Dear Coworker

Why yes, as a matter of fact, we do know who your daddy is.

And we do know who your uncle is. 

What we're not quite sure of is why you are playing the nepotism card like you think it'll help your case.

Because we do know who your daddy and your uncle are, and that's all the more reason to dislike you. 

You might want to re-think that strategy.

Thank you.

That is all. 

I Could Kick Myself

 I could kick myself.  I really could.  

I've been keeping my little seedlings on the porch so they could get plenty of sun, and even though I knew it was supposed to rain Monday, I thought they'd be OK there.  They were under the roof after all. 

I thought wrong.  

I should have moved them back from the edge a bit more, because by the time I got home from work, they were totally drowned.  The trays were completely full of water, and these poor little babies had been pounded so hard, some of the cells didn't even have any soil left in them.  I filled them back up with potting soil in a somewhat vain attempt to save the seedlings, but for some of them, it was too little too late. 

All of my peat pellets were under water, and the ones closes to the edge of the porch had been rained on so hard, they completely disintegrated.  

You can see what was left of them in the lower left corner -- just the little mesh bags.  I'm pretty sure by this time, anything that would have germinated in these already had, but still...

I keep trying to console myself, telling myself I've got plenty that I've already planted in the bed, 

including these three new ones I planted Tuesday, 

and a few more that will be ready to plant soon, 

But still, I hate that I wasn't a good steward of what I had planted.  

There is good news, though.  I came home today and Marty Mac was blooming!

Isn't that cool?  

Piano Talk

Well, here it is.  I've been promising -- or threatening -- to do this for weeks and now the time has come.  I'm going to write a piano post.  I mean, a post about playing the piano.  Or whatever it is I do on the piano.  The term "playing" is somewhat of a loose interpretation.  

I keep saying I'm going to livestream a practice, but I can't imagine how that would possibly be interesting.  To do that, I'd have to get over my aversion to seeing myself on camera, not to mention the sound of my own voice.  Which is how all of you hear me, but not how I hear myself.  

I hear myself from inside my head -- literally, where as you don't.  OK, I think I'm rambling now, so lets get on with it. 

I think the main reason I wanted to learn to play the piano is to play my favorite hymns and Christmas carols.  I mean, there are other songs I like and want to play, but hymns are the main thing.  The hard part has been to find arrangements I like.  I mean, I've got my two Sacred Songs piano books, 

but some of the arrangements are...iffy, at best.  They're not bad.  They're just not my favorite.  

There I was at work a few days ago, just a working away, when I had an epiphany.  And what was this epiphany?  I'll tell you.

I thought if I learn my scales and chord progressions, I could make up my own arrangements just the way I like them.  Cool, huh?  

As soon as I got home, I grabbed my trusty book of scales and arpeggios, 

and opened it up to the C Major page,  

and had myself a mini-meltdown.  

"I don't understand any of this," I wailed in despair.  "I need a teacher!"

A few deep breaths later, I calmed myself down and told myself to take it one step at a time.  It will take me some time, but I'll get through it.  Maybe someday, you'll get some original arrangements of my favorite hymns, but for now, here's a couple from the book I showed you up there.  

One thing I've definitely got to work on is making my playing smoother and more connected, and to not sound like I'm beating the devil out of the piano keys.  I know pedaling helps with that, but neither of these songs had pedaling indicated.  I've tried playing with the pedal, but I recorded it as it was written. 

One of the channels I follow suggested some recording software I can download.  I think I may try it and see if it sounds better.  Because honestly, it doesn't sound like this to my ear.  Only on my phone. 

One last song before I go.  This one isn't a hymn.  It's one I'm in the process of learning, so there are a couple of oopses in there, and some hesitations.  

It's called The Campbells Are Coming.  

That's about it for today.  I hope I can get more consistent in sharing these updates, but I don't see how with the hours we're working.  It's already past my bedtime, and I haven't even practiced or had my shower today.  

I really have to go.  

Earth Day 2022

1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.

