Tag Archives: spring

Late Slacker and Shout-Out Post with a Plug and Pleasantries

OK, I missed doing my Saturday Blog Post on Saturday.  I have no excuse; it was quite the Slacker day (my Chromebook decided to capitalize Slacker.  I’ll let it stand).  The highlight of my day was a late lunch at Yetty’s in Herkimer, NY.

Always seasonal!

I had to take a picture of the head.  They decorate the head according to the time of year, much as I try to do with my skellington Bonita.  For lunch I had a Chicken Panini (my Chromebook insists on underlining panini, but I googled it!), which was quite delicious.  I have half of it in my refrigerator for a snack at a later date.

I’ll have to try to get a better picture.

Earlier that afternoon I went for a walk which ended up at the Elks Lodge, where I met a few friends, and we exchanged pleasantries.  On the way there, I saw some blue pinwheels in front of the County Office Building, to promote Child Abuse Prevention.  It is not a very good picture, but I use it just to give a brief plug to an important issue.  I suppose it behooves me to look for something to do of more substantive help.

Yay! Green!

Just after I took the picture of the pinwheels, I saw some green budding out of some bushes and had to get this encouraging shot.  Kermit the Frog famously said it’s not easy being green (which I found out was totally true when I was in the army), but when it comes to spring time, it is also not easy getting to be green.  I look forward to seeing more of my favorite color!

In the meantime, it is Easter morning, and I must set about getting a few things done before heading do Rome to see some of my beloved family.  I wish you all a happy holiday if you celebrate, and if you do not, I wish you a happy day, and for both groups, I thank you for tuning in.

 

Last Winter Walk on a Wednesday

I decided to take a long walk instead of run this morning, taking my cellphone with me to take pictures of any flowers I might see.  I figured it would make a decent blog post, and I just didn’t have the oomph to run (in my defense, I ran the last three days).  It has been a singularly oomph-less day, so I had a hard enough time getting myself out the door for a walk.

The first thing I saw were some buds on a tree on German Street.  I was doubtful of my ability to get a decent photo, so I walked on and was soon rewarded with some flowers.

Aren’t they pretty?

No, I don’t know what they are.  I think there are some apps that tell you what flowers are, or you can find books on the subject.  I certainly don’t know from apps, but I might seek out a book.

I think they’re called snowdrops.

I was happy to see some flowers putting on a better show than the ones in my yard which I took a picture of the other day (perhaps you saw that blog post).  Unfortunately, my walk was not rewarded with many flowers.  Still, a good walk is its own reward, and I enjoyed the sunshine and fresh air.  I carried a bottle of water with me and refilled it at the spring.  When walking through Salvatore’s parking lot (and thinking that would be a good place to eat soon but perhaps not conducive to reaching my weight-loss goals), I saw a bent stick that caught my eye.

You can see my fat shadow.

Perhaps I am the only one who is fascinated by such things.  I continued my walk, comforting myself that I had at least three pictures for the post.  Then I saw two patches of purple flowers across the street.  Yay!  Of course several cars happened to be going down the street at that time, not even that busy of a street in the general way, to add to my sense of ill-usage.  However, I finally managed to cross and got my shots.

I think these are crocuses.

There were fewer brown leaves to discourage these blooms than there are in my yard.

There were even more than the pictures show.

As I finished my walk, I once again noticed the tree with buds.  Well, why not make the walk just a little longer?  I went by my house and tried to get a shot of the buds on the branch.

Love the blue, blue sky!

It has gone on to be a beautiful sunny day.  I took another short walk a little while ago.  Now I need to prepare myself for tonight’s rehearsal.  This blog may soon become All Prescrition: Murder All The Time, but long-time readers probably expected that.

 

A Spring-ish Post

Hello and welcome to another Wrist to Forehead Sunday post.  I still have no Mohawk Valley Adventures to blog about, but I have a few spring-ish pictures that I can share.

First spring-ish picture.

