Wild and Crazy

I saw this at the nursery and thought, "Why not?" She is a beautiful plant, but like any painted

lady, likes a lot of attention. She need a daily pinch here and there and always a haircut.

Coddled a little, she wraps her delicate tendrils and leaves around and around then quietly

shows forth her brilliant colors.

Wood Duck Day

In May we heard a bird squawking around in our chimney flue. It's a hard decision: Open the flue and try to free the sooty bird, or let it smother to death in the soot? Cowardly, I made the second choice. After all, "survival of the fittest."
It was time to clean our flues; it had been six years and two cords of wood. Terry and Lee came. Lee hoisted the ladder to the roof and climbed up with brushes. Terry came inside with a reflection mirror and flashlight. Curious as I was, I walked away into the other room.
Long story short. Terry thought it might be a squirrel. Turns out it was a Wood Duck. I ducked back into the other room as he exclaimed, "It's a big one at that!" Yikes!

The Flies Have It

The flies have invaded! Two weeks ago a lone fly circled through my house. After swatting at it, it was forgotten. Joke on me; they have come in waves since then. At first, I attacked, mostly with a tissue, hearing their bodies crackle under the pressure of my thumb and finger. They don't seem to live too long and they like the light of the windows. Consequently it's been easier to trap them. But after eliminating too many each day (at least ten) I sought the Internet and Ace Hardware. The non toxic fly paper I purchased was unless and left a sticky mess on my windows. The vacuum worked well, following along baseboard, sucking up the dead casings of newly hatched flies, looking for larvae, and sucking in the live flies who had to be in the middle of it all.

It's much quieter today. I've only killed one. Maybe they are done with me. I hope so.

A Tiara of Amethyst

It rained this morning and it's been muggy all day. More moisture is coming late tonight. I glanced out the window about 4 pm and saw the iris, standing almost three feet tall, adorned with a lovely crown of purple.