4 And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.

5 And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.

6 And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.

7 And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so.

8 And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.

9 And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so.

10 And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good.

11 And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so.

12 And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

13 And the evening and the morning were the third day.

14 And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years:

15 And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so.

16 And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also.

17 And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth,

18 And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good.

19 And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.

20 And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.

21 And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

22 And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth.

23 And the evening and the morning were the fifth day.

24 And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so.

25 And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

29 And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.

30 And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so.

31 And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

The Day Texas Became Texas

After the fall of the Alamo, on March 6, 1836, the Texas Army, led by General Sam Houston, spent 6 weeks running from the relentless pursuit of General Antonio Lopez de Santa Ana.  On April 21, on the banks of the San Jacinto River, the decisive battle of the Texas Revolution was fought.

It lasted just 18 minutes, and culminated with the capture -- and surrender -- of Santa Ana.  Against all odds, the Texas Revolution was won, and Texas became an independent republic, until they joined the United States by treaty in 1845.

And this is the song those soldiers played as they marched into battle:



Some years later, the battle would be immortalized in a ballad by Mitch Torok.



The San Jacinto Monument:

The Magic Number

Seven seems to be the magic number.  At work, I mean.  And why do I say this?  Well, I'll tell you.  

Yesterday, we had eight brazers show up, which still left us shorthanded by 30%.  Technically, 33.333333 to infinity %, but let's not quibble over decimal points, OK?  Even so, the powers that be must think 60% staffing is too many.  As soon as the lines whimpered, my supervisor rolled over and showed his belly like a whipped dog, and sent a brazer back there.  This, despite the fact that on Monday, we only had five show up and no one sent us any help.  We just had to --um, how do they put it?  Work harder, braze faster, you lazy bums!  

Today, we only had seven brazers show up, so he didn't move anyone.  I guess that means they think we can get by with seven, but an eighth brazer is superfluous.  Either way, it puts a lot more work on the rest of us, you know, the ones who do show up to work.  That nice, comfortable 14-15 hour lead time we'd had built up, that's gone now, and the lines are right on us.  But do they care?  No.  Work harder!  Braze faster!  You lazy bums.  

Man, I need a nap. 

Moving right along, remember my Stalker?  Remember when he got that job back in the lab and we thought we were rid of him?  Turns out, we only thought he was out of our hair.  Every single day, he's got to come out to the department, and just stand there for a while.  Today was no different.  What was different was today Particularly Outspoken Coworker turned around and saw him, and shouted, "[Stalker] why do you always come out here every day and just stand there looking with your ugly @$$?  You died to get that job back there, and you need to stay back there!"  

Hah!  We all laughed so hard at that, but no one -- no one -- laughed harder than me.  

In other news, I decided it was finally time to get these little bluebonnet seedlings into the ground.

They're big enough, and we're past the threat of a late frost.  I mean, not totally, but if we had a frost this late in the year, I'd be really surprised.  I marked them with flags so that if I do find someone to do my yard this year, maybe they won't get weedeated down.  Like my last ones did.  Which I still have not gotten over. 

I'd originally thought I'd plant all of the seedlings, well, the bigger ones at least, but changed my mind.  I'd intended to pull up all the weed barrier cloth I'd put down last year -- because it didn't work that well anyway -- but I only got this far before I stopped.

The reason I stopped is twofold.  One, because I didn't want to risk killing my bachelor's buttons. 

I'm not sure if they rooted through the cloth, or came up in a cut or something, but I don't want to risk it.  Sometime over the next few days, I'm going to have to get my scissors out and cut the cloth out around them, leaving them undisturbed. I'd have done it today, but I was already tired, and my legs were sore from moving some mulch from the old flower bed to my lantana bed. 

It looks a lot better now.  Oh, and yes, I weeded the bed first.  

Finally, a bit of good news.  It's not supposed to rain significantly until Sunday/Monday.  Maybe my yard will dry out enough for me to mow it before the weeds get to be knee high!  

Maybe...

Let It Begin Here

 

Stand your ground

Don't fire unless fired upon

But if they mean to have a war

Let it begin here. 

Concord Hymn 

 RALPH WALDO EMERSON

By the rude bridge that arched the flood,

   Their flag to April’s breeze unfurled,

Here once the embattled farmers stood

   And fired the shot heard round the world.

The foe long since in silence slept;

   Alike the conqueror silent sleeps;

And Time the ruined bridge has swept

   Down the dark stream which seaward creeps.

