Had a rainy weekend. DD was distraught at not going to the fair. We have one more fair in the state this year and I told her I'd look into going. It's the Sandwich Fair (anyone know anything about that one?). Of course, my friend Michele is in town on Saturday so that day would be out ... but maybe Sunday or Monday (yay for Columbus Day!).
I posted at Healthful & Homemade last night -- the first time in months (shame on me).
Otherwise, it was just a quiet weekend for us. DD is thrilled to be going back to school today ("Yay! Tomorrow's Monday!").
I'm tired. Yesterday was crazy busy ... and then I opted to go to agility for both classes. OY. Got home at almost 9 pm -- don't think we'll be doing that again any time soon.
Then Dakota was up sick all night. About every 90 mins she needed to go out. It's not her fault, but the last time (at about 3:30 a.m.) I very nearly cried.
She's feeling better now, probably because she's empty, and is sleeping. Wish I had that option.
She's going to the vet today to have her weird spots looked at. DD is sure they're cancer and that the dog is going to die. *sigh*
On another topic, DD has another field trip today and it's also the opening day of our local fair. I've often said that God has a warped sense of humor... because despite the fact we've had weeks of the most beautiful, sunny, warm GORGEOUS weather, today it's pouring rain. POURING.
DD's field trip? They built cardboard boats in science class and today they take them out to sail them and see if they planned right and they'll float (with two passengers on board).
And, I swear there is never good weather for the fair. It rained pretty much all four days LAST year, and it looks like at least three of the four days this year are going to be wet.
So ... see? Warped sense of humor.
In any case, I'm just hoping to get through the day in one piece and not drive off the road or walk into walls because I'm asleep on my feet. I'm also thankful I'm not the one floating a cardboard boat in the rain...
Weather is a great metaphor for life - sometimes it's good, sometimes it's bad, and there's nothing much you can do about it but carry an umbrella. ~Terri Guillemets
Sung to the tune of this:
Check out the gas prices... and that was England, so higher than us because the dollar used to be strong once (especially in the mid-80s).
Holy smokes ... did you know Ace of Base redid "Cruel Summer"? It's pretty cool:
And, yes, I'm a little random today.
We're having another week of rain, and I'm about done with it. It'll be great for my garden (and the weeds), but it makes the dog a little crazy -- especially since we didn't have agility this week (our instructor is on vacation in Ireland, lucky lady!).
DD officially finished school yesterday, though she still needs to take her finals. She did a happy dance, then asked me when her first day of school was and calculated how much freedom she had (about two months).
My mom will be here on Saturday ... I do wonder how things will change. I'm such a "set in routine" gal. I'm thrilled she's going to be here, but ....
In any case, my weekend will consist of computer work and housework, most likely -- and if it EVER clears up, yard work.
God gave you a gift of 86,400 seconds today. Have you used one to say "thank you?" ~William A. Ward
I opened up the door to take the dog out this morning and walked into a wall of heat and humidity. It was warmer outside than in my house! It's supposed to be in the 80s today ... but don't think that means sun. It means steam! We're still expecting rain today. It *does* look like tomorrow might be nicer -- clouds in the morning, but sunny and warm in the afternoon. DH talked to his folks about fishing, so he just might get his day out (I'm doing everything: crossing fingers, praying, dancing to the sun gods...)
Also, I checked and last year we found our first swallowtail caterpillars on June 29th ... that date is looming, so if we get a little sun over the next day or two (so butterflies can actually ... yanno... FLY) we're going to start checking for eggs and babies. The milkweed is coming up, too. So I expect Pillar Place 2011 to start soon.
RE: the dog who fell off the dog walk on Sunday. I heard from the owner yesterday and she said she was shocked, but that Missy was absolutely fine. Thank goodness. I told DD and she was relieved. I think she'll always feel like it was her fault, but that's something she'll have to figure out on her own, I guess.
Last night, I got this really strong image for a scene in "Now and Forever". That happens to my quite often really. I tend to "see" parts of the book in my head, like a movie. This one will be my ending scene, and I think it has both an "awwwwww" factor, which I strive for, but should also make the reader laugh.
Today, God willing and DH don't fuss (*G*), I'm going to get it written down.
Then ... I think it's ready to submit. Finally!! My goal is to have my query and synopsis done by next week. I hate writing synopses...
