Hi All!
Yesterday's post was cathartic. After I wrote it I took a short nap and then headed to the ASL lab to watch the last required video of the semester and to chat with the lab assistants - one of my favorite things to do.
When I got home I felt lighter. Are there still things bothering me that I can't change - of course. Do I still have some feelings of negativity hidden in the dark corners of my soul - sure do! Is the need to wallow in negativity still around - nope!
Writing about wanting to be negative seems to have vented all that need leaving a lighter feeling in its place. No longer do I want to violently hit something until I can't hit any more. Now, I just think about the things I can't change and sort of shrug. Life goes on.
Speaking of which . . . it is the weekend! YEAH! I plan on being a lazy slug this weekend with a little studying thrown in for good measure. I plan to enjoy the slightly nutty flavor of multi grain Tostitos and the refreshing slide of ice cold water as it is swallowed. I plan to read and listen to music and to spend time with my husband. I plan to recharge so that I can face the negative with a more positive point of view in the coming weeks.
On Thursday, in Deaf Culture class, we started watching the movie "Mr. Holland's Opus." This is a movie I have never seen before and one I really have wanted to see. We watched about an hour and 45 minutes of the movie and, so far, it is really good. I can't wait until Tuesday when we will finish watching it!
Nothing else too exciting going on here - other than my change from negativity to positivity!
Hope you have a nice, restful, wonderful weekend!
Trisha
Voice Update: Still doing really well. I was massaging as the computer was booting and it is only VERY SLIGHTLY crunchy. Such an improvement. It is amazing how much of a difference it makes in talking when my throat is loose. I don't have to work so hard to talk! Before I got SD I never even imagined it would ever be an effort to talk (okay, maybe when I had a sore throat).
Saturday, May 2, 2009
Friday, May 1, 2009
Nestled in Negativity
Hi All!
For all of those who believe that when I momentarily sink into negativity that I am complaining . . . stop reading RIGHT NOW and come back tomorrow. This post is going to be negative.
Fair warning.
All of my life I have been taught that I should rise above negativity in my life. When bad things happen, I should look at the positive side and try to make the proverbial lemonade out of life's "lemons." Putting a smile on my face was the way I should face negative events in my life and I should just "suck it up" and "move past it."
Generally, with a tiny bit of wallowing once in a while, I have managed to do all of these things. Despite my apparent negativity at a SD support group meeting, almost everyone who knows me struggles to think of times when I have been negative. I honestly try to deal with negativity by looking for the proverbial silver lining.
I have looked at negative people and tried to find the good in them. People who have tried to spread their negativity onto me have been viewed with a forgiving eye.
But . . .
Every once in a while - like now - I feel like taking in the negativity and holding it close letting it fester and grow for a while. I want to be negative and to look at the world in a non-Pollyanna way. I want to react with major passive aggression or just plain aggression. I want to get in the face of the negativity and out negative it. I want to tell negative people just how I really feel about their attitude and behavior. I want to punch people who tell me to "suck it up." I want to scream and cry and hit things. Maybe even throw an item or two.
I want to be negative. I want to be consumed by the feeling instead of trying to fight it back with positive thoughts.
I want to say whatever I want without thinking about how it will impact people who hear it. I want to tell the honest, brutal truth to people instead of either avoiding the comment or trying to find a way to "soften the blow." I want to tell people how they are inconsiderate and messing up my life!
I want to nestle in my negativity.
Is that wrong?
Trisha
Voice Update: Things are good. My neck is still sore from the massage Susan gave me on Wednesday. I did a bunch of massage yesterday while watching a movie in Deaf Culture class. It was a bit painful but I did it!
For all of those who believe that when I momentarily sink into negativity that I am complaining . . . stop reading RIGHT NOW and come back tomorrow. This post is going to be negative.
Fair warning.
All of my life I have been taught that I should rise above negativity in my life. When bad things happen, I should look at the positive side and try to make the proverbial lemonade out of life's "lemons." Putting a smile on my face was the way I should face negative events in my life and I should just "suck it up" and "move past it."
Generally, with a tiny bit of wallowing once in a while, I have managed to do all of these things. Despite my apparent negativity at a SD support group meeting, almost everyone who knows me struggles to think of times when I have been negative. I honestly try to deal with negativity by looking for the proverbial silver lining.