On this green bank, by this soft stream,

   We set today a votive stone;

That memory may their deed redeem,

   When, like our sires, our sons are gone.

Spirit, that made those heroes dare

   To die, and leave their children free,

Bid Time and Nature gently spare

   The shaft we raise to them and thee.

Well, Well, Well...

 Five.  

Five is today's magic number.  No, that's not the number of brazers who were out.  That's the number who showed up.  Heh, at first, there were only three of us, and we were looking at each other like, "ummmm".  Then another brazer said, "[Brazer A] just messaged me.  She's coming, but she'll be late."  Then I said, "[Brazer B] might be here, too.  She's always late."  Sure enough, a minute or two later, Brazer B came walking in.  (Honestly, she's late so much, I don't know how she hasn't pointed out yet.)  

The brazing trainer said, "Now, let's see if they'll send someone up from the back to help us out."  Because anytime they're short handed back there, they said, "Hey, let's go get a brazer." Turnabout is fair play, right?  Apparently not.  They didn't send us anyone.  But the brazing trainer set up on a stand and helped us out, so that made six.  That's still half the department out.  And they wonder why we can't seem to keep up...

Anyway, look what we have here.

Do you see them?  Seedlings, and lots of them.  Less than a week after I'd planted them, too.  I'm thinking it might be the potting soil I used, and not my technique.  These are growing like gangbusters, while, the ones I planted in the peat pellets are still mostly no shows. 

Yes, I realize the potting soil (not the peat pellets) look a bit too wet, so after I took the photo, I propped the cover slightly open with a piece of mulch.  

I'll probably just take it off completely, since we're about past the time where we could get frosts. 

I was planning on cleaning out this bed Saturday, since we had the day off, and getting it ready for planting, 

because all of these are going to have to have a home soon, 

but it rained all weekend.  And I do mean all weekend.  I put out a 5 gallon bucket to collect rainwater for Marty Mac, and it's more than halfway full.  I mean, it had a bit in it from Wednesday's storms, but needless to say, I should have plenty of water for a while.  

Do you see what I see?  My mystery plant finally bloomed!

It's another bachelor's button.  It had to have come from the wildflowers I planted last year.  One of them must have seeded before my over enthusiastic lawn care person weedeated my whole wildflower bed.  Oh, that was a traumatic time, it was.  

 At least, I still have my bluebonnet.  

This little one has somehow managed to survive all the storms here lately. 

I got another surprise this week.  It looks like my lantanas are going to come back.  

Where I live, they're iffy.  Sometimes they come back, sometimes they don't.  I did get my hoe out and weeded this bed after I took the photo.  I'm going to try to get some mulch around them this year.  Hopefully, that'll take care of the weeds.  

I was strolling through the garden center, and I simply couldn't resist.  Shortly after I took this photo, I used my new potting table to get it into a hanging basket. 

Finally, a bit more good news.  The Christmas cactus I thought was dead is putting out new growth! 

Maybe it'll live after all!  

Resurrection Sunday

Christ the Lord is ris’n today, Alleluia!
Sons of men and angels say, Alleluia!
Raise your joys and triumphs high, Alleluia!
Sing, ye heav’ns, and earth, reply, Alleluia!

Lives again our glorious King, Alleluia!
Where, O death, is now thy sting? Alleluia!
Once He died our souls to save, Alleluia!
Where thy victory, O grave? Alleluia!

Love’s redeeming work is done, Alleluia!
Fought the fight, the battle won, Alleluia!
Death in vain forbids His rise, Alleluia!
Christ hath opened paradise, Alleluia!

Soar we now where Christ hath led, Alleluia!
Foll’wing our exalted Head, Alleluia!
Made like Him, like Him we rise, Alleluia!
Ours the cross, the grave, the skies, Alleluia!

Story Time

 Here in the South, we call days like today The Calm Between The Storms.  Yes, it's supposed to storm again, starting here in about an hour.  Not only that, it's supposed to rain all day tomorrow, and into Sunday morning.  

There goes my plans for the weekend.  I'd originally thought I'd get out and get this flower bed cleaned up and ready for planting, 

but it looks like that won't happen.  Not for a while yet. 

