Sunday, April 3, 2022

Yabba Dabba Do!


The sky was so amazing last night when I went to close the hen house that I had to take pictures. Can you believe that tree? It's in the yard of our across-the-street neighbors. That's part of their house there in that shot. Even if I live another thirty years (I doubt it) in this house, I'll never, ever grow blasé about these live oak trees. In my eyes and heart, they are sentient beings, as are the giant magnolia grandifloras. They are all magnificent. 
Here's what my house looked like with my back to that pink-streaked sky. 


There was almost a tinge of green in the sky after our day of rain and gray clouds. It's a sky tint that I associate with hurricanes, mostly, but it can come with any storm and we had a few this past week with wind, lightening, thunder, and rain. 

When I reversed my actions this morning and went to let the chickens out, I was greeted with an entirely different world. One in which the blue of the sky was like indigo. 


Everything was washed clean and new and almost quivered with vibrant life. 


I did a walk-around the house and discovered that the bamboo, which I have largely ignored for possibly three days, maybe only two, was not just quivering with life but was thrusting itself up towards the sky as quickly as possible. 



Can you see those robust sprouts? Bamboo is a sly plant. You can think you've kicked every dang one of them coming up where you don't want it to grow and the next day, you'll realize that you obviously missed one which is now three feet tall and as big around at the base as Levon's thigh. 
It is a constant battle. 

Speaking of Levon, Jessie brought the boys over for a little visit this afternoon. Jessie and Levon helped me pick up fallen branches and limbs and put them in the garden cart which I hauled over to the fire pile. It was a pretty good load and we didn't spend twenty minutes on it. August was too involved in setting up the Parcheesi board to join us. And no, we did not play Parcheesi. I set out leftovers and made a peanut butter and honey and raisin sandwich for Levon who loves that more than anything, and lunch was taken on the back porch. 



They didn't stay long because they're all a little sick (yes, again) and Levon needed a nap. Before they left though, Jessie let them watch one episode of The Flintstones with me. I'd been wishing I could introduce that show to my grandchildren as I have fond memories of watching it with my grandfather who, although he rarely laughed out loud, would laugh with great gusto at the antics of those stone-aged Honeymooners, which as Hank pointed out recently, is exactly what the show is based on. It runs on HBO Max and so we gave it a shot and I was rather dismayed to realize how violent it was. Okay, it was cartoon violence and Fred did not threaten to send Wilma to the moon, but still...
I had forgotten that aspect of it and honestly, all of the cartoons we watched when I was a kid were violent. If Wile E. Coyote wasn't trying to drop an anvil on the roadrunner's head, Tom was trying to catch, slaughter and eat Jerry. 
You know what though? 
I still laughed at some of it. And so did August. Who among us does not remember the sound of Fred as he twinkle-toed down the bowling alley? 


Who doesn't laugh when the paper boy throws Fred the newspaper and he falls over backwards when he catches it because of course the newspaper is made of stone?  
Or, well, maybe it's just me. 

I tried to be slightly productive after Jessie left for home. I cleaned out the hen house and did some weeding in the garden where we want to plant the rattlesnake beans. I was delighted to see how many worms I uncovered in my efforts! I covered each one back up again and mumbled a silent apology. Some of them were so big I almost expected them to hiss and slither instead of wriggling about. 

Perhaps I am being nostalgic today but for our supper I am going to make that old school cafeteria favorite- sloppy joes! The recipe comes from the New York Times so it's legit and bona fide. And I'm making it with venison so I can skip the part where you're supposed to drain the ground beef after you cook it. Venison has so little fat in it that you just about have to add some when you're making something with it. So that may be fun. 
And Mr. Moon should be home for supper although he may not want to eat much. He sent pictures of some amazing-looking meals that he and Vergil ate in NOLA. I mean- you HAVE to eat amazing food when you're in New Orleans! Am I right? You bet your ass I am. 
I think the guys had a very good time, even though Duke lost last night. I'm sure they'll be glad to get off the road though. That was a lot of driving for two days. 

Here's a blurry picture of the small panther who walks through my backyard every day. 


It's like a scheduled event. Maurice and Jack forget their animosity towards each other for a few moments and lie in wait a few feet apart, looking out of the bottom of the screen on the back porch, both at high alert in case the stranger decides to come in the cat door. We haven't seen Biscuit Head in a few days but I did hear a cat fight a few hours ago and I did not recognize one of the voices. Mr. Moon got trail-cam proof of who's been pissing on the bathroom rug and in this case, it was our own cats, their eyes glowing in the dark images, carefully arranging themselves (separately, of course!) on the rug and then carefully trying to fold it up when they had finished their toilette. We're just keeping that bathroom door shut for now and I've quit putting a rug in front of the kitchen sink because they've been peeing there too. 

Cats. 

Tomorrow I'm going to go get my crown-work started. Am I anxious? 
Do you even know me? 
Yeah. You do.
I shall survive. 

Love...Ms. Moon


22 comments:

  1. Would your cats use a litter box or do they turn up their noses at the idea?

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    1. I think it's totally a territorial thing. They can get outside anytime they want. And I turn MY nose up at the idea of litter boxes.

