Magical Moment

 

I was on my way from the living room into the dining area this morning when the view out the back door made me stop and go get my camera.  I love the way the clouds form a loose ‘rope’ between the ridge lines sometimes. Almost immediately after I took this picture, the ‘rope’ started to spread out, making a generalized fog that later burned off. But for a short moment, it was magical.

In My NEXT Life…

I have promised my husband that in my next life, I will do everything I can to be –

AN ELECTRONICS EXPERT – defencecareers.mil,nz

 

STRONG AND MUSCULAR – so I can help haul things more easily.

 

A PHYSICS EXPERT – so I can grasp what we’re trying to do more easily – forensisgroup.com

AND –

TALLER – so I don’t have to stand on a ladder to reach everything!

He kindly says he loves me just the way I am – but tell that to me when I’m red-faced, sweating, plus huffing and puffing after helping him bring the new TV out of the truck,

• through the garage,
• up the steps,
• through the gate into the dining area,
• through the gate into the living room,
• and across the floor to where we could set it down.
• THEN we had to fight it out of the boxes,
• stand it up after attaching the legs,
• lift it up to put on the new support in front of the entertainment center,
• and attach all the cords and wires and nylon ropes to keep it from falling….

We did it, and he’s working with adding updates and programming so we might be able to watch TV for the first time in three weeks or so since we were hit by lightning!

If we can get it working properly, it’ll be a really nice gift for the 4th of July.

THEN we can worry about whether the DVR,  DVD player, and movie storage system are still working….

“Sunrise, Sunset, Slowly Go the Years…”

Svetlana Milenkovic – LinkedIn

Inna Kashkovar – LinkedIn

 

Lake Degray – Matt Cook – AR Sunrises and Sunsets via Cindy Basnett Thurman

 

Mehmet Tayfun Dur – LinkedIn

 

Ocean Painting – “Sailors Dreamworld” – Steve K – via Yucel Ulusoy – LinkedIn

 

Stephen McGuinness – Hunstanton – Norfolk – Sunset

 

Svetlana Milenkovic – Linkedin

 

Quiet Rain

“Enjoying The Rain” -Julian Rad

We have waves of quiet rain coming through. Our doors are open so we can enjoy the deliciously cooler breeze.  Today it’s just rain. No lightning. No thunder. No flash floods. No harmful winds. I am going to get a cup of coffee, sit in my recliner and continue reading. Maybe even stretch out for a nap. Ahhhh!

Awe-Inspiring Trees

Amazon.com

 

GrownUps.com.nz

 

Moreton Bay Fig Tree – TripAdvisor

 

Ficus Macrophylia – Garden of Trials – Algiers-Iahsen Haddou – LinkedIn

 

Tree of Tule -Oaxaca -Mexico.- Linked In

 

Pinterest

Adaptation Run Amok

Sony Pictures Entertainment

“Adaptation” – a change or the process of change by which an organism or species becomes better suited to its environment.

I told you that we had a bad storm and lightning or the power going on and off repeatedly combined with a circuit breaker tripping resulted in LOTS of electronics being hurt or killed. Suddenly, we had no computers, no Internet, no TV, no way to play movies….. a real culture shock and character-building exercise.

When I finally realized there was nothing more to be done about the problem, I decided to go out and work in my garden. (My stupidity on setting up the irrigation system for it resulted in NO water being sent out there, other than Mother Nature’s largesse and the plants were suddenly suffering.) There was lots of dead stuff that needed to be pruned, weeds to be removed, etc. I took my gardening stuff out there and got started, pleased that I was adapting to our new situation.

Suddenly the wind came up and the skies turned dark. The tree branches were becoming more and more active. My hat blew off and I had to chase it. The rain came down in a WHOOSH! – Mother Nature laughed at me – soaking me before I could gather my stuff and head for the house.

By the time I got to the house, I was dripping. My husband took one look at me and laughed. I was really steamed. I had TRIED to adapt to our situation, opting to be productive in the  garden since we couldn’t get onto computers, watch TV, etc., and I was standing in the utility room, dripping for my efforts. :0(   (I have since cleaned up the garden. I’ll try to post pictures tomorrow.)