I have been taking walks almost every day, in addition to my runs, and I have been appreciating the return of bare sidewalks.  I was even more delighted when I looked down and saw these blossoms.  I don’t know what they are; I don’t think they are crocuses, usually the first blooms we see.  This was yesterday afternoon.  Today I wondered if any of my crocuses were up.  I ventured out to see.

They look a little sad.

There was nothing but last year’s grass out front.  Out back I saw these white flowers, but I think I saw them too late for a good picture.  I don’t know what these are either; I didn’t plant them, they just showed up (kind of like me at the Elks Club).  Then I saw some green poking through last year’s leaves.  I left all my leaves, because I read somewhere it was a helpful thing to do for certain bugs and critters.  Any excuse for me to be lazy!  However, this was where I had planted some daffodils a few years ago, and they usually come up.

Yay! Daffodils!

I pulled away the leaves and was delighted to see green and yellow.  I walked around the yard, looking for any other bits of green trying to poke up but did not find any. However, I am encouraged by what I saw.  Oh, I KNOW it will get cold and probably snow a couple more times, so you can just stop shaking your head at me with that superior smirk (you know who you are).  I am enjoying the here and now.

And I am enjoying the fact that I am over 300 words with this blog post.  I think that makes seven days in a row.  I wonder what else I can accomplish.

 

Running Commentary Is Back! I Hope

Yesterday began what is supposed to be a stretch of warmer weather in the Mohawk Valley, so I threw caution to the wind (which had died down) and went running for the first time in months.  I didn’t really throw caution to the wind; I just thought it would be funny if I added the parenthetical comment, since it has been so horridly windy lately.  In fact, I dressed appropriately, stretched a little before I ran, and ran at a pace suited to conditions.

I ran in the road, although in general I prefer sidewalks.  You just can’t count on people driving to notice little old ladies like me.  OK, I’m not so little, but I may go on the South Beach Diet, and with that and running, I may shrink.  Not Incredibly, like the guy in the movie, but somewhat.  Anyways, the roads were pretty much bare, and I tried to stick to the quiet ones.

I didn’t Map My Run but relied on my Garmin, which I tended to look at a lot, hoping for encouragement. It really didn’t feel too bad to begin with.  The frisson of virtue that I was finally running and the delight of almost springlike weather helped.  I had it in my head to run for 20 minutes.  As my body started to get a little tired, I thought I would at least do a mile, because that would probably be 15 minutes.  YES, that is a damn slow mile; one has to start somewhere!

At one point, I saw a lady walking down the sidewalk toward me.  When she got closer I asked, “Can you tell I’m running or am I too slow?”

She laughed and assured me I was doing great.  My first mile was indeed over 15 minutes.  By that time I was still at least five minutes from my house, so my 20 minute goal worked out fine.

Me feeling good about myself.

Since I had not Mapped My Run to share on Facebook, I took a selfie for my Facebook Friends’ entertainment.  Naturally I had to share my triumph on Facebook.

And now I have shared my triumph with my blog readers.  I plan to run again today.  I feel more Running Commentary Posts are in my future!

 

The Blog Marches On

How about a nice Slacker Saturday post to start my Sunday off right?  I know, several things wrong with that statement.  To begin with, I have been up for hours. Went to bed early, got up early, haven’t had coffee or tea yet… I think this might turn out to be a Slacker Sunday as well.  Last weekend I was down with a cold, this weekend, I am just… down.  Not severely down, just…

Sign of the times? Or just of my life?

I quick threw in a picture to pep things up, as I like to do, and this gem from last March caught my eye.  I remind myself not to dwell on being down.  For one reason it makes a dull blog post.

Well, why not slack once in a while?

I took this picture in March 2021.  A March day when it was warm enough to sit on the front porch!  Oh do I miss porch sitting!  I have been cheering myself up lately with plans for spring.  Oh yeah, I did that in my last blog post, didn’t I?  That seems like a long time ago. Maybe I shouldn’t have skipped the morning coffee.