I was reminded how much worse my life could be due to weather problems yesterday, when an author friend who lives in Minneapolis shared her tornado story (she's fine). I have a brother who lives on the Missouri border and who has family only a few miles from Joplin, the town that was completely destroyed by the tornado that hit (they're fine). And then I think about the farmers in Mississippi who've deliberately had their lands flooded in a very Spock-like "the good of the many over the good of the few" decision (though I do wonder how this will impact food prices over the next year). I have to say, I'm SO proud of those farmers. They took the decision to flood their lands stoically, and then took steps to protect what they could. Seeing pictures like this makes me proud:
I can't imagine how awful it was for them to see their land and their livelihood underwater. But good for them for doing what they could to protect what was theirs.
So, although I really hate all the rain ... I remember it could be far, far worse than it is.
Don't knock the weather; nine-tenths of the people couldn't start a conversation if it didn't change once in a while. ~Kin Hubbard
I really only have one thing on my mind:
When I did a search for "It's Raining Again" -- THIS came up, too (and made me laugh), so I had to share:
Who remembers THAT song? *G*
I think it may stop raining eventually ... so, THIS should be my next theme song:
I'm fairly sure I have webbed feet. And the dog is going just a little (okay a LOT) crazy from not being able to get outside and get her wiggles out.
I'm going a little crazy, too. When I don't some sunshine, I get really, REALLY low. I checked the forecast, and this is what they say:
Geez... even the days with a sun on them don't sound THAT great. But, I'll take what I can get.
I shouldn't complain -- we aren't being flooded out of our house. There are no tornadoes or other natural disasters. Truly, we're very lucky and blessed. But I really would like just a teeny bit of sun.
The best thing one can do when it's raining is to let it rain. ~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Yesterday, I took time to write -- and tried not to feel guilty about it. I went back to my NaNoWriMo roots and brainstormed the silliest scenes I could think of and then figured out where they might work in "Now and Forever". I got most of one written AND I think I figured out how to make my ending more "Awwwwwwwwwww....", which is what I strive for in all my endings.
Speaking of NaNoWriMo... they're having a NaNo THIS SUMMER! I'm so excited... though I may not be able to participate (because I have to learn three new computer languages AND rebuild the LASR/WC website -- theoretically) I'm thrilled they're doing this because someday I hope to actually have "me" time again and be able to participate twice a year. I love NaNo. There is something incredibly freeing about NaNo. It helps bring back the joy of writing for me, and I miss that.
In other news: it's raining. Again (or is that "still"?). It's awful. I hate it. The overcast, the lack of sun, the inability to get outside and walk or garden or play with the dog. UGH.
Thankfully, this should be done by Saturday. Then I get a whole 'nother pile of fun because DH is taking all of next week of. For no reason. Just because. And you know what THAT means... he'll be finding chores for us to do. DD is already behind a few days in school, I have neverending work to do (learning new computer languages for one) and I KNOW he's going to be taking down trees or tiling the kitchen or something. *sigh*
If he would just stay home and be calm, relax, recreate ... I could handle it.
Talkin' to myself and feelin' old Sometimes I'd like to quit Nothing ever seems to fit Hangin' around Nothing to do but frown Rainy Days and Mondays always get me down. - ROGER S. NICHOLS, PAUL H. WILLIAMS
Yes, it is raining. It rained all day yesterday. And our long range forecast is predicting rain every day but one for the next seven days. Fun time.
Sorry about the prolonged absence, though all of you with Blogger know that the stupid thing was down Thursday and most of Friday. Worse, when they did the "fix" on Friday, it deleted everything done Wednesday night forward. So, even though I *could* have posted on Friday, I had to do massive damage control on the LASR/WC site... all our reviews, our guest blogs, our spotlights -- ALL had to either be recreated or retrieved from draft.
Nope, I was not a happy camper. Which has led me to dusting off a PHP / Java / MySQL computer book and sending myself back to school. We hope to get all the LASR/WC stuff off blogger and onto a dynamic website over the next few months. We're actually planning some pretty massive changes so if I disappear, it's because I not only have to learn an entire computer language (well... three, actually), but also need to reimagine and rebuild the site.
I can't believe I did this on purpose.
However, I did have a wonderful Friday. The weather was GORGEOUS: warm and sunny. And, since there was rain on the forecast until June (that's only a slight exaggeration), I decided to put in my veggie garden.
We planted 24 tomato plants, 21 cucumber plants (yes, I really DO want pickles this year!), 4 butternut squash plants, 3 yellow summer squash plants, 3 eggplants, and uncountable pea and bean seeds. DD already planted carrots and I have my lettuce growing. I forgot to pop in my chard seeds, so I'll do that today.
