Once Upon A Scoop..

There are certain necessary chores that are less than desirable, especially when done on a daily basis. When there are four furkids in your pack scooping poop is a necessary nasty. However, if embarked upon with the right mindset, this chore can be elevated to a creative endeavor. The result of one such creative endeavor is the unlikely poem below. It also proves that creative energy can be found in the most unexpected places.

Scooping poop
once or twice a day
is a bit like hunting
Easter eggs.
After awhile
you know which dog
laid which egg,
learn which
grassy nest is prime
for a find.
You also learn which
canine culprit snagged
the unexpected prize--
some tasty morsel left
by messy kids, or the
sneaky snag from an uncovered
waste basket.

A less than desirable chore
becomes a quiet time
to muse upon
the less profound,
to turn, perhaps, a
phrase about
the curious comparison
of poop and Easter eggs.

~~Pam Patterson, champion scooper

Two New Reads!

I've got two new books to dive into this week! Both looks yummy. "The Bolter" sounds really intriguing, while "The Crowning Glory......" is by an author I thoroughly enjoy! Check them out for yourself. Both are displayed on my Shelfari shelf below.

July 5th

The best laid plans.....

We haven't had much luck the past few years when it comes to firework's watching. The boys are too unruly to drag to any of the festivities that precede any of the local fireworks. So, what we try to do is find a place close to the fireworks venue where we can park the car, get out, let the boys burn off energy and watch the display.

The last couple of years have been disasters! We always pick the wrong place or the wrong time for viewing. The boys have fits so we leave.

This year was no different.

We chose a prime spot for viewing, along with many other cars, and got there around the time the fireworks were supposed to take place. We sat and waited. The boys started grumbling about the heat and having nothing to drink, bathroom issues, yada, yada..... A few cars gave up and left. The boys kept bitching, Trish and I kept hoping. More cars left.

Some half hour after the display was supposed to take place the boys were so disagreeable we gave up and left. Trish and I laughed and I kept looking back in case of a sudden burst of 4th fanfare.

The boys were worn out and crashed as soon as we got home. Trish took her dogs out for a last chance to pee. She came back in laughing. Murphy's Law: The fireworks display had finally begun! We could hear it and see parts of it through the trees while standing in the backyard.

We stood and watched until the skeeters started attacking. Needless to say, the decision was made to NOT tell the boys about the missed fireworks. We'd had enough of the "this-is-the-worst-4th-EVER!" mantras to last until next year.

However, we now know the best place to drive for viewing, know to take water, have bathroom runs before leaving, and we know to just wait it out. Wait long enough and they will come....all showy and worth the wait!

The Seed and Song Bird Buffet

Thanks to my friend Marion for her inspiration to grab my camera and head outside.




My container gardens grow wild and free with the additon of a few new inhabitants each Spring. I like container gardens because I can move, rearrange or add to them with ease.

The container garden off my patio is my favorite and forms the pathway to The Seed and Song Bird Buffet. The centerpiece of the Buffet is The Feeding Tree, my wonderful Oak (to be honest, one of my few remaining trees *sigh*). The photo above is of the entrance to the favorite gathering place of my many feathered and furried friends and passing visitors.

Wee people watch over my gardens. Their cottages and castles nestle among the folliage.

Here we have a tiny caretaker's cottage at the entrance to the garden.

Bunnies and butterflies dance around a pot of Mexican Heather. Real butterflies are frequent visitors to my welcoming blooms.

The garden fairies slumber through the heat of the day shaded by a blanket of Heather.

Sun-dappled mushrooms and cranes reside at the edge of the Seed and Song Buffet.

A corner birdbath offers refreshment to the many visitors.

A giant mushroom provides a perch as well as a possible exchange with the resident garden gnome.

The Feeding Tree is at the center of the Seed and Song Bird Buffet. Evening viewing is a feast of delightful entertainment. Squirrels are the frequent uninvited guests, while Jays are rowdy, unruly and in need of the blackbird bouncers.

Sparrows and Wrens are the noisy busy bodies. Their fractious frenzies remind me of troublesome teenagers.

My favorite guests are the Doves. Watching them, day after day, for years is like observing human communal activity. The social....and antisocial interaction is not that different from us.

Last but not least are my last-to-come-last-to-leave visitors: the Cardinals.

I enjoy my songbirds, cooers and my squawkers. I don't mind the occasional crow and delight in the passing ducks, Egrets or wild Parakeet.

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The Seed and Song Bird Buffet is always open.