Afternoon nectaring

I periodically look down in the garden to see if I can spot any fluttering visitors and on Sunday, I saw this huge Eastern Tiger Swallowtail flitting about. I grabbed the camera and headed down to get some shots of him. When I got down there, I saw that he was not on the butterfly bush, but rather on the Abelia. The afternoon sun was down and the lighting felt perfect for some lovely shots of this beauty. I was not disappointed.

Pretty Pearl

I was getting the mail the other day and watching the flurry of the gazillion Skippers and Buckeyes on my Sedum when I spotted this pretty fellow. I'd never seen him before and he was so fast in spreading his wings, I never could get a good shot from the top of him. I loaded the photos and checked out my county link on Butterflies and Moths of North America and think he is a Pearl Crescent? He was so pretty and so vibrant orange in color and I enjoyed watching him enjoy the bounty of nectar.

I have been assimilated...

Not by the Borg, but by the HTC Droid! It happened innocently enough. Remember when my hard drive died and my beloved iMac was in the hospital for a week? Well, husband had his Droid Incredible... and me? Uh, my LG Chocolate 3? I found myself timidly asking, "Can I borrow your phone to check my blog and email?" And that, my friends, was the beginning of the assimilation.

Up until a year ago or so, I'd never even texted anyone, and didn't understand the need to. Then, I would get a text and need to respond, and had to teach myself how to hit all those key pad strokes repeatedly to reply. It was tedious and not at all enjoyable. Fast forward the end of July. "You know you are due for an phone upgrade, " he said to me with a knowing smile on his face. "You can get your very own HTC Incredible." But I was being Sally the Mule and said, "Oh, I don't know... I'll give it some thought. I'm not sure I need all that capability." We were at the Verizon store a few Saturdays later and there it was, showcased as we walked in the door. "Oh, come on. You know you want one," said my very-sure-of-himself spouse. And so, after I teased him by picking up every basic $49 phone and pretended it would be fine for me, I acquiesced and headed back to the Droid display.

I had to wait for it to be shipped to me two weeks later as they were on backorder, but once it came, there was no looking back. I have technologically arrived people. My tech ho' loaded me up with every "app" he felt sure I could not live without, and soon Sally the Mule was being led down the path willingly. I oooed and I ahhhhed. I now have neat things like iBird Yard Plus loaded to this gizmo, which has 234 bird species with facts and song sounds at my fingertips! And the texting capability! Oh, my. An easy, breezy touch screen that looks just like my computer keyboard.

And so... Sally the Mule is now Carol Merrill... and the HTC Droid is my new best friend!

Sally the Mule

OK, so I'll admit it. I am stubborn and resistant to change. It stresses me to have to learn a new way of doing things when I am comfortable with the old, simple way. I detest having to read a manual to anything. Don't even want to pick one up most times. Nope, I just let hubby read it from cover to cover and then say, "Now, show me how it works." When I find a comfortable, easy way to do something, I am like Sally the Mule when it comes to changing to something else.

Case in point. Cell phones. Give me a basic flip phone that dials numbers and is easy to operate and I am happy. I always said I didn't need any "smart" phone or one that allowed me to check my email or blog just because I could. My husband, on the other hand, who I affectionately call my tech ho', loves new gadgets and gizmos. Oh, give him the latest, greatest anything and he is giddy with excitement and anticipation to see what it can do. And there I am in the corner, protecting my safe, comfortable, old way of doing things with a look of trepidation on my face when he says, "You are going to love this new...!" I feel my stress level rising just with that one comment. "But what's wrong with this one?" I'll whine, "It works just fine for me."

But every now and again, even the mule has to move or be left behind...

To be continued...

Buckeye Bachelor

The Sedum at the mailbox bed was absolutely FULL of Buckeyes yesterday! I counted twenty five at one time, and was fascinated to see the mating dance going on while they were nectaring!

"Hello there young lady!

Do you come here often?

Uh, yes, I know my dress is a bit ragged at the

end of the season, but I'd really love to get to know you better."

"I have many talents!

Watch me flitter all about you as I try to

win your affection!"

"Uh... hey! Where'd you go?"

She flew away to talk to her girlfriends.

Apparently, he just was not impressive enough!

Mrs. Patriel's Treasure

This kind of needlework is almost a lost art. This beautiful wall banner hangs in my foyer and was lovingly created years and years ago by my husband's grandmother, Patriel May Jones Lanier who was born in 1905. She married in 1921 when she was but 16... her husband was 36. It hung in her home for decades, and when she left this earth at the age of 95, my mother-in-law hung it in her home. Back in 2003, when we moved her here to be closer to us before she eventually left us in 2005, it became mine.

