Like old times

2017 heron picture

Driving up Truxell today, past the pond, an interesting head was interspersed with the Canadian geese, below the bank. It was the heron, for the first time this year. "Look at you," I thought, pulling over to watch, rolling the phone to camera.

Down went the heron head, and came up with a decent sized fish, clamped one side to the other. Then the head lifted, the wings extended, the heron lifted and soared. "You sly dog!" I thought. You have a family to feed. I turned around and headed for the rookery, five miles down the road. Like I could find my heron.

I've passed the rookery already this year. Even last week there were far fewer leaves. I watched for a while, hoping for a picture of a heron coming or going, but everyone seemed quite situated, so I headed back.

We've had heavy weather all week. I've emptied the rain gauge of half an inch overnight several times in the last week, and the rain barrel is full.

The trip home featured interesting clouds building. Back home I was indulging in my little garden, and suddenly had a warning on the phone for heavy weather five miles west, in Richfield. As in, weather moves from west to east. I came indoors, ahead of thunder and lightening.

Here are some photos of the front of the house. Amazing what three years and a willing granddaughter can make of a cottage garden. Laura asserts, "technically, it's not MY garden!", but she staunchly defends the prior planting of things I classify as weeds. She has a far better memory, and has saved some plants I could bend over and reach.

Allium, like anemone, have not done well out front. We'll broadcast some more topsoil and fertilizer in a while.

But "stuff" is happy to grow. I can't recall the names of much at will, but sometimes I know. Way, way at the end is the hosta called August Lily. The wooly thyme looks good. The Stella de Oro, under the bench, will have lots of blooms. I've tried to confine everything to "its place", so I can ruthlessly cull.

Since the rain began, it's been hard pressed to end. Plenty of thunder, too.

I've devised another project (of course), and mostly need to see how to facilitate it. As I have yelled to the heavens, I Need Something To Do! Registering teenagers to vote will be a great thing to do, and I'm trying to find an organization that has an "in" to the hallways of high schools.