Malfunction Junction: Such Dysfunction!

For some reason, any time I hear the word "Katydid" I can't help but think, "Who is Katy and what did she do?" *laugh* Well, I'll tell you what Katy did: That little heifer (with some help from her cousin Bubba) ate HUGE holes all over my Bee Balm, that's what. For something so little she sure does have a voracious appetite. From what I can discern, this itty-bitty evil beastie is a juvenile Meadow Katydid. I shot this photo on the macro setting, and you can tell how tiny she is because you can actually see the individual hairs on the leaf. Small, but mighty - and a TOTAL pig. *scowl* Where is Cedric when I need him? The Bee Balm should (if I can keep them clear of cretins, that is) flower sometime in mid summer. Both plants are growing well - in spite of all the holes - but no hint of blooms as yet. Raspberries. :oP

I found this fun sign at Tractor Supply the other day (too true, too true!) I didn't have anywhere to put it, or I might have brought it home with me:

I painted the springs from DD's old crib, and DH helped me hang it on the wall by the feed room bed. I plan to get a narrow decorative scroll of some sort to put at the top. The plant in the planter is a Heucherella. I've been calling it the "sneeze plant", because A) I have an awful time remembering the name of it; and, B) for some reason every time I hear someone say Heucherella, I feel the urge to say "Gesundheit". *giggle* This particular variety is known as "Redstone Falls". It's a groundcover vine/cascading version. Should be gorgeous when it fills in - I can hardly wait! *bounce*bounce*bounce* I know, I know: see the sign Jen. *sigh*

I did manage to get a couple of decent shots of one of the male Cardinals - we have two or three families living just up the hill. I've been stalking him forever, but he's super quick and highly skilled at evasive maneuvers. He looks quite stoic sitting there, don't you think?

Awwww, look. He posed (just for us :o)

I also caught one of the Mockingbirds (who was - for once - not squawking at me). They relocated from the Dogwood to the Camellia bush by the kitchen window. Mr. and Mrs. chastise me daily for having the unmitigated gall to water my plants when they are busy feeding Junior. Excuse me? Did I tell you to move your nest into the front flowerbed where I spend large quantities of time bright and early? Nooo, I most certainly did not. And hello? Exactly when is that kid of yours NOT eating?!? Sheesh.

I probably could have jazzed them up a bit more, but (except for slapping on the vignettes) I left them as is straight out of the camera. I love my camera :oD

I also managed to get a shot of this long-legged fly parked on the Sweet Mint - he was bright and shiny and so very, very tiny! Ha. Rhymed it.

I'll leave you with several shots of Junior [the juvenile] Cardinal. Must be my week for juveniles, eh? I decided he just had to be a teenager. Aside from the crazy hair, he couldn't seem to sit still at all. He had a mouth crammed full of food and talked incessantly; probably about his latest crush (and isn't that just like a teen?) I thought it was interesting how his coloring shifted and changed as he hopped and popped around in the light.

He almost dropped his dinner at one point, but looked rather proud of his quick recovery (the last two shots). He finally flew off, still yammering away. I wonder if he'd like some Katydid for dessert...

As always, thanks so much for reading this far! Have a great weekend and a beautifully blessed week.

You know, I make jokes all the time about being chief operating officer of the duct tape and band-aid brigade, but honestly? It's not really all that far from the truth. Sometimes I think nothing around here works when I/we need it. Do you ever have that problem? We seem to be having non-technical difficulties inside and out this week. Why is it (as long as I'm on a min-rant here *laugh*) that I struggled to get my computer and phone to sync, which was supposed to be easy-peasy but developed digital hiccups, yet our refrigerator and oven are deteriorating in perfect synchronicity? The oven has either a malfunctioning keypad or "box". Naturally, both items are heinously expensive to replace, and (of course) there's no way to know for sure which one needs to be replaced (replacing both would be more than half the cost of a new oven). As a result, we're learning to do the "new math". Baking at 400 is done at 399 (the zero doesn't work) and setting the timer for 40 minutes equates 39:59 (because the 1, 4, and 7 don't work either). Pretty annoying, but until I win the lottery (and HaHaHa) I can afford to be annoyed more than I can afford a new oven. The refrigerator has decided it would rather be a freezer, and for some reason it has started freezing anything we put on the bottom shelf. [Photo inset: my duct tape stash - DH calls it 100mph tape}

