Give it a Rest!

I'm seeing this sight, practically every time I look out of the window. This guy just doesn't give up. It has to be well over a month that he has been puffing and strutting. Notice that the girls, as usual, aren't acting very impressed.

An Award!

Thanks very much to AJ Oaks of A Little Farm With A Big Heart http://wwwaj-oaks.blogspot.com/ , Tina st My World according to ME http://borderlineexpress.blogspot.com/ and a belated thanks, and humble apology for being so late, to Isobelle Golightly of Isobelle Golightly the Beautiful Goat http://isobellegolightlythebeautifulgoat.blogspot.com/ for the same award. I'll do my best to answer the questions.

1. What would your prefect day consist of?

I live quite a few of them, now that I'm retired. I would sleep late, get up and play on the computer for a while, go out and putter in the garden. Then, in the afternoon, it's off to find a nature trail to hike. Theoretically, that would be followed by coming home and fixing a great dinner, but, since I'm a lousy cook, that isn't likely to happen.

2. How would you describe yourself if you were an item of clothing?

A bra. Always there to give support.

3. What hobbies are you currently working on?

I seem to be obsessed with identifying wild flora. Just because I like to know the names of things.

4. Walking in the woods in wellies or bare foot on the beach?

Given my current obsession, definitely walking in the woods in wellies. It's amazing how things change so quickly.

5. Have you ever hugged or sang to a tree?

I might hug a tree, after checking very closely to make sure there was no poison ivy, but I'd be afraid I'd kill the thing if I tried to sing to it.

6. Growing your own veggies or nipping to the supermarket?

I'm not fond of veggies. If I were going to eat any, they would definitely be the supermarket, or better yet, the farm stand, variety.

7. Have you found anyone exciting in your family tree?

Not exactly exciting, but, because my family tends to marry and procreate late, my Grandfather's brother died at Gettysburg. That's not many generations removed for 150 years ago.

8. Slap up meal in a posh restaurant or fish ‘n’ chips from the wrapper?

Definitely fish 'n' chips from the wrapper.

9. Which element do you most resonate with, Earth, Air, Fire or water?

I am drawn to water, so I would say that.

10. Do you believe in fairy’s?

Yup, and also "ghosties and ghoulies and long legged beasties, and things that go bump in the night."

Thank you all, most sincerely, for this award. Since I'm late to the party, most of the folks I would pass it on to have already received it. So, I guess I'll let it stop here.

If Only

I made a decision, when I started volunteering for FLTAP, that I would not be bringing any horses home. I'm getting older, and I'm not as strong as I used to be. Even working in the garden, some days, leaves me knocked down tired. There is so much involved with the care of a horse, even if you board.

The biggest reason that I decided not to get another horse, however, is tied to that getting older thing. I am so afraid that any young Thoroughbred that I got would outlive me, or outlive the time when I am still a thinking person, since senile dementia runs in my family. I just don't want to leave any of my animals in a position of falling onto bad times. I have a friend who will take my cats, but assuming responsibility for a horse, especially one who is likely to be older, is a huge task.

That being said, there are times when my resolve is sorely tested. I'm going through one of those times right now. His name is Boggy Creek Dancer, he is 16.3 and eight years old. Isn't he beautiful?




He's a bit on the rawboned side, but he has been running for years, and is still sound, so you can be pretty sure that he will stay sound. He's big and strong enough to handle my weight. In person, he has incredible presence. But, I'm going to hold to my resolution. Surely someone will snap him up quickly, anyways. I hope!

A Walk in Another Woods

I was headed to the Lake yesterday, to see what had changed since the last time I was there. I took a different road, and was so glad that I did. Because as I was driving down that road, I noticed a kiosk and some cars parked. I was curious, so I stopped. It turned out that it was the Whiting Road Nature Preserve, consisting of 240 acres of land that was purchased by the town to be preserved in its present state.

Naturally, I decided that this was a better destination than the Lake, so I pulled out my camera and started hiking. Thank goodness I had my walking sneakers on. There are lovely paths throughout, which are very easy to walk on.



They're not trying to return the area to a native state, and it is just full of two very invasive plants.

Wild Honeysuckle - though this one was a very vibrant pink.



Wild Roses - The place is loaded with these and, while here at home, I am fighting a constant, and losing, battle against them, I want to make sure to come back and take a walk when they are in bloom. The smell ought to be wonderful. I also want to see them in bloom because there seem to be several different types of these roses, and I think I'll be better able to tell when they come into flower.



And, oh the growing things. There was this plant. It had no flowers, but the leaves were the most attractive things.



In the deeper parts of the woods, there were many kinds of ferns.





And, my goodness, the flowers that I found.