We ran out of steam on Friday, so didn't put my "weed block" (i.e. newspaper covered with straw or grass clippings -- it all breaks down into compost eventually, but BOY does it do wonders for the weeds) down until Saturday.
Unfortunately, Saturday was cool and overcast and DD and I got eaten alive by mosquitoes.
In any case, the garden is in and happy. The flowers are blooming. I really, really love spring (and summer). I am just not a winter person at all.
Want a tour?
Here's the garden from in front (see the woods? Is it any wonder I have to fight deer?):
And from the side:
My rhubarb is crazy -- I wish you could use it for more, because I always have about ten times what I need, and end up throwing it away:
DD's little garden:
I swear, there are plants there! Here's my squash plant -- you can see my super professional weed block:
DD took a tour around the flower garden, too... here's a sample:
English daisies:
Our peach tree:
Wild blooming dogwood:
Rhododendron:
Bleeding Heart:
Mountain Laurel (from our woods):
Grape Hyacinth:
Creeping Phlox:
There are tons more flowers -- I love flowers -- but I won't bore you :-)
As a funny ... that's actually not a "new" hair color -- it's what I have now. I didn't like the others (if they'd had a real auburn, I'd have chosen it -- but that "purple" auburn is ugly). AND... this is really pretty much true... guess I have the right hair color for me?
“I could never say in the morning, "I have a headache and cannot do thus and so". Headache or no headache, thus and so had to be done.” - Eleanor Roosevelt quotes
I finally hit the wall yesterday. I've been wondering when it would -- my inability to sleep mixed with massive overwork usually makes it happen that way.
Yesterday, I woke up with the headache that would not die. I had DD beat on my back (the spot between my spine and shoulder blade ... it's always tight and usually her beating on it helps). Nothing. I rubbed the pressure point on my hand (the webbing between thumb and index finger). Nothing. Wondered if it was a caffeine headache (because it did, indeed, feel like someone had slammed an ax into my head), so drank copious amounts of coffee. Nothing. Took four Advil. Nothing. A few hours later, I took four Tylenol. Nada. Had to run errands, but upon my return, I started mixing drugs: took two Advil and two Tylenol. Nothing. Finally, 90 mins later, I took an Naproxen (Aleve).
Praise heavens, at 4:30 yesterday afternoon, my screaming headache abated -- just in time to help at beginning agility. So, yeah, I didn't get a lot done yesterday, and that includes visiting blogs.
Today I didn't set an alarm, and I locked up the cat. Despite awakening at 1:30 a.m. (this is typical for me), I fell back asleep and STAYED asleep until 6:30 a.m. We won't talk about the weird dreams I had (Judy says a dream analyst would have a field day with me), but even so I'm feeling *pretty* good today.
I do wish I had an indoor patch of grass for the dog, though. It's POURING down rain and super windy this morning. When I opened the door for her, she backed up and I could actually hear her say, "Are you out of your ever-loving mind?". But, it had been eleven hours since she'd gone, so I opened the door and shoved her out with an order to go potty.
We never know the worth of water till the well is dry. ~Thomas Fuller, Gnomologia, 1732
It rained pretty much all day yesterday, and I was extremely grateful. Except that it meant Dakota was a little crazy by the time agility came around. I did work with her on new tricks yesterday and she now knows how to speak on command. One of the ladies at agility (who has a multi-talented therapy dog) showed me how to make Dakota dance, and that's next on the list. Then I need to talk to the other lady with a therapy dog and see how she trained her dog to whisper (She'll tell her dog to speak, "ARF!" then says, "Shh...whisper." and her dog will give the smallest, quietest bark ever. It's so cute).
In any case, as a result of being cooped up, this is what she looked like at agility yesterday:
Do you notice the other dogs are pretty well NOT blurry? Dakota was a wiggling mass of energy.
And then there was my DD, the Dog Whisperer:
Dakota did fabulously on the courses, though. Really paid attention and didn't make too many mistakes. I was so pleased. The next competition is the beginning of November and both DD and Dakota are determined to do well (okay, mostly DD).
When you are sorrowful look again in your heart, and you shall see that in truth you are weeping for that which has been your delight. ~Kahlil Gibran
You ever have things happen that are so frustrating and upsetting that you have to find time to laugh?
We have this:
Do you see the "flood watch until Friday 4 p.m." on there? Yeah, so not going to the fair on Friday either. Saturday will be nice, but will be an absolute ZOO. Last time I went on a Saturday, I was miserable. Hardly any room to move, or walk; long lines for rides, nowhere to sit.
