Watch this turtle

As we all know, there are thousands probably millions of videos posted out there and after a while they all start to blur. However, I saw one yesterday, that was a little different. It showed a turtle and a dog in a very unlikely exchange. In case you haven't seen it yet, take a look. I think you'll enjoy it.

Dog and Turtle 

(I can't seem to get the video embedded, so I'm including the link instead.)

 

A Second Look--July 2, 2014

The weather this week has been hot with little rain. The afternoon/evening thunderstorms seem to be skirting their way around us without leaving any precipitation. Most of the plants are doing okay, but the stress in starting to show in some. There are some new flowers blooming, but the spectacular views of spring are gone.

The bird dramas continue, but have subsided some. Here are the updates. The chickadee box that had two pairs of chickadees fighting over it has been inactive for a couple of weeks. The nest in the wren box has continued to evolve but no eggs yet. If I were a wren, I would think it would be just right to settle down in now. But I'm not a wren, so I'll have to defer to their judgement. And the bluebird box--when last we spoke, the bluebirds and sparrows were fighting over it. The sparrows won. However, I have seen the bluebirds in the front yard, but I haven't located a new nest. I removed the sparrow's nest that they were building on top of the bluebird nest and now it looks like a house wren is building a nest on top of that. For now, that box belongs to the wrens.

And speaking of wrens, I read that the male will build two nests at the same time hoping better to attract a female. So I don't know if the two wren nests are for the same pair or two different pairs. I also read that wrens have a problem with mites and will place spider sacs in the nest so the hatching spiders will help control them. I had seen spider sacs in the nest, but assumed that they just happen to be on the twig the wren was using for construction.

Okay, do you have all of the nest box wars straight? There will be a quiz next week. :)

Here are a few things I saw this week during a Second Look.

We had two new colors of day lilies blooming this week. The first was this red one.

The other new color was this dark pink one.

The first trumpet lily also bloomed. Unfortunately, most of the trumpet lilies were eaten by the deer.

Here's the first coneflower this year. However, insects are eating many of the blooms that followed.

Balloon flower. If you look carefully, you will see a bee at the base of it.

Wren's nest. See the white balls. Those are spider sacs.

Today...

Today I am going to enjoy low hanging fruit.

Sometimes I think too much and make things more complicated than they need to be. Today, I'm going to relax and do what is easy and smart.

(Raspberries from Miss Lander's garden.)

First Jobs--Theodore

 I'm beginning a new series, First Jobs, in which I ask people about their first work experiences.
Today, Theo is going to tell you about his first job. 

_________________________________________________________________________________

Tell me about your first job.

My first job was at the local grocery store. I worked there about a year until I went away to college.

Theo ready to go to work at the grocery store.

What did you do?

My main job was being a cashier. When things were slow, I would also clean and put things back on shelves that people didn't want. I wish I had been older so that I had had a chance to do some of the more interesting jobs like using a butchering saw or driving a forklift. And there was this really neat looking trash compacter I wanted to try. However since I was underage, I wasn't allowed to touch any of those '"dangerous" things.

Why did you get that job?

The store was across the street from the high school and a lot of other kids I knew worked there. I think it was the store's business model to hire a lot of young, cheap labor. Also, the job was convenient because I could walk to work after school.

Did you like working with other teenagers?

It was okay, however sometimes there were problems with some of my classmates as managers. They didn't have much experience and didn't always manage very well. I particularly didn't like it when they wouldn't give me a break even though the rules said that I should have one. That made it really hard when I had to go to the bathroom.

Back to putting away things customers didn't want. I've always wondered, what did you do with items that were refrigerated or frozen?

The official rule was you could only put it back if you saw the customer put the item down. Otherwise, you had to throw it away. The practical rule was if it still felt cold you could put it back.

Okay. I'm not sure if I feel better or not about that.

What did you like about the job?

I liked the act of scanning things and the puzzle of how to best pack things into the bag. It was a little bit like Tetris.

What did you dislike about the job?

I disliked it when customers yelled at me.

What did they yell at you about?

Usually it was when they didn't have enough money to pay for what they had picked out. They would be embarrassed and tell me things like, "Don't look at me," and "The prices should have been better marked."

How did you handle that?

I let them vent a little then said, “I'm sorry, but what are you actually going to be buying today?” I had to keep the line moving.

What did you use your money for?

I bought a laptop that I later took to college with me.

What did you learn from the job?

I learned that your attitude determines how your day's going to be. I also learned that everyone has their own circumstances and you can't judge people by a two minute interaction. Actually, I already knew that, but I got a lot of chances to practice that on this job.

Thanks for your story, Theo. Soon, I hope to interview you about your first “real” job out of school. :)

Thankful Sunday--June 29, 2014

I am thankful for popcorn.

Salty, crunchy popcorn is the perfect snack. The only thing better is when you eat it with M&M's. I am thankful that I have popcorn and will be even more thankful when I get some M&M's to go with it. (Spoiler Alert: Shopping trip planned for later today.)