Okay, well, today's theme will be NATURE! It all happened quite by accident. Here is how the day progressed, and I hope you will see the common thread. Everything started kind of slowly. I actually stayed in bed until a little after 6 AM, and I got up, made coffee, took pills, checked e-mails, and went out to get the paper. While I was getting the paper, I saw this gecko (or lizard or whatever) on one of the strawberry pots. He was not afraid of me and I was happy to go back into the house to get the camera. I hardly go anywhere these days without the camera, but I usually don't take it out to get the newspaper. Anyway, he was still there when I got back, so he is the photo for today's entry. Miguel was supposed to come out and work today, but he did not make it. I got some stuff done that was on the job-list (planting the Hibiscus (Hibisci?), planting the two day Lillie's, cleaning out the bed of the Mule, getting some boxes out of the shed to take to the re-sale space, and pulling some weeds and trying to dissuade the 'root beer plants' by pulling up what I could and taking a shovel and shoveling out some more of them. A few months back, we planted a lot of zinnias in one of the back beds, and they did not do worth a darn, so we decided to go into Taylor and get some geraniums to replace them.
On the way into Taylor, just as we got through Granger, we passed a small billboard on the left side of the road, and there was a great horned owl (okay, maybe not technically a great horned owl, but what I would think a great horned owl would look like). So, I turned the truck around and went back to try to take a photo. We got up close enough to the owl to get a good look at it, but before I could get the camera ready, he flew off. I have seen owls before, but not that obviously out in broad daylight perched on a sign post. I think the hunting last night must have been pretty poor, so he was out for a snack.
We went on into Taylor, and Wal-Mart had just what we were looking for, so we got 18 geraniums and headed home. On the way home, we were driving down FM 972 and there was a great big old turtle crossing the road. The truck straddled him as we drove over him, and I stopped and backed the truck up and got out and put him in the grass where he was headed. He was 'plate sized' so he has been around a while. He would have probably made it to the grass on his own, and there is not that much traffic on that road, but I think there are some people that will run over things like that just because they can. So, I took no chances, and we left him safe and sound and out of harms way.
When we got home, I was placing the geraniums out where we thought they would go, and there was a BIG snake in that flower bed. It scared the living stew out of me. The neighbors have all said that this house was built on a rattle snake den, and so far we had not seen any rattle snakes, and this snake today was the first snake we have seen here, period. We have seen snake skins this spring, so we knew there were snakes around. This snake was black with kind of gold colored square patterns on his. He was a big one for sure, and we just wanted him to skee-daddle on away, and mind his own business. I am not really interested in killing snakes just because they are snakes. After all, they do a job in controlling rodents, and we do have a bit of a rodent problem here. I got all the geraniums planted (and they look really nice) and put the old gazing ball in the center of them, and that is pretty too.
By then we were kind of tired, and Jody made me a meat-loaf sandwich for lunch (I am hoping for a repeat for dinner tonight, too). After lunch, Jody decided to take a nap, and I planned to move some firewood from the garage out to the wood-pile, and to move a metal cabinet from our closet to the garage (where the wood was). While I was moving the fire wood, there was ANOTHER SNAKE that scared the crap out of me again. IN THE GARAGE! A big black snake, with no markings at all, but no sounds of any rattles, either. I got Jody up from his nap to come and try to identify the snake, but he just said it is a 'black snake', and that was that.
Okay, so after that was all done, I too took a little bit of a nap, and our friend Roy came over to band the little bull calf. The little bull calf (who I call Dude, but the calf is being given to Roy, and Roy's wife Sharon is going to name him Punkin') was born in March, so he was needing to be banded before too much longer. Banding is basically a castration of the bull calf; you put strong rubber bands around the calf's testicles, and in a couple months, the testicles will fall off, and then you have yourself a steer. Pretty much, that is it. He was not happy about it, but the catching of the calf (for us) was worse than actually banding him, and I do not think it any of it was particularly pleasant for the calf. Anyway, that is done, and after he is weened from his mama, he will go to live on Roy's farm in Smithville, where Sharon will spoil him rotten.
So, can you see the nature thread working here? If not, maybe you could re-read the entry, and if you still can't see it, send me an e-mail and I will try to explain it for you.
So, since this is Memorial Day Holiday Weekend, I think we should all do good deeds for our friends and relatives (or even folks we don't know) who have served our country to ensure we all enjoy the freedoms that we have. Try to do a good deed (or three or four) this weekend, and pay special attention to those who have served in the military. Good deeds are easily done, and are really appreciated by those who are the beneficiaries. And it is always a good thing for us to do, and we can all use the good feelings that we get from having done a small kindness for someone else. HAVE FUN!
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