DD cried herself to sleep last night.
I'm not sure what we'll do at this point. And it makes me terribly sad.
So ... I watched a few Geico commercials, because HA they always make me smile:
Though I have to admit this is one of my favorite commercials EVER:
The only sure thing about luck is that it will change. ~Wilson Mizner
Thanks for all your well-wishes yesterday. Today, I'm going to get a knee brace (thanks, Charity) and I think that should make me well enough to go to the fair (as long as I'm not stupid). Of course, now they're calling for rain on both Thursday and Friday (the days we go because it's not so busy). I swear, if it's not one thing, it's another!
In other news, a couple months ago, I was contacted by Marianne Stephens about a group blog (grog?) she was starting that would be populated by authors named Marianne (and every variant thereof). She asked if I'd like to join -- I'd only have to blog once a month.
I decided to go for it. The blog -- called All Day, All Night officially starts on October 1st and we're running a contest starting now through the end of October (it includes Godiva Chocolate, so how can you go wrong?). All you have to do is follow us to get an entry -- though comments on the posts through October give you more. I'll be blogging on the eleventh every month. Wish me luck!
Clouds come floating into my life, no longer to carry rain or usher storm, but to add color to my sunset sky. ~Rabindranath Tagore
We had rain for three days. I'm not complaining (REALLY not complaining -- it's going to take more than three days of rain to make up for our hot, dry weather), but it made it tough on the dog. She's been crazy with energy and no way to expend it. Yesterday afternoon, after she hadn't ... *ahem*... gone that solid potty all day long, I took her to the door, opened and watched as she looked at me and tried to slink away. I KNEW she had to go (my eyes were burning from her gassiness), but she did not want to get wet.
Thankfully, today is clear.
Last night on the way home from agility, though, I knew there would be toads and frogs on the road. There is always mass carnage the night after a rainstorm. So, when I pulled onto the fairly main road that leads to MY road, I slowed down and turned on the high beams and looked for bumps in the road. It didn't take long to find one. I pulled over, put on the hazards and grabbed him. BIG toad. DD wanted to take him home, of course, so we did. :-)
Silly hoppies don't realize the danger of the wet road at night.
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That book I mentioned yesterday that I thought was so good? It's already going downhill. It's suddenly moved away from the warm, fuzzy, goofy cast of characters and unique plot to the "same old same old". We've zoomed in on the H/H and lost some of the charm of the secondary characters who are now FAR in the background. That and the hero is coming across as a big of a jerk who refused to marry the heroine the year before and then married another chick a month later. He's not married now, but so far really all he wants (despite the author telling me he's in love with the heroine and wanting to get married) is to get the heroine into bed.
I'm continuing on for a bit ... because I loved the first two chapters so well, I'm giving it a chance, but it had better shape up soon or it's outta here.
*sigh*
Sometimes I think authors focus so much on the first chapter (we're told to "hook" the reader, so we polish, polish, polish) they forget that there is a whole BOOK that needs that kind of focus.
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You Are Chocolate Pudding
You are both mature and playful. You have two sides to your personality that are constantly dueling it out.
Part of you likes all of the finer things in life while part of you is just like a big kid.
No matter what side you choose, you are always adventurous and dramatic. You take life by the horns.
You are up for fun of all kinds, and it's hard for you to say no. You tend to go until you drop.
I love quotations because it is a joy to find thoughts one might have, beautifully expressed with much authority by someone recognized wiser than oneself. ~Marlene Dietrich
It's raining! Color me happy, happy, happy. It's supposed to rain on and off all day long. I'm so thrilled. :::happy dancing:::
I've been watching the female crab spider we have outside. At first, I thought she was hiding underneath the milkweed leaf to hunt (they don't spin webs, exactly, they wait for an insect to get near and then - WHAM! - they nab it). She's there every day, legs outstretched just looking like she's ready to grab something. But I finally looked closer and realized ... she's guarding her egg sac. The tip of the milkweed leaf is folded over and then sealed with webbing, and she backs up onto it and guards it. The sad thing is that she'll die before her babies are born. I was worried about her eggs over the winter (I'm feeling very "Wilbur-ish"), since the milkweed dies down, but I discovered that they hatch in summer (which means I won't have her to watch much longer) and grow to be about 5mm, then overwinter in the ground as spiders. I hope I get some again next summer. They're fascinating.
