garden's blooming

The previous owner of my house, Joyce, planted a lotta good stuff. To the left is a white iris. It's right outside my front door. The front planter has yellow irises, and

I've begun to add purple ones.

In celebration of Earth Day, I planted basil, oregano, and a small tomato plant (Thanks, Darcy!) in my patio planter (above right). I put in six lavender plants in the middle of the area surrounded by the retaining wall. They already smell wonderful!! Aunt C, you would approve :) I also planted four citronella plants. It'll be interesting to see if they have any mosquito repellent impact on my patio space. Man, the bugs here in Georgia are unreal.

The hydrangeas were damaged by our unexpected cool spell, but I think they'll be all right. I hope they bloom this year.

I have seeds for a bright red morning glory that are soaking now, I'm going to plant them in the center of the front yard planter tomorrow. They'll be able to climb the trellis with the yellow roses.

I suppose I really ought to start studying for my exam tomorrow, and work on my two page report, and get a head start for my exam Wednesday... blech.

Indiana Jones eat your heart out

WARNING!!!! IF YOU ARE AVERSE TO SNAKES, SKIP THIS POST. YOU REALLY WON'T LIKE THE PICTURES. (added to this post as per ACBK, who is very happy to be living in the north where these creatures are not as prevalent)

So I was doing a small project in my yard today. Taking out a messy pile of small, weed-prone rocks to replace it with a nice slate patchwork area. I was pulling up a few bricks that lined the back of this spot and discovered a small snake nest. Oooooo kay, Georgia has all sorts of things to offer! I didn't think either was venomous, since both types (three baby snakes total) had blunt noses. One was really pretty, had a striking yellow belly.

The slate pieces for my project were piled by the side of my house. Upon picking up the first piece I discovered that I had not successfully merged my climbing knowledge with my gardening know-how: I forgot that snakes like to live in loose piles of rock in the sun. Here's what I found:


One ring-neck, four baby brown snakes. There's another in out of the frame you can't see. That would be a sum total, with the others that slithered by before I could get the camera, of eleven. I think I know why Indiana Jones didn't live in Georgia!!

Here's a website that shows pix of grownup ringneck and brown snakes: http://www.pbase.com/tmurray74/snakes

And I really thought my neighbor Kim was being paranoid when she said that she was afraid to tend to her yard herself because there were snakes. I guess not...

Well hell, if Billy won't hunt the grounds, at least someone does!!

i don't know where my sister Karen got this one but it's hilarious

Especially for Russell !!!!

1. go to www.google.com

2. click on "maps" (above the search box)

3. click on "get directions" (under the search box)

4. type "New York" in the first box (the "from" box)

5. type "London" in the second box (the "to" box) and click "get directions"

6. scroll down to step #23

Thank you, Grandpa and Dada

Had some adventures today. After 11 hours of classes, starting at 7am and ending at 6pm, I hauled my sore back out to my truck in hopes of driving over to the chiropractor to get adjusted. Well, fate had a different idea. I put the key in the ignition, pushed the clutch in, turned the key, and.... nothing. Except the radio. Hm? Well, OK, I've known for a while I needed a new battery. Not a surprise, since the battery was original, from 1999, and had seen 5 winters in WI and Boston, and 2 ever-so-torturous Atlanta winters. Plus I had not checked the water level in, oh, five years? And then there was the little battery acid leak issue? So I really can't complain. So my conclusion was that the battery was drained, I had probably left a light on or something in my pre-dawn uncaffinated stupor and there just wasn't enough juice to turn over the starter. Easy to fix, I have jumper cables!! I so smart. Called around to see who of my friends was still in the neighborhood, my friend Ashley came back to help, and my friend Marcelo saw us messing with the cables and decided to join in the party. After a while of trying, we realized that the battery was not accepting charge and figured it was a goner. So we pop-started the truck and off Ashley and I went to AutoZone to get a new battery.

We got a new battery in, and it still wouldn't start. GRRRRRRRRR. So at this point the symptoms were full battery, no apparent starter turnover, I know the car *runs*, and the radio works. First thought: the starter or wires. CRAP. Here we are, in the 'hood, with a dead car looking at a nice expensive tow, and a long wait. (Did i mention there was an accident in the parking lot next to us while we were messing with the batteries? Minivan vs. old Saturn, the minivan won and no one was hurt except the entire side of the Saturn) Especially grr bc I had leftover lasagna waiting for me at home, and a dog who needed to go pee. But wait - why are the dashboard lights not on? Hm. Hmmmmm. Ok, on a lark, check the fuses - because sometimes they are coupled (in my Integra, the horn was coupled with the rear brake lights). I started pulling the ones marked IGN, seemed logical. Nothing. Then I pulled the one marked METER - it was blown. Dude. Score, maybe? Replaced it with a spare and turned the keys and whoa, the dashboard lights go on. I said a quick prayer and punched in the clutch and turned the key. pppBBBbbbbmmmm the engine roars to life!!!! and wierd, my radio is really really loud. Oh, I was playing it on just the battery before, wasn't I? Amazing what a new battery will do for power!!

So I am now at home, and my trucky is in my driveway. Grandpa and Dada were looking out for me yet again, peering thru the clouds and allowing me to face a problem in the safest way possible. I mean, why today, at 6pm, in broad daylight, on a sunny day, within a mile of an AutoZone and a quarter of a mile of a Nissan dealership? Two miles from home? And with friends around to help. When I think about where I've been in the past few weeks (alone driving at night in rural mountainous South and North Carolina, way up in boonieville this past weekend biking at Tsali, to and from work on I-285, out driving in northern Alabama with Giulia and Andy, 7am classes, and earlier last month taking 8am final exams where being late meant failing the exam because you would not be let into the room) i'm pretty glad today was the day. All told, a surmountable obstacle. I didn't even swear, once!

