Chickies

I don't like the birds that hang around our house.  I don't like the nests they aggressively guard near our front door, nor the bird droppings that pile up.  I don't like that we feed the birds in the back that then drop seeds that sprout into ugly rye grass in my yard.  I don't like how they help themselves to Duke's food if the bird feeder has run dry.

I do like the dove calls and the occasional spotting of a bluejay or cardinal, still somewhat rare in this area.  But everything else I don't like!

And then I saw these.  These little babies whose nest is in one of my hanging plants on the back porch.  They won't make it.  Duke already knows they're there.  It was a bad spot for the mom or dad to build a nest in the first place, but birds seem to have forgotten that that's what trees are for.  Anyway, their chances are slim but I hope they get to fly away soon.

215

Sounds like the number of bones in the human body.  Or the number of school days in a year.  Or what time I woke up last night and looked out the window hoping for lightning.  It's actually the number of days since we've had measurable rain.  It's hard not to think about it.  We have frequent reminders.  Like the smoke that blows in from fires a hundred miles away when we're out trying to enjoy a baseball game.  Or when that hot 40 mph wind stirs up the fine sand that filters into your cars, your homes - I can't tell you how often I have to dust and vacuum. And you can imagine how dry our skin is.  The chances are slight, but we might get rain today or tomorrow.  We better start honing our Gene Kelly skills.

 Brown West Texas Skies:

It's hot in Texas.

It's days like today, 95 degrees in the sun for over three hours:



that I fondly remember days like this:

(This is Alan. I like him.)

And this is one of many students that makes me love my job. She's as sweet as she looks.

Goodbye, Winter. I will not miss you and will not return your calls.

I love, love spring. I know it's not an original thought, but man there is nothing like playing with soil and plants to lift someone's spirits. (Notice I said plants, not weeds.) If the plants survive, these pots should be overflowing by summer and dangling low enough for Duke to destroy them. At which point I'll have to move them out to the front porch, but I'm okay with that.

These are the petunias I planted this winter, which the nursery told me wouldn't do well in the shady areas of my porch. It appears they were mistaken. Wait, are these pansies or petunias? I can never keep them straight. I think they're petunias. Help me, Elizabeth. Anyway, they've done fine with very little sun and a gardener who forgets to water them.

And above is Alan and Leigh working on the new side gate and fence to replace this one:

Pretty amazing that Duke hasn't figured out he could just breathe hard on the gate to find freedom. I think it means he likes it here and has no interest in leaving.

So I'm basically in a pretty good mood today, and that is pretty darn cool.

Spring has sprung

A little excitement here tonight. We're having thunderstorms hitting about every 20-30 minutes, and each time there's been heavy rain and/or these little beauties:

Aren't they cool? Can't remember the last time we had hail this size...

I have to admit that when I opened the front door to start recording and was hit with this, I was a tiny bit spooked. Especially since we were also in the middle of a tornado warning.

The Amateur Gardener

Seems that most of our long distance friends and family live in areas where winter hasn't gotten the message that it's time to move on. And then there's us. We don't have the scenery that most of you have, but I have to say our weather's hard to beat sometimes. (Wednesday's high is expected to be 92.) My plants, the very few I have, started coming up several weeks ago and survived a couple of mild freezes along the way. This Salvia plant comes back bigger and better each year.



The Rose of Sharon in front of the guest house is not much to look at right now, but it just came out of nowhere last year...those quirky acts of nature are usually my favorite. Kind of like last year when a Morning Glory vine started growing up through the rotted seat of an old wooden chair.

And I think this is the first time I've ever planted tomatoes. I bought two different varieties just to see how each one does. I placed them on the scorching hot west side of the house. I eat some version of tomatoes almost every day, so I don't see these going to waste. We'll have salsa all summer long!

What Rocks About Spring Break:

• Sitting down to eat breakfast.
• Not showering 'til 2:00 p.m.
• Having time to cook.
• Getting more than 15 minutes for lunch.
• Going to the gym at whatever time I want.
• Watering the yard.
• Wearing flip-flops.
• No makeup.
• No schedule.
• No kids!

