Why we moved the bird feeder…

…to in front of the dining room windows:

This picture was taken from the garage door — had to do some zooming in.

What’s really cool is that now we can watch the birds from the dining room, looking down through the slightly opened blinds — and the birds are none the wiser!

Besides Mr. and Mrs. Cardinal, there have been chickadees, a gold finch, and a nuthatch come to visit. No so sure what’s up with the house finches…they used to be regulars when the feeder was by the sunroom…maybe they don’t like the new location.

No broken glass involved — really

The company I work for is encouraging good health habits for its employees — pretty much of a fledgling effort, but hey — it’s a good idea.

So along with Tangerine, we have been encouraged to climb aboard the “Ten Thousand Steps” bandwagon — but maybe we’d better just walk ‘long that bandwagon instead of riding.

Staff from a local hospital came by and explained the program, handed out some brochures and our Very Own Pedometers.

I have always wanted a pedometer.

It was lime green. The display was too hard to read. The modes were too hard to set. The fasten-to-your-belt/waistband design was awful.

But it was mine.

I wore it three days — walking over the noon hour with Southern Cousin — chattering away and stepping onward to our healthier selves, faithfully recording our steps for the entire day, marveling over our progress.

Last Thursday it fell off twice at work. Seemed to knock itself senseless, and while I lost the step count each time, I put it back on and counted them steps.

Instead of putting it in my pocket on the way home that evening, I left it on, got out of the car, and cringed when I heard it hit the concrete.

Hmmm… well, there goes all my steps again…drat!

I brought it into the dining room, looked it over, put it on…walked several steps.

“One,” it said.

Uh, one?!

I shook its limey greenness and it rattled. Uh-oh.

I can’t have anything.

**********

Well nevernomind the lack of pedometer — I walked nearly every noon hour with Southern Cousin this week — cuz as we all know even if I can’t count the steps, I need the exercise.

Besides, I knew I had a shiny new Omron pedometer coming to my mailbox via Amazon.com.

NP: Walking On Broken Glass –Annie Lennox

The Gardenator

This time of year I get a bit reckless in the garden. My flowers just don’t “grow themselves” without a bit of guidance — so with trimmer in hand, I … guide them. No wait…I need gloves, the dandilioner, a spade, bucket and recycle bag…

Gruesome, eh?

First to go was the excess stonecrop. I trimmed it along the driveway and along the sidewalk. Ruthlessly trimmed. Then I started yanking… See this patch of stonecrop right in the middle of the fulda glow?

…well, it’s gone now. It will take over that whole corner if I let it.

Next I went to the north side of the house and pulled violets by the bucketsful. They are pretty in their place…but they were getting all over the place.

I next trimmed off most the flowers from the lady’s mantle.

Finally I gave Joe Pye a haircut…

…and for the first time ever, I cut back my Alma P aster. Here she is last fall, not all bloomed out:

She is forever getting out of hand in the fall. Just when she is the prettiest, a big wind and/or rain will come and send her leaning against the hoops she is in. Now I am hoping she will stay smaller and bloom even more.

Then after pulling some maple tree/oak tree seedlings and a couple thistles, I was done for the day.

Oh…take a look at the penstemon!

I like it! Last year it was hidden by the ninebark…languishing in its shadow, but I moved it and now…wow!

Only because I read to the end…

…of Sylvia’s post where she says: “OK, so I tag everyone who has read this! LOL!” that I feel duty-bound to comply — so without further ado, here goes nuttin’!

The Rules:
~Tell about 6 unspectacular quirks of yours.
~Link the person(s) who tagged you.
~Mention the rules on your blog.
~Tag 6 following bloggers by linking them.
~Leave a comment on each of the tagged blogger’s blogs letting them know they’ve been tagged.

…but if you have read this far, consider yourself tagged…

Quirks? I have a few:

1. Mid-morning snack at work consists of string cheese or milk and citrus fruit salad.
2. My left contact goes in before my right, thus disrupting the whole of contact-weardom.
3. I watch Dog Tales via the computer every Sunday morning.
4. I collect obituaries. No, not every one I read!
5. I hate shopping.
6. …but I don’t mind buying over the internet.

Five of Five

(subject to weather conditions and hormonal upheavals and Time Of Day…)

Five snacks I love:

1. String cheese.
2. Peanuts.
3. Dark chocolate.
4. Citrus fruit salad.
5. Those little baked cheese crackers.

Five things on my to do list:

1. Make birthday poster for work.
2. Bake cookies and brownies for work.
3. Weed the flowers.
4. Dust.
5. Don’t forget to meet with carpenter for storch work.

Five jobs I have had:

1. Clerk at record store.
2. Clerk at grocery store.
3. Volunteer at school library.
4. Secretary at chamber of commerce.
5. Account clerk

Five random facts:

1. I like making homemade pizza.
2. I tried to learn to swim. I think I could float.
3. Favorite Doctor? I’d say Four, Five, Eight, Nine, Ten — don’t make me choose.
4. I was a Girl Scout.
5. I’d do it all over again — some of it, anyway.

Five road songs to turn on loud:

1. Carefree Highway – Gordon Lightfoot
2. The Boxer – Carbon Leaf
3. Little Bird – Annie Lennox
4. Riverton – Phil Keaggy
5. Work – Jars of Clay

…and something not so beautiful

May I present to you our front steps?

What.a.mess.

Saturday we talked to a fella who can make this all go away with concrete and a bit of carpentry. Maybe not the most creative way to handle it — guess that will be up to the next occupants down the road.

And can anyone tell me what this is?

…a porch? A stoop? A storch?

Rang up the city hall to find out if we’d need a permit to have this…this…entryway redone. Couldn’t get a definite answer, except “to be on the safe side, you’d better get one.”

I know we have to have one for a porch…but is this a porch? Cuz if it is, I’d like a glider, side table, and tall glass of sweet tea to slurp while I watch the traffic go by.

Hmmm…

A Thousand Beautiful Things

…and here is just one of ‘em:

…a Painted Lady!

She looks a bit worse for wear, but given the wind/rain storms we’ve had lately, I think she’s doing pretty good!

She took a minute early yesterday evening to light upon the salvia under the ninebark…I have to move that salvia as the ninebark has grown so much and covers it up.

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In other news:

It’s been over a week since I’ve been wearing soft contacts — I should have tried them a long time ago! They are the ACUVUE® OASYS™ type, monovision kind. My rigid gas perms were giving me trouble since Christmas when I noticed I couldn’t see the words very well on my cheatsheet church music. Then I couldn’t make out numbers very well at work. My work IS numbers, so that was very frustrating! Cranking the light up, moving the monitor closer, wearing reading glasses, squinting — oh what a circus! Gee, maybe I should go see my optometrist… Anyway — another take on the “once I was blind, but now I can see” thing…!

AND…

Sophie the cairn terrier has been born!!! She was a week old yesterday. The breeder posted pictures of her litter mates and Sophie is all cuddled up with her sister. They are all so into their puppy-cuteness! Seven weeks and counting before we can go pick her up. In the meantime, I have at least three dog gates, a crate, and crate pad to get ordered this morning. Egads…I need a doggie shower! Wonder if I can register at PetSmart or somewhere…

NP: Annie Lennox, A Thousand Beautiful Things

Mum and her flowers

I’ve uploaded some pictures…so take a look! ;- )

…there – scroll down… that’s it….

Oh — and the new header photo shows a yellow dragonfly columbine, with a Japanese painted fern frond in the background.

I wandered off again…

…but I’m back.

Stay tuned…