Alphabet Soup

Looking into the soft green eyes of my cat as she sprawls out on the sheets of my unmade bed, I tell her “I’m going to sit down, open this one serving fits all container of Musselman’s original apple sauce, and slowly savor it with an ice tea spoon placing little dollops of goodness into my mouth while we figure out what we shall do to unbore our day.”

 

She yawns and proceeds to start her daily grooming routine, sticking tongue to butthole.  

I wait, and as I wait, she proceeds to work her way up to the tippy top of her little head; then stretching slowly with a big fat yawn, jumps off the bed and leaves the room.

Okaaay... 

My physical therapist suggested my support group of family and friends would come in handy, but as I'm ancient, my support group consist of only Ms. Charlotte and Mr. Austin, my two middle ager felines; and we all see how well this morning's talk went with Ms. Charlotte.  So, I'll tuck in my butt, suck in my gut, and just get along with my life, leaving Mr. Austin to rest in peace.

Does anyone handle clostrophobia by walking around empty headed?  I've been having a slight problem, though, of walking to the bedroom to pick up two pill bottles, turning around without them and winding back up in the living room, only to turn around again heading for the bedroom to pick up two pill bottles.  Turns out being a zombie isn't all it's made out to be.

Dragging a front wheeled walker around isn't a piece of cake either.  Like a sheep led to the slaughter, I blindly followed Vic down the hallway to have bloodwork done.  Half hour later we reached the end of the hallway, me?, would I lie to you?  Okay, maybe ten minutes later I heard "ooops!, wrong way."  Around we two turned, and as I dragged that inferno walker back the way I came, slower, and slower, and slower; I think the word kill was forming in my noggin.

My home is very small.  My walker reminds me everyday just how very small it really is.  It refuses to enter the bathroom, so Vic turns the wheels inward.  When I go out of the house, he turns the wheels outward, and when I return, then inward once more.  He's become the Inward Outward Adjuster receiving zero pay for his good work.

I just heard on the news that our drought is finally over.  That's like telling SpongeBob SquarePants that the drought in his underwater city of Bikini Bottom is officially over today.

The garden this April is quite a tease; a handful of flowers here, one or two there, and elsewhere nothing at all.  I could hug you to death, Mother Nature, but instead I'll continue to enjoy your gifts of hundreds of Cleaver plants each year.    

Their velcroes leaves are full of warm prickly hugs, with sweet tiny white blossoms hidden in plain sight while going to seed, covertly covering one with a gazillion tiny burrs that one never notices until back in the house.  Those little monsters are so darn happy that thoughts of blow torching the entire yard to the ground and starting over again have come to mind.

If you are in an area where April showers promise one May flowers, may you not float away before you can enjoy them.  Take care and enjoy.

Lonicera sempervirens 

Coral Honeysuckle

Viburnum rufidulum 

Rusty Blackhaw Viburnum

Sisyrinchium angustifolium

Narrowleaf Blue-eyed Grass

Mourning Dove and Male House Finch

Some type of Camassia

*

and

Charlotte

Bird Watching.

Sweet Austin on mommy's lap

Unknown tiny wildflower

with seedhesds forming below

and the remaining flowers blooming at the top.

Baptisia

Uvularia grandiflora, 

the large-flowered bellwort or merrybells

Stylophorum diphyllum

Celandine Poppy

Left to Right

Symphoricarpos orbiculatus, Coralberry;

some type of feathery weed that has gone to seed;

Dodecatheon meadia, Shooting Star;

Type of lily.

"My Mary" Azalea

Grown in a large container

Gardens are overflowing with dandelions this year.

This post is linked to:

Saturday's Critters

Springtime's Lullaby

You weren't even a thought in my head,

I just grabbed you and then fled.

With a munch, munch and a big fat crunch,

Two legs with small toes is all that's left,

Now I'll lie down, and rest 'till lunch - 

And dream of delectable delights - 

While my tummy thanks me - it's well fed.