You'll be happy to know that I picked up extra fuses while at Auto Zone. After all I don't know why the fuse blew in the first place. At least now, if it happens again, I can slap in a new fuse and head for the Nissan dealership!

Off to have a beer and go to bed. I think i've earned it today.

Tsali, NC

The first week of classes was kinda a bitch. It made me cranky - until Lauren mentioned that we had no classes Friday. Easter being a pagan holiday at its inception, what better weekend to hike it up to Tsali, the reported mountain biking "Mecca" of the east? It has been on my "to do" list since I've been here. Besides, it's always fun to spend a weekend than chasing 3 boys (Rusty, Wale, and Ryan, right)

The weather was predicted to be a bit chilly, highs in the upper 4os. (I know, Chris, there is a certain irony in my foregoing my "i don't bike when it's cold" rule only once I've moved to the south!) Instead of camping, we found a cabin. We found a gem: Freeman's Motel and Cabins freemansmotel.com It was inexpensive, clean, and within two miles of the trailhead! The fireplace was bonus too, after a day of COLD riding.

We arrived rather late, and after a few hours of sleep, I woke up and pulled the curtains aside to look at the blue sky and found snow on the ground. Ick. Ugh. did NOT want to see that. It's a good thing that I have a lot of gear from NE winter sports. Fully suited up (balaclava, windproof gloves, lotsa smartwool...), we made for the trail with thick flurries coming down.

Thankfully the snow went byebye, and the cold was bearable. The trails are absolutely SCRUMPTIOUS!!!!!!!!!!!!! Lotsa climbing, and a LOT of twisty, banked, windy singletrack. Elevations ranged from down by the green water of Lake Fontana to a sweet ridge run at treeline, looking up at Smoky Mountain NP. The trails were a lot more fast than technical, and they're long. We did the Right Loop and Windy Gap Overlook (12 mi+), refueled with Mexican food, then did the Mouse Branch Loop (7 mi). My legs were toast at the end, but my back tolerated the day for the most part. I mean, I'll take pain over debilitation anyday!

Back at the cabin we had dindin, a spinach lasagna that I had made Friday. We played some cards, drank some beer, sat by the fire - a good day in all. This morning I made Pillsbury cinnamon rolls, mmmmmm.

Oh, so for your future reference, Tsali is a 2.5 hour drive from Atlanta and we found a bike shop nearby that rents. Just to toss that at y'all.

Guess it's time to do my urinalysis homework. Ugh, buzzkill.

Happy Birthday to Billy!

My cat Bill is ten today. I named him after Bill the Cat, an orange tabby featured in Berke Breathed's Sunday comic "Opus." I got him from the Humane Society, and they didn't know exactly when he was born, so I decided that April Fools' Day was an appropriate birthday. I brought him home in June 1997 just before I brought that D-O-G home. The first night I had Billy he shat on my bed (i was dumb enough to let him sleep there without making sure that he really got the idea of the litter box). In his early days, he did normal kitten things, like claw his way up my legs and attack dustbunnies with abandon. Then, a month later, I brought home the Moose. I put the puppy crate down on the floor, and Billy romped his way up to it like, "hey, what toy did you bring me today?" and stopped dead in his tracks at the (closed) cage door. Little tiny Billy arched his back and hissed and made all the noise he could to let this "creature" know that he was a huge, fierce feline to be reckoned with. Moose whimpered; "lemme out i wanna play!" I let them sniff for a while, then opened the cage door. Baby Moose romped out, all paws, and promptly chased the cat under the couch. The cat came out the other side. Moose followed. You've seen Moose, so you can picture how small she was to fit under the futon. Billy soon figured out that higher is safer. And thus began ten years of The Cat And Dog Chase.

In celebration of Billy's tenth birthday, here's a list of ten things he has accomplished in the first half of his life:
1. Pulling the upholstry clear out of the arm of my favorite Green Chair. Staples and all. Argh.
2. Surviving a Christmas air travel nightmare. The 20+ lb Billy managed to fit in a crate (barely), and convinced the airline representative that he actually satisfied the weight limit for in-cabin travel (ha). We got stuck at O'Hare overnight and I snuck him into a hotel room. The drugged Billy actually climbed the hotel curtains.
3. Convincing Kim's dog Rue and Michelle's dog Billy that he is the alpha kitty.
4. In cahoots with Moose, eating the deed to my house in Milwaukee.
5. Snitching untold amounts of food from countertops. ("Yeah, mom, don't leave the loaf of bread on the counter, put it in the....... oops, too late"; or,"damnit, I left my lunch unattended for two minutes, who does he think he is, Garfield?? well, i guess it *was* lasagna...")
6. Swatting my wonderful glass Starbucks french press from atop the fridge. Don't even ask me how he got up there, I have no idea.
7. Repeatedly surviving the "shaken, not stirred" and "look, i can fit the cat's entire head in my mouth!" treatment from Moose... without *obvious* brain damage, anyways.
8. Bewitching two of my neighbors to feed him when i put him on diet. "What, your cat's on a diet? Oh that's why he always seems so hungry!"
9. Almost crushing Darcy by choosing to snooze on her chest. 100 lb Darcy + 20 lb of cat = hard to breathe!!
10. Breaking out of his crate on a car ride home from the vet and crawling under the brake pedal, then onto the steering column, preventing me from turning the wheel. The 3 of us almost bit it on that ride home.

Ah, to another ten years of adventures with this creature. At least now he has me trained.