Patience

Knowing trees, I understand the meaning of patience. Knowing grass, I can appreciate persistence.
~Hal Borland, journalist (1900-1978)

Le Renard

I went for a walk in the Arboretum again today, choosing the smaller (and closer) Grady Tract this time. This "little" section of the UW Arboretum is about a mile west of my street, at the corner of Seminole Highway and West Beltline Frontage Rd. That's that little white "square" at bottom left of the map above. You can see how tiny it is compared to the main body of the Arboretum. It was a hot day, and the "coolness" of the Evjue Forest and Grady Oak Savanna were quite welcome.

It did not take me long to realize I was not alone. In fact, I had walked less than fifteen minutes before I realized I was being watched.

Can you see him watching where the path curves away from me?

How about a close-up?




At one point my new friend disappeared into the forest undergrowth, only to show himself again a short time later.




Then he slipped into the dense undergrowth again. Though I could not see him, I knew he was trotting along somewhat parallel to me. The trail I was on curved slightly northward where four paths intersected near a small woodpile. I saw his head bobbing along the trail long before our paths met, so stopped, zoomed in, and was able to get this shot as he turned onto the path in front of me.




He trotted on ahead of me, glancing back every now and again to see that I was still there, and occasionally stopping, looking at something along the trail-side, then looking at me as if to say, "look at this!" Then he would be on the move again, only to stop a few feet further on to turn and contemplate his unlikely companion again.




Alas, he eventually exited the trail, one last look at me from behind a couple of trees, before he was off following some scent he'd picked up. The encounter reminded of the chapter in Le Petit Prince (The Little Prince) where the prince meets the fox.




"What does that mean--'tame'?"

"It is an act too often neglected," said the fox. It means to establish ties."

"'To establish ties'?"

"Just that," said the fox. "To me, you are still nothing more than a little boy who is just like a hundred thousand other little boys. And I have no need of you. And you, on your part, have no need of me. To you, I am nothing more than a fox like a hundred thousand other foxes. But if you tame me, then we shall need each other. To me, you will be unique in all the world. To you, I shall be unique in all the world . . ."

. . .

The fox gazed at the little prince, for a long time.

"Please--tame me!" he said.

. . .

Sigh...One of my favorite chapters in any book!


---------------------------------------

Please note: I did NOT chase after the fox. He chose to share himself with me; I admired him from a respectful distance with a zoom lens. Even wildlife that is used to the presence of humans should not be trifled with.

Blue Skies and Lilacs

Nothing says spring like blue skies and lilacs...

Funky Art

Seen on one of my walks.

(Click pic to enlarge)

Thursday Thirteen 155: Turkeys, Brats and Rainbows

1. This weekend is the Memorial Day holiday here in the states, a three-day weekend considered by many as the "official" start of summer.

2. Part of the Memorial Weekend tradition here in Madison is Brat Fest. You can read a post I wrote on it two years ago here. (And that's pronounced like 'brawt' not 'braat'.)

3. A record 208,752 brats were sold in 2009. To date, $855,723 has been raised during Brat Fest for local charities.

4. Another weekend tradition is the National Memorial Day Concert, broadcast on PBS from the Mall in Washington, D.C. on Sunday night (7pm CDT). This annual tribute never fails to move me to tears.

5. While out for a 2-mile walk around my neighborhood last weekend, I crossed paths with a couple of interesting local residents also out for a stroll.

6. A friend learned from a neighbor of hers this week that he frequently sees wild turkeys roosting on her roof at night. She has never seen nor heard them.

7. And while the neighbor has seen the turkeys, he has apparently NOT seen the big hulking deer that tramp through their adjoining yards on a weekly basis. How can you notice birds perched on a rooftop, but not see deer parading through your yard?

8. Speaking of feathered friends, I have seen hawks three times this week. The first was while turning off my street en route to work Monday morning. He took flight right in front of me. The second was soaring above a freshly-tilled field coming home that same day. Then Wednesday morning I saw another hawk circling over a field. Three sightings in as many days!

9. I posted about hawks as animal totems here.

10. I did not see a hawk going home Wednesday night, probably due to pouring rain, but did see a full rainbow arcing between two different woods.

