Out the window

I’m sorry I missed posting on Wednesday this week.

I’ve been having some stomach problems, and on Monday I had to work part of the day from home because I felt so bad. Late nights working and lots to do for the newspaper, plus spring allergies, have me worn out.

I was off Thursday and am also off from the newspaper today, so I have been enjoying some restful time.

One

Happy May! May is one of my favorite months, and not just because my birthday comes along. Spring seems to fully settle in during May, and the trees are showing off their new green in earnest. I feel surrounded by new life.

Chase Bird watching.

Two

Chase Bird sometimes perches on top of the sofa in the living room and looks out the large window facing the backyard. I’m sure he sees things that I don’t.

I had to sneak to get the above photo of him. I “casually” walked over to the table and got out the camera without saying anything to him. I snapped off a few before he turned to look at me, wearing an expression of, “Again? Pictures again?”

A view of the backyard. The dogwoods are in front of Larry's shop and a tool shed. The raised bed garden is on on the right.

Three

Out the window, the yard is looking so pretty. I took the photos of the dogwoods and spirea over the past weekend.

We had a bit of a stumbling block as soon as the mowing season started. The riding lawn mower wouldn’t start, and it took the repair shop about two weeks to fix it.

The push mower isn’t the best, so for a little while, a yard was looking a little raggedy.

I would love to make more of the backyard into gardening areas, partly to cut down on the parts that need mowing.

A closer look at the dogwoods silhouetted against the other trees.

Spirea in the backyard.

Four

I met my minister for coffee this morning and we had a nice talk. I haven’t been attending church—for a variety of reasons, mostly from inertia.

But he’s so good about taking time to discuss spiritual and theological questions with me and is accepting of my doubts. He also knows about my OCD and how that has affected my spiritual life.

I want to get back to church, though. It helps me to focus on what’s important to me.

Five

Last weekend I finished the latest Nevada Barr book, Destroyer Angel, featuring her character, Anna Pigeon. Anna works for the National Park Service, and most of Barr’s books take place in a national park.

The books are not formulaic, though. They’re well written, and Anna is a well-rounded character who loves animals and nature. I find that I have a lot in common with her.

Barr’s books are wonderful. She’s the only author I’ve read whose writing about frightening situations has made me scared to turn the page.

Have you read anything good lately?

A study of periwinkle

Signs of spring have been slow to come in Central Virginia. But on Monday, I found a reminder of the season.

Beside our house, a rock wall was installed in the bank by a previous owner. Someone somewhere along the line planted periwinkle around it.

Every spring, I look forward to the lavender petals.

I liked the following description, written by Alex Niemiera, from the website of the Virginia Cooperative Extension: “The plant produces 1-inch blue-violet flowers in early spring that are noticeable upon close inspection.” Yes, I did have to look closely on Monday to see if the blooms had put in an appearance.

What have you studied outdoors lately?

A snowy day in spring

March 25, 2014, side yard outside our house

The weather forecasters were calling for an inch or less in Central/Southside Virginia areas on Tuesday. We got more.

So here’s a look at probably the last snow here (but who knows?) until next winter.

March 25, 2014, trees on our street

You can tell I like the look of snow on trees. My camera lens just pulls my eye in their direction.

March 25, 2014, front yard of our house

March 25, 2014, tree on Main Street, Altavista

You know how I love snow. But we’ve had a lot of warm days lately, and it is almost April. So while I enjoyed walking in the snow Tuesday, it’s OK with me if it’s the last of the season.

As we welcome spring, let’s look back one more time. What was the most fun thing you did this past winter?

My weekend and habits

Sunday was a rainy day, but I wanted to get some pictures of the daffodils anyway.

The daffodils that came with the house—we didn’t plant them—are at the edge of the yard where the woods begin. They bloom every year and are an early reminder that spring has arrived.

I haven’t taken pictures of anything lately. On Saturday night, as I planned the next day out loud, I mentioned getting some photos of the flowers. Larry reminded me that it was supposed to rain.

I’ll go out before the rain, I said.

Sunday morning I slept in, and it was raining before I finished my shower and got dressed. I decided I wasn’t going to change my plans.

I held the camera close to my body and shielded it the best I could. The rain wasn’t coming down hard. It didn’t feel like a gentle spring rain, though, because the air had a cold bite to it. Winter hasn’t fully let go.

I got my photos of the flowers, and then came inside. I left my camera sitting out of its case, letting any dampness evaporate.

One reason I didn’t want the rain to get in the way of my plans was because I’ve been letting too much get in the way of my plans lately. Procrastination and lack of motivation—are they the same? Whatever they are, they’ve been visiting me lately. Again.

If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you know I sometimes struggle with procrastination. It’s not fun. So I do what I can to fight it. I try to get one thing done. Then another. Then another. Step by step.

I also try to remember what I did experience. I didn’t do a lot of work this weekend. But the weekend held inspiration and love.

Larry and I attended the funeral of the former mayor of our town, our Rudy Burgess that I wrote about last week. It was a sad event, of course, and also a spiritually uplifting one. As I said last week, Rudy was a person who inspires me to be better.

Larry and I spent some fun time together watching basketball. Sunday’s Virginia game was the focus, but we got interested in a couple of other games over the weekend. It’s funny how you can know nothing about the two teams playing, and yet you pick out a favorite and cheer for them like you’re a real fan.

I finished reading a good book, Mad River, by John Sandford.

And I got my pictures of the daffodils.

What did you experience this weekend?

Spring is here, and it’s time for Random 5 Friday

Happy spring! Though we’re still looking for some wintry weather next week, it’s officially spring, and I’m looking forward to seeing new life and colors.

And Happy Friday! I’m joining Nancy of A Rural Journal for Random 5 Friday. To read other bloggers’ randoms, be sure to check out Nancy’s blog.

My media pass into the Siegel Center for the big event.

One

The Altavista High School boys basketball team won the Group 1A state championship!

I made the trip to Richmond last Saturday to cover the state final game between Altavista and Radford. My co-staff writer took photographs.

As I said in last week’s Random post, I’ve never covered a basketball game or written about basketball.

I had a great time at the game, and it was exciting for Altavista to win. If you’d like to read the game story I wrote, you can find it HERE.

The media room in the Siegel Center where interviews were held after the game.

Downtown Richmond outside the Siegel Center at Virginia Commonwealth University.

Downtown Richmond

Two

