Ye Olde Lake House

There has been too much spring in Spring this year,

so it was good to spend a few days

not doing anything productive.

Read books, float in the lake,

watch our toenails grow.

Now THAT is a vacation.

Bottle Rockets (Finally a video worth watching)

Memorial Day fun last Monday....

Fishing

A Concert for Walter

I'm sure Great-Great Aunt Catherine,

pictured with Mickey Mouse,

enjoyed the concert, too.

Saturday, May 17

Saturday was a big day in the garden.
Planted pole beans.
Worked on the paths between the raised beds.
Dug out a bed behind the party porch
in order to plant gourds and flowers.
Bought trellises for the gourds.
Bought half a whiskey barrel
and filled it with potting soil
and planted an herb garden in it.

With no help from me this year
the poppies are tall and green and budding,
the larkspur are likewise tall and budding.
The grapevine is beginning to follow it's wire
and also has buds
that promise grapes later in the summer.

Still much to be done.
Since I couldn't bend over
to pick asparagus by the end of the evening
on Saturday,
I will trust that I did more than enough
for that particular day.

Mockingbird Baby Update

Spotted some middle schoolish mockingbirds
hopping around in a bush beside the house last night.
They have cute little wings and mid-size little bodies.
They seem to be progressing nicely.
How fast the kids grow up!

Bluets

If you look behind the yellow flowers, there are tiny, tiny little blue flowers. Can you see them? Here...let's move closer in. Aren't they pretty? I pointed them out to my friends during the April camping trip, and they said, "Oh, yes, Bluets. " When I looked puzzled, they added, "Or some folks call them Quaker Ladies."

I was new to the world of Bluets, but very impressed with both their tiny beauty and the advanced wild flower knowledge of my camping buddies.

Spring Garden Update

The asparagus bed, to the left, has been feeding us for a few weeks now. Asparagus straight out of the bed is SIGNIFICANTLY better than asparagus that has traveled the world prior to hitting the table. The lacy Christmas tree looking things are what happen when you leave asparagus in the ground. The vegetables on your table were actually hoping to become four foot tall lacy plants. The lettuce, in the foreground of this second picture, has also been delicious this past week. Another thing you will never buy in the grocery store if you've had it directly from the ground. Major taste improvement. Those are onions in the middle of that bed, with potato plants closer to the fence. The potatos are under the dirt under the plants.

Oh....and beehives in the background!

Walter Playing with Mouse

With baby mockingbirds screeching in background....
Perhaps only two or three people will not find this mindnumbing,
but this is for us few.

Peeps

The shrub by the back door sings. A few weeks ago it hummed and buzzed as bees of all sorts (including my honey bees) visited its little green flowers. When the blooms faded the bush got quiet, until last night when I noticed it peeping. Four baby mockingbirds, which look like something sort of prehistoric when their little mouths are open. I didn't quite get that picture. You can't linger too long in a mockingbird nest without getting mama mockingbird tangled in your hair. I took my two shots and headed in the house.

I avoided the dive bombing mama, but the black cat that visits the yard was not as lucky. He was heading out through the garden under full attack when I came home from work.

Camping at Standing Indian in April

It rained. Friday night through midmorning Saturday,
drizzles, streams and steady showers.



The Weasley tent and the Taj Ma Herman tent both leaked,
but mine stayed snug and dry.
Weasleys and Hermans maintained
a positive attitude,
especially when the sun came out.

The young ones whittled. They carved.

They chipped and smoothed, and sharpened.

We had nice pointy stakes,

all ready for an invasion of vampires.

We didn't eat that shoe...
it was just one of the
casualties of the rain that needed drying a bit.



We did eat the lovely chicken and potatoes rolled into those tin foil packages on the fire. They were very good eating. As were the s'mores, the morning pancakes and eggs and all other eatings. I love camping food.

Hoping to camp again soon.

Bees

Note that I have added a new blog, "Backyard Swammerdam."
It is about my adventures in beekeeping.
The link is over there to the right under "My Other Blogs."

Weary Cats

After a hard week,
it is good to get to the weekend.
We stretch out in our favorite spots
and snuggle in,
staying in touch with the world around
with attentive ears,
while letting all the muscles in our bodies
melt away to a state
of total
relaxation.

