Category: Gardening

Great Day to Make Some Beautiful Music

Posted on by Markman

Today’s main image is from a bouquet of Poms I got for LD to commemorate her coming home from a two day trip last week as a surprise. I especially like how I set up the shadows to photograph this one, using light and darkness in such a way. The Pom flower is in the same genetic family that includes both chrysanthemums and daisies. We added the dahlia that we grew later to the center of it. There’s a couple more of them outside that I may pick later on and place into another vase just for themselves. Then I’ll dig out the tubers and store them over the winter again. These are the ones that I replant every spring and they just keep going. Pretty cool how that works.

Back in my music playing days

Around lunchtime, I drove over to Beth Israel Needham to dispose of some old medication. Did you know you can just put them in a box in the lobby to get rid of them? Another nice feature is that there’s another box right next to that one where you can dispose of any sharps you have, which I did as well. The last time I was there, I noticed these boxes and made a mental note to return later to get rid of these meds we’ve had lying around for who knows how long. It felt good to finally get rid of them safely.

I also returned some other woman’s meds that we know who wanted to get rid of hers, so I got it all done at once. You used to be able to get rid of them at the police station nearby (but not the sharps), but they got rid of that for some reason.

I am starting to really get sick of all the rain we’ve been having. Can you relate? Speaking of water, have you ever added distilled water to a sump pump battery? I just found out I need to do that to the sump pump battery in the basement as the sensor is going off alerting us to that particular issue.

Oh, in my photo “memories” today this one from a few years ago of me playing piano in front of Bentley College came up, surrounded by some adoring fans. Have to admit that was a pretty good day. Comment if you think you know what song I was actually playing. If you’re right I might send you a little surprise gift.

Burn

Posted on by Markman

Today was the afternoon that I had to go have my dentist filling appointment. I’m happy to say that it was pretty quick and they didn’t even have to numb me up or anything. Just took the drill, carved out some stuff and filled it in with some amalgam of silver. Now I’m back to my regularly scheduled six month checkups, the next which will be in February. What a relief. I knew it wasn’t going to a be a big deal but I’ve always had some anxiety when it comes to going to the dentist. Most be due to my experiences when I was a kid.

On the garden front some things are coming to an end, yet other things are going great guns. For some reason, our marigolds this year really took off. I’ve never seen bushed of them so big. And “Roger”, the pumpkin, is appearing to get a number of younger siblings. We’ll have to wait and see if they all take. We also did pretty good with the squashes this year and have used a couple in our cooking over the summer.

One of Our Best Days on the Cape

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Did you ever have a few days were there was so much packed in you couldn’t describe it all successfully?

That’s pretty much what I’m feeling right now. I did head back to Earth-1 on Monday Night to do my work shift on Tuesday morning but by the afternoon I was back. I grilled some burgers with the charcoal grill, we swam and swam. Harding’s Beach on Wednesday afternoon was particularly awesome. The water was warm, the waves were high, and I was having a blast. I think we all ended up staying there from like 1:30 to 6:30.

And of Course by the end of the day you have to check out the sunsets.

Although the sunsets so far have been a bit on the cloudy side, minus those amazing shots I got from Rock Harbor earlier in the week. The weather down here has simply been spectacular this week. I think it’s the best it’s ever been for us.

This morning I walked around some conservation land.

They had a pretty cool layout there and included this very Zen looking area. There’s just too much for me to process right now so here’s just a few pics from today.

Enjoying a Deep Tissue Massage to Work the Kinks Out

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Orange Double Tiger Lily in bloom

I had a deep tissue massage today and it was one of the best I’ve ever had. I am so totally relaxed from it. Props out to Rebecca for treating me so greatly. I went with the deep tissue this time because I felt I needed it and it had been quite a while.

Other things I managed to get around to today were: I returned some grout that I had purchased in error a few weeks back to the Home Depot and used the refund to get a Jersey Mike’s for lunch, handed a donation benefit to a visiting African pastor (long story), I mailed an RSVP letter indicating that we will be attending a ceremony later this year, I changed the air purifier filters, I purchased gas, I went to the bank, I played the Powerball, and I cleared out the basement/gameroom of most of the kitchen things. It was nice to be able to get access to the air hockey table and arcade Ms. Pac machine. I fired them both up to make sure they still worked. The Ms. Pac is the real deal from the 80s, that takes quarters, not a reproduction. Nice to see that even though I was rusty I can still score over 100,000 points. Now, except for a few minor finishing touches, the kitchen is fully functional! Yay!

