Has She Gone Bonkers....

.......flipped out, gone over the edge, lost it, el wacko? Springtime has its challenges... time to take on forces beyond my control.....what does this all mean?  How to maintain one's sanity....? 

This calls for homemade, drastic measures...like a cup of this, a quart of that, a swirl of blue...some tape, 2 meat forks and scissors. 

     

An invasive, nasty weed takes over the rock covered yards in the neighborhood.  Rather than use commercial weed killer I have found the homemade formula is very effective and safe for all concerned....unless you happen to be a weed....hee, hee....

A few days ago it was time to turn mad scientist and mix up a batch.  Then surprise attack the weeds....

It was also time to turn mad inventor....they say necessity is the mother of invention....well this mother got inventive...the fellow who takes care on my little front lawn said it needed to have holes poked in it because the ground was hard, clay-like dirt.  He could rent a machine and "aerate" it.  That would cost me $40.  OR, I could use something sharp and work it up myself.  It would take about an hour, he said.    

How to make such a clever devise? 
 2 meat forks, a pole with nothing attached and some blue tape, it would seem....
That part about the procedure taking an hour?...don't believe him.   It was too much like hard work for me to do more than a small area at one time....


Now the rest of the story.   I did a few sections over the next 3 days and then the blue tape came unglued.  My newly invented gadget sat in the house while I had the intention to eventually use stronger tape and go out to finish the task.  Yesterday, early in the morning, I heard a loud noise which I thought was in my yard.  Sure enough, the lawn man was there mowing at 8:15....early for me.   I went out to complain to him about the poor condition of the lawn.  He replied that the rubber chips around the trees were scattered in the grass messing things up and the lawn needed aerating and fertilizing.  After I was back inside I observed he had a machine that was thumping across my yard.   He had brought his aerating machine and was pulling up 1/2 inch "plugs" of dirt with it.  Guess my bill will be $40 more this  month.  But, hey, that's OK.  My meat forks can go back to passing the meat....after I wash them.  The End.

Not the end of the yard story....my Japanese maple needed its nose hairs trimmed.  And a hair cut so it is more cultivated and cultured.... 
no hair cut yet, but shading a bunny.... one of many who enjoy nibbling the grass....and leaving poops for a tip....


                  

    When is a wreath more than a wreath? 
It all started late one evening in  early April. I came home with groceries and left the front door open as I carried in the bags.  Suddenly a bird  was frantically flying around in the room and crashed onto the floor behind some guitars. It was chirping with a concerned bird who was outside but close by.  Oh, Oh...how to get her out.  Dusk had set in so I turned off the inside light, turned on the porch light and closed the inner door as I left the room.  Hopefully it would find its way out.  Thankfully when I checked a short while later, it was gone.  Several occasions after this as I would walk out the studio door, across the front deck to the steps leading down to the sidewalk, a wisp of bird flight would startle me.  I started wondering where the little creature was coming from.  The roof? The window seal?  As spring went on the chorus of finches could be heard most of the day.  Tiny birds would flutter about.  Often one or two would land on the deck railing.  On one occasion there were 2 flitting around....Oops, flirting around!  They landed on the rain gutter next door and soon found opportunity for some little bird kissing....(not that I was snooping on them). 

Some days after, I heard noises on the deck, looked out and saw a bird sitting in the center of the wreath....I figured the happy couple had built a nest in the back of it.  However several weeks elapsed absent of little birds.  I supposed that they had moved on because of the constant activity on the deck.  But!  A couple days ago I hosed down the deck.  Out of curiosity I got a chair to take a peek to see if they had, indeed, built a nest and then abandoned it.  To my surprise, (and the little bird mum) there was a bird sitting, then streaking away.  There, exposed to me and my camera, was a nest lined with soft feathers surrounding a tiny blue egg! (the weird looking stuff is a piece of twine weaved into the nest along with thin fresh vines).  

I was concerned that washing down the side of the house and me being nosy ruined their hard work. But for the next few hours a small bird flitted around, twittering in a concerned tone. Occasionally a red breasted one would land on the railing, chirping frantically. Something (or someone) had disrupted their peaceful life.  Forever?   Eventually,  I saw a head looking out from the back of the wreath.  Mama bird came home!
NOT the end....

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I was happily surprised with a happy surprise this past week!  But I can't tell you about the surprise right now.  You all come back and keep checking for the happy surprise I will surprise you with ...sometime!

This has been a good 21 "has she gone bonkers" days in the life of Grandma G.

"A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones."  (Proverbs 17:22)