Sleepy Spring Days

After my recent bout with the flu
I am finally feeling like I'm back to
my normal level of energy.

For too long, I dragged
through every day
and collapsed in a heap
every evening.

Even so,
today was a sleepy day.
I stayed awake,
but three out of four
hospice patients slept
through my visit.

Hard to stay peppy
when everyone around you
is snoring peacefully.

Hello, Handsome!

Welcome to the world, Paul Thomas.

Paul is the brother

of Julia the Goddaughter,

whose world is in the process of being rocked.

Little brothers are wondrous, annoying,

life giving, horrifying and delightful

contributions to humanity.

As one of Julia's godmamas,

I welcome this new source

of spiritual challenge, growth,

and support for her.

And doesn't he have the cutest face?

Pink

Red Sky at Night

Shiny

Anna Maria Island, Florida

Late February

Job Appreciation

So, an update on my career
from my chair on the sunporch.

I interviewed for the manager position
and felt good about the interview.

Didn't get the job
and feel pretty darn good about that as well.

The three weeks between
finding out the job was open
and finding out the outcome
gave me some good soul searching time
to look at why I like being a chaplain,
and what I would miss were I not one.

I would miss a lot, it turns out.

Plus, since my interview,
my supervisors have been
bending over backwards
to make sure I'm feeling
adequately challenged and engaged.
I think the universe has been doing the same.
I've had more interesting referrals
in the last month...
alert people with challenging questions.
All while gaining a new appreciation
for the quiet hymn singing time
with the demented folk.

It is good being a chaplain.

I'm glad I interviewed, though.

It helped me take myself more seriously...
which I need to do.

While I love clowning around,
it pays to remind myself and others
that there is substance lurking
below the surface.

I think one of the things I discovered
during the last month
is that the people around me
remember there is substance to me
even when I have begun to forget.

No Vacation at All

If you read back through my blog,
you'll note that one of my consistent topics
is whining when I'm sick.

This be one of those blogs.
I had an AWFUL respiratory bug
three weeks ago...
bad enough that
I thought it might be the flu.
Completely sapped my energy.

Was fine for two weeks
then came down with a hacking
fevering plague
this week.
At first I thought the hacking
was just residual from the first bout of whatever.

Yesterday, continuing to feel
worse and worse,
went to the doctor's office.
They swabbed my nose,
disappeared for a few minutes
and pronounced me positive
with influenza.

They don't know what I had
three weeks ago,
but figure it weakened my immune system.

So...I'm home until at least Monday.
Up at 6:00 to suck on a cough drop and complain.

Quarantined at home
and not feeling well enough to enjoy it.

Bother.

Dreaming of Vacations

We found out this week
that the grand tour of Turkey and Greece
did not make, since only four college students
signed up.

So...suddenly my vacation time
is mine to plan again.

I want to spend at least a week
in my own house,
on vacation
with no where particular to go.

I spent a couple days
of Paid Time Off
at home this week,
but they were less exciting,
since they were spent
blowing my nose
breathing through my mouth
and watching mindless television
from my sickbed.

When the season warms
I want to go camping...
a local joy.
Picnic in the woods.
Cook on the Coleman stove.
Sleep with the song of crickets.

I want to hike,
and garden,
and play with my bees.

I want to be here.

That, and cruise to the Bahamas
at Thanksgiving.

But mostly here.

Major Art Purchase

You may remember the 90 year old artist
whom I met at a local nursing home...
again, not one of my hospice patients.

When I was visiting one of his neighbors last week,
a staff member came by the desk where I was charting
and announced an art show.

Stan periodically has a show
and sells his paintings,
using the proceeds to buy more art supplies.

I did not hesitate,
but pulled out my wallet
and headed for the show.

I initially was looking at a painting of a train,
but a staff member from the facility
saw me admiring it
and swooped it up from under my nose.
SOLD.

I was a little more cagey after that,
not showing obvious interest
until my windmills were safely
in my grasp.

Art critics agree,
this is the best stuff
since Grandma Moses.

Crow Raises Kitten, People with Cool Accents Observe

http://www.slide.com/r/hD6DvyAOxD9ClUhvUpVcUMABW9QzpGnQ

Geodes from Andy