Chip Phix

The one downside oph traveling is the risk oph getting a rock chip on the windshield.

Thank goodness phor Hubby and a windshield repair kit.

Phamily Reunion Weekend

It's been a phun weekend phor Phil. It was philled with phamily, phood, and a lot oph sunshine.

Phil played with kids...

...took some phancy wheels phor a ride...

...ate at a phish phry (that middle cook sure looks phamiliar to Phil)...

...climbed with the kids...

...and even did some shopping.

There was lake time and more phood and live music and so much more. Phil had a phantastic phamily reunion.

Pharmer Phil Update: Thinning the Herd

The carrots are a little thick, so Phil decided it was time to thin a phew oph them today.

He could only pull the ones that are at least phour inches tall.

These don't look much like carrots.

Phil transplanted many oph the carrots he pulled out, lining the phront oph the planter box where there was space.

And in related news, Phil's geranium, the one that he kept in the basement over the winter, has really come back strong this summer. Phil wishes the carrots would do this well.

Hand-pheeding Pholly

Duke has been a bit mopey lately and rephused to eat his phood last night until Wiphey hand-phed him.

It seems to Phil that the phurry ones have Hubby and Wiphey well-trained.

Love Note

While practicing yoga in the spare bedroom today, Phil discovered a little message written on the bottom oph a shelph in the closet.

Someone prophessed love phor one Justin M.

Justin M. must be really special to have his name immortalized in permanent marker on a bedroom shelph.

Bat Crap Crazy

Phor those oph you looking to phind Phil, you won't see him in these photos. That's because he was staying inside when Wiphey was mowing and came across a bat. He stayed inside when Wiphey came across the bat. Here's the story.

Aphter mowing the phront yard, Wiphey walked the mower through the gate into the back yard. That's when she noticed a phurry lump moving across the pavement on the side oph the house. At phirst she thought it was a tarantula, but then she remembered there are no tarantulas naturally-occuring in phrigid North Dakota. Then she thought it was probably a mouse, until she saw the bat wings splay out. The bat was army-crawling its way across the pavement, which had to have been hot in the morning sun. The bat appeared to be panting with its mouth hanging wide open. Wiphey sprinted around to the phront oph the house to phind something to take care oph the bat. Naturally, she grabbed her phone and dialed Hubby's number in the hopes that he could help. By the time she got back to the yard, there was no bat. Wiphey said some naughty words. She didn't want the bat to crawl into the house somehow. It doesn't take a very big opening phor that to happen. But then she spotted a wing coming up over the steps to the dog door. That's right--the bat was climbing the steps that lead to the dog door. Wiphey mentally willed the dogs to stay inside and not open the dog door and accidentally let in a bat. She would have had to burn down the house had that happened.

And then the bat settled itselph to where it is in the picture: hanging phrom the side oph the doggy steps, in the phirst place it phound shade. It was panting and making clicking noises. About the time it stopped crawling, Wiphey's neighbor came home. She and Wiphey watched as it panted and sprawled its wings across the steps. Then while they were talking, the bat began hissing at them. Understandably, the two women bolted even farther away phrom the bat while making some noises oph their own.

No brave neighbors were home to help with the situation, so Wiphey called Animal Control at the recommendation oph her neighbor. They suggested the name oph a pest control company.

An hour later, Bat Remover Man drove up. He thought about it phor a while and decided he needed a towel and his net. The pink dog towel became a casuality to this phight, but Wiphey was okay with that.

Bat Remover Man knocked the bat phrom its perch on the doggy steps but the bat put up a phight. It hissed and clicked while phanning its wing in an attempt to escape. Wiphey stood by with a broom in hand, just in case. Iph you zoom in on the photo, you'll notice the bat's wing phlapping as he tried to get out oph the net.

Eventually, aphter a lot oph hissing and clicking and phlapping, Bat Remover Man was able to wrap the little hisser in the pink towel, place him in a bucket, phasten a lid on the bucket, and tuck it away in the back oph his truck. A gratephul Wiphey was able to phinish mowing the lawn but still has yet to unlock the doggy door. It may never be open again.

Pharmer Phil Gets No Holiday

Pharming doesn't stop just because it's the Phourth oph July.

Phil noticed that the beans are starting to wrap themselves around the dowels. That Miracle Grow must be working.

But one oph the beans has begun growing over toward the dowels, instead oph growing up on the deck railing behind it, as Wiphey thought it would do.

So Pharmer Phil moved one oph the dowels over to the other side oph the planter box. Besides watering, that's about all he wanted to do on this day when the temperatures soared into the mid-90's with dew points near 70.

Happy Independence Day, everyone!