Light At The End

Before we begin today's post, I have to brag just a bit.  Early Friday morning, I logged into my bank account and made the very last payment on my credit card.  There might be a bit of interest left to pay, but for the most part, that thing is finally paid off!  I feel if a great weight has been lifted off of me.  Now I can finally begin to put something aside in my savings account, and maybe get some much needed work done on this house.  If I can find a contractor who will actually show up, that is. 

OK, moving right along...

There is light at the end of the tunnel.  The overtime tunnel, that is.  They put the notice out Friday, at the end of this month, we will be going back to 8 hour shifts.  At least the lines will.  Component areas usually work longer hours anyway.  I just hope they let us come in early instead of making us stay late.  They say we'll still have to work Saturdays, though, so you can't win them all.   At least with the shorter work days, I might be able to blog more regularly.  

Oh, one more thing;   I meant to tell you this before, but it just never seemed to fit into the flow of a post.  Since this one is a big disjointed already, here goes.  I was at work a couple of weeks ago, when a coworker came up to me and said, "They told me you have pet snakes." When I answered in the affirmative, she said, "I'm going to show you this snake I found in my back yard and see if you can tell me what kind it is."   She opened her phone and showed me a video. 

"Oooh, that's a copperhead!" I said.  

"Why would you tell me that????" she asked.  Well, because that's what it is, and because you asked.  I told her if she saw it again,  not to try to kill it herself.  Most people in the U.S. who are snake bit are trying to kill the snake at the time.  I advised her to call animal control to come get it.  She hasn't mentioned it since, so hopefully it moved on its merry way.  

In other news, I've got spider lilies coming up!

A sure sign of Fall if ever there was one.  I can't wait until my Virginia Creeper starts turning. 

It ought to be stunning when it's fully red.  If you'll recall, I put that trellis there to shade my little Gardenia from the strong afternoon sun.  I'd say it's done a very good job.  A couple of months ago, a friend told me to put some specialized fertilizer on it, and that's helped as well.  See the darker green leaves at the bottom?  Those have come out since I started putting that stuff on it. 

She said she uses the fertilizer sticks that you push into the dirt, and they dissolve slowly over time.  I couldn't find any of those, so I used the little granules that you sprinkle around.  They do seem to help.  Oh, and the fence is to keep the dog from peeing on it. I need to spread it out a bit, now that the plant's grown some. 

The only other thing I've done this weekend, besides binge watch Harry Potter movies, is to finish putting out my Fall decorations. I'd show you pictures, but they're the same as last year.  Except I put this little scarecrow in a different spot.  

I usually put the two pilgrims there, but the scarecrow just fits the space there. 

That's all I have for now.  I was going to go to the store after work yesterday, but as soon as I got out of the  plant, it started pouring rain.  With that, I decided there isn't anything I desperately need before next Friday, and came straight home.  We ended up getting an inch, by the way.  Of rain, that is.  We needed it badly.

The only downside to that is my grass will grow again, and I'll have to mow.  Oh well, can't win 'em all. 

And finally, I'm currently in Sally's cone, but not to worry.  I'm far enough inland not to be in much danger, even if the cone shifts further west, like they're speculating it might. 

But, as always, if any of my friends on the coast need to evacuate, my door is open to you AND to your pets.