Not A Cloud In The Sky

That's today's motto--or at least its motto right now.  It isn't 7:30 AM yet so that could change and probably will but for right now, right this minute the sky is a clear blue and the sun is blazing its way up the eastern half of the overhead dome.  It's currently about 50 degrees but I think I heard last night that by tomorrow that will all change and not for the better, the rest of the week's supposed to be hot, humid, and stormy.  Yee. Haw.  Good thing I spent most of yesterday doing yard chores, eh?  I got out the special fertilizer and gave my blueberries and Durwood's shallots just the kind of food they need to grow big and strong.  Then I moved 3 of the 4 flower cauldrons to their intended homes in the front.  After that I got out the loppers and cut back the hummingbird vines and a huge nettle patch (eesh, makes me itch and burn just to write that).  While I was chopping things that had to go to the yard waste I toppled a huge shrub thing that was deaddeaddead.  I piled it all onto a tarp, dragged it around the house, and shoved and tugged it into the back of Durwood's van.  As I pulled out of the garage I caught the sideview mirror on the door jamb and it popped apart.  Didn't break because it's one of those you can adjust remotely but grrrrr.  No, GRRRRR.  The branches were too long so I had to drive to the yard waste with the back hatch open, plus the highway guys have broken the highway overpass I usually use to get there so I had to turn around and go a couple miles out of my way to go 100 yards further.  But on my way home inspiration struck so I stopped up on the corner at Rabideau Auto Mart where we buy our cars and Joe was able to pop the mirror back together.  It's not a fix, only a stopgap, but WHEW.  When I got home (after cleaning the twigs and leaves out of the back of the van) I pounded in the stakes we'll use to tie up the tomato plants so I could cross off each and every to-do on my list.  Yay, me!

This morning I went out to see what I could see, added a handful of peanuts to this feeder, and there came Mr. Bluejay to see what there was to eat.  I like how they give their raucous call when they arrive to let everyone know they're here but they're so skittish, like big scaredy cats.

Porter was all gung-ho to walk yesterday.  We went left into DePere, walked around the path through Voyageur Park, but she drew the line at walking out to the new viewing deck.  She's not a bridge girl, nosiree.  There were lots of fishermen of all ages wetting their lines from the path along the river.  By the looks of it fishing is very serious business.

 June 19--American, Congressional Presentation Sword of Major-General John E. Wool.  My granddad clanked when he walked.  He was in "The War."  That's how he said it, you could hear the quotes and the capital letters.  I'm not sure what he did in "The War" or exactly which war he meant but, whatever he did, he wore a sword while he did it.  By the time Mam and Pap got around to having me, Granddad had forgotten anything to do with modern times.  He spent his days living in his past.  He wore his cavalry uniform and his sword day after day.  Mam had Pap and Uncle Shorty fix Granddad a bedroom in the front room since he wasn't good with stairs anymore but he seemed pretty lively as he led the charge down the hall when the enemy had invaded the sun porch.  "Now, Major-General," Mam would say, "you've got them on the run.  How about some milk and cookies?"  He'd be happy to park his sword on the back of the chair so he could have a snack.  As I was his dedicated subaltern I got cookies and milk too, but my sword was a wooden slat with a blunt tip.  It was a long and tiring fight from the front of the house to the sun porch in back for men of war like Granddad and me.  "An army travels on its stomach," Grandad said when Mam set down the plate filled with cookies still warm from the oven.  She patted his shoulder and smiled.

That was nice to write.  I'm going to eat outside again this morning so I'd better get cracking since I also have to shower and comb and dress and go to work.  Actually work will be a rest after my busy day yesterday.  Get outside if you can, the world feels great today.
--Barbara