Random 5 for April 23, 2023 – Yard work, critters, appreciation, office, monasteries

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This walking path is a block from my house. Isn’t it gorgeous? So green!

And so it started – This past week is the first I’ve gotten out to do any real yard work. I have dead pachysandra that I pulled and moved some plants around. I’m still in the new home stage where I’m trying to figure out what works where. It was good to be outside but my body is achy.

It was a critter week – We still have the cardinal bombing the windows. I wrote about it several weeks back. He’s still doing it but not as frequently. A robin tried to move into our pergola. That ta-do is a post by itself. No spring is complete without an invasion of the ants and it has started. We celebrated all this with a megahairball! Sigh!

Grateful – We are leafed out, even the late leafing trees. The first couple of drives with greenery everywhere is magic. I am grateful to be alive! Eventually we get used to the wonder until fall comes and it is no more.

My working days – When I worked, I missed the wonder of seasonal changes. I was in an office all day, so those first warm spring days were spent huddled over a computer or even worse, in a meeting arguing which verb to use in an employee mailing. Being retired allows me to enjoy (or not) the weather as it happens. There are very few things I can’t switch around to be able to appreciate the lilacs (blooming here now!) and the gorgeous trees. Walks are magic. Spring blooms don’t last long so you must appreciate them while you can.

Is it different? – I have always wondered what it was like to live in a “cloistered” community or monastery. Just you, nature and your own spirituality. Do you celebrate the little miracles of life like sunshine? Or do you slowly go mad? (That’s rhetorical. We all know I’d turn into a person who rescues every critter she comes across!)

So how was your week?

54 thoughts on “Random 5 for April 23, 2023 – Yard work, critters, appreciation, office, monasteries”

  2. I would like that pathway near my house as well. The Robins and I are at war every Spring. They want to nest in the coach light elbow, right at the front door and over the mailbox. No, I don’t want next fixin’s, mud or poop drops when I go out for the mail, even if I like birds and nature. I block the elbow at the first strands of dried grass. Needless to say the light fixture stuffed with a box and bags is not a candidate for “House Beautiful” but it keeps the Robins away. I have Sparrows in the blinds between the blind and bathroom window – I had the handyman try to block the opening, but they had wiggle room. I love the day the trees all leaf out – the leaves are lime green before getting parched or crinkled or fall to the ground. Our lilacs aren’t out yet, still leafing out.

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    • I would love to have a nearby nest to watch but not on the deck. We would try them all crazy with our activity. At an old house I had a finch that nested every year in the trellis next to the screened porch. It was so wonderful to watch but it was in an area where no one walked. I would have empty nest syndrome when the chicks left.

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      • This is poor planning where the Robin wants to put her nest. This has gone on for several decades so it looks like prime real estate for any and all Robins. Last year after I evicted her, she built her nest in the Pyracantha bush which was fine with me (though it is very thorny, so would not be my first choice). My neighbor Marge had an empty wire basket on her deck and a dove nested in there. This was before we followed one another, but Marge had a door wall, so she would take daily photos of the Mom, then the baby after the hatch and sent them to me, so I did a post, maybe two posts about it. She had two eggs, one didn’t make it and the Mom kicked it out of the nest before the baby hatched. Marge took pics of the baby learning how to fly, then one day she got up in the morning for her daily “dove fix” and Mom, Pop and kid were gone – she was despondent, so I know what you mean.

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  6. After an incredibly wet and cold winter my garden is a mess. I’ve always had the ability to work outdoors year round, which made spring outdoor “cleaning” not quite the chore I’m currently encountering. It sounds like everything is bloom and leafing out and you’re reveling in Spring. That’s lovely, Kate!

