR FLAP IN PLACE!

Anika is finishing up her first year of college this week and coming home on Tuesday. Let the fighting over the king-size bed begin. She and Lizzy adore each other, but not when it comes to the bed territory. If it weren't for "Messy Jess" aka LIZZY, covering the bed with every piece of electronics and clothing and bags and shoes from her closet, it would be big enough to sleep all four of the girls, so I don't know what they are arguing about. But they will have to fight it out. Anika has landed a great nanny job for the summer which may even bring her to Canada and other places of travel. Woohoo. Also, Jolene is coming in July, so we have some rearranging of bedrooms to do before then.

Finally, the artwork has been hung!! HOORAY!!! Its a major accomplishment. We purchased several pieces at the auction on our cruise to Bermuda last year, but it took forever to get them up on the wall. I was able to get one up in the bathroom once that reno was done.  (Its actually my favorite one). But then we had to paint the family room with an accent wall before hanging the others. I like the one orange wall against the paintings. Its pretty cool. We just need to get the other three walls in the room changed from the light green to a cream-white. That wasn't all though. There were three more paintings that needed to be hung.  We put them up in the kitchen, in place of our wonderful, but 5 years outdated, family pictures. I will say, the kitchen walls REALLY need painting. Once all of that happens I will be happy. Nah. I'm happy anyway. But you know what I mean.

P.S. Lots of prayers are being made for baby Beckham who has had his second successful open heart surgery since his early birth in December. He has a journey ahead of him yet, but its been a beautiful story so far. I'm also praying for a friend who has had a recent and unexpected loss which is very sad, but I believe God will bring joy in the morning. And in addition, another dear friend, Melanie, would love prayer for her father, John, who was just diagnosed this week with stage 4 liver cancer. We believe it can be beat. Nothing is impossible with God!! For all you prayer warriors, please lift these requests to the Lord.

The Summer Flew By

Our summer starts late. The kids don't really get out of school until the 3rd week of June and the weather isn't always hot enough for the beach until July anyway. Even the lifeguards don't start at the beach until July 1st. and then, all too quickly, its over. Waaaahhhh!


I certainly didn't get enough beach time. I wanted to go several times and my 10 year old never really wanted to go. I could have easily said, "Too bad, that's what we are doing today". But if and when we did go, I knew all she was going to do is bother me the entire time we were there. "Mom, come with me crabbing." "Mom, come in the water with me." Mom, can I go to the ice cream truck?" "Mom, can we go now?" When I go to the beach I look forward to relaxing with a book, maybe catching a few winks, and jumping in the water only if I'm hot. I don't prefer to be the entertainment for my youngest child. L A Z Y !!!

Such an innocent face. She knows exactly what she's doing!!!

Anyway, I'm glad they got on the bus this morning. I can't believe its down to 3 Hochstedlers at the school. WOW! It was only 2009 where I had all six in the same building for their education. How does that happen? And no, I didn't take a picture of them this morning before they left for the bus, but I wished I had. They were so cute.

So my oldest daughter is doing her college thing. She was not happy at all, after the first week. :-( She said she the food was awful and making her sick, even the salad and she couldn't eat. Also, it was boring. And the boys were disgusting and incredibly rude (she has a boyfriend so she's only looking for friendliness) and she was very unhappy with her "inconsiderate" roommate. Ruh roh. Someone definitely needed more sleep and better food for the first off. I know she misses her Beau terribly and that wasn't helping at all. But she did say she really liked her classes and one teacher especially and she had biked to the beach a couple of times. She's going on her second week and I am hoping things will get better for her... I really have stayed away from it, because my tendency is to say "Get over it! And change your perspective!" I don't like to listen to complaints, especially if the person is leading to a quick solution that says, "This isn't going to work." I say SO MAKE IT WORK! Its all part of life and growing up. But in spite of trying not to come to the rescue, I sent a large package with all kids of food she can make in her room. And I have been praying and reading scriptures and praying scriptures for her, and losing some sleep, and trying not to feel down about it. I do believe this is a very important step for her and she needs to find the deeper meaning in it all. Breaking free from the comfort zone is really hard sometimes. I didn't realize how hard it would be for her.

In other news nonpolitical... Today, Noah goes back to the vet because his eye should be better and its still not completely better. I'm not all that concerned but dang, I hate doing these appointments.

Tomorrow, I'm going to the city to support my dear friend, Nicki, who has a big surgery coming up next week. Tomorrow its the battery of pre-op tests (at my old stomping grounds--Memorial Sloan Kettering). We want more of those results we received with Lizzy--the "tumor is BENIGN" results. And of course, the recovery from a total hysterectomy can be a great challenge, so please help me pray for my friend. I'll be asking for prayers again, later in the fall, as she will need another surgery. God's grace. God's peace. And His healing power.

