Regression into SHEness

It was a simple, finite task. Take the canisters off the top shelf in the kitchen, wipe the canisters off, wipe the shelf off, put the canisters back. Should take five minutes max.

First, I took the canisters down and washed the lids in the dishwater. Next, I climbed up on a stool to wipe off the shelf. While I was up there, I noticed that the wall over the shelf needed washing off. I found my cloth up there wiping it, but the stool wasn't high enough for me to get all the way to the ceiling.

Climbing down to get a step stool, I noticed a button I'd been meaning to sew on Bob's shirt. I went in the back bedroom to get a needle and thread. While I was there, I remembered I had to send in a prescription today, which meant filling out a form for Caremark. It was very important to have that ready for the mail person, so I sat down and did it right then, put a stamp on it, and took it out to the mailbox.

Now it's fifteen minutes after I started a five minute job. The canisters are unwiped and sitting on the counter, the lids are in the dish drainer, the bulkhead is half washed, the button is still waiting, and I'm standing out by the road pulling a few weeds.

I'm capable of doing housework for two hours and having the house look worse when I'm done than when I started. In fact, many is that time I've done just that.

There's a name for this: SHE, Sidetracked Home Executive. Over 200,000 SHEs, including myself, belong to Flylady, a very special Yahoo group to teach SHEs how to do what's important at home.

Thanks to Flylady, I realized immediately that I'd been sidetracked, got back on track, and finished what I had set out to do.

At work I was never a SHE. I was a project leader. I knew the critical path and I made sure everyone stayed on it - including me. Year after year I was commended for being organized and getting things done on time.

I haven't identified a critical path for housework yet. To my mind, it's a circular, neverending process. Do it and soon it needs to be done again.

Does housework have a critical path?

Garden Reality

I started the summer full of big plans for getting the yard back into shape. I divided the yard up into zones and planned to rotate through them a week at a time getting the weeds out and the desirable plants back where they belong.

Now that it is almost August, I find myself still in the front yard, working my way around and pulling out weeds, mostly oak seedlings.

This picture shows how thick they are. The left side of the picture has been de-oaked, the right side of the picture has not. Some of them are several years old and have a tap root a foot long. Others are new seedlings and are still attached to the acorn, making them difficult to pull out of the ground.

My original plan to cut the little oaks off at ground level was a failure. The seedlings I cut off are sprouting new leaves and I'm going to have to go back and pull them out by the roots.

When I started the project, I wasn't in very good shape so I pulled oaks for fifteen minutes a day. Now I'm in better shape and I go out for a half hour a day.

This is not whining. I have come to enjoy the process. I take out a stool, sit down, pull, and enjoy the outdoors, the birds, the insects, and the sense of satisfaction in seeing the ground cleared. I'm starting to plan what to plant in the cleared patches of soil. It's going to be fun to fill in the front yard garden this fall.

Goin' On Vacation
Questions from Sunday Brunch.

1. What is your favorite mode of transportation when traveling?

Private jet.

Have I ever traveled in a private jet? Well, actually I did once. When I worked for Kellogg I got to take the corporate jet to the East Coast.

It was wonderful. We went directly to the hanger, hopped on, and took off. None of the hassles of commercial flying. And, since the jet was used mostly by the top executives, it was very plush, roomy, and comfortable.

2. If you had the means to travel anywhere in the world, where would you go?

Israel. Where Jesus was born, lived, taught, died, and rose again.

I need the nerve more than the means. I'm not very brave about traveling in these violent times, and it doesn't get more violent than the things that happen in Israel.

3. Have you ever been to another country?

Does Canada count? If not, the answer is "no".

4. If time were not an issue, how long could you stand to be away from home?

If I had Bob and the dogs with me, I could stand to be away from home for several months.

Without Bob and dogs, I wouldn't want to be gone more than a week at most.

5. What is the funnest or most interesting trip you've taken?

The trip to Las Vegas in 1999 for son John's wedding to Anne was very memorable.

John's dad and I had been divorced for 25 years, and now the two families were coming to together for a very special occasion. I mentally practiced being polite ahead of time and promised myself that no matter what happened I would stay cordial.

It turned out much better than I imagined it could. My ex inlaws were very nice. My ex mother-in-law even gave me a hug when we met at the hotel. My ex sister-in-law gave us a tour of the strip. My ex husband and I had a memorable conversation about the wonderful son we produced and how much we approved of his bride.

I'm sure it was our love for John that had us all getting along. And what better reason to behave ourselves?

Did you go or are you going anywhere on vacation this summer?

Knitalong Sock Status

A quick update on the socks that I'm trying to knit quick.

Both cuffs are done, one heel is turned, the other heel is ready to be turned. I am confident that I'm going to get them done by the deadline.

These are going to be great warm socks to wear with my jeans this coming winter.

Cardinal Fledgling Status
Bob says he saw the male Cardinal feeding the junior cardinal in a bush. I'm sorry I didn't get to see that.

The kids have left the nest and are learning the ways of the world now.

Bluebird Fledgling Status
The nest is empty. I believe four out of the five fledged. One died, I'm not sure how. The parents dumped its poor little dead body out of the box.

On one of my walks I saw the dead bird hanging half way out of the nest box hole, so I must have interrupted the clean up process. I was scared that the entire nest had been corrupted, but when I went back later all was well with the remaining four and the corpse was gone. Pappy found it later - a long way from the nest box.

Leave it to a dog to find the grossest thing in the field.

Knit Quick
People on my sock lists have been talking about the Six Sock Knitalong, so I finally checked it out and joined. (Very cute dog/cat picture if you click on this link.)

