Last Sunday, my neighbor dumped a ton of wood chips, I can't exactly say mulch, out at the end of my turn-around. He just got a chipper, and these were his practice pieces. They are too coarse to use as mulch, but are great for filling in some places back on the trail where the tree roots have started presenting a problem for the mower or people walking thru there. I spent several hours scooping chips into a wheel barrow
(my big one has a flat tire) and got the pile down a ways. I also hurt my back - duh - but I am resigned to the fact that I will never learn because I will always think I can... I think I can, I think I can... which beats whining because I can't. Doesn't it??? So, on Wednesday, I gave myself a birthday present, a few days early, but what the heck... I bought a cart to go with my new Deere.
On Friday, I did serious damage to the pile of mulch! Ah, yes, that is a snow shovel. Since we seldom have snow, I have found lots of uses for the snow shovel. Scooping mulch or wood chips is just one of them. Lots faster and lighter weight than a regular shovel!
Ahhhh, almost done. But then, so is my back. The little pile left can wait or I won't be able to walk. Gotta keep movin'! At least most of it is some place else and the big pile is gone before it rains tonight. Inshallah! I hope Rachael gets some rain, too. They say this will be the remnants of Humberto. Well, I don't care if it is Humberto, Pedro or Cheech and Chong, just as long as it is rain. Amen.
I do hope to get back on and answer your blogs... I have been reading them... kind of hit and miss... just haven't had any real uninterrupted time to answer. Thanks, ya'all for your patience. Now I gotta run to the store, bank and vet's and PO. I think we are going to have to eat out tonight... sure is lookin that way!
So, it needs to be accessible. Unfortunately, it means I need to change the water and clean it out whenever I cut the grass, even if I just cleaned it out the day before. A yucky job for me, but a good thing, really, since I might get lazy about keeping it clean. I got real busy yesterday and kept pushing long after my body was sending me signals to STOP! So when I finally did call it quits, the birdbath was filled with grass cuttings. I remembered it around 2 in the morning, and put it on my mental list of first things to do this morning. I no sooner refilled it than a pretty yellow leaf floated down and landed right in the middle of things. A big old bumble bee hurried in to get a bit of nectar and I stopped to get a look at the beautiful colors surrounding St Francis.
And I thought I would share that with you!
Even when I tried to pull away, he pulled my head back and kept washing. 
My, but they are fast! Add to it that many if not most digital cameras are really slow by the old SLR standards... anyway, the shots are not good but again, they are thru the front window, and this camera does not like telephoto adjustments... in order to keep the flash from going off, I have to use some setting that I don't understand. Oh, well... one of the shots is of the local wren,
the rest are of the nuthatch - one goes to the "cage" feeder, the other to the longest feeder, but I was never able to get them both at the same time. See camera too slow comment above... 
The other pics are of the nuthatches, but you really have to know what they look like in order to tell. The pic above (#1) is the only one where the markings are clearly identifiable. The wren is clearly brown (#2) 
So, I thought I should share. Punkin thought it was a great idea. But he still prefers the honeysuckle. 
Oh well. 
