Late Saturday Evening Post

My Day:  Awake past midnight, but didn't wake up until after sunrise, unusual to sleep all night without even one overnight walk down the hall.  Putting it in writing now, but those kind of nights are so rare I'll bet I won't forget it.

Another humid day with 90-degree temperatures and no rain.  Watered marigolds, geraniums, indian blankets, and the volunteers (dogwood, evergreen, and the purple-and-pink flower on the single stem amidst daylilies and sedum on the north side of the shed).  Transplanted a small sedum from beneath the zelkova to a sunny planter in the bird garden.  Weed-whacked thistles out back, leaving bare ground and hoping that the lack of rain will keep them from returning.  Maybe I should cover that bare ground with some black fabric.

No walk around the neighborhood this evening, due to a passing brief thundershower just before sunset.  Wouldn't have seen any rabbits anyway.

Meal #1:  raisin bran and pistachios, grapefruit juice and seltzer

Meal #2:  banana with peanut butter, 12 oz. mexican coke, 4 oz. chocolate pudding

Meal #3:  spaghetti with meat sauce, made from PG's recipe, which begins with a jar of Rao's and from there adds meat, onions, and spices.  Oh, and red wine too, but in the recipe, not as a drink at the table.  Lemonade and seltzer.  Some ice cream afterward.  

an hour of practice

an episode of mr. ace and JANE

Countdown (but to what?)

Closest thing I can think of now is that I ran through stages of grief, and have now reached Acceptance.  Not so much for the job, but for the past 11 years, where there was a steady paycheck with steady yearly increases.  Even though I know SSA has yearly increases too, it starts from a lower point, right?  Yeah.

What was the percentage of people who couldn't come up with $400 for an emergency expense?  (Not as high as the initial headlines blared.)  A few days ago, I looked at replacing a valve on the downstairs toilet, but realized I didn't have the tools or the experience to get it done, even with YouTube videos to reference.  Of course, the plumber tried to upsell me, pointing out that the flapper wasn't as bright red as it should be, so why not replace both the valve and the flapper, only $249, it's like an internal overhaul, you know?  "Let's just get the piece that needs fixing, thanks."  Even that cost $125, and I know the complete valve didn't cost more than $25 retail.  Give 'em an inch, they'll ask for a mile.  At least I have a couple of paychecks still to come.

June 28 is a few days away.  Then I have to step off that looming cliff, the one I've been unsteadily approaching for the past 36 years.  Might as well look on the bright side (if there is one).  Maybe I'll discover I can fly.

Wildflower and pollinator

Seen this afternoon in the unlandscaped area behind Tabby's Place.

 

A little bit from a sunny spring Saturday

Earlier today:  This is a view from the township yard waste facility.

This morning, I gathered the branches taken from the bush next to the shed, and lopped them down so they'd fit in our containers.  After dumping three containers at the facility, I went to Wegmans for milk, cereal, salad dressing and pain patches for PG's hip bursitis.  On the way there, a groundhog ran across the road in front of me, but I was going slowly enough that he made it safely to the other side.

Can't remember just when, but I picked up 4 envelopes of seeds from the Dollar Tree up the road, and planted them in a couple of containers outside the back door.  The marigolds did the best, and over the past couple of days I transplanted four of them into a planter box just off the driveway.  (The driveway was patched and paved this past Thursday.  We'll be able to drive on the driveway tomorrow.)

Apple pastry from Costco for lunch... the remainder of the NJ diner French dip sandwich for supper. Didn't have dessert.  I like wearing 36-34 jeans again.

At 8:00 p.m., it was close to sunset, and I took a half-mile walk around the neighborhood.  Along the way, I saw rabbits to the left of me, rabbits to the right of me, rabbits in front of me.   They appear to favor lawns where there is plenty of flowering clover.  

 

Interested enough to bookmark, not enough time to enjoy them all

 

Keeping busy

Still a few working days left.  This was one of the off-days.  So was yesterday, when I transplanted PG's yellow rose on the south side of the house; disposed of a bunch of thistles on the formerly landscaped area out back (which now is about half-covered with wood violets); weed-whacked the brick walk and swept off the shredded greenery, and lopped off a number of branches from the dead magnolia tree next to the shed.  Today, I cut them into smaller pieces that filled a large plastic tub, and hauled the tub along with a trash can containing a dead red rose bush over to the township's yard waste facility.  Tomorrow PG's son will come over with a power saw and cut down what's left of the magnolia.  

On the way home from the facility, I stopped at the Dollar Tree in hopes of finding more flower seeds, but no such luck.  Nothing left but kale, cauliflower, and hot peppers.

Last night in the back yard

A first.  Never so many rabbits in such a small area of our yard.  

Today, saw a blue heron flying over the 1250 building at the hospital.