Everyone walks away wounded

So, Curt won. After many rounds with semi-functional, battery-operated drills missing various parts, he was able to reconfigure the mailbox so that it's no longer in danger of falling off it's perch every single time the mail's delivered...






Good job Meinhold!

It came from a hot, mysterious land....

To take us down one by one like the animals that we are...

Dih-nuuuuuuuuh, dih-nuuuuuuuuh (by the way, this is supposed to be Jaws music),


dih-nuuuuuuh, dih-nuuuuuuh,


dih-nuuuuh, dih-nuuuuh,


dih-nuuh, dih-nuuh, dinner!

Missing since 5-17

My dearest disappeared last Saturday. Fortunately, I got these beautiful flowers to help alleviate my sense of loss. Better yet was the attached note promising his return.
I've been gardening away outside too. Lots of perovskia, hosta, geranuims, a Mart-inspired hydrangea and various other little tid-bits all went in the ground this week. He'd better not take off again without me - we can't afford it!

All the Wrong Reasons

Jeff Scher & Shay Lynch - pretty neat:

Here's a link to Scher's site too.

May in the garden

So, these are the real outdoor days. Here are some pictures from the yard.

Here's where I read and drink tea in the early mornings...


Here's an iris we transplanted from deep shade last autumn. This is the first time I've seen it bloom - my favourite colour no less!


These are just some begonias we popped in. The ground is so full of roots right here, it's difficult to get much to thrive once summer kicks into high gear. So, I am keeping my fingers crossed that they'll last thru the next couple of months.

Vote

Hey you, live in NC? Go vote...NOW!
If you're a Guilford County nightmare like us, here's a .pdf of the sample ballots.

Birdsong

So, it is warming up. I've been in the kayak now and we spend most evenings outside. There was a decent rainfall and everything looks soooo alive. The mosquitoes haven't been bad yet - guess we'll eventually be driven back in until it really heats up.

A couple of weeks ago, we were sitting in the back garden and a giant barred owl landed on a branch not 20' away. The cat instantly turned into a quivering puddle. Now, we've seen owls at the local zoos. This one looked like it might wear one of them as a hat!

Sadly, when Curt went to get the camera, it took off. So, now the owl will get bigger with every telling and nobody will believe us. I do notice Midian mostly hangs under the carport or shed when outdoors now. He really only ventures into the yard for little hits from the nepeta plants.

Later, Curt sent me this link to a local birding blog. Glad we're not the only nature nerds out there.