A Second Look--May 14, 2014

It's that time of year. Every time I turn around outside, something has changed. New things are blooming and the grass is growing fast enough that we're going to have to get hay cutting equipment soon if we don't catch up on the mowing. We've had a lot of rain this past week and the humidity and temperatures are rising. In fact, the last couple of days, we've had temperatures in the high eighties.

Also, I saw a fox in the yard recently. This is an unusual occurrence since they are usually out at night when I'm not. In addition, the ground hog holes finally look active with fresh digging around both the front and back entrances. And speaking of seeing new things, I put up a hummingbird feeder and have seen two of them feeding from it. We often get hummingbirds later when the tiger lilies are blooming, but I wanted to see if I could attract them sooner. We'll see if they continue to come. But the best things I saw this week are the chickadee chicks. Baby birds definitely fit the "so ugly, they're cute" idea.

Here are some things I saw this week during 

a Second Look.

The azalea continue to bloom.

The first of the Siberian iris have started to bloom.

I was excited when I found this Jack-in-the Pulpit wildflower.

Another wildflower, the buttercup, is giving a nice show in the fields now.

This is the fox I saw trotting across the yard in the middle of the day.

The lily-of-the-valley are blooming.

Five of the six chickadee eggs hatched. I don't know exactly how old these chicks are but I guess a week or less.

Meanwhile, the bluebird continues to sit on her eggs.

Across the yard, the sparrows are building a nest. Once again, I have not shooed them away as recommended. Maybe they'll leave the other nests alone if they have a good place for their own.

Yesterday, this was a tight little bud. Today the rhododendron had buds opening all over it.

Another Garden Tour

As part of my Mother's Day gift, I took a home garden tour in Georgetown, a famous neighborhood in Washington, DC. Think history, rich people, and senator's homes. That's some of what you'll find there. The tour has a long tradition (86 years) with the local garden club and is their main fund raiser for beautification projects in the area.

The tour definitely took us out of the suburbs and into the city. Streets were crowded, parking was difficult, and everything was more expensive. However once we were situated, we had a good time meandering among the houses. Everything was within a few blocks of each other and the weather was good. It started to rain about 2/3 of the way through, but that wasn't bad either because it was not cold.

Come take a virtual tour with me.

The sidewalks were brick in front of the houses and had small flower beds spaced along them.

 

The front entrances to some of the houses were right on the sidewalk and some of them had a bed/small yard in front.

To get to most of the gardens, we had to go down long alleys between buildings.

Many of the gardens/yards were small and all of them were surrounded by a fence.

Grass was a rare sight because of space limitations in most gardens.

This was the only vegetable garden we saw although we did see herbs planted here and there other places. I think the lack of veggies was for two reasons--shady lots and small spaces. The gardens with this house were large and terraced across three levels.

The houses often seemed to be in a jumble. Many of them were 100-200 years old and had been added onto and modified throughout the years.

This was one of the larger and older houses we visited. All of the residences we saw were currently being lived in.

This modern garden fit perfectly with the modern style architecture of the house it went with. The house was impressive but seemed out of place among the older brick homes.

This dinosaur visited all of the gardens along with a little boy who was touring with his grandfather. The dinosaur often stopped to eat as he as doing in this picture.

While I enjoyed the gardens, my favorite thing of the day was this garden club lady's outfit. I think that's because she was wearing pink cloth gloves. Oh, the fashions of days gone by. Sigh.

Thankful Sunday, May 11, 2014, Mother's Day

I am thankful for my mother 

and other mothers of all kinds.

My tired mother and me. At this point she had three kids and one on the way.

My mother is an amazing woman who came from a very difficult upbringing. Despite that, she beat the odds and rose above her beginnings to make the life for me and my sisters a good one. For this I will be forever thankful.

Also on this Mother's Day, I want to take time to remember the other mother figures in our lives. Such as the fun aunt who is always around for their nieces and nephews. Or the scout leader who wants to give kids the same opportunities they had as a kid. Or the teacher who makes a very real difference in the future of the kids they teach. And the list goes on. Thanks to all of you out there for your dedication and commitment to make life better for all kids whether you gave birth to them or not.

Who has been a mother figure in your life besides your own mother?

First Jobs--Ward

I'm beginning a new series, First Jobs, in which I ask people about their first work experiences. Today, I am talking with my husband, Ward. He tells about jobs he had during his teens in the 1970's.

Tell me about your first job.

I remember three early jobs that I had during the summers. One was a dishwasher in an officer's club, one was on a construction demolition crew, and another one was on an asphalt crew. I think the most significant of these was the asphalt work.

photo credit

Were you on a highway crew?

Not exactly. We worked in a private trailer park fixing potholes in the roads there.

What were your duties?

The first thing we did each morning was to clean the laundromat at the park. After that, we started our road work. 

How did you fix the potholes?

First we'd take picks and shovels and clean the holes until there was no more loose debris in them. Next the boss would back up the dump truck full of asphalt and tilt the back of the truck. One of us would balance on top of the truck sides and push out the asphalt onto the road. The others on the ground would rake the it into the hole. Then we would run a steam roller over it. When that was done, we moved onto the next hole. If you were the one balancing on the truck, that ride could be scary.

The job sounds hot and dirty.

It was definitely hot, and it was pretty miserable when I was working in very hot and humid weather with hot asphalt. It was also very dirty. From the dust, tar, and sweat, our clothes could get messed up pretty quickly. We wore the same ones every day.

It also sounds dangerous. Did you ever get burned?

No, but my brother did. He worked there with me. One day, I was shoveling asphalt from the truck and some of it accidentally went into my brother's gloves. He ended up with blisters on his hands from the hot tar, but he wasn't out of work long.

Was there anything you liked about this job?

Even though it was hot, I liked being outside. In my dishwashing job, I was in the basement without windows. I didn't like that.

You said that this job was the most significant among your early jobs. Why?

It exposed me to a lot of new things. For example, except for my brother, my coworkers were ex-cons and drug addicts. Their stories about jail and their sexual and other exploits were things I had never heard before. I wasn't sure if I were impressed or scared. However, I did know that I wanted a better future for myself than they had. Many times my parents had given me the advice of, “Study hard and get good grades. That way you can go to college, and have a good job some day,” After this job, I finally understood what they meant. 

Thanks for your story. Even after all of these years, I learned new things about you.

A Second Look--May 7, 2014

Spring is in full force now. The plants and animals have emerged from their winter hibernation and are now growing excitedly in the sunshine. Or maybe I should say that I am watching excitedly as spring emerges in the warm sunshine. Can you tell that today was a perfect day? Warm sunshine, blooming trees, and flitting birds. Who could ask for anything more?

Here's are some things I saw this week during a Second Look.

The last kind of daffodil is blooming. This one has two small blooms on the end of one stem. The earlier blooming daffodils are fading.

Three blue jays have been fighting over one of the suet feeders. This is right outside the cats' favorite window so they are quite excited these days.

The dogwoods are in full bloom now.

The bluebirds have added another egg to the nest.

Pansies that were planted last fall are in full bloom now.

The sparrows are back.

One kind of our wild cherries is blooming.

The trees seem to be leafing out overnight. In this picture you can see maple, dogwood, sweet gum, and pine.