Sunday, April 30, 2017
Saturday, April 15, 2017
Walking Iten's Acres: The Daffodil Walk April 14, 2017
A Good Friday walk through The Acres: A daffodil walk--
Wednesday, April 12, 2017
Walking Iten's Acres: The Loves of Springtime April 12, 2017
Things I love about The Acres in springtime:
1. Walks in a soft rain
2. The harmonious cacophony of bird song
3. Hundreds and hundreds of daffodils trumpeting and dancing around the pond, in the wildest of the wild area, on the fringes of the trees, and along the margins of the meadow--yellows, reds, pinks, oranges, whites rejoicing in sunlight or shade.
4. The grape hyacinth--even the non-grape colored ones. They start out with only a single bloom, and then year-by-year grow into beautiful bouqets.
5. Walking in a slow circle around the pond enjoying the antics of the goldfish, turtles, and their fussy protectors the red-winged blackbirds.
6. Surprises--new Lenten roses showing up in the woods, the resurrection of a scarlet crab apple, tulips blooming where the squirrels transplanted them. Forgotten and lost by the tree rats, they perform their lustreous duty and beautify their new place.
7. The anticipation of iris time
8. Shadow following me everywhere, rubbing against my leg if I pause in my journey; Psycho following at a distance curious but too afraid to trust the human up close. The Boss watching everything from the doorwindow preparing her lecture for when I return inside.
9. The physical labor and its glorious tiredness
10. Sitting in the chair by the doorwindow watching the day fade into twilight and then darkness. Or watching the darkness succumb to the light of a new day.
11. Honey bees
12. Memories--Mom in her hat sitting on the patio, granddaughters ringing the bell, family and friends stopping by to visit and walk--the invisible is always so visible at The Acres
13. Sitting on the green--now faded--throne at the top of the hill watching life filling up The Wild Area.
14. Goldfinch colorizing
15. Accidental visits--red-headed woodpeckers, yellow warblers, indigo buntings, Baltimor orioles, mallard ducks
16. The return of the hummers
17. The wind moaning to announce the arrival of a new spring thunderstorm
18. Planting the future
19. Clouds racing furiously or meandering almost imperceptibly across a bright blue sky
20. The inescapable heart of gratitude for the gift of such a place on earth for a chubby old bald guy to enjoy near the end of his journey Home.
Sunday, April 2, 2017
Today at Iten's Acres: Day Last April 2, 2017
Day Last is here. Tomorrow I will be blessed with the presence of the Seniors. Yes, I will have a little bit of The Acres withdrawal. The Homesteader will
have to get use to not being able to boss me all day long. The Posse
and my Feathered Friends will only get a morning glimpse. This morning
was a struggle physically, but by four this afternoon, I felt strong
enough to do a little "work." Therapeutic. And, trust me, just a
little. Three surprises today--the Asian lily seemed
unimpressed by the frost; a Louisiana iris that i thought was just a
memory is coming up; and the big one--when I moved here there was a
gorgeous deep red crab apple up by the house. A vine choked it out, it
was cut down. Guess what sent up a shoot of life this spring? Yep, if I
live to be eighty, the beauty will be back. Well, it will be back
either way, but, Lord willing, I may get to see it bloom again. My
Gardening Angels are the best.
A baseball note: if the Cards win tonight I'll be happy; if the Cubs win tonight, Brad will be happy. It's a win-win for the old man..
A baseball note: if the Cards win tonight I'll be happy; if the Cubs win tonight, Brad will be happy. It's a win-win for the old man..
Today at Iten's Acres: Day Eight April 1, 2017
Day Eight: Two days and I'm back with the kids. Hope they are ready for the final stretch!
I finished my big project--so that feels good. Still tons of things to do. Could still use a chain saw expert/weed whacker expert. Anyone need a little part-time work? It was wet today--the pond keeps getting deeper. I wonder if goldfish like rain? They weren't very active today. Psycho was the humor for the day--sitting on the side of the pond trying to decide if those little red things were edible and worth getting wet for. I think he/she wimped out.
I have a few more flower shots for you from the second half of the week--more hyacinth and daffodils primarily. Most things are running a week to ten days behind last year's bloom time. No rush. I can wait! I can be patient once in awhile.
