Yard in the Woods

When we built our home, we asked that every possible tree that could be spared would be left in place.  It made life a bit more complicated for the contractor, but has paid tremendous dividends in having birds come right to our deck.  The widest area of cleared space is the front yard.  Three terraces keep the sloping yard level and livable.  There is not full shade, but the sun is the milder late afternoon sun.  So the plants are shade tolerant.  We worked with a great landscaper who drew up plans that allowed us to have a little something in bloom all the time.  We never have anything in profusion, but even in the dead of winter there is something perfuming the air or bringing a bright spot to the eye. We also focused on plants that are generally not highly favored by the deer with whom we share our space.

In March, April, and even sometimes February we can count on the hellebores.  They seem to love the soil and brief late afternoon sun.  We have several of them, white and purple.

We have two large camellias.  One has bright pink blossoms and the other has more fragrant white blossoms.  They seem to have no predictable pattern to their blooming.  If there is a streak of mild winter weather, they will burst into blossom.  Many times they have large and full buds that are ruined by another cold streak.   So it's hit or miss with the blossoms.  But the lush green plants are gorgeous even without the blossoms.  Both are about ten feet tall.

The rain has beaten down the lower branches.  Daisy Duck ignores them.
This one is Camellia japonica, also known as "Pink Perfection"

Pieris japonica blooms in late winter and continues through most of the spring

The leaves and the nectar from the flowers are quite poisonous.

Despite its beauty, the plant could be deadly if eaten.
All these plants are near the house.

Today, all of these flowers are drooping as we are having heavy rains and gusty winds.  The birds are having a bit of trouble getting to the feeders.  But they persevere.  We suspect three of our woodpecker varieties have fledglings.  So while we appreciate the flowers in the front yard, we also appreciate the birds in back.  All the bird boxes are swinging wildly and we suspect a few might be on the ground before this weather system passes.

We are safe and comfy with no need to go outdoors except as Lucy dictates.  Since she hates the rain, she will wait as long as possible.

Time to brew some tea and watch the rain.

And So Lucy is Back

Life has been good up here on the mountains.  We have had lots of much needed rain although we are still far below normal.  Everything is green and the dogwoods and mountain magnolias are blooming throughout the forests, adding their lovely white to the various shades of green on the hillsides.  Our injured player is very nearly back to normal and life is rich and good.

Why, then, am I so disconcerted?  Why this feeling of unease that permeates my soul?  It has to do with government, both Federal and State.  I watch the "news" only to get the weather reports for the real climate.  Yet I'm drawn Online to newspapers and publications that give me the current political climate.  Difficult as it is, it's a bit easier to digest in print.

I think my biggest concern is that for the first time in my life, I have little or no respect for people who still support certain leaders.  In the past I've had many friends whose politics differed from mine.  I still respected people who have supported leaders whom I did not care for.  But this time it is quite different.  For the first time in my life I consider certain people no longer important to me because of their political support for certain leaders and the direction our country is heading.

I need to be more like our Lucy.  She does not worry about anything.  She doesn't even fear we might forget her breakfast or dinner, because at the appropriate time she will lie down in front of the person in charge of feeding her.  When that person gets up, she runs to her room and stands next to the dog food bin.  Just in case we might have forgotten where the food is kept.  If the day is rainy and cool, she doesn't care that it's mid-April.  She is happy enough to lie amongst her pillows and watch the rain.  She doesn't care about anyone's politics.  She is interested only in whether or not they are willing to pet her.

Perhaps she does worry about things.  Because every now and then she hides her head under a chair. Or other times she will root one of her pillows until it covers most of her head. I really don't think she is worried, but I'm not sure what it means.  I'm sure she is not feeling the same things I am when I want to go lie in bed and cover up my head to get away from worry.

I have no idea why this is comforting for her.  But it seems to be.

I am trying to be more tolerant of those whose views are different from mine.  Honest.  But these people seem to believe that their religious beliefs allow them to discriminate against anyone whose lifestyle does not conform to theirs.  They seem to believe that no religion is valid except Christianity. Not just Christianity, but Christianity as they believe it to be.  And they seem to think they are immune to the laws of this country if every detail does not reflect their own specific belief.  In fact, they seem to believe that the very idea of humanity is no longer meaningful.  They don't even want to help the poor and disenfranchised.