11. I have had The Rainbow Connection, as sung by Kenny Loggins on The House at Pooh Corner CD, playing in my head since I got home.

12. Most people are probably more familiar with the version sung by Kermit the Frog in The Muppet Movie.

13. I can no longer protest that I am not a fast reader. Since last week's post I have read five books, and am working on a sixth. Five finished in one week! Honestly, I cannot remember the last time I read so much in so short a time.

LINKS TO OTHER THURSDAY THIRTEENS:
(Please leave your link if this is your first visit!)

Shelley Munro * Alice Audrey * Colleen * Paige Tyler
CountryDew * Kimberly Menozzi * Darla M Sands
Tatiana Caldwell * I Beati * A Catherine Noon
Jennifer Leeland * Hootin' Anni * Janice Seagraves
Jill Conyers * Adelle Laudan * Elise Logan


More Thursday Thirteen participants

Teaser Tuesday 36: Joining

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

* Grab your current read.
* Share a few “teaser” sentences from somewhere in the book.
* BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (Make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away. You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
* Share the title and author so that other participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teaser!

This is from an older historical romance by Johanna Lindsey, which I read in May. There are fireworks aplenty between these two strong-headed people, making for a great romance.

She cut in angrily as she marched past him, "There is no way to make it palatable, so do not bother to try, Lord Wulf. A prisoner is a prisoner, no matter what small freedom she is allowed."

(pg 216)

About the book:

Genre: Historical Romance

Johanna Lindsey is in top form with Joining, a medieval romance. It's the 13th century, and young Wulfric and little Milisant are not exactly soul mates—as kids, they've gotten into quite a scrape. Years later, they must marry each other and make the best of things, despite their low opinion of each other. Lindsey knows how to set off the sparks and make the fireworks soar—and Joining is one of her best novels in years. (Note from me: it really is!)

Scattered

Urban Turkeys

It being far too nice a day to stay cooped up indoors, I went out for an hour walk around the neighborhood. That would be about 2-1/4 miles (yes, Jana, I hear you groaning, LOL). I like walking in this particular part of the neighborhood as it is quiet, mostly shaded and can be quite gorgeous during the different seasons.

While out today, I happened upon a couple other residents out for a stroll. You will recall I live quite close to the Arboretum, as well as another nearby prairie/marshland? A lady with whom I stopped to chat a few minutes said they are seen along this particular street fairly frequently, though this was the first I'd seen them. But then, maybe they were keeping a low profile during the fall, with Thanksgiving and Christmas fast approaching? And yes, they did look both ways before crossing the street. Apparently they are a lot brighter than the raccoons. *Grin*

Thursday Thirteen 154: Recently Read

Some of you are probably scratching your heads, wondering "Didn't she just do one of these posts?" Well...yes, actually, she did. Sort of. Back at the end of March, to be precise. Guess what? I've already notched another thirteen books since then. I know I'm impressed, LOL. Seriously, I am. Especially considering the slow start I got off to in January. If you really want to be impressed, I read all three of the Johanna Linseys in one week. That's 912 pages in one week. Usually I'm doing good if I can read half that much in a week! Click on any title to find out more about the book. Some of these have also been featured during weekly Teaser Tuesday postings, or will be used for future ones, so check that out as well if you want "more" of each book.













* Aristotle's Poetics was read for a Really Old Classics challenge (pre-1600).

* Pride and Prejudice was read for the Classics challenge. One down, three to go.

* The Johanna Lindsey books were read for the 2010 Year of the Historical challenge. I'm trying to catch up on her books. Four of hers down, seven eight more to go (I just saw that a new one is out in June)!

* Plaster & Poison, How to Wash a Cat, Sink Trap and Lead-Pipe Cinch were all read for the April theme challenge (cat or home improvement mysteries) for the Cozy Mysteries group at GoodReads.com.

* Mum's the Word and Second Wind were read for a May theme challenge (mysteries involving horses and flowers) for the Cozy Mysteries group at GoodReads.com — both also fill a goal of reading more new-to-me authors (authors you may have heard of but have never read). Dick Francis also meets a goal to try more male writers (since I was chastised for a lack of them in one of these posts last year).



