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dove_song
11 years ago
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canadian_rose
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Tell Me Your Story - Your Favorite Garden Project
Comments (10)OK, here's one. How to water a front yard garden and also my boulevard. Hmmm a garden hose and me standing in several locations. I even set up a chair. In about the middle of this area is a Chinese Elm tree that was getting larger than I wanted but since I hang things (g.junk of course, squirrel/bird feeders) from it I didn't want to cut it down. So my son and I loped off the top 15' of it leaving about 20' of tree. Each year I trim the new growth back somewhat and give the top a crewcut. I mounted one of those 5' tall rotating sprinklers that you set in the ground on the very top and ran the garden hose along the remaining tree trunk and over to a Y valve with a flow control. When I turn it on it sends out a gentle rain in about a 20' wide circle or less that is real close to a summer shower. People walking down the sunny sidewalk all of a sudden look around in wonder cause they cant see the sprinkler amongst the leaves of the tree. Kids ride up and down the sidewalk on their trikes/bikes to cool down and my lawn/garden gets about 90% covered. Next year I might mount an oscillating sprinkler that will cover a rectangular space. The first day I tried this method I sat on a lawn chair and watched the coverage and the sun was low in the west. I got a rainbow that went from one part of the yard to the other and had more colors in it than any rainbow I ever saw in the sky. No matter what I did after that day I could never repeat that effect. I marked the spot at the left end of that rainbow and one day I will dig and find the 'pot of gold' I think....See Morenew-fotess tell me a story swap!
Comments (150)THE LAST LEAF by FOTESS A woman walks through a forest of tall trees. A cool breeze is blowing as the summer comes to a close. The trees begin to shiver as a squirrel scurries through on a hunt for the bountiful harvest from the nut trees. A single leaf falls. The woman raises her eyes skyward, to learn the source of the falling leaf, the largest she has ever seen. She is delighted to discover it is from a rare and beautiful native, the Bigleaf Magnolia. Suddenly, something else catches her eye. As she paused, looking up at the tree, Lucille realized that it was much colder than it had been when she parked the truck at the trailhead. Looking west she could see thick grey clouds flying ahead of the wind. "I better head back and check on the animals," The woman said to herself. As she turned and headed back down the trail, an Elvish figure stepped away from the tree, smiled, and nodded his head. For several seconds, she screamed in awesome fear. Then a quiet, comforting peace consumed her in to a devoted trance. She could not speak. She could not move. Lucille’s paralyzed body fell to the soft earth. The short, rather ugly, non-human like being approached her. He stooped down on to his knees, ever so close to her now frail body. She saw his ears were not ears but luscious golden veined, red leaves. She smiled. His distorted fingers caringly closed her eyes and then he took her hands in to his. Butterflies in a myriad of colors flutter past Lucille's frail body. Enchanting objects flying around like little pixies. Lucille gently reopens her eyes to a magical forest. Dancing pink magical mushrooms wander this forest in very operatic voices. Where am I, she cries?? A faint cackle taunts her in the distance. She frantically looks down and remembers nothing but that mysterious single leaf. Lucille looks around to the new magical world she has found herself in.There are flowers of all different colors,fairies flying to and fro and all of a sudden she realizes she is a fairy,with wings and all of the mixed hues of a leaf colors in autumn!!! But she wants to go home to her animals and has a feeling that mysterious leaf is her only link to finding her way home.but how can she find the leaf? The leaves she sees here are the beautiful colors of autumn.The mysterious leaf was green!! Lucille slumped down in a slough of despair. "Oh, what to do, what to do," she cried. "Not a fairy! I don't even know how to fly - nor do I want to learn! I want to go home!" She stood up and looked around at the colorful landscape and all the fluttering, singing beings. "This is all very pretty, albeit a bit garish. But pretty as it is, it is still just a bit creepy. These pink mushrooms are really getting on my nerves." She wandered a few paces down the path. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw what appeared to be a moving forest! As it came closer, she saw it was a whole group of the little Elvish figures, chanting " Where is the Last Leaf?" over and over. In addition to ears that looked like leaves, their bodies looked barky, with knot holes, and their arms were very twiggy. "Gee," thought Lucille, "if I find the Last Leaf for them, maybe they'll tell me how to get out of here!" As the chanting of the Elvish figures grew louder Lucille trembled. What to do, stay and talk to them or run and hide. Although she wanted to hide she deceided to stay as they might know how she can find her way home. Soon they circled around Lucille chanting "where is the last leaf." Lucille asked," can you please help me find my way home." "No," said the biggest and angriest creature, we want