Conjunction Junction

May 26th found us at NASA Space and Rocket Center for an astronomy lecture and viewing. It was the ideal night to see a triple conjunction, the close alignment of three planets in the sky (some believe the Star of Bethlehem was an example of a very unique conjunction). On this past Sunday evening, it happened to be Venus, Mercury, and Jupiter. You could see it with the naked eye, but the Von Braun Astronomical Society was on hand with many sizes and types of telescopes to give us a close-up view, including several of Jupiter's moons.

But, more fascinating to us was Saturn! After the trio of planets set in the horizon, the astronomers turned their telescopes the opposite direction and honed in on Saturn. I had never seen that particular planet with a good quality ten inch telescope. It was amazing! There is no describing how crisp and clear the planet, its rings, and the moons were. It was a tiny miniature of every drawing or diagram or model I've ever seen. It was so adorable you just wanted to put the little thing in your pocket! After we enjoyed a turn or two, it was fun to stand back and watch other adults and kids catch their first glimpse of the magnified sight. There was real joy and amazement from tiny tots to elderly grandparents. What a treat for all ages!

Rockin' Robin

My tree trimmer friend brought me more than just wood chips yesterday! I've been getting free loads of wood chips delivered for the landscape beds the last few days. When I went out to meet the truck Tuesday morning, the workman climbed out with a tiny baby bird on his shoulder. He said he found it while picking up some brush at the previous job site, so there's no telling if the nest was destroyed in a downed tree or if it came to be on the ground for some other reason. But since he was working, he asked if I would take it.

My mom frequently rescued baby birds when I was younger, so I've had a bit of experience with it. But sadly, the death rate seems rather high. I can only remember one baby making it, but I suppose the principle is more in the caring and trying than in the success. So, of course, I took little Robin and we're trying to make a go of it.

She (I don't have any idea how to sex a baby bird, but since all our other avian friends are female, I guess she can be, too); anyway, she is very active and healthy and doesn't seem frightened. She peeps a lot and likes to sit on a finger or shoulder. She takes food well and produces nice, plump stool, so perhaps she has a fighting chance. We'll see!

Just in time...

for Memorial Day! I got my small porch planters done with clearance annuals and US flags actually made in America (love Lowes!).

And we got the bunting UV treated and hung back up for summer:

Wipeout!

We currently have no gutters on the house (I have my eye on half-round copper ones, but that would be done the road a bit). As such, there is an area on the front corner of the house that washes out frequently when it rains. It happens to be right in the landscape bed, so I avoided planting anything there for fear it would be ruined. But now that all the other landscaping had gotten established and lush, that desolate area looked forlorn.

So I decided to take a chance and see if plant material will 1) brighten the spot, and 2) keep the soil in place as an erosion barrier. It's just free and clearance plants, so there is little risk. I'll report back after a few gully washers and update the blog as to our success or failure!

This corner used to be bare, but some Blue Rug Juniper and a few leftover annuals will soon fill in and hopefully make it cheery and secure.

Bird Watching

Doo, doo, doo, Lookin' out my back door...

On a more domestic note:

DH

In the Internet forum world, "DH" is shorthand for "dear husband". In Jeff's eyes, it will always be "designated hitter". But today, my DH title is for "Designated House".

After taking down the (rather ugly) house numbers last spring to paint the fascia board, we finally have numerals on the bungalow again! I realized it was a problem only because we switched out the old mailbox a month or so ago and haven't found attractive digits for it yet. So here we sat for several weeks with no address numbers anywhere on the property. I always hate when houses aren't well marked, and I had fallen into the trap myself. Good thing Jeff has long arms and could reach to mount these floating numbers I so love!

Grilling Greats

We're probably way behind the curve, but we finally had our first grilled meal of the spring. I marinated some top sirloin while we played a game of tennis and then threw together a salad with our garden mesclun greens while the steak grilled. Topped off with a blue cheese vinaigrette, served with homemade lemon thyme green tea, and served on the patio table in the back lawn, it was a wonderful end to a lovely Thursday!

Mother's Day

We had a great time back in Arkansas for Mother's Day last weekend. And my sister-in-law taught us how to use the timer feature on our little point-and-shoot camera. It took several tries, much to the amusement of the waiting subjects, but it led to a great candid shot!

Climbing Clematis

I spent a lot of time and energy making the front of the house look nice last spring, but I never really got around to the back patio. Some pretty clematis and assorted annuals in a series of planters has helped that situation. I would love to build custom boxes around the base of the posts, but that may be a project for next year after I know for sure that the clematis gets enough sun in this particular location!

Beijing!

It's official! We are going to Beijing! Jeff is presenting a paper at an international professional conference in China next month, and I get to tag along.

We weren't sure it would work out since visas are required, the language barrier is a little more intense than usual, and Beijing is a huge, crowded, somewhat polluted, and intimidating city. I wasn't certain I was up to fending for myself as I usually do while Jeff is occupied in talks all day. But Jeff has arranged tours for me every day from 9 to 5 and we're going a few days early so we can acclimate and enjoy China together. We have some contacts and friends there as well, so perhaps we'll get an insider's view of the city, too! I'm very excited for our week and a half visit, as this will be quite different from the other four continents we have explored.

Broody

How to get a Buff off her duff? One of our Buff Orpingtons, Layla, has gone broody all of a sudden. She's about a year old, so maybe it's time, but none of our Red Star hens ever showed the slightest inclination. She's been holed up in the nest box for several days now, sitting on a handful of infertile eggs. I told her I fully sympathize with the desire for babies, but it's just not happening 'round here. She's so gentle that she didn't fuss much when I picked her up and retrieved the eggs, but a few hours later she was back in there on some more. Maybe the mailbox-turned-nestbox has her convinced there will be a "special delivery" soon!

Spring

With all the spring rain comes the good and the bad. First, the good:

Beautiful Knockout roses! This is the Sunny variety, apparently the only Knockout with fragrance. And, oh, do they smell good! This is just their second season and they are blooming like little champs.

The herbs are also very happy. My perennial types came back with a bang, as evidenced by this sage. I was pinching it back, but the flowers are so pretty and I have plenty of leaves for culinary pursuits, so I've let it bloom out a bit.

The bad:

Fire ant mounds! I treated quite a few last fall, but with 30-40 acres of pasture on three sides of us, it feels like a never-ending battle. I'll think I've gotten them all, and then I discover new hills while mowing (thankfully from the safety of a riding mower this year instead of while walking behind the push mower)! I hate to use a lot of chemicals, but with a non-native, invasive pest such as these, there isn't much alternative. 

K-I-S-S-I-N-G

We missed the shot when the pretty little mourning doves were feeding each other (which looked just like kissing!), but we still enjoyed the view of the happy couple cozying up in the hackberry tree right outside the dining room window.

Two little birdies, sittin' in a tree...