Odds and Ends

The weather forecast predicted tornadoes for our area again today (Thursday), and the skies looked as though it might come true, but despite wind and torrential rains, the violent storms veered to our right and went easterly. Thank Heaven for that (with apologies to those in the path of today's storms.) When I went to work this morning, I drove through one of the areas hardest hit on April 16th. It still looks like a war zone, although progress has been made. I cannot imagine what it looks like in Tuscaloosa right now, since I know that seeing it on television bears little resemblance to the devastation seen in real life. My prayers go out for them. 

The Earth is angry. Whatever it is that we are doing to upset her should be stopped, and quickly. Gaia is rebelling at our misdeeds and bad thoughts. As the old advertisement goes....."It's not nice to fool Mother Nature."

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Are you watching American Idol?  Who is your favorite?  They are all good this season, so it is hard for me to pick one winner. I got excited tonight when I saw (on Facebook) that the tour dates for the summer had been set - and discovered they are coming to Raleigh!! Now I just have to find out the cost of the tickets.....lol.  I guess Scotty fans will fill the arena, and I am one of them. He's not extremely well-rounded as a singer; it seems everything he sings takes on a country flair, but he's so good and so cute it doesn't matter. Country is my least favorite music, but I'll make an exception for Scotty and for Carrie Underwood.

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 I worked for a new (to me) flower shop last week. I was there when I found out my cat had to be put down. Imagine getting that phone call in the midst of people you only met the day before; crying as if your heart would break, and trying to make decisions about burial/cremation/ashes saved or not. It was horrendous - although none of them could have been any nicer to me. I opted for letting the vet take care of the cremation and dispose of the ashes; our land is composed of clay and rock, and I can't even dig in it for flowers, let alone a grave. I didn't ask the vet what all of that would cost, but I should have.

when I went in on Monday to pay the bill, I got a big surprise. It was much higher than I thought it would be. So, on top of being so sad about losing my cat, I had to pay through the nose for the privilege. I will know what to do the next time an animal of mine gets ill. I'll do the burial myself, somehow. Maybe I'm wrong, but I feel as though I've been taken advantage of - and I don't like it. Have you had bad experiences along these lines? What did you do?

On the First Day of Spring...

Mother Nature gave to me:  a sunshiny forsythia (scraggly, but in full bloom). This one started almost 29 years ago as a very small plant at the corner of the house.

Baby dogwood tree blossoms - I love them when they are green like this!

And some determined tendrils, saying...."AHA! I got you right where I want you!" I spotted this beside the door to my hair salon. The tendrils fascinate me, and had I not had someplace to go when I left there, I might still be photographing them!

I know that we will undoubtedly have some cooler weather again - perhaps even the cold will return with a vengeance. But this weekend, we are awash in sunshine and mid-70's temperatures, and I wish that all of you could be here and experience it (especially friends in the northwest, who are having yet another snowstorm.)

Further Evidence...

A close-up of a weeping cherry tree in my daughter's
yard.

Bradford Pear trees outside my local K-Mart. These trees are in bloom all over our area now, along with flowering cherries and plums. Spring has sprung...

A branch of forsythia, reaching skyward. Is there any better harbinger of spring? Cutting a few small branches and bringing them in the house to bloom is a ritual here. Nothing brightens up a winter-weary home better than this!!

One of my three forsythia bushes. They reach peak bloom about 10 days apart, owing to their positions in the yard. This one was pruned severely last summer, so I am surprised that it has so many blooms on it now.

My "Garden"

Two lonely little violets (these are for you, Rosemary!)














Three blooms are better than none, I suppose.

Incontrovertible Evidence....

that Spring is here. The new wreath I hung on my porch today.

The Bradford pear beside my health club.

Our forsythia in full bloom.

The violets are for you, Rosemary!

The last daffodil to open.

My rosemary is blooming. It was too sunny for a good photo. The flowers are a most pleasing shade of lavender-blue.

The climbing rose is leafing out.

The hardwoods are budding. This photo was taken 2 weeks ago, and it looks all green now!

It's time to trim the ivy!

Consider the lilies.....

The promise of spring......





fulfilled in summer.

This is what greeted me as we arrived home from the beach vacation. A proper welcome, I'd say!

Thanks to everyone who wished us a happy anniversary. We had a quiet one; opting to go out to a nice dinner next weekend, after my wedding is delivered. There were no presents, only cards. We are well beyond the stage of giving each other anything, as the last thing we need is something to sit around here and gather dust. If we do gift each other, it is usually in the form of books or gift cards for spa treatments.

Mr. kenju did do a very nice thing, however. I came downstairs to a "big" breakfast all laid out for me, which he had gone out and purchased before I awoke. He made coffee, set the table and kept it all at the proper temperature until I got to the kitchen. He deserves a nice thank you, doesn't he?

Have a wonderful Fourth of July, wherever you are!

Spring Brings.....

The Good: Dutch iris, a volunteer that I have NO idea where it came from. I know I didn't plant it. Behind it is my confused azalea, which blooms (if at all) in August.

