I've been away so long, it took me nearly five minutes to figure out how to access this bleeping account! There just aren't enough hours in the day to do everything I need to do, and I'm burning the candle at both ends trying. The last thing I should be doing is trying to maintain a blog. I haven't been able to maintain my diary since my mother died in 1998, so I doubt I'll be any more successful with an online version of same.

Anyway, what's taking up so much time these days? My gardens, mostly, at least during the day. I'm beginning to wonder if I am bi-polar ;) - wake up one day absolutely thrilled with the way my garden vision is progressing; the next I am in the depths of despair because it's so...yawn...boring. When I'm not delighted or depressed, I'm just overwhelmed by weeds and the necessity of spending hours every day lugging water to my new plantings.

I think I need to look at my efforts through new eyes. Maybe if I don't come back here for a few days, I'll be look at these pics and think, "Hey, that's not bad!"

Are all gardeners dissatisfied with what they have wrought? I go to the garden and either see what I project it to be someday, or I see all the weeds I missed or haven't got to yet, or all the color mistakes that need to be corrected.

The picture above shows the latest addition to my garden. Of course there's a story.
Ruby basenji and I found it as we took our daily constitutional. We started out heading north, walked about 3/4 mile, and Ruby stopped to poop on a neighbor's lawn. I always carry a bag just in case, so I picked it up. At that point on this very hot morning, Ruby decided she'd gone quite far enough, so we turned around and headed home.

When we got to our driveway, she changed her mind and wanted to continue south...so, rather than continue walking down the road with a Baggie of dog poop swinging in my hand, I stuck it in my newspaper tube at the end of the driveway and we went merrily on our way.

About a half-mile down the road I discovered that one of the neighbors had put this metal bed out for trash pickup. A glowing light bulb appeared over my head :) I tested the bed to see if I'd be able to carry it home. I could. Of course it was not going to be easy, since it's almost as tall as I am! I had to be careful to keep the legs from scraping the road as I walked, while also preventing Ruby from dragging us to our deaths under a fast-moving motor vehicle! Picture an old, short, fat woman struggling down the road in 92º heat with a metal headboard hoisted over her head with one hand, and hanging onto a dog straining at the end of the leash with the other!

When we finally got to our driveway, I remembered the Baggie in my newspaper tube. Good thing! My newspaper delivery man always leaves two biscuits for Ruby when he delivers the paper. I'm pretty sure he wouldn't have liked the "gift" he thought I left for him.

Hmmm. Thought this picture thing would be easy, but I can't figure out how to place them exactly where I want them. Rats!