Today, I put a marker in the garden in memory of Buddy.
Perhaps I should have been committed after the “Buddy incident.” Some seemed to think so. It could be that they viewed this as a sign of senility. It wasn’t. It was Sylvia and me having fun–lots of it. Now it’s over.
I think it’s time to find an itsy bitsy spider . . . Or not.
A couple of days ago, I introduced to Buddy, the hornet who had been living with us for over two weeks. I talked about him being our new pet. Most of you realized that it was all tongue-in-cheek humor. To my delight, you went along and reacted strongly. It was a lot of fun for me, and Sylvia enjoyed it too.
At our Tuesday night small group meeting, I mentioned Buddy. You should have seen the look of horror on the faces of some. Will I ever learn to “zip my lip?”
The Buddy saga has come to an end. Wednesday night I was still awake around 2 AM (that would have been Thursday). Sleep had fled and I walked through the kitchen on the way to the office. That’s when I saw him on the counter. I returned from the office with the camera.
Buddy had expired. There he was beside the container of drink we had prepared for him. Contents were water, vinegar, sugar and a bit of salt. According to an Internet post, it was supposed to kill the likes of buddy. I guess it worked.
The next morning I found a hand-written note from Sylvia. She completed the narrative of this would-be pet.
Thus ends the tale of Buddy. Thanks for enjoying his story with us.
Should I smash the next one that appears?
I first heard of an “incident” on M-66 coming into Ionia. There was a flurry of public safety messages flying through the air waves. Those who were closer to the site, would have seen a column of thick black smoke and heard the sirens.
A large tractor was pulling a load of lime. The operator noticed that there was a “mechanical malfunction” of some sort. He pulled of the highway into a [mostly] empty parking lot. As he got out of the cab, he saw the fire and got to safety. Unfortunately he was a bit too close to the diner. Here are images gleaned from the Web.
Let’s hope that someone had good insurance.
It was about 2 weeks ago when we first saw him. He was on the ceiling. Out of reach. The next day he was on a window. Behind the Venetian blinds. That happened several more times.
A week later, Sylvia said, “If you are going to hang around with us I’ll have to give you a name. I’ll call you Buddy.” That’s how it began.
Is it possible to grow fond of a flying insect with a stinger? I think that’s what’s happening here. Wouldn’t you find a spot in your heart for such a handsome fellow as Buddy?
Buddy’s not a cat or a cute little puppy. He’s not the kind of guy with which you want to cuddle. Still he’s interesting to watch. And he seems to be a very good listener when I talk to him.
Still the question remains. Does a hornet make a good pet?
I’ve been watching for the final daffodil variation. They have finally opened.
They may be a bit plain, but I enjoy them–a lot. It adds a nice contrast to the garden.
Coming soon will be the tulips. Those lips are already puckered. About to kiss the world and blossom forth.
Those pix were taken yesterday (Sunday) afternoon. This morning, I went out to check progress. This is what I found.
Yes, It is the same tulip. Only the shoot angle has been changed to please the photographer. And there was another that hadn’t even started to open yesterday.
Rain and possible thunderstorms are forecast for this afternoon. We’ll see.
They may look like this:
The image is of the road in front of our house. It looks like I’ll never have a clean car again. Ever!
The roads looked like this until the county road grader made it flat again. That lasted almost two day. Then rain returned, and once again it looked like the image.
The county workers returned later and now the road is in good condition. I like it like that. Wouldn’t you?
Until the other day, the only daffodils that I saw in the flower beds were the dark yellow variety. Then these with lighter petal appeared.
Hiding, almost out of sight, I found these.
Oh, yes! Aren’t they beauties? There’s still another variety, but it usually appears later than the rest. Okay by me. That stretches out the beauty.
As I sat at the breakfast table this morning, I finally saw him. I’d been hearing his song for the last week or so, which meant he was close, but not visible. The bright red of the cardinal sitting on the garden fence caught my eye. I was glad to see him.
As the cardinal left, a robin landed on the lawn near our window. He would do his bob, bob, bobbing along routine, then stop, cock his head to one side and get a little closer to the ground. Then he’d pop back up, bob, bob, stop, tilt head, peck at the grass and come up with something to eat. I watched, enjoying the show until he flew off on another errand.
These are good days.
The miniature daffodils are in bloom. They are really neat.
A regular size daffodil puts the miniatures in scale.
Thus far only the dark yellows have blossomed. We have some other shades, but they tend to blossom a little later. I’ll keep watching.
Warm weather is now with us. That’s kind of nice. It means that it’s time to get outdoors and do some work on lawn and garden.
That’s a good thing. Not only does it feel good, but it also helps one to sleep better at night.
It happened when it was not expected. With my hands full of fallen branches, I was headed toward the brush pile when I saw them. Enthralled, I watched them as they tried to hide in the afternoon shadows. Assured they would be there in the morning, I returned after breakfast the next day and captured this image.
Content to bask in the sun in their home on the lawn.
Last year, Sharkey told us what these are called. I failed to make a note. :no: These are beautiful spring flowers. Fortunately, there are more this year than there were last year. When mowing, I’ll skip this part of the grass while they are in bloom.
I wanted to get better acquainted and so moved closer. They posed nicely for their close-up.
These delicate beauties are about thumb-nail size.
Spring snows are gone. Warmer temperatures are taking control. Life is good.
Happiness is . . .
That last one happened to me today. I’ve been pain free for a week and neither cold nor tapping elicited feelings of pain or discomfort. So it’s, “Let’s wait and see what happens.” I’m good with that.
What makes you happy.