Friday, October 9, 2020

Thursday

October Roses


The temperatures have got cooler and the rose bushes are responding by flowering.  At least, the roses are not getting desiccated a few hours after they bloom!  

I watered the front garden, today, and walked around the backyard, admiring the flowers and watering the fruit trees.   I guess I haven't been watering the orange tree consistently enough, as some of the oranges are splitting.  

I also found out that the garden cats have been earning their keep - there was a dead mouse, next to one of the flower beds!  I took a picture of it to send to my daughter, but, don't worry, I won't post it here, on the blog.

The garden is a pretty place with flowers and fruits.  However, it can also be a gruesome place!  In addition to the dead mouse and some feathers from a bird that wasn't wary enough of the cats, there was also this decapitated praying mantis:

Decapitated Praying Manis


But, I don't know if the garden cats had anything to do with that or if it lost its head while courting!

Other than tending to the garden, I did some housework and a load of laundry, today, went through some mail that has been sitting out to air before being opened, practiced the piano, and chatted on the phone with friend R.  It was a very relaxed sort of day and I am perfectly content that it was.

 

Day 8: Teeth

Today's drawing prompt is "Teeth" and the drawing is based on a ghost Pokemon.  My daughter told me what it was, the name of the Pokemon, but, I didn't write it down at the time.  Very Halloween-like, though, don't you think?

Today, I am grateful for:

- Roses in October

- The garden cats doing their bit to keep unwanted mice away 

- Water for the garden

- Phone calls and emails from friends

- Relaxed, stress-free days

Today's joyful activity was spending time in the garden, listening to bird songs.  There was one particular mockingbird who had a lot to sing about from the very top power line in the backyard:


Mockingbird

My cell phone camera couldn't zoom in any closer and I didn't want to risk getting any nearer in case it flew away.

Plans for tomorrow include having M take down the window air conditioner and putting it away until next summer.

How was your Thursday?  What are your plans for Friday?

24 comments:

  1. I would love to see and hear a mockingbird- we dont have them in Britain

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    1. I didn't realize you don't have them in Britain. They are pretty vocal and are quite fearless, especially if they have a nest nearby. I've seen them swooping down and pecking the garden cats and, sometimes, I've had them try to attack me!

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  2. Thank you for not posting the photo of the dead mouse!

    The roses are beautiful, a lovely spot of colour at this time of year. You've said the temperature has dropped but I'm assuming it's still something we'd consider to be hot or warm in this country. Have you got your warm jumper on yet?

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    1. You are welcome! LOL. My daughter thought it looked cute! :D One of her part-time jobs at the university was looking after some lab rats.

      Today, when I woke up, it was 70F inside the house and today's high is supposed to be only 76F. I am wearing a pair of slacks, socks, and a poncho over a long sleeved blouse, but, my hands are cold! I did consider wearing one of my sweaters (we called them jerseys when I was growing up), though! :D

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  3. The roses are absolutely stunning! In here it's quite rainy today, so we are playing at home with our son, have a lovely weekend ☺

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    1. Thank you, Natalia. Staying home and playing with your son sounds like the best way to spend a rainy day. Hope you have a wonderful weekend, yourself. :)

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  4. Your daughters drawing fits very well with your theme today of dead and decapitated animals. :)

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  5. Sounds like you had a nice day! Cats that are not our own pets who do extermination duty are wonderful. Though I have no cats, and no feral garden cats, I do have access to GrayGreg (neighbors cat) who services the area with chipmunk removal. I think they are cute little critters, but I was overrun with them. Not any longer!

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    1. I did have a nice day, Anne. Yes, cats who rid our yards of pests are much appreciated! Glad to hear that GrayGreg's chipmunk removal services have been successful! :D

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  6. Love hearing a mockingbird! Although there was at least one time it sang all night long and that did get a little irritating! It's interesting to see them sitting on a pole and flying straight up and then back to land on the pole and continuing singing.

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    1. Yes, sometimes, I, too, hear them at night. Apparently, the juvenile males are the ones who tend to sing at night.

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  7. Aww the praying mantis had probably just gotten someone pregnant 🥺

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    1. That's what I suspect, too, Akasha. Hopefully, there will be lots of baby praying mantis to help keep the garden free of pests.

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  8. Your roses have such nice colors.

    Your daughter's drawing is a perfect drawing for Halloween coming up.
    I was just thinking about halloween. We normally get a fair amount of trick or treaters. I'm not sure why this year will bring but I don't think I will be participating.

    I dropped off our application for an absentee ballot for the upcoming election at our town hall a couple of days ago.
    We are lucky that we live in a relatively small town and the town hall is close and we can easily drop off our ballots once they are received.

    I got the scrubbing all done on the side of the garage and today I trimmed some bushes along the back fence.

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    1. Thank you, Debra. It's a Double Delight rose and one of my favorites.

      I haven't had many Trick or Treaters in recent years and I don't think there will be any, this year.

      I'm glad you will be able to drop off your ballots at the town hall, easily. I was very happy to receive my ballot in the mail, because, almost every day, there is another news story about finding mail, including ballots, in trash cans, dumped in alleys, piled in front of apartment buildings, etc., instead of being delivered to individual mail boxes! It is rather worrisome (as if we didn't have enough to worry about!).

      You are getting a lot of yard/outside work done! Probably a good idea to get it done before it starts snowing. Were you able to contact the tree trimmers?

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    2. I think I will call on Tuesday. That will be 4 weeks from when he estimated it would be around 3 weeks.
      I try to be understanding because I know things can happen to delay but I don't want to be forgotten either.

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    3. Sounds good. I hope they will appreciate your understanding and come out, quickly! :)

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  9. Yes, roses in October is a treat. I loved seeing them. Blessings, xoxo, Susie

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    1. Thank you, Susie. Hope you have a good weekend. Take care and stay safe.

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  10. Lovely to see the roses! And your daughter's latest drawing reminds me that I am going to the dental hygienist next week for a cleaning! 😅
    This is our Thanksgiving weekend but restrained by Covid as we have some hot spots in Ontario and we are advised to celebrate only with our own household members. Hard for those on their own, of course, if their loved ones are far off, but you know all about that, too. (Hugs) We'll get back to normal one day, who knows when!

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    1. Thank you, Bushlady. Sorry to remind you of your upcoming cleaning! :D

      Happy Thanksgiving weekend, my dear friend. I am sorry you won't be able to celebrate with your son and family, as in past years, but, in the words of that famous WWII song, "we'll meet again". As I told my daughter, I celebrated two Christmases without my mother before she was able to join me, over here. If nothing else, this will be one of those "Do you remember when?" holidays you'll reminisce about, in the future. :)

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