Yesterday, while walking Dakota, we encountered the Schnauzer at the end of the street again. I don't think I mentioned our last encounter with him a week or so ago, but it was ... interesting. He came charging out, barking and posturing as always, and I had Dakota on a short leash behind me (because he attacks her) and was slowly backing him into his driveway like I do when -- BAM! -- Dakota slipped between my legs and attacked! I guess she'd just had enough of him and gave this low-throated bark-bark-bark and lunged. He lunged and we had an old-fashioned dog fight on our hands. Thankfully, all it took was me yelling at them to knock it off, but it was a little dicey since my dog's leash was wrapped around one leg (why she had to got THROUGH my legs, I have no idea).
In any case, when we saw him yesterday, he was about 100 yds away and started barking. I refuse to be forced to not walk anywhere on my street, so I put Dakota on a short leash (and warned her very sternly to be good this time) and walked around the circle. That's when the most incredible thing happened -- when we got about 75 feet away he shut up. And at about 50 feet he slowly retreated into his driveway, watched us walk past with nary a yip, and let us pass completely unmolested. He's always been afraid/cautious of me, and won't challenge me, but I guess Dakota putting him in his place finally showed him that we weren't to be messed with.
I told DD -- that's the perfect example of a bully. He picked on Dakota as long as she was weak. But the moment she showed her strength, he backed down. Fascinating.
I've picked five nice, long cucumbers from my garden (I grow the burpless kind that are long and skinny, with few seeds) and have about a dozen more that will be ready in a week or so. My squash is growing like crazy ... BUT... I saw another squash borer moth yesterday, so don't expect it to live much longer. I've been spraying the base of it with an organic pesticide that will kill the worms if they ingest it and it doesn't affect beneficial bugs like ladybugs (though it will kill bees, so I've been careful not to spray the flowers and pulled all the blossoms from the base of the plant). I don't know if it will work or not, but I'm doing the best I can. These stupid borers are the only bugs I can't "pick" and it frustrates me to feel so helpless.
In Pillar Place: Monarch, all the pillars are growing like weeds. It's truly amazing how quickly they grow! While getting food for them yesterday (had to pick TEN milkweed leaves), I found two more teeny, newly hatched pillars, so we have a new Upsilon and a Matthew. 25 monarch caterpillars. I'm a little afraid to look for them at the library ... but we have to go there today to drop off/pick up books and it's become a bit of a compulsion to at least glance at the milkweed.
We have four pupae thus far: Xi, Rho, Pi and Omicron. They take 10 - 14 days to emerge, and Xi became a pupa on the 11th ... so earliest will be the 21st. I can't wait.
I'm so thrilled it's cooled off outside.. and there's a break in the rain for an hour or so, so I think I'm going to take a walk! YAY!
Have a great day.
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You Are Mild
You get as many thrills as wild people do, however your thrills tend to be more of the laid back variety.
You believe that the deeper you get into something, the more you enjoy it. And you need calm to do that.
You are one of the least superficial people around. You have intense and passionate interests.
You don't get bored easily. How could you? There is so much to learn about and think about!
And the case of butterflies so rich it looks as if all summer settled there and died. ~ Philip Larkin, "Autumn"
First off, I have to say our "rain storm" was a bit of a bust. It poured all around us, especially south (lucky Boston), but we got little more than a dribble. There's a slight chance of some thunderstorms today, but for the most part there's not more rain in the forecast for nearly two weeks.
We're dying here. Literally.
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Pillar Place was pretty crazy yesterday.
In Pillar Place: Monarch -- we had THIRTEEN eggs hatch. Yes, you saw right: THIRTEEN. Things are going to be REALLY busy in a week or so, keeping up with the hungry pillars. We watched three of them actually hatch (all the while wishing for a magnifying glass). It's pretty amazing. Check out this video:
This photo (borrowed from this blog post on raising monarchs -- which has some incredible pictures, if you're interested) shows just how tiny the eggs are:
In other Monarch news, Xi is hanging from his roof in a "J" and should be making his chrysalis very soon. Our first baby is growing up! It was so fast. We found him as a little bitty pillar only ten days ago, and he's already becoming a butterfly. It's amazing how quickly they grow.
In Pillar Place: Swallowtail, we got a bit of a surprise last night! I went to check on Xi because he'd been on his roof, and I glanced at the swallowtail box and -- there were two butterflies inside! The pupae had never turned black, so it was completely unexpected, and they'd probably been there all day. It wasn't as though we could release them anyway, due to the general cool, overcast and damp day, but I felt a little bad about them being cooped up all day anyway.