Since I'm sure you're tired of hearing me blather on about the weather, I thought today would be a good day for a story.  Here you go:  

Two Goats And A Wedding

Years ago, my uncle used to keep cattle. He didn't have a very big heard, just 10-15 head.

That's my uncle, on the left there. He is married to my dad's oldest sister, who is in the middle. And that's my dad on the right. This picture was taken about 20 years ago.

Back to the cattle...Uncle sold some of his cattle at auction, and one of them tested positive for brucellosis. Or to put it in the local vernacular, the cow banged out. Now, in those days, the only thing you could do when have a bang cow is to brand her jaw with a big B and sell her for slaughter. But then, the Department of Agriculture comes around and tests your cattle for forever, or until the entire herd is clean.

After it was all said and done, when his herd had finally been cleared, Uncle decided just to get out of the cattle business for good. In their place, he bought some goats. I often helped him look after his goats--feeding them, penning them at night, letting them out in the morning--that kind of stuff. The first time I ever saw anything give birth, live and in person, was one of Uncle's goats. Some years later, he told me that he's enjoyed his goats more than he ever enjoyed the cattle. He still has some, though he lost many of them when hurricane Ike came through.

Back before I joined the Navy, I spent most of my time--when I wasn't working--roaming the woods. One morning, Uncle called me and said, "One of my goats didn't come up last night. I think she stayed out to have her baby. If you happen to see her during your wanderings, let me know." That was right up my alley. I got my dog, and we set off to find the goats.

The dog I had then was a Chesapeake/Labrador cross. He was named Cutter John, after a character in the old Bloom County comic strip, and he was the Best. Dog. Ever. Yep, this is him.

Me and Best Dog Ever set out into the woods, and it didn't take us long to find mom and baby. Both were doing just fine. I picked up baby (this is really her)

and carried her back to the goat pen, with a worried mom trotting beside me, never taking her eyes off her baby. I was real proud that I'd found the missing goats.

Uncle only had three babies that year, and the baby I'd found in the woods was the first to be born. Here they are:

Just a few weeks later, wild dogs got into the goat pen and killed about half of Uncle's goats. Some they killed outright, others they left so badly wounded that Uncle had to shoot them. His big billy was badly wounded, and Uncle tried so hard to save him, but he ended up dying during the night. All three babies were also lost.

About a week later, one of my former schoolmates got married. She and I had not been friends in school. She didn't like me, and I knew it. I didn't like her either, and she knew it. She always seemed to think that she was better than me, and didn't bother to hide her opinion.

When my cousin asked me if I was going to Lisa's wedding, I said no, and she exclaimed, "You're not going to Lisa S----'s wedding!!!????" with much the same horror and disbelief as if I'd just told her I'd declined an invitation to Charles and Diana's nuptials. "Didn't you go to school with her?" cousin asked. I replied that I had, but we weren't really friends. She responded, "You have to go to Lisa S----'s wedding. Everybody is going to be at Lisa S----'s wedding."

"Not me," I said. But Cousin was so insistent that I reluctantly agreed to go.

The afternoon of the wedding arrived, and I went out to feed the goats before I began getting ready. Uncle had gone out of town that day, so he didn't turn them out into the pasture, but he did ask me to go give them some feed, which I was glad to do. Best Dog Ever was, as always, with me.

We got out to the goat pen, and who should be there but one baby goats that we thought had been killed! This one:


She was outside the pen, bleating and wanting in. As soon as she saw me, she took off running, and I took off after her. So, here I was, less than an hour before I'm supposed to be at this wedding I didn't really want to go to, running headlong through the woods with Best Dog Ever, trying to catch this baby goat. Best Dog Ever finally trapped the goat in a ditch and held her until I could get there to catch her. I carried her back to the pen, and put her inside. I fed the goats, then went to Aunt and Uncle's house to tell Aunt that I'd found one of the babies. Cousin and Other Cousin were also there. I told Cousin, "Well, I guess I'm not going to Lisa S----'s wedding after all."

"Why not?" cousin asked.

"Just look at me," I said. I was covered from head to toe in mud, and I didn't have time to take a shower.

"You'll be fine," Cousin says. "Just wash your face and hands and put on some makeup, and let's go."

