Birthday Wish - Pictures -- Rain

~
August isn't over with and neither are the birthdays. Today is Frank's sister's birthday.

Happy Birthday Nette! Love You!

* * * * * * * * * * * *

The other day when I was taking pictures for the Friday Shoot Out (see previous day's post) I took a few more pictures that didn't turn out too badly.

Mama gave me part of her Angel Trumpet plant a few years back. It doesn't grow in our yard as well as it does in her yard. It has had a lot of blossoms this year though. It is most fragrant in the early morning and in the late evening.

This little bee was on the Speedwell (Veronica spicata) blossom. I think it is a honey bee, but I have called some critters bees before and they turn out to be a bee imitator, so I will stick with little bee. :-)

* * * * * * * * * * * *

I awakened this morning just before five to the patter of rain upon the roof. It has to be raining pretty hard for me to hear the rain over the window air conditioner. Soon the rain was pouring and it poured for a least an hour with the sound of thunder and flashes of lightning. We need the rain, but it would be nice for it not to all come down at once. More rain is expected later today.

So it will be a day of piddling in the house. Perhaps I will catch up on that pile of paperwork that is on my table. Perhaps I will read the book that I bought months ago or do both.... decisions... decisions :-)

Pictures Around The Yard

~
First Happy Birthday Marcy!

A few pictures that I took yesterday and today. I encourage you to look at the pictures in a larger view... they are much better that way :-) For larger views; right click on the pictures and choose open in a new window to avoid reloading this page.

A moth that was sleeping by the door. I searched and could not figure out what type it was. View it large... what a big eye it has... and where is the other antennae.

The Aurora Light Blue Delphinium is blooming.

A closer look at one of the flowers. You have just got to look at this one in larger view... Isn't it beautiful!

This Dwarf Coreopsis has been chewed upon and has part of its petals missing... I think the damage was done by slugs. Frank put out slug bait last night and no signs of slugs this morning. The insect on the right of the picture is a hoverfly... not sure what the other one is, but they are both small. This is another picture that really needs to be seen in the larger view.

In the garden the tomatoes are beginning to bloom. They were backlit with the sun this morning. Okay... now look at it in larger view so you can see the sun shining through the bloom.

A great photograph is a full expression of what one feels about what is being photographed in the deepest sense, and is, thereby, a true expression of what one feels about life in its entirety. -- Ansel Adams

Another Birthday - Pictures

~

Today we went over to Frank's sister's home to celebrate Mrs. Goff's birthday. When people call me Mrs. Goff I look around for my mother-in-law :-D Her birthday is on the 17th and she will be 81 years young. Mrs. Goff is still going full steam. Today she played on the floor with her three great-grandchildren.

I'm glad that Frank felt like going. It meant I didn't have to cook. Frank's sister & her sister-in-law made kabobs and fried rice. I can't make fried rice like Nette does. She told me that later in the week that she is going to make a batch up just for Frank and me. I think now we will have an exchange going of her fried rice and our fudge :-D I can't call it my fudge any more... Frank does most of the work in making it.

Today it is about 60°, cloudy and damp. There is a light mist out and just cold enough for it to soak all the way to the bone. Rain is coming later.

We have lots of yellow and gray pollen about. Our car is covered in it. I need to hose it down or better yet.. run it through a car wash.

I have a few pictures for y'all. They are best viewed larger, so right click on a picture to open link in a new window or tab.

This isn't the greatest picture, but I like how it shows the bee's wings. You can see right through them... so delicate.





The bees that I saw were male. They all had white or yellow on the face. They don't sting, but they sure do buzz around a lot like they had a stinger. The females don't have a marking on their face and they do sting.

The bees are carpenter bees. The females bore into wood to make their nest. They like the azaleas. They go inside the blossoms, but like the sweet nectar around the base of the blossoms best.




We don't have much grass growing right now, but we do have plenty of weeds/wild flowers... depending on your point of view :-D

I think this is Creeping Woodsorrel. The blooms are such a bright yellow. The little dots you see is pollen.



