Sunflowers and Birds

The rain finally stopped, but it has been cloudy and cool the past couple of days. Today looks to be more of the same. I'm not complaining, I like the cooler temperatures.

The sunflowers out back next to our storage shed are getting tall (see largest photo), but they haven't started blooming yet. We were late getting them planted this year.

We did plant a variety in our garden and as you can see they are in full bloom.

I finally got a hummer to stop by the feeder yesterday. I changed from the mix to making my own out of sugar and water. They seem to like the homemade variety best. I took this shot through the window, which has a screen. I need to take that darn screen off!

The goldfinches were busy working on Bro O's sunflowers last evening. 

On the way down to the garden we saw a red-bellied woodpecker and an indigo bunting, but they were too fast for me.

We had a visitor while working in the garden. This guy lives about a mile from Bro O's house. He stopped by for a visit. He was very friendly. Here he comes for a pet after sitting in the pond for a while.

Needless to say, I didn't hang around to get soaked...

Happy Sunday!

Linking to the Bird D'pot

Saturday Critters

Linking to Saturday's Critters

Willy Nilly Five

I think my computer issues are fixed. At least my fingers are crossed. Because of the problems, I am WAY behind on visiting and commenting. Will be playing catch up this weekend. 

1. It's raining. This isn't a complaint, we need the rain. No thunder, lightening, or fear of tornadoes—merely a constant soft rain most of the day yesterday, all night long, and it is still coming down this morning. Makes me think of fall.

2. Our new boss started this week. So far, so good. I already feel the burden lifting. The Judge is vacationing through next week which means my desk should be all caught up soon. I'm hoping to take a day off next week, hopefully Friday so I can have a 3-day weekend. We want to check out Heron Park which Rose mentioned in one of her posts. 

3. Our book club meets in a little over a week and I haven't started reading the selection yet. Low Pressure by Sandra Brown. I'm sure it will be good, but I want to start reading The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane. A book highly recommended by Punky Doodle and her Brood. (she will call me to complain after she reads that phrase). Yes, it is for younger readers. The author, Kate DiCamillo is a two-time Newbery Medal Winner and was runner up for one of my favorite young people's books, Because of Winn-Dixie.

4. Speaking of Punky Doodle and her Brood, The Punk called me last night to complain about my name abbreviations. She didn't complain too loudly about Punky Doodle, yet expressed a bit of disappointment in my choice. However, she also doesn't like my use of Dyl for son's boy, nor does she like my use of 'The Grands'. So, I have decided to change my references to the following:

Daughter - The Punk
Son-in-law - Critter
Son - Sonny Boy
Sonny Boy's girl - The Lady
Sonny Boy's Son, Dyl - Handsome Lad

I have already changed Hubs to JD, which leaves The Grands, of which there are four, one girl and three boys. I can't come up with anything. Any recommendations???

5. Fergus is driving me crazy with his favorite toy. When I run the vaccuum cleaner, a.k.a. The Zoom Zoom, he grabs up this toy, gets in front of  The Zoom Zoom—and barks—and lunges while the toy remains in his mouth. The barking action causes the toy to squeak. So we have a very loud zoom, louder bark, and high-pitched squeak. It's a noisy undertaking.

Happy Friday!

Linking to Willy Nilly Friday Five

Good Fences

This old fence is falling down. It's descent lessened by a sturdy metal post.

Linking to:

Owl Podge

This isn't a new picture. It is from a little over a year ago and I have posted it before. But, I'm running out of bad bird pics so dragged this pic out of the archives. Mr. Barred Owl. My pride and joy.

Linking to Wild Bird Wednesday

1. What would you say is the key to success?


Hard work and determination. 

2. Have you ever been to the Florida Keys? Any desire to visit that part of the US of A?


 I have never been to the keys. The farthest south I've been was Miami Beach. I would like to go, but I don't like bridges.

3. When and where did you last see a real live donkey? Monkey? Turkey?


 I haven't seen a monkey since I last visited my Grands. Oh, you mean a REAL monkey. That was about 2 years ago at the zoo. I saw wild turkeys this past spring and I see a donkey at least once a week when I drive one of the back roads.