I have looked at negative people and tried to find the good in them. People who have tried to spread their negativity onto me have been viewed with a forgiving eye.
But . . .
Every once in a while - like now - I feel like taking in the negativity and holding it close letting it fester and grow for a while. I want to be negative and to look at the world in a non-Pollyanna way. I want to react with major passive aggression or just plain aggression. I want to get in the face of the negativity and out negative it. I want to tell negative people just how I really feel about their attitude and behavior. I want to punch people who tell me to "suck it up." I want to scream and cry and hit things. Maybe even throw an item or two.
I want to be negative. I want to be consumed by the feeling instead of trying to fight it back with positive thoughts.
I want to say whatever I want without thinking about how it will impact people who hear it. I want to tell the honest, brutal truth to people instead of either avoiding the comment or trying to find a way to "soften the blow." I want to tell people how they are inconsiderate and messing up my life!
I want to nestle in my negativity.
Is that wrong?
Trisha
Voice Update: Things are good. My neck is still sore from the massage Susan gave me on Wednesday. I did a bunch of massage yesterday while watching a movie in Deaf Culture class. It was a bit painful but I did it!
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Book Look
Hi All!
Stay with me as I reveal my latest reading adventures!
First, this interesting little magazine. Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine (Hubby enjoys walking around saying "Ellery!" for some reason!).
I picked up two issues of this jewel at the local school district book sale. Having never seen the magazine before - or knowing of its existence - I was intrigued. This volume is packed with short mystery stories. Not all of them are fabulous but, they are interesting and short enough to read in those odd little chunks of time you have in life - waiting for the doctor, in that ten minutes before leaving for church.
They still publish this magazine and I thought about subscribing but I already have too much reading material in the form of magazines to tackle each month so I think I will just read the two I have. Maybe somewhere down the road I will have the time to read it every other month when it is published.
Next is a wonderful read that was also picked up at the school book sale. Code Name: Baby by Christina Skye.
The cover of this book in real life is a cheery, lemon yellow that got washed out in the scanning process.
Christina Skye is a new author to me and will certainly be on my reading list again soon. I absolutely loved this book (and the next book also by Christina Skye)! These books will be on my radar as I continue in my book reading/buying journeys.
In this novel, a highly trained Navy SEAL, Wolfe Houston, is on a mission to protect a female dog trainer, Kit O'Halleran, and the dogs she is training. These are no ordinary dogs and Wolfe is no ordinary Navy SEAL (if there were such a thing). He is part of a secret group of men who have special training and are the government's secret weapon. The dogs are special also and have some very interesting skills.
This book was one which I didn't want to put down. It is a tantalizing mix of romance, mystery, and thriller. In fact, as soon as I finished this book, I dug out the other book by Christina Skye that was hiding in my book stash and read it. This is an author and a series I could really get hooked on!
Speaking of Christina Skye and her books, Code Name: Bikini is another of her wonderful creations.
This time the romance, mystery, thriller takes place on a cruise ship. The Navy SEAL is Trace O'Halloran (the brother of the dog trainer from the previous book) who is protecting a top secret package being transported on the cruise ship. At least, that is all he is originally supposed to be protecting. He ends up protecting the ship's pastry chef, a beautiful woman named Gina Ryan who has secrets of her own.
Trace is another of those "special" SEALS and has amazing abilities even while recovering from injuries sustained on his last mission.
This book is another "can't put it down" read. Interesting and full of twists and turns and unusual and unexpected plot events. I HAVE to get more of these books!
My next book is Tramp by Marne Davis Kellogg. This book is a Marshall Lilly Bennett Mystery so I am thinking there must be more books written which revolve around the main character of Marshall Lilly Bennett. What do you think?
Another author I was unfamiliar with, Kellogg writes about a small town in Wyoming which finds itself in the middle of a murder mystery. Marshall Bennett, a former police officer and member of a very wealthy family, dives right into the thick of things to solve the mystery.
This story was very enjoyable and bordered on that coveted "can't put it down" status. The title also raised some eyebrows with my classmates when they saw me reading it. Contrary to their delusions, this isn't a "how-to" book for becoming a Tramp! It is, however, a book worth picking up.
Here comes a book from a favorite author, Nora Roberts! Tribute loosely follows Roberts' recipe for her books. There is a woman and a man and a mystery. Of course, everything works out in the end which makes Roberts' books a good, fun read.
