Stealthy Chaperoning (302/365)

Dorothy Shaw: …The chaperone's job is to see that nobody else has any fun. Nobody chaperone's the chaperone. That's why I'm so right for this job.

Russell, Jane, perf. Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. Dir. Howard Hawks. 1953. Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporations.

TIME:  8:00 PM
PLACE: Backyard
SUBJECT:  DramaQueen’s teen party

HH and I had a weak moment and agreed to let DQ invite her 8th grade friends over for a party for her birthday.  Outside.  With a bonfire.  Girls and boys.  What were we thinking?  Ah well.  They weren’t too much trouble.  I did have to be stealthy in taking a picture and didn’t get the fire pit in like I wanted because DQ saw me and I got the “Mo-ther!” from her.  We pretty much stayed inside…going out every half-hour or so to check on the food and  the fire or to take out the dog and discreetly do our chaperoning thing.

Crime Scene (271/365

Detective Stella Bonasera: [about the weirdness of the crime] Is it me or is there something really strange about this crime scene?

"The Triangle." CSI: NY. CBS. 10 Dec. 2008. Television

TIME:  6:55 PM
PLACE: Front yard
SUBJECT:  Bird carnage

StellaDella pointed this bunch of feathers out to me.  I’m not exactly sure what kind of bird this is or for that matter, even what part of a bird this is.  In any case, I bet the bird that experienced this little mishap was none too pleased about it.

Hosed (177/365)

"To a gardener there is nothing more exasperating than a hose that just isn't long enough."

Cecil Edric Mornington Roberts (18 May 1892-20 December 1976) was an English journalist and novelist.

TIME:  7:47 PM
PLACE:  Side of the house
SUBJECT:  Garden hose on homemade holder

This is how a union gas-fitter hangs a garden hose.  It may not be fancy, nor pretty, but it gets the job done.

Dandelion For Domo (093/365)

“Courtship consists in a number of quiet attentions, not so pointed as to alarm, nor so vague as not to be understood”

Laurence Sterne (Irish born English Writer, 1713-1768)

TIME:  7:19 PM
PLACE:  Front yard
SUBJECT:  Domo and Buzz Lightyear

How sweet!  Buzz has picked one of the first dandelions of the year and is presenting it to Domo.  I think Domo looks surprised and pleased to be the recipient of Buzz’s affections, no? 

Always Optimistic In The Spring (075/365)

“An optimist is the human personification of spring.“

~Susan J. Bissonette

TIME:  4:38 PM
PLACE:  Backyard
SUBJECT:  Plant markers

I think I mentioned before that the HandsomeHusband purchased several types of seeds and planned to start them for a vegetable garden.  This afternoon he planted some tomato, pepper and cucumber seeds.  We always begin the growing season with the best of intentions; making sure the garden plot is well watered, fertilized and weeded…then, around the 4th of July when it seems the weeds seem to grow faster than we can pull them and it grows so stifling hot and humid that being outside is like being in a wet oven, we tend to slack off and everything ends up going to hell.  Nevertheless, every year we begin anew with high hopes of a massive harvest - I have faith that we will prevail at some point.  This will be the year we need to do it too - I’m afraid the market price of fresh produce is going to get ugly along with higher costs of all the other groceries we consume as well.

Memento Mori* (231/365)

 
“In the cicada's cry;
No sign can foretell;
How soon it must die.”

Matsuo Basho (famous poet of the Edo period in Japan. Recognized for his works in the collaborative haikai no renga form; master of brief and clear haiku, 1644-1694)

TIME:  4:43 PM
PLACE:  Front Porch
SUBJECT:  Cicada

One of the things that always reminds me of summer is the buzz of the cicadas in the trees.  They seem to be particularly loud this year.  I found this guy while I was sweeping the front steps this morning.  He stayed around all day which allowed me to take his picture this afternoon…How did this happen you may ask?  He was a dearly departed cicada – that made it really easy to take his picture.

*Memento Mori:  Latin for "Remember you are mortal", or "Remember you will die." It refers to a wide range of art whose purpose is to remind people of their own eventual death.