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  7. I agree one of the luxuries of being retired is that you can experience the seasons – (when and if you want – and not as you run from building to car.)
    Will be interested in your evaluating and planting of your “new” spot there.
    Spring is lovely when the trees return to green

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  8. Gosh, everyone is blooming everywhere on their blogs except me! We do have green coming in, but not as much as on your walking path. There are daffodils and tulips but no lilacs yet. 😕 It’s been cold here. We had snow on Saturday while I attended a wedding shower! Of course, it’s too late in the season to accumulate. It all melted on impact. I’m thinking we’re probably going to go from winter straight to summer and skip spring altogether.

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  9. I’m really sorry to have to ask you this, and it’s not that I have anything against your blog, but could you tell me how do I unsubscribe from receiving e-mails from this blog? Thank you for your help. : )

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  10. That path is magical…..it looks cool and inviting. Part of our property is a good chunk of woods – we used to have the energy to keep a path in good shape but no more. I’m lucky to keep our mowed yard in good shape these days. Still it’s a peaceful place – I’m content to sit in my rocker on the front porch and enjoy the scent of newly mown grass and watching the leaves move in the breeze. Little things mean more as we age maybe. Spring seemed a little “reluctant” this year but who wouldn’t be reluctant in this climate changing environment! LOL

    Hugs, Pam

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    • We back up to a wooded area. Some of the neighbors clean out the front part and mulch it. I don’t have enough energy to do it. To me it looks natural. The last thing I want to do is maintain the woods! 🙂

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  11. Your walking path is beautiful! Our spring is a little slow this year. It’s been colder and rainier than usual, so the little tender leaves have just starting to show themselves. But I’m really enjoying the blossoms–white and all shades of pink, even green blossoms.

    Often we’re amazed at how smart animals are. Then a bird flies into a window–more than once.

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    • This robin has been doing it for a few months now. I would think that he has a nest and partner somewhere. He’s not here everyday anymore and I stopped worrying about him. Our spring has been up and down. Last week warm bumping 80. This week we’ll be lucky to made the low 60s. Nuts.

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  12. Walks have been lovely lately. Not cold, not hot, just right with pleasant soft winds. I plan to get some plants for the balcony this week. Gotta enjoy the weather now…hot and high humidity on the way.

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  13. Yes spring is here also and the ants are kept at bay with powdered cinnamon across their paths. They take the treat to their queen and she dies and the ants from that group are gone!
    Time for spring cleaning at my house, oof! Somebody’s got to do it!

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    • I cleaned up the ants with a vinegar solution and so far (knock on wood) I haven’t seen them back. I need a good cleaning too. Maybe this week. It will too cool to spend a lot of time outside.

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  14. I have been enjoying our magnolia for the past week, but the heavy rains took away most of the blooms today. My hubby deals with the outside stuff and I deal with the inside. 🙂

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  19. I think your observation about the changing of the seasons in retirement vs. while working is very true. While I probably noticed the seasonal changes, I’m not sure I felt them much. Oh, sure, I’d toss on a coat when it got cold, but I’m much more aware of the emotional aspects of weather now. Gotta love those colors. – Marty

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  20. While I don’t live a cloistered life your questions resonate with me: “Do you celebrate the little miracles of life like sunshine? Or do you slowly go mad?” Maybe both, on alternating days! 😉

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  23. We did some planting yesterday too. As snowbirds leave for the summer, there are lots of plants “up for adoption.” We adopted basil, rosemary, parsley, geraniums, and a few others. While planting, I bumped into a worm and a snail. Luckily I did not bump into any snakes. 😀

    Your meandering path looks inviting.

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    • The neighbor’s outdoor cat brought a small black snake come for entertainment this week. My neighbor rehomed it back in the woods. I hope they stay there. Not a fan. I wish I could adopt someone’s plants. I have to start young ones which I won’t pick from for a month or two.

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  24. It is nice to be able to be outside, even in a place where the seasonal changes are more like: “it’s wet!” “it’s dry again.” “Still dry.” “So dry.” “Marine layer of gloom.” “More gloom.” “It’s hot.” “So hot and dry.” “Dry as a desiccant pack.” “We’re burning.” “More burning.” “Cough, cough.” “It’s wet!”

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