I have read four books in the past two days – one by Renae Christine listing 150 suppliers of stuff for handmade products; a book by an author new to me who writes kind of like JK Rowling in the Harry Potter series, the last book in the Traveling Pants series, and a much-loved re-read of a Nora Roberts book.

I have a new Keto recipe to try tonight from the Simply Keto book – actually TWO recipes – one for Keto Honey Mustard and the other for Keto breaded chicken tenders. We’ll try these tonight and I’ll report on this and one other recipe I tried recently that’s a winner.

Latest update on our really annoying electronics problems is that the new TV should be ready for pick up Friday or Saturday.  When we get it hooked up, we should be able to tell if any other things in the entertainment center were affected. Fingers crossed that all else is okay.

My husband has continued to work with his computer after getting the new network card in mine and getting the new modem and 24-port switch installed. He has decided that we do NOT have to drive to Tulsa tomorrow for an appointment with the Microsoft people. He’ll work with it some more, test it when we have the new TV up and running, and then decide if we need to do something further.

THAT leaves our clothes washer, which decided to throw a fit today at the end of the first load. It sounded like a jet was trying to land in our living room. I ran in and shut things down. My husband will download the PDF of the manual that goes with our washer and dryer and see if he can figure out why the spin cycle has lost its mind, whether we need parts, or WHAT.

All of this from ONE storm…..

We are doubly thankful that more wasn’t affected. We are also grateful that we can sit in a dry home reading good books while we repair or replace the things we lost.

A Storm is Coming

It’s as black as night outside right now, ready to storm. Before it got dark, I got out and took some pictures in the yard I wanted to share with you.  This is one of our Rio Samba rose bushes with Impatiens around the base.  We have two other Rio Sambas, but for some reason, their leaves are turning yellow. I’ve sprayed them with fungicide plus all purpose rose bug killer, hoping that will help them.

 

I love the red roses on this bush. It seems quite happy at the moment.

 

This is one group of phlox. I love these. They come in a lot of colors. We have  a lighter pink shade and this one. I’m afraid if it rains hard, these will be beaten down.

I have to tell you about my stupidity of the day –

I checked my veggie garden and noticed the plants weren’t getting enough water. My husband came out to help me trace the water from the outside rural faucet we have out to the garden. It turned out that I had forgotten about a “Y” connection of hoses we have and it was turned the wrong way. The water wasn’t going anywhere, much less to the garden! We fixed it and tested it. On the way back to the house, Mother Nature rained on us….

 

It’s Going to WHAT?

Our weather forecast is the pits. The ‘weather weenies” as my husband calls them are saying that Greenwood, Arkansas (where we are) could get 6 to 8 inches of rain in the next 7 days, starting today. When you look at the map above, we’re in the bright red blob that says, “6” – 8″.  Even if we ONLY get 4″ – 6″, it’ll be a big problem for a lot of good people.

It’s times like this when I’m really glad we live on top of a ridge line, but many places in Arkansas and Oklahoma have already flooded, are trying to pick up the pieces, and really don’t need any more rain.

I hope the weather guys aren’t upset with me, but I REALLY HOPE THEY ARE WRONG THIS TIME.

Perspective

Animal’s Look

Yet another rainy day. It was foggy, too, when we awoke this morning, but that has mostly gone. I MAY be able to do a bit of work outside later, but I’m not going to hold my breath. I’m switching to my INSIDE to-do list.

I feel guilty for gritching a bit about the rain. We are so lucky. Our house is dry, sitting on top of a ridge line in Arkansas, when so many good people are suffering from a 500-year flood. The Arkansas River finally crested at around 20 feet above flood stage. MANY people have had damage to their homes and businesses – or complete loss – in Fort Smith, Van Buren, and other towns in Arkansas and Oklahoma. Some of the roads and bridges are reopening as the water recedes, leaving the devastation clear.

AND, while I gritch about another day of rain, others in the U.S. are dealing with drought and wildfire!

Perspective is all.

“It’s good to shut up sometimes.” ~ Marcel Marceau

And the Lilies Bloom!!

We have a really good chance of more severe weather this afternoon and tonight, so I got out and cut some of the lilies that are blooming in one of our planters.

Here are more of the yellow ones in the planter.

 

And I HOPING that this beauty won’t be harmed by the storms.