I look at it and marvel at the intricate detail and color and wonder how many evenings she sat in front of a fire and worked on it. Click on the collage to enlarge it and see more detail. How long did it take her to create this beautiful work of art? What pride must she have felt when it was all done and then stitched into this banner for her home? Hopefully as much special pride as I feel each time I look at it here in a special place in my own heart and home.

Eating some crow...

(Crow on my driveway... an omen?)

From Wikipedia: "Eating crow (archaically, eating boiled crow) is an English-language idiom meaning humiliation by admitting wrongness or having been proved wrong after taking a strong position. Eating crow is presumably foul-tasting in the same way that being proved wrong might be emotionally hard to swallow. Eating crow is of a family of idioms having to do with eating and being proved incorrect, such as to "eat dirt", to "eat your words", and to "eat your hat" (or shoe)."


Back in February, I posted about social networking sites and how I have avoided the temptation. I had seen MySpace pages of people that were so blatantly "out there" and I knew that I wanted nothing to do with it if that is what it was all about. And so, I had simply sent friends notes telling them I was not on Facebook when I'd get friend requests.

Then, a couple of Sundays ago, our priest announced that our church would now have a presence on Facebook so that we could better communicate as a community. Reluctantly, I signed up to be able to access our church's page. I've spent this week learning the ins and outs of it all, and some of it is still a bit of a mystery to me in terms of how and what people share, but I have to say that in only three or four days, I've reconnected with a friend from nursing school I have not seen in 26 years, and I've also connected with some parents of kids who were diagnosed when Sam was and who were in the trenches with me back in the mid 1990's when information was so scarce. That has been a really nice thing.

I still feel that I am more of a blogging sort, and will continue to have my blog, but Facebook has proven to me that you can't throw the baby out with the bathwater, and I am not above admitting that and eating a little crow today.

Pure Autumn Joy

There are six Autumn Joy Sedum planted at my mailbox bed, and every year I am amazed by the sheer number of Skippers and Buckeyes that are on it when it first starts to come into bloom. It is a flurry of butterfly activity, but also the bumbles love it too, and I was tickled to load these photos this past weekend and see the pink iridescence of the wings of this big, fuzzy guy which played off the pink of the blooms splendidly!

Top soil surprise?

I've noticed in the garden that I had some rather long, tall stalks coming up. Hmmmm... I knew that according to the legend we had, there should only have been Shasta Daisies and Daylilies in this area. What on earth then were these now very tall stalks?

I emailed Janet, my landscape guru, and she emailed me back to say it looks like I may have some wild Goldenrod in my garden. It was probably in the top soil we had brought in when we did the pool fill in and now is growing in preparation for fall blooming! She said, "You can either let it grow, or pull it up." But, wait! Goldenrod is a butterfly magnet. And, the Monarchs are later coming here. What do you think I'll do? Oh, yes... I'll have my camera battery charged and ready. A wonderful top soil surprise indeed!

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Well, I turned off the comment moderation, and a spam

comment was posted. So, for now, I'll just have to live with

comment moderation while Blogger works out the issues.

Can you say YUM?

We don't go out to eat all that often, and when we do, we prefer to go around 3PM or so and eat a late lunch/early dinner. After all the hoopla at the house this past week, hubby told me he wanted to treat me to a nice meal out. We decided to go to a favorite restaurant in nearby City by the River and my mouth was salivating as we headed down the street towards the parking lot. Imagine our chagrin when we saw there was nary a parking spot to be found! They must have been having a big function as it was 2PM and the place was packed. We continued driving.

I got out my phone and went to Yelp! to find someplace else we could try. We crossed the river to the north side and ended up at a restaurant we've been wanting to try. They had their brunch menu going until 3PM, but had selections other than breakfast type offerings. My eye immediately went to the Horseradish Crusted Salmon (also had a Dijon twang) served with Yukon Gold Mashed Potatoes and Braised Red Cabbage. Oh, how I LOVE red cabbage! I managed to snark a few of hubby's asparagus spears as well, and after I started eating this glorious plate, I made myself stop and take a photo. Oh. My. It was so good. I can't even tell you! It almost made all the dust and such worth it... well, almost. Just kidding. The dusting was done and the floors were clean and I had a very full tummy.

We are D-O-N-E

The painters arrived on Tuesday and were not finished until Friday morning. My house has been turned upside down, but now we are done. Whew. Dust covers everything where holes had to be patched and sanded. And, the most talented Bill and his equally talented spouse Linda, sand in-between coats of eggshell paint. Yes, my walls are as smooth as a baby's bottom. Very creamy... ahem... and smooth.

