Of birds and blooms

My wren did not build in the little house I have by the deck, but they are still close by. Maybe in the old shop.

Clayton wants to know what happened to all our common sparrows. I had not noticed until he brought it up, but I have not seen a sparrow all year. Usually they come to the sunflower feeders and build in the old shop. I do not see them at all around the yard this year.

This is a turkey George sees each day down on the pond bank below Clayton's. I think it is a hen and George thinks it is a tom.

Wild flowers along the fence and a pile of rice hulls from Newberry's brooder house. I really like the rice hulls on the plants.

This is a gooseberry plant that I dug up from by my back door. I found it on the hill behind my house about 10 years ago and planted a sprout by the back door. I has grown large and bloomed but never bears fruit. Maybe it will do better here by Patsy's patented rose.

This is a weed in my beans in the garden. I have two of these. What is it?

Helen wanted a picture of the pigs. They are very ugly.

Soon I will have ripe peaches on my June Gold tree.

Day Lillies from Patsy's yard.

Beautiful flower bouquet from my yard.

Blue bird and butterfly bush. The butterfly bushes smell wonderful and perfume up the whole yard.

Bean plants in bloom. Should have beans in a week or two.

Yellow birds drink from the top of the fountain.

Promises, Promises

Vacation Days

One day, Thursday or Friday, I forget exactly what day, I went to Hollister and stopped by Patsy's place on 86 on the way back. I found this pink rose that I had not seen before. I am going to try to get a start of this from the cutting. The cuttings I have outside are not doing to good. I think it is too hot for them. I am going to Wal-Mart and get some artifical soil and try to start these in the back room.



Then I went back up 86 yesterday and dug up the new pink rose and some more day lillies. I got the root stump of the rose but no feeder roots so I don't know if it will live. I am sure the day lillies do fine.



At a garage sale up by Twin Island, I got 2 swing arm pole lamps like the one by the TV, a nice basket for magazines to put beside my chair and 5 pillows like the ones in the picture, and 4 old 60 style TV trays for the deck. All for $10. Two of the pillows are the little slim kind, but that is what I need for napping in my recliner. Friday, I actually did take a nap in the recliner and had to go get a pillow for my neck.





This morning, we cleaned this area in the back. It was a real mess, but is nice and neat now.

Last week, I put hay down in the melons, tomatoes and strawberries plus all around the outside of the garden. I had the first squash yesterday. I have lots of tomatoes on my Early Girl vines. Should have ripe tomatoes in a couple of weeks.

I bought new shoes and a new purse. I did not buy red shoes. But I drive a red pickup.

This plastic table and 3 chairs I got free at the garage sale where I got the lamps and pillows. The table has a crack on one side, but is still very usable and the chairs are heavy chairs It just fits here. I also got a wedding ring quilt for $1 at a sale. It is not and old quilt but it is nice. It has one corner badly damaged. It came with one pillow sham that I may be able to fix it with. Anyway, it was worth the dollar because the rest of the quilt is very pretty. I am sure I can do something with it. When we get the kitchen finished, I could make a table cloth of it.

George has been censusing a lot. Sometimes he is gone till 8 or 9 at night. Today, he is mowing the yard. I plan on staying inside under the air. I am trying to read the Oprah book, but it is not very interesting. I may have to skip it and go to the Mark Twain book. Speaking of Mark Twain. He wrote an autobiography that was not to be published for 100 years. It is coming out this year. I bet it is a lot more interesting than Oprah.

The benefits of my job

One of my favorite sayings is that one best benefits of my current job as compared to my former jobs is the great days off. I am going to enjoy those days off benefits until next Tuesday morning.

I went to the library and got these books, and to the thrift store and got these magazines (10 cents each). I am going to enjoy sitting under the air reading or doing whatever I want.

And, Helen, I did mean the swimmer. This hand cream is really greasy and would be good for helping swimmers slip through the water. I do not care enough to change the post or delete your comments.

Speaking of work, our big boss (the one over everything) has been making life hard for me. He has started blogging on the company's website. When you open up explorer, there is his blog link and it it hard for me not to click and see what he or his writer has to say. After reading, it is sometimes hard for me to refrain from making signature comments. At first, his propaganda was mostly directed to his associates (the ones he comes in contact with every day). Then, they sent a survey out to all in the email contacts asking for opinions on his bloggy thingy. I had to give my 2 cents. Mainly, I said I thought he was preaching to the choir in that surely most of management was already onboard with the things he was preaching to them about. I told him to turn and speak to the congregation. I sense a somewhat lower tone to his messages at times, but not always. Last week he asked for opinions on how our stock was doing. I said standard advise was buy low, sell high and we seem to have the first part down pat. Second part needs some work. This week, he is wanting to know what we do on vacation. I had a really, really, really, hard time resisting commenting with my favorite benefit statement. I will not be back at work till Tuesday and by then he will have up a new subject to temp me.

And, I have had new potatoes for almost 2 weeks now. I think tonight I will have hot dogs for the man, black eyed peas (from a can), fried new potatoes and fried poke stalks.

I have some good sized green tomatoes on my Early Girl tomatoes and several little sweet peppers. In 2 weeks I expect to be eating vine ripened tomatoes.

Fleta's Beauty Secret

I know you think I am just being funny, but this is a bona fide beauty tip. I buy this cream, Equate Dry Skin Cream with added moisturizers at Wal-Mart. It is a heavy cream like the old fashioned cold cream Granny Gaddy used. It is greasy. I use it on my lips in place of lip balm. I use it at least once in the morning and once in the evening on my lips and hands. Most days, I use it much more often than that. Since I started putting it on my lips everyday (over 6 months now), I have not had chapped lips and I do not have dry hands like I did. Sometimes I use it on my dry feet, but it is greasy, so you have to put on socks over it or just use it a bedtime. It really works.

It cost $7.50 and this is my second jar of it. The first tub I bought 2 or 3 years ago and I think it cost about $3.50 then. The label says compare to Eucerin Moisturizing creme. If you want to by that brand, it will set you back twice as much. I compared the ingredients in this cream, the Eucerine creme and other moisturizers around it on the Wal-Mart shelf. I think the ingredient that makes the difference is Petrolatum. I think that may be the ingredient in Vaseline Petroleum Jelly. That is probably why it is greasy and also why it actually works, as opposed to most moisturizers.

I wonder if Mark Spritz knows about this product?

Memory Tree, 2010

Yesterday, we planted this 2010 memory tree. It is a Sunglow Semi Drawf Nectarine. I know Daddy would have been happy to have a Nectarine, Debby and Mama would have loved eating the nectarines and Brother Richard would have said I should have put flowers on the graves.

Next year, I think I will try to find some cherry memory trees.