Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Goodbye to April...and a Reminder


Tomorrow is May 1.

 

My grandmother always said that if you get wet in the first rain of May,
 you'll be healthy all year.

  

I do what my grandmother said.


                                                         You might want to try it.

Rain's predicted for tomorrow around here.
If you're out west, you may have to wait. 
If it doesn't rain where you are in May, I don't know what to tell you.


I interpret 'wet' rather liberally.

(But then I would, wouldn't I?)


One raindrop will suffice -- but actually standing in the rain for a bit is more fun.


Tuesday, April 29, 2014

What's That in the Thrift (Aka Creeping Phlox)?


A hummingbird moth -- AKA Sphinx Moth or Hawk Moth or Bumblebee Moth

I thought at first that it was a bee, with those right yellow stripes . . .

It flies and hovers like a hummingbird . . .


Isn't Nature amazing?!

For more and better pictures, go HERE 

 

Monday, April 28, 2014

A Warming Trend


The warmer weather means planting -- potting up some rosemary to replace one done in by the winter, sowing seeds and planting collards, kale, cauliflower, and broccoli starts . . . and hoping that the rain predicted for tomorrow materializes.

It's also time to put up the screens and hang the screen doors. The dogs love the screen doors as they can push them open and go out at will. Yes, Willa too - she's been staying around pretty well so she's been released from her grounded state. 

The kittehs aren't so sure about the screen doors. And thereby hangs a tale . . .

Yesterday I noticed that the two kittehs were staring fixedly at something on the living room floor -- the living room is dark and at first I couldn't see what it was.  So I switched on a light.

Aha! A fair sized black snake was coiled up by the chest of drawers. He'd probably come in from the greenhouse -- its door is open in this mild weather.  Of course I thought about my camera but the snake immediately slid under the chest of drawers. No time for pictures -- the problem with a snake in the house is that there are so many places for them to hide, the better to startle you later on. So if you see one, the time to act is at once.

I called John and together, with the use of a grabber stick left over from my knee surgery, we herded the snake out a nearby door -- all five feet of him -- and he was glad to go.

The kittehs have remained on high alert, creeping around like jungle cats and paying especial attention to the chest where the snake was.  And they were somewhat appalled by the flimsy screen doors -- "John, don't you know there are snakes out there?" they seem to be saying. 

Saturday, April 26, 2014

They're (Almost) Everywhere

  

Cats in the living room . . .


Cats lurking in the greenhouse. . .


Cats blocking the view . . .


Acting all superior . . .
 

At least there're no cats out here.


Friday, April 25, 2014

You've Got Mail, Old Lady!

I used to love getting mail. When I was very young, I sent off for various free offers, just for the thrill of getting a package. I remember the excitement of receiving a slim little kitchen knife with an orangey-brown plastic handle and a serrated blade that might cut a slice of Wonder Bread but that had a little fork on the end, handy for snagging pickles out of a deep jar.

So when I got a little package in the mail yesterday that said it was full of valuable coupons, of course I took a look . . .


Bummer! Also downer!  As I leafed through the coupons, I detected a certain theme -- reverse mortgages, a fancy cane, AARP membership, scooter chairs, plantar fasciitis relief, compression hose, hearing aids, stuff for COPD, John Wayne memorabilia, stuff about grandchildren. a cuckoo clock (where exactly does this fit in to the senior lifestyle?) and worse. . .


Portable oxygen, stair lifts, alarm systems, bladder control, copper bracelets,  cheap catheters, medic alerts, wigs, hearing aid batteries, and a magazine called The Good Old Days -- presumably the days when all this stuff wasn't necessary.



It's enough to drive an old lady to drink.