LINKS TO OTHER THURSDAY THIRTEENS:
(Please leave your link if this is your first visit!)

BrendaND * Elise Logan * Staci * Lia Morgan * Adelle Laudan
Janice Seagraves * Peach * Shelley Munro * Ella Drake
Inez Kelley * Jennifer McKenzie * Darla Sands * Jana
Tatiana Caldwell * Paige Tyler * CountryDew * Colleen
Alice Audrey * Hootin' Anni * Ms Menozzi * Kristen * BusyB


More Thursday Thirteen participants

The Garden Gate

The world is all gates, all opportunities, strings of
tension waiting to be struck.
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Teaser Tuesday 35: Lead-Pipe Cinch

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

* Grab your current read.
* Share a few “teaser” sentences from somewhere in the book.
* BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (Make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away. You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
* Share the title and author so that other participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teaser!

I read this book in April. It is book two in the Georgiana Neverall mystery series. See last week's post for a snippet from book one. This is a two-for-one week—two teasers for the price of one. *grin*

I don't think he had quite forgiven me for getting myself shot at. I wasn't too happy about it, either, having been the target, but that didn't seem to matter.
(pg 36)


Barry said Sean had found Blake in the moat. What had Blake been doing out here before the crew arrived? The man I knew wouldn't have been caught dead...

Ohh, bad choice of words.
(pg 39)

About the book:
Georgiana Neverall never pictured herself knee-deep in a muddy trench building a moat-part of a state-of-the-art castle that would soon house a retired Microsoft engineer.

She also never imagined being a murder suspect, but that's exactly what happens when a floater in the moat turns out to be her ex-boyfriend.

Celebrating 50 years

Today was the 50th Anniversary celebration of a friend's parents. We've been friends more than 20 years and our group is so close that we have always called each others' parents "Mom" and "Dad," and have been treated as part of their respective families.

In addition to ham and turkey, several salads, fruit and veggies, and brownies, there were two cakes. This one was a white cake with a "cream cheese mousse" filling and was soooo good. Very moist, and the frosting wasn't overly sweet as most tend to be. I'm exercising great will-power in not eating the piece that was sent home with me tonight.

There was also carrot cake, though most opted for the other.

Mom and Dad N.

Mom and Dad N with two of their three children (son was absent) and two of their four grandchildren (one was absent, the other left before pictures could be taken). My friend is center, in front of her husband.

Happy 50th, Mom and Dad N!

There be {Dragons} here...

I thought I had posted pictures of this plant previously, but apparently—though I have mentioned it a few times—I never got round to uploading pics of it. So, here's the story.

Several years back when my mom was in the hospital, one of my sisters sent her a plant labeled as "mixed greens." It was a cute little arrangement, a variety of leafy greens. Mom not having much of a green thumb, the plant—which was about 6 inches in height at that time—came to me when she returned home. I set it in front of my living room window, which gets sun a good portion of the day, and tried to remember to water it once a week. It grew. And it grew. And —

I think you can see where I am going with this.

The thing insisted on growing, no matter how much I (inadvertently) neglected it. Before long, what had been a cute little plant of a few inches was a foot tall. And then two feet. When it was about four feet tall, I became more curious as to what kind of plant it was—and how much taller it would get. The Internet was of no use in this quest, having no idea where to start. Then I got the idea one day to walk down to Johansen's and see if they might have anything similar. It did not take me long to find what I was looking for. I believe my initial reaction, once I picked my jaw up off the floor, was "it's a friggin' tree!?"

Yes, the EXTREMELY TALL plant identical to mine was labeled "Dragon Tree."





So, I now had a name I could search on. I must say, I was a little perturbed with what I read. Sure, it is easy to care for. The Madagascar Dragon Tree (Dracaena marginata) is native to African jungles, so it likes moderate levels of light and water, which makes it an easy plant to grow. I have found various heights mentioned for this plant, ranging anywhere from 7-10 feet and up to 15-20 feet. Mine is already at five feet, nearly as tall as I am. With its narrow, red-tinged green leaves, it resembles a palm tree, and drops the bottom leaves as it grows. The leaves are generally 12-16 inches in length.