A knitalong is where a group of people get together in cyberland and knit their own variations on the same knitting pattern during a set time period.

All the knitalongs I've observed have used Yahoo Groups to stay in touch. That means there is daily chatter on what everyone is doing, how they are doing it, helpful hints, a few nonhelpful hints, and new cyber knitting friends to meet.

The best fun part is the pictures. All the knitters post pictures to the Yahoo group. We get to admire each other's socks in progress and finished.

The Six Sock Knitalong is going to do six challenging socks over a year. Two months for each sock. They are giving out prizes for each sock and a prize at the end to someone who has completed all six socks by their finish date.

It appears the prizes are yarn. Knitters with more yarn than they can knit in a lifetime get excited about winning more yarn. I can't explain it.

The finish date for the first pair is July 31. I joined yesterday. There is going to be some serious knitting around here to get done in time.

The first pattern to knit is Cloverleaf Eyelet Rib Socks. I'm knitting the 36 stitch child's version using a worsted weight sock yarn. When I started knitting it this morning, I thought the finished socks would be going to CIC. I'm delighted to find that the lace pattern is very loose and the socks are going to fit me.

Are any Seasons of Violet readers doing this knitalong?

Black-eyed Susan

Teeshirt Hoarder
Some people save their good linens for "someday". Other people save their good china, crystal, silver. Then there's the people who get diaries or notebooks and don't write in them because they might mess them up.

I've met all those challenges and conquered them. Instead, I hoard teeshirts.

Since I'm usually doing something casual and/or dirty when wearing a teeshirt, I never wear my favorites because I don't want them to get faded or stained.

This enlightenment occurred to me as I was cleaning out my teeshirt drawer yesterday. I had a serious talk with myself about teeshirt hoarding. Then I pulled the waste basket over close.

First, I got rid of all the nasty ones. Teeshirts are cheap and plentiful. What's the point of wearing a worn and/or strained teeshirt and feeling scruffy? Then I got rid of the large ones that hang like a garbage bag on me. (Do I get to brag about losing 40 pounds again?)

I've had this black-eyed susan tee for ten years and hardly ever worn it. Black-eyed susan is one of my favorite wildflowers so I was saving the shirt for a special occasion.

No more! I'm all done saving teeshirts for special occasions. Especially since I don't wear teeshirts to special occasions.

So I wore the black-eyed susan shirt yesterday, enjoyed it, and threw it in the laundry. I'll be wearing it again soon.

Sometimes cleaning out a drawer is more than just housework - sometimes it helps clean out my brain as well.

The Real Thing
Black-eyed susan blooms in late summer which is quickly approaching. We are fortunate enough to have many little clusters of it - like this one - in the back field where I walk the dogs.

The real thing is prettier than a teeshirt.

Are you saving something you should be enjoying?

Are You My Mother?
Standing on a chair to peek into the nest, I was able to trick one of the pair of five day old cardinals into thinking I might feed it. The second dove for cover in the bottom of the nest.

A few seconds after I took this picture, the hungry little bird realized I was NOT his mother. It dove down into the bottom of the nest to join its sibling and to avoid having another picture taken.

Leave It!
Last night at doggy school one of our classmates was telling us about training available in Arizona to teach dogs to leave rattlesnakes and scorpions alone.

I have to wonder if the training would work on all dogs. My dog Pappy is a well trained, obedient dog who likes to please. Yet when he spots a rodent, his mind goes completely one-track on rodent chasing.

To trust a dog not to mess with a rattlesnake or scorpion, I'm thinking the training needs to be harsh and memorable. And needs to be repeated at intervals to make sure they don't forget. Not a pleasant thought, but good results are important.

Anyone know more about this?

Male Cardinal Update
There is a male cardinal and he is helping the female tend the little ones. He brings food and sometimes he even sits on the nest to help keep the little naked hatchlings warm.

It's All About Me
Questions from Sunday Brunch.

1. Do you or should you wear glasses or contact lenses?

I'm very near sighted and have worn glasses since I was ten.

2. What is your favorite type of footwear?

New Balance walking shoes. I have flat feet and really need the cushioning and support. They go on my feet in the morning and come off as I'm climbing into bed.

3. What is your worst habit?

I have no idea. It's not that I don't have any bad habits, it's just that I'm unable to place a ranking on the wide range of possibilities.

I could ask DH Bob who's sitting in the same room with me, but I like to think that he thinks I'm perfect. Why ruin a perfectly beautiful summer evening with a question like that?

Actually, I know what his answer would be: "Oh ah, oh ah . .". After almost twenty nine years of marriage, he knows better than to answer a question like that. He's a very smart man.

4. Are you an average, so-so or very good cook?

Better than so-so, but not in the very good category. I'm a good cook. A few things I make are fantastic, but they're other people's recipes. Does that count?

5. Do you spend more time watching television, listening to music or surfing the internet?

Surfing the internet.

Anybody have any good websites I should go visit?

Old Shale Anklets


Just finished knitting these socks for granddaughter Kimmy. She's seen and approved the yarn, but she hasn't seen the finished product yet so I may wait until Christmas to give them to her.

The yarn is Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in a variegated colorway called "flame" and solid red.

Old Shale has always been one of my favorite lace stitch patterns because of the pretty scalloped edge it creates.

The sock on the right with the cuff turned down is how the sock looks on the foot.

The sock on the left has the cuff up to show how the sock is constructed. First, the lace was knit. Then, after a purl row to make a ridge for turning the cuff down, there is knit 1 purl 1 ribbing to hold the sock snuggly to the leg. The ribbing stops just before the sock gets to the point where solid red is going to show when the cuff is turned down.

