A Most Obliging Plant

 Forsythia (called Yellow Bells by many of my neighbors) is a most obliging plant. Cut its budded branches in winter, bring them inside and give then warmth and water and they'll burst into cheery bloom.

 Leave the branches in the water and in the sun when the blooms die and green leaves will appear and the stem will put out roots. Pot the stems and you've got another forsythia bush to plant or to give away.

Clucks

As the Clouds Roll Eastward . . .

Your Natural Self

In the wake of the Academy Awards and a great deal of on line chatter about bad plastic surgery and the (perceived) need to look young, author Laura Lippman suggested on Facebook that everyone post photos of their 'real,' un-made up, unretouched selves.

No problem. At seventy one I'm used to who I am and comfortable with it.  I haven't worn makeup in a good many years -- I put some lipstick on for an author photo ten years ago and felt like I was wearing a clown face.

In my twenties, I did the whole thing -- foundation, eye make up, etc., etc. -- and I remember how naked I felt without makeup. 

Then I got over it.  What a pleasure not to spend time 'putting on my face.' (And when you think about it, what a truly weird concept that is.)

I can't remember exactly when I quit using lipstick but I kinda think it was when I read THE NAKED APE by Desmond Morris (1967.) He posited that reddened lips were a (probably subconscious) imitation of the female genitalia which flush red and swell on arousal. 

Hmmm. And that would account for Botoxed lips as well.

This whole natural self thing on the Internet isn't meant to put down folks who choose to use makeup, hair color, even plastic surgery. It is meant to suggest that no one should feel compelled to  look forever young -- that age is not something to be ashamed of and denied.

One of the nicest things about the Internet, I think, is that we get to know people often with no idea of what they look like. One of my favorite friends on Facebook is, if his/her profile picture is to be believed, a mouse. 

The Flowers That Bloom in the Spring, Tra La!

What's That Up There?

 "Come out here now!" John said and, grabbing my camera, I followed him to the front porch.  He pointed to the hillside from whence came a confusion of turkey gabble and I could see various turkeys running from the open pasture into the woods.

"There was a big bird -- maybe an eagle," John said and as we watched, the magnificent creature soared into view -- over the trees and high into the sky to circle above our holler.

This picture below is what we could actually see and I stood, trying to follow its flight and capture it as best I could manage. I had my 18-200 mm lens racked out as far as it would go and could actually see through the viewfinder not much more than a dot -- a fast moving dot.   

All the rest of these pictures are blurry because they've been cropped really close in order for me to actually see the bird. At first I thought it was a Golden Eagle but that sure looks like a white head in the picture below. 

 However, a Bald Eagle's tail  should be all white . . . according to my bird book . . .

 A Golden Eagle has the black-tipped white tail -- and a 'golden wash' on the back of the head. . .

I sure don't know . . . any opinions out there?

Bald or Golden, I hope he/she stays around.

Winter Weather ... I Rebuke You Once More!!!!