Turtle Love

Spring break last week and my little grandson, Ollie, went to the Oklahoma Aquarium in Tulsa.  Seems like this sea turtle and Oliver bonded.  What a happy turtle or hungry perhaps?

Naughty Nonna

I usually keep these silver bowls filled with candy treats for the grandkids.  I really shouldn't as I end up eating it too.

I can't wait to see their faces when they see these little dried anchovies from Myanmar.  What in the world would they do with them?  Snacks?  Fish sauce? Paste?  Actually the last two would be good, but I'm not popping one in my mouth.

PS ~ the weenies can smell them and love to snack on them.  I wouldn't have bet on it.

Progress

Oh, my aching back.  After siphoning this putrid swill down my throat, you'll remember, I drained the goldfish pond at the city house.

To this.  I was shocked how much the gopher dug from the ground and deposited in my pond.

Ta daa.  I filled up three blue storage containers with the slimy, stinky muck and mud.  I thought I was going to have a heart attack.  Can't wait to get it cleaned out and another siphon then the filter and fish.  Yay!  I wasn't shouting yay while doing all the work though.

Garden Love

I found these two flats of ground covers.  From chartreuse to sage greens and purples; I don't even know how many different kinds of plants there are.  The instructions say you can lay down the whole sheets or cut them up into 5 inch squares to put down. They are growing on a layer of coir, or coconut husks. I wish I had room on the walls (brick) as I can see them as a vertical garden.

Supposedly, you can fill in areas or even put out in the lawn as they can be mowed over.  I am such a sucker for new things and am trying to figure out where to put them.  I just love these.

Sometimes You're The Windshield

Sometimes you're the bug.

Be still my beating heart.  It's spring!  My favorite time of year.  I've been holding back at the nurseries.  Only planting perennials and bulbs and nothing that will freeze.  

I've shown you the photo of the goldfish pond where gophers dumped their tunnel detritus.  Their tunnels are all under the rocks so I can't lay traps properly.  I can't even move some of the rocks.  Now, big rats have taken over the tunnels.  I caught one, but cookies, peanut butter, gummy bears and cheese don't tempt them. And yes, those rat traps hurt. The bird feeders have all been moved to the edge of the lake.

So, I went to the hardware store and bought clear tubing, so I could see when the water was coming near my guzzle. Who knew siphoning came so fast?  And, you have to suck hard. Yes, you guessed it.  The bacterial, amoebic fecal filled filthy swill went down my throat several times.  I wish I had a picture of me holding the tubing down in the water and over the 8 foot drop trying to drain it.  I got air in it several times and I had to start all over.

To my horror, those little menaces dumped a load of dirt that nearly fills half the goldfish pond.  It would fill a wheelbarrow, which I don't have at the city house.  Aye yay yay.  And those cute little rats watched me the whole time.  This time, I'm the bug.

King Cake - A Little Late

I was told this little old pottery face is what was used in a King Cake.  The beholder of the slice with the face embedded, was bestowed luck or something.  Maybe they didn't have to give up anything for lent and hopefully, didn't crack a tooth.

Shamrocks

Okay, so they aren't green, but I did buy some green ones too.  These purple shamrocks are huge and I am going to plant them today.  What better day to plant them than on a warm, sunny St. Patrick's Day?

It is a big holiday in the US too.  They dye rivers green and have parades and celebrations.  I read that one of the things they do is drowning the shamrock, which is putting one in the bottom of a glass and filling it with beer or whiskey.  

The grandkids have gone to the farm for the weekend with their Poppa T. and took green clothing with them so they wouldn't get pinched.

I've heard Ireland is one of the most beautiful places on earth.  I named my first child, Erin.

Erin go bragh.

Wildfire

My rant - never mind.  But, the ranchers that burn off rangeland for their cattle, really piss me off.  So much wildlife and plant life dies in these fires.  Plus, they always get out of control.

We got a call that our mountain was on fire and nearing the cabin.  Of course, we were both in the city, so dealing with the forestry service and local volunteer fire departments by phone is frustrating to say the least.  

They rarely get into trouble for burning, but I have seen the aftermath, and many lizards, turtles and ground nesting birds' nests are killed and destroyed.  Now, multiply that by the wildlife that is killed when they start cutting hay.  Sometimes, depending on the rain, they do it several times during the summer.  

I quit eating red meat for five years in protest.  Guess I need to start drinking/using nut milks.  Eventually, maybe their practices will change, but I'm not holding my breath.

Freckles

Freckles.  Caused from exposure to UV-B radiation.  If you are a fellow freckled person, I doubt you were enamored of them when you were a child.

I was fair-skinned, had dark brown hair and light blue eyes.  I even won a contest for the most freckles at a fishing contest when young (mortified.) I usually had zinc oxide on my nose as it always got burned.  I'm waiting for it to fall off.  People wanted a tan when I was growing up - no one used sunscreen.  I burned after about 15 minutes.

Every freckle is a friend I'd hear - no they were not.  I tried a freckle cream; it did not work.  Not only were they on my face, my legs and arms are covered with them - even today.

Now, they are calling them liver spots.  Ick.  But, I have found a way to get rid of the most heinous ones.  Freeze Off, the same liquid nitrogen aerosol the dermatologists use, takes them off.  They now like to take them off with a laser (quite a bit more expensive), which will cause you to walk around with scabs all over the back of your hands, but I am not a happy camper with liver spots on my hands. Period.

Addendum ~ I just read a Harper's Baazar magazine yesterday and it seems that the models walking the catwalk are painting freckles on their faces.  Will wonders never cease?

To Mail Or Not

I found these old envelopes and postcards from the seventies.  Thought I would put them in my booth, but I'd probably never see them again if I do that. 

I try not to bring up politics, so if you love the Republican party - even with him at the helm - 

just click off this post.  I think I mentioned my own husband and my daughter-in-law voted for him.  She was talking (this weekend) about how the mainstream media lied all the time.  I held my tongue, though I wanted to say, yeah, Fox News and the National Enquirer.

Anyway, I thought about sending one of these to the White House, signed by the ghost of Richard Nixon no less, to tell that man, he better get out while he can still hold his head up, though I know he wouldn't get it.

I don't even know if the Watergate Hotel still stands.  What would likeminded people write to that man?

Nests and Eggs

Don't know why I am thinking about nests and eggs this morning.  Must be those darn goose babies from last year. They are out on my porch, quite large now and crapping on the sidewalk and patio and honking.  The minute the drapes go open, they swim over and climb the steps.  They actually peck on the windows and look through them. I put a little fencing across the back yard next to the lake, but there are a few spaces they can still get in.  Worse, I saw them picking at my tiger lily shoots coming up.  They also like the seeds from the bird feeders that are dropped.  It's always something.  

By the way, during the move, I dropped and broke this sculpture of my hand.

This is a study of mockingbirds I did.  If you remember, I used to climb the tallest trees to look into nests and see the babies and eggs.

I do miss my chickens, especially the ones that were like pets.  But, I really miss the eggs.

I know I've told you this before so humor me.  Indians learned to make baskets from watching the birds' build their nests.  I love that.  Here is one I made.

Little hummingbird nest.  They'll return the first of April, so have your feeders ready.

The mallard eggs in my bush last spring.  As you can see I am thinking about spring.  On the back porch yesterday, I watched a starling going into the birdhouse the sparrows use.  The sparrows have been making trips for stuff to build their nest and the starling was going in and removing it all and flying away with it.  Mother Nature doesn't like that.  Me and my weenies are getting ready to go chase the geese away.  Better put my pants on first.  This ain't the farm.

Have a wonderful weekend.