Bone dry

Earlier it was raining. I could hear the big, fat drops on the skylights! But minutes later when I went to turn on the porch light to look out, the cement was already dry. So until we get a rain that lasts all day and night and our street is flooding like the river it yearns to be, I will continue to complain of no rain (Heather!). Honestly though, we're up to one inch for the year. Even in the desert, that's not rain - that's teasing.

I like dirt.

I should post a picture of my dirty feet and fingernails to prove how much I love digging in the dirt and planting in the spring. But even I have my limitations. No one ever needs to see dirt that has ground into a person's heels. It's never attractive. But people walk around every day of their lives with grungy feet. And then wear sandals! There are inexpensive scrubbers and tools that will take care of such nastiness, not to mention shoes that keep us from having to see your feet.

I digress. Here's a couple of plants that I expect to mass-multiply in a couple months, the tried and true Lantana and the Sweet Potato Vine:

Bargain shopping...should have put it on the list.

I don't know what's gotten into Pier One, but they currently have an explosion of cute things that are CHEAP! Not that Pier One is really expensive, but I wouldn't call them mindful of my pocket book. I got these candles for $3.50 each. Very cute outside on the patio. We'll get to use them for maybe another month or so before the Texas size mosquitoes and flies make outdoor dining a fond memory.

Swamp Trivia

I may have to change my blog name. I should try to find out how many days it's rained this year in Midland. I'm not complaining though - I love it. I talked to Alan this morning (who's in Houston all week) and told him how much rain we've had the past few days. Instead of thinking about how green and pretty everything is, I could hear the "cha-ching" in his head, realizing it's a few more days of not having to water the yard. Besides posting a picture of the rain, I'm really taking an opportunity to prove that my plants are still alive and GROWING. The Mexican grass is sort of getting taller than I expected, but I still like it. And get this - the other day our neighbor looked over the fence and remarked about my "garden." Garden? I have a garden? Whoa - somebody thinks it looks like a garden! Alan said he may have to slip the neighbor some money for that comment.

Just 'cause

During a break from the rain...



We thought the ones below were Purple Martins but were told they are just swallows that come back every year. They have the darkest purple wings, so I just assumed. In a few weeks when the eggs are laid and/or babies are hatching, the mom and dad will be really unhappy every time we step outside to the front yard. As soon as we get out of our cars, they are swooping down on us.

We have grass

Did I mention the lawn mower broke? Or did I forget to throw that in with all the other things that have turned to crap this year? Anyway, it's a jungle out there, let me tell you. And Sears, being the respected GIANTS in customer service, had no problem telling us they don't provide a local repair service any longer and would therefore ship our mower off to New Mexico for a mere 17 days. Of course, they don't provide a loaner. Pleeease. That would be courteous and helpful and above the call of duty. I don't like Sears, don't like shopping there for fear I will age 20 years just by setting foot in the store, and really don't like the appearance of their staff.

Just give it a couple more days and the Mexican crews will be back at our doorstep asking if we're still lazy and need help with the lawn.

Wicked Weather

Did anyone hear about the tornadoes in the DFW area over the weekend? We were right there - as in RIGHT THERE. It's as close to being in or around a tornado as I've ever been. And since I have this strange, perverse desire to be in a tornado, it was way cool.

A few of the girls and parents went to the mall in Richardson during a rare break from the tournament. While shopping we hear there's a tornado warning for Richardson and that we really shouldn't consider leaving the mall anytime soon. So we're standing on the lower level, meaning the underground level, outside of Macy's and at the base of some escalators when we hear a loud crash, glass breaking, and then a gust of wind hits us in the LOWER LEVEL. The lights flickered off and the escalators shut down. I was standing under this large atrium tree when the wind swooped down and blew leaves off the tree in my face. At that point, all of us standing around immediately fled to a nearby Foot Locker. It was so funny. The looks on our faces had to be hilarious.

