What are you up to?

[OliveOyl]

A Skunk Cabbage Memory Story

Behind our house…bunches of them lived in the swampy end of Lake Tiogue. They grew alongside the lily pads and green algae and a rotten stump that had a bird’s nest. I took the eggs out and brought them home. I hope I returned them at least, but I probably didn’t. Once a water moccasin slithered out of this creepiness. Uncle Louie saw it from our house next door. He ran across the backyard with a garden hoe and yelled, “head toward the house NOW!” We jumped off the swings and ran. But we didn’t know why. Until we turned around. We watched as he chopped the snake to death with the hoe.

The End

 

[Terri]

A Skunk Cabbage Memory Story

Behind our house…bunches of them lived in the swampy end of Lake Tiogue. They grew alongside the lily pads and green algae and a rotten stump that had a bird’s nest. I took the eggs out and brought them home. I hope I returned them at least, but I probably didn’t. Once a water moccasin slithered out of this creepiness. Uncle Louie saw it from our house next door. He ran across the backyard with a garden hoe and yelled, “head toward the house NOW!” We jumped off the swings and ran. But we didn’t know why. Until we turned around. We watched as he chopped the snake to death with the hoe.

The End

Eek! I'd remember that deadly snake, too, as well as my deadly Uncle Louie and his hoe!

 

[Artyczar]

Poor snakey.

 

[snoball]

A Poor snakey died here yesterday too, a copperhead, right after it bit one of my little dogs.

 

[OliveOyl]

Oh no…is your dog okay??! Isn’t a copperhead a serious, hardcore snake? Did you chop it to death with a garden hoe?

Speaking of hoes…last night, while trying to find some good weeding tools, I stumbled upon hula hoes! Never heard of them before and so ended up watching way too many videos of people using them. I was fascinated how they’re sort of like horse stirrups but with metal teeth that allow you to rip those weeds straight out of their hidey holes, without breaking your back.

Yikes. We’re touching on some nightmarish things here…attacking snakes, killer hoes, skunky cabbage, weeds and holes and swamps and scary teeth.

 

[Triduana]

I've just been standing in my back garden watching the show ...

 

[Bongo]

there is a chance - due to a meteor storm that we might see some here tonight in Seattle.

 

[brianvds]

I've just been standing in my back garden watching the show ...

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View attachment 40461

Now that's one thing I'll likely never get to see in person...

 

[Artyczar]

Hannah was supposed to wake me up last night to see it, but I just got up this morning and have no memory of it, so I don't think it happened. I'm sure she got to see it though.

 

[Rich53]

Now that's one thing I'll likely never get to see in person...

Not even the aurora australis?

 

[Rich53]

Hannah was supposed to wake me up last night to see it, but I just got up this morning and have no memory of it, so I don't think it happened. I'm sure she got to see it though.

I've kinda given up on nighttime astro-phenomena. I'd get all excited about something, only to have a cloud cover! And this happened often enough for me to note a pattern.
The mid-teens solar eclipse was almost interesting, but I took more photos of the eclipse watchers than of the event itself. Same for the one this year...

 

[Terri]

We had cloud cover, too - though it was supposedly intermittent enough that some people got some shots. As much as I love these celestial gifts, I'm not motivated to stay up to the wee hours if it's not a slam-dunk chance. Lazy girl here.

This month is flying by for me. My brother was in town for 5 days, lots of visiting and going out to dinner. I've been gardening but am about done for the season, aside from getting a couple more herbs.

I'm also in the middle of physical therapy for an apparently strained iliotibial (IT) band, which isn't as much fun as it sounds. Bastards are making me do all kinds of awful things with stretch bands around my ankles, leg lifts, etc. But hopefully it will help my aching knees. I'm in it until at least the middle of June. Ugh!

 

[Donna T]

I’m sorry to hear you have to go for PT because of your IT bands, Terri. I had to do the same several years ago and only recently wore out one of the bands because I try to keep up with the exercises that helped my hips and knees the most. Are you doing the ones called clamshells too? I just bought a soft soccer ball at a yard sale so I can do the one where you put the ball on your back and roll up and down the wall. I hope the exercises help you!

 

[Terri]

I’m sorry to hear you have to go for PT because of your IT bands, Terri. I had to do the same several years ago and only recently wore out one of the bands because I try to keep up with the exercises that helped my hips and knees the most. Are you doing the ones called clamshells too? I just bought a soft soccer ball at a yard sale so I can do the one where you put the ball on your back and roll up and down the wall. I hope the exercises help you!

Thank you, Donna! I'll probably end up getting one of those bands, too, and integrating it into my usual practice. You picked off one of them, that clamshell seems so simple but hurts like a mutha when you're all out of whack, as I am. It's one thing of many.

I hope to get on the other side of this round of PT without being urged to extend it. It's not too big a deal, this is a MUCH better group than others I've had - but it's the time commitment I can do without, frankly. Hard to get anything started when it's still ongoing. I'm a very impatient patient.

In other news, my new plantings have been going like gangbusters so it's very pleasant to be on my back porch right now. The pair of mallards who hung out with us last year have returned, and are quite comfortable. I put down a large terra cotta saucer in the shade and keep it full of water, and toss out cracked corn. I shake the paper cup when I'm approaching and they hustle over to me, quacking and waddling and being generally adorable. They'll be off to nest within the next few weeks, so I am enjoying them while they're here.

Here they are in one of their favorite shady spots. You can hardly make out Daisy - mother nature providing camouflage.

 

[Dave Woody]

I was invited to go up into Heathrow Airport's Control Tower last week....Wow, crazy lucky chance!

It isn't something money can buy, so, it is very special to have been invited.

Despite the panoramic views and the unbelievable quiet of the place, what really stood out was that our host, Richard, an airtraffic controller himself, was always two steps ahead of us when explaining answers to questions about: go-arounds; emergencies; delays; stand allocation changes; fuel spillages; holding patterns; weather issues and the like.

He was someone who knew how to resolve your problems before you had even told them you had one.

 

[brianvds]

Not even the aurora australis?

Alas, I'm likely too far north for it. The kind of solar storm that would push it to this latitude might also knock out civilization, so I should be careful what I wish for.

 

[Triduana]

That's very cool, Dave! Envious.

 

[brandireynoldsart]

I'm in southeastern oklahoma so lately we've been dodging hail, flash flooding and tornadoes. So far we've been super lucky and our area has not been hard hit (mostly heavy rain/some hail, but the worst weather/tornadoes have missed us) but yikes. I drove through some of the sketchiest weather I've seen in a while to get home from work yesterday.

 

[Marc]

A bit late to post these, but anyway.

 

[snoball]

Oh no…is your dog okay??! Isn’t a copperhead a serious, hardcore snake? Did you chop it to death with a garden hoe?

Speaking of hoes…last night, while trying to find some good weeding tools, I stumbled upon hula hoes! Never heard of them before and so ended up watching way too many videos of people using them. I was fascinated how they’re sort of like horse stirrups but with metal teeth that allow you to rip those weeds straight out of their hidey holes, without breaking your back.

Yikes. We’re touching on some nightmarish things here…attacking snakes, killer hoes, skunky cabbage, weeds and holes and swamps and scary teeth.

Yes, O.O, the snake died a gruesome death. Dog is fine now, just a couple of bad days with pain, shaking, and swelling. Vet told me to give her Benadryl and that was it. Yes, Copperhead bites can be serious, even deadly, but not always. A couple of days later I killed a huge one in my chicken house. That makes just almost 200 since we've lived here.