Another Mystery Quiz

Just for fun. What do you think this is? It's ________________, doing_________ while_________________. Can you fill in the _______________?

How Long is Yours?

I'm tired of the raccoon look. I just ordered a nose guard to attach to my sunglasses. This summer I've been trying to remember to wear long sleeves and a hat when I mow. No matter how big my hat is, my nose still gets too much sun. Now that the temperatures are breaking 100, it'll be difficult to continue covering up. The damage was likely done years ago, but maybe I can keep it from advancing. I hope this gadget will work without being uncomfortable. I don't care if I do look like a dork.

I had to measure my nose to know what size to order. I was surprised to find that I was a medium. I've always felt that I had a BIG nose. Two inches looks much smaller on my sewing gauge than it does on my face! Now I understand. My nose isn't too big, my face is too small.

The guard shown is a padded one. There is a lighter weight one which I ordered. There are probably other places to get them, but I only found them at Sungrubbies.com.



You can view both at Sungrubbies.com.

Where's My Pot of Gold?

We had a brief thunderstorm blow through about supper time. These are views of the rainbow I could see looking east from my house. I really need to read the owners manual for my camera so I can get better pictures. Too late now, maybe next time!

Being Grandma

I received this as a birthday gift from a coworker. Cute thought, isn't it. I may take it apart and paint the frame as the distressed look isn't really my thing. Then I need to find a place to hang it.



I spent the weekend with my kids at the aformentioned wedding. My son-in-law and I wrangled the kids while my daughter performed her duties as matron of honor.



I think my little granddaughter was more photographed than the bride. I said as much to the photographer, but she said Mariell was too cute to resist.



She now has three (count 'em) teeth.



Riley was drawing a lot of attention, too, although he handled it differently. He dropped to all fours and started hopping across the grass saying "ribbit, ribbit."



Their parents looked pretty good, too.

Motelaphobia

I was at an outdoor wedding near Wichita, KS this weekend, but that's another story.

I think I'm developing a phobia about motels. Is there a name for that? I can't find anything official, motel phobia seems to be popular. I usually stay in national chains and according to my budget they aren't really cheap.

Almost thirty years ago, the company I retired from frequently used to send me to Houston, TX for one, two, even three weeks for training. I stayed at a motel my fellow employees referred to as the Royal Roach. It supposedly had a reputation for cockroaches. I don't remember if I ever saw any, but I used to unpack my suitcase on the back step and shake all the clothes before immediately washing everything.

Unless it's a new motel, I always wonder about how clean the room is. I don't walk barefoot on the carpet and I don't lay on the bedspread. How often do those things get washed? Ever? The sheets are often threadbare and for sure don't smell like home. Is there a schedule for cleaning the carpet? Have you heard that bedbugs are on the rise in the United States?

See why I don't sleep well? Maybe I could take my own bedding, but how would I know what size? I'm thinking about taking a sleeping bag to just lay on top of the sheets.....and my own pillow.

I stayed in a brand new motel last summer. The bed was flat. The sheets were thick. There was no grime build up in the corners of the bathroom and no mildew in the shower. It felt luxurious and it was expensive!

Disclaimer: My house is not spotless and some of my towels are thin, and unlike a motel room, it doesn't get "cleaned" every day but it's MY dirt.

Sky Pictures June 15, 2009

Same Old- Same Old

We have another evening of being in a Tornado Watch. It's only effect until midnight. We are also in a severe thunderstorm watch with winds greater than 60 mph and hail larger than tennis ball size possible. I sure hope not! The watches should expire before I go to bed, so hopefully a quiet night for sleep.

Many years ago, when we had only lived in this house a short while, there was a small tornado that went right by our place. It turned over our camping trailer that was parked by the back door and blew it up against the door. It destroyed a neighbors grain bins and drove a steel post through another neighbors steel building. We were getting ready to leave on a camping vacation, so that really put a damper on things. I think my husband set the trailer back up with the tractor, fastened the refrigerator back in the wall, replaced the glass and off we went. We used it for many years after that.