So I did. Reluctantly. I went to Lisa S----'s wedding, and the reception afterwards, though I didn't really want to. Lisa, the one time she did speak to me, was as condescending as I'd expected her to be. I was polite, but it was forced.

At the reception, I sat alone in a corner, because I didn't know anyone else there, listening to the harpist. I felt something in my hair, that I thought was a bug, since it was an outdoor reception.  I reached up to brush it off, and ...it was mud.  I'd gone to that wedding with mud in my hair.  And  mud under my fingernails and under my toenails, and, I smelled like a swamp. It was then that I realized

I'd rather be chasing goats through the woods.

But that's just me.

You know, I never did find out why it was so important to her that I go to that wedding.  I guess I'll never know.  

Dear Place Of Employment

 You know, I'm not quite sure which is more disturbing.

The fact that you expect your employees to work for 7 hours straight with nothing to eat or drink

or

The fact that you seem to think it's ok to expect your employees to work for 7 hours straight with nothing to eat or drink.

or 

The fact that you seem to think it's ok to expect your employees to work for 7 hours straight with nothing to eat or drink, but you can't seem to figure out why no one wants to work for you. 

Well, I'll tell you one thing, you'd better figure it out soon.  You think it's tough to find employees now?  Just wait until Milwaukee Tools opens.  

Then you'll really be in a fix. 

Thank you.

That is all. 

Great News!

 This is great news, y'all!  

Do you see what that is?  I mean, ignore my mossy bricks...and the weeds....and the leaves and twigs...and the unswept door mat.  I mean the other stuff.  Do you know what it is?  

It's oak tassels!  The oak trees are starting to drop their tassels!  The Pollening is almost over! Thank goodness!  Very soon, we'll able to breathe -- for a few weeks, at least, until Sahara Dust season starts.  Sigh.  

Oh, well.  It's always something, isn't it?

Speaking of somethings, after I posted yesterday, I finished season 2 of The Chosen, and nothing else appealed.  I mean, on PBS, or Prime, or Hulu, or...nope.  Those are the only streaming services I still have.  I've cut all the others off, because of inflation and gas prices.  I need to trim expenses wherever I can.  

By the way, I finally found a dog food Jesse actually likes, only it's $19 per 14 lb bag.  I told him he'd better enjoy it while he can, because once the ibotta rebate expires, he's going back to the cheap stuff. 

Anyway, nothing on TV inspired me, so I went out and planted some more seeds in my other seed tray.  It was such fun using my new potting table, and not having to squat down and to these things on the ground.  I'm getting too old for that.  

As I said, I was practically giddy about using my new potting table, until the mosquitoes found me and began snacking on my legs.  That wasn't so fun, but I persevered and finished the job. 

I hope these seeds do a bit better than the ones in the other tray did, which you can see on the shelf below.  So far, I've only gotten one more seedling out of that batch, 

but there is time, yet.  Maybe once it gets more consistently warm.  Well, I can always hope. 

One thing I've got to do is to figure out how to get some more light in that corner where my potting bench is.  I mean, it's not dark dark, but it is kind of dark back there.  If I can get someone out to figure out why my outlets don't work in the shop, I can hang a shop light, since there is an outlet just outside the chicken coops.  Not sure why it's there, but it is.  

Now for some more good news, my little Christmas Cactus that I thought was a gonner seems to be turning green again.  That one sprig in the back seems to have greened up right nicely.  There may be hope for it yet. 

If those other sprigs are still red by fall, I'll probably just pull them up and move the green one to the center of the pot. 

It's been a while since I've shown you Marty Mac.  He's putting out lots of new traps, and the old ones are dying off -- which is completely normal.  

The really long, leggy leaves were there when I got him, and they come from him not having enough sunlight.  They'll eventually shed as well, and he'll be right as rain.  I'm supposed to cut off the flower stalk, but I want to see him bloom, just this once.  Maybe after the newness wears off, I'll cut them, but this time, I want a flower. 

While we're on the subject of flowers, this one is really loaded with blooms. 

I'm still waiting on this one to bloom.  It looks like it might be a red flower, but I can't tell for sure yet.

I hope you've enjoyed your brief walk through the nature in my yard.  Now, if you'll excuse me, I must go practice my piano.  

And I promise you a piano update soon.  