Cilla McGowan, a former child star moves to a small town with the intention of revitalizing the farmhouse which was her grandmother's favorite retreat. After her grandmother, a famous movie star, committed suicide at a young age, Cilla's mother, also in show business, inherited the house but allowed it to slip into disrepair.
Across the street from Cilla's farm house lives a handsome bachelor who writes and illustrates graphic novels, Ford Sawyer. In the best Nora Roberts tradition, Ford is yummy! He takes an interest in Cilla and ends up involved in the mystery and danger which surrounds both Cilla and the farm house.
Tribute is a good, fast read with enough plot twists to make the "recipe" book seem fresh and exciting. Another hit for Nora Roberts and another good book for the light mystery genre lover!
My final book for this session is another plucked up at the district book sale. White Oleander by Janet Fitch is also an Oprah's Book Club selection. Normally, I avoid those but this one looked interesting so I risked it.
The main reason I avoid Oprah's picks is that they are all pretty "heavy" topic-wise. This book is no exception but the beautifully descriptive writing seems to lighten the burden of the story enough to make it a good read.
Astrid, the main character, is the daughter of a brilliant yet emotionally unsteady poet who goes to prison for killing a man who dumps her. With no family besides her mother, Astrid is thrown into the foster care system when her mother is taken away. She experiences the bad, the horrible, and the good of the system and in the process grows into her own person.
There are many times when this book runs riot over the reader's emotions, like the time Astrid finds herself in a foster home where she is never fed enough and resorts to eating food out of the garbage can at the school cafeteria. Also, the yearning Astrid feels for a "normal" life, a "normal" mother, and most importantly, for love, is so poignant it brings tears to the reader's eyes.
While I don't recommend this book for a "light" read, it is a wonderfully written, engaging book worth reading.
Also interesting was the use of White Oleander, a plant which grows everywhere in my neck of the woods, as a lethal poison!
That is it for this book session. Now go out there and read, people! Read!
Trisha
Voice Update: After some serious massage from Susan which has left a couple sore spots on my neck, my voice is rocking and rolling. I got some new exercises to work on not tensing up while trying to say certain sounds - especially the "t" sound at the beginning of words. I am working on them diligently so far!
Stay with me as I reveal my latest reading adventures!
First, this interesting little magazine. Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine (Hubby enjoys walking around saying "Ellery!" for some reason!).
I picked up two issues of this jewel at the local school district book sale. Having never seen the magazine before - or knowing of its existence - I was intrigued. This volume is packed with short mystery stories. Not all of them are fabulous but, they are interesting and short enough to read in those odd little chunks of time you have in life - waiting for the doctor, in that ten minutes before leaving for church. They still publish this magazine and I thought about subscribing but I already have too much reading material in the form of magazines to tackle each month so I think I will just read the two I have. Maybe somewhere down the road I will have the time to read it every other month when it is published.
Next is a wonderful read that was also picked up at the school book sale. Code Name: Baby by Christina Skye.
The cover of this book in real life is a cheery, lemon yellow that got washed out in the scanning process.
Christina Skye is a new author to me and will certainly be on my reading list again soon. I absolutely loved this book (and the next book also by Christina Skye)! These books will be on my radar as I continue in my book reading/buying journeys.
In this novel, a highly trained Navy SEAL, Wolfe Houston, is on a mission to protect a female dog trainer, Kit O'Halleran, and the dogs she is training. These are no ordinary dogs and Wolfe is no ordinary Navy SEAL (if there were such a thing). He is part of a secret group of men who have special training and are the government's secret weapon. The dogs are special also and have some very interesting skills.
This book was one which I didn't want to put down. It is a tantalizing mix of romance, mystery, and thriller. In fact, as soon as I finished this book, I dug out the other book by Christina Skye that was hiding in my book stash and read it. This is an author and a series I could really get hooked on!
Speaking of Christina Skye and her books, Code Name: Bikini is another of her wonderful creations.
This time the romance, mystery, thriller takes place on a cruise ship. The Navy SEAL is Trace O'Halloran (the brother of the dog trainer from the previous book) who is protecting a top secret package being transported on the cruise ship. At least, that is all he is originally supposed to be protecting. He ends up protecting the ship's pastry chef, a beautiful woman named Gina Ryan who has secrets of her own.