4. An old Portuguese proverb says, 'Beware of the door with too many keys.' What do you think this means? Share an example of how this has proven true or false in your own life. 
 
I think this proverb refers to secrets. If you tell one person, that person might tell another, and so on and so on.  Sadly, I work with someone who comes into the office and appears to be your best buddy. Anything and everything you might say, is repeated and spread all around the county. So, if you don't want the door open, don't give out the keys.
 
5. Besides your home, vehicle, and special jewelry, what is something you keep under lock and key?


I can't think of anything other than the things mentioned. When I was young, I kept a diary which was always locked to try to prevent Bro O from reading my private thoughts. Of course, he could unlock it with a hairpin, so my private thoughts were no longer private. Lesson learned—never write anything down you don't want someone else to read.

6. When did you last get keyed up about something?



I read the definition of 'keyed-up' in the slang dictionary.  I wasn't sure if it was a good thing as in excited or a bad thing as in stressed. Seems more like a bad thing since the definition is anxious, nervous, queasy, uneasy, unquiet. The last time I was so nervous I was queasy was when JD and I got married. Coming up on 7 years ago. I had been single for 27 years. Big change!

7. Who thinks we need an easy one right about now?  Key lime pie...yes please or no thank you?


Yes please.

8. Insert your own random thought here.  

I think I have some sort of malware or virus that is messing with google chrome. It won't load and when it does it is very slow. so, I switched to firefox and it is basically doing the same thing. I have internet explorer 11, which is not compatible with blogger. Ugh! I hate computer problems. I've run scans but it never finds anything. If anyone has any suggestions, I'm up for listening.


Linking to Wednesday Hodgepodge

Rubbish Tuesday #14

Arcola, Illinois, a mecca of interesting architecture. I love old buildings and there are plenty here. These were taken last year during the Broomcorn Festival. 

This one is in San Franciso. My favorite vacation spot!

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you will join in the fun.

My idea was to have a place to post 'old things'.  Anything old and/or deteriorating such as old houses, barns, outbuildings, old cars, rusty things, antiques, interesting junk, or it can be something in pristine condition, but just old. 

1. Link to a post featuring photos of something old.

2. Link back to Rubbish by Roan in your post.

3. As time allows, visit other participants and comment on their posts.

Blue, Red, and Yellow Plus Some

Guess what? I didn't go to work yesterday (Saturday)! I will probably go this afternoon for a while, but NOT all day. The Democratic party has picked a candidate to run for Circuit Clerk in November.  The newly appointed clerk begins his reign next week, which means I go back to doing ONE job. Yay!!! All those other responsibilities are gone. I feel like a building has been lifted from my shoulders. I just hope, if he is good at the job, he wins in November. Otherwise we will be back to another new clerk.

Of course, I didn't get to lounge around on my day off. I spent the entire day dancing with Mrs. Mop! Have I mentioned how much I dislike housework? I used to enjoy it, now I would much rather play.

 The sunflowers were a busy place Friday night. Indigo Bunting.

Mr. Cardinal and his wife, but she wouldn't show herself.

 The Goldfinches were dining, as well. Again, the Mrs. was camera shy. 

The pretty yellow petals are all falling onto the ground. I'm not sure if it is the birds landing on them and knocking them off or if they are merely falling off. They are not as pretty as they were. But the birds make up for the missing petals.

 I planted some sunflowers in our garden, but they are slow to bloom. This is the first.

I also planted zinnias and they are in full bloom.

HAPPY SUNDAY!!!

Linking to the Bird D'pot

Cloudy With a Chance of Rainbow

July 24th was The Dyl's birthday and today it is Ad Schmad Addie's birthday. Two of my four favorite grandsons. Like the bad grandma I am, I am late on both presents. At least I'm consistent. They would be shocked if I were actually on time—or early! Maybe I will suprise them next year. I don't get to see Dyl as much as I would like since Bri and Dyl live farther away than Punky Doodle and The Grands. I know there are better opportunites for everyone where they live, but selfishly, I wish we all lived within a few miles of each other so we could visit more often. When Bri and Punky Doodle were little, before we moved away from Illinois, we went to their Grandma's for Sunday dinner every week. Spending time with family—the best way to spend the day. 

On to the critters!