According to what I've read, you can train multiple plants to twine round each other. I'd be happy if I could just get mine to grow a bit straighter without tying it up. You can also cut off the top of the cane and root it as you would any stem cutting. Though that may be interesting to try, I think one tree is more than enough in my small space.

Here is another look at mine, from a slightly different angle. I really hope it doesn't grow to be more than ten feet tall!

The other plants in this pot were also among the "mixed greens" sent by my sister. I still have no idea what they are, but they have fared as well as the Dragon tree. The two other plants in this picture, to left of the Dragon, are philodendrons. The one in the beige pot was rooted from the one in the white pot at the far left. They won't quit growing, either. LOL

Thursday Thirteen 153: Random Thoughts

Random thoughts...

1. I'm tired of being cold. Mother Nature really needs to get over her hissy fit already. This 80 degrees one day, 50 the next just isn't working for me. Especially when I am without heat.

2. The reason I have no heat is that the boiler in our building broke down the beginning of April. Since winter was "officially" over, the cheapskates in charge have apparently decided NOT to fix it until next fall. Never mind that temps are still dropping into the 40s and 30s at night and we've had several frost advisories during the past month. I have to turn my oven on just to burn off the chill every morning and when I come home at night.

3. The cool and unseasonable temps probably wouldn't be so bad if not for the relentless wind, which seems to blow non-stop. A beautiful, warm and sunny day will be ruined by a 20mph wind and gusts at 30 to 40. In fact, it's battering my windows again as I type this. *Shivers*

4. Any question why Stormy Weather was playing continuously in my head, even before hearing of music legend Lena Horne's passing at age 92 Monday morning?

5. Remember my meteorite post last month? Another meteor sighting was reported in Wisconsin around 4am Monday morning (10 May). No word yet as to whether parts of it have been found.

6. I have become seriously addicted to Premium M&M's in Triple Chocolate and Mint Chocolate. Neither bag ever seems to last very long.



7. Likewise Wonka Exceptions Domed Dark Chocolate. Soooo worth the price!

8. And now I have Pure Imagination from the movie playing in my head.

9. Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971) is one of my childhood favorites. I can watch that movie again and again. I refuse to watch the Tim Burton creep show, though, as it would completely ruin it for me.

10. Things that annoy me at work: coworkers who snap fingers or drum in time to music. It's extremely distracting and Gets. On. My. Nerves.

11. You know what else is annoying? Pulling out the lower drawer of the dishwasher and having something in the silverware caddy catch on the drawer above, tipping the entire caddy backwards into the gunky bottom of the machine, thus forcing you to rewash every utensil. Yeah, my Wednesday got off to a great start.

12. Speaking of containers, I recently found a packet of carrot seeds that came in a gift box received some time ago. Not having a yard but possessing an eastern facing front window, I thought I might give growing container carrots a try. The question is whether the window box I found is deep enough, and if they'll grow the way that darn dragon tree has.

13. My plans for the weekend include attending a 50th anniversary celebration for a friend's parents. I've never attended a 50th celebration before, though I have pictures commemorating the 50th of both my maternal great-grandparents and paternal grandparents. Not many couples seem to stay together that long anymore.



LINKS TO OTHER THURSDAY THIRTEENS:
(Please leave your link if this is your first visit!)

Elise Logan * Janice Seagraves * Adelle Laudan * Alice Audrey
Ms Menozzi * Beati * Shelley Munro * CountryDew
Colleen * Kristen * Inez Kelley * Harriet * Paige Tyler
Darla M Sands * Peach * Jennifer McKenzie * Tatiana Caldwell
Jana * Megan Rose * Sasha Devlin * A Catherine Noon


More Thursday Thirteen participants

Teaser Tuesday 34: Sink Trap

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

* Grab your current read.
* Share a few “teaser” sentences from somewhere in the book.
* BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (Make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away. You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
* Share the title and author so that other participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teaser!