Trace is another of those "special" SEALS and has amazing abilities even while recovering from injuries sustained on his last mission.
This book is another "can't put it down" read. Interesting and full of twists and turns and unusual and unexpected plot events. I HAVE to get more of these books!
My next book is Tramp by Marne Davis Kellogg. This book is a Marshall Lilly Bennett Mystery so I am thinking there must be more books written which revolve around the main character of Marshall Lilly Bennett. What do you think?
Another author I was unfamiliar with, Kellogg writes about a small town in Wyoming which finds itself in the middle of a murder mystery. Marshall Bennett, a former police officer and member of a very wealthy family, dives right into the thick of things to solve the mystery.
This story was very enjoyable and bordered on that coveted "can't put it down" status. The title also raised some eyebrows with my classmates when they saw me reading it. Contrary to their delusions, this isn't a "how-to" book for becoming a Tramp! It is, however, a book worth picking up.
Here comes a book from a favorite author, Nora Roberts! Tribute loosely follows Roberts' recipe for her books. There is a woman and a man and a mystery. Of course, everything works out in the end which makes Roberts' books a good, fun read.
Cilla McGowan, a former child star moves to a small town with the intention of revitalizing the farmhouse which was her grandmother's favorite retreat. After her grandmother, a famous movie star, committed suicide at a young age, Cilla's mother, also in show business, inherited the house but allowed it to slip into disrepair.Across the street from Cilla's farm house lives a handsome bachelor who writes and illustrates graphic novels, Ford Sawyer. In the best Nora Roberts tradition, Ford is yummy! He takes an interest in Cilla and ends up involved in the mystery and danger which surrounds both Cilla and the farm house.
Tribute is a good, fast read with enough plot twists to make the "recipe" book seem fresh and exciting. Another hit for Nora Roberts and another good book for the light mystery genre lover!
My final book for this session is another plucked up at the district book sale. White Oleander by Janet Fitch is also an Oprah's Book Club selection. Normally, I avoid those but this one looked interesting so I risked it.
The main reason I avoid Oprah's picks is that they are all pretty "heavy" topic-wise. This book is no exception but the beautifully descriptive writing seems to lighten the burden of the story enough to make it a good read. Astrid, the main character, is the daughter of a brilliant yet emotionally unsteady poet who goes to prison for killing a man who dumps her. With no family besides her mother, Astrid is thrown into the foster care system when her mother is taken away. She experiences the bad, the horrible, and the good of the system and in the process grows into her own person.
There are many times when this book runs riot over the reader's emotions, like the time Astrid finds herself in a foster home where she is never fed enough and resorts to eating food out of the garbage can at the school cafeteria. Also, the yearning Astrid feels for a "normal" life, a "normal" mother, and most importantly, for love, is so poignant it brings tears to the reader's eyes.
While I don't recommend this book for a "light" read, it is a wonderfully written, engaging book worth reading.
Also interesting was the use of White Oleander, a plant which grows everywhere in my neck of the woods, as a lethal poison!
That is it for this book session. Now go out there and read, people! Read!
Trisha
Voice Update: After some serious massage from Susan which has left a couple sore spots on my neck, my voice is rocking and rolling. I got some new exercises to work on not tensing up while trying to say certain sounds - especially the "t" sound at the beginning of words. I am working on them diligently so far!
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
If You Give A Mouse an Electrical Wire . . .
Hi All!
Yesterday we had a plumbing test done on our house AND the heating/AC system was checked. Two different people!
Hubby came home at noon to take care of the people while I trotted off to class. Fun, fun! My Deaf Culture teacher, Kelly, brought her newborn son, Kevin, into class for a little bit. He is soooo tiny - only a week old! How adorable he was!
Anyway, Hubby stayed home to let the plumber and the HAC guys into the house and to supervise them. The plumbing test was to make sure that the plumbing didn't develop any leaks as the result of the whole foundation work situation. No leaks!!!
However, there was a slight problem with the HAC. Apparently everything was fine until the guy finished looking at the units inside (located in our attic) and went out to check the outside units. We have two AC units - a pretty large one for the downstairs and a small one for the upstairs bonus room. The downstairs unit kicked on just fine but the upstairs unit didn't start.