 Coming home from the garden we almost always see at least one deer. This one stayed where she was for quite a while. Too bad there were weeds between us.

Last evening I was sneaking through the garden trying to get a shot of an Indigo Bunting sitting on a sunflower, when I looked down and saw this little bit of bunny. He was a tiny little thing. I bet his mama was hiding nearby whispering for him to be very still. He didn't move an eye winker. I guess he thought he was invisible. 

Mr. Toad was hiding under a watermelon leaf.

The evening light made this guy glow! I think it is a Brown-spotted Yellow-wing. 

Linking to Saturday's Critters

Last night we picked zucchini, tomatoes, okra, and cucumbers. We also checked out the pumpkins. There are a couple of huge ones. The kids will get to come pick out their pumpkins when they are ready. The rest will be put outside with a free sign for the local kids. I might save one this year to make pumpkin pies the old fashioned way. Or maybe not. 

The garden was in dire need of a rain. As we worked, we started hearing thunder and then the rain started. Yay!

 Back home, after the rain stopped, JD walked down to get the mail. On the way back he yelled inside for me to hurry and get my camera. Too bad he didn't go outside earlier...

...otherwise I might have been able to get a really nice rainbow shot.

HAPPY SATURDAY!!!

Linking to Saturday Photo Hunt

Good Fences

Today I'm posting more shots of my last visit with — okay I'm going to get off the track here and go with a name explaination. We always call daughter Tex, but since bloggers might get her confused with TexWisGirl, I'll now refer to her as Punky Doodle. This was my name for her when she was a pretty little redheaded girl. Today she is a pretty lady, but I still see her as Punky Doodle. Anyway, today I'm posting more shots of my last visit with Punky Doodle and the Grands.

Some people are irritated by slow moving farm equipment on the roads, but I always try to be patient and wait for an opportunity to safely pass. We followed a tractor for quite a distance with no room to pass on a narrow road. The tractor turned in here, where this cow was peeking over the fence. We might have missed him had we been traveling at a normal rate of speed. 

A bit farther down the road was a field of sunflowers. No fence, but there were gates.

Back in town, we took a walk through the downtown area and then walked to the library to meet up with #1 Grandson. On the way back to the car, we spotted this place of business.

After reading the sign and a little persuasion from a Grand or two, we decided to go in...

...and this is what we found. Yum! Punky Doodle doesn't allow her family to eat a lot of sweets or snack foods, so this was a special treat.

I'm linking to Good Fences today. Click on the picture below and come join in the fun!

Hodge Podge and a Bird or Two

1. "Summer is like childhood. It's full of warm memories and gone too soon."~Kellie Elmore  Agree or disagree? Share something you loved about the summers of your childhood.

Summer always seems to slip away too soon. I love summer, despite the heat. I would rather be hot than cold any day. Cold hurts. Before air conditioning, a glass of lemonade and a shade tree made the heat tolerable. My brother and I also went wading in a creek near our house, oftentimes having water fights to cool off. But my all time favorite thing to do in the summer was ride my bike to the library. I would bring my book home, find a nice grassy spot under a tree, and read the afternoon away.

2. Are you a fan of auto racing-NASCAR, Indy, Stock, Grand Prix, etc? Ever been to a race in person? Any desire to do this?  Do you know a lot about cars? Do you notice particular makes and models when you're out and about?

I grew up with an older brother. He liked cars and racing. I remember listening to the Indianpolis 500 on the radio every year. When my brother was in high school, he was on a pit crew for a friend of his at the local stock car track. We also had a drag strip where some of our friends would race their cars. Other than a movie theatre to go to on Saturday night, going to the races was the thing to do on the weekends. Now I follow Nascar. JD is a Jimmie Johnson fan. I root for Rowdy Bush. JD doesn't like Rowdy so we have some fun banter during races. I have never been to a Nascar race, but we talk about going to our favorite track in Bristol, TN. One day maybe we will go.

3. What's something you think is too serious to be joked about? Or do you think anything and everything is fair game?

I think health issues. Ones health should be taken seriously.

4. July 29th is National Lasagna Day. Are you a fan? Do you have a great recipe, and if so where did it come from? If given a choice would you choose a plate of lasagna or a plate of spaghetti?