I made this pattern up as I went along and I'm very pleased with the way it turned out. I have enough left over yarn to make another pair. The second pair may be for me.

Cardinal Success
Not very far from our side door - the door we use all the time - a cardinal built her nest in a large Rose of Sharon bush.

The nest is about six feet from the ground.

I spotted the nest a few weeks ago and wondered if the female would stay there with all the human and canine activity nearby.

There doesn't seem to be a male cardinal around. Male involvement varies between bird species, so maybe that's typical for cardinals. I'd hate to think something happened to him.

This is the first time I've observed a cardinal nest.

According to my reading, there are usually three to five eggs in a cardinal nest. As you can see, this one only has two. Maybe that's a good thing if mom cardinal has to do all the food gathering herself.

Not sure if they hatched today or yesterday, but here they are! Funny, fuzzy, hungry cardinal hatchlings.

I can't see into the nest without standing on something. And, even then I can't see what's in the nest without bringing the side down with my finger. That's why my hand is always in the bird nest pictures.

New Links on Sidebar
City Birder
Rob writes about red-tailed hawks and other wildlife observations around Brooklyn and NYC. The pictures on this blog are some of the best bird photography I've ever enjoyed.

View From the Porch Swing
Stacy writes a nice friendly bog about her daily life and thoughts.

Go Ahead: Read My Mind
Melodee writes about her life as a preacher's wife and mother of four. Very upbeat and humorous.

Usually I wait a few months before putting a new blog on my sidebar. I found this blog such fun to read that I read her old posts and then decided to wave the waiting period.

Tah's Blog
This is my son John's new blog. He doesn't have to go through a waiting period because he's got pull on Seasons of Violet.

For those of you who like movies, he's written a thorough review of King Arthur.

What's your favorite blog other than Seasons of Violet?

In The Work Place
Questions from Sunday Brunch.

For the past twenty-file years I worked full-time as a computer professional. In January of this year I was "severed due to acquisition".

The only job I have now is part-time volunteer work doing botanical inventory at the Kalamazoo Nature Center.

These answers are for my Kalamazoo Nature Center work.

• 1. Do you work full-time, part-time or do you work a seasonal job? The work is part-time and seasonal, May through October.
  
  
• 2. Are you more often on time, early or late for work? Early. I'm usually early for whatever I'm doing.
  
  
• 3. Have you ever called in sick when you actually weren't? No.
  
  
• 4. How many hours per day do you put in? Two hours once a week.
  
  
• 5. Do you socialize with any of your co-workers? Not yet. We are going to have a get-together of all the volunteers at the end of the season.

Working At the Nature Center
I couldn't be more pleased with my plant inventory partner, Luanne. We match in age, physical ability, and plant identification skills. She's good company, sticks to the task at hand, and has a talent for spotting a species we haven't identified yet before I ever see it.

Up and Over
Our first challenge of the day is to get over this fence. There's a parking lot inside the fence, but it's usually not open during the week.

The first time I tried it, I wasn't confident I could make it over. Now I'm an experienced fence climbing grandma.


Source Pond
One of our destinations is this source pond. It is a half mile hike through an old field and a hardwood forest.

Someday I'd like to just hike out to the pond, quietly sit, and see what there is to see.


Michigan Lily
Last week Luanne spotted a brightly colored something off the trail in a pit like depression. Usually when we spot something that's in a challenging spot, we're able to find the same plant growing elsewhere in a spot we can easily access. Not this time.

While I was wondering how we were ever going to get to them, Luanne said, "Will you help me out if I get stuck?"

Well, of course I would.

It was a beautiful clump of Michigan lilies, well worth the effort.

Silly Success


A former work teammate sent me this picture she took at the Doo Dah Parade.

She also sent it to other people we used to work with without much explanation of what we were doing.

Emailing: Marguerite and her dog.jpg

All,

I took this picture of Marguerite at the Doo Dah parade.

Barb

I hurried to explain so they wouldn't all think I've gone bonkers since losing my job.

Thanks Barb. Nice picture.

For anyone who doesn't know, we were the Briarwood Beach Bums and we were supposed to look funny and stupid. That's the spirit of the Doo Dah parade. We were so successful at it that our group won second place.

Briarwood is the name of the doggy school where Sunny and Pappy do obedience and agility.

This is Pappy in the picture. He was a good sport about wearing the getup. This is the first time I've ever dressed up my dogs. It's not something I do lightly.

It took over a week and plenty of turkey dog pieces to train him to leave those glasses on. I also had to promise him that after the parade he never had to wear them again.

Hope everyone is well and happy and got a laugh out of Barb's picture.

Marguerite

Congratulations to Me

A few weeks ago I was pleasantly surprised to get a letter from Pfizer asking me to pick out a retirement gift.

It just happens that I was in need of a watch to fit my new lifestyle and one of the choices was a very nice Swiss made Movado watch with a leather band.

This is the first expensive watch I've ever owned. When I found out the list price - $395 - I was tempted to stick it in my dresser drawer and put my cheapy back on. The temptation quickly passed, and I've been proudly wearing it for about a week now.

I thought it was considerate of them to let us decline the Pfizer logo on our gift. My eighteen years of employment was with Upjohn/Pharmacia & Upjohn/Pharmacia. (2 mergers, two name changes.)

The night I heard that Pharmacia was acquired by Pfizer was the night I knew I was going to lose my job, so my career was not with Pfizer. (1,2,3 mergers and you're out!)