While walking around the garden, I saw several double tiger lilies blooming beside the ordinary ones. That caught me off guard! I don’t recall adding those. Anyways, I had to take a picture of one!

I decided to grill tonight even though it was pretty warm out. Another night of burgers.

Campus Dreams

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Last nights dream…

I was walking with LD along a college campus. It was a mix or where she used to be but had a large campus like Harvard, so somewhat of a mix of the two. We ended up sitting for a while and listening to some kids’ stories since they were about to graduate soon. One girl we focused on ,mostly because we could hear her, and she was regaling all her wild escapades to her friends. After a while we got up and starting walking across the campus because LD needed to get back to work or something. When we eventually get to the the building she needs to go in, I somehow got behind a pillar or something and LD lost sight of me. I recall the stairway out front had a series of platforms with stairs and ramps in parallel a few times. I called out to her and she started looking around. Eventually she found me to say bye for now and now unfortunately the dream is fading from my memory as I’m writing this, but we were going to hug but then LD said something to me and then all the kids were watching us and we ended up kissing in front of the building. Then I woke up with happy tears in my eyes.

The dream had more to it I’m sure, especially at the end but I can’t seem to recall it all now but I wanted to get down what I could. Why? Because I didn’t want to forget it anymore than I already have.

We have so many different varieties of lilies popping up all over the garden this year. It’s quite spectacular!

Yesterday was a crazy day and I spent a good chuck of it over at Earth-1. First I went to get my car inspected by my mechanic. That passed with flying colors, I had no worries about that. Then I took my mom over to Dunkins to grab a coffee. I had to drive her over to the Stop & Shop because she wanted to get a few things using her card but for some reason at the checkout the card wouldn’t take, even though there’s never a problem. While that was happening I decided to play the a Powerball. What the heck, right? We were there for a while but the card just wouldn’t take so we had to abandon that mission for a bit since her other cat had an appointment for its yearly checkup and rabies shot. He ended up getting a clean bill of health, although he is a bit over 20 pounds (he’s a big cat!) and he has some dental issues, but not unusual for a cat of his age. Heading back to Earth-1 I dropped the cat off at the house, releasing him from his pet carrier, and then we proceeded to hit a different Stop and Shop, this time in Medford, to see if the card would work there. No dice there as well, although I was able to purchase a crossword puzzle book. Basically the only one that I like because it’s the only one I found that isn’t too hard or too easy. It’s called Superb Crossword Jumbo y Kappa and comes out monthly. I’ve thought of subscribing to it a million times but never do. Eventually my mom ended up calling the card people and they’re going to send her a new card. It could be that from too many swipes the code has worn off too much. Hopefully that will fix the issue she was having.

painting at the vet’s

Heading back to Earth-2 I got stuck in traffic. Took me about an hour and a half to get back. Typically I can make the trip in 30-45 minutes. I had to pick up some meds for LD on the way so I did that as well. Then I ended up grilling us a couple or burgers for dinner. We ended up not watching tv or anything, just enjoying the silence for a change. Then we passed out in the living room but eventually found our way up to the bed.

The backsplash guy has been here all week! Mostly because of all the intricate cuts to the glass tiles that he had to do to go around corners and such, He should be finished today. As a final step he’ll be applying the whitest grout that the grout makers make! Looks real good! Getting to the very end of the reno now! Hurray!

Currently reading: Raw Dog: The Naked Truth About Hot Dogs

The Beautiful Moves in Curves

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Soft curves, warming shades, organic contours.

Been pretty busy getting down to the last of the kitchen remodel. It’s almost done and looks spectacular! I’ll post a before and after when it’s all done. I think you’ll be amazed by the transformation. I know I was! LD worked hard to get it just right and it shows.

The various lilies in the garden are just now beginning to bloom. Since they were all planted at various dates and in various places, I never really understood how many distinct varieties we actually have. Now that they all appear at the same time, the variety excites me, plus they are so cool to look at.

One benefit of remodeling the kitchen is that I’ve developed some grill master skills. I suppose it’s accurate to say that practice makes perfect. When it’s extremely hot outside or the weather is simply not cooperating, it’s not really that much fun, but then we’ll either have some leftovers or possibly some takeout, but overall, I’m becoming somewhat of a little chef.

