Mantra vs. Mantis

Always laugh when you can. It is cheap medicine. -- Lord Byron (1788-1824) English Poet Mantra Mantis Not the rock band: HA Praying Mantis are a well established band of melodic hard rockers. They were formed by brothers Tino and Chris Troy in the mid-1970's and they became one of the bands associated with the NWOBHM (New Wave Of British Heavy Metal). Their first album "Time Tells No Lies" received a lot of critical acclaim. I have seen this!!! This happened several years ago at Astolat Gardens.

Musical Pipes

I do not understand why this condition comes and goes. It is sorta weird, but there are some things that one does that do not need to be announced. Now it seems the entire house knows when one is in the Powder Room. Its sorta like the creaky step that lets the parents know when the kids come home. I have found out if I run the water in the sink this conditions does not occur. Ha Ha the pipes the pipes are playing Danny Boy! Also known as water hammer. This is a common condition (mostly) with older galvanized lines. The sound is caused by a vibration, which is created when water and suspended gases (air) in the water cause the pipes to vibrate. Most galvanized pipe water supplies were built with some vertical dead end length of pipe that acts as a shock absorber, called "bumpers" (and here you thought that those pipes were a sign that the plumber was wasting material).

Quirks and quarks, puns and Cliché’s

Not sure why that popped into my mind…but what the hay Popping means I am not idle…HA! HA! HA! Then there is this observation; I have in the past several months traveled with different friends, flown more that usual but have noted how people use what SOME might call IDLE TIME? Idle hands are the devils workshop, odd expression. If I am observing the wonders of the clouds from the plane window, how could I be idle? Cliché. I am thinking, reflection etc? At any hoot, I find it very relaxing to just observe what ever is in front of me. That is why I so enjoy the Breakfast Nook as I can see out toward the creek and beyond. Like this morning, even with the bushes taller and taller I saw the Blue Heron swoop down into the creek. Upon other observations he/she walked about ate, walked then flew back to the nest, or to the Pond to eat, walk and eat some more. Sounds like this The best news SO FAR today…See I am getting out of my BLAH-ness. The Koi rose to greet me as I fed them, this was the first time, what joy. I can hardly wait until tomorrow morning to see how many more greet me. Then there is the Hummingbird moth: Two nights ago I saw it hovering in front of flowers, and drinking nectar with a long, flexible tube (proboscis)...supping from my Star Gazer lilies. Hummingbird Moth Other Moth pictures!

So how do YOU feel Today?

Must be the heat cause I feel BLAH today! Happy Friday, maybe the weather will break soon. I seldom feel BLAH

After Thirty years ...

the utility pole is STRAIGHT Go figure, we’ve told them ever since we moved here. So they wait until I’ve planted stuff to go up the trellis to decided to FINALLY straighten our left winged pole. HA HA! Of course we had already started our third turn of homemade spaghetti sauce…YE GADS they might have to turn the electric off then we would be up THAT creek without a paddle. All went well! The men were so very nice, the pole is straight, the plants they were very careful about and we rendered 21 quarts of sauce today! The rest of the news is all silly or not My camera is in the hospital The Ford 8N is in the hospital I lost the peaches The Ph in the pond is correct We lost one fish The frog greets me in the a.m. when I feed the fish Castor and Pollux think they can walk on water. New water plants + smelly fish food excite them and they attempt to get to it. Castor was up to his Army Pits in water yesterday. Today he ‘allowed’ Pollux to attempt… The mowing is almost finished The Cat hat is almost finished Deprizo has returned Wedge of geese (flying in a 'V') over the barn And the little turkeys were strutting through the horse pasture. And the dog day cicada begins its songfest Calling song fragment 72 Degrees F: Mac AIFF (272K) 72 Degrees F: Windows WAV (272K) 93 Degrees F: Mac AIFF (221K) 93 Degrees F: Windows WAV (221K) Life is good!

Profiling a HOT Tomato

this is a hoot

Mid summer

And the weather is lazy and hazy; the leaves of the Wild Cherry Tree are beginning to drift down on the concrete pad. SIGH!!! Those nasty eastern tent caterpillars! Alternate-leafed dogwood and I identified it Yippee skippy! Made me "GLAD" ;)

Mixed Signals????

This past weekend while driving a couple of hours we noted some people driving as if they were clueless…go figure. Not that this is a new concept it possibly could have been that 85% of what we saw were people in denial (DE NILE, that other area in another country)… Traffic Schools? The first intersections were probably created by early man looking for the best route to water holes or hunting grounds. Thousands of years later, intersections were crowded with horses, carriages, and people. They soon became wider and more complex. By the time the automobile was invented, intersections were already major hazards. With the coming of the automobile, intersections had turned into deadly meeting places. So we created rules and laws establishing right-of-way privileges at intersections. Ummmmmmmm Rules? Far out! When driving on the right: The lane designated for faster traffic is on the left The lane designated for slower traffic is on the right Most freeway exits are on the right Overtaking is permitted to the left, and sometimes to the right. Dast we even get into YIELDING let alone the use of the Directional Signals!!!

The scent of summer

Of course my cats always assist in my outside endeavors, some more active than others. The weather conditions have been lovely since the heat system broke on Saturday. Functioning outside was tolerable all day long. As I putter in the flower beds the aroma of the my fragrant Stargazer Lilies as well as the Gladiolus made the labor sweet.

