Sometimes, A Weed Isn't

My neighbor, the master gardener, left me some perennials the other day. The lilies joined . . . tada! a poppy. There's a story behind that poppy. I had planted a seed mix last fall. It was supposed to come up in the spring. Well, spring came, and we thought they were weeds, so Freddy the lawn man mowed them down. I proceeded to plant glads in a large part of the bed, but left one of the "weeds" up. Freddy mowed it down twice more before I got the fence up. Allowed to grow, it showed its true colors. It was a poppy!!!!

Flickr Photographers

It's time for the monthly nod to the flickr photographers. Click through to get the links to each pic.\

Unconscious Mutterings

I say ... and you think ... ?

Riding :: Horses
Actress :: Angelina Jolie
Flowers :: Garden
Making :: Creating
Robot :: R2D2
Enjoy :: each day!
Identify :: classify
22 :: Catch-
Busy :: Bee
Forward :: Guard

Spot on!

What American accent do you have? (Best version so far) Northern You have a Northern accent. That could either be the Chicago/Detroit/Cleveland/Buffalo accent (easily recognizable) or the Western New England accent that news networks go for.

Click Here to Take This Quiz Brought to you by YouThink.com quizzes and personality tests.

Thanks, Gail!

Sometimes, Perfection

Now, if you've been stopping by here for any length of time you know I like deer and fireflies and old things and gardens and . . .

So last night, I was out watering the garden beds. Because they are so far apart, and so far from the pump, I bucket water. I fill three buckets and put them in the wheelbarrow, then make my rounds. (If water sloshes into the wheelbarrow, I just dump the wheelbarrow on the bed.) It was a little after nine, and I was finishing up at the great wall of grand ledge garden bed.

I knew there were two deer in the field across the road, wandering back and forth in the corn. As I finished dumping my pails, I saw they had drawn nearer to the edge of their field. The sun was fading, and the fireflies were beginning their dance.



I sat down on the great wall, and commenced to sing. When I lived in the apartment, I would never sing. Wouldn't want to bother the neighbors, right? But out here, where my next neighbor is an eighth of a mile away, I find myself singing quite often. And often the choice of song is one of the old hymns, hymns that Grandma Bea would play for us on the piano.

Surprisingly, the deer didn't run off. They came close to each other, as though they were conferring about the strange sounds they heard. And then they came closer yet, almost up to the road's edge.

They didn't cross the road last night, but before the summer is over I'm suspecting they will.

****of course, will they get hit by a truck as they cross the road? or will they come across and eat all of my gladioli? stay tuned, for further developments!

A Big Red Barn

The big project next year: painting the barns

School's Out Forever

I just finished James Patterson's Maximum Ride, School's Out Forever. Patterson is incredibly prolific, and I've always been amazed by the number of voices he can create. (I've also been amazed by all of his co-writers, but that's a different story.) In the Maximum Ride books he aptly handles the voice of a 14-year-old female genetically altered with avian characteristics. (And throws in a mutant talking dog, just for good measure.)

This is book two in a (perhaps) three-book series. Will Max save the world? Will she save herself? Where does genetic experimenting lead? What is good? What is evil? Stay tuned.

They're Back

First sighting of the fireflies tonight!

Down on the Farm

Spring at the farm looks something like this. Click through for notes on various projects and gardens and stuff.

Living Gorgeously

June Flickr photo contest is here.

And check out the site, here.

Unconscious Mutterings

I say ... and you think ... ?

Acoustic :: Guitar
Sanity :: A fine thing to retain
Mambo :: Dance
Session :: Meeting
Hound :: Dog
Cat :: Snuzzles, Sierra, Ziggy
Coward :: ly Lion. My least favorite Wizard of Oz Character. I always loved the Tin Man. Perhaps that's why I work at a heating and air conditioning company. The duct fabricators are called tin men.
Trunk :: Elephant
Hold me :: Closer
Psychological :: Thriller

Sheesh!

I've been fooling around for the last hour-and-a-half trying to get logged into posting here at blogger. Grrrr

Peony Heart

Flickr Friends

This is kinda nice. John Edwards and Mitt Romney have flickr accounts. You can be their friend!

upNorth

Some pics from upNorth are here.