Fleabane



Double Celendine Poppy



Dame's Rockets



Mustard



Herb Robert



Ground Ivy



Woodruff



Wild Strawberry



Toothwort



Star of Bethlehem



Remember, I'm a novice at this identification thing. So, if you find anything you think I have wrong, please let me know and I'll change it.

Of course, there are a couple of mystery plants. This first is just budding. It looks, though you can't see it in the pictures very well, like the flowers will have a pink or red color.




And, there was this lovely bush everywhere. At first, I thought it was just more of the wild honeysuckle, but as I looked closer, I could see that it wasn't. The flowers hang from the underside of the bush, like Solomon's Seal, but the flower shape is different, and the plant is woody.



I spent a couple of hours just meandering along a few of the many pathways. There are more to explore. The pathway is multiple use, but no motorized vehicles are permitted. I met a few other walkers, some runners and a bicyclist. They were all smiling, and quite friendly. I also found shod hoofprints on the wetter parts of the path, so I know that someone is riding there. Biggggg hoofprints, maybe a draft. For sure, I'll be going back as the year progresses, to see what new things I can find.

Busy Day

But a fun one, for me, because I got to dig in the dirt for several hours. I finally have just about all of my annuals planted. I have one spot that could use something, and I would like it to be a climber. I'm thinking honeysuckle, simply because we had a vine when I was young, the smell was wonderful and it was so much fun to pull the flower off and suck out the nectar. Here's the back garden, all newly planted and ready to grow. I was thinking of putting the vine on a trellis in the middle.



Closeup of part of that garden. There's some snapdragons, some petunias, a day lily and some creeping phlox that I got from my neighbor's trash heap, where he had thrown it.



I got the mailbox garden finished.




Finished the pot garden (notice I haven't cleaned out all the leaves and seeds that came down during our big wind a few days ago).



And, put a few pots on my back steps.



While I was doing that, the young man from next door was mowing the lawn for me. He uses a big John Deere mower and, after we checked with his Dad, he mowed along the edge of the lawn, pushing back the ever invading weeds. The only problem with that is that now, with that nice strip of earth, I've got the itch to plant something there, as well. We'll see. I've kind of got my hands full with the gardens I have now. I still have two of my perennial gardens to clean out, and they're a mess, which is why there have been no pictures of them.




While I was walking around, admiring the job that the young man had done, I noticed a patch of small white flowers in the border of the woods. When I checked, I found it was woodruff. It's in a precarious position, and I think I'll ask the owner of that part of the woods if I can dig them out and transplant them into my shade garden. I have some, but I just love them, because they smell so good in the Spring.



There's also this giant thing right along the edge of my lawn. I think it's alfalfa, which wouldn't be a surprise. Those of us who have horses, with blankets and other stuff that has to be brought home to be washed, know that you frequently find alfalfa growing in the oddest places. Seeds from the hay the horses eat seem to end up everywhere.



I was pretty tired after that, so I decided to read the paper. It came in an advertising bag yesterday, and, I got a big laugh out of the product that was being advertised. I'd never heard of it before, and I just have to wonder how much marketing research was done. I mean, wouldn't you laugh if you were served some Bimbo Bread?




Or, is that just my sometimes convoluted sense of humor?

Out of My Rear Window 5/16/10

The lilacs are fading, but, the sun is shining and it is supposed to be a beautiful day. I hope I can get the rest of my annuals planted today, and still have time to try to get back into the woods.

Virginia

OK, back to normal today. I think I just needed a couple of days to adjust to my Aunt's decline. I think that what I was upset about can best be seen in the contrast of these two pictures.

I have posted this one before. This is my Aunt just three years ago, at 88.



This is my Aunt this week, at 91.



As marked as this difference is physically, it is even more of a mental decline. The Aunt of the first picture was bright, alert and informed. We would talk for hours about "cabbages and kings." The Aunt of the second picture has lost touch with reality. She lives in a fantasy world and that world is very small. I guess that I should be thankful that she still recognizes me, and that, in her fantasy world, she is very happy and content. But, I've known and loved that first Aunt for my entire life, and, impossible as it is, I want her back.

But, enough about that. I stayed with a friend of my Aunt's. A good friend, who faithfully goes to visit her every week. She finds it very painful, also, but she goes, because she knows that I can't check on her as often as I would like to, and she wants to keep an eye out on what is going on. This is the house I stayed in.



Of course, I love it because it is a home of great serenity, and because it is in the middle of woods!





My Aunt also lives in a beautiful, caring place. She and my Uncle selected it very carefully, years ago. She gets good care there, and is in very beautiful surroundings.




The trips down and back were uneventful. But, as I get older, the nine hours it takes to make the drive gets longer and longer. I was very tired when I got home. Maybe that's why, once I was home, and not on high alert any more, the sadness hit me so hard. I'm usually a very up person, so that type of thing really takes me by surprise.

Damn hard, this whole thing.