Doesn’t she notice the crazy eyes?

I go a different way with my third picture, because weekends are also a good time for black and white movies, especially the cheesy kind.  Many people do not consider The Bad Seed an especially cheesy movie, but I find moments of lovely melodrama, and I agree with what my late husband Steve always said, how can anybody be surprised to find out that brat murders people?

So now I have rattled on for over 250 words and said not much.  Well I will try for a Mohawk Valley Adventure sometime today to make a blog post about, or at least a Pedestrian Post with Pictures.  As always, I thank you for tuning in.

 

Best Lame Plans for Blogs and Gardens

So I did Wednesday’s post on Thursday then neglected to make Thursday’s post on Thursday or Friday, and here I am Saturday morning thinking I might just make a Lame Post Friday post.  Full disclosure:  I am feeling a bit lightheaded (cue jokes about how I am always somewhat dizzy).  This could be from the last remnants of my cold or it could be from the decongestant I took earlier (it was the kind with the D on the box, that you have to ask the pharmacist for) or it could be a kind of a migraine.  My head does not lack variety, I’ll say that for it.

What my head feels like sometimes.

I throw in a picture to pep up the post.  I do not remember where I saw this skull, but I like it.  Studying the picture, it appears to be on my stairs.  Is this skull somewhere in my house?  Maybe if I continue my efforts at cleaning, I will find it.  Just a little motivation to brighten up my day.

THIS is what I need!

I go a different way with my next picture, showing the rhododendron in my back yard one of the years it was especially beautiful.  I am SO looking forward to spring and hoping to plant many more flowers in my yard.  And maybe a few vegetables.  There are some flowers that may show up again on their own:  the above pictured rhododendron and forget-me-nots, some black- and brown-eyed susans, a few daisies…

From a more ambitious year.

I also hope to have a container garden on my deck.  Flowers, herbs, definitely some basil!  Then I’ll have some people over and we’ll sit amongst the plants and have some iced tea or wine or something.  Won’t that be nice?

 

Monday Mosey

Earlier this evening, I sat here, logged in and looking at a blank “Add New Post” screen, with a mind equally as blank.  Finally I decided to go for a walk with my phone and take some pictures for a Pedestrian Post.  I did not have as many photo ops as I had hoped, but I did manage to get a few.

You can’t really see how lovely the green is.

 

It was a beautiful sunny evening.  Unfortunately, the sun was in a bad place for some of the pictures I would have liked to take.  Maybe I could have gotten some evocative back-lit silhouettes (holy crap, I spelled that right at the first try!), but I am not such an artsy photographer, especially with my cheap-ass phone.  I tried to capture a tree with the leaves just unfurling, with not much success.

I just now learned how to rotate a photo!

 

As I walked up Maple Grove, I saw a commemorative stone where a house used to be, till the flood of 2013.  I did not think it would be commemorating the house, which was not an historic structure.  I guess it marks the project of flood abatement.  Anyways, I took a picture.

My main purpose was to walk by the spring.  I was drinking out of a bottle of water that I wanted to finish and refill.  I am feeling rather dehydrated today.  Too much salty food, I suppose.

One of my favorite places to stop during a walk or run.

I continued my walk, trying to take a couple of different turns from previous walks I had mapped.  I like to post the map on Facebook and my friends say what they think it looks like.  Sometimes I make a psychological analysis or prediction based on what they see.  Analyses and predictions for entertainment purposes only, I hasten to add.

Things are more interesting when I go on longer walks and runs.

I went for a run this morning but did not map it.  I just re-started running on Sunday (after beginning again then stopping again etc).  I feel pretty well exercised for the day, I suppose.  And I have made a blog post of over 350 words.  I call that not bad for a Monday.

 

Look, Crocuses!

So no late but daily posts this week.  Once again I have no defense.  Today I am not sure I even have time to make a decent post.  However, I have a few pictures I took the other day of crocuses in my yard and I want to share them.  Perhaps I could just share the pictures and bill it as a Wordless Wednesday.  It is Wednesday, isn’t it?