So, that's the last of our swallowtails. And, incredibly, it's the first season we've EVER had without any casualties. No pillars dying, no butterflies hatching with disabilities. How wonderful!
So, hopefully it'll clear up and be sunny in a few hours so we can release these two. Do you suppose they'll send a postcard?
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One more day of DH's vacation and then we're back to normal here at the homestead. Actually, it's been remarkably calm and relatively stress-free for a change, so I haven't minded the disruption in routine.
We've gotten all of DD's curriculum in the mail, and are awaiting the delivery of the DVDs. She's agreed that we should start early, doing only a day or two a week in August, just to get back into the swing of things slowly.
She's taking a typing course this year, so that's exciting for her. She's always amazed at the fact I can type without looking at the keyboard, lol. I told her that I learned to type on a circa-1900s manual typewriter (remember that typewriter, Mom?) and in high school "upgraded" to an IBM Selectric. I remember days and days of learning how to type on carbon paper, and ... remember White Out? Ah.... the days of no computers. PCs weren't commonly available until I was a junior in high school, and even then it was ones like the Commodore 64 (with 64 megabytes of memory -- which was HUGE then). Ahhh... the memories.
So, my DD is in junior high this coming school year. Seventh grade. How did that happen??
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I've recently discovered that there are blog posts not showing up in my Google Reader. If I haven't visited you recently, that's probably what happened. I'm trying to go through my list on reader one-by-one to get to folks who've posted and I've missed, but it's remarkably time consuming. I haven't forgotten or ignored you. It's just a technology fail. Sorry!!
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You Should Move To a Better Neighborhood
You really don't have the personality for moving. You only move if you should.
You tend to worry about what might go wrong, so moving should be a clear upgrade for you.
You would might rest easier if you were in a safer part of town closer to more services.
Consider upgrading neighborhoods or home if you can. A homebody like you should have nice home to live in.
HAHAHAHAHAHA.... neighborhoods don't get much safer than mine. This cracks me up. And I *love* moving. Love it. I get itchy if I don't move every few years (so, yeah, I'm REALLY itchy now).
It needs to say, "You should move out west so you can be closer to family and friends who matter, and so you wouldn't have to deal with Japanese beetles and deer flies any longer."
The man who doesn't relax and hoot a few hoots voluntarily, now and then, is in great danger of hooting hoots and standing on his head for the edification of the pathologist and trained nurse, a little later on. ~Elbert Hubbard
We found two more monarch eggs yesterday -- and we aren't even looking! I found them while getting food for Xi and Pi. I had purchased some new containers at the store, but I'm out AGAIN. We're now up to 22 monarch egg/pillars. Dear heavens.
Maria Zannini is having a blogfest -- she's sharing some of her fave blogs (she shared mine yesterday :::blushes:::). If you're looking for aome cool new blogs to visit, you should check it out.
That's it from my neck of the woods, except for this video I feel I have to share. I love the meaning in it -- whenever you think your load is heavy, remember it could be so much worse.
This Ain't Nothin' by Craig Morgan ... my new fave song:
Have a great weekend!!
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You Are a Realist
You are a down to earth person, but you know how to have your fun. You strike a good balance.
You see the world clearly, and you're good at anticipating problems. You are very proactive.
You are sophisticated and classy. You don't try to grab attention, but you always get plenty of it anyway.
You are rich in personality, spirit, and probably even wealthy. You never flaunt your advantages.
Drinking nature is an unquenchable thirst. ~ Berri Clove
I'm sitting her with monarch pillar, Xi, watching him munch. It's truly amazing they eat as much as they do -- he's about two-thirds grown, and is going through two HUGE milkweed leaves a day.
We found eight more monarch eggs yesterday -- I don't have enough containers, though, so need to go out and get some more Gladware-type containers. Lots of people raise monarchs in one huge box, but I find that it's easier to put them each in their own so the chrysalis isn't disturbed. I also prefer a plastic container so the milkweed leaves stay fresh and moist (I also put a bit of floral foam at the tip of each stem to help keep the leaves fresh -- yes, I spoil the pillars).
I'm encouraged by the number of eggs we're finding this year. And, once we can get back to the library (if it's ever not 90+ degrees outside), I suspect I'll see even more.
Here's a picture or two of Xi I took this morning... isn't he gorgeous?
And a photo of one of the five swallowtail butterflies we released a couple days ago (it's on my DD's swimsuit):
We have the coolest spider outside on one of the milkweed plants ... it's a female goldenrod crab spider: pure white with a little splash of red. She's fascinating to watch.
