summer blooms

The lilies have arrived in an

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I Should, I Wish, I Love

I love it when Julia tags me:

My ex... is someone with whom I had absolutely nothing in common.

Maybe I should... stop futzing around on the internet while I'm at work and make a dent in these motions that need to get filed.

I love... being in a happy, healthy relationship with someone who "gets it."

People would say...I'm anal and uptight, but I think I'm just really well-organized.

I don't understand...why 24 hours in a day aren't enough.

When I wake up in the morning... I pet whatever animal is closest - one of the cats, or the dog, or Ryan. :)

I lost...track of time a lot this week.

Life is full of...little blessings and small miracles. You just have to have enough awareness to recognize them.

My past is something...I have often blocked out, intentionally, only to discover it lurking around later on, rearing its ugly head when I least expect it.

I get annoyed when... people are rude to each other.

Parties are...more fun when they're at our house!

I wish...I didn't worry so much about things I can't control.

Dogs...we have 1. She makes a great substitute for an actual kid.

Cats... we have 2. They are just as loyal as the dog, but require a lot less attention.

Tomorrow... is one day closer to Friday.

I have a low tolerance for... litterbugs, smokers, people with a false sense of self-importance and co-workers with bitch-mouth.

If I had a million dollars... Ryan and I would retire to the Adirondacks after paying off all our debt.

I'm totally terrified of...making the same mistakes my parents made.

the Reverand still has it

Last week I scored free tickets to see Al Green at the Jazz Fest. We had a blast at the show, and some pretty decent seats, too.

bino-scoping, 101

I've been reading up on the techniques of digiscoping and binoscoping lately, and becoming more and more fascinated. Digiscoping requires a spotting scope with an apparatus for mounting your digital camera. I don't have a spotting scope as of yet, but it's on my long list of things to purchase some time soon. You can achieve the same sort of effect by pointing your digital camera through your binoculars. So, I decided to try it. My first go at it wasn't so bad. My set-up looked like this (you can see the bird feeders in the background):


I had to take a couple of practice shots before the birds showed up:

First to visit was a male house finch:


We also have an entire family of downy woodpeckers hanging around. The darn things move so erratically that it's difficult to get a shot that isn't blurry. This is my favorite one. Even though you can see the outline of the eyepiece on my binos, I love this photo of Mom feeding Junior:

the week in review

It's been a busy week with little time for posting. Here's what I've been up to:

Sunday, 6/8, I went to Hot Blues for the Homeless to support Ryan (that's him there, on the Left, along with Gordon Munding, Curtis Waterman, and Washboard Dave). And the homeless. At above 90 degrees outside that day, boy was it hot.

Monday - Tuesday, 6/9-6/10, we had not one but TWO birthdays at our house! The puppeh turned 5 this week. (Check out that sunburn on my shoulders. Ouch!)


Wednesday - Thursday, 6/11-6/12, I finished up the planting. I got my heirloom tomatoes in, including everyone's favorite, The Mortgage Lifter. I also planted basil, parsley, petunias, marigolds, chives and thyme. I think, however, I'll have to put in more basil since we tend to use prodigious amounts throughout the summer. Anyone for pesto?


Busy weeks also mean little time for yard-work, other than what is absolutely necessary (that'd be the basil). As a result, we have an interesting assortment of weeds and non-native invasive plants growing all over. Sometimes, they're pretty. I have no idea what this is. Anyone know? I'm not so good with my wildflowers yet.

Earlier this past week, I scored Jazz Fest tickets to Frank Sinatra, Jr. So, after a lovely al fresco dinner at Aladdin's last night, Ryan and I went up and heard the son of Ol' Blue Eyes in a really classy concert. I was slightly apprehensive that it was going to be a lame show, but it turned into a very nice evening.

in the pines

Several weeks ago I started a rather lengthy post about our weekend up in the North Country. I never finished it, and now, compared to some of the things we saw, words just won't do Mother Nature much justice. So, I'll just let the photos speak for themselves:




This was the view across the street from our hotel in Saranac Lake.







And this was the view from the summit on Jenkins Mountain, in Paul Smiths. It was breathtaking.