Does anyone outside of Kalamazoo remember the Upjohn Company?

Question from What's On.....Right Now??

What's On your 'fun things planned for the near future' Right Now??

Tomorrow I'm picking up granddaughter Kimmy and her friend Paul for a day at Full Blast.

Full Blast has an indoor water park with two, 100-foot waterslides, zero-depth entry pool, water play features, lazy river, and jet spa. Even more fun, it has an outdoor water park with two, 200-foot waterslides, zero-depth entry pool and water playground.

This is a special treat to celebrate the finishing of third grade.

We've done it after every school year so I know what to expect.

I picked up an easy read at the library today for my day at poolside. The kids are old enough now so all I need to do is sit, read, and occasionally shell out some money.

I'm looking forward to watching them have a blast.

Swimming Lesson Gone Bad
When Kimmy was three I started taking her to the "big pool" as she called it. Western Michigan University had family swim time on Saturday afternoons. For a couple of dollars we could use the university "big pool" for a few hours.

The shallowest water was four feet deep, way over little Kimmy's head. At first she sat on my hip and hung on tight as we waltzed around in the water. Later she got a little braver and paddled around with a flotation device.

That spring I signed her up for swimming lessons at Western. The students earned money by teaching the kids how to swim. I had high expectations.

Kimmy was willing and excited. I felt no qualms about leaving the pool area when they told the adults to get lost, and she didn't mind that I was leaving. We were allowed to go very high up in the bleachers and watch the lesson, so that's what I did.

She got put in a group with two little boys and a male instructor. The guy was clueless about kids.

The first thing he did was stand them on a small platform out in the middle of the four feet deep water. They could stand on the platform and have their head and chest out of the water. That was good.

Then, for some reason, the instructor left the group. The two boys started throwing water on Kimmy. Lots of water. She couldn't get away. She couldn't make them stop. I heard her screaming, "I want my grandma! I want my grandma NOW!"

By the time I got down to pool level she was semi hysterical. One of the lifeguards brought her to the edge of the pool and we went to the locker room. She cried and cried and cried - horrible deep sobs while I hugged her on my lap.

When she was done crying she said, "I like the pool. I don't like swimming lessons. I don't like boys!" We never went back.

We found other places to swim and gradually through the years she learned how to do all the water basics without swimming lessons.

.

The Deep End
Kimmy is eight years old now. This is the first year we've let Kimmy go into the deep end by herself. She has fun jumping into nine feet of water and seeing how far down she can go.

In this picture, she's proudly swimming across the deep end. And proud Grandma and Great-Grandma are watching her show off.

I've been freezing in this unheated pool with Kimmy for the past three years. This year I've declared myself too old to swim in cold water. There have to be some advantages to getting old.

The pool is at Great-Grandma Monette's apartment complex.

This is Great-Grandma poolside and NOT working on a tan.

This summer Kimmy lives in an apartment complex that also has a pool. She gets to swim often and should be part fish by the end of the summer.

How did you learn how to swim?

Zoo Day
What Time Is It?
Wednesday Granddaughter Kimmy and I got up at five in the morning, left home at six in the morning and boarded a bus headed to the Brookfield Zoo.

Our bus driver's driving strategy was to get that big bus in the left hand lane and step on the gas. His strategy worked well and trip was completed in a little under three hours.

Kimmy is only pretending to sleep in this picture. Good actress, isn't she?

In reality, she was too excited to sleep. We played hangman for a while and then watched a movie, Stuart Little, on the monitors.

How Hot Is It?
If you've ever been to the zoo on a warm day, you know that it feels at least ten degrees hotter in the zoo than the actual temperature.

Maybe it is because of all the walking - in the sun and on the pavement.

I had told Kimmy we were going to get the souvenirs last so I didn't have to carry them around all day. She convinced me that she needed a hat right away, so we ended up in a souvenir shop almost first thing.

Everything at the zoo is priced way way more than it is worth. The zoo makes periodic announcements about the excess revenue going to the support of the zoo so we will feel good about overpaying.

I was ready to contribute. I took plenty of money in anticipation of paying outrageous prices. There were numerous opportunities to do just that.

Where's the Bear?
The zoo tries to make the animals as comfortable as possible.

Most of the outdoor animals are able to go indoors, which leaves their exhibit area empty for the overheated people who came to see them.

Even when the animals are outside, they are in an environment where it is not always easy to find them.

This is an Alaskan brown bear ripping a box apart behind the log. It would have been fun to watch. It would have been fun just to be able to see the bear.

Hey bear! We came all the way from Kalamazoo to see you. How about coming out from behind that log?

Next let's walk ten minutes in the heat and go see the tiger. There he is! Look! Look! I think that's a tiger ear sticking out from behind that clump of grass.

Kimmy is not impressed by the tiger ear. I'm not impressed either. We go stand in a long line to buy some overpriced ice cream and try to cool off a little.

Is It Real?
Yes, it is real.

The day wasn't a complete disappointment. The lion was impressive, even though he was sleeping.

The dolphin show was the most fun. It was so much fun that I completely forgot to take any pictures of the dolphins.

Can We Get Souvenirs Now?
Yes. Grandma is ready to shell out more money. What would you like to have?

As usual Kimmy makes a good selection. A very cute stuffed wolf and a very cute stuffed tiger.

Well, if you can't see the real tiger, why not get a stuffed tiger?

After the shopping was complete, it was time for some cold refreshment and sit down time.

