The Best Laid Plans

           Have you ever heard the saying, “The best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry?”

          I knew with the eclipse and all the pictures I took, plus the nine pictures from the week I missed, plus the pictures I took the week of the eclipse, it was going to be a long, long letter blog. I started writing with the intention of completing the task, but it didn’t work out that way. Writing about just the trip to see the eclipse took the two days I allot myself every week, seventeen pages printed, and ninety-five photos. I was almost done with the eclipse story when I decided, “Enough.” I signed off and published on time.

          That was the first best-laid plan that went awry.

          Then I thought I’d write an extra letter blog during the week and that was the second best-laid plan that went awry.

          And now, here it is, the end of another busy week.    

Last time I told you, “I’m eclectic when it comes to taking photos. You’re gonna see flowers and birds, farms and barns, houses and shacks. You’ll see highways and license plates, city streets and memorials, factories and fences. You might even see a few critters and something I’ve created.”

Some of those things you did see in my last letter blog, some of them you did not — but would have had I completed both weeks.

Preamble out of the way, shall we get started?

One of the things that has been keeping the Lubys busy is getting the house ready to put in new carpet. For years we’ve lived here with large pieces of mismatched carpet strewn about. It may not have looked the prettiest but it’s worked fine for the most part. On the minus side, I was always catching up strings with the vacuum sweeper from the unfinished edges. On the plus side, you sure didn’t worry about cats puking or people coming in with wet or muddy shoes!

          In the eight years we’ve been here, someone has managed to fill all the nooks and crannies with stuff. I won’t say who that someone is, but she might take after her mother.

          The first thing we had to do to get ready for the carpet layers was to put the subfloor down. Some things we moved out completely, other things we moved out of our way and put back once the subfloor was down. Professionals might’ve had it done in one or two days, but it took us almost six to finish the living room and dining room. Now we could breathe for a moment as we had a week to wait for the installers.

          We had so much rain that week. Here’s that crazy Tux with his human out for a walk in it.

          So much rain that trees were coming down. I’m guessing that’s what snapped the pole that supplied power to our church.

          It was only the second time my newly formed ladies-only exercise group was to meet and had to be canceled.

          All the rain made waterfalls along the highway. I’ll only show you one of many.

          Then crazy ol’ Mother Nature decided to throw a little snow at us! Crazy! It didn’t amount to anything and I don’t care what anyone else says — I love the snow!

          It was the perfect weather for a nice big pot of ham and bean soup.

          There’s always one in every bunch, isn’t there? In this case, one black bean amongst the white ones.

         I was at the sink when I saw Tiger coming across the yard with something in his mouth. I took my camera out to investigate cause I know y’all wanna know what he caught.

          It was a little brown bird. I left him to it.

         For artistic exercise, I followed a tutorial on flowers. Mine look like crap, but there you have it.

          And that, my loves, would’ve been all there was in the week I skipped.

          The next week was the eclipse.

          It was also the week Tiger puked up a big ol’ intestinal parasite. A yucky, gross (and very dead by the time I found it) worm. I have a picture of it but you probably don’t wanna see it. We went to the pet store and picked up some worm meds rather than getting it from the vet. Boy, was I ever sorry I did that! It took two teaspoons to make a dose. I mixed it with cat food and none of the cats would eat it. I had to pitch it and go to the vet for other stuff. It’s not prescription so the vet doesn’t need to see the cats before she gives it to me, it doesn’t take nearly as much for a dose, and the cats will eat it.

          Things are popping!

          This is the flower of the Coltsfoot. The flowers, often mistaken for dandelions, come on before the leaves, which is unusual among plants. This characteristic is nicknamed “son before the father.”

          In folk medicine, it was used as an anti-inflammatory and antitussive (cough prevention and treatment). Coltsfoot contains alkaloids which can be toxic so you need to know what you’re doing if you’re going to use this plant.

          My daffodils are blooming. I love the daffies!

           And so is my Forsythia. The flowers droop. 

           I picked one up to show you the inside.

     

          The pussy willows are turning into tiny little flowers. Standing under the tree I could hear the bees buzzing high above me.

      

          Chickweed is coming up in great patches around my yard. You can eat chickweed raw in a salad or cook it as a vegetable and it’s high in vitamin C.

          Some studies suggest it may support digestion and weight loss by delaying the absorption of fats and carbs.

          In folk medicine, it was used for its anti-inflammatory and expectorant properties. It was also applied directly to the skin to help heal minor wounds and prevent infection.

          In town, the street is lined with the beautiful white flowers of the ornamental pear tree. They always bloom a week or more ahead of ours.