JD cooks most of our meals. He likes to cook. I think instead of a teacher he should have been a chef. He is full on German, born and raised in Pennsylvania, but lived most of his adult life in Upstate New York in a city filled with Italians. He loves Italian food, so spaghetti is served a lot in this house. I'm not a big fan of spaghetti. As a matter of fact I can hardly face it any more. But being the nice person I am, I don't complain. So, my pick would be lasagna. I would much prefer a plate of chicken alfredo, though.

5. What's a simple pleasure you'd miss if it were not a regular part of your life?

Hanging out on our screened in porch with a good book and a bottle of wine.

6. If you could be the CEO of any company, which would you choose?

I would choose not to be. I prefer a job where I don't dread going to work. So, I would forgo the heavy duty paycheck.

7. August is just around the bend...bid farewell to July in exactly seven words.

Too much sadness, glad it is over.

8. Insert your own random thought here.

I share a love of reading with a couple of attorneys who come in the office frequently. We seem to like the same type of books and share our favorites. Ms. KB came in yesterday raving about The Astronaut Wives Club by Lily Koppel, which is  a true story about the wives of the Mercury Seven astronauts. A new TV Series on ABC to air this fall is based on this book. I grew up during a time when the TV was on in the gym at school so we could all watch the Apollo missions take off from Cape Canaveral. I'm looking forward to reading the book and watching the series. Has anyone read anything good recently?

Linking to Wednesday Hodgepodge

Another shot of SIL's sunflowers. I can't get enough of seeing these guys!

While standing in SIL's yard talking, I heard Mr. Oriole singing, so turned around and zoomed in as much as possible. Wish I could get closer!

After Anni's comment, I dug out my bird book and agree with her that it is a Scarlet Tanager. Now I'm even happier with my really bad shot. :)

Linking to Wild Bird Wednesday

Rubish Tuesday #13

Farmers always have plenty of old stuff around. Friday evening while JD picked cucumbers, I took a few shots of some of Bro O's old things.

Like this old pile of tires/wheels. Some were truck tires and some from tractors.

This old wheelbarrow was once bright green. Now it is mostly rust.

As is this old disc. Is it disk or disc? I've always spelled it d-i-s-c, but when I googled I see it spelled both ways. Hmm. Which do you use?

Farm gasoline. This old tank has kept many a tractor/combine/cornpicker in the field.

Lastly, a little old and a little new. This rusty barn roof makes a nice place for a hornet's nest. It is new and not very big yet. The really bad thing? It is right by our garden. 

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you will join in the fun.

My idea was to have a place to post 'old things'.  Anything old and/or deteriorating such as old houses, barns, outbuildings, old cars, rusty things, antiques, interesting junk, or it can be something in pristine condition, but just old. 

1. Link to a post featuring photos of something old.

2. Link back to Rubbish by Roan in your post.

3. As time allows, visit other participants and comment on their posts.

Nothin' But Yellow!

Yesterday, Saturday, I went to work at 7:00 a.m. and stopped for the day at 4:00 p.m. Daughter, a.k.a. Tex, (not TexWisGirl, just Tex) came down to help. To add to the short staff in our office, our newest clerk's brother passed away and she will be off work Monday and Tuesday, our nightmare days! So, Tex was kind enough to pitch in. I'm still way behind, so will be heading off to work as soon as I finish this post. I'm only staying 3 or 4 hours though. Really, that's all!

The Democratic party has picked a successor for the office, but he won't start until the 11th. He will be green as grass as to the duties, but I'm sure he will quickly adjust. 

Friday night we went down to the garden to pick tomatoes, zucchini, acorn squash, and okra. We also pulled up a few radishes. I use the term 'we' loosely. JD, a.k.a. Hubs (daughter doesn't like the word Hubs, so from now on he will be JD. JD is an inside joke, which I may explain later. No time today) JD did most of the picking while I wondered around with my camera. Well, I did pick the okra.

 The Gold Finches were out in force. Enjoying SIL's sunflowers.

Above is one of my sunflowers. It is only about 4 inches from tip of petal to tip of petal. Not sure the variety, but they are pretty.

 Now back to SIL's. Beautiful, huge..

...and stately.

Linking to the Bird D'pot