Our Zoo is Better
Kimmy and I agree that the day was not the most fun we ever had together. We did enjoy each other's company though, and I was impressed at how maturely she handled the disappointments.

We also agree that we like Binder Park Zoo better than Brookfield.

Where is Binder Park Zoo? It's just south of Battle Creek Michigan and about five miles from where Kimmy lives.

If you like zoos, Binder Park Zoo is a must visit. Plan an spending the whole day. There's plenty to see including a 50 acre African savanna.

Kimmy and I are both members, so we can stop in as often as we like. We've never had a bad time there. When we get too hot, we leave and go swimming.

Bird Report

Four Days Old
All five bluebird eggs hatched on Tuesday. The little ones are keeping their parents busy bringing food to the nest.

When they're this little, they don't know enough to be afraid when I open the nest box. They just open their mouths and hope that I'm going to feed them.

Tree Swallows Learning to Fly
There is an electric line running diagonally across the field. Many of the fledglings end up sitting on it while learning the basics of life outside the nest.

When I went out yesterday morning, I got dive bombed by the swallows even though I wasn't anywhere near their nest box. When I looked up there were three of the young swallows on the power line.

Mom and Dad were watching them very closely. Any bird that got near them was chased away. In their spare time, the parents were bringing food and feeding their kids. I'm sure that food gathering is on the lesson schedule, too.

Blogging Vacation is Over
I'm back, rested, and ready to resume blogging!

There's much to write about and pictures to share, but it's late so I'm going to start out with something easy.

Question from What's On.....Right Now??

What's On your clock Right Now??

Remember when these clocks were advertised on TV?

This was a Christmas present from my daughter and granddaughter about four years ago.

Each hour a different bird song sings out the time.

I quickly learned that my tolerance for hourly bird songs coming from my kitchen clock was very low. After the first day I turned them off and they haven't been heard since.

Do you have a special clock?

Fun Times Ahead
I'm spending the next three days with Granddaughter Kimmy.

Tuesday we're going to see Harry Potter and then dine at McDonalds.

Wednesday we're getting on a bus at the crack of dawn and heading to the Brookfield Zoo. We'll be getting back very late.

Thursday we're sleeping in - I hope. When we do get up, we're going to eat a leisurely breakfast and then head off for a day at the pool.

I probably won't have a chance to post again until Friday. Have a great week, everyone.

Last But Not Least
Questions from Sunday Brunch.

1. Who is the last person to make you laugh?

My husband Bob. He just said, "I'm not stubborn." That's the funniest thing I've heard all week.

2. Who is the last person to make you angry or upset?

I am so blessed that there is no anger or upset in my life right now. I get mildly annoyed at a few things and saddened by other things, but not angry or upset.

3. When is the last time you took a leisurely ride or walk?

Five or six times a day I go for a leisurely walk with the dogs on the paths Bob has mowed in the back three acres.

Yesterday I went out for a leisurely walk without the dogs and took the five pictures that appear in the previously post.

4. When is the last time you took a vacation?

The last "get in a plane and go somewhere out of town" type vacation I had was in April 1999 when I went to Las Vegas for son John and Anne's wedding. Hard to believe it's been five years.

I'm a content stay-at-home type of person, although I'm always glad I went somewhere after it happens.

Granddaughter Kimmy and I are taking a day trip to the Brookfield Zoo in Chicago next week. The bus leaves at 7 am and returns late that night. It's going to be fun, but more like an endurance test than a vacation.

5. What is the last thing you do before turning in for the night?

I usually read until I fall asleep. It never takes long, even when the book is a good one.

Who is the last person to make you laugh?

Beautiful Day
The weather was just perfect today - sunny and in the 70s (F) with just enough breeze to keep the mosquitoes away.

There were numerous fritillaries flying around. They like the sweet purple clover, one of the many abundant wildflowers in the back three acres.

There haven't been many butterflies this year. An entomologist I met at the Kalamazoo Nature Center said it was because the weather has been too cool and wet.

Tree Swallow Nest
The tree swallow young are two weeks old today, and they are looking like miniature swallows. This was the last day to open the nest box without risking them flying out prematurely.

I've been taking pictures for the past week with no success in getting anything that shows the little birds very well. I can hear them chirping as I approach the nest box, but as soon as I open it they dive down and cover their heads.

At the end of my ring finger is a little swallow eye peeking out to give me the evil eye. They just want me to go away so their parents can bring more food.

The tree swallow parents weren't happy with me being in the nest box, either. They were both flying in circles dive bombing my head while telling me off with their chatter.

Blackberry Patch
The back northeast corner of our property is a completely wild and unkept blackberry patch.

There were years when I was employed that I didn't realize it was blackberry season until it was over. This year I've been walking by the patch every day. I've seen the blossoms and I'm watching the berries ripen.

Thanks to all the rain we've had this summer it looks like there is going to be a bumper crop of blackberries by the end of next week.

It's my intention to try and beat the birds and wildlife to at least three quarts. The recipes are printed out for Blackberry Crumble, Blackberry Bars, and Blackberry Snack Cake.

Bring on some sunshine and let's get 'um ripened up.

What's your favorite fresh summer produce?

Great Pictures
Lately I've been enjoying The City Birder blog.

Rob blogs about Red-tailed hawks and other wildlife observations around Brookland and New York City. It is interesting reading, but it's the amazing pictures that keep me going back to see more.

Awful Music
Thanks to Cliff's bad influence, I ended up at Worst Country Song Titles.

The list includes 265 romantic titles such as:

• If You Can't Live Without Me, Why Aren't You Dead?
  
