Orioles!

The birds, not the baseball players.  Finally, after at least 4 years of trying, we're attracting orioles.  (knock wood)  I moved the feeder out into the middle of the yard away from the fence, retaining wall, and apple tree so maybe they like a bit of space around their food.  Durwood sees them most because he's home at midday when they come visiting and he's good about taking their pictures.  One of them, the yellower one with the black chin is an Orchard Oriole, I'm excited that it keeps coming back, and one day a pair of females came to check out the orange.  Maybe they'll bring their nestlings when they learn to fly.  That'd be cool.


We went to the garden center this morning after the energy guy left and bought 6 tomato plants (Durwood's limit), parsley, thyme, basil, and a bunch of flowers.  I'll get the herbs planted later today and then slowly get the rest of it into pots and the garden over the weekend.  This means that summer's really going to come, right?

We did some grocery shopping too and swung by Arby's for one of their market fresh turkey sandwiches to share and we ate on the patio in the sun and warm.  It was so nice to sit out there with a steady stream of hummingbirds at the feeders, feeling the warm air and talking, just like real people.

May 23--Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Albert (Rene) Grenier.  His eyes look so sad, Gail thought.  The painting leaned against the back wall of the resale shop.  Only part of it was lit but she couldn't seem to look away.  Her eyes were drawn to it so she gave in and sidled past tables piled with hats and dusty baskets until she could pull it out and look at it in the light.  It was a portrait of a young man from about the turn of the last century and he had the saddest eyes.  She didn't need an oil painting of a long dead young man but she couldn't bear to leave it behind.

I think it's time for me to go get some dirt under my nails and get those herbs planted.  Talk to you tomorrow.


--Barbara