Chuck Who?

Sunday's for me are a day of rest, time off from work to be able to go to church and relax at home.

Well this past Sunday was not as restful as I would have liked. Oh, it started off nice enough, a good service at church , a good meal at home, I was even alone since my wife and daughter were at work . But shortly after noon the piece and quiet came to an end. I was all relaxed sitting in my chair watching TV when I heard a light scratching on the front door, which was right behind me. I ignored it at first thinking that it was probably the cat, excited that the neighbor cats were outside. But the noise kept up and was getting louder so, getting annoyed with our cat, I got out of the chair with the intent of swatting her away from the door. When I stood up and turned around what should be staring at me thru the full length glass screen door but a woodchuck! Yes, I said WOODCHUCK, Marmota Monax, just like the furry little devil in the picture above. Now what this rabid little beast was trying to do I don't know, maybe trying to beat up his reflection or break in and chew my legs off, only he could tell you, but I new he was NOT coming inside. Soon he bored with his frantic scratching and waddled off the steps and around the corner of the house out of sight, whew! my bony legs were safe!

Now, unlike my wife who is the perfect blogger, I was so startled that I never thought to grab a camera, (a gun did cross my mind), so unfortunately I have no pictures of Chucky but I do give this warning - if your door bell rings and you see this face staring in the window

close the blinds, turn of the lights and be real quiet, maybe he'll go away.

"All I Vont Is a Little Blood"

Those of you that know me know that I love to spend time in my yard. This is the time of the year that all the work pays off and you get to enjoy the view, the flowers blooming, the beds you planted filling in nicely, all that stuff. There is work to do, the normal weeding and dead heading, (cutting the old flower heads off, I'm not beheading neighbors), also I normally try to put in a new bed each year.



Well this year has been a struggle. I had great plans to put in a planting of different grasses. I got the old dog house out of the way, killed the weeds and then came to a screeching halt. You see , we have this kitchen project going on. It started out as a paint job and is turning into a generational burden, my children's children will still be working on it.
So the inside work goes on and the outside waits.

But now a new evil lurks keeping me from my beloved gardening, Vampires. Yes, those blood sucking menaces that hide in the shadows. Ok, so they're not wearing capes and sleeping in coffins they're mosquitoes, but they are trying to drain me of my life's fluid, so much so that outdoor work is almost impossible, just a walk around the yard has to be done at a brisk pace so as not to lose a pint or two to those leaches of the air.

So life goes on, as humans we learn to adjust, to fit into our surroundings. Me, I think I'll take up Bonsai.