Lunch Bunch

Thrillist

It would be NICE if the Lunch Bunch gruesome threesome actually were this young and were actually at the beach, but we’re grateful for what we can get. :0)

This is closer to what we ACTUALLY look like, but it’s what’s in your heart that counts. :0)

Today will be a special Lunch Bunch because, besides the three of us and my husband – who pretends to preside over his ‘harem,’ sitting at one end of the table, Kay’s daughter, LaDonna, is visiting from Albuquerque, and Kay’s husband is taking the week off from work – a VERY unusual thing – so it will be even more fun that usual!

We’ve had severe weather this week, with our friend Linda the closest to the actual tornado that touched down. I don’t think any of us had any damage, although another friend of mine lost a maple tree in her back yard.

So we’ll celebrate being together, being alive, and feeling feisty today!

I hope that YOU are weathering the storms, tornados, wind damage, flooding, and flying hairballs well, too. My heart goes out to all the people who are having to pick up the pieces, trying to put things back together.

A Good Day

We had a productive day today –

• we shoveled the potting soil back into the finished planter before the rains started
• we hauled the bricks that were holding down the tarps over the potting soil and cleaned up work area
• we got our errands done, with the rain starting on our way home
• I scrubbed part of master bathroom upstairs (need to finish tomorrow) – got distracted by –
• I tried on multiple pairs of jeans and finding SEVERAL pairs that were too large – :0)
• I added the too-large jeans to the Veterans Thrift store bag donation
• my husband loaded ammunition for our good friend down the road from us

The predicted severe thunderstorms came and went without causing damage. At one point the sky was so dark I couldn’t see that it was raining when I looked out the window, but I could HEAR the thunder and could see the lightning, and could see the rain streaming down the windows. The wind was really whipping things around, but things have cleared up now and the sun is shining! (I just checked to see if our greenhouse was still standing and it IS. :0)

My husband is asleep in his chair in the living room. That sounds really good, so I’m thinking of doing that, too.

I hope YOU’VE had a good day, too.

Aftermath of the Severe Weather

Photo by Fort Smith Police Department

Yesterday, when our weather radio alerted us that we were under a tornado warning and that we should take cover, an as-yet unofficial tornado hit the south side of Fort Smith, one city away from where we live in Greenwood, Arkansas.  This is one of the pics showing the damage.

Reports today are saying 30 to 40 homes were damaged or destroyed, trees downed, roofs of businesses torn off, power out, etc. The good news is that no one seems to have been hurt or killed.  I hope our governor can declare an emergency and release Federal funds for those who need it.

Even though my husband scoffed at the weather alert, I’m really glad we have the radio. We are under tornado ‘watches’ all summer long, so I don’t pay a lot of attention to the run of the mill alerts; but when they say a rotation has been confirmed and is heading toward Greenwood, I DO!. I’m very grateful that we haven’t found any damage.

In fact, today is a gorgeous day – sunshine and 80 degrees. My husband and I laid more bricks on our planter this morning. We should be able to finish it tomorrow. It’s been 30 years since we built the planters and our skills have deteriorated since then. We will be delighted if the planter is sturdy, holds the dirt in, and we can plant beautiful things in it, regardless of how it looks. :0)

After we rested and drank water, I went out to my garden to weed. The weeds really love Mel’s Mix, the soil alternative we use in the raised boxes, so I had a lot to do. I did finish that, though, and after resting again, mixed up a 2-gallon container of KilzAll, the wonderful weed killer that was recommended to me a couple of years ago by a good friend in Tulsa. The container is a pump-up variety, so I can murder a lot of weeds without killing myself as well. I used the whole container on the weeds UNDER my raised boxes in the garden. As soon as I have them under control I’ll get more wood chips to spread over the fabric weed barrier we put down several years ago.

After we finished laying bricks this morning, I came in and washed my hair in the kitchen sink. I came in after weeding really hot, huffing and puffing, my whole head wet. I washed my hair again, hating to walk around with dirty, yucky hair. Now I’ve come in from murdering weeds, my whole head wet again, and I look like I’ve been run over by a truck. I refuse to wash my hair more than twice a day, so my poor husband will have to put up with me the rest of the day. There are more weeds out there calling my name – so I’ll probably go out one more time and spray another container-ful before I call it a day.

I hope that Mother Nature is being kind to you today and that you’re enjoying your Sunday.

 

Flying Hair Balls!

