A Gnome of my Own

This morning the Golden Girls gave me a present in a large box. I opened the box and was delighted to find…a garden gnome.

His name is Al and he must be a hard worker. He even brought along his wheelbarrow.

I know that Al will be out in the rain and weather, but it was rainy and chilly this morning. I stood on the porch, looking out at the rain and decided I would let Al have the day off. I just couldn’t put him out in the rain on his first day here. Especially since I would have to go out in the rain myself in order to do so.

A little research revealed more gnome information than I really cared to know. There are some truly dedicated gnome collectors. Which is fine, really it is. But some of these folks are a little over the top. Did you know there are garden gnome blogs, reserves dedicated to garden gnomes, little gnome houses and accessories for sale? And there are gnome advocates; organizations designed to free the gnomes from their constant gardening. A popular outing for these liberators is “gnome hunting,” in which they drive around and pick up (i.e., steal) garden gnomes from yards. The cultish nature of some groups is a bit unsettling.

My husband asked, “So where are you going to put him until he goes outside? He can’t stay in the kitchen.”

I started thinking about some of the gnome groups. “Oh,” I said, “I’ll just put him in the guest room for the time being.”

Get some sleep, Al. You start work first thing tomorrow morning.

DISCLAIMER: This posting is not intended to minimize or ridicule gnome collectors who know the history of every garden gnome around. It’s a fine hobby, but I’ll be content to simply enjoy seeing Al in my garden. I'd prefer not to be part of your listserv. It was a big enough leap to put Al to bed for the photo, thank you very much.

Fridays are Golden

Most working people look forward to Friday. It's the last day of the work week for many. If the boss is taking a long weekend, it's also known as "Slacker Friday." It seems fitting to share a picture of my goofy Goldens, since they can show you how to truly be slackers.

Wake us up when it's time for dinner.

Life's Little Oddities

One sometimes sees the oddest things. Some of them are real. Upon closer examination, others turn out not to be so odd after all. This has been a day of odd things.

The first odd thing is a Towhee. I know, I know, a Towhee is not odd. It is when it is sitting at a bird feeder on a second-floor deck, some 40 feet off the ground that it looks odd. I apologize for the picture. I was so amazed; I just grabbed the camera and did a quick point/shoot through the window and screen. You may want to click to enlarge.


The next odd thing I saw was a set of conjoined twin Golden Retrievers.

We’re hoping to have the separation surgery soon.

Driving down to town, I came upon a flowering pine tree.

I can explain some of the oddities.
The conjoined Goldens are simply lying together. No matter where Ellie (on the right) decides to rest, Lucy (red collar) snuggles up next to her.

They are indeed two separate dogs. Here they are running on a nearby hiking trail.

Here’s Lucy: When you started this blogging stuff you said you wouldn’t embarrass the family. Well I’m family, and I don’t like those comments. So I’ll just stay here with my head under the chair ‘til you apologize.

When I stopped the car for a closer look, I saw that the flowering pine tree turned out to be an azalea growing right in front of the pine tree.

Wait a minute. Is that a butterfly? (Click to enlarge)
Oh yes, an Eastern Tiger Swallowtail. Such a lovely, delicate thing.

As for the Towhee --- I have no explanation as to why this ground-feeding bird decided to try out a seed feeder so far up in the air. I suppose there are some odd things in nature that can’t be explained so easily. If you have any ideas, I would welcome them.

I Voted

With the Presidential primaries and caucuses beginning so early this year, most of us lamented that North Carolina’s May 6 primary would be of little importance. As time progressed, we were delighted to see that we might actually play a role in candidate selection. Of course, the Republican candidate was firmly in place, but our state would definitely be important in the Democratic selection.

Since the Pennsylvania primary some weeks ago, we have been inundated with political advertisements. The three Clintons and the two Obamas criss-crossed NC, making appearances and giving speeches all over the state. The phones rang constantly with solicitations to consider a certain candidate. Television talking heads projected what the NC vote would mean. They have been so wrong so often, no one paid much attention to them. We were all eager to see May 6 come and go…especially go. Our only respite was when the candidate families flew to Indiana, which also had its primary today.

My polling place is a small community center:

It is very different from my polling place in the Milwaukee North Shore suburb where we lived for the past 20 years. Instead of little old ladies dressed to the nines, overall-clad men were the poll workers. They were very friendly and eager to be of assistance. They clearly took their jobs seriously. There were no long lines, no same-day registration, no poll watchers and no protesters.

Most of my friends and neighbors took advantage of the early voting process. Not me. I feel as if I must go down to the polls on election day. I’ve never missed an election day since I turned 21 (the minimum voting age of long ago).

It is said that all politics is local. This is definitely true here in western NC. Note that almost all of the signs near the polls are for County Commissioner. I did not see even one Clinton or Obama sign, and few signs for the gubernatorial candidates.

So why am I so caught up in this voting thing? Because so many people do not exercise their right to vote and it infuriates me. If you didn’t vote in your primary or caucus, don’t whine about the candidates selected.