Insect Gall

A friend of mine, who taught biology at Colby Community College, came out to look at the tree as soon as I emailed pictures to him. He said that the bush/tree was indeed wild plum. He even found a small green plum. The growths are from an insect larvae on/in the fruit. The larvae secretes a chemical that causes the fruit to grow abnormally around it. He compared it to a tumor. I found a good explanation and pictures on Winterwoman.net.

Galls have been used in the manufacture of ink and for tanning. The larvae inside can be used for survival food or fish bait. We found a tiny, tiny gnat or fly inside these galls.

Check out Wikipedia for some interesting pictures or Google "galls" for lots of information.

Maybe there will still be plums enough for a little jelly!

Mulberries Ripening

Still a mystery to me.

I've been putting off checking on my mystery thicket. The one I was sure was going to provide wild plums for some prized jelly. The last time I hiked down there, I came back with ticks. That's really off-putting. Today, I garbed up with long sleeves, long pants and a hat. The grass is waist high, so I kind of side stepped in to make an escape path. Whatever this is, it must not be edible. I've seen deer in that draw several times in the last weeks. I was afraid they might beat me to the fruit, but they can have it. Whatever IT is. Could it be some kind of mutant? Is it a pear with a disease? They feel hollow, a little like a banana pepper.

My battery in the camera went dead before I got all the pictures I wanted, but I believe I'll wait a while before I go back.

Yuk, Gross, Euwwwwwwww!

I am traumatized, shocked, stunned, grossed out. Something happened to me this evening that has never happened before. I was out mowing with my riding mower and ran over a nest of baby bunnies. I saw them, but before I could stop they were sucked up out of their hole. It was just so shocking. I've been complaining about how many rabbits there are this year, but I didn't want to be responsible for thinning them out. I don't know how I've missed doing that before. It's only been about 10 days since I mowed the front yard, but they were pretty big babies.

After I cleaned up the mess, I got back on the mower to finish the yard. Then satan started to work on me and my mind was rehashing every awful thing I've ever done. So there I was mowing in a cloud of dust telling him to get away from me and asking God to ride along.

I'm guessing you don't want to see what I saw, so I'm sparing you the carnage. I decided to find a little beauty in the rest of my task. Here are some pictures of blooms I saw while mowing. Of course, most of them are on undesirable plants. (read weeds) Still, they have a certain beauty.






I hope your day was a pleasant one and I know you are wishing me a dreamless sleep tonight.

My Mom

• Born February 5, 1925 (2/5/25)
• Was sent to live with family during the depression
• Worked in California for the Navy during World War II
• Always learning
• Stayed up late many nights to finish a new dress for a concert or school program
• Patient, patient, patient. Recently, when waiting for someone to finish painting her bathroom, finish the tile in the bath and to mow her yard.
• Loves to read. Instilled that in me.
• Taught me how to knit
• Accepting of all kinds of people. You should have seen some of the boyfriends my sisters and I brought home.
• Encourages everyone in their dreams. My friends always like to visit with her when they came to our house.
• Generous with her time and talents. I hated it when she shared the fresh cinnamon rolls with the neighbors!
• Disciplined. She goes to the gym 3 times a week.
• Enthusiastic. Suggest a trip and she's ready to go.
• Supportive.
• ...and much, much more.
  
  This is from a list I compiled while driving. It seems that's the time when my ideas and deeper thoughts come to me. Do you think I should be paying more attention to the road?

Spread the Good Word

It sure has been noisy around here. The birds are making such a racket, there's no doubt that spring has sprung. What a wide variety of songs I've been hearing. I wasn't brave enough to lay on the ground and wait for them to congregate above me for a better picture. These two guys didn't fly away like the rest.

The hot topic must be that the mulberry tree will have soon have ripe berries. I took this photo a few days ago.



I read recently, that when the mulberry tree leafed out, it was a sign that the danger of hard frost was past. Have you ever heard that?

The mulberry tree is the tallest tree that I have. It was planted by accident. About 20 years ago,when my son was 10 or 11, my mother-in-law gave him some small trees that she has thinned from her yard. She thought they were all shade trees. He planted them and put in a drip line to water them. Only one tree survived. I am so glad that he planted it outside the fence!