Afterwards when we were brave enough to venture back up to the upper level, we got the scoop from some Macy's employees. The entrance doors to their lingerie department violently blew open, and panties were sucked out of the doors and bras were swinging wildly on the racks! Their actual words - "there were wet panties everywhere." Hmmm. That wind, or maybe the effects of a funnel cloud above the mall (I'm guessing here), was strong enough to blow all the way through the store out to the Macy's mall entrance, down to the lower level where we stood. There might also have been a draft caused by the actual mall entrance doors opening as well around the same time. Cool, huh?

The next step

It's time I guess. Gotta get a real job. Yesterday I finished the long-term job, and I'd like to bum out and do nothing today. But really, it's time to get serious. First things first though - I need to find out when my big honkin' sub check is going to arrive so that we can promptly write out a check for a new furnace. These things happen when you buy a 40-year old house. More bids coming today, but it's not going to be cheap.

The good news is that all my plants appear to have survived that wicked winter storm last weekend. And today....it's gonna look something like this:

Life is good again.

Grin and Bear It

I had to cover my flower beds and window box yesterday with sheets and plastic covers. And our heater is not working. Do these two statements sound reasonable for April? NO! (said in my most evil Amityville Horror voice.) Currently, it's 28 degrees with rain and sleet falling.

By the way, let's recap the past five weeks: broken car, air conditioner, fridge, and now heater. Mother F***er! I don't mind a few things breaking now and then, but how about something small like the toaster or a hair dryer?

I usually don't like Sundays

It's 77 degrees, sunny, clear, and the groceries have been put away. All that's left to do is write a lesson, clean a bathroom, and go chill on my back porch. But fear not - I have a strawberry margarita wine cooler to get me through this very tough day.

An Overdose of Pictures

Because I LOVE SPRING and maybe also I was getting carried away with my camera. I like the bird hidden in the first picture. Could he be any fatter?

When it rains, go to the mall

I'd like to see a little less of this tomorrow:

Three straight days of rain set me back a bit on my Spring projects. Still, I've managed to stay pretty busy around here, not to mention sneaking in some shopping with Bailey. Don't you love it when you're standing at the register having your items rung up, and you've done the calculation in your head so you know how much it should be, and then the salesclerk tells you the amount and you're thinking they've made a big mistake (in your favor). I acted all cool as if I knew that shirt for $16 was going to ring up $3.90. It was already a bargain, but whoa! So I took my bag and got out of there as quickly as possible, thinking I had really gotten away with something.

I swear to this day that the salesclerk at Wet Seal a couple years ago who sold me the $80 long jacket (suede, mind you) for $5 was absolutely WRONG about how the special sale was supposed to work. I felt like I was stealing something by letting her do it, but in my defense I questioned her no less than three times. That same day Alan went back and got me a $40 corduroy jacket for another $5.

By the way, if you're looking for the perfect length cami to wear under shirts, Gadzooks has them for $3.99.

A busy week, but still a much needed vacation

Instead of being on my way to D.C. for Spring Break, I'm going to be spring cleaning and working in the yard. Sounds like a fair trade to me. Uh-huh.

So I started yesterday with pruning rose bushes and unruly shrubs, pulling weeds, and cleaning off the back porch that gets covered in dirt everytime we get one of those West Texas dust storms. I also attempted to mow the yard, but the mower wouldn't restart about mid-way through, so I now have a half-mown yard. (If you're wondering why in the world I was doing the mowing instead of Alan, it's only because he's sick.) And since it's been raining since last night, I'm stuck inside for today. But tomorrow I'm getting back out there, laying down some Preen (thanks to Elizabeth's suggestion), and pulling more weeds in the front.

Alan's dad is supposed to be coming this week, and we might take him down to Fredericksburg for some German food and beer. I'm also planning on getting estimates for the body work on the car and hopefully getting it in the shop. I wonder if the insurance company would hook me up with an Escalade for my rental?

I was just about to finish this post when it started thundering, really raining hard and then hailing. So of course I had to make it a Kodak moment instead of doing the smart thing and shutting the computer down: