In the Service of Her Majesty The Queen

That's the good thing about those products. They last for ever.

Ice hockey.

One of N's friends is going with us. Me, a 7 and 1/2 and 8 year old. :yikes: (J/K)

It's gonna be fun! :thumbsup:

Besides, they both get a late night out!

 

Buy a hand cleaner, stick it under the sink. For when nothing else will work.

Carrying exhausted babies around is fun, too. :thumbsup:

 

The birds sing, twitter, chirp and click in the trees. Few leaves fall from the live oaks, they are leafing out with new green at their crowns. The dogwood flowers lie flat, twice the size today from yesterday, the breeze flutters their petals. Tiny leaves are unfolding on it, too, but from the bottom up. The air smells sweet.

I cannot bear the thought of summer, the heat that will trap me in the house. Ahhh, but that is many tomorrows away, still, days and days away, and is not happening now. I pull my mind back, stay in today.

When I go out again, the flock of noisy crows is back on the neighbor's lawn. I turn my head, look back, they are gone, flown into a tree somewhere near by, I can still hear them.

This evening, a lone squirrel, and young one and hungry, climbs it way around the live oak and I suddenly realize why the squirrels haven't come to ground...it is eating acorns as it goes.

I see a small flock of what I think are finches, the sparrows do not seem to flock, but fly alone or chase another sparrow. These birds are smaller than sparrows.

Night comes. For awhile, it is quiet and still. That's the time I like best. No noise. Even my brain shuts up.

 

Everyone I know...all my friends, the neighbor woman, the kid who mowed my lawn...seems to be in a bad space...every one I talked with today.

I hold my hand out...and that's really the only thing I can do.

I would bring them blossoms from the dogwood, if I could.


To all those who live on the night side, early so I don't forget,


The nightly mission:

Take a dogwood blossom with you
when you go to your bed tonight.

Think of how beautiful it is,
how full of life, how bright.

Smell how sweet life is.

G'Night! Wake up tomorrow!

 

So here it is, 11:00PM in Chicago.

Safe at home. The boys in bed.

The Wolves won in a shoot out after overtime, 5 to 4.

The boys had a GREAT time. So did Dad.

Time to unwind with J, and enjoy the rest of the evening. :thumbsup:

He, he, she's awake, alert, and interested! (a relationship/marriage hat trick!)

 

Not sure what you mean by the um relationship/marriage hat trick, but the image I get from it is um unmentionable on a family forum (but very funny). Just sayin here,
don't mean to be insulting...or out of line, either.

I'm glad someone else is also in a good mood!

 

Good Morning!!

Yes, not for a family forum. That's why I didn't elaborate.

No insults or lines out here! You're good! oke:

 

The dogtree blossoms do not fall yet, the lower leaves grow and grow, the upper branches are lightly green, as well. It is prettier, to me, at night. The contrast between the black night and the white blossoms is striking.

The moon comes up now further away from where the sun rises, and later.

The great dance seems to be over for the birds, they appear paired. I am up late, again, so I miss the early morning singing. A larger flock of what I take to be finches flits by, off to the northwest range of trees. No mountains here in Florida, only ranges of trees. I wonder what the crows do when they nest. Does the flock separate? Or do they form nesting cities, so to speak. They are so social...maybe they do.

The lizard is out, sunbathing on the porch rail. The great dance has not started for the lizards. Likely it has to be hotter...if not, then this lizard is lonely, for no other lizards appear to be around. If lizards can, in fact, be lonely.

To all those who rose or rise from sleep, Good Morning! I hope you have a blessed day.

G'Night to those on the other side of the world, who may be headed for sleep.

 

On the porch this afternoon, I am assailed on all sides by noise: Dogs barking, lawnmowers roaring, kids yelling over the noise of the lawnmowers, a motorcycle revving up, traffic from the highway. It makes me dizzy. I sleep, and things are quieter when I wake.

The woman next door feels better today, so does 2 of my friends.

Not all the birds are paired. Two cardinals are still working on it. One of them, I don't know which, they are out of view in the pines to the north, makes a shrill whistle, repeatedly. The other calls back, less shrill, more warble. They keep this up for awhile, then the male leaves the pines and flies to the top of the streetlight. The female flies to the bush I don't like that is in the neighbor's yard, not far from the streetlight. And she start clucking to the male. Cluck cluck cluck. Cluck cluck cluck. He ignores her. For awhile. Then he finally flies down to the bush. They eye each other. He moves closer,
she moves away, but not far. He follows.

Then a stupid squirrel jumps all the way off my roof, landing with a loud thud on the porch railing. The cardinals fly off. Damn.

But I hear them later this evening, the shrill whistle, the softer almost warble. So they still court one another.

I didn't realize that the female woos the male in the bird's world. I thought it was the opposite. Maybe it's different for cardinals?

A couple of buzzards circled overhead, I pushed the chimes to make them sound, and they flew off. Either that or my quick movement sent them on their way...whichever, they left.

The blossoms are still on the dogwood, the leaves grow.

The day is better at it's end.

 

To all on this side of the world who soon go to sleep,

The Nightly Mission:

Hold tight to what grounds you,
keeps you safe and sane
through the night.

Hold tight, hold tight.

G'Night!



Good Morning, when it came, to the other side of the world.

 

Queen? That's exaggerating a little

 

Hey, I was fooled. I thought you were actually a heterosexual female. But what do I know?

 

It's supposed to rain tonight, and although I hope it does -- we need the rain -- if it rains hard, it will knock the petals off the dogwood tree, the petals that still lay open, are still beautiful.

A very large flock of crows flew overhead this evening, noisy noisy. Maybe the one I saw before, a crane of some sort flew by, as well. And shortly after, the ducks, who appear to move regularly from one body of water to another, back and forth, depending on the time of day.

I lost track of the cardinal's romance, but the red headed woodpecker came around again, and pecked away at the live oaks. It's bill must keep growing like hamster's teeth do, to survive all that pecking.

The lizard runs the porch rails, still alone.

I got a close up view of a cat spider's head...a little one of course, I wouldn't come anywhere near a big one...and it has a ring of eyes on top of it's head. No wonder they are so antsy and hop around so much. It didn't stick around very long, no doubt many of the eyes could see me looming over it.

The sun dived to the other side of the earth and night has come.

 

A beautiful night here in Chicago.

Tomorrow's supposed to be much better, sunny and near 70.

If that holds, I will officially begin the "grilling season". Last year was a resounding success. This years is looking to be the same.

Two good steaks, cold beer, and sitting next the the grill, relaxing in the sunshine.

Ahh, I'll be having good dreams tonight!