So, in the Master Bath, we replaced the vanity counters with the same quartz as we installed in the kitchen, removed the ginormous wall mirrors over the vanities and replaced them with framed mirrors. We also changed the light fixtures out and changed the chrome plumbing fixtures to a pretty Kohler Devonshire in Brushed Nickel. We removed the fiberglass shower stall and tiled the shower and added a frameless shower door which I adore.

I still have nothing back on the walls, but may just wait and see what I can find to dress it up a bit. Can I just say that it was so lovely to have my bathroom back after weeks and weeks? My bath is my oasis in the evenings and it's so good to finally be done! Don't you just love those creamy walls... pick your battles, Jayne, pick your battles.

~~~~~

I am going to remove comment moderation and see how it goes

now that Blogger seems to be filtering the spam more effectively.

Crossing my fingers!

Glorious Gulf!

I've been watching for the Monarchs in my garden, so when

I saw a splash of orange, I ran down with my camera.

No Monarch, but did find this glorious Gulf Fritillary!

Pick your battles

Along with the process of renovating the kitchen and bath, we decided it was time to put a fresh coat of pain on the walls of the master bath, study, and kitchen. I can paint most any room, but two of the three have vaulted fourteen foot ceilings and well... I am not equipped to do painting at heights. So, we talked with a lovely gentleman who, along with his wife, and one other guy have done some good work at another home. Bill said, "You just call me with your colors. I use Sherwin Williams paint, and I'll run by and pick it up." Okiedoekie. Easy breezy.

That is until hubby and I started trying to agree on colors. I'm thinking that "irreconcilable differences" on a divorce petition really means "just couldn't agree on paint colors." Honestly, we've mulled over tons of choices and everything I liked, he thought was "too gray" and everything he liked, I thought was "too yellow." Sigh. I had seven... count 'em... seven swatches of color on my bathroom wall, and we could not agree on one of them. And why is it that they really never look like they do on the color fan once you get them on the wall? It all depends on the lighting in the room and where in the room you put it as to what it turns out to look like. I have picked up seven pints of paint to try. We look like crazed impressionists with so many different colors on the bathroom wall. Oh, and don't even talk about the study or kitchen. Aaaarrruugghh.

Finally, he looked out at the bedroom and said, "What about that color? I really like that color in the bedroom." It's Sherwin Williams Interactive Cream. So, there I stood with a thousand colors to choose from within the color fan in my little hand and I said, "Fine. That's a great idea." Interactive Cream it will be. All the walls. Interactive Cream. Cream in the bathroom, cream in the study, and cream in the kitchen. I can live with it. I like the color and truthfully, I can't make one more trip to the paint store.

They started painting in the study on Tuesday, and here I am sitting in the floor the next morning having my computer/blogging time surrounded by my newly painted creamy walls. Pick your battles ladies, pick your battles.

The long and short of it

This is currently making the email rounds, but I had not seen it before and was struck by its simple truth when a friend sent it recently:

Bad is easy. Good is hard.

Losing is easy. Winning is hard.

Talking is easy. Listening is hard.

Watching TV is easy. Reading is hard.

Giving advice is easy. Taking advice is hard.

Flab is easy. Muscle is hard.

Stop is easy. Go is hard.

Dirty is easy. Clean is hard.

Take is easy. Give is hard.

Dream is easy. Think is hard.

Lying is easy. Truth is hard.

Sleeping is easy. Waking is hard.

Talking about God is easy. Praying to God is hard.

Watching baseball is easy. Playing baseball is hard.

Holding a grudge is easy. Forgiving is hard.

Telling a secret is easy. Keeping a secret is hard.

Play is easy. Work is hard.

Falling is easy. Getting up is hard.

Spending is easy. Saving is hard.

Eating is easy. Dieting is hard.

Doubt is easy. Faith is hard.

Laughter is easy. Tears are hard.

Criticizing is easy. Taking criticism is hard.

Letting go is easy. Hanging on is hard.

Secret sin is easy. Confession is hard.

Pride is easy. Humility is hard.

Excusing oneself is easy. Excusing others is hard.

Borrowing is easy. Paying back is hard.

Sex is easy. Love is hard.

Argument is easy. Negotiation is hard.

Naughty is easy. Nice is hard.

Going along is easy. Walking alone is hard.

Dumb is easy. Smart is hard.

Cowardice is easy. Bravery is hard.

Messy is easy. Neat is hard.

Poor is easy. Rich is hard.

War is easy. Peace is hard.

Sarcasm is easy. Sincerity is hard.

An F is easy. An A is hard.

Growing weeds is easy. Growing flowers is hard.

Reaction is easy. Action is hard.

Can't do is easy. Can do is hard.

Feasting is easy. Fasting is hard.

Following is easy. Leading is hard.

Having friends is easy. Being a friend is hard.

Dying is easy. Living is hard.

~~Beverly Heirich

Black Swallowtail Progression

From my Sissy, along with these wonderful photos:

"I plant fennel every year because the Eastern Black Swallowtail butterflies use it as a host plant. They will also use Parsley and Rue, but I have the best luck here with fennel. I recently found some caterpillars on the fennel, and I brought them into my butterfly rearing tent. When they are ready to pupate, the caterpillars attach themselves to something, spinning a little silk girdle to hold them in place. The really cool thing is that the color of the chrysalis is influenced by the color of the item to which they attach! Here is a prime example of that. You see that the little chrysalis on the brown stick is brown, while the one attached to the green plant stem is green! How cool is that? Swallowtails are sort of notorious for being unpredictable in terms of the lengths of their pupations. Some of the butterflies will eclose within two weeks of pupating, while others may not eclose for months and months from the pupation date. You just never know with them!"

And here is one that eclosed at her house last season.... beautiful!

And so we turn the page

It was a wonderful day for Sam. He absolutely loved all his presents and my attempt at a layer cake. Hint: Don't try to decorate with cookie icing. Ahem. That's all I'll say about that. Slap a little Blue Bell Vanilla on the plate and it was pretty darn good... so I was told. He helped us sing "Happy Birthday" to himself and smiled with glee at all the DVD's and books he received. The whoopie cushion was not that big of a surprise for him as he'd opened the chattering teeth earlier in the morning and so was probably expecting that skunk. Just the same, our 18th birthday is behind us.

Today, we turn the page. We will be at the county courthouse in Probate Court at 10am to see the judge and watch as he signs off on an petition for our legal guardianship and conservatorship for Sam. I have discussed it all with him, as he has to be there too, and so he understands to the extent that he can, that we need to help him make decisions as an adult. It's another fork in our autism road, but one that does not seem as daunting and throat-gulping as it was a year ago when the conversation started. It just is what it is... onward we'll go as he continues to grow and become the best he can be. Thanks to everyone for all the wonderful birthday wishes yesterday. I showed them to him and he said, "Wow Mom, I'm famous!"