I read this book in April. This is the first in a cute, funny cozy mystery series featuring female plumber Georgiana Neverall.

I'd learned how to defend myself. But I also knew trying to disarm a nervous person with a gun was a good way to get yourself seriously killed. Especially when you were outnumbered, and your opponent had the element of surprise.

And I was surprised.

(pg 227)

About the book:
Former corporate drone Georgiana Neverall loves her new occupation as a plumber's apprentice, but is a bit surprised when she finds the favorite brooch of Martha Tepper, the town's former librarian, clogging a sink. Georgiana has a sinking feeling that Martha may have been retired permanently—and suddenly it's up to a plumber's apprentice to flush out a killer.

Making Time

As I waited at the door for the car pool this morning, I had a book in hand, trying in vain to finish those last couple pages of a chapter before my coworker arrived. So it was with book in hand that I climbed into the car.

“Brought along some reading material today, did you?”
“Always.” I replied. “I usually have a book with me.”
“When do you find the time to read?”
“You make the time,” I said.
“Oh, you make the time.” I ignored the hint of sarcasm.
“Yes, you make the time. This is book 25 so far this year.”
"You’ve read 25 books already this year?!” he said, incredulous.
“Yes, 25. Well, 24 and a half, actually, since I’ve not quite finished this one. I read 85 last year.”
That seemed to shut him up.

It always amazes me how many people claim they don’t have time to read, write, craft, garden or exercise. Here’s the thing: if something truly matters to you, you make the time. How many hours do people spend sitting idly in front of the TV? How many hours spent commuting by train or bus, staring blankly into space? How many hours waiting to pick up kids from school, sports or other events?

You’d be amazed what you can accomplish in 10 or 20 minute increments a day.

When I run errands, I usually do so by bus. That is about a half-hour uninterrupted reading time each way—a good chapter or three, depending on the author. I love watching football and figure skating on television during the winter, but I cannot just sit for hours on end doing nothing at all. I use that TV time for stitching or stamping, or even writing letters to friends. You’d be amazed how much you can accomplish during a two or three hour block of time.

We had cold and windy weather here over the weekend. I could have spent all of yesterday comatose in front of the TV, blindly watching back-to-back movies I’ve already seen a dozen times. Instead, I spent about eight hours yesterday reading. That isn’t to say I did not watch any television at all, just that I did not waste the entire day doing so.

I have always been a reader. I remember carrying armloads of books home from the library as early as first grade. Books matter to me. Reading matters to me. No matter what is going on in my life, I find some time during the day to read, even if only a half hour before going to work or before bed.

You make time for what matters to you.

Petunias

A picture taken at yesterday's Farmer's Market, which was braved despite the fierce, cold wind and spotty showers. This time of year, the market is mostly garden plants (flower, herb and vegetable) and baked goods--though rhubarb (yuk!), asparagus (double yuk!) and spinach (yum!) also seemed abundant this week.

Turtle Crossing

Sadly...




She didn't make it...

Taken at the UW Arboretum on Sunday. The speed limit through there is only 25 mph. Which, on a sunny afternoon such as Saturday and Sunday, is very unlikely given the high volume of foot and bicycle traffic. Cars were lucky if they could go 15mph. This hit and run was more likely an evening occurrence, as there are no street lights in the Arboretum. And how can I be sure that it's a female turtle? Well, I can't. Except that female turtles will cross roads to lay eggs near the water, then cross back to the other side after the eggs are buried. So, given the sign and poor turtle not two yards away from it, it's a pretty safe assumption it's a she.

Sunday's Grand Adventure

I meant to post this earlier this week. Actually, I tried to get online Sunday evening, but my ISP refused to cooperate and I was too busy Monday to write something up during the day. And well...then it was Teaser Tuesday (NOT that many of my peeps visited me this week, sniff) and so here we are. Wednesday. Hey, at least I'm finally getting to it!