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  2. your photos and telling of your daily life nourish me every single day. Truly. Beauty both inside and out of everything! Sloppy Joe's....haven't had in years but now am inspired. Know what I spent this gray cold day doing? Making stuffed cabbage rolls... have had them on my mind of late but haven't made or eaten one in 40 years. Well...today is the day! The sauce, the stuffing, gently peeling those parboiled leaves....it thrilled me to no end. Hope they are as good as my memories of them. Hope Mr Moon will be home soon and enjoy your dinner! Bottoms up for all of us!
    Susan M
    And a PS *aside*. though I don't *know* Smacksy, I follow her when she posts on your blog every Sunday. Have not seen her in 2 weeks and hope she is well

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    1. Do you know, I am fairly certain I've never had cabbage rolls IN MY LIFE? I know I've never made any. I should definitely remedy that soon. I'm going to start looking at recipes.
      I just looked at Smacksy's blog and she posted yesterday.

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  3. I didn't see much of the Flintstones, but I remember the lawnmower -- some little animal chewing as it went, I think.
    Yes, cartoons were terribly violent, which I guess is why I wasn't up for much of them.

    Too funny to find it's your own cats marking territory on the rugs! They're making sure no other cats try to take over.

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    1. Yes. The lawnmower was a hedgehog or something. I can't remember. They were pretty clever with all of the "stone-aged" substitutes for modern things. When Levon saw the wooden car he said, "Pencil car!" It did look like a pencil, sharpened at both ends.
      Yes. My own damn cats. The little pissers!

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  4. Photo magic!! Your dwelling is so lovely and the sky -THE SKY!!
    Almost heart breaking!
    I don't think I have had a sloppy Joe since i was a kid- Loved sloppy Joe dinner the best! Especially if I had a side of beets, peppers and peas. Heaven.
    Cats is a pissing contest, ARGH! They need some cartoon anvils dropped on them.

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    1. The light is good for my house in that you can't see the mold, the mildew, the need for repair.
      Sigh. But thank you. It is still a beauty to my eyes.
      The sloppy joes were fun!
      Yes. I should call ACME and order up an anvil.

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  5. Your own cats! That never crossed my mind.
    Flintstones were a must, back in the day. They weren't violent by the standards of the day. How we've changed.

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    1. I know! The Flintstones were just The Flintstones. Maybe they got less violent as the series continued. I do not remember.
      Yes. My own cats. Cats are weird.

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  6. Worms! when I first moved here my "garden" was hard packed clay with spiky clumping grasses. I had those ripped out and started planting things that died, planted more that died, but eventually things began to grow and with the many waterings and leaving fallen leaves to mulch themselves into compost, there is improvement and now when I dig a little I find worms! Not many, yet, but they're there and I'm happy. Good soils need worms. what I need now, I think, is a trailer load of dampish leaf mulch to put down and then cover that with a drier mulch to break down over time.

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    1. Mulch is so important in a garden, I think. Here's what Mr. Moon does- he drives around neighborhoods, looking for huge lawn bags stuffed with leaves that people have raked. And this is the time of year for us as the oak trees wait until spring to drop all of their leaves. So- we are doing it the lazy way but it works.

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  7. I just Love your House, wish we had more Old Houses preserved around these parts but they tend to tear them all down and put up ugly new houses that don't have character. Lunch on an Old Porch sounds absolutely Perfect... I'm feeling rather Nostalgic lately myself. Hope the Kiddos get better soon, Kids tend to catch whatever is going around since they lead such active little Social lives.

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    1. This is a pretty old house for this area, actually. Of course, if the same house were in Europe, it would be considered on the newer side. That was one of the things that amazed me so when I went to Europe as an eighteen year old- how very much older everything was than here! And how beautiful, too.

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  8. Speaking of earthworms, this reminded me of the one I unearthed a year or two ago that was as big around as my little finger and at least 18" long. I guess we're going to get some rain today, it's overcast anyway after days of lovely weather. I tackled a major job in the yard this weekend.

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    1. I think I would have screamed a little scream of alarm if I saw a worm that big!
      We're supposed to get rain tomorrow. No surprise there, huh?

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  9. I am feeling a bit rough today (sinus stuff) but wanted to say hello! ;) Happy Monday, Mary Moon!

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    1. Thanks, Ellen. I hope you feel better soon.

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    2. The pictures are so beautiful,thank you. I loved the Flintstones too.

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  10. Both of those skies are gorgeous. I always like the blue of a new morning better than a sunset though. Every time. I am a morning person. The panther looks like a big cat, like my daughter's cat in fact which is a huge black thing. Maybe it's a panther. I hadn't thought of that)

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    1. I love the morning sky but sunsets are heaven to me. Especially over water and ESPECIALLY over the Caribbean.
      The panther is not really a panther. It's just a black cat but it does look like a small panther, doesn't it?

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  11. Your cats are probably peeing inside to mark their territory to keep away those intruder cats. Just a guess.

    That's a beautiful sky! I remember you writing about kicking that bamboo with Owen when he was little. Now you've got August and Levon to help! (When they're well, anyway.)

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Tell me, sweeties. Tell me what you think.