  
• Thanks To The Cathouse, I'm In The Doghouse With You
  
  
• You Ain't Much Fun Since I Quit Drinkin'
  
  
• You Done Stomped On my Heart (and You Mashed That Sucker Flat)
  
  
• Your Negligee Has Turned To Flannel Nightgowns
  
  
• Get Your Tongue Out Of My Mouth, Because I'm Kissing You Goodbye

Can you resist going to read the rest of the titles?

Question from What's On.....Right Now??

What's On your desktop Right Now??

In Microsoft XP land, which is where I live, the "desktop" is the first thing to display when I boot up. (Is it still correct to say "boot up"? I'm an old mainframe person and some of my language needs updating.)

Wild blue violets are my favorite flower.

That's very high praise for the violets because there are many flowers I love and look forward to seeing each year.

Last May when I bought my first digital camera I was able to catch a few violets still in bloom. The picture on my desktop is this violet picture from May, 2003.


Blogger Idol
It appears Blogger Idol has sunk into the sunset without ever saying good by. There is no new topic this week and no explanation on LivingRoom, the blog that sponsored Blogger Idol.

Participation has been way down. In fact, I didn't write on the last topic, "The Rhythm of Life".

Right now my rhythm of life is adagio as I leisurely transform into something and someone I've never been before. So far it's been a very pleasant experience but I don't know what the end result is going to look like.

Wednesday I had lunch with all my former team members and the few who are still working to complete the decommissioning. We were celebrating with one of the team leaders who has a new job with Pfizer.

It was so good to see everyone again. Listening to everyone talk about what they are doing reminded me how fortunate I was to work with quality people. They have faced their job loss with a positive attitude and taken the opportunity to re-evaluate and improve their life. I'm striving to follow their example.

What picture do you have on your desktop?

Chopping Down Oak Trees

On the left is a Hosta leaf. On the right is a Japanese Painted Fern. In the middle is an oak seedling. In fact, there are at least six oak seedlings in this two foot square area of our yard.

A few years ago we had a bumper crop of acorns and they didn't get raked up. Very bad mistake. I know now that it's very bad to leave acorns laying around where you don't want more oak trees growing.

The oak seedlings are firmly anchored in the ground by the acorn that produced them, so I can't pull them out. The seedling stems are very woody, so I can't hoe them down.

Every day I go out and chop down oak trees for fifteen minutes. I take a container for the fallen trees, a pruning shears, and cut them off as close to the ground as I can get. It is going to be a long project.

Want gmail?
I have three gmail invitations to give away.

Read about gmail here.

If you would like a gmail account, leave a message in the comments. First three readers to ask will get the invites.

Vanity Plates
Last week there was no question from What's On.....Right Now?? The lack of question came at a bad time, because I've been struggling with what to post about the last few weeks.

This week's question from What's On.....Right Now?? is "What's On your 'vanity license plate' (otherwise known as personalized license plate) Right Now??"

I don't have a vanity plate, but desperate for a topic to write about, I decided to look for vanity plates when I ran errands on Thursday. The only two I saw said DANAGRL and GIRLPWR.

I apologize if you thought this topic was going to be interesting.

Have you seen any memorable vanity plates? Do you have one?

Watch Your Step
Robin Fledglings Under Foot
Yesterday a nest of robins fledged.

When they first leave the nest they are helpless, still completely dependent on their parents, and not smart enough to be afraid. This is the most dangerous time of their life and mortality is high.

The parents nudge them out of the nest and hide them in the tall grass or the brush. From there the fledglings are taught how to fly and find their own food. Then they're on their own.

This little robin is sitting in the path where we take our dog walks. I'm sure its parents want it better hidden than this. One parent is in a nearby tree squawking as I'm taking the picture. Junior doesn't seem to be upset at all. He wants to be fed.

I'm being very careful where I put my feet for the next few days.

Boring Field Shot?
We have many different species of Sparrows that we see around the bird feeder. This time of year they are nesting and most of them nest on the ground.

As I walk the dog walk paths in the field I see them flying up from their ground nests. It usually happens so quickly that I can't tell where they came from.

This morning I saw a Sparrow fly out of the clump of grass shown in the middle of this picture.

Surprise
After the dogs were back in the house, I grabbed the camera and headed back out to see if I could find the nest.

It's a tidy, neat little grass nest hidden in the center of the grass clump. There are two eggs, white with brownish-gold spots.

I don't know what kind of sparrow nest it is - yet. Hopefully I'll be able to get a good look at one of the parents soon.

The nest is right in the same area where I've spotted two different racer snakes. Racer snakes love eating bird eggs and hatchlings. It will be amazing if any of these eggs turn into adult birds.

Needless to say, I'll be watching this nest now that I know it's there.

Happy Birthday Mom!

Mom was beautiful then and Mom is beautiful now.

How wonderful that we've had so many years together. May we have many more.

Love you lots, Mom.

Hope your day is very special. See you soon.

Quiz Time
This is a cute quiz. It's fun to take and there are twelve different outcomes. Give it a try and let me know which Peanuts character you are.

I am Peanut's Character Franklin


You are Franklin!

Which Peanuts Character are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

Bluebirds Nesting Again
The bluebirds continued coming to their nest box after the babies fledged, so I was never sure if it was OK to take the old nest out. Then, they started building a new nest on top of the old nest and I still wasn't sure what to do, so I left it.

I think it might have been a good thing to clean out the nest box. My current theory is that since they wouldn't get their nest box cleaned out if they were using a natural cavity, having a double nest can't be all bad.

The second family of bluebirds is due to hatch about July 1.