~~~~~~~~~

11:53AM: Thanks to everyone for the good wishes.

We are back home and everything went very well.

We were the only ones in the Judge's courtroom today

and he was very kind indeed.

Onward we go.

Happy 18th birthday buddy...

Today, my baby turns 18 years old. You tower over me. Oh, my. Where has the time gone? We'll have the family over later this afternoon for cake and presents. Won't you be surprised when you open the skunk whoopie cushion and the "chattering teeth" you saw and cackled over at the Cracker Barrel? I am sure they will provide us with days and days of laughter.

I smiled as Dad presented you with your own Norelco Electric Razor the other night and showed you how to shave each day to remove facial fuzz and your little moustache. Yes, you are growing up on us. "Oh my Mom, I'm a man now," you said to me with pride in your now-deep voice after you shaved in the mirror. Yes, you are growing up to be a wonderful young man my son. And we are so very proud of you and all you have accomplished. I noticed my hand is on your heart in this photo Dad took... the joy of you will be in mine always. Happy, happy birthday to you.

Thank you Google

On July 23, I started using the Comment Moderation on my blog due to the incessant posting of spam with embedded soft porn links. I quickly got used to going to my blog intro page and clicking on the "Comment Moderation" option under Posting. On Thursday, I logged in, and it was missing. Gone. Huh?

Then I realized that there was a new "Comments" tab next to posting and clicked on it. My Comment Moderation was now there, along with tabs for Published, Awaiting Moderation, and an inbox for spam comments. I clicked on the "Learn more about Blogger's Spam detection" link in yellow, and lo and behold, was tickled pink to see that they have finally upgraded their ability to filter spam comments! I simply could not figure out why they had not yet done this, and have been both annoyed and mystified to still see those Chinese character comments still showing up, yet awaiting my moderation, even though they'll never make it to my blog. Seriously? You still are leaving those comments... on a moderated blog? Get a life.

So, kudos to Blogger for finally trying to do something about all the annoying spam. We'll see if those filters work. If they do, I can maybe take off the comment moderation.

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Just a bit ago, I checked my Spam inbox, and found these...

Yea! I am encouraged.

Watch out for the big eye

The Common Buckeye is a cool butterfly that probably developed a wonderfully protective coloration to keep predators at bay. The "eyes" look like they belong to a much larger insect and therefore keep some predators thinking that they don't want to tangle with this character. Here's looking at you!