Caleigh is Very Bored

I've been giving her piano lessons, flute lessons, cooking/baking lessons, photography, we've gone out to lunch and been shopping. She's attended two week-long church camps in the evenings. We've gone to the beach to hang and also in the evenings for BBQs or just to take pictures. She's gone to the carnival a couple of times and seen fireworks twice. And there are lots of other things I haven't even mentioned.

HOW IS THIS GIRL STILL BORED???

Its all because her grandparents took her dog away--back to Florida. (To be fair, the dog belongs to them--hahah). Grace was my "saving grace" with Caleigh. They loved each other and played incessantly, all day long. There's a big gap now and Caleigh seems to think I should be filling it. I'm not in a very good mood. I had a lack of sleep due to someone's LOUD snoring. I've even gotten use to wearing ear plugs, but whereas it was working a few weeks ago, now the snoring is louder and the earplugs are failing. Also, I've got bug bites all over my back and arms that itch terribly. GAAAHHH! I'm feeling really irritated by weeds, and rodents, and bugs and stupid drivers and fatalities on the road, and politicians, and humidity, and the good ole spare tire, and gray hair, and a messy house. It'll be good when this day is over.

Here are some of Caleigh's photos:

This is Noah. He's not very entertaining!

He likes to sleep all day

Caleigh likes eyes. This one is her own, taken by herself

We made donuts

I had to use olive oil which was a little weird

She gave some toy a bath--random

Dressed up her bear

Took more pics of Noah

He's awake sometimes

Our Cruise to Bermuda

 Checking out our staterooms. Especially the bathroom!

 We can all fit, no problem

Sohailah is breaking the rules early on.

This is Steve and Sohailah's stateroom window. Gotta love Cowboy's expression.

Thanks babe for getting us here.

Just like the scene from the Titanic.

Peekaboo

This was our very serious lifeboat drill!!

We passed right by Lady Liberty

The best couple

The craziest!! (Raul is assisting Steve in keeping his eyes from blinking for the picture).

Thank you BJ for bringing us on this trip (something we heard every single day from Raul).

Good times with friends

So expressive

Always flirting and laughing and making us laugh

We aren't short! Where'd you get that idea?

Checking out the historical St. George while waiting for our scooters to be ready for us.

St. George

Turtle Bay Beach

Gorgeous in every way.

The scooters. I picked the video by mistake. Not sure if you can view it either.

Towel art hanging in our room.

Someone must have left their bike behind at the bar the night before so the guy on the scooter was going to bring it home.

It was Cup Match week which meant everyone was on holiday and at Horseshoe bay for a festival. That's where we went too.

Here is the end of the trip, getting a lift back to pier 90.

Once we got to the bus stop, Raul received a call that he left behind his garment bag and had to go retrieve it. Waaaaah!

He forgot his razor so this is his 8am shadow.

When we got home we headed to the beach after dinner for some pictures.

It was my parents final evening of their visit. They were troopers to stay an extra week and watch the kids.

Our little beauty

Terry's little girl

And two more of his little girls.

Goofball girls everywhere.

So that's the recap of the cruise. We had a great time. Now we are home. Anika received an invitation to attend Flagler College in St. Augustine, FL last minute. She was wait-listed early on and thought maybe she would wait for a better or different opportunity as this was the college she really wanted to attend initially. So God opened the door for her and she's going to attend. We have 2 weeks to get things together. Its quite the mental gymnastics, but we are all excited. Hope everyone's is having a great summer, or winter depending on what hemisphere you reside in.

My Perennial Garden

                            

We had a gorgeous rock wall and perennial garden put in about 4 years ago by our very dear friend who is a landscaper. Its been wonderful. But little by little the garden has been deteriorating and I haven't known exactly why or how to fix it. I tried planting some new things to replace plants that were dying off.
                               

But of course I allowed ragweed to grow thinking it was something else and that killed a few of my beloveds. 

And then there were the violets.

I didn't know about their destructive properties until some damage was already done. I tackled that big chore of wedding and weeding and weeding them out, and have been keeping it under surveillance. But really, its the VOLES and their increasing population in my garden that has been utterly destroying and eating away at everything. I'm scared!! Sometimes I see a perennial in someone else's yard that I used to have growing in my garden, only to realize that its no longer growing in mine. Grrrr.  And I've been finding plant after plant dying, because its roots are being munched on regularly.

Sooooo... I bought some traps online a few daze ago and they came in today. Hah HAAAA! Those suckers at going down!!!

Got one within the first 12 hours. Yesssssss!

If any of you reading this feel's sickened that I am not using "animal friendly traps" give me your address and I'll capture the voles in a friendly way and bring them to YOUR yard to live.