Baby Tree Swallows
Best I was able to count, all six eggs hatched. Seeing anything in this nest is very difficult because of all the feathers. The slightest little poof and the feathers are fluttering here and there instead of staying where Mother Swallow wants them.

The hatchlings look healthy and hungry.

The swallow parents fly around and catch insects for themselves and their young. There is no lack of insects at Violet Acres. I told Mother Swallow that I highly recommend the mosquitoes and the deer flies.

The deer flies win the blood sucking insect award for the most painful bite and the hardest to avoid bite. They swoop down on me with their mouths open and chomp. Ouch!

Unknown Moth
Bob spotted this moth as it sat in the window waiting for the rain to stop.

The way it is in the picture, it was about two inches wide. We never saw it with its wings unfolded.

I've been looking online and in my books, but haven't seen anything like it. I don't have a good butterfly/moth guide. Guess that's something I need to get on my Amazon wishlist.

Does anyone know what kind of moth this is?

Happy Birthday!
Sunday Brunch is one year old this week!

Break out the party hats and pop the cork on that bottle of champagne. Let's celebrate!

1. How do you usually celebrate your birthday?

Very low key. We usually go out to eat.

Last year I was seriously dieting, so we got take out and brought it home. For me it's easier to stop eating when I'm eating at home.

I know that doesn't sound like much of a celebration. We're just not very big on celebrating birthdays.

2. Do you ever lie about your age?

No. In fact, I enjoy telling people how old I am because everytime it comes out of my mouth the number surprises me. How in the world did I get to be this old?

3. What is your favorite flavor(s) of cake and ice cream?

There's a wonderful little low fat chocolate cake in the T-Factor Diet book. Because it's low in sugar, the chocolate flavor is seriously rich. I like any good chocolate cake served with vanilla ice cream.

When I'm not eating the ice cream with cake, Bubblegum is my favorite ice cream flavor.

4. Have you ever completely forgotten the birthday of a family member or friend?

This happened a lot when I was younger. Now I'm pretty disciplined about it. The last family birthday I forgot was daughter-in-law Anne. Her birthday is early January and it seems like by the time I catch my breath after the holidays, I'm late for her birthday. Sorry Anne. I think I've mastered it now.

5. What was the most memorable birthday party you've attended?

Two years ago Mom had a lovely family birthday party at the Black Swan hosted by my brother Dave. Aside from the wonderful food, it was memorable because all of my siblings were there together, something that rarely happens.

And, someone remembered to take pictures. I treasure them and now intend to share.

Mom and Dave

Brother Dave is a world famous trumpet maker. Dave's website tells the story.

Since he travels all over the world as part of his profession, he was able to pull off hosting this dinner in a style I can't imagine I would have been able to duplicate if it had been left to me.

Mom and The Sisters

First, I just have to say that Mom's mouth does NOT look like this. Check out the picture above and the picture below for the way Mom really looks. Sometimes the camera just catches us at a weird moment. Maybe she was in the middle of saying something?

That's Mom in the back row next to me. Since this was taken two summers ago, this was before I lost 40 pounds. I sure didn't lose any weight at this dinner.

In the front row is Sister Carrie on the left and Sister Doris on the right.

Carrie teaches piano in North Carolina and is well know on Seasons of Violet for all the amusing comments she leaves on my posts. She is my most faithful commenter and I love her for it.

I was an only child for almost five years before Doris was born - but I love her anyway. She is a very talented business person. Everytime I try to describe what she does, I get corrected. So here is her company's website.

Mom is an artist. That's one of her paintings in the background.

The Four Louises

Here is Mom with a real Mom smile. This time it's little Kimmy who was caught with a strange look on her face.

The four generations pictured here all share the middle name Louise.

That's me, Marguerite Louise, peeking over Mom's shoulder. The beautiful woman on my left is my daughter Heather Louise, mother of Kimberly Louise, and granddaughter of the elder Marguerite Louise known as Mom and sometimes Monette.

The Husbands

My DH (Dear Husband) Bob is on the left and Doris's DH John is on the right. It just didn't feel right not to include them in this photo album.
Mom has another birthday on Friday. Sister Doris and Husband John will be here from Virginia to help celebrate. I'm looking forward to a partial family get together and celebration.

Cancelled Field Trip
Tonight was the evening of the three hour Kalamazoo Nature Center field trip at Bishop's Bog. I was both looking forward to it and dreading it.

I was looking forward to it because we were going to be taught by Emma Pitcher, a local naturalist celebrity, author, and presenter. She's very knowledgeable and I was expecting a fascinating three hours of instruction.

I was dreading it because of the same reasons it got cancelled.

• The bog is under a foot of water because of all the recent rain.
  
• It is very hot and muggy today. To go outside results in sweat, even if you don't exert yourself.
  
• There are severe storm warnings for this evening and tonight.

When the Nature Center called to tell me the field trip was cancelled, they also mentioned that Emma is 88 years old.

I understand why Emma didn't want to spend three hours walking around in a steamy flooded bog. I'm almost thirty years her junior and I didn't want to do it today, either. But I wasn't going to be the first one to back out.

Shrek II
If you're going to go see Shrek II, be sure and stay for a very special ending after the credits are done.

When Kimmy and I went last Saturday, we were the only ones still in the theatre when the credits were done - except for the cleaning crew who were wishing we would get out of the way. Kimmy was nervously trying to get me to leave. She didn't believe there was more to see. After all, what does Grandma know?

As she approaches that wonderful age when young people know everything I'm sure to know less and less. Something to look forward to.