the last leaf. "Why are you looking for the last leaf ," asked Lucille. The smallest one stepped forward and said," Our mother, Mrs. Maganolia said we cannot sleep until the last leaf falls and we are getting very tired as we have been swaying in the wind since last spring. Just then the large angry creature said, "I bet she is hiding the last leaf, lets go get her." Lucille tries to turn away as the largest creature approaches, but finds it difficult to move. Pain knifes through her skull as the fading light penetrates the twin slits of her eyelids and her vision is clouded in gouts of red fog. She puts her hand to her head and it comes away sticky. As she strives for lucidity, warm breath bathes her cheek and she hears snuffling. A gray horse is standing above her just on the other side of a fence she had not noticed earlier. Fully awake now, Lucille realizes that she is lying on the ground and begins to assess the damage. On her forehead a large bloody lump throbs with every heartbeat, but nothing seems broken. Near her foot a twisted root tells the story of her fall even if she can't recall the accident. Struggling to get up, she remembers the menacing creatures from her unconscious fantasy and chides herself for her vivid imagination. Brushing away twigs and leaves clinging to her clothes, she makes her way back to the truck, again passing the Bigleaf Magnolia. It is bare. "Was there one large leaf there before, one that fell?", she asks herself as she climbs into the driver's seat. Her eyes scan the forest's edge as she tries to reconcile her memory of trees just beginning their transition from summer to fall with the reality of the nearly leafless spectacle before her. Everything about her adventure is becoming a little hazy as she tries to piece together the afternoon's events. On the drive home she decides to feed the animals quickly and drive to the ER to be checked for concussion. When she slides gingerly out of the truck so as not to reawaken the pain in her head, she does not notice the debris that falls from her hair. Green, perfect, vibrant and pulsing with life, it is the last leaf. the end...See More65 pounds of love (a long story :)
Comments (29)Isabelle is scheduled for surgery on the 18th. She was also diagnosed with entropion. This made me think about Jeeves... I'll be he didn't spend all of his years with his eyelashes in his eyes as Isabelle hasn't either. He eye lids are starting to roll into her eyes so we're having it taken care of. This is pretty common with bulldogs as they get older and the wrinkly face bulldogs like Jeeves and Isabelle are much more prone to it than some. I shopped around as this surgery can be expensive. UC Davis, our teaching hospital, cost the most, at $1500. A close second was her Eye Dr., at $1250. The vets that our area uses as a trauma hospital was only $650. Still expensive, coming off poor Dubs medical expenses but they are also the closest. Sueb, have you had your white dog checked for this recently? It could be just the way it is laying in the photo but those eyes look a bit suspicious to me. Kind of pink around the rims and bulgy. You can better judge in real life....See MoreIs it supposed to take this long? Tell me your horror stories.
Comments (28)Most of what has been posted, definitely agree with. Esp life events. If you are purchasing materials, supplies, have them on site prior. In previous projects, I went according to others timeline. Being deadline driven, I made decisions because I 'had to' make them by a certain date (be a team player mentality), not because I wanted that particular item. Often I was unhappy before project completed and then the 're-do' thoughts would creep in. This time, I am forcing myself to take a different approach and have been working hard with myself to get over the 'deadline driven' mentality. Although I've already made some decisions I've already regretted, I just try to focus on the overall big picture...I'll be using the kitchen 10 times longer than the downtime. Nothing is worse than stepping into a space daily and regretting a decision that becomes a financial investment to replace. The other thing, listen to your gut. I found out completely by accident that my current heating system (rads) would not play well with toe kick heaters. Listening to my gut, I terminated my relationship with GC I had already given the job to, and had to start that process over. I went out on my own (was never part of project scope since I didn't know) and found a reputable contractor and had the furnace end done prior to demo and will have part 2 done at appropriate time during remodel. Also consider lots of added time for weather delays. With our bitter temps here (and snow), I have not let them cut a hole in roof until temps above freezing. Although we're due to go up to 39 degrees Friday, it's anticipated we'll get 8-12" of snow on Thursday. (Was 5 degrees this am). We sleep above a currently unheated kitchen (2 rads removed) and the hole coming thru our bedroom to go thru a smaller roof, I couldn't handle. Can't find portable heaters locally anywhere). So it has created a lull, and put plumbing inspection on hold. I keep reminding myself...you'll be using kitchen longer than downtime. Meanwhile, tick-tick-tick goes the storage fees. All unanticipated expenses, including the big tick up in heating bill, as heating system overcompensates in other rooms....See Moredove_song
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