2016-06-02 - Thursday - Crown and elderberry and fungus

On Sunday night I bit down on a gumdrop and broke one of the large fillings I have in my back teeth. They have served me well for many years but they are starting to deteriorate and need crowns. Sunday night one of them gave up. Of course it was very late at night on a holiday weekend because that's when these things happen.

I immediately started chewing on the left side of my mouth and called my dentist on Tuesday. Luckily he could fit me in on Thursday.

It was while I was lying there looking up at the light that I realized I've spent a lot of my life in a dentist's chair. I've had a lot of fillings and before that, space maintainers when I lost some of my first teeth too soon. Sometimes I wish I could tally up all the time I've spent there, but I'm probably glad I can't.

When I mentioned that I'd taken a photo while he was out of the room and asked if I could use it on my blog he asked for the camera and took some photos from his perspective.

He said, "Open wide". Wow, now I feel sorry for him having to look at that scary face while he's working.

It's nice to have a dentist with a sense of humor. I highly recommend it.



Later on when I was in the yard with Binkley I noticed that one of the of the elderberry stumps was loose so I pulled it out and found a bunch of fungus on the bottom. There was also a piece of honeysuckle stuck in it and I thought the combination of colors and textures made an interesting composition.

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October 6 - Sunday - Yard stuff

Sunday I did some yard work and wondered again about a series of holes where the neighbors took down a willow oak tree several years ago.  Something has moved in and apparently created a warren with several holes in a three-foot square.  I'm assuming they are chipmunks since we are currently overrun with them.  They are multiplying conspicuously and digging dens all over the property.  I think the neighborhood hawks are falling down on the job and I think the neighbors are killing too many black snakes.

As I was walking past the huge elderberry bush that I've been meaning to remove for about three years, I decided today was the day it needed to leave.  Besides the elderberry, there was a cherry tree, an oak, and another weed tree growing in there.  There was also a lot of porcelain berry, Virginia creeper, and thick poison ivy vine.

Somewhere around four hours after I started, everything was on the curb and I was sore as hell.

But hey, it was done.

Chipmunk holes with my reading glass case for scale.

Elderberry and friends on the curb.

Here's a photo of the elderberry (large bush on the right)
from last May.

After the battle.

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Sunday - Working on shelves

Steps upon steps to finish this project.  All the shelves have to be primed and painted which means there is drying time between each step.  I hope I can get it all done before everyone gets here.

We talked about painting the back wall of the shelves with an accent color, so I painted the first one sage green to see if we like it.  The jury is still out on that one.

The folding table in the foreground has a bunch of stuff that was on the old shelves.  The sideboard in the dining room is also full as are two 18-gallon totes.  Needless to say, all those things are not going back onto the shelves when the time comes.

I have set up a temporary table in the garage using totes full of pottery (handy things to have around, eh?).  That's where I'm painting the shelves.  Once I get the shelves finished and back in the bookcase, I can put the bookcase dwellers back and use the folding table to paint the doors.

As you can see in the picture, I have the drapes looped up around the rod since I painted the bow window and haven't taken the tape off yet.

Anyone need anything painted?  I'm thinking of going pro.

Even more disheveled than usual.

Impromptu painting table.

It's so sad when a tripod fails.
This one cost me about $10 in the 80's
so it doesn't really owe me anything.

Binkley inspects the work for edibility.
Luckily it failed.

My good friend Becky gave this bowl of hostas to us
and here's proof for her that they're doing well.

Our decade-old day lily blooms once again.

The elderberry is going crazy.

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2010-05-20 Wednesday - Yard

I took a walk around the yard on Wednesday afternoon.  I'm happy to report that things are doing nice Springy things around here.

The hydrangea is blooming.

The elderberry bush.

The tomatoes are taking to their new home.

The elderberry flowers up close.

The mulberry.

The mulberry fruit.

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2009-06-04 Thursday Gardening

Stephanie helped me finish the tomato planting by assisting me in putting down newspaper and pine bark mulch. They are tucked in with lots of compost and soaker hoses under the newspaper/mulch and should be nice and comfy for the summer. I can't wait for that first beefsteak tomato sandwich. Mmmm...

Tomatoes mulched and caged
(so they can't get away).
Note the runaway oregano in the background.

The runaway oregano with a garden pot
hiding among them.
To the left are the calla lilies and
way in the back right is the monstrous elderberry.