KSFY.com

We are under a tornado watch the entire day, tonight, and into tomorrow morning.

It was sprinkling just slightly, with rain looking imminent this morning when we woke up, so we spent about half an hour cleaning up our ‘rebuilding-the-brick-planter’ work site, putting away tools, the partial bag of mortar, papers from the bricks we hauled, etc. We’ll wait and see what the situation is after the rains have come and gone before doing anything more.

We’re disappointed because we wanted to finish the first planter today.  A challenging job, though, is even less fun when you’re trying to beat the clock, betting against Mother Nature.

I’m going to get out and try to get my garden weeded before the rain, and then we’ll batten down the hatches and hope we don’t have damage from the storm.

I hope you’re safe wherever you are today.  Happy Saturday!

Sharing a Beautiful Day

I just enjoyed walking around the yard, taking stock of what’s what while marveling that it wasn’t raining! Right now it’s 70 degrees F.!  Just gorgeous.  I wanted to show you the results of my trying to create a bit of order from the chaos created by Mother Nature recently. Here is one of our Rio Samba rosebushes. I pruned the three we have so they’ll bloom again in a couple of weeks. You can also see the tarp that is hopefully preserving the potting soil we removed from one of the two planters that collapsed. We are trying to gear up for rebuilding these ourselves, since the only estimate we’ve been able to get from an actual bricklayer was WAAAAAY too high.

Here you see one of the planters I weeded, cleaned out, and pruned.  You can see I need to weed whack next….

The second of the trio planters between our front yard and the driveway.

And this is the third planter. These are end-to-end .

Another.

And another. We have 14 planters we built 30 years ago. We live on top of a ridge line, so what soil there is was trucked in when we had the house built.  With the potting soil and an irrigation system, we are able to grow the flowers we love.

This is one view off the deck. We have lots of wave petunias and periwinkles on the deck this year. You can see our view in one direction. We love to pretend we own all this.

Here’s a view the other direction.

Some Impatiens on the front porch.

and more. You can see this planter needs some work.

And finally, I my travels around the yard I found –

Amber

Molly

Smoke

and Abby, all enjoying the screened porch on this lovely day.

I hope it’s really nice where you are, too!

Happy Roses!

I cut our three Rio Samba rose bushes, plus a red rose bush WAAAAAAAY back, quite ruthlessly before winter. They were all in sad shape, having some kind of fungus and having grown out of shape, having some branches that died, etc. I figured that either my severe pruning would work, or we would have to start over and get new plants.

Happily, my pruning seems to have given them all new life!

This is the red rose bush and you can also see one of the Rio Samba bushes further back in the trio of planters.

We love Rio Samba roses because they start out bright yellow. Then they develop coral edges on each bloom. Finally they turn coral before it’s time to prune them off to encourage new blooms.

Flowers Add Quality of Life

After the rains I walked around the yard, delighting that so many flowers are happy right now. I wanted to share them with you.

These are Rio Samba roses.  They start bright yellow, then slowly turn to coral.

 

Impatiens like the shade of our front porch.

Camellias

My husband’s clematis.

Wave petunias on the deck.

Periwinkles

A new color of iris blooming that I’ve never seen before!

When we first married – almost 50 years ago now – my husband wasn’t into flowers.  He didn’t mind them, just didn’t care about them one way or the other and tried to make me happy by taking me to the local nurseries to find things to plant.

Now he actively works at getting our wisteria to grow up a tree, weeds his clematis, notices and remarks on the roses, LOVES the deep purple iris – now his favorite flower.

Flowers are a quality of life thing – and we’re rich in them!

1st Hummingbird of the Spring! May 2nd

Tim Fitzharris

 

We were sitting at the dining area table this morning -groggily trying to wake up – when we saw the first hummingbird of the season (that we’ve noticed) at the hummingbird feeder!  I had mainly put the feeder out to welcome the first hummingbirds, not actually having seen one.

He was only at the feeder just a second, sipped a bit and then flew off. We went out and got the feeder, filled it with fresh food, and put it back out. We feel so rich when we see hummingbirds dive-bombing each other at the feeders. We will put out several, so there is more than enough food for all, but nature overcomes. I hope this is a good year for the hummers.