Bearded iris, part of a flower bed-full. This is one of the first to bloom.

The Bad: poison ivy! I put an oak leaf under it so you could see it better. Ever since Hurricane Katrina, our yard has been cursed with much more poison ivy than usual. It used to be only in the woods around us, but now it is invading the grass and flower beds at an alarming rate. I can't always spray weed killer on it, so I am forced to don rubber gloves and pull it out by the roots. I read this week that as global warming becomes more of a reality, weeds and noxious plants like poison ivy will be even more prevalent. Already it is noted by gardeners that some plants formerly confined to the lower southern states are now tolerated further north than ever thought possible. It brings all sorts of good possibilities for gardeners, but I fear that the bad aspects of it will be worse. Have you noticed any changes attributable to global warming?

Note: I know that some people think global warming is a hoax. Please don't bother telling me if you think it's a hoax.

What Spring Brings......

Every year I put a silk arrangement on the porch wall; either a basket or a wreath. Every year, a bird builds a nest on the arrangement. Most years, the end result is broken eggs or an abandoned nest. But not this year. There are at least four itty-bitty fuzzy babies in that nest. I am such a proud grandmama!! We hope it isn't too cold for the babies to survive; since we have had hard freezes for the last three nights.

Note: The nest was built by the birds; I didn't put it in the arrangement. I will photograph them as often as possible, but I have to take the arrangement off the wall. It is a cornucopia-type basket and I must have someone hold it for me, and that might not always be possible. I don't know what kind of birds they are because I have not seen the mother yet. I will try to keep you posted about them as they grow.

(click to enlarge, and scroll down for the rest of the post)

What Spring Brings.....Part 2

An Easter tableaux.....


The first iris of the year.....

Spring Flowers and a Funny Story

I know these photos will not win any awards, but they are the best I could manage today. The first violets. In two weeks, if it stays warm, they will blanket the flower bed and spill over into the grass. That will be the signal for the deer and bunnies. The violets must say, "Come and get me".....because they often vanish overnight!

Redbud tree. I saw hundreds of them this morning, but I had to pull into a store parking lot to get the pic. It was that, or take my life in my hands on the roadside. This is not a particularly pretty one, but it will do til I find another.

The first buds of my only dogwood tree. We used to have three of them, but a blight has claimed two. This one is not situated where it can be seen from inside the house, which is too bad. I loved it when the other two blossomed in the woods behind the house.

Money plant blooms the second year after it is planted. I love the color of the pinkish-purple blooms, but what a mess they make when the "money" is mature. Of course, you have to let it make the money if you want blooms in the next two years! Have to take the bad with the good.

The forsythia at the front corner of our house. I have three bushes, and they all bloom about two weeks apart. This is the last one to bloom. I think it is too bad that they don't hold color like this all summer long; but maybe if they did, we wouldn't appreciate seeing them as much as we do in early spring.

Scroll down to read about the latest guy in the Idiot Annals!


I heard something funny on the radio today, but since I didn't catch all the details, I'll relate just what I heard:

Some guy had been writing hate mail to someone he knew in the third grade (it might have been his teacher), and the authorities couldn't catch him. At one point, this guy left some letters for his mom to mail, and she, noticing that there was no return address, wrote it on for him before mailing them. You can imagine what happened next. Don't you think he will be nominated for the Darwin Awards? I sure do!

Guess Who Came to Visit?

Mr. kenju saw him first; he hopped all over the deck this morning, even coming up to the higher level next to the house. He was so lucky that our cats weren't outside! The photo is blurry, I know; I was shooting through 2 glass doors. I was afraid to open the door and spook him. After he saw the flash, he sprinted off the back side of the deck to the woods. I hope he comes back again someday; maybe after we open the pool and get ready for summer. He could tell we aren't yet expecting visitors!

Bradford Pear Trees

Yesterday I mentioned trying to get some photos of all the blooming things around here. My friend Alice (whose daughter Anna takes wonderful photos) proved she can take some good ones as well. She sent these pics in email, which she took this week here in town. Don't I have good friends??!!

I may still try to get some photos and post them tomorrow. Have a great weekend!

Aaaaaaaah, SPRING!

If you don't live in Piedmont North Carolina today, I feel sorry for you. It is 83*, sunny, with low humidity, a very blue sky and high, fluffy clouds. I took this photo about 30 minutes ago, when I drove into my driveway from work. The grape hyacinths have eluded the deer this year, so far. Last year, I had about 30 stems in bloom at one time and the next morning - they were gone. Only the bare stems remained. A gardener friend told me that if they are eaten all the way down to the ground; rabbits did it. If only the blossoms are gone, it was deer.

This weekend, I am going to try and get some more photos for you. Our Bradford pear trees are in bloom, forsythia and daffodils are lush all over town and the red bud trees are blossoming more everyday. I hope you are experiencing some form of spring at your home, even if it is only the slush of melting snow. Happy weekend!