In fact, IMHO, nature is fascinating. Sometimes I think people just don't bother to notice, but I've found that my DH is starting to get into the groove. This morning, he watched Xi eat for several minutes, and then later as he was getting his boat ready, he noticed a small green spider spinning a web on on of the metal fixtures and stared, then commented on how perfect its web was. I had to wreck the web to move it, but I was still tickled that DH had stopped long enough to observe and be interested.
Have you taken the time to watch nature lately? It's pretty amazing.
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In other news, they're predicting a LOT of rain to hit us tomorrow. Yay! The only problem is, there may be flash floods in some areas. Still, it's going to be a HUGE help. Unfortunately, the hot weather will return after the rain.
I picked my first squash yesterday. My cucumbers are getting huge. So ... while this heat has been drying things out tremendously, it's also causing things to grow (we won't talk about the weeds ... it's just been too hot to get outside and weed, so things are a little crazy).
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In writing news, this story is going really well. It's been fairly easy to write, which must mean it's the one I'm supposed to be working on. Setting the timer for 20 - 30 mins each day has been helping, too. It keeps me focused AND gives me a goal to strive for.
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You Are Egg Sushi
You aren't the most adventurous person in the world, but you're trying to step out of your comfort zone.
New things tend to freak you out a bit, especially if they are very different from what you're used to.
You prefer to take baby steps whenever you undertake something challenging. Too much at once can overwhelm you.
You tend to be cautious and disciplined. You think through every action you take, even if evaluating your options slows you down a bit.
I think we are bound to, and by, nature. We may want to deny this connection and try to believe we control the external world, but every time there's a snowstorm or drought, we know our fate is tied to the world around us. - Alice Hoffman
Well... it's official. Our well is hitting bottom. DH changed our sediment filter yesterday morning, and in less than an hour, it was already clogged. So -- this means we aren't going to be able to water anything outside (bye-bye grass and garden) and we have to conserve water indoors as much as possible (hello five minute showers).
I'm praying for rain. I'm desperate. None in the forecast for today... maybe tomorrow?
I'm not in my happy place.
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I wrote 1000 words yesterday. Forced myself to sit down and do it. Set the timer for 20 mins and just wrote. It was good. I'm going to do that again today. Apparently I work well under pressure. Maybe I should try Write or Die.
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Your Money Personality is Reasonable
You are likely very financially savvy. You probably track your purchases down to the penny.
Even if you have money problems, you try to avoid letting them stress you out. You try to stay on top of your finances.
You are a careful and reasonable person. You think clearly before you make a decision.
You are the type of person who has trouble throwing things away. You tend to have a bit of clutter in your life.
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
I can't believe I'm so happy it's raining ... normally I'm more a "boo-hiss" person when it comes to anything wet falling from the sky, but it's been SO hot here and so dry and everything was dying unless I watered, sometimes twice a day. Even my drought-resistant, full sun plants (like my lambs ear... that I always just want to sit and pet) was wilty.
So let's hear it for rain! Plus it means I don't have to haul water -- because there is no hose to my veggie garden. So, I have to use two big watering cans, over and over and over....
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Things are VERY quiet in Pillar Place, though I'm betting Alpha will chose today to hatch, just to be ornery (since it's raining and we can't release him). Our last pillar, Epsilon, went on walkabout yesterday and is now hanging upside down on a stick awaiting her transformation.
So far we haven't found any more swallowtail babies, which I find amazing. From here on out, though, any babies we find would be overwinterers and I'm not sure I want to deal with that (though DD will probably file an appeal and win, cuz I'm a sucker).
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Check this out... it's SO COOL. If I ever get a rat again, I'm training him.
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You Crave Money
Some may say it's materialistic to crave money, but for you, money represents freedom.
You do have a taste for the finer things in life, and you'd also like the option being able to do what you love for work.
You don't chase money at every opportunity, but it certainly factors into your decisions.
You have some pretty ambitious financial goals, and it's likely you'll achieve them.
Actually.... that's pretty much correct. Especially the "money represents freedom" thing -- DH and I want to move in the worst way, and can't because there is no work for him where we want to live. If he could move back into the blue collar sector and we could still survive, we'd be set. And I could start an animal shelter. He could fish and boat to his hearts content. I could have a greenhouse. He could have a 1985 Toyota 4X4 like the truck at the end of "Back to the Future" to restore. Just gotta win the lottery, or become a NYT bestselling author. Or, yanno... BOTH. *G*
How is it that our memory is good enough to retain the least triviality that happens to us, and yet not good enough to recollect how often we have told it to the same person? ~François Duc de La Rochefoucauld
The quote was apropos of nothing in this post. I just found it amusing. *G*
It was HOTHOTHOT yesterday, and so humid that even my toilet was sweating. We don't have A/C, so there are some times we suffer. Not many, thankfully, but when nature cranks up the sticky weather, it can be tough.
