A Letter To The Skunk Family...

from here.

Dear Skunk Family Living Under My Shed,

I hope this missive finds you all in good health and keeping cool under these severe heat conditions. It's been quite some time since I've noticed your existence in my garden. At first I thought you were just passing by.. crossing from one yard to another on your merry way. I began to question your frequent visits, when my dear fella almost mistook one of you for a kitty...yes, he called you over and you gingerly acquiesced and approached him happily. Naturally he exited the premises, quite quickly mind you, upon noticing that you were not in fact a kitty cat.

Twas not long after that, when I went out one evening to water my flower beds. I turned on the lights in the tent/gazebo and just when I was about to enter, I heard some scurrying nearby. Lo and behold!! There were two of you making your way past me. Yes, I froze in place hoping you'd ignore me...thankfully you did. One of you was actually quite adorable and little. I guess you were the baby strolling with your Mama. Needless to say, I backed up slowly...farther into the yard...and watched you both disappear under the shed. Not far behind, near my fence was a third one in your clan. I believe it may have been Papa skunk foraying the premises for your evening meal. How good of him to take care of you so well. I hope he succeeded and brought home the bacon. 

I've spied each of you at one point or another since that night. Just this evening I braved the very warm weather and went out to quench my flower beds. Hose in hand and humming a happy tune, I sprayed the flowers whose sigh of relief was almost audible. Mr. Knightley watched me from the dining room window...at least I thought he was watching me. *sigh* 

No. I wasn't the subject of his attention for LO & BEHOLD, once again, I was accompanied by you...the cute family of skunks. No doubt you watched me while you did what you do when you do what you do in the yard. (I hope you all got that!) 

You must've been quite amazed at my bravery, though some may call it stupidity, of not budging from my spot and continuing to water my plants. Oh don't worry. I kept an eye on each of you. One ran into the hostas and went right back under the shed. The other (I guess it was Papa) continued sniffing around for supper, and the third strolled into the tent/gazebo. You must've heard me loudly exclaim.."Oh No You Didn't!!!" *insert vexatious mutterings* Yes..I believe Mama skunk was making good use of my lounge chair. I decided to mind my business and quickly finish what I started out to do. 

Twas then I decided I've had enough!

This brings me to the reason behind this letter. I am quite honored that you chose Harmonie House's garden as your home. It shows you have fine tastes..you are indeed skunks of quality and distinction. However, I can no longer risk the possibility of myself or my fella vexing one of you and getting sprayed. Please, do not take offense. It's not that I think your scent lacks in essence. Truly it's got the quality that's in a class by itself. It's just not for everyone...myself included. So I'm asking you to please pack your bags and find another shed in another garden...somewhere far away. Thank you for your cooperation and have a nice day. *smiles*

 Whaddaya mean we gotta move???

Consider yourselves evicted!

Sincerely,

Miss Sandra

second photo from here.

The Picnic

My Dears,

I hope you've all kept cool these past several days...what a scorcher it has been! Thankfully I've kept comfortably cool in air conditioned rooms. As much as I love the days of old I still cannot fathom how those dear folks got through the dog days of summer without AC. *sigh*

So here I am tapping away on my very modern keyboard to share with you a very vintage event. Two posts prior I made mention of my annual Independence Day picnic. Well, needless to say it was truly an affair to remember. The weather cooperated, the food was plenty, and the guests were as ever delightful. To add to the fun of our day, we had reporters for the Star-Ledger drop by to do a story for their "Munchmobile" feature. What is the Munchmobile you wonder?

Well get a load of this!!!

 TA-DA!!

Yes...a van with a large wiener on top graced the driveway of Harmonie House.  No really dears, this is truly on the level! The Edwardians were not scandalized...that I know of. *winks* Anyhow, the reporter and his munchmobile companion of the day were quite lovely people. They seemed to enjoy taking a stroll back in time with us. They sampled the food, toured Harmonie House, watched the croquet match, and snapped many pictures. I was even interviewed on video. How fun!!

With Munchmobile reporter Pete.

Tables laden with delicious fare!

Sweets are on the left!

How pretty!

Of course lemonade was served along with other soft drinks and water. However, what most of these dear, proper ladies and gents preferred was the ever popular frozen gin & tonics! Oh indeed!! Our sweet friend Heather made sure to keep those glasses filled with this refreshing brew. Not one to skip a beat she was there, pitcher in hand, ready to greet the reporters with a frozen cup! These gin & tonics have become the signature drink at this annual affair. 

My dear Heather..sans the pitcher.

Naturally there was music to be played. Tunes from the teens, 20's, 30's, and 40's kept us tapping our toes and singing along. What about our game of extreme croquet? Well of course we played! As usual, the flowers were not too happy when a ball would land in their bed....and as usual, I kept on hollerin' "Stay away from the flower beds!!!" *sigh* Even I, yes, I too was guilty of this faux pas. *shrugs* I guess it wouldn't be called extreme croquet if we weren't challenged by the garden's inhabitants. Bless their sweet lil hearts. I made sure to water them well and give them some extra TLC after all was said and done. Thankfully my friends know to treat my plants gingerly at all times during a croquet match.

These lovely gents tenderly held back the plants
so that I could knock the ball out of the bed.

When evening came along, my fella brought out the grill and put on the burgers and hot dogs! We sat under the night sky and feasted on our yummy, grilled food while the stars twinkled high above us. We chatted away until it was time for everyone to return to their homes. 

It was a memorable affair. How can it not be when in the company of dear, beloved friends?

By the way...there isn't a picture of me and my fella at this event. Why? I don't know. I guess we slipped the camera's radar. Needless to say, I pouted fretfully when I realized that my honey and I were not photographed together. *sigh* So in lieu of a picnic picture, I shall share of picture of us together at a friend's wedding this past June.

 I think we make a cute couple....don't you?

Well my dears..tis late and I'm tired. Another day of work beckons for the morrow so I must bid you all a good night. Oh and just to let you know...I'll have another "This & That" post coming up real soon! 

Blissful tidings!!

xoxo

Miss Sandra

Here's A Little Something...

 

...to cool you off!

In the meantime, I think I shall head out and pick up some soft-serve vanilla ice cream with sprinkles!! 

from here

Please try to stay cool my dears...drink plenty of fluids, and make the most of summertime!

Blissful tidings to each of you!

xoxo

Miss Sandra