My writer friends decided I should write erotica. They spent 30 minutes working on pen names for me. oh my

Wrangling Cats

Oh man! Last night was wild. I didn't get home until 8:30, as I had stopped at my Mother's house for supper. The thermostat said 67, and I thought I would warm things up, so I shoved it up to 70. I had bird seed that I needed to get out, so I went outside and started that project. After a few minutes I realized that the furnace hadn't kicked on yet. (It vents out by the bird area, and there was no smoke.) Hmmm. I went back inside and considered the problem. Aha! The electrician had been here the previous week to get the outdoor lights working. Perhaps he hadn't turned something back on when he was done.

This meant I needed to make a trip to the cellar. Eek! I thought perhaps I could do it quickly, without the cats noticing. (Normally, I lock them in the back two rooms when I go downstairs.) I made it down okay, then realized I really needed a light. I went back upstairs, banged on the door to scare any cats away, then opened the door. The bang hadn't worked. Snuzzles took off around my feet and down the steps.

Well, we both went feral. There is mouse poison and probably dead mice down there. There are little nooks and crannies and ewwww. "Snuzzles," I wailed. "You're going to die."

He wailed back. I don't know which of us was more wild. He hid in a corner behind some old water heaters. This was an area where they used to dump coal. Black kitty, coal bin, dark. Got the picture. I went back upstairs for my big light. Came back down, turned the light on into the corner, green eyes shone back. He knew I was too big to extricate him from that little space.

But aha again! The primeval, built-in lessons were kicking in on both our sides. I had a broom down there. I poked at him, and he took off again.

We went back and forth like this for several rounds. My flashlight grew dim. (Snuzzles had eaten up the charging cord for it a couple of months ago.) At one point, I ran upstairs to get a dish of food with which to entice him. And at long last I prevailed. I don't know if I tired him out, or what, but finally I was able to snatch him. He didn't fight me anymore.

We all slept well after that workout last night.

Let's Be Friends

Still peeking at work (it's a very bad day) and stole this from Roscoe.

You Are a Good Friend Because You're Supportive

You are almost like a life coach for your best friends. You give them help when they need it... but you also know when to give them a push. People tend to rely on you for moral support and advice. You've probably always been mature for your age, so this is a role that's you're comfortable with. A friend like you is one of the rarest kinds. You are both a good mentor and companion. Your friends need you most when: They are confused or worried You really can't be friends with: Someone who only wants to complain Your friendship quote: "The only way to have a friend is to be one."

What Makes You a Good Friend?

Being Naughty at Work

Your Score: Carole Lombard

You scored 11% grit, 14% wit, 42% flair, and 38% class!

You're a little bit of a fruitcake, but you always act out in style. You have a good sense of humor, are game for almost anything, but you like to have nice things about you and are attracted to the high life. You're stylish and modern, but you've got a few rough edges that keep you from attaining true sophistication. Your leading men include William Powell, Fredric March, and Clark Gable. Watch out for small planes.

Find out what kind of classic leading man you'd make by taking the Classic Leading Man Test.

Link: The Classic Dames Test written by gidgetgoes on OkCupid Free Online Dating, home of the The Dating Persona Test

Seen at Chicken Scratch.

I Missed My Day!

Yesterday was Old Maid's Day!

Check out other fun days at Cassie-B's.

I'm Back!

I was upNorth over the weekend, on our 4th Annual Girls Weekend. Had a superb time, but came back to stormy weather and couldn't get on-line last night. (I did peek at a few blogs at work. Shhh. Don't tell.)

There were four of us on the weekend. DT is a published writer, DM is trying to break into the screenplay business, and C and I are readers. We stay at DM's cabin, then run around the upper Lower Peninsula, shopping, visiting art galleries, and just generall having a good old time. This year we spent a lot of time in Elk Rapids. They were having their semi-annual Art Beat, they were serving free mimosas and appetizers, what can I say? If you're ever in the area, the Twisted Fish Gallery is a must. We also made it up to the Mackinac Bridge to say hi. We had some rain, so my pictures are kind of scattered.


These deer hang out in front of Twisted Fish.

The rain REALLY played a part on Sunday. The Cabin LEAKED. Badly. DM, C and I spread tarps over the roof, while DT wiped windows and mopped. Ah, well, we always like an adventure.

And how was your weekend? It made me laugh to read the party in the comments!