There, now that I've said it, I have to do it.  

No backsies.  

Hmmm, if I'm going to give you an update, I'd better get to practicing.  

Laters.

The Best Laid Plans

The plan had been to run by Walmart after work yesterday, get some bags of topsoil, and start spreading it in the low spots in my front yard.  The plan was to get some garden soil and figure out how to make a flower bed for my daffodils.  Maybe get that old tire out of the shed and paint it, and make a planter out of it.  Or start digging out the old fire pit and figure out what to do with it.  

It would have been a beautiful day for it all.  It was sunny and warm, even though the wind was chilly.  I just couldn't see myself staying inside on a day like that.  Heck, maybe I'd even go up to Lowe's and see what they had in stock up there. 

You know what they say about the best laid plans of mice and men.  

It would seem I am no exception to that rule.  

You see, I feed the cat in the laundry room, and to keep the dog from scarfing down all the cat food, I put a pet gate across the door.  Yesterday morning, still drowsy from having woken up at 2:45, I was stepping over the gate to feed the cat, and I somehow clonked my foot against the top of it.  This is not uncommon for someone as klutzy as I am, however, this time, it did something to my foot. 

I don't know what, as there hasn't been any swelling or bruising, but it sho-nuf hurts.  By the time I got off work, it was hurting so badly, all I wanted to do was to get off of it.  And that, Gentle Reader, is exactly what I did.  Other than doing a load of laundry, I spent the evening knitting, and binging season 2 of The Chosen.

And eating the Easter candy I said I wasn't going to buy.   But did.  Obviously. 

By the way, if you've never watched The Chosen, I highly recommend it.  If you have either Fire TV or ROKU, you can download the Angel Studios app and see the entire thing for free.  

It feels much better today, but still it hurts enough I'm going to take it easy again.  I might get out and plant some seeds later on, but I'm not going to do any of the heavy stuff like mowing or spreading dirt -- which I don't yet have, because our Walmart doesn't deliver and I don't feel like going to to the store.  

Maybe tomorrow. 

It's Not Just Me

Once upon a time, a certain blogger we all know and love, got out of bed and went to work bright and early this morning, whereupon this certain blogger we all know and love's coworker told her, "Boy, when that alarm went off this morning, I lay there for about five minutes, debating whether to come in today or to just go back to sleep."  

So, see?  It's not just me.  All righty then, moving right along. 

Since it's been -- oh, a few days since I've forced you to sit through a bunch of photos of my flowers, guess what you get to do?  That's right!  You get to sit through a bunch of photos of my flowers!  Aren't you excited?   OK, away we go...

First up, my one, lonely little bluebonnet:

  And yes, I realize I should have moved the hose before taking the picture, but I didn't.  You'll just have to pretend it's a rattlesnake, which love to live in bluebonnets for some reason.   

Meanwhile, the ones in this little box are really coming on.  

I'm thinking the tall ones are Cosmos, but I'm not completely sure.  I'll probably go ahead and get them into the ground next weekend, because we rarely have frosts after the middle of April.  Next weekend is also Resurrection Sunday, and I'm hoping they take pity on us and let us have the weekend off.  Not holding my breath on that, though.  But you never know with them.  

Next up on the agenda, the Bachelor's Buttons are blooming like crazy.  

Seeing these, I kinda wish I had more of them.  Maybe next year, I'll plant a whole bed of just buttons. 

I still have no idea what this thing is, but it's covered in buds.  

I'll keep you updated. 

Moving on around the corner, I've finally got some daffodils blooming. 

I'm not sure exactly which variety they are, but they're really pretty.  I've marked them with my little flags, because I want to dig them up after they're done blooming and put them together in their own separate bed. I picked some and made myself a couple of bouquets for the house. 

The last thing I did while I was outside was to cut some of the dead branches and stuff out of my roses.

I'll have to find my gloves to get it all picked up and thrown into the compost.  It may be dead, but yes, it still has thorns.  Ask me how I know.  Once I get that all cleaned up, the only thing I'm going to trim are the parts that are sticking straight out into the yard.   Other than that, I'm leaving the roses alone. 

And thus concludes your walk through my flower beds.  And they all lived happily ever after.

After they practiced their piano, that is.