Campanula Poscharskyana


I love the bright blue flowers on this Campanula. It likes living at Violet Acres and it's multiplied so we have pockets of it here and there all over the property.

It's a ground hugging, trailing plant which solves the flopping problem I've had with the erect Campanulas.

One of my favorite perennials.

Missing Bloggers
Two of my favorite bloggers have stopped updating their blogs. Kelee, Knitting Princess Warrior and Leslie the Sockotic have both left blogging for other - hopefully good - things that are going on in their lives.

I have reluctantly removed their links from my sidebar.

I wish them well with whatever they're doing. I'll check in once in a while to see if they've started posting again.

Tree Swallow Nest
What an amazing collection of feathers! What a beautiful nest!

The female is still sitting on the six eggs. They are a week overdue to hatch and I'm hoping it is just because of the cold weather we had last week. It's been warm for the past few days, so maybe there will be some hatchlings soon.

Citizen Scientist At Work
The post that tells what Citizen Science is all about is here.

A description of our Citizen Science assignment is here.

This morning we spent two hours in the fields and woods of the Kalamazoo Nature Center identifying plants. Most of the spring wild flowers are finished now and there really isn't much in bloom. Just having leaves makes identification difficult, so going was slow.

The highlight of the morning was when I grabbed a largish plant at the edge of the path and it turned out to be nettle. That identification was easy. How many plants can set a whole hand throbbing and tingling? I really need to be more careful.

Briarwood Dogs Do the Doo Dah
The Doo Dah Parade is a parade of silliness that goes through downtown Kalamazoo Michigan the first Saturday in June.

This year Briarwood Dog Training marched as the Briarwood Beach Bums.

Sunny is not fond of loud noises and crowds, so Pappy and I left her home and had fun without her.

Here are the promised pictures. These were all taken in the staging area before we started.

Pappy was a good sport about wearing the Doggles, shirt, and hat.

We had to practice wearing the glasses.

At first he wanted them off! We worked on it for over a week and he got resigned to wearing them. I told him that after the parade he never had to wear them again. Anyone want to buy a slightly used pair of Doggles?


Benson is a Newfoundland puppy. Pappy just met Benson two weeks ago and they've become friends. Pappy doesn't seem to care that Benson is a giant. Scary.

Newfies are known for their drooling. Benson's bib says "Drool is Cool".

I think Benson is cool.


Gracie is another of Pappy's friends from doggy school.

Looking at Gracie is always good for a smile, even when she's not dressed for the beach.


Favor is trainer Gail's cattledog puppy. He's about six months old and getting ready for his first parade.

There are more amusing Briarwood beach bums in a Picturetrail album along with a few pictures of the group marching down the street. If these pictures made you chuckle, go take a look at the rest of the dogs.

Doo Dah
I'm getting many hits for people looking for information on the Kalamazoo Doo Dah Parade. (According to the parade web site it's spelled Do Dah Parade.)

So, if that's what you are looking for, go here.

Pappy and I have been busy practicing our marching with the Briarwood Beach Bums. Sixteen dogs are going to be in sunglasses and assorted Hawaii beach wear. If you're in the Kalamazoo area, you don't want to miss this parade.

The weather is supposed to be perfect - about 75 F and clear. We're looking forward to being completely silly and having a good time.

Yes, there will be pictures.

I Was Too Quick
I get viruses in my email. Some days I get more than one virus. My Norton 2003 Antivirus software is very important to me.

A few months ago during the big sasser virus scare, I decided I needed a firewall in addition to my Norton. Zone Alarm was highly recommended and free, so I downloaded version 4.5 and installed it. It worked great.

Last week I had a window pop up telling me that Zone Alarm 5.0 was ready for me to download for even greater security. Since I wasn't too busy that day, I downloaded it and installed it, thereby breaking one of my cardinal rules of life: Never be among the first to install a new version of software.

Over the weekend I noticed that I was getting viruses in my mailbox and the Norton window was not popping up saying it took care of them. My incoming email was not getting scanned and my outgoing email was not getting scanned. Very bad.

Today I went to the Zone Alarm website and found that they are having major problems with their new version 5.0 working with major virus protection packages. The fix - uninstall 5.0 and reinstall 4.5.

And, next time don't be in such a hurry.

I Was Too Slow
It's been so cold and rainy that I haven't monitored the nest boxes as often as I would like. It's better for the eggs and birds if the boxes stay shut in weather like this.

It wasn't until this morning that I verified beyond a doubt that the nest in the slotted box was a house sparrow nest, and one of the eggs had hatched. I left it and came back to the house. I don't wince at throwing out sparrow eggs, but killing a baby bird goes against the grain.

According to the North American Bluebird Society

"It is the responsibility of every nest box trail operator to ensure that no house sparrows fledge from their boxes. It is better to have no nest box than to have one which fledges sparrows."

I forced myself to remember the carnage I found a few years ago when a house sparrow killed and beheaded a beautiful male bluebird in order to claim the bluebird's nest box. This evening I went back to the nest box, removed the sparrow nest with two hatchlings, and set it on the ground for the blue racer's dinner. It had to be done.

House Sparrows Are Not Real Sparrows
The common sparrow that we call house sparrow or English sparrow is not really a sparrow at all. It's a member of the weaver finch family. They were brought to this country from England in 1853 and have agressively displaced many native songbirds.

There are twenty species of real sparrows in Michigan. At Violet Acres we have chipping sparrows, song sparrows, white-crowned sparrows, and probably others. They are beautiful little birds with a happy song. I love seeing them. And, if I were to see their nest, I would protect it.