OK.  Stop it.  No more ranting.  I truly am trying to be more charitable to people on the other side of this humongous divide in which we live.  But it is so very difficult for me.  And believe it or not---I accept that they are having just as much difficulty in respecting my views as well.  So we all have a lot of work to do. And I admit it has to start with each of us.  And I will try. For a while I was content to simply write off these people and I know that is not fair.  Every single person with whom I come in contact has something to teach me.  And I'll never learn that with my mind as closed as it has been since November, 2016.

So I will heed the words of those much wiser than I.  Beginning with this quote from Mahatma Ghandi:

“You must not lose faith in humanity.
 Humanity is like an ocean;
If a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty.”

HAVE A WONDERFUL WEEKEND, EVERYONE

Now It's Really Spring

Seems as if I've been absent for quite a while.  I did have a good  reason for putting the blog on hold.  I was caring for an injured player and taking on the many household duties he normally performs.  But truth be told, I have actually been apathetic about my blog.  Some call it a lost muse.  Whatever it has been, I have not missed writing and I have managed to keep up with most of you even if I might not have commented.  Now it's time to decide whether to continue so I will give it a try.

The injured player is nearly normal now and we are delighted.

Like much of the country, we have had very strange weather indeed.  Temperatures all over the place. We are turning on the air conditioner one day and turning on the heat the next.  But some things remain constant.  Our woodpeckers are nesting and we are almost certain one pair of Pileated Woodpeckers has a nestling.  The adults come to the suet to eat and then grab a mouthful for carry-out.  Our Ruby-throated Hummingbirds are back and the spring migration is in full swing.  The trees are filled with American Goldfinches as the migrants join our resident birds for a while.  The Purple Finches are leaving us for parts to the north.  And we've had several little Red-breasted Nuthatches join our large White-breasted Nuthatches for a brief while.

One of our favorite visitors is passing by now and we are always delighted to see them.  These lovely migrants are the Rose-breasted Grosbeaks.  The males always come first and in a week or so are joined by the lesser brilliant but still beautiful females.  Not long after the females arrive, the males will move on to the north followed a week or so later by the females.  How lucky you are if you live where the gorgeous birds nest and raise their broods.  Still we are happy to have them for the few weeks that we do.

The male Rose-breasted Grosbeak takes a break while getting a drink of water.

In coming days we will welcome more migrants.  And throughout the summer we will take delight in seeing adult birds bring their fledglings to our feeders.  It's a great time of year.

Seeing these lovely birds gives me great solace in times of such concern over our Mother Earth and what is happening all around us.  But sitting on our deck and watching all the wonderful birds fills me with peace.  Would that it could last.

We Love Lucy

We are finally having some normal winter weather.  And none too soon.  Two weeks of unusually warm weather have not been good for the plants or for us.  We're glad to see the frost again.  Lucy loves the cooler weather and I had her out to take some pictures of our camellias in full bloom.  (Alas, those lovely blossoms are already turning brown.)  I decided to snap a few pictures of her while we were out.

She definitely did not like having to stop her running and sniffing to sit for a photograph.  And the look on her face says it all.  No caption needed here.

OK, Lucy.  Let's move over next to the bear.

I hope you don't think I will like that one bit better.

Come on, Lucy.  Give me a smile and I'll give you a cookie.

Nope.  I'll not be bribed with a little treat.  I'm tired of this sitting stuff..

I decided to give up and let her have her fun.

I just discovered that my new laptop does not have an opening for my camera card.  And the extra USB cord I have does not fit my camera.  (The camera was bought in 2005 and I'm not sure where to find the cord that came with the camera.)  So the only way to load a photograph to my blog is to download it to another laptop and either email it to this one or put it on a flash drive.  With the injured player and the upcoming surgery, recovery, and rehab, I simply won't have time to manage the blog, so I'm going dark again, probably for a month.  I'll still be reading your blogs but I won't be posting.  All is proceeding well.  But as you might imagine, we have lots to do.

Today's quote is from Anne Frank who had more reason to despair than any of us:

“How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.”

