I've been doing some reading and thinking, which is moving my mind in a new direction. So for the next little while, you probably won't see me here. (I'll likely do a bit of reading and commenting, but not a lot.) I'm not running away, I just need some time to reflect and meditate out in my Celtic Grove.
If I don't show up in a week or so, May-B, "Cheerful" Jane, and CJ from Northumberland have my permission to send their respective dogs (Montel, Charlie, and Sparky) to hunt me down.
Showing posts with label Celtic Grove. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Celtic Grove. Show all posts
Monday, April 20, 2009
FOR THE BIRDS
Now that the front yard is done more or less done, it's time to switch to the real action -- the back yard. (The vines at the front will need a bit of trimming, but that will take about five minutes, because most of it was looked after last fall.)
The back yard has two major functions. My Celtic Grove is back there -- a place built for reading and meditation. (When I figure out how to put pictures in my posts, I'll send some along.)
The second function is to provide a place of food, water and sanctuary for birds of all types (more or less).
Usually the Dark-Eyed Juncos are the first to arrive in the spring. But so far, we've seen only one; strange there haven't been more. Not only that, our first Robin of the season arrived a week ahead of the Junco.
Clarification about Robins. The Robin of Great Britain is about 5 inches long, with olive brown upper parts, and red face, throat and breast, with a white belly. The American Robin, a member of the Thrush family, is about 11 inches long, with a black head and throat (and a white eye ring), lighter black upper parts, and red which covers both breast and belly. While the American Robin was named after its British counterpart, that's were the similarity ends.
A particular male Robin has taken a liking to a yard, and is hanging out fairly regularly. The house across our back lane has a turret (really!) which provides "high ground" and a good view of the whole neighbourhood. In a week or so, I expect this chap will be sitting on the turret singing his heart out. And, bye and bye, there will be a female, gathering grass and mud, to build a nest in a more discreet location, and then -- well, you know.
In the meantime, we need to clean and re-mount the three nesting boxes we have. We have drippers (which supply drips of waters to our bird baths, thus keeping the water fresh) that have to be re-conected and tested. And rather than have cement walkways through the garden, we cover our walks with large bark chips -- so we'll need to get another bag or two of those.
Then we wait and see who shows up, and what starts growing, and try to get things tidied up before the mosquitos come and drive us inside. The only reason I can think anything good about mosquitos is that they provide excellent fed for may birds, as well as bats. (You see, I try to find a positive angle for everything -- well, almost.)
G3 has begun reorganizing the inside of the house, but that's going to have to wait for a few days. She's doing a presentation on helping families cope with dementia (particularly Alzheimer Disease) -- something on which she's been working for about 20 years. (I'm her technical assistant: I help set things up and operate the equipment.) Then we'll attend to the garden. And when the mosquitos get to bad, we'll work inside. There is a system!
And as I am slowly starting to feel a bit stronger, there may be other inventive things into which I can get myself.
I do hope you all have a wonderful spring (or autumn for those of you who live in Australia or thereabouts).
The back yard has two major functions. My Celtic Grove is back there -- a place built for reading and meditation. (When I figure out how to put pictures in my posts, I'll send some along.)
The second function is to provide a place of food, water and sanctuary for birds of all types (more or less).
Usually the Dark-Eyed Juncos are the first to arrive in the spring. But so far, we've seen only one; strange there haven't been more. Not only that, our first Robin of the season arrived a week ahead of the Junco.
Clarification about Robins. The Robin of Great Britain is about 5 inches long, with olive brown upper parts, and red face, throat and breast, with a white belly. The American Robin, a member of the Thrush family, is about 11 inches long, with a black head and throat (and a white eye ring), lighter black upper parts, and red which covers both breast and belly. While the American Robin was named after its British counterpart, that's were the similarity ends.
A particular male Robin has taken a liking to a yard, and is hanging out fairly regularly. The house across our back lane has a turret (really!) which provides "high ground" and a good view of the whole neighbourhood. In a week or so, I expect this chap will be sitting on the turret singing his heart out. And, bye and bye, there will be a female, gathering grass and mud, to build a nest in a more discreet location, and then -- well, you know.
In the meantime, we need to clean and re-mount the three nesting boxes we have. We have drippers (which supply drips of waters to our bird baths, thus keeping the water fresh) that have to be re-conected and tested. And rather than have cement walkways through the garden, we cover our walks with large bark chips -- so we'll need to get another bag or two of those.
Then we wait and see who shows up, and what starts growing, and try to get things tidied up before the mosquitos come and drive us inside. The only reason I can think anything good about mosquitos is that they provide excellent fed for may birds, as well as bats. (You see, I try to find a positive angle for everything -- well, almost.)
G3 has begun reorganizing the inside of the house, but that's going to have to wait for a few days. She's doing a presentation on helping families cope with dementia (particularly Alzheimer Disease) -- something on which she's been working for about 20 years. (I'm her technical assistant: I help set things up and operate the equipment.) Then we'll attend to the garden. And when the mosquitos get to bad, we'll work inside. There is a system!
And as I am slowly starting to feel a bit stronger, there may be other inventive things into which I can get myself.
I do hope you all have a wonderful spring (or autumn for those of you who live in Australia or thereabouts).
Saturday, April 18, 2009
SHOPPING AND SPRING CLEANUP -- %^@[°›⁄
Well, the snow finally disappeared today, leaving behind a multitude of junk on our lawn -- bottles, cigarette buts, candy wrappers, cigarette packages, etc. Most, I think, are from the "customers" of our neighbours across the street. A far as we can tell (and by "we" I mean me and the other neighbours at this end of block), the folks across the street are dealing drugs. Aside from the garbage, we haven't really had any problem. In fact the father/grandfather/patriarch of the family and I have delightful chats we see each other on the street. Our City Councilor, however, is well aware of the situation, which may lead to some intervention on the part of the local constabulary. (Heavy on the MAY.) In the meantime, it's "Que shiraz, shiraz," as Wendy put it so delightfully.
Before I did that raking, thought, I had to pick up a few things at the grocery and some air filters for our forced air furnace. Which meant traveling to a multitude shops -- nobody has all the things you need in one place. I was gone for so long that G3 was beginning to be a bit concerned about what happened to me.
Anyhow, I got a bit of the front yard raked before my body gave out, and I lugged my "collection" to the big trash bin in the back lane. After that I came in, exhausted, and slept of about five hours (a common occurrence in many of my afternoons).
Perhaps in the next day or two I'll be able to finish raking the front lawn, and be able to turn my attention to the gardens (front and back) and my "Celtic Grove" -- my sanctuary space.
Hope spring is a joy for all of you, my mates. What are some of your favorite spring projects?
Before I did that raking, thought, I had to pick up a few things at the grocery and some air filters for our forced air furnace. Which meant traveling to a multitude shops -- nobody has all the things you need in one place. I was gone for so long that G3 was beginning to be a bit concerned about what happened to me.
Anyhow, I got a bit of the front yard raked before my body gave out, and I lugged my "collection" to the big trash bin in the back lane. After that I came in, exhausted, and slept of about five hours (a common occurrence in many of my afternoons).
Perhaps in the next day or two I'll be able to finish raking the front lawn, and be able to turn my attention to the gardens (front and back) and my "Celtic Grove" -- my sanctuary space.
Hope spring is a joy for all of you, my mates. What are some of your favorite spring projects?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)