Nature’s Own Little Fireworks Display in the Garden

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Pretty low key July 4th here today. Glad I got to do all I wanted to do yesterday. I think everyone had a pretty good time. The rain does make for good flower photos though! I noticed these little babies growing over in the corner of the yard and needed to take a closer look. I like how they had all arranged themselves around like they are. I also made a bunch of progress on my reading. The garden is looking spectacular all around. My folks were impressed with our green thumb! We’ve created quite the lush oasis around here! Thankfully by supper time the rains had stopped and I was able to get out there and grill some stuff up.

First Fire Lily of the Season

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I was really excited to see this fire lily open up after the rains last night. I love the fire lilies that we have and am always so glad when they decide to show their colors for us. They don’t last too long so we have to catch them when we can. This little guy seemed to bloom a bit early, but I’ll take it!

I want to try Starry soda and some Warheads Sour soda based off the candy, which sounds really disgusting and probably is, but I think I want to try it anyway, at least the Green Apple and Watermelon flavors.

This afternoon was spent checking out paint colors, determining what handles to have for the cabinets, and a bunch of other things that I won;t bore you with at the moment.

Century Old Lilies Bring the Fire!

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100 year old bulbs came to life

After work today I decided to do some long overdue work in the garden, especially during a lull when the breeze was blowing and the day felt cool to me, so I thought it would be a good time to get to it. I basically used six mulch bags to surround the bases of all these lilies. Something LD’s been wanting me to do for a while now. It was on my to do list and I finally got it done. These particular lilies were gifted to us from one of LD’s pool buddies who also is in charge of the town’s garden club. Anyways, these lilies are , like, a century old! Nice to see they still have that fire. I hope I still have that kind of fire if I can make it to a century old!

The electrician came by today. We needed to move a couple of the outlets around to accommodate the new countertops in the bar-top area, I was afraid we were going to lose them but he managed to figure out a way to get most of them newly situated.

Location, Location, Location

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Latest Work: One of my latest Cape shots has been put up for purchase. I think the notebook would be really cool. The metal print large would look pretty sick too.

Spent the morning weeding out the prarie area a bit, ans then added mulch to the central lily area in the middle of the back yard. I want to do more but then it got a little too warm out for me, so I’m going to wait until later this afternoon once it cools down a bit to maybe try to finish some of the things that I started. I don’t want to overdo it.

I spent some time with LD down at the gym, watching her do her amazing swim routines. It was quite the beautiful day for being in the pool for sure.

Below is a shot from Nubble I discovered I took from last year. Figured I’d share it because it looks kinda cool.

Serenity Now!

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Well, I forgot to mention yesterday another thing going on over at Earth-1. Contractors are ripping down the old industrial laundry building behind my mom’s house. What a giant mess that is! They’re making space for, what else, some new condos. I saw the skeleton of the stairway exposed that led from the front door up to the old iron pressers on the 2nd floor. I remember going up and down those stairs many, many times when I was a wee lad bringing those ironed shirts down from there and across the street to the dry cleaning operation, which is now gone and also replaced by a condo. Interestingly as a side note, before it was a dry cleaner building, it used to be a Dairy Queen and I can remember being 4, 5, or 7 and my aunt coming over and giving me a dollar to go get an ice cream from there back in the day. Eventually the prices started the climb and I’d still get the dollar, but my aunt didn’t seem to realize that a buck didn’t buy as much as it used to. I appreciated the gesture though!

Some of the tiger lilies are staring to bloom in the garden, What an explosion of color! I need to do some more weeding around that area though. It’s on my to-do list! Also can hear another baby hawk squawking all day long again! You might remember from last year, all the adventures I had in dealing with those creatures!

Busy day at the mansion here today. The new countertops are installed and what a day it was seeing how the process goes. They look super awesome and they even got the muted veins to match the slabs where they cut Amazing. It’s really going to look sick once the backsplash tiles LD selected go in. Anyways, every day it’s something happening! The plumber is set to come tomorrow to get the new sink up and running and get the dishwasher all back online and integrated into the new cabinetry.

Happy First Day of Summah!

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Happy Summah (Boston pronunciation of summer) Solstice

Today was a busy day, and this entire week has been quite busy. I went and brought back every countertop sample we had looked at to the various outlets that deal with that sort of thing. Surprisingly, the actual countertops will be installed on Friday. Now that’s service! It helps to know people and have connections, for sure! The new ceiling fan is installed, and the dishwasher is almost ready to use, thanks to the electrician who visited today. There was a slight blip when he had to cut some power and the internet went out but it was back up fairly quickly. Just unfortunate timing for some of us. The new cabinets look great with the crown molding covering their tops. Since the job began, I have been snapping a few photos every day so that we can track its development. What a fantastic transformation this is becoming!