Arrgh! Too Much of a Good Thing

Tail and Fur

We are thankful we live on top of a ridge line. The ‘monsoon season’ continues in Arkansas. The latest forecast says we might have 5 inches total by the end of the day tomorrow.

Last night we were enjoying listening to the rain while watching TV in the living room. There was a lot of lightning and rolling, rumbling thunder. It was pretty impressive. Suddenly we heard a loud CRACK! and both jumped in our chairs. It sounded like the lightning had hit something really close. I’m no judge of these things, but I don’t want it any closer than that!  I wonder if you hear the lightning if it strikes YOU…..?

I haven’t noticed any damage here, thank goodness, but it’s still raining, so I haven’t ventured out far.  I have no idea if my garden veggies have been washed out of their sweet “squares” or not. The greenhouse is still standing, so I think it’s okay.

One things I’m really happy to note – the rose bushes I cut back so viciously are blooming now!  I’ll get some pics if this ‘wonderful’ rain will finally stop…

 

 

“It’s Raining, It’s Pouring….”

Daily Express

 

“It’s raining.

It’s pouring.

The old man is snoring.

He bumped his head.

and couldn’t get out of bed

in the morning”    – English Limerick

 

It started to rain late in the evening, storming all night with lots of rumbling and bumbling – really great for sleeping. It’s still raining today, and is supposed to tomorrow, too. A bit too much of a good thing.

This is the equivalent of ‘monsoon season’ in Arkansas. Things are about as lush as they get around here. The trees on either side of our 650+ foot STEEP driveway are trying to grow across the driveway. We don’t have any trouble, but UPS and Fedex truck drivers look a bit wild-eyed when they come up to deliver.

Once the rains stop, we’ll be lucky to get enough to wet the grass during the summer. We have an irrigation system that – once working – waters every day so that flowers don’t completely croak around here. We used to get out each evening and water everything with hoses, but that wasn’t enough to counteract the strong sunshine and over 100 degree F. weather we routinely have. The plants would simply burn up.

We’re enjoying the rain we’re getting now and working on the irrigation system to repair blow-outs before the system is really needed. We’re making good headway on a leak we found in the well house. We think maybe one more session will finish the main system. We still have a problem on the other side of the driveway from the well house, but that can wait a bit.

It strikes me funny that we can’t work on the irrigation system because it’s raining.  :0)

Happy day, everyone!

Nature

Max Rive Photography via Mara Spirig – LinkedIn

 

Melanie Moses – poet – LinkedIn

Glorious Day

Inna Kashkovar – LinkedIn

Rainy Wednesday

 Scary Mommy

“I love the rain. I want the feeling of it on my face.” – Katherine Mansfield

No work in the garden or weed whacking today. The bug spraying man came this morning, spread granules outside, treated the inside of the house and then left just before a gentle rain started.

Because of unforeseen circumstances, we had to make two trips into town to get our errands done this morning, but the rain mostly stopped when we had to get out of the car.

Now we are in full of a good lunch, enjoying some quiet time. We have front and back doors open so we can enjoy the nice breeze and the soothing sound of the rain…

“Let the rain kiss you. Let the rain beat upon your head with silver liquid drops. Let the rain sing you a lullaby.” – Langston Hughes

Sending Spring Your Way

The purple iris bloom first. As they fade, the yellow ones start.

This is now my husband’s favorite flower, so each time the blooms are spent, I split some and plant them in another place in the yard.

The wisteria has given us a nice display this year. We’re trying to get it to go up into the tree on the opposite end of the wood pile. We actually saw some blooms up there this year! Our rose bushes were looking sad at the end of the season, so I cut them  WAAAAAY  back, figuring they would either like it or croak.  They seem to be happy with lots of buds right now.

We have some yellow blooms since this picture was taken. I’ll see if I can get a pic to share with you later.

 

I love this time of year!

And the Rains Continue

Depositphotos

We had strong storms last night with lots of lightning and thunder. Quite impressive. I was relieved to see that we had no discernible damage this morning. It’s raining now, but a quiet, soaky rain that will benefit everything – though my husband is grumbling because he can see the grass growing and he JUST mowed…

I’ve switched to INSIDE stuff today – regular household chores, but I’m going to make some breakfast and then do a session of yoga this morning so I can add another gold star to my calendar. :0)

I hope that the weather is nice where you are and that you’re enjoying your day, too.