Yay!

I had gotten a couple of blooms earlier in March, before that big snowstorm that made me eat my words about not shoveling again.  These are in a different spot and more crocuses in the same place than I have seen yet in my yard.  I put the bulbs down the first fall after we moved in in 2005.  My plan was to add bulbs every year and eventually have the yard covered.  Instead, I have only the original bulbs and what they have reproduced on their own recognizance.

Second verse, same as the first!

I took two shots, trying to get a different angle, but I am afraid they look remarkably similar.  Then I noticed a lone bloom elsewhere in the yard.

A brave bloom to give us hope.

Then I went out front to see if any had bloomed out there.  I was rewarded with another crocus.

Isn’t it beautiful?

The weather has gone cold again this week, although the nasty weather predicted for today seems to have passed at least Herkimer by.  Phew!  Can warm spring weather be far?  I hope not!  In any case, I am over 200 words and still have time to get ready for work.  Woohoo!  I’m a blogger again!  Perhaps not a daily blogger, but you can’t have everything.  At least I have crocuses!

 

I Ask Myself…

Every other day blogger?  I guess that is what I am for now.  And here I am Friday morning, ten finger typing on my Chromebook, which I still cannot navigate handily but is becoming more familiar. I sip Irish Breakfast Tea and ponder my day.  Will I do anything blogworthy?  Perhaps.  I had a rather blogworthy Wednesday, but did I write about it?  Um, no. Once again I ask, what the hell, me?

I like old buildings against a grey sky.

I throw in a random picture to pep things up.h  I am going to call this my Lame Post Friday post, so the pressure is off.  This was taken during a walk on Main Street in Herkimer, NY, the former Christ Episcopal Church and Herkimer County Courthouse.  The latter is part of Herkimer’s Historic Four Corners, which regular readers know I love to walk or run by.  I walked by them the other day but did not make a Pedestrian Post mentioning it.  See, I have all kinds of things I could write blog posts about, I just don’t.  What’s that all about?

Do Not Enter my brain; it could get scary.

Another landmark I passed on Wednesday’s walk.  I do love to defy a Do Not Enter sign.  Oh, don’t worry; I never do it in my car.  Sheesh!

Will I see any of these any time soon?

I close with a bit of hope for spring.  I’m afraid my crocuses will have a hard time showing up this year, because dead leaves from last fall lie thickly on my lawn.  Once again I neglected to put down more crocus bulbs, as I have intended to do every year since I moved in (2005).  That is, I put some down in 2005 but have never done so again.  I am not even going to ask myself why not.

However, this bit of nonsense is now over 300 words, so I say, good enough for Lame Post Friday. I adjourn for another cup of tea.

 

More Meander than Mental

Some of the first green I’ve seen.

I have been waiting for the trees to sprout leaves again.  For one reason, when the sun gets as bright and hot as it was this past weekend, I like the shade.  No, I am NOT complaining about the heat at this early date!  Sheesh! Anyways, I took this shot of a neighborhood tree when I was out walking on Sunday.

I have noticed other trees starting to bud but have not gotten any other pictures.  I feel I should go for a walk and remedy the omission but am too tired.

Well, I just went searching for a monster that was also a tree but had no luck.

And that was as far as I got last night.  I took a walk this morning, but I can’t get good pictures in the dark and was too lazy to carry my Tablet with me.  I am temporarily without a cell phone.  I could write a blog post about no longer being able to carry connectivity around in my pocket (preview of coming attractions).

From my Media Library.

I did walk by Herkimer’s Historic Four Corners,  but not from this angle.  Still, it is a not bad picture of two of the four corners and I found it rather easily, always a concern when one is pressed for time.

I see this nonsense has gotten me over 200 words.  Score!  I think I’ll bill this as  Monday Mental Meanderings.  It has a double meaning, since I also meandered around Herkimer.  Once again, thank you for tuning in.