Shrub running amok,
an aggressive takeover.
The elegant brute.
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garden
Take my garden, please
If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.
~ Marcus Tullius Cicero
I put three hours into my garden today and it still looks like Flora Run Amok. Right about now I’d welcome a garden abduction.
Asters take up a lot of garden real estate and don’t bloom for a very long time, but when they do, they are lovely. (I can admit that. I’m not a monster.)
Now off to read a book from the library . . .
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Micromanaging my emotions
When I get frustrated and angry it sometimes helps to focus on something else, preferably something pleasing and/or interesting to look at. Something with different colors and textures, sizes and shapes, and quality of light. 
Something that reminds me of my tiny role in the universe.
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Winging it all back home*
House Finch perched on top of feeder pole.
We’re still way below our usual numbers, but birds are starting to show up at the feeder again. However, many seem to prefer the top of the pole to the actual feeder dish.
Baby steps…
(* apologies to Dylan fans for the very bad pun)
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My gift to you
Flowers always make people better, happier, and more helpful;
they are sunshine, food and medicine for the soul.
~Luther Burbank
You’re welcome.
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If you move it, they will come
For years our main bird feeder hung off a branch near the trunk of our red maple. We had a great view from our dining room window and spent many happy hours watching the birds. The good news is our maple tree has thrived in our yard (our one and only true success with planting trees at this house), but the bad news is that we could no longer see the feeder due to all the growth.
Out of sight equaled out of mind, and filling the feeder became hit and miss. For the most part, the birds gave up on us.
Today we purchased a feeding pole and moved the feeder to its new location outside the other dining room window.
The feeder is now located next to the stump from the ash tree that resided there before succumbing to our bad tree juju.
The feeder is now also located close to where our bird bath was situated. We foolishly left our heated bird bath out there all season and it fell victim to the same hail storm that destroyed our roof. We were (and still are) sure there’s another unheated bird bath somewhere in this house, but we’ve been unable to find it. So today we finally caved in and bought another one (which Zippy insists means we will find the missing bath), and set it up on the patio.
The insurance company is replacing our heated bath, but we won’t put that one out until the temperatures drop.
Now all that’s left to do is sit back and wait for the birds to find us again.
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Tracy Abell 