Chris got his panties in a twist over two mallard drakes together in the pond.   He suspects them of the love that dare not say its name.  I like to think they are brothers, yearlings, yet to take a mate, just hanging out, two young bachelors doing the bachelor thing.  I haven’t seen the mallard pair together lately though I think I’ve seen the drake by himself.  I conclude that because he isn’t as skittish at my presence as the bachelor brothers.  I seem to remember a similar pattern from previous years.  At first it was the pair, the drake and the hen.  Then we wouldn’t see much of the hen.  Maybe she’s sitting on a nest somewhere.  If she is, hubby ought to be staying close by to protect the family, but maybe they’ve got it handled.  They’ve been doing it for several years now and no doubt know better than I how to proceed. Continue reading “Odd ducks” →

Joyce and Rebecca spent Saturday planting oregano and lavender in the garden.  Rebecca said Grandma was a lot of help.  Also, Rebecca played “hello Grampa” with me.  I think she said hello to me more than seven times through the day.  Meanwhile I worked on improving the bed at the end of the dry riverbed in our xeriscape.  Several of last year’s plantings survived the winter and are looking good, blooming even.  The grass had taken over between the plants, though, so I dug it out and replaced it with dirt from the patio excavation.  The wild kitties are so excited to have a new potty. Continue reading “Planting time” →

As nice as March was, it was also very dry, so, after avoiding doing so for several months, we had to start watering again. I was running water in the pond one day using a hose so I could run it in the main area without getting the accumulation of leaves I planned to shred wet in the other part and also running water on a new arborvitae when the water stopped. That was on a Friday and Claude Whitaker, the gentleman who handles our well problems, was able to come by and get it going so the neighbors would have water over the weekend. It seems the pump motor was pulling more amps than it should and was kicking off the safety mechanism designed to keep the motor from burning up. Claude adjusted the breaker to handle a higher load but we knew he would have to come back and get to the bottom of the problem. He showed up Monday morning with his crew, pulled the submersible pump and found that the accumulation of rust flaking off from the 70-year-old well casing plus the sand built up in the bottom of the well had caused the motor to overheat. The pump was 17 years old and nearing the end of its life regardless so he replaced it. They cut 10 feet off the pipe that fits down in the casing. The pump is mounted on the end of the pipe, actually a series of 20-foot sections of pipe, and that had the effect of raising the pump above the accumulated detritus so maybe we’re good to go for the next 17 years. I’ll have to postpone dancing lessons until my finances recover but at least we can keep SA going for the foreseeable future. Continue reading “Mad dogs and Englishmen” →