Air Conditioner (216/365)

     
Air Conditioner: So... It's back to that stupid static again. You think I don't know what's going on in here? I know what goes on in this cottage. It's a conspiracy and every one of you low-watts is in on it. Just 'cause you move around, you think you're better than I am. I'm not an invalid. I was designed to stick in the wall! I like being stuck in the stupid wall! I can't help it if the kid was too short to reach my dials...[Begins to spark and fizzle furiously]
Toaster: We didn't mean it. Really!
Air Conditioner: [bellows] IT'S MY FUNCTION! [continues sparking and fizzing and glowing]
Toaster: No wait. Wait!
Kirby: He's gonna blow!
Toaster: Quick, yank your plugs!
[the appliances all unplug themselves just as Air Conditioner blows up]
Blanky: Poor Air Conditioner.
Toaster: I didn't think he'd take it so hard.
Kirby: Ah, he was a jerk anyway.

Hartman, Phil, Deanna Oliver, Thurl Ravenscroft, and Timothy E. Day, perf. *The Brave Little Toaster*. Dir. Jerry Rees. 1987. Hyperion Pictures.

TIME:  6:12 PM
PLACE:  Backyard
SUBJECT:  Central air conditioner

Officially we hit the triple digits at 3:55 this afternoon.  I don’t think the air conditioner has shut off all day.  I am very grateful that we have the ability to cool our home, but I just dread opening the power bill next month.

Sands Of Time (105/365)

 
“The more sand that has escaped from the hourglass of our life, the clearer we should see through it.”

 Niccolo Machiavelli (Italian writer and statesman, Florentine patriot, author of 'The Prince', 1469-1527)

TIME:  6:47 PM
PLACE:  Back yard
SUBJECT:  Sand toy

StellaDella loves to play in our sandbox.  What I can’t figure out is how the sand seems to evaporate from it like water over time.  We had to purchase 8 bags of sand to refill it this spring.  I also had to throw away many sand toys that had become brittle and broken due to exposure to the elements.  Of course, they needed to be replaced.  What’s a sandbox without shovels, pails, trucks, sand molds, sifters, plastic animals, a watering can and a funnel/wheel combo?  Not as fun I say.  Gotta love that we can purchase all those things inexpensively from the dollar store!

He’s Back! (092/365)

  
“The clever men at Oxford
Know all that there is to be knower.
But they none of them know one half as much
As intelligent Mr. Toad!”
 
Kenneth Grahame (1859-1932), British essayist, writer of children's books. The Wind in the Willows, ch. 10 (1908).

TIME:  10:01 AM
PLACE:  Back yard
SUBJECT:  Toad

Our little, warty friend, Mr. Jeremy Fischer, has returned.  He greeted StellaDella this morning as she was searching under the landscaping pavers for worms and bugs.  SD insists that he is the same toad.  I’m not sure, all toads look alike to me.  If it is the same toad, I wonder where he spent the winter.

Swinger (083/365)

 
“How do you like to go up in a swing,
Up in the air so blue?
Oh, I do think it the pleasantest thing
Ever a child can do!”
 
Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-189), Scottish author. The Swing (l. 1-4). . . New Treasury of Children's Poetry, A; Old Favorites and New Discoveries. Joanna Cole, comp. (1984) Doubleday & Company.

TIME:  3:23 PM
PLACE:  Backyard
SUBJECT:  StellaDella

Of all my children, SD likes to swing on the swing set the most.  Since starting kindergarten last fall, she has learned how to pump her legs and swing without needing to be pushed.  Now that it is warmer, she likes to go outside after school and swing.  She’s out there for quite a while, swinging and digging for worms.  Watching her this afternoon, it occurred to me that I’ve been pushing one child or another on the swings for the last 10 years or so.  Now, they all can do it by themselves.  I’m getting old.

Bricks (028/365)

“A successful man is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks others have thrown at him.”

David Brinkley (American television Journalist, 1920-2003)

TIME:  8:16 AM
PLACE:  SE side of the house
SUBJECT:  Patio bricks

Bricks can be the hard blocks like those pictured above or a bad shot that clanks off the backboard or rim in basketball.  We saw many of the latter at DramaQueen’s game this evening.  Our team lost 28-8.  2 of the 28 points for the other team was from one of our girls, when she became confused and shot at the wrong basket (this was right after half-time when we switched sides) – God love her.  HandsomeHusband is the coach again.  God love him too!

