Hey, Mister, Can I Borrow Your Dog?

Soon as I sign off I'll be going over to DS & DIL1's to borrow Porter, meet Skully & Maggie at the boat launch, then walk for a couple miles along the river.  I love walking along the river seeing the birds and wildflowers.  There are some really nice houses along there that you walk behind too, houses that have hired yard people.  Can you imagine having someone to mow your lawn and trim your shrubs and plant your flowers?  It'd be easier, yes, but you'd miss out on all that satisfaction.  I love watching stuff I stick into the ground grow up, don't you?  It's kind of like magic that you sprinkle little seeds in the dirt, pour on some water now and then, and then, poof!, food pops up out of the ground.  Amazing!  OMG, it was so boring at work yesterday I nearly fell asleep.  I had a couple customers but nothing much and I'm trying not to spend the whole day surfing the net.  My knitting pal, Mitch, stopped by to show me his gigantic knitting boo boo and stayed to visit for a few minutes, and I took some fabric and a pattern to cut out in the back room.  But I still found myself nodding off over my knitting around 4 PM.  Today all of Wisconsin goes to the polls to try and shut up the politicians for a few months.  I'm embarrassed by the whole recall mess.  Over the years I have seldom agreed with what my elected officials have done, honestly I don't have a great record voting for the ones that win, but I believe that the cost and the price of a statewide recall far outweigh the benefits of booting some guy you don't agree with out of office.  There's a sign I see on my way to work that says "recall Santa, I didn't get what I wanted."  I have to say I agree with the sentiment.  Anyone who thinks that they can shout or persuade everyone onto one side is fooling themselves.  Whatever happened to friendly disagreement?  Where did all the moderates go?  How come we have to be one or the other?  I agree with some things one guy says and some things the other guy says, but I still always go and cast my ballot because voting is a right AND a privilege that can be lost at any time.  Remember, there are people all over the world willing to lose their lives in the fight to have a vote.  I don't really care who you vote for, I only ask that you DO vote.  "Use it or lose it" applies to votes as well as mental acuity or muscles and joints (I'm in the arthritis generation now).  Okay, I'm climbing down off my soapbox now, but GO VOTE! every chance you have.

June 5--Winslow Homer, Flower Garden and Bungalow, Bermuda.  Win walked down the crushed coral road.  The canna hedge blossomed in red, orange, and yellow like a barrier of flames.  He walked to meet Mem Shavais.  They sat in the shade down at the center of town so that they didn't miss anything.  Win and Mem kept the island telegraph humming with their sharp eyes and even sharper tongues.  The islanders who liked to get up to mischief didn't like that Mr. Harlow the town manager let them sit in the center like a pair of spiders tending their web.

Every town and every neighborhood's got them or someone like them.  Miscreants beware!  Gotta go pick up Miss Porter and head out to see what the river birds are up to today.  I'll be taking my camera to cast my Photo A Day net a little wider than my backyard and breakfast table.  Au revoir, cherie.
--Barbara