Later, That Same Evening

It started to sprinkle about 30 minutes ago and my sister, niece, Camron and I sat by the gardens and enjoyed it. I showed them that if you crush or disturb some of the herb plants, the aromas will linger, especially when the humidity is high. When I do a lot of trimming there, the lemon balm and sage will saturate that area of the pond berm. And if the pine trees are being watered at the time, their smells add a background for the other scents to present themselves in front of. What a pleasant day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sunday

I've worked for two months on a ranch, in all kinds of brush, limb piles, and weeds, and not seen a single snake. Earlier, while cleaning out the mint bed on the East berm of the pond, I had the plants lifted up and my head stuck under them and remember thinking, "what an strangely colored caterpillar. Long too. Uh-oh." It was a fat little snake, 8 to 10 inches long, and not a caterpillar at all. It disappeared into the compost that is under the small pine tree in the mint bed instead of falling into the characteristic rattlesnake defensive position, and there weren't any rattlers, so it was probably a small hog-nosed snake or something similar. I still don't want to work in the mint bed anymore. Whatever it is if it comes out in the open very often one of the kestrels or hawks will get it.

As I finish the trimming, the Fall pond is starting to look like I had hoped it would.

October 1, 2005

Got part of the trim finished then spent the rest of the day looking at solar powered lights. Finally bought two to try out. An absolutely beautiful evening. Something to enjoy and I did.

 

 

Camron's hurricane survival kit that he keeps in his Grandparents living room. 

The Bittern in the morning 

 

 

 

 

September 30, 2005

Interesting day. It rained last night but don't know how much because I've been letting the rain gauge be a mosquito nursery for the past couple of months and it is now worthless as a measuring tool. I'll spend tomorrow trimming, and maybe emptying a few things, and generally getting the pond set for the Winter.

Fed the animals but spent most of the day around my house. I turned 53 today and was just checking it out before taking the plunge back into life (science based caution, not paranoia). Mowed my yard, the pond perimeter and the berm - all systems a-okay; read part of a book - peak performance; had several conversations - all went well. It seems to fit perfectly and does feel great. "Gotta blast."