Monthly Archives: April 2015

Apr21

A Galaxy of Growing

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I’m going to experiment. I know a lot of you have been having issues with WordPress. The only problem I’ve had, using the app on my iPad, is that when I save a post to finish later, the date is totally wonky. I’ve done a few updates since last I tried to save a post, so we will see if it behaves or misbehaves.

It is officially spring because I have my rainbow toes back!  Might be actually our first and only Irish summer – it’s been very sunny and dry, but annoyingly windy. 

I don’t have blooms on anything but dandelions at the moment, but the lilies out back have gotten a lot larger since I last shared a picture.

March 6…

Today! I tried to take the same pic from the same angle… As you can see, they have gotten away from me very fast!

Whoa, where did all that come from?

 Gorgeous from above! Eventually they will be nearly as tall as I am, which is 5ft8in or almost 173cm, so I won’t get many more chances to take pictures from above.

Of course, I have bought more plants. Because, you know, you can never have enough! (Dammit, the app just crashed. Now if it goes all weird I won’t know exactly why.)

 

“Toad lilies”. Aren’t they the coolest? Little Babylon 5 spaceships. I’ve planted these inbetween my hostas, and they are coming up the tiniest bit. I’m very excited about them.

Also bought some new lilies.

 

 And some more of the same ones I already have. The peace rose was €1.99. I couldn’t resist. As to the pixels mix – I have a bunch of the dark red ones but SFA of the other colours, so I’m hoping I have something new anyway.

 

 Another new plant – zantedeschia rehmanni – wish it luck! I have to stop going to Aldi, I go a bit crazy.

 

Seed-wise, I’m starting both of these again. I didn’t get any zinnia last year. I also never shared pictures of the godetia, even though it lasted all the winter in bloom before it croaked.

 

 I also uprooted my daisy-like weeds and am growing shasta daisies for iDJ instead. A new type of rudbeckia, too.

 

Three more new ones – iDJ wanted the nicotania and the odd-looking gazania. I am desperate for Gerbera daisies – they cost so much as an established plant that I was thrilled to get them as seeds.

 I think that is enough for now! 

Apr17

Forgot to Title… Meh.

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I’m currently fighting for space in front of the fire with the two boys. I can’t get a picture as it is too dark, but Lokii is jammed between my thighs and Spot is making sure that I cannot stretch my legs.

Oh wait, iDJ just came in and I got him to take a pic of us. This is live-blogging, folks!

 

He Himself has recently brought to the house his old electric guitar, and bought a small amplifier. He was just playing, and I tried to get a pic but he stopped too soon. He is going to figure out how to hook up a microphone to the amp so I can sing while he plays. This is something I’ve wanted us to do together for a very long time!

 

An earlier, ‘action shot’ of Lokii when he was doing his stretching exercises. Along with my feet still in winter indoor booties and the dog bed (brown thing with green fluff) that Lokii is entirely responsible for chewing up. Little shithead.

I think our robins have abandoned the hose-reel nest. They weren’t expecting us to be outside so much, or throwing smoke in their faces every weekend when we grill. iDJ just loves to grill.

 

Not taken tonight: this was last weekend. But since I have shared kitty pics, I must include a doggie pic of Neko looking so sad that she can’t have BBQ. Tonight we are having sausages, drumsticks, and my homemade hamburgers. Maybe an ear of corn for me, if I get up away from the lovely fire and open the oh-so-difficult package of Spanish corn for him. *snark*

Back to the birds – we bought them dried mealworms. Because, supposedly, robins love them. I opened the package and they smelled really good. So I ate one. On purpose, and all. It actually wasn’t bad – like popcorn without butter and salt. Nicely crunchy, a slight taste of fat. So maybe they just need warming, and salt.

It didn’t bother me to eat one, as mealworms don’t have legs or a distinctive head. Does that even make sense? Maybe I’ve just been reading too much about alternatives to protein in our diets and wanted to give it a go. Seriously, it wasn’t disgusting at all. 