I went ahead and replaced one the outdoor lights by the door since it hadn’t lit up in while. At first we thought it might be an electrical issue, but a new bulb appears to have solved the problem. I also planted some potatoes in a raised bed, an experiment for now.

Additionally, today marks the official beginning of summer, my favorite season of all! I mean, how else could I get such amazing images from the Cape, like this one I’ve added here, without the arrival of summer? Pluses: beach, no jackets, late sunsets. Minuses: bugs, sunburn, annoying next door neighbors kids’ pool parties.

Currently Watching: Crack Addicts. A show about people visiting this chiropractor and she cracks their backs and such. The sound though! urgg!

A Happy Father’s Day

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In front of a New England classic

Today I was jonesin for a little bit of Kelly’s Roast Beef out in Revere Beach, so LD was kind enough to get us there today. I also wore my Carson sweatshirt which was a gift from last year but I wear it only on special occasions because it is so special. It’s actually a hoodie, with the face of Carson on the front and the text “Carson’s Dad” all hand stitched from a photo that LD sent to a woman in the Ukraine who made it. Truly a one of a kind! It took a long time to arrive but I’m amazed it came at all seeing as there is a war going on over there! I enjoyed my roast beef sandwich loaded with cheese and sauce, but I did switch hoodies when it came to eat on the beach because I would not want to get the Carson hoodie damaged in any way!

Revere Beach Lovin
Bringing a bit of Carson to the beach
Carson and his daddy
S’more time

The other night we had some friends over for an impromptu BBQ and fire pit night. We ended up just getting takeout from a great Greek food place in town and then did the S’mores thing. It was supposed to happen on Saturday but the weather looked to be crappy so it all got moved up to Friday night and it was wonderful. We did need all of Saturday to basically recuperate from it all though. Being social can take a lot out of a person!

LD got these cool little firefly lights for the garden that are solar powered. They’re cute, purely decorative but I’m mentioning them because they’re pretty neat and it’s fun to look out the window when it’s dark out and see them lit up.

Progress Big Time

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Too much noise!
Hosta Paradise
Back Yard Views

Things were flying by this afternoon. The cabinets should be all done and installed by tomorrow! The countertop has been picked out and the template will be created real soon now. The new fan and silverware have been ordered. The cleaning lady took all the stuff that I was going to have to find a way to get rid of so that saved me a huge chunk of work and it’ll go to a good cause with folks who will make good use out of the stuff we don’t need anymore, so its wins all around!

Currently Reading: A Fatal Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum: Murder in Ancient Rome.

Gardening on the Patio

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Our little container garden on the patio is progressing well. It’s incredibly relaxing to just rest there in the morning with a cup of tea or coffee as the day begins. In order to make things appear attractive, LD does a great job of arranging, mixing, and matching various species. I certainly think so. Are there any of you who enjoy gardening? Hit me up. Additionally, the other day we went and bought our yearly fuchsia. Instead of the normal purple color scheme, we chose pink and white this time. I think it provides a nice contrast.

Still making do without a kitchen. I’ve been manning the grill and so far so good. Although truth be told I can’t wait until everything is done and we can live normally again!

Next book that I’m Currently Reading (thanks Libby!): Down the Rabbit Hole by Holly Madison. Currently Listening: the new tracks off the upcoming Extreme album. Got to say they sound pretty good! Did you know their lead guitarist is Portuguese? Plus he’s a guitar god. I’ve liked and followed them since their early days in Boston but lost interest in them after the 3rd album. This new one sounds really good though! Currently Watching: The Curious Case of Natalia Grace on ID.

Baby Mourning Dove Sighting!

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We saw this couple of baby mourning doves just chilling against the fence in the driveway as we were planting things this afternoon! Guess they are trying out their wings and trying to leave the nest! Although they don’t seem particularly afraid of me.

Just before this we had a nice afternoon at a BBQ hosted by LD’s old landlady and her husband, and we got to meet another nice couple there and chat. Also her granddaughter came by who I hadn’t seen in forever and the upstairs tenant was moving out. There was a lot of activity going on there!

Happy Unofficial Start of Summer!