Down The Rabbit Hole (211/365)

 
“The rabbit presses back her ears,
Turns back her liquid, anguished eyes
And crouches low; then with wild spring
Spurts from the terror of his oncoming;”

D.H. (David Herbert) Lawrence (1885-1930), British poet. Love on the Farm (l. 36-39). . . The Complete Poems [D. H. Lawrence]. Vivian de Sola Pinto and Warren Roberts, eds. (1993) Penguin Books

TIME:  6:58 PM
PLACE:  The backyard
SUBJECT:  Baby Bunnies

We have bunnies!  Monkeyboy took the dog out this morning and when they came back in he said that she almost caught a baby rabbit, but it got away.  I went out with him and he showed me where the rabbit disappeared in the grass.  I saw the nest, but no bunnies were inside.  After supper tonight, the kids and I trooped outside to check again (with my camera and sans dog) and there they were.  I think there are 4 or 5 babies in the nest which is inside our yard, but just outside our fence.  Now we will have to be extra vigilant whenever the dog goes out…I do not need the guilt of any bunny blood on my hands!

Wires (205/365)

 
"Electricity, the peril the wind sings to in the wires on a gray day. . ."

Janet Frame (New Zealander, novelist, short-story writer, poet, Her works include "Intensive Care" and "Owls Do Cry," 1924-2004)

TIME:  8:35 PM
PLACE:  The front yard, looking west
SUBJECT:  Power lines

Again, I had another uninspired and not too interesting of a day.  I did some cleaning – the bathroom and StellaDella’s room.  I ended up needing a rake to get everything out from under her bed.  Good gravy, she had an enormous amount of junk under there – what bad feng shui.  Then, late this afternoon, the kids and I - HandsomeHusband was off visiting his good friend - went to pick up gift cards for some birthday parties we are attending tomorrow.  After picking those up, we went to Steak ‘n Shake to eat dinner.  Exciting times!

A Dangerous Liaison (171/365)

 
"The sexual embrace can only be compared with music and with prayer.”

Marcus Aurelius (Roman emperor, best known for his Meditations on Stoic philosophy, AD 121-180)

TIME:  10:41 PM
PLACE: The house number plaque on the front porch
SUBJECT:  Humping Ladybugs

Yet again I waited until the last minute to take a picture for today.  That was why at 10:30 this evening, I wandered around the house trying my damndest to find something interesting to photograph.  I ended up with nothing.  So, I headed for the front porch thinking I could find a bug or two to capture.  This sight greets me as I survey the bugs gathering under the porch light.  I am shocked...shocked I tell you.  The nerve, the brazenness, the wantonness, the fact that these bugs are getting it on and I am worried about trying to take a picture for my blog when I would rather be upstairs waking up HandsomeHusband for a little tête-à-tête.  I was affronted, appalled and offended.  I took many pictures.  Does anyone know of a ladybug tabloid to whom I can sell this shot?  I don't think these bugs were married and I sense a nice juicy scandal in the making. 

Under The Lights (161/365)

 
I objurgate the centipede,
A bug we do not really need.
At sleepy-time he beats a path
Straight to the bedroom or the bath.
You always wallop where he's not,
Or, if he is, he makes a spot.

Odgen Nash (American poet, author, lyric-writer, 1902-1971), "The Centipede"

TIME: 8:01 PM
PLACE:  Little League Field - Bantam Diamond
SUBJECT:  Light Pole

This is my second attempt at taking a picture of the light pole at the Little League fields.  I was not happy with this one that I took at StellaDella's ball game on May 9th.  In fact, I will be the first to admit that it was rather boring.  I think this one is just a titch more interesting.    I'm definately getting a centipede-like vibe from it due to the climbing pegs.  BTW, MB's team ended up losing tonight's game, by 6 runs.

There's A Storm A Brewin' (159/365)

 
"Time and the bell have buried the day,
The black cloud carries the sun away."

T.S. (Thomas Stearns) Eliot (1888-1965), U.S.-born—British poet, critic. "Four Quartets 1: Burnt Norton," IV. lines 1-2, 1935

TIME:  5:25 PM
PLACE:  Looking Northwest off the Back Porch
SUBJECT:  Storm clouds

More rain arrived this morning.  Around 10:30am, it stopped and the kids and I left to spend big bucks at the grocery store, the farmer's market and the milk store (where I like to buy our milk in 1/2 gallon glass bottles-it just tastes better in glass!)  The sun peeked out for a little while this afternoon and then another storm front moved in.  This front arrived just in time to cancel MonkeyBoy's baseball game.  We had a tornado watch in effect as well.  I was hoping to capture some lightning, but did not have any luck.  