Two for one

As I was walking out to get the mail the other day, I noticed this dragonfly flitting about in the Cherry Laurel. Back in I went to grab my camera yet once I got back outside, all it wanted to do was to sit on the brick of the house. I kept trying to convince it that the Cherry Laurel would make such a nicer backdrop, but it would not listen.

I watched as it flew around the side of the house and decided to follow it to see if it might land on a more photogenic spot. As I rounded the house to the back garden, I saw the one below on the Juniper along the walkway path and started shooting.

When I loaded my photos, I was tickled to see that I captured both a Common Whitetail Dragonfly male below and either a female or an immature male above. I prefer to think it was an immature male as we all know that a female would have been much more cognizant of where she was being photographed. I mean, come on.

Keeping watch

The other morning, it was foggy outside and I was looking at my hummingbird feeder wondering why it still had nectar in it when the feeding activity has been so high recently. Then, I saw him. Perched on one of the bloom stalks from the Hosta in the bed below. Keeping watch. Guarding his feeder from one and all. This little guy was keeping it all for himself and I watched as he ran off all competitors. Time to put up the second feeder.

Well Carolyn... wish I could say that the table was still being shared nicely!

Smart wine tote

Funny thing here in Georgia... you can't purchase any beer or wine on Sunday, but Monday through Saturday, you can shop for wine in your local grocery store or convenient market. I tend to purchase a good bit of our wine at our local Food Lion, and they have quite a nice selection.

On the way home from work Friday, I stopped in to get a few bottles and was pleasantly surprised when the cashier brought out this really neat canvas wine tote in which to place my purchase. Food Lion now offers this reusable tote, which holds six bottles, for their customers to use when shopping there. Putting wine into the plastic shopping bags is always a challenge in terms of clinking and potential breakage, so this was an ingenious idea! Way to go Food Lion! I'll certainly keep it in my car to use when I shop there.

Out of the Lariope

I was sitting here on the computer when I noticed movement under the Lariope which spills out onto the front sidewalk. I picked up my camera and had it aimed just as this baby Mockingbird came marching out looking for mom and breakfast. A few moments later mom came and they flew away together.

My $25 cutting board

Back when we were looking at countertop options, we saw the Toasted Almond color in the Zodiaq Quartz at Lowe's and thought it was the best option. But, seeing a small square of it in the florescent lit store and seeing how it might look in your home are two different things. So, I was delighted to see that on the Dupont website, there was an option to order a sample. We sent off for a 10 x 10 sample so that we might see a piece of the quartz in our home, and it turned out to be a really good investment.

The 10 x 10 sample arrived, weighing 7 1/2 pounds, and we were able to see exactly what it might look like in our kitchen and bath. It was perfect! Now, what to do with that heavy sample? Aha! I went to Lowe's to pick up some other things, and also purchased some of the rubber furniture bumpers. I put them on all four corners and voilà... a new cutting board!

Perfect symmetry

How on earth a caterpillar becomes this...

always amazes me and leaves me in awe of nature.

Master Bath Shower Before/After

My poor Master Bath has been upside down for a week now, but boy, has it been worth it! I've always hated the fiberglass shower stall in there, and cleaning it, along with the door is a nightmare. We've wanted to tile it for a long time, and finally, it is done.

Here is the shower BEFORE:

Here we are during demolition. Amazingly, we found that there was no support wall behind this monstrosity, and Tim had to take most of one day creating a wall in order to nail up the concrete backer board. There's no end to what's hidden behind things in a house!

DURING demolition/wall construction:

Tim finished last night around 7PM, and will be coming back on Monday to seal the tile and put in the brushed nickel fixtures. Isn't it beautiful? I can't even believe the difference!! We'll add a frameless door and our Master Bath shower renovation is done.

AFTER... Tim's artistic creation:

Meeting in the middle

"Excuse me, but do you hear a buzzing sound?"

"Pardon me sir, but I do believe I was nectaring here first."

I was watching yet another beautiful Great-spangled Fritillary when suddenly this Snowberry Clearwing Moth landed on the same flowering branch and started making his way towards the butterfly. They were face to face long enough to capture these fun shots!

Sparrow-speak

As I was walking in the garden, photographing yet more butterflies, I kept hearing the back and forth chatter of two birds in the pine trees behind me. I turned to see the Song Sparrow above perched on the end of a branch chirping away.

He was then answered by another call below him. I had to hunt for the location of the second bird and found that it was directly above me. I aimed my lens straight up with the camera literally resting on my face and got this shot of the other one involved in this back and forth exchange! The expression seemed to say, "Hey, what are you doing down there?"