Surprisingly, DH, his work schedule and the weather all cooperated (a rare happenstance, that ;o) and I was SO thankful considering the twelve foot weeds in the pasture. Too bad the sprayer had a flat tire; one which had no desire to air back up. The tire was unwilling to be removed, a small war ensued, and many bad words were snarled. (Jen bailed in the heat of the battle ;o) Didn't I say I was waiting for the other shoe to drop? Kerplunk. Of course by the time the tire was repaired it was too doggone dark out to spray. Why was I even surprised? The chainsaw has also crumped, which makes perfect sense since DH and I found another tree down in the far back corner of the pasture. It is on the fence (where else?) and though it didn't break - whew! - it did compress it, so we need to get it off before you-know-who finds it and decides to see if Mr. T. still has a vegetable patch in his yard (I am, of course, referring to Mad Max, who else?) While we do have a second fence beyond that one, you can't be too careful when dealing with a hoovenile delinquent, and I'd rather be sane than sorry (and no, that wasn't a typo *grin*) [Photo inset: messy, but you can see how the fence is compressed and just see the trunk in the top left corner of the photo]

One of the things that did go well this week was I got to shoot a bird (bwahahaha ;o) No, no, no, not that kind silly! Anni, if you're 'listening' - I got him I got him I got him! The Cardinal. The one I've been stalking for months. I swear, any time I stepped outside, sans camera, he was right there. If I had the camera with me, he was gone in a flash (HA that was a good one ;o) He'd stop just out of sight and start singing. Mocking me. I know that's exactly what he was doing; the little cretin. I'm pretty sure I've taken about a hundred lousy photos of him, although I think I did get one other shot that wasn't too awful awhile back. Actually, I suppose we had considerably more than just one thing. This is as far as I got with my post this week. Why? Because DD and her entourage have been here for most of it, and she's been helping me with the patio project (excuse me for swearing).
Between DD, Kimby and our pint-sized volunteers (this post), we've gotten quite a bit accomplished in the past two weeks *WOOT* Here is a photo update of our progress (along with a couple of other random and irrelevant shots because, well.... because ;o)

Random like this tiny Carolina Wren who finally paused long enough for me to grab a hasty shot with the camera. They're almost never still, but they are SO cute!

Okay, okay, back on task here. DD helped me lug the half barrel planter around to the patio and I planted some Zinnias in it. Maybe next year I can put a knockout rose in there (that's what I wanted to start with, but the checkbook said NO *laugh*). Have to say I do love the mixed colors and blooms though. Aren't they pretty?

I finally hung the welcome sign my Mom bought me forever and a day ago next to a hanging basket with some Summer Purslane. I'll take an updated photo once it grows a bit more - it's very pretty too. Should I add that people will be coming from the other direction, so that's why it's backwards?

The entourage supervised from their favorite place on the planet: the big drum. I think they like feeling "tall". Faith seems to be saying, "What? We're sunning." (the lawn mower has also been acting up; can you tell? The dogs almost completely disappear in the grass - we can only see their tails ;o)

We got the outhouse sign hung (remember my Picture Happy Potty Post? Click here if you missed it) and the hose minder up. Now I just have to finish painting the sink so DH can hook it up and we can have water! *WOOT* Not the best shot, but you get the idea...

I tried to capture a bird perched high up in the tree top, but he took off. I still got him, but it's definitely not the crisp, clear shot I was looking for (guess I'll take it, though ;o)

The best thing? I finally finished painting the horse DD cut out for me a REALLY long time ago and we hung it up by the sink. I've got another neat welcome sign made out of horseshoes that I think I'll put up there (we want our visitors to feel really, really welcome *laugh*). We also moved one of Bella's pedestals over by the sink so little kids could borrow it to wash their hands after visiting the horses. I think she did an awesome job. What do you think?

I have to say, we were all pretty doggone (hee) worn out by the end of each day. We got quite a bit done; though there's lots left to do. I really hope there aren't any horrible errors and/or typos in this post, as I have not been very diligent in my proofreading this week (I'm pretty doggone tired myself). If I've made any, please accept my profound apologies. As for now, it's time to get back to work. *groan*

Have a blessed week everyone!