I had to water all the gardens yesterday -- don't typically do much watering, to be honest, because we get quite a bit of rain here, but I looked outside around noontime, and the plants in my front garden were nearly dead! All wilted, poor things. So I stood outside in the high, hot midday sun and soaked everything.
About 20 mins later it rained. It was the strangest thing -- it clouded up in a matter of minutes and then DUMPED water for about 30 seconds. It was literally as though someone had filled a bucket and poured it out. It POURED, so heavily you couldn't see through the curtain of water.
Then as quickly as it came, it left. The skies cleared back up to pure blue and the heat returned. Weirdest thing...
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Pillar Place is fairly uneventful. We have pillars doing their thing: eating, pooping, transforming. The goofy things are completely ignoring the very lovely sticks we've put in the box, though, and it's getting to be quite a traffic jam on the roof of The Box. Check it out:
The big white spots are mesh, and the masking tape is there to cover previous webby stuff from pupae. I really need a new box, but can't find a copy paper one to use. I used to sell Avon and I'm tempted to go back, just for the boxes!! *G*
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Over Memorial Day, my friend Michele had come up to visit. She only just got around to downloading the pix she took, and sent me this one... I think it came out quite nicely aside from the fact I was squinting in the sun (and I don't often say that about pictures of me):
And that is the story of my life ... at least for today. How was your weekend?
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You Are Real
No matter what, you are always yourself. You don't know how to be anyone else.
You are honest, authentic, and comfortable in your own skin. You embrace your faults.
You expect everyone else to be as transparent as you are, but you're not always so lucky.
You're in search of the good people in this world, and as you find them, you make friends for life.
Teaching a child not to step on a caterpillar is as valuable to the child as it is to the caterpillar. - Bradley Millar
So, it rained all day yesterday -- frequently POURING as if someone was dumping buckets down on us. I admit to being a bit worried about the new plants -- that's a lot of heavy water to be beating down on them -- but for the most part, they took it just fine. The petunias lost some flowers, the ageratum was pretty well squashed (but should bounce back), some of my taller tomatoes tipped over a bit. But the rain really helped the stuff I moved around to perk right up (I had some gallardia, echinacea and annual bachelor buttons that looked nearly dead after being moved).
The best part, though? It killed the humidity. Hallelujah. I walked out this morning to cool, CRISP air instead of the oppressiveness of the 90% humidity we've been having. Maybe I can finally take my frizz ball hair out of its pony tail without looking like Diana Ross on a bad hair day.
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We have a few new additions to Pillar Place. On Saturday, my SIL happened to be here when DD found a pillar. Despite telling her we were using the Greek alphabet to name them, she begged us to call it Hercules. So... we have a Hercules, lol. Yesterday, in between cloud bursts, DD went out hunting pillars (she was terrified they'd all be killed in the bad weather .... they weren't).
We now have Kappa, Lambda and Mu to go with the other ten, all of whom are happy, healthy and eating like pigs. In fact, Alpha has been put into The Box -- the one with sticks to make his pupa on.
I was watching a video on raising Black Swallowtail pillars yesterday and the guy makes these little pupa containers out of half a toilet paper roll and a paper towel. When the pillar "purges" which is rather icky, but indicates he is done eating and ready to make his pupa, this guy picks them up and plops them inside.
While I understand his motives (it sure makes life easier to keep them well contained) it seems sort of cruel... the pillars will "walk-about" for a day or more before making their pupa, and I have visions of the poor critter doing a thousand loops around the tiny paper holder.
I know, maybe that shouldn't bother me so much, but it does. So... mine will have The Box to use instead. Also, with The Box, I don't have to move the pupa once it's made.
As an aside, every time I name one of the pillars, I'm reminded of the movie "Revenge of the Nerds". Remember Omega Mu? Or Lambda Lambda Lambda?
LOL...
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You Are Circus Circus
You are fun loving and outrageous. You are always looking for the next good time, and you are easily entertained.
You are daring and open minded. You'd run away with the circus if the offer was good enough...
You are unpredictable and zany - no wonder people love to be around you so much. You're not just the life of the party. You bring the party with you!
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