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Happy Start of Summer

Hope everyone is having a Great Memorial Day Holiday. We’ve been having quite the time. You never realize how great a kitchen sink is until you don’t have one! We’ve been making do with my grilling and sometimes some takeout though so it’s all good. Things are moving right along on that front and proceeding quickly. Working on the ceiling right now. Backsplash has been picked out – a nice blue colored hexagonal pattern that we think will look really great against the new white cabinets.

Also been sprucing up the patios with various plants that have been purchased. Looks really nice. I’m back to my daily routine of watering everything in the late afternoon. Supposed to hit the old landlady’s place for a BBQ she invited us to today, so maybe we’ll do that after checking out some more plants at the nursery.

First of the Spring Things

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Things I finally got around to yesterday afternoon:

  • Planted the various tubers in the ground that I had stored in the basement over the winter
  • Moved the potted plants outside that had been living in the house over the winter
  • Got out my gravity chair and almost fell asleep in it for a few
  • Tilled the raised beds
  • Fired up the grill and did some dogs, chicken and steak tips (very meaty dinner you cold say)

Things I plan to get to this week

  • Replacing the glass panes in the doors with the screens
  • Probably some more cleaning out of the cabinets and the basement
  • mowing the lawn (even though it’s No Mow May I at least need to do the front)
  • mulch the beds and patio and other areas
  • get some birdseed for the feeder

Gametime: The Pigeon Post Principle – I found this game pretty fun!

Musings on the Last Thursday of April

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Did you miss me? It’s been a little while since my last update, but nothing to worry about—there hasn’t been anything noteworthy that happened in the interim. Here is a throwback Thursday photo of me, on my birthday, visiting what is perhaps my all-time favorite lighthouse (although Minots Ledge Light is a close second). Pemaquid Point in Bristol Maine, not too far from Booth Bay. What’s really cool about this light is the surrounding topography, huge rocky ledges all around that you can explore but need to be super careful. On this particular day the clouds were rolling in which is what I think makes the photo even better.

Meanwhile back on the home front, the wild bunnies are starting to appear in the backyard now, running, playing, and yes, even eating, as bunnies do. They are super cute though. There appears to be three that seem to visit rather often. I wonder if any of them were the ones that were born here?

Additionally, every time I start to feel like my thumb is getting better from not using it, I unintentionally extend it again, which hurts, and feel like I have to restart the resting process. You know what I mean? It’s so annoying!

Currently Reading: All right! Another one of the books I had reserved on Libby finally came through. My next read is called The Myth of Normal: Trauma, Illness and Healing in a Toxic Culture. In it the author “eloquently dissects how in Western countries that pride themselves on their healthcare systems, chronic illness and general ill health are on the rise. Nearly 70 percent of Americans are on at least one prescription drug; more than half take two. In Canada, every fifth person has high blood pressure. In Europe, hypertension is diagnosed in more than 30 percent of the population. And everywhere, adolescent mental illness is on the rise. So what is really “normal” when it comes to health?” I felt the premise was interesting so I figured I’ll give it a shot. Sort of builds a little bit on that Body Keeps the Score stuff but also with a physical as well as psychological bent.

Spring Things with a Little Bun Bun

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This bunny was born in one of the pots you see in this photo on the back deck.

Been getting a bunch of spring things done this week. Got my ride’s oil change done yesterday – it was a little overdue, so it was good to get that done. I’ve been slowly moving things out from basement storage over to the shed for the summer and fall to make room for some stuff going on down there. I also need to get ready to replant the yearly tubers this week. Speakimng of that, I think we have to take a ride down to a nursery soon to get some plants that are on order.

I think I want to do a firepit over the next few days or so too, just to get it going for myself right now. Also, I can see that it seems like a switch was pulled this week and now the grass is growing by leaps and bounds all of a sudden. Amazing how that happens after being pretty dormant all winter.

Hyperextended Thumb

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Probably wasn’t the best idea to spend a good part of yesterday doing a bunch of yard work with a hyperextended thumb, but I really wanted to trim back some dead vegetation from the prairie area, along with a bit of the rose bushes out front, and an old butterfly bush I planted a couple years back that pretty much started taking over everything.

I was also super busy yesterday performing a ton of errands, like bank runs, office mail pickups, getting gas, dealing with some bills, etc. By the end of the day I felt pretty physically tired. I still need to buy some birdseed for the feeder out back and some more yard waste bags.

I still did find time by the end of the night though to cook up some souvlaki Greek-style chicken with a garlic-cucumber crema and lemon feta potatoes, which actually came out pretty good.