So - the guy checks the breakers to see if one was blown. Nope. He goes upstairs to check on the unit again and finds a chewed wire. Uh-oh!
When he had put the metal panel back on the unit it had apparently touched the chewed, exposed wire and arched causing the circuit board in the unit to "fry." Doesn't that sound great? We got a new circuit board (luckily, covered under our maintenance plan) but . . . the unit still didn't work! Now the guy was a bit frustrated! He messed around for a bit and then finally had to call his boss.
By this time, it was about 5:30 and Hubby was thinking that we might have to invite the HAC guy to eat dinner with us!
The boss came out and together the two men finally figured out that one wire wasn't connected. They connected it and . . . voila! Perfect!
So - our HAC system is working well but . . . we have a mouse in our attic!
Hubby is plotting how to rid us of our unwanted house guest and I am wondering just how a mouse got in the attic.
Doesn't that sound like fun?
Skor update: Well, he is doing okay. He has had four doses of his meds and only one of them ended up partly on his head! His gums, which were REALLY red at the vet's are now pink again (which could mean that he has an immune problem!) but his "growth" hasn't shown any signs of shrinking yet. Maybe it is too early????
Trisha
Voice Update: I am going to Speech today. No doubt Susan will find my throat nice and crunchy! I have honestly tried! I have!
Yesterday we had a plumbing test done on our house AND the heating/AC system was checked. Two different people!
Hubby came home at noon to take care of the people while I trotted off to class. Fun, fun! My Deaf Culture teacher, Kelly, brought her newborn son, Kevin, into class for a little bit. He is soooo tiny - only a week old! How adorable he was!
Anyway, Hubby stayed home to let the plumber and the HAC guys into the house and to supervise them. The plumbing test was to make sure that the plumbing didn't develop any leaks as the result of the whole foundation work situation. No leaks!!!
However, there was a slight problem with the HAC. Apparently everything was fine until the guy finished looking at the units inside (located in our attic) and went out to check the outside units. We have two AC units - a pretty large one for the downstairs and a small one for the upstairs bonus room. The downstairs unit kicked on just fine but the upstairs unit didn't start.
So - the guy checks the breakers to see if one was blown. Nope. He goes upstairs to check on the unit again and finds a chewed wire. Uh-oh!
When he had put the metal panel back on the unit it had apparently touched the chewed, exposed wire and arched causing the circuit board in the unit to "fry." Doesn't that sound great? We got a new circuit board (luckily, covered under our maintenance plan) but . . . the unit still didn't work! Now the guy was a bit frustrated! He messed around for a bit and then finally had to call his boss.
By this time, it was about 5:30 and Hubby was thinking that we might have to invite the HAC guy to eat dinner with us!
The boss came out and together the two men finally figured out that one wire wasn't connected. They connected it and . . . voila! Perfect!
So - our HAC system is working well but . . . we have a mouse in our attic!
Hubby is plotting how to rid us of our unwanted house guest and I am wondering just how a mouse got in the attic.
Doesn't that sound like fun?
Skor update: Well, he is doing okay. He has had four doses of his meds and only one of them ended up partly on his head! His gums, which were REALLY red at the vet's are now pink again (which could mean that he has an immune problem!) but his "growth" hasn't shown any signs of shrinking yet. Maybe it is too early????
Trisha
Voice Update: I am going to Speech today. No doubt Susan will find my throat nice and crunchy! I have honestly tried! I have!
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Skor, Skor, Skor
Hi All!
You remember this cute little bugger?
Do you remember the last time I had to take him to the vet? It resulted in this . . .
You remember this cute little bugger?
Do you remember the last time I had to take him to the vet? It resulted in this . . .
Well, Skor and I made the trip to the vet's office again yesterday afternoon. No - he doesn't have another cone on his head - thank goodness! However, he DOES need antibiotics again for at least a week.
Before I get too far ahead of myself, let me explain. About a week or so ago, I noticed that Skor had a sore on the back of his neck. It was about the size of the tip of my pinkie and had no hair on it. My first thought was ringworm! Yikes.
Then I looked a bit closer. It wasn't circular and didn't have the darker ring that ringworm normally presents with. Whew!
I was concerned but . . . maybe it was just a place where Miss Cleo got him with her claws while they were playing. I decided to keep an eye on it . . . just in case.