I think this is Narrowleaf (Garden) Vetch. We have a good bit of it in the yard.



The Dogwood Trees are looking beautiful. I wish Frank felt like going for a ride in the countryside. This time of year dogwood and redbud trees dot wooded areas and it is so beautiful to see. Both trees are beautiful in yards, but I really like to see them in the woods.



When after the Winter alarmin',
The Spring steps in so charmin',
So fresh and arch
In the middle of March,
Wid her hand St. Patrick's arm on...
-- Alfred Percival Graves

Puzzles - Walking - Pictures - Phbtt!

~
Puzzles -

One of my things to do to relax are puzzles. It can be the Sunday Crossword which I usually need the assistance of the dictionary. When the dictionary is of no help then I use One Across Crossword Help. Sometimes I just use the Google search engine.

I also like the variety puzzle books. My favorites are the cryptograms, alphabet soup, quote falls and anagram squares. I like words :-) The diagramless crosswords are okay too... and a couple of others that I can't remember the name of. I'm not fond of number puzzles or logic problems.

Every morning I go to AARP Magazine and do the jigsaw puzzle . There are games at AARP.org too. There I like Spellbound, Mahjongg Toy Chest and Metro Match. They have jigsaw puzzles there too, but I prefer the one at the magazine. The site also has card games and arcade games.

Walking - Pictures

I love to walk, but don't do enough of it. I love to look at the trees, the insects, the birds... everything that God made. I like to combine my walks with my love of the camera. The camera magnifies the flora and fauna and I can see beauty that I had never experienced before.... awe moments :-)

I was going to try and get some bee pictures today, but it is windy and the flowers are swaying too much.

Here is a Carpenter Bee picture from last year... click on it for a larger view. Did you know that they had beaks :-)



Phbbt! -



The past few months I have tried not to worry about things.... nothing I can do to prevent them, just when something happens cope with it. I know worry and stress don't cause ulcers, but they can aggravate them. My stomach has been acting up off and on since before my back surgery in November... just a gnawing irritated feeling. Now it is hurting in the pit of my stomach. A sip of water during the night can flare the pain. It may be just gastritis and not an ulcer... I'm hoping so. I have a doctor's appointment on Thursday... originally to talk about my shoulder pain again, but I think my stomach is more important.

.... such a bad child I am for sticking my tongue out :-p .... I need to do a few more puzzles :-)

--

I will catch up on reading your blogs soon. It will be a bit at a time... but I'll get there.

*^*^*^**^*^*^**^*^*^*

Enjoy when you can, and endure when you must. -- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Pictures - Frank

~
This afternoon I walked around the yard with the camera. To open a larger view hold down the ctrl button on your keyboard while clicking on the photo and it will open in a new tab and you won't have to reload this page.

This is leaf lettuce that Frank planted a few weeks ago.



The high temperature today is about 53°. The azaleas don't seem to mind the colder weather at all.

These are the lighter color of our two azalea bushes. These always remind me of starfish.



I got a better picture of one of the brighter colored bush's blooms than the one I posted a while back.


As I walked around to the back of the house I came upon a mockingbird grooming itself. It is missing part of the top portion of its beak.




It flew to another branch and seemed very interested in the click of the camera shutter. I wish I was better at taking bird pictures.



This morning Frank had his appointment with the oncologist surgeon. The drain was not removed even though it is not draining much fluid. The doctor is a little concerned that the drain may not be working because the amount of output dropped suddenly. Frank is running a low-grade temperature... which is normal after surgery. We have to inform the doctor if it goes up over a 101° and stays there. The pathology seems to indicate the tumor was benign. Hopefully next Tuesday the drain will be removed. Your continued prayers would be appreciated.

*^*^*^**^*^*^**^*^*^*

Then from a neighboring thicket the mocking-bird, wildest of singers,
Swinging aloft on a willow spray that hung o`er the water,
Shook from his little throat such floods of delirious music,
That the whole air and the woods and the waves seemed silent to listen.
-- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow