Buntings

There is a flock of Buntings that have temporarily made their home near my chicken coop. There are approx. 20 of them, with at least 3 brilliant blue (Indigo Buntings) and at least 2 Painted [rainbow] Buntings. And assorted others. They are so gorgeous! I’ll keep putting food out for them and hope they make a home nearby.

Above is a picture of the Rainbow/Painted Bunting. The ones in our yard have a much more vibrant red breast than is shown. The one below is the Indigo Bunting (male). The females seems to be golden, brown with a little blue on them. There are some green ones as well; I am not sure what they are. When they are done annoying our little chicks, they are resting in a nearby Cedar tree.

Roses are Red, and Yellow!

I had to go out this evening and get a couple rose pictures before the deer eat them. The Yellow Rose [Oregold - Hybrid Tea Rose] is just starting to open and I have to move the pot around the yard because this one is especially yummy to the deer. We had it planted in two different places but finally decided to dig it up and place in a pot. Tonite, as I walked out my front door – the deer was about 3 yards and closing on my front drive – determined to get the rose. I chased her off, ran in, grabbed the camera and got my shot just before the sun set. Then I move the bush! Here’s the Yellow beauty:

 

 

Hopefully, the roses will open more tomorrow and not get eaten by the deer. This next rose is just a common climbing red rose, I never looked up it’s name, I call it Meter Man’s Bane, guess why?

Winds of change

I guess what I really want to say is when WILL the winds change. I think so far this has been one of the windiest years I can remember in the 30 years I’ve been in Texas. And believe me, I would know as for years and years I was a sky watcher and wind watcher because of one of my favorite sports – skydiving. But that’s past – I haven’t participated or judged or taught that in over 10 years. Still have fond wishes and ‘what if’ longings though!

What is this wild flower? It smells like heaven!

Thanks to my diligence and the wonder of herbs, my dog’s eye infection is well on the mend. The visit to the vet last week only netted a drop in cash and the advice that we take her to a Vet eye doc and maybe have the eye removed. I think the wind just blew something in it and scratched her and it was just getting infected. I should have taken pictures to show the before and after, but I guess that’s just too gross. Tea compresses, rosemary wipes, saline flushes and so on have done so much in one week. They all even feel good to me. I was looking at a hot tea bag I was getting ready to discard tonite and decided I needed to put it on my eye. What a treat this dog has been getting! The smell, the moist heat, closing the eye for a couple minutes – instant boost. Probably good for my skin too.

This past week is showing everyone’s bad sides and like one of my friends recently said – the wind is making us tired and cranky – it is just wearing us out. And for my gardening friends, and myself, the cold ‘on-again’ & ‘off-again’ isn’t helping. Do we put the plants out? Cover or uncover, heat lamps or not? Plant or don’t plant. It has been crazy. I have radishes the size of golf balls, good onions of every size, collard greens to my knees and at least 8 feet long and more – but can’t risk the tomato, pepper and other seedlings. May as well grow one of the tomatoes in a pot in the house – it’s at least a foot tall and rar-in’ to dig it’s toes in the dirt.

I imagine the little birds and animals are a little confused as well. This AM, when it was 40 degrees out, my poor little hummingbird was visiting one of his feeders. It looked challenging in the wind. In the evenings, we’re always visited by two hummingbird moths as well [two different sizes] and they are confused when we take the lemon tree and move it inside. They aren’t afraid of me anymore and will fluff right up into my face to check my flowered shirt and and make sure I’m not full of nectar.

I heard news last week that my dad is moving to a VA home instead of the very expensive private care facility he is in. The surprising thing is that the VA home is larger, cleaner, more modern and near to a hospital. It seems the care there appears much better too and they have much better therapy facilities. I hope the staff is as caring as some of the VA nurses I know in Texas.

I’m trying to think of good things to say but the ‘whine’ in the back of my brain keeps popping up, so I’ll stop here before I start ranting about my son, my husband, the government, the school systems and everything else. Let me go bury myself in a complicated tax return please!