          A kite stuck in a tree. Some of my best memories as a kid are of flying kites, the blustery wind making my cheeks, and the cheeks of my siblings, a bright and rosy shade of red.

          This is only the second time in my life that I’ve seen clouds that look like waves. By the time I got my camera and ran out to take pictures, the waves were already dissipating.

          These are called Kelvin-Helmholtz clouds and are formed by a significant difference in velocity between two air currents or when two layers of air with different densities move at different speeds. They’re short-lived and rare, which is why I’ve only seen them twice in 64 years.

          Flowering trees along the streets in Towanda. 

          Daffies along an old fence in front of a Victorian.

          We were stopped at a traffic light and I saw this bird at the end of a branch of an ancient huge Live Oak tree. It looked like it was plucking a twig.

          The bird (and I suspect it’s a Starling), the bird turned and hopped down the front of the branch and disappeared inside. 

         A “tree” engraved with war scenes at the Veterans Memorial Park in Towanda.

         Back to birds...

          I took pictures of the birds at my feeder. This is a Red-winged Blackbird, I think.

          Woodpecker. I don’t know if he’s the Downy or the Hairy as they’re very similar in appearance. Side by side you would know which is which because the Hairy is larger than the Downy by a couple of inches.

          House Finch.

          A Goldfinch starting to get his distinctive yellow feathers. Miss Rosie saw one this week that was all yellow! I took this picture two weeks ago.

A Mourning Dove, so called because of their soft, woeful calls, which may sound like laments.

 

I painted a thank you card this week which was last week now, but which was the week I took the pictures of the birds.

I kinda like painting cards. It’s a dual gift. You have the sweet words of thanks on the inside and a piece of art to frame, if you want to. If you don’t want to, you can pitch it. That’s okay, too. It’s yours to do with as you please.

Sometimes I think I’m getting better at this drawing and painting thing, other times I’m sure I’m not. Nonetheless, it’s the thought that counts, right?

When we were in town we stopped at my favorite thrift store. I picked up some art papers and a bag of colored pencils. When I got it home and dumped out, besides colored pencils, I found colored pens, a set of pastels, crayon pencils, watercolor pencils, a bag of pencil-top erasers, a drawing pencil and sharpener, and a stone.

          “A stone?” you query.

          Yes. A stone. It looks to me like it might have been used to sharpen just the tips of the pencils because there’s some color on the stone but I’ve never seen or heard of such a thing. It’s the only reason I can figure for it having color and being in the bag.

           And that is the end of the jibber-jabber for eclipse week. Altogether it would’ve added seven pages to the seventeen.

          Early Monday the guys came to lay the new carpet and I was off to exercise class. When I got home, I took the girls and walked down to hand deliver the latest edition of Peggy’s Jibber Jabber.

          Right out the door, you see our pear trees beautiful in the sunlight. The middle one lost a branch a couple of years ago.

           I know that Raini will stay with me. I let her run, dragging her lead, while I took pictures of the blossoms.

          One car came down the road before we were out of the driveway. “Car!” I said to Raini and made her come to my side and sit. She made a half-hearted lunge for the car as it went by and I quickly told her, “NO!” and made her sit and stay for a few extra moments. “Okay,” I told her and we were off. Once I was past Sally’s I dropped her leash and let her run.

          She’s been to this house before. She went with us when Lamar had broken his ankle and we were getting Charlie’s mail for him. Near as I can tell, he likes dogs so I hope he didn’t mind her. Nonetheless, I called and she came running back to me.

          I didn’t stay too long at the Kipps', just long enough for Bondi to excited pee on the porch and Miss Rosie to get some loves. Then it was off for a little more picture-making before I went home.

          Deadnettle is blooming.

          It’s called deadnettle because it doesn’t sting like stinging nettle does. It thrives in shade, can withstand drought, and adapts well to various soil conditions. Deadnettle is in the mind family but doesn’t taste anything like mint. It has a mildly sweet flavor. Young leaves can be eaten raw in salads or blended into smoothies. It can be cooked as a potherb, stir-fry, or added to soups and stews. You can make it into a tea, too. It’s rich in vitamins C, A, K, as well as iron, fiber, and bioflavonoids. It’s a diuretic, astringent, anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial, and anti-fungal.

          Bees on flowers. I’m sure you recognize this one as a dandelion.

          And this one is on the tiny little flower of Speedwell.

          “How tiny is it?” you ask.   

           Look at your thumbnail and imagine you’re holding a Speedwell flower. It’s this tiny.

