Notes from my patio

Grampa Don said:
Here's my back yard this morning. Maybe you can make out the clover blossoms. That's my little Meyer lemon tree in the background.

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I have a Meyers lemon tree too. It's in the living room right now where we've put it to save if from the cold. It's not meant for this area and would die if left outside. Erstwhile boyfriend sent it to me as a gift because he knew I missed my home in S. Cal and the lemon trees there. I don't know what we're going to do as it gets bigger. Maybe we'll move to Florida.
 
Medusa said:
I have a Meyers lemon tree too. It's in the living room right now where we've put it to save if from the cold. It's not meant for this area and would die if left outside. Erstwhile boyfriend sent it to me as a gift because he knew I missed my home in S. Cal and the lemon trees there. I don't know what we're going to do as it gets bigger. Maybe we'll move to Florida.
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Maybe if you keep it in a pot it will stay small, sort of like a bonsai.
 
No rain this morning, but the sky is a dismal grey and it's cool out. It looks like a couple more days of rain from this storm. We've had almost 14 inches so far this year, which is more than our normal annual average.

A strange thing: Usually after this much rain there are earth worms on the patio and driveway. There are none. Seems weird.

A couple towhees flew down to the oatmeal. One stayed way back until the other one had its fill and flew off. I guess that's what you call pecking order.
 
Well, it's still raining and I'm inside with a hot chocolate and cookies. At least I'm getting a free car wash. I hope you're getting some sun.

I've been reading a book called The Introvert Advantage, How to Thrive in an Extrovert World. It's a little too late now, but maybe I'll learn what I should have done.
 
Coco said:
Thanks for sharing your inside day. We are inside too, it's 27 degrees, damp, some snow tonight and I just now turned on my lamp so I can see my table to post om SF.
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Coco, I see you are in Wisconsin. I have a pen pal in Janesville who tells me about the weather there and I understand that it can be pretty tough. Stay in and stay warm.
 
Sunshine and puffy clouds today. It looks like we will dry out for a while. Temperature in the mid 60s.

Today is my granddaughter's birthday. It's hard to believe she's 19. I have one of those electronic picture frames next to my computer that's loaded with photos of her growing up, and it cycles through them all day. So, I have a constant reminder of when she was small. Of course she was spoiled; an only child and only grandchild. But, she's given us so much pleasure. Now, she's a young woman.

I was sitting on the patio and a towhee came running up to where I put the oatmeal out. But it was already gone. It hopped over toward me and looked me in the eye. Then it hopped up on the back porch as if to hint that I should go in and get some more. I said OK and it flew off. After I put a little more out a couple showed up, but I don't know if it was one of them. They all look alike.

A tiny grey bird with a slightly yellow breast and a yellow spot just ahead of its tail came for some oatmeal too. I think it might have been an orange crowned warbler. At least that's the closest I could find to match it. They are supposed to be common in our area. I'm going to have to buy more oatmeal I guess. And sugar. The hummers are really going through it.
 
Grampa Don said:
Since I'm stuck inside looking for something to do, I thought I would share these strange little figures with you.

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They were my older son's. He collected American Indian things. I don't know if they mean anything, but I love their little faces.
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Thanks for the pen, as a size reference.
Gosh, they're tiny. I wouldn't have guessed as tiny as that, even with the books, though perhaps I should have. ☺️😄
 
Grampa Don said:
Sunshine and puffy clouds today. It looks like we will dry out for a while. Temperature in the mid 60s.

Today is my granddaughter's birthday. It's hard to believe she's 19. I have one of those electronic picture frames next to my computer that's loaded with photos of her growing up, and it cycles through them all day. So, I have a constant reminder of when she was small. Of course she was spoiled; an only child and only grandchild. But, she's given us so much pleasure. Now, she's a young woman.

I was sitting on the patio and a towhee came running up to where I put the oatmeal out. But it was already gone. It hopped over toward me and looked me in the eye. Then it hopped up on the back porch as if to hint that I should go in and get some more. I said OK and it flew off. After I put a little more out a couple showed up, but I don't know if it was one of them. They all look alike.

A tiny grey bird with a slightly yellow breast and a yellow spot just ahead of its tail came for some oatmeal too. I think it might have been an orange crowned warbler. At least that's the closest I could find to match it. They are supposed to be common in our area. I'm going to have to buy more oatmeal I guess. And sugar. The hummers are really going through it.
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You are getting some nice bird company with your oatmeal. :) 🐦
 
Clear blue sky here this morning. Barely a breeze and dead quiet. They say we're due for some more wind this week. I put the oatmeal a little nearer to me to see how brave the birds will get. The towhees are already pretty brave. Hardly any birds at all lately. Maybe that's just because it's Winter. I haven't heard my frog lately and haven't seen a lizard in a long time.

I have a glass hummingbird hanging in the patio. It was a gift to my wife from my son a long time ago.

hum.JPG

This morning one of the hummers was checking it out.

I put the battery charger on my car this morning. I do that every month. I drive so little that the battery will run down. Most weeks it's only one trip to the market and back. And, the market is only about a mile away. The new cars aren't like in the old days when if you pulled the key the battery was disconnected. Now, the car's computer stays on thinking whatever it is that computers think about, and they continue to drain the battery. I found this out one morning when the car would barely start.