- By a lovely grey cat who shall remain anonymous 

I had a vision last night of sitting outside this morning under the umbrella canopy of coolness, sipping a lovely cup of Irish Breakfast tea, accompanied with crackers full of seeds topped with almond butter and blueberry preserves, while typing how I feel about the experience of nature that surrounds me.

A lovely thought, but it never happened.  Plans change, don’t they.

In my youth, all of us loved getting into the car with dad at the wheel to drive to faraway places, and picnic with all the goodies mom cooked up the night before.

My memories of those trips aren't my finest as we all followed dad to the car and packed ourselves in before mom was ever ready, therefore we waited and waited before she ever sat down next to dad in the passenger's seat.  Dad would say a few angry words to mom, mom would start crying, then in quiet, we began our trip.   

Of course, he always had the option of waiting in the house until mom was ready to join him to start the trip, but he never did.

Eventually the trip became okay, I guess, but probably not in mom’s eyes.  I’ll never know.  I chose to never mention it to her in my older age, but it affected me greatly; so much so, that Vic was warned if that ever happened to me, I would be waiting in the house forever until he came back in to tell me he was ready.  He never did it to me.  Thank you, Vic, with lots of hugs!

I’ll always remember mom as the one who, in my younger years before life became so hard for her; she was always the one when dad was at work and we were not in school, to take us on hiking trips that would last for hours on end to around the lake with it’s marshes and beaches, or up one of the canyons on the other side of the highway.

We would all hunker down to play with tadpoles, watch the flight of migrating pelicans, explore a huge boulder with hieroglyphics on two sides after a flashflood moved it out of a canyon into the open area of desert, watched a Western Screech Owl perched on a timber just inside the opening of an old abandoned mine shaft, met a cayote walking towards us, and as it passed us six feet away, we held our breath - it looked at us, then continued on its way.  We were all so quietly excited.  Quartz pieces, odd rocks, anything I could fit into my jean pockets became souvenirs for my growing collection that has continued throughout my lifetime.

Time's flying, and so are my thoughts, right off the computer screen as fast as I type them and into discard mode.  I seem to have nothing more to say, so without further delay, a photo journey of the garden this April. 

Stylophorum diphyllum, 

commonly called the celandine poppy

American Redbud with Fragrant Sumac growing beneath

I think, a female House Finch

I think, a female and a male House Finch

Some type of Narcissus with fragrant flowers

Little Beauty species tulip

Returns year after year in well drained areas

Virginia Bluebells

After thunderstorn, many flowers have fallen off.

What remains, I think, are the stamens which look like 

white filaments sticking out all over.

Beaten down by rain

I think, a White-throated Sparrow

I think a Siberian iris.

It appeared in the garden about five years ago.

I never knew what the "ugly" plant was until it bloomed this year.

Asian Bleeding Hearts

A toxic plant in larger doses.

Celadine Poppy, Little Beauty Tulip,

'Shooting Stars' Dodecatheon meadia, 

Penstemon (not in bloom yet)

I think, Trillium cuneatum.

I have no idea what this insect is.  

It is perched on an azalea leaf bud.

Erigeron philadelphicus L.

Philadelphia Fleabane

 A biennial disappearing soon after flowering in spring. 

American Dogwood

Coral Berry

Berries from last year

There is always work in a garden.

Tulip 'Silverstream'

Just about ready to lose its petals 

after the big thunderstorm.

Growing with American ginger plants.

Eastern Grey Squirrel

With a Common Grackle

Mourning Dove

Charlotte, later joined by Austin leaning against her.

Charlotte moving to her own space 

without Austin leaning against her;

only to be joined by Austin, leaning against her.

Charlotte exiting the room to be on her own,

leaving Austin behind.

Just to let you know:  I've been told I have PTSD from my stay at the hospital and the rehabilitation center.  I have been looking for a Counselor which is easier said than done.

Have a nice weekend with a bit of mischief and a lot of fun.

Yvonne

This Post is Linked To:

Saturday's Critters