A little slice of Paradise

 We had a busy weekend of chores, a lot of yard work to reestablish the lawn after a busy winter of voles tunneling hither and yon.  The Spousal Unit takes a lot of pride in his grass, and I finally have him onboard with organic treatments and an electric mower.  He unplugged the sediment from our pond and has the pump running again for our little water feature.  Stanley and Stella have returned to their private Golden Pond despite my warning about sharing with us.  The lily of the valley bloomed and has such wonderful perfume, the wood violets have spread from a tiny clump I transported from my parents home before it was sold, and now covers the wild part of our yard.  Our golden raindrops flowering crab tree was spectacular, and absolutely covered with bees!  I was so excited to see their busy activities, and hope it is an omen of the bees recovery.  We tore up old plants that had been bred with neonincotinoids and replanted with healthy specimens that have no insecticide.  I was mortified that the very things intended to nurture the bees and butterflies were actually poisoning them.

There is such a ripple effect for all that we do to our natural world, it all has consequences.  Our yard is where the birds come for their natural diet, under the leafy loam hide their bugs and grubs.  The ducks and geese are welcome, and they find cover from the eagles and hawks in the undergrowth.

I watched either a hawk or an osprey swoop down and scoop up a large fish, and then sit on a branch in a tree to enjoy a meal.  Tracks in the shore show a martin or fisher has been there, and the usual posse of raccoons as well.  After a rainy Sunday the temperatures plummeted over 30 degrees, it is windy and just plain cold today, which encouraged me to plunge into some good old fashion housekeeping, nothing like the arrival of first time guests to get the mop and dust cloths flying!

Time to dig out the recipe files and get the shopping list for dinner's pulled pork sandwiches and baked french toast for the next morning.  One lesson my mother imprinted on me was always have a clean home, and never send a guest away hungry for either food or your pleasure in their company.

Our son has established a tower of critters in his home, positioned to keep watch on the comings and goings on his street.  Miscreants had best beware, there's some serious demands for pettings in that house.  Mac appears to be wearing a feathered headdress, but the son says there are toys affixed to the structure and he is merely posed by one.  The top perch is occupied by cat Raleigh, on the lowest platform is the wee Yorkie, Rocky (as in Balboa of Philly fame).  He may be small in stature but has the heart of a lion.  Rocky also has a bit of gender and species confusion, he presents himself to the cats for affection.  They have, so far, declined to become romantically involved.

Namaste