I watched a contrail heading due west, maybe on the way to Hawaii. I'm still amazed when I see these; probably more than 200 people sitting in an aluminum tube at 40,000 feet going almost 600 miles an hour and heading out over thousands of miles of ocean. How far we've come.
 
Grampa Don said:
Clear blue sky here this morning. Barely a breeze and dead quiet. They say we're due for some more wind this week. I put the oatmeal a little nearer to me to see how brave the birds will get. The towhees are already pretty brave. Hardly any birds at all lately. Maybe that's just because it's Winter. I haven't heard my frog lately and haven't seen a lizard in a long time.

I have a glass hummingbird hanging in the patio. It was a gift to my wife from my son a long time ago.

View attachment 478695

This morning one of the hummers was checking it out.

I put the battery charger on my car this morning. I do that every month. I drive so little that the battery will run down. Most weeks it's only one trip to the market and back. And, the market is only about a mile away. The new cars aren't like in the old days when if you pulled the key the battery was disconnected. Now, the car's computer stays on thinking whatever it is that computers think about, and they continue to drain the battery. I found this out one morning when the car would barely start.

I watched a contrail heading due west, maybe on the way to Hawaii. I'm still amazed when I see these; probably more than 200 people sitting in an aluminum tube at 40,000 feet going almost 600 miles an hour and heading out over thousands of miles of ocean. How far we've come.
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Your wife's humming bird is very pretty in the sun.
 
Yesterday after dinner I walked out on the patio and there was a hummingbird on the ground trying to fly. It couldn't rise more than about an inch and then fall back. I picked it up and it closed its eyes and went completely limp. I thought it had died. I laid it on the picnic table and within a few seconds it was up and trying to fly again. Apparently they play possum when handled.

I expected it didn't have long to live and I guess the most humane thing would be to put it out of its misery quickly. But, I couldn't do that. So, I placed it in one of my hanging baskets. I figured if it got better it could fly off and at least nothing would bother it if it didn't. This morning, as I expected, it was dead.

I examined it to see if there was any clue to what was wrong with it, but didn't see anything. I buried it in the flower bed.

The parrots are back, flying around and making a racket. It's a nice morning, clear sky, no breeze and about 70.

I'm going to plant some tomato seeds today in a small pot. I ordered a package of 30 bush type Early Girl seeds from Burpee. They were a little over ten dollars with shipping, but by storing them in a sealed bottle in the frig I can get a few years of plants. I only plant two each summer. I've grown these before and although the plant is small, they were covered with big juicy tomatoes.
 
Grampa Don said:
Yesterday after dinner I walked out on the patio and there was a hummingbird on the ground trying to fly. It couldn't rise more than about an inch and then fall back. I picked it up and it closed its eyes and went completely limp. I thought it had died. I laid it on the picnic table and within a few seconds it was up and trying to fly again. Apparently they play possum when handled.

I expected it didn't have long to live and I guess the most humane thing would be to put it out of its misery quickly. But, I couldn't do that. So, I placed it in one of my hanging baskets. I figured if it got better it could fly off and at least nothing would bother it if it didn't. This morning, as I expected, it was dead.

I examined it to see if there was any clue to what was wrong with it, but didn't see anything. I buried it in the flower bed.

The parrots are back, flying around and making a racket. It's a nice morning, clear sky, no breeze and about 70.

I'm going to plant some tomato seeds today in a small pot. I ordered a package of 30 bush type Early Girl seeds from Burpee. They were a little over ten dollars with shipping, but by storing them in a sealed bottle in the frig I can get a few years of plants. I only plant two each summer. I've grown these before and although the plant is small, they were covered with big juicy tomatoes.
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Sad about the little hummer. Nice though, the way you let him have peace.

Are you going to sprout the seeds inside?
 
Hazy sun this morning. We got some rain yesterday. It came down pretty hard for a while. The tree guys were supposed to do my trees, but they had to reschedule for next week. No big deal.

A while back, Susan half jokingly said she wished she had a she shed. They have three bedrooms. One is my son's office space and my granddaughter has one. She said it would be nice to have a space just of her own. I guess it's the equivalent of a man cave, and I can understand that. I told her if she wants a she shed I'll cover it. REALLY? I've never seen her so excited.

So, she's picked one she likes and we got the quote. It's more than I expected but I can handle it and she's worth it. I couldn't ask for a better daughter-in-law.

My tomato seeds are up. I planted 5 and got 3 and that's enough. They're under a grow lamp.

seeds.JPG
 
Grampa Don said:
Hazy sun this morning. We got some rain yesterday. It came down pretty hard for a while. The tree guys were supposed to do my trees, but they had to reschedule for next week. No big deal.

A while back, Susan half jokingly said she wished she had a she shed. They have three bedrooms. One is my son's office space and my granddaughter has one. She said it would be nice to have a space just of her own. I guess it's the equivalent of a man cave, and I can understand that. I told her if she wants a she shed I'll cover it. REALLY? I've never seen her so excited.

So, she's picked one she likes and we got the quote. It's more than I expected but I can handle it and she's worth it. I couldn't ask for a better daughter-in-law.

My tomato seeds are up. I planted 5 and got 3 and that's enough. They're under a grow lamp.

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That is really generous and kind of you. I hope she enjoys her shed. :) Nice sprouts.
 
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