As Franklin D. Roosevelt said:
Nobody will ever deprive the American people of the right to vote except the American people themselves and the only way they could do this is by not voting.

Or as Ralph Waldo Emerson said:

Those who stay away from the election think that one vote will do no good: Tis but one step more to think one vote will do no harm.

And my favorite byJames Bovard:
Democracy must be something other than two wolves and a sheep voting on what to have for dinner.

If you didn’t vote in your state’s primary or caucus, you have a chance to redeem yourself. Make a commitment to vote in November. If you did vote in your primary/caucus, pat yourself on the back for being a good citizen.

Driving Above the Clouds

On a recent morning, my husband and I found ourselves driving above the clouds. The photos were taken near Mt. Pisgah. (Click to enlarge.)

There were clouds above us and clouds below us.

When scattered clouds are resting on the bosoms of hills,

it seems as if one might climb into the heavenly region,

earth being so intermixed with sky,

and gradually transformed into it.

Nathaniel Hawthorne

The clouds,

--the only birds that never sleep. - Victor Hugo

How sweet to be a cloud
Floating in the blue
A.A. Hodge

Gradually, the clouds merged showing us a bit of blue sky.

Clouds on clouds
In volumes driven
Curtain round the vault of Heaven
Thomas Love Peacock

Irruptive and Interuptive

Some years Pine Siskins are not seen in western North Carolina. Other years (called heavy invasion years) they are here in great numbers. This is a heavy invasion year.

This post is actually about Carolina Chickadees, but the Pine Siskins play the role of the villains in my little drama.

We have several different types of birdhouses strategically placed throughout the woods. One of my favorites hangs near the house, between the upper deck and the lower screened porch. When we purchased it, I thought it might be appealing to the cavity nesters.



We hung the house and hoped someone would use it.

A pair of Carolina Chickadees checked it out and found it to their liking. The location was quiet and near food and water, so they started building a nest. They were such fun to watch as they carried bits of moss, dried leaves, pieces of mulch, and globs of dog hair (provided by our two Golden Retrievers) to decorate the nursery in their new home.

Enter the Pine Siskins. I mean, enter a huge flock of them. They stormed the trees and bird feeders in massive numbers. Their erratic and rude behavior was not fun to watch. They were everywhere, constantly bumping one another off the perches on the feeders. They gave no indication they might travel on.

The chickadees were clearly not happy. The neighborhood had really gone downhill since they moved in. So they decided to leave and find another spot.

After a week with no one entering or leaving the house, we took it down to see what was inside.

What a wonderful nest they had made. It looked so well constructed with a large mossy base.

A closer look shows the extensive use of golden hair for lining. What a soft bed it would make.

There were no eggs in the nest. The wise parents decided their paradise was no longer suitable for a family.

Upon advice from some experts, we took down all the seed and thistle feeders, leaving only suet for the woodpeckers, chickadees, nuthatches, wrens, etc., and nectar for the hummingbirds. We haven’t seen any siskins for a week now, so we’ll put the feeders back in place tomorrow.

Still…I can’t help grieving for my lost chickadees. I had so looked forward to the fledglings coming to the feeders.

Never one to end on a sad note, I give you this picture of Ellie. She constantly carries two tennis balls around with her. She can carry three but prefers two. What a silly thing.

Ellie my dear, no matter what your pedigree, it's difficult to look regal with two tennis balls stuffed in your mouth.

Mountains in Spring

Thousands and thousands of tourists head to the NC mountains every October to see the lovely fall colors. Large buses loaded with "leaf tour" citizens wind around the curvy mountain roads. Families park on the side of the road wherever possible to take photos of the glorious color. "No, I'll do the looking, you keep your eyes on the road," is heard in almost every car.

Many of these tourists (AKA flatland tourists, or simply flatlanders) do not know the lovely colors that spring brings to these same mountains. The first bit of color comes from the Eastern Redbud tree whose lovely red blossoms precede most of the leaves. Because the trees bud and leaf at different intervals, the mountains have many lovely shades of green.
The trees bringing this variety of greens and yellows are many. We have White Ash, Basswood (also called beetree because bees use it for honey production), Sweet Birch (once the only source of oil of wintergreen), Hickory, Red Maple, several varieties of Oak, Hickory, Yellow Poplar (Tulip Tree), Walnut, Locust, Willows, Black Cherry, and the American Beech (whose nuts are important food source for wildlife).

Most of the evergreens are assorted pines, Fraser Fir (your Christmas tree likely came from a western NC tree farm), and the Carolina Hemlock. The Carolina Hemlocks are widely infected with woolly adelgid, a parasite that kills the trees. Stands of this lovely old growth will likely go the way of the American Elm.

Finally, we have the flowering trees that give us a renewed sense of spring. Pictured here is the Flowering Dogwood. Currently blooming in our forests are the Fraser Magnolia and Tulip Poplar.

And see the peaceful trees extend

their myriad leaves in leisured dance—

they bear the weight of sky and cloud

upon the fountain of their veins.

- Kathleen Raine, Envoi

For more information about NC trees, visit: http://www.wildwnc.org/education/trees