 

More Rain

Inna Kashkovar – LinkedIn

It’s still rainy here this morning, but it’s supposed to clear this afternoon. Isn’t the .gif above amazing?  Inna Kashkovar does beautiful work.

My newly planted annuals, as well as my garden veggies, got a hefty drink yesterday. I’ll try to get out later and take some pictures of things – hoping they all enjoyed the water, rather than getting washed out.

After planting 5 flats (180 flowers) Friday afternoon and evening, and then helping my husband mount a humongous nut and bolt bin on the horizontal support beams on one wall of the shop yesterday, my husband and I are enjoying a much quieter day today.

He’s going to go out to the shop and enjoy organizing and labeling the slots of his new bin today. I’m not sure what’s on tap for me, but I’m thinking about playing in my art room. BOTH of us are looking forward to seeing Game of Thrones, Season 8, Episode 1 tonight.

I hope your Sunday is wonderful.

100 Percent Chance of Rain

Jeff Jett – LinkedIn

 

Usually, when the forecast says, “100% chance of rain,” they’re pretty sure. And they were right.

The twice-a-year opportunity to take hard-to-get-rid-of ‘stuff’ to either the city recycling center or the rural folks is today until 2 pm. We watch for this in the paper because we ALWAYS have metal scraps or other things the regular trash people refuse to deal with.  I think the city is wonderful to offer this. I think, otherwise, we might see unsightly stuff dropped off beside the roads. I particularly appreciate it this time, when the men are having to work in the rain.

On cue, the minute we started backing up to the shop door, the rain started. It wasn’t a downpour, so we continued. The rain got harder as we went toward town. The city center had a BIG line of trucks with their beds all full, so we decided to drive farther to the rural center. Happily, there wasn’t a line there and we left our stuff quickly. We got our mail on the way home and are now happily in our dry house.

KFSM TV

Greenwood is just southeast of Fort Smith. As you can see, we have lots of green, yellow, orange, and red blobs in our future today and tomorrow – about 2 inches total.  I’m hoping that the rain will be steady and reasonably gentle, giving our new flowers and veggies a great drink, but not washing them out of the ground.

I hope the people south and east of us stay safe today. It looks as if they might get more serious weather than we.

Our Vicarious Beach Trip!

Thanks to my wonderful sister-in-law, Mary Lou, we can all take a vicarious trip to the beach this week!

I believe the name of the beach she is enjoying is “Topsail” in North Carolina.

She is up at 0-dark-thirty every morning to enjoy the sunrise, whether at her home or here, at the beach. WE are the happy recipients of her generosity in sending pics.

I can almost hear the water in these photos!  AHHHHHH!

I wish her and her vacation buddies the best time ever.

THANKS for letting us share this with you, Mary Lou!

Spring View from our Back Yard

We live on top of a ridge line outside of Greenwood, Arkansas. We basically own part of the top of it. Our property goes all the way down to the street in front and about half way down in the back.

One of my favorite things is to watch the seasons change in the valley below the house. Here you can see things are really beginning to green up. The red buds are enjoying their last hurrah and our purple iris and wisteria are beginning to bloom.

Here you can also see the dog we made, plus the “peacock” hanging onto the leftover ham radio antenna section we mounted on some concrete.

 

When you own the top part, you can pretend that you own all you can see. I’m moving from right to left across the back yard to give you a feel for our nice view.

There are the loveliest people who put on a 4th of July display each year.  We’ve driven down to see if we can figure out where they are so we can thank them, but so far, haven’t been able to locate them.

You can also see one of the mosaic gazing balls I made a few years ago for the bird bath.

Another view farther to the left. You can also see the ‘weed trees’ with greenery right at the top of each stalk. I carefully negotiate the rocks, brambles, stickers, etc. trying to get rid of these each spring.

To the left a bit farther is our ham radio tower and my greenhouse. There is also three evergreen trees growing together just to the left of this which is the home of lots of cardinals and other birds who frequent the feeders hanging from our deck.

I spend lots of time walking around out here, enjoying the changes as each season progresses.

 

I Want to Go Here

Elena (Livia) D. – LinkedIn

Wonder Mountain – Toronto, Canada

Wonder Mountain near Toronto, Canada – Jeff Jett, LinkedIn