So let's be about improving the world even as some around us try to destroy it.  We don't need to wait a single moment.  Get going and do what you can.  We must rely upon one another as never before.

HAVE A MOST WONDERFUL WEEKEND

REMEMBER WE ARE ALL ONE WORLD

Lucy is Back

Of course, Lucy has not actually been anywhere.  My computer limped along, allowing me to read your blogs but not to comment.  Or to post on my own blog.  What with the holidays and so many other things going on, I did not get a new laptop for a while.

It became more and more clear that my laptop was seriously impaired so I had it checked and was told that if we were lucky, they could obtain the really important data from it.  But there was nothing to do for the major problems with the C drive.  I was lucky.  The computer expert was able to pull all the data from the laptop.  Off I went to get a new one and in no time I was back in action.  I am totally in love with this new one.

Turns out that 2016 had one more kick in the posterior for us.  We have an injured player again who is impaired and awaiting surgery in early February.  We will definitely be able to call him a bionic man because of his metal joints.  So while I am back in cyberworld, I am also back in the real work of undertaking all the work of maintaining the household.  So I won't even try to post on a regular basis, but will hope to give you some glimpses of our Lucy in action.  (Or inaction as the case may be.)

This week we had record high temperatures, so it's hard to believe that we had 12 inches of snow just a few weeks before.  I managed to keep up with shoveling the decks and made a three-foot wide path up the driveway to the street.  Several people walking their dogs offered to come back and help.  I explained that we weren't going anywhere but thanks, anyway.

Lucy "helped" me by running zoomies in the snow until I finally made her stop and took her inside.  Goodness knows, we don't need another joint injury around here.  I was too busy to take any photographs, but this one from last year is exactly what she looked like.

Go dog go!

I had no plans to shovel the entire drive since I knew we would not get out anyway.  But the next morning, I heard people outside.  And there were three of our neighbors with their shovels working on the drive.  I grabbed my shovel and went out.  We had such a good time, catching up on the latest gossip and shoveling the snow.  In fact, we had so much fun we decided that we would gather and do all the driveways next time it snows.

While I'm glad to be back,  but I will not be posting much since I have more important duties at  home.  Good thing, too.  I can more easily avoid the "news."  I've changed from a news junkie to someone who avoids it all.

Today's quote is from Henry Ford:

When everything seems to be going against you,
Remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it.

HAVE A WONDERFUL WEEKEND, EVERYONE

WE NEED ONE ANOTHER MORE THAN EVER

Thanksgiving Wishes

I am having significant problem posting on my blog or commenting on others.  So I will go dark for a while until the problem is fixed, which may involve getting a new laptop.  Until then, I will read your blogs on my tablet but will not try to post anything.  Too much hassle here at the holidays.

I hope everything goes well with you until I return.  And even after I return.

We Love Lucy

Wildfires continue to burn across western NC.  Our community is not in immediate danger but our air quality waxes between orange and red alerts.  The air is acrid and the smoke is occasionally so thick it looks like fog rising from the valleys.  The weather has brought temperatures much above our average but we are expecting a cold front which will bring our temperatures back to normal.  Unfortunately, the front will bring high winds along as well.  We owe a great debt to the many men and women who have come from across our nation to help with fighting the fires.

Most mornings we can find some time to let Lucy run in the park.  But the rest of the day she remains indoors to protect her from the smoke.  She is content to lounge around the house snoozing in various places.  Sometimes she falls asleep in a sunbeam and awakens to find it has moved.

That's funny.  I could have sworn I was in the sun.

.

 Mom, do you know what happened?

Only 43 days remain in this year and I will be more than glad to say good-bye.  (Good-bye won't be my actual words.  Before I say "Happy New Year" I will scream, "F YOU 2016" several times.)

It is fitting that our quote comes from the late and much beloved Leonard Cohen.  This from his song, "Anthem."

The birds, they sang
At the break of day
Start again
I heard them say
Don't dwell on what
Has passed away
Or what is yet to be

Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack, a crack in everything
That's how the light gets in.
That's how the light gets in.
That's how the light gets in.

HAVE A WONDERFUL WEEKEND

 

HELP YOUR NEIGHBOR

 

[I'm trying.  I really am.  But when I look at the character of the people DJT is appointing, I am very sad indeed.]