Weddings

My nieces and Steve [nephew-in-law] We had a lovely time, the rain stopped just before we left town. The sky was magnificent; the bride looked lovely as did the entire entourage of attendants their theme color was pink and green. It was neat. Some of the groom’s people had the green ties on blue shirts; some had the pink tie on the blue shirts. Since it was an out side wedding with lots of grass around silver flip-flops adorned the feet of the bride’s attendants. The toenail polish matched the pink of their gowns, how kewl is that? Sitting there we recalled a recent wedding on our family with great fondness. That wedding also had severe rains the night before, but on the appointed day, time, hours all came together beautifully. Gosh and Gee Whiz soon, like 17 days it will be their two-month anniversary and our 32! Awwwww…so here are some more acquired pictures that I like!

Holy Tomato Batman

Another CAN do day…14 quarts and 3 pints of Spaghetti Sauce Not a Jeff Condon, but one grown from seed here on the ranch!

Now off to a Wedding in the big city...

Flights and green trees

…over Mountains and Broccoli I was musing as I weeded the garden. I poised over the broccoli, as I gazed at the beauty of the colors, it occurred to me the similarities of flying over the gentle Appalachian Mountains.

Water… Cool clear water

Hank Williams, Jr. Cool Water Lyrics

Bee Nice

- Nice Is Good

Booty-T-Ful Pictures

The Booty

I got my Sweetie some to die for Chocolates, cheese, wines and a new Rooster. The Rooster will be in the kitchen as we have a Monet thing going on there. The Chocolates are totally his while we will share the rest of the bootie. The first I choose was a Cranberry Wine The second a Blueberry Wine The cheeses were procured from Figi’s. The cheeses I chose were Wisconsin Blueberry White Cheddar Cheese Cheddar cheese regular style, an Australian Cheddar and upon the recommendation of the clerk, a processed American cheese with Onions. She said it was awesome on grilled hamburgers. HA guess what’s for dinner this evening? Hamburgers with our own tomatoes and lettuce and the last cheese mentioned. How kewl is that? This excerpt was taken from the web page and I found it to be totally true. As you walk the main street lined with small shops, you'll find people greet one another with a smile and more often than not, a name. You'll meet friendly, hard-working families who produce the wonderful cheeses, meats and fresh produce Wisconsin is known for. This is the birthplace of Figi's Gifts in Good Taste, and the neighborly, small-town feeling is an inherent part of the way we do business, and of who we are. We dined at Meg Swanson sisters Restaurant, The Kitchen Table, the food was incredible and the people mirrored the comment above. My friend Lucy had the Greek Omelet; it was too early to eat that much for me so I had the granola and fruit. DANG it was good. Ha now to replicate what my friend had. Drats and I had a chance to buy her Cookbook and didn’t. Geesh as it was I purchased @ 13 pounds of books! As for the Rooster I got for my Sweetie, and of course Frogs for me [NO BRAINER THERE , a maven if you will…An expert, connoisseur, or enthusiast. [From Yiddish meyvn, from Hebrew mebhin (one who understands).] They came from the Hosta Gardens I visited.

Kissed by the Sun

Green Stuff in Fields Abound An excuse to show some more pictures;) Once there were green fields, Kissed by the sun. Vogues GREEN FIELDS(Terry Gilkyson / Richard Dehr / Frank Miller)

The Greeting Committee

It is hotter than Blue Blazes here. (According to word-detective, there are three kinds of "blaze" in English. The "fire" sense of "blaze" comes from the very old Germanic word "blason," meaning "torch" and was known in English by 1000 A.D., although it was spelled "blase" for several hundred years. "Blazes" as a slang expression derives from this sense and originally referred to the flames of hell. The "blue" in "blue blazes" is just an alliterative intensifier and has no real meaning.) Aside from that and after 5 loads of laundry it is quite apparent I need to mow. As Scarlet would have said; I’ll think about it tomorrow!

Home Sweet Home and Queen of the Night

I left at 2 am last Thursday and I arrived back at 2 am today. No rain this time and minimal fog. I had a grand reception even for that time of the am. My Sweetie and George. I however had to sit for about 45 minutes to recoup so I could relax and actually sleep. With all the “THINGS” still swirling in my mind reality does begin. Laundry! HA! I need to tour the grounds to see my flora and what has shown or begun to show its self. I did spy while I was tending to George two buds of my most favorite and aged 18-year-old Night Blooming Cereus. A total of three all captured here. Before I left I could barely see the beginnings on one bud, the exhilaration of all things that have greeted me on my return.

One midsummer's night each year, its exquisitely scented flower opens as night falls, then closes forever with the first rays of the morning sun. Epiphyllum oxypetalum.

Thought

the New Frog

I will carry this totally in hand so it will get home safely for our Koi Pond. It was the LAST one of the proper size...

Foxfire & my new Frog

Foxfire Botanical Gardens which is an official National Hosta Display Garden for the American Hosta Society, and one of the Midwest's hidden gems.

The last night of camp

I toured the local Veterans Park so lovely. Ah – 1S Cobra San Diego Aerospace Museum Some History A Virtual Cockpit I also took me to Foxfire Botanical Gardens which is an official National Hosta Display Garden for the American Hosta Society, and one of the Midwest's hidden gems. I needed time away from camp to ingest all that I learned, saw, touched etc.; just time for me to assimilate these last few days of intense and wonderful STUFF called knitting. I got a new frog!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :0

Drool Time

Camp Pictures