Once again I've been AWOL for the past three days. Well, I'm always absent on Thursdays since that's my volunteer day and I have no time in the morning and that's when I read and write. Friday we had three major errands to do; stop at Spec's and stock up on liquor on our way into the city to procure a different indulgence and then CostCo to stock up on the stuff we buy there. And yes we did go on the very worst day one can possibly choose to go to CostCo...a Friday (which is bad enough) before a holiday weekend. Yikes! But, you know, CostCo has it down and we were in and out with a minimum wait time.
Yesterday though I went to a baby shower for my great niece, my sister's daughter's daughter. My sister's other daughter is here from Albuquerque visiting her mom so the three of us piled in my name sake's car (Denise's first name is Ellen) and headed to Goliad where the mother to be's mother lives and where the party was held. Vickie, my great niece and her husband live in San Antonio. I got her a baby food grinder so she can make her own baby food. I had one and our kids ate what we ate. This way their food was always fresh, I could control the quality, no chemicals etc. I don't think I ever bought a single jar of baby food, not for at home at any rate. Vickie was thrilled. She also got all the standard baby shower gifts and when little Dean Edward is born in about two months I'll have a great great nephew.
Remember when I remarked that I hadn't seen any squirrels in weeks, maybe even nearly two months? I asked my neighbor Gary if he had seen any yet since we had been talking about their absence previously and he mentioned he had seen one and figured they were coming back since we all had pecans on our trees this year. I looked up a minute ago to see two squirrels in the tallow tree outside my window. Those little fuckers better leave my pecans alone when they have cracked corn and peanuts offered.
It was overcast this morning when I got up, completely different than the clear low humidity blue sky days we've been having, low enough that my lips were starting to feel a bit chapped yesterday. Still cloudy, tall billowing cumulus with enough patches of blue for the sun to come streaming through. Probably still won't rain but at least there's some moisture up there that might want to fall. Still I was out this morning setting and moving the sprinkler around, deadheading the zinnias, and cutting back the very last of the purple coneflowers, cutting down all the volunteer rain trees from around the native peach tree and pulling wild grape vine down and out as best I could as it's starting to reach for the closest pecan tree, no no no no no, and was drenched by the time I came in. I'm going to have to get the ladder to reach the thick vine that is reaching out from the wild space.
Well, I had to bring the bird feeder back in. One or two grackles I can tolerate but now the word went out and there are five or six out there squabbling and tossing seed out left and right, intimidating the other birds. They're still not convinced it's gone, keep flying to the platform it sits on in between hogging the bird bath and splashing all the water out of it. It's like a day at the pool for them.
So now we're to the what's happening in the yard part of the program. My definitely pink new crinum lilies,
the agapanthus (nile lily) that I thought I wasn't going to get any blooms from this year has given me two,
pecans getting bigger on the trees,
and then this happened yesterday while I was gone. Marc was sitting at the dining table where he faces the window looking out over the deck when he heard a big thump, thought a branch had fallen until he looked up and saw that it was a 5' maybe a little bigger rat snake that had fallen out of the yew tree and onto the deck. He took a video through the window of it moving off and, I suppose, under the deck. It's a bit blurry but here's a frame of the video.
Big but harmless to humans. I love those big ole rat snakes. No rats around here. Having lived in an old house for over 40 years in the inner city with rats in the walls, it can live here as long as it wants. I've only seen one snake so far this year, a pretty little ribbon snake. Didn't have my device on me but it moved too fast for a picture anyway.
Was your baby food grinder the Happy Baby Baby Food Grinder? That's what I had. I was just talking about that with Lily the other day. I don't think I ever bought a jar of baby food either. So ridiculous!
ReplyDeleteNice rat snake! I know we have them around because I used to see them in the hen house.
I'm sitting here looking at a wisteria vine that has lassoed a bradford pear. We do live rather parallel lives, don't we? Although I have not seen any grackles. Crows, yes, but they don't ever get on the feeder. The squirrels and possibly the crows have eaten almost every fig on my fig tree. Ah well.
Ooo - those pink new crinum lilies are lovely! Such a pretty pink.
ReplyDeleteOur air conditioner went out yesterday & it was 93 degrees outside at one point. 84 when we went to bed. Oof. I am so spoiled.
That's a big ole rat snake! But yeah, completely harmless and good to have around. Those pink lilies are beautiful!
ReplyDeleteGlad the squirrels have resurfaced, but hopefully they'll avoid your pecans.
You are enlightened indeed, Ellen. If only more people would learn that a snake can be a real help around a house. I don't expect that everyone will suddenly learn to love snakes, but get rid of irrational fear and hate already!
ReplyDeleteExcellent baby gift. The doctor who helped me give birth was Indian from South Africa and he also did all the follow-up during my daughter's first year and said early on, always let her taste your food when she starts to show an interest, you won't make her sick, if the curry's too hot, she'll won't eat it. I tried commercial baby food once while we were travelling and she would not eat it, we tried it ourselves and understood why.
ReplyDeleteIt's such a bummer that those grackles and squirrels won't just go away. I hope they get the message soon that they are not wanted at your bird feeder.
ReplyDeleteI can't imagine what it must sound like to hear a rat snake fall onto your deck.
Your flowers are so beautiful.
I've noticed that our cypress trees are putting on their fruits, too. They must run on the same schedule as the pecan trees. I had a brand new squirrel experience this morning; one showed up at the feeder minus its tail. There was about a two-inch nub left, and that was it. I did some reading about what that means, and it's definitely not good. At least I know a lot more about the tail's function, now. Hard to say whether it will survive, but at least it has shade, food, and water available and doesn't have to forage a good distance for nourishment.
ReplyDeleteDid you get some of the rain that was wandering around? We got about a half inch a couple of days ago, and the gurus say we're in for more come tomorrow and Thursday. I hope so; we need it. The forecast for today is afternoon showers but clear for the fireworks shows. Perfect.
Come to think of it, I haven't noticed any squirrels this year and I am practically in the woods here. Rabbits, deer and signs of a bear or bears, but no squirrels. I wake up to bird song every morning and bumblebees and honey bees are all over my raised beds, No squirrels, though. It has been raining on and off for the past two weeks here, keeping me from playing in the dirt!
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