Apr13

Cows, Trolls, and Windshield (Windscreen) Wipers

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I’m going to have to title this after I’m done rambling. My brain is all over the shop! Probably I should break this up and do a few posts rather than dumping everything in my noggin out on the screen and stirring it up to see what rises to the surface. 

I’m going crack open my egg and get out a big wooden spoon to see what happens, anyway.

I had to come to a first-gear-and-hazards-on stop this morning on the way into work, as there was a cow in the road. I immediately learned that they don’t like being honked at – said cow jumped from the side of the road to directly in front of my car. When you drive a Mini, a cow is huge! Hmm. How is the farmer going to know they lost a coo if I don’t honk my horn? Cow is now looking for food on the centre line of the asphalt…honk! Whew, I only had to go entirely into potential oncoming traffic to creep past.

Think my use of hazard lights caught on – the car behind me did the same. I used them again to warn a car coming the other way, too. Irish life!

I am still irritated over some jackass who tried to troll me on FB. I know I did the right thing by not engaging, but the instinct for “I should have said” is strong in me. Probably because I was bullied so much as a kid. The great thing about the Internet is you have plenty of time to come up with those “I shoulda said’s”. The terrible thing about the Internet is that sometimes you have to still keep that shit to yourself as it isn’t worth it. I have no need to explain myself to an aggressive total stranger who took my words entirely out of context and called me an obnoxious narcissist with bad taste in music who bullies others and looks down on other cultures. No, no I do not – nothing I could have said was going to change his mind. But it still pisses me off to no end that someone thinks that about me – or said it to get a rise out of me. 

I felt better for a while, and actually laughed when my only response was ‘Go troll someone else’ and his was ‘take your own advice’. Seriously, he pulled the kindergarten, “I know you are but what am I?” card? So very troll. Fuck him.

Just wish I wasn’t still thinking about it. Wonder if it is a form of PTSD? Not belittling PTSD, don’t get me wrong. It’s just … it’s been days; get out of my head already!

I changed the wiper blades on the car today. Why does that have to be so damn difficult? I can assemble furniture or anything IKEA like a boss – I repair all kinds of weird stuff at work that I’ve never seen before – but those tiny diagrams on the wiper blade box baffled me. I kept the crappy old blades in the car just in case I screwed it up – again. I already screwed it up once, and had to put the rotten one back on. The new bastard was whistling while wiping. Something so common should not take 20 minutes to do!

Right, I think that is enough. I’ll save the plant stuff for another day, when I’m not all stuck in my melon. 

Apr8

Aughris Head – the Flora and Fauna

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Not fauns, sorry. But how about lambs?

 

Oh, to be an Irish lamb.

It might be a short life, but it isn’t a bad one. Most of us humans don’t get to live in a place like this.

 

Hanging out with friends. We walked through their pasture to get to the car – they were not amused and kept their distance. As a sheep should, even if you are the odd black one.

 

 Or a parti-coloured mamma sheep.

 

 Or maybe you could mimick wooly clouds on the horizon; sleeping warm, and revelling in the glorious day.  

 

Apr3

Aughris Head, Sligo – The Birds!

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For my latest instalment of my beach/cliff walk (which was now nearly two weeks ago), I am up at the top of a nice high cliff taking pictures of birds.

 

Not just any old birds.

 

  

 They might look like seagulls, but they are not.

 

  

  

 These are fulmars, (Fulmarus glacialis). An arctic bird, they breed on Irish coasts.

   

 

A rare shot of one going the other way!

 

This is where they are nesting. Yes, I was up that high but it didn’t bother me a bit.

 

That’s me! Lying in the thick, deceitful grass along the edge of the cliff and getting the previous shot. Thanks to TJ for being there to take this shot and for saying ‘careful now!’ I love this shot as you can’t see my face, and I clearly do not care about my jeans riding up while I am planted on a cliff-face!

   

I did indeed get closer and leaned over the edge. Guess my acrophobia is limited to man-made heights.

  

Seems I’m still not done. Thank you for being patient!