Last Saturday I noticed that the spot was bigger - at least twice as big. Again, it was hairless so there was a pretty big patch of baldness on the back of Skor's neck. You couldn't really see it unless you looked because the other hair (long hair!) covered the spot. I told Hubby that I thought I should take Skor to the vet that day.
Hubby, without even looking at the spot, said we should put neosporin on it and wait. Well . . . we waited two days until Hubby actually caught a glimpse of the spot. Then he told me that he thought I should take Skor to the vet right away.
So . . . yesterday I loaded Skor into the carrier and off we went to see Dr. Bowe. Dr. Bowe is our favorite vet - he is so nice and really loves cats. Dr. Bowe took a look. And then another. He got a needle and tried to suck some "stuff" out of the spot. He then took the "stuff" he got and looked at it under the microscope.
Terrific, right? Wrong.
Doc had no clue what the spot was. He didn't find anything conclusive under the microscope. In fact, Doc was mystified about what in the world the spot was. We talked about a couple of different possibilities including an infected scratch/bite from Miss Cleo, a sore from the collar (which is temporarily off), an infected insect bite. Finally, Doc decided to give Skor antibiotics and a steroid shot.
Which means that twice a day I get to round up Skor and shoot liquid down his thoat - what fun! Let me tell you - he doesn't like it one darn bit!
Oh - did I mention that Doc was also concerned about Skor's teeth? Skor's gums are really red and there was no sign of plaque on the teeth. Doc is worried that Skor has some sort of immune problem where the body "turns" on the teeth.
Super. Why did we want another cat?
Ohhh..... that is right. He is so darn adorable and sweet!
We love our little kitty!
Trisha
Voice Update: Well . . . I am not doing too well with my massage. I know, I know. I do know better but let me tell you - the whole back thing (which is pretty much better now) really set me back. My voice is still sounding good but my throat is crunchy, crunchy, crunchy!
Monday, April 27, 2009
Rainy Days and Mondays . . . .
Hi All!
It is a beautiful, rainy Monday! I know that most people don't like rain or Mondays but, what can I say? I enjoy both and having the two together . . . bliss! It was really kicking up a nice storm this morning - windy and LOTS of lightening. In fact, I was worried that I would get blown away or struck by lightening. Luckily, it didn't start raining until later. In fact, I was thinking it would never get started.
I have a LOT of work to do for class today so . . . I am going to keep this post really short so I get to work.
Meanwhile, I will enjoy the sound of the rain tapping on the roof while I work.
Have a fabulous day!
Trisha
Voice Update: Doing well. While I lay on the exercise ball I do some massage. I haven't been doing as much massage as I should. Nuts!
It is a beautiful, rainy Monday! I know that most people don't like rain or Mondays but, what can I say? I enjoy both and having the two together . . . bliss! It was really kicking up a nice storm this morning - windy and LOTS of lightening. In fact, I was worried that I would get blown away or struck by lightening. Luckily, it didn't start raining until later. In fact, I was thinking it would never get started.
I have a LOT of work to do for class today so . . . I am going to keep this post really short so I get to work.
Meanwhile, I will enjoy the sound of the rain tapping on the roof while I work.
Have a fabulous day!
Trisha
Voice Update: Doing well. While I lay on the exercise ball I do some massage. I haven't been doing as much massage as I should. Nuts!
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Photo Parade!
Hi All!
Before, I had the netting just draped over the pot and, apparently, the birds simply landed on the netting and ate the strawberries through the little holes! Darn birds!
I put a paper plate on the stake about halfway down to hold the netting out from the plants. It is held in place by a rubber band under the plate.
The netting is light and flies around in the wind (it is always windy here!) so I devised some "weights" to hold it down. My weights are made of five nails and a twist tie. The deployment of several of these weights around the perimeter of the pot should (keep your fingers crossed) keep the netting in place. We will see if this plan works to foil the berry munching birds so Hubby and I can get some berries.
Time for a LOT of photos! I was in the mood to "shoot" this morning so . .. here they are!
First up is a view of the new, improved strawberry security system I "installed" last night after finding several almost ripe strawberries had been "sampled" by local birds.
Before, I had the netting just draped over the pot and, apparently, the birds simply landed on the netting and ate the strawberries through the little holes! Darn birds!