We had beautiful weather here this weekend. Whereas last weekend was gloomy, wet and windy, this one was sunny, warm and only slightly breezy. After a week cooped up inside, I was ready to escape my cold apartment (YOU try living with no heat when the temp keeps swinging between 35 and 60!). Saturday I ran errands that were close enough together that I could walk between most locations. I intentionally set up my day that way so I could not only get out, but enjoy the weather as well. As for Sunday? I think I got a little over-ambitious there. The faint of heart should probably stop reading now — if you haven't already done so out of sheer jealousy over the weather.

So, I felt like getting out and actually doing something. I refused to spend the entire day cooped up in my apartment so, I decided to do some walking. A lot of walking. I was up and out of my chilly apartment by 9:30am. I started with a two mile walk to the zoo. Yes, I said two miles — to the zoo. (I did warn you, didn't I?) And then I wandered around for an hour, hour and a half, just enjoying the day. A lot of people there, but it wasn't over-crowded the way it can get mid-summer. That was at least another mile of walking, not to mention a lot of standing, if not more. Leaving Vilas, I decided to walk through the Arboretum rather than go back the way I came, figuring it wouldn't prolong my walk home all that much.

Right.

The main road through the Arboretum meanders between marsh, woods, prairie and lake for about two miles from where I entered to the Visitor Center. The first mile was fairly easy, a somewhat level grade and mostly shaded. As you can imagine, there was a lot of traffic on such a perfect spring day — walkers, joggers and bicyclists predominated, but there were also a lot of cars. Turns out they were running free trolley tours from the Visitor Center that afternoon. Thankfully, there is enough of a shoulder for walkers to avoid oncoming traffic, and most people were respectful of others, whether they were on foot or bicycle.


The last mile was more of a workout, owing to a couple of inclines those damn glaciers decided to throw into the terrain. My calves were really feeling those, and I cannot tell you how happy I was when I topped the last and found myself alongside the Longenecker Gardens (blooming crab apples and lilacs galore!) and then the Visitor Center. Of course, I'd have been a lot happier were there a direct route from the Visitor Center straight across the prairie home, about a quarter mile in distance. But no. You see, on the other side of the narrow strip of pine woods bordering the southern edge of that prairie...is a major highway. With no way across from where I stood to where I wanted to go. Nope, you have to go around. Which I knew I would have to do when I entered the Arboretum but thought, "eh, no problem. What's one more mile?"

Yeah...


Easy to say at the beginning of the trail. It also wouldn't have been so bad had I not already walked three or four miles before entering the Arboretum. So, I passed the Visitor Center with a groan, and kept plodding along. And was rewarded with my first glimpse of actual wildlife. Well, wildlife that was actually alive. All along the path I had listened to a multitude of bird calls, including a few wood ducks and a goose, but other than a couple red-wing black birds, I saw nothing. Nada. Rien. I suppose I might have, had I ventured down one of the many foot paths branching off the main road, but — as we've already established — I'd already done enough extra walking for one day, and did not want to add hours to my adventure. I could return to explore those another day, preferably with company.

Anyway, as I skirted the northern edge near where prairie gives way to a small stretch of woods, I heard a rustling in the underbrush and looked over to see three wild turkeys sauntering by. Unfortunately, I had just pocketed the camera and they were moving away from me at too fast a pace to get any pictures. Still really cool though — and made the last leg of my journey a bit more bearable.

At least until I exited onto the road at the opposite end of the Arboretum — and was quite rudely reminded of the very STEEP and curvy hill I had to climb before crossing the highway and doubling back on that last mile home. Yeah, you can imagine the word that came to mind as I faced it. "Oh, f---!" My calves felt every step of that hill, my feet cursing every inch of it. To say I was tired when I finally entering the home stretch would be an understatement. At least from that point I knew every landmark and exactly how many blocks I had left. It was almost tempting to remove shoes and socks and walk the last two blocks barefoot.

Home never looked so good, even if it was a chilly and noisy apartment building. And I tell you, a hot bath never felt so good. I soaked a good half hour with a book, then sprawled across the bed until dinner was ready. I was tired and feeling a bit of a headache from too much sun, but could not manage a nap — which would have been most welcome at that point. Don't you just hate that? Still, despite every muscle protesting the exercise, it did feel good to get out and move. Plus I have a ton of pictures to share.