          We’ll talk about those two wildflowers and their properties another time.

          Our pond is nice and full.

          I’m trying to get a photo of the hyacinth that came up in my flower bed. I’ll never be able to look at this flower and not think of Kat. It was her favorite.

      

This handsome father and son team, Mark (on the right) and Mark Junior, called Marky, put the carpet in for us. They did a fantastic job.

          Raini found a place to lay.

And here’s something I’ve hardly ever seen!

“Go away! Go on, git!”

My handsome mountain man doesn’t want anyone to know he can run the vacuum sweeper. He’s afraid it’ll become his job.

The light was low and he wouldn’t hold still for having his picture taken, so they’re a bit blurry.

         Before we could put the house back together we had to get the baseboard put up. Mike had a few pieces in the garage already painted. When it came time to paint more he said, “I’m going to paint in the house.”

          “Why?”

          “Because the garage is too damp.”

          “Fine but put old sheets down. I don’t want paint on my new carpet.”

          “I won’t get any on it,” Mike said.

          I think he was trying to get my goat. “I don’t care. Put it down anyway.”

          It’s a good thing he did, too, because he did drop a little paint.

          Then a wet spot magically appeared on the dropcloths. “Somebody peed,” Mike said.

          I went to clean it up. Was I happy about it? Not at all, but what are ya gonna do at that point? “I wonder who did it and why,” I mused.

          Mike lifted the sawhorses and I pulled the wet sheets out. I even smelled the spot to see if I could tell if it was a cat or dog but in truth, I couldn’t smell anything. I grabbed a handful of paper towels, got down on my knees, and tried to find the spot.

          “Tried to find it?” you say.

          Yep. First I used the paper towels in the area where I thought it was and they came up dry. Then I ran my hand all over the area and felt no dampness at all.

          “It’s pet resistant. So the moisture wicked back up into the sheet?” I asked.

          “I don’t know. I guess so.”

          Way cool!

 

          We made a trip to Dickson City to do a little shopping. Can you say, “Road pictures!?”

          “Run, little squirrel! Run!” I just hoped he didn’t change his mind about the direction he was going because Mike didn’t slow hardly at all.

          I wonder what they’re doing with this old barn.

          On the wall in Sam’s Club.

          Commerce Blvd is loaded with trees with white blooms. I’m guessing this is why ornamental pear trees are considered invasive.

          According to the sign in front, this will be a new cancer center.

          I liked the barn and blooming trees, the only problem is my camera caught the reflections on the window, too.

          This tree must be a hybrid like my lilac. It’s got a branch of pink blooms on a tree of white.

           Wyalusing Hotel.

          Looking up the cliff face of the Wysox Narrows.

I’ve been using homemade laundry soap for a few years now. I like my homemade laundry soap. It cleans well enough with just two tablespoons per load and doesn’t have a heavy fragrance like some commercially made soaps do. The cost is just pennies per load and I don’t have all those plastic jugs to deal with. And I keep some store-bought stuff on hand just in case.

          When I made it this time and washed my hands, I got to looking at the dishes in the sink and wondered if it would make homemade dish soap.

          I talked to my AI buddy and guess what? You can use the same ingredients to make homemade dish soap!

          I made some! I have a 1/8 cup scoop (two tablespoons) in my canister. It doesn’t suds like Dawn but it’s not the suds that clean your dishes. I’ve only used it a couple of times but it seems to be working well. Yay! No more plastic bottles to recycle! And again, I’ll still keep Dawn on standby.

            

          I did another page in my daily painting book, or maybe it would more aptly be named the once-in-a-while painting book. 

          Another project I did, and did a better job on, was I made a giant check like they do on TV when they present lottery winners with their winnings.

          Our church took up a collection to help Pastor Jay and Mary with the expense of taking their whole family to the production of Daniel at the Sight and Sound Theater in Lancaster.

          Mike doesn’t want to go but I’m going.

          Anyway, in the past, whenever our church took up a collection and presented it to the pastor, they just handed him an envelope. I, for one, always wondered how much we collected.

          Our church family far exceeded my expectations. I had hoped to get enough to cover the price of six adults and two children's tickets and we did. We got all that plus it’ll cover the cost of gas and food for the day too. There might even be a little left over.

          Lamar gave the giant check to Pastor and Mary and I heard wows coming from the congregation as I snapped a few pictures. Until then they hadn’t known how much we’d collected either. 

         Don’cha love Mary’s beautiful smile!

          Pastor Jay was thankful and speechless.

          Let’s call this one done!

Done!