Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring seems to be a favorite in the re-created art catalog.
For which I’m glad.
Though this next one does differ quite substantially from the original….
You have to applaud the commitment.
There.
Proof positive your mother was wrong when she said you’d never find a place to wear head to toe green.
Man with vacuum cleaner.
You know women will swoon over this.
Oh. My….
The less said about this the better!
Maybe I should rethink that title…. don’t need the porn spammers dropping by again.
Anyway, after we planted our free trees the other day we had to do something with this under performing flowering plum that was now ruining the alignment.
We planted 2 of these before the big barn construction began, but one died and the survivor gets eaten alive by Japanese beetles every year. I was all for heaving it, but the husband had other ideas.
When my mother died in 2014, she was cremated and I planted some of her ashes with a lovely tulip tree in our backyard.
It did well for 4-5 years until we had crazy late spring freezes and frosts that it couldn’t tolerate.
Since I planned to replace it this year? Husband decided to do a little transplanting.
I (very helpfully) told him we’d need a bigger hole since we were moving a mature 12 year old tree with an extensive root system. With this (ever so helpful) advice, he did what he always does….. and promptly ignored it.
Digging up the plum was an absolute nightmare. The roots were thick and deep and under the topsoil? Hard clay that might as well be cement.
Our farming neighbor offered to come over with his backhoe and scoop it right up, but no.
The husband didn’t want to tear up his lawn and went with the spiderweb approach to removal.
It took us approximately two hours of digging and tugging and even then we ended up chopping what had to be 10 foot long roots.
Whoever said gardening isn’t a workout needs to be bitch slapped.
This photo caught the other half gasping for air after the last pull.
I had serious doubts the hole out back was large enough, but away we went.
Yeah, not quite.
There was a lot of twisting. And turning. And laughing. ( Okay, that was just me. Husband didn’t find it the least bit amusing. )
Some quite inventive spiderweb root trench digging later……
He made it work.
Whether it survives is anyone’s guess.
Because if you don’t laugh, you’ll scream.
That’s the very definition of symmetry.
I can relate to this.
My bags are lonely… as well as heartbroken.
I’m not a religious person, but first plague…. now insects.
It’s mildly convincing, but I’m still holding out for water into wine.
Finally,
A protest I can get behind.
Well that’s depressing.
Because the answer to “what’s new?” has never been more boring.
Heaven does exist.
And I found it at our local grocery store.
Heaven….
Who knew it was halfway down aisle 12?
In an effort to beautify his farm, our neighbor grew 100 silver birch trees. He planted a row of them (54!) alongside the road and I must say…. they’ll look impressive in a few years.
Next thing we knew he was planting them down his driveway, on the next door neighbor’s property and along the road on the other side of the street.
Not wanting to be left out, I asked if we could buy 3 to put in front of our big barn.
He said no.
But that he would be over the next day to give us three and plant them.
We love our neighbors.
This half dead flowering plum will have to go.
Spring was late in coming this year, and while our lawn is still trying to recover from some mid May snow and frost and doesn’t look it’s best yet, I had to laugh at the husband’s reaction to having parts of it disturbed.
You know that man in your neighborhood who’s constantly outside raking, picking up twigs, and screaming “Get off my lawn!” at children? That’s my husband. He’s been known to mow the same patch of grass 3 times in one day.
And yes, I bought him that shirt.
I think watching our neighbor tear up and fling the soil around was physically painful for him.
But he endured with stoic silence.
And we all got in on the act.
Say no to free trees?
I do.
And they’re still cracking me up.
Nice work Fido.
Clever….
And think of the lovely smooth skin he’ll have afterwards.
Have you hugged your…
(Whatever the hell that is) today?
I have to say I never realized how versatile toilet paper is as a prop.
But it is.
It really is.
Making a grocery run with the husband looks a little different these days…
As does his idea of the word essentials.
But the real news of the day?
This:
We found two of the most elusive items in Maine. Flour and toilet paper!!!
Now I can say I know how a crack whore feels after a fix.
Well, maybe not exactly how.
But still…
We found these precious jewels at an out of the way, generic name grocery store in the back country.
And no, I’m not telling you where.