I put a paper plate on the stake about halfway down to hold the netting out from the plants. It is held in place by a rubber band under the plate.
The netting is light and flies around in the wind (it is always windy here!) so I devised some "weights" to hold it down. My weights are made of five nails and a twist tie. The deployment of several of these weights around the perimeter of the pot should (keep your fingers crossed) keep the netting in place. We will see if this plan works to foil the berry munching birds so Hubby and I can get some berries.
Speaking of berries . . . there are lots!
See . . . almost ready for dessert!
One of the plants is working on two nice tomatoes. Soon it will be time to net these up against the sinister birds!
Here is the pot of "flowers" I planted. I, being pretty ignorant of plants, didn't know the plant in the center would take over like this. Oh well, it is pretty and blooming its heart out!
These little purple flowers are along the side with some ivy. There is the same plant on the other side of the pot with white flowers. Pretty!
See these colorful pots and the bags of potting soil? This is what made my back very, very angry with me when I moved them (the soil - the pots are plastic and very light). Bad Trisha!
These Bougainvillea are destined to be planted in the colorful pots. Just as soon as I can handle it.
Around the corner of the house, here is my "new" flowerbed. It is looking pretty good from this angle!
The frog and the blue ball are temporary visitors . . . well, maybe temporary! They came to live in the back while the front flowerbeds were being ripped up by the foundation guys. They look like they enjoy this location, don't they?
This plant, which I have already forgotten the name of, is blooming. I think it adds a certain "interest" to my flowerbed with its dark foliage.
See . . . almost ready for dessert!
Moving on . . . here are my tomato plants. They look a bit tattered because they had to weather a cold snap. Poor things.
One of the plants is working on two nice tomatoes. Soon it will be time to net these up against the sinister birds!Here is the pot of "flowers" I planted. I, being pretty ignorant of plants, didn't know the plant in the center would take over like this. Oh well, it is pretty and blooming its heart out!
These little purple flowers are along the side with some ivy. There is the same plant on the other side of the pot with white flowers. Pretty!
See these colorful pots and the bags of potting soil? This is what made my back very, very angry with me when I moved them (the soil - the pots are plastic and very light). Bad Trisha!
These Bougainvillea are destined to be planted in the colorful pots. Just as soon as I can handle it.Around the corner of the house, here is my "new" flowerbed. It is looking pretty good from this angle!
The frog and the blue ball are temporary visitors . . . well, maybe temporary! They came to live in the back while the front flowerbeds were being ripped up by the foundation guys. They look like they enjoy this location, don't they?
This plant, which I have already forgotten the name of, is blooming. I think it adds a certain "interest" to my flowerbed with its dark foliage.
This blurry picture is of the little Hosta that got sat on during the foundation work. It might recover. I think you can . . . . I think you can . . .
Another victim of foundation work, this Hosta came out of it all in a little better shape. It is growing new leaves. Go, Hosta, go!
My Clematis "sisters." One (on the left) is the kind that grows from the old vines every Spring. The tiny one on the right has to grow from the roots. It is trying!
These are my Cone flowers which, until two days ago, were glorious. They were getting tall and I was pretty sure that they were working up to blooming. Then . . . rabbits! The reddish-brown stuff on the leaves is chili powder. I am hoping we don't have rabbits who like spicy food!
In this corner . . . the moon flower trellis just waiting for some sprouts. I don't know if I should give up hope or not . . . .
Well, that is the Photo Parade for today. I hope you enjoyed it!
Another victim of foundation work, this Hosta came out of it all in a little better shape. It is growing new leaves. Go, Hosta, go!
My Clematis "sisters." One (on the left) is the kind that grows from the old vines every Spring. The tiny one on the right has to grow from the roots. It is trying!
These are my Cone flowers which, until two days ago, were glorious. They were getting tall and I was pretty sure that they were working up to blooming. Then . . . rabbits! The reddish-brown stuff on the leaves is chili powder. I am hoping we don't have rabbits who like spicy food!
In this corner . . . the moon flower trellis just waiting for some sprouts. I don't know if I should give up hope or not . . . .
Well, that is the Photo Parade for today. I hope you enjoyed it!
Trisha
Voice Update: Crunchy, crunchy, crunchy! I am working on it but the bad back and stiff neck (yes, still have that!) are making it difficult. Frustrating!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)