I finished my big project--so that feels good. Still tons of things to do. Could still use a chain saw expert/weed whacker expert. Anyone need a little part-time work? It was wet today--the pond keeps getting deeper. I wonder if goldfish like rain? They weren't very active today. Psycho was the humor for the day--sitting on the side of the pond trying to decide if those little red things were edible and worth getting wet for. I think he/she wimped out.
I have a few more flower shots for you from the second half of the week--more hyacinth and daffodils primarily. Most things are running a week to ten days behind last year's bloom time. No rush. I can wait! I can be patient once in awhile.
Saturday, April 1, 2017
Homesteader Update: Petting Strategies March 30. 2017
Day Seven: Catonese manual on ensuring that the human pets you at the times required in the Universal Manifesto.
1. When human stretches out in the recliner to gaze at the coming thunderstorm, jump into his lap, stretch full length, and watch with him glancing back on occasion to be sure he understands that it's time to pet you.
2. When human is in said recliner and reading the paper or a book, jump up on either arm, stare so he knows to listen, explain to him his obligations, stick nose under paper or book until it is lifted, plop in the lap, move around a bit as if getting comfortable, do so until the paper is completely abandoned, then lie on his chest. He will only have one option. And when ready, be sure to be the one that initiates the leaving of the lap. Jump down, smirk, say a word or two in Catonese, and stroll away--slowly, tail raised high.
3. When human is heading up the stairs, sit right in the middle so he can't get by without petting you. Then, sprint to the top of the stairs and repeat the blockade. This strategy works well when human comes in from outside as well. Sit right in the middle of the doorway. A neat trick is to stand up on your back legs so he can pet you. He'll think it's cute and you'll get your exercise.
4. At night when he tries to escape his responsibility by climbing in bed and turning out the lights, start at one end of the house and meow all the way to the foot of the bed. Leap up and stick your nose right in his face. Petting will be mandatory. If he tries to assert his independence and roll over. Plop down noisily, meow under the bed as you saunter to the other side, hop up again, face to face. On occasion apply this tactic in the middle of the night just so he understands that his sleep is not nearly as important as your spoiling.
5. If worse comes to worse, say, he walks in the house with his hands full. flop on the floor, put your paw on your forehead, and pet yourself. Marvelous guilt trip for the old geezer.
1. When human stretches out in the recliner to gaze at the coming thunderstorm, jump into his lap, stretch full length, and watch with him glancing back on occasion to be sure he understands that it's time to pet you.
2. When human is in said recliner and reading the paper or a book, jump up on either arm, stare so he knows to listen, explain to him his obligations, stick nose under paper or book until it is lifted, plop in the lap, move around a bit as if getting comfortable, do so until the paper is completely abandoned, then lie on his chest. He will only have one option. And when ready, be sure to be the one that initiates the leaving of the lap. Jump down, smirk, say a word or two in Catonese, and stroll away--slowly, tail raised high.
3. When human is heading up the stairs, sit right in the middle so he can't get by without petting you. Then, sprint to the top of the stairs and repeat the blockade. This strategy works well when human comes in from outside as well. Sit right in the middle of the doorway. A neat trick is to stand up on your back legs so he can pet you. He'll think it's cute and you'll get your exercise.
4. At night when he tries to escape his responsibility by climbing in bed and turning out the lights, start at one end of the house and meow all the way to the foot of the bed. Leap up and stick your nose right in his face. Petting will be mandatory. If he tries to assert his independence and roll over. Plop down noisily, meow under the bed as you saunter to the other side, hop up again, face to face. On occasion apply this tactic in the middle of the night just so he understands that his sleep is not nearly as important as your spoiling.
5. If worse comes to worse, say, he walks in the house with his hands full. flop on the floor, put your paw on your forehead, and pet yourself. Marvelous guilt trip for the old geezer.
Got it?
Paws together now: One, Two, Three---WE ARE THE CAT'S MEOW
Rule the world!!!
Homesteader
Paws together now: One, Two, Three---WE ARE THE CAT'S MEOW
Rule the world!!!
Homesteader
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