All Sins Cast Long Shadows (156/365)

 
“Baseball is a slow, sluggish game, with frequent and trivial interruptions, offering the spectator many opportunities to reflect at leisure upon the situation on the field: This is what a fan loves most about the game”

Edward Abbey (American Writer whose works, set primarily in the southwestern United States, reflect an uncompromising environmentalist philosophy. 1927-1989)

TIME: 7:36 PM
PLACE:  Little League park, Bantam field
SUBJECT:  Shadows of HandsomeHusband, me and DramaQueen

Monkeyboy had one of his make-up games scheduled this evening.  He was batting clean-up tonight.  At his first at bat, he smacked one way out in center field.  He is a fast runner and it should have been a triple, but he misunderstood the third base coach, who was yelling "Round (the bag) and hold!"...MB thought he said "Run for home!" so he did.  Luckily the throw at the plate went over the catcher's head; MB slid into home plate; and he was safe.  He was pretty proud of himself.  After the inning was over, the coach took him to the side and had a little talk about what he actually said and how he needs to listen while base running.  He was lucky this time.  I'm still proud of him though!   

Boating Weather (154/365)

 
Wild Nights - Wild Nights!
Were I with thee
Wild Nights should be
Our luxury!

Futile - the Winds -
To a Heart in port -
Done with the Compass -
Done with the Chart!

Rowing in Eden -
Ah, the Sea!
Might I but moor -
Tonight - With Thee!

Emily Dickinson (1830-1886), U.S. poet. Wild Nights!—Wild Nights!, The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson. Thomas H. Johnson, ed. (1960) Little, Brown

TIME: 6:20 PM
PLACE:  Creve Coeur Lake
SUBJECT:  Moored dragon boat

Back in 2007, I participated in a Dragon Boat Race with my dad and his company.  Last year, we (HandsomeHusband, the kids and I) were on vacation in San Francisco and I could not share in the race day experience.  This year, Dad roped called me into service again.  Tonight was our team training exercise.  It lasted for about an hour.  I had forgotten how physically challenging it is to paddle in a 400 meter (1/4 mile) race.  I am quite certain that my arms, shoulders and whole body will be hurting tomorrow.  Hopefully, I will be recovered by race day on Saturday. 

Sunflare and Shadow (134/365)

 
"Black creeps from root to root,
each leaf
cuts another leaf on the grass,
shadow seeks shadow,
then both leaf
and leaf-shadow are lost."

Evening, Hilda Doolittle (American, poet, 1886-1961)

TIME: 7:02 PM
PLACE:  Front yard
SUBJECT: Red Sunset Maple Leaves

Just behind these leaves is my neighbor Marilyn's house.  As I was taking this photo tonight, another neighbor walked across the street and delivered some bad news.  Marilyn passed away Wednesday while at the doctor's office.  She had gone to the doctor to have an ultrasound on her abdomen, and while having the procedure, she had an abdominal aortic aneurysm and she died.  Her daughter was with her at the time.

I was and still am in a state of shock.  I considered Marilyn a good friend as well as a good neighbor.  She and I would talk often.  She was the "go-to" person for any neighborhood gossip.  I did her taxes.  She babysat my children.  She was always one of the first persons I would invite to see any improvements we made to the house, whether it was new paint, floors or garden plants.  When I shared SD's Neighbor paper with her, she was both amused and touched that she was the subject.  I will miss her.

Tansy Ragwort (131/365)

 
"What ye have been ye still shall be,
When we are dust the dust among,
O yellow flowers!"

Henry Austin Dobson (English poet and essayist, 1840-1921)

TIME: 10:17 AM
PLACE:  North side of Cemetery on Green Mount Road 
SUBJECT: Tansy Ragwort (Senecio jacobaea)

I went back today to try to capture a photo of the yellow flowers I mentioned yesterday.  They are called "Tansy Ragwort".  This plant is an invasive, toxic biennial and is classified as a noxious weed in many states here in the USA.  This weed is one of the most common causes of poisoning in horses and cattle if consumed.  Even the milk from affected cows can contain this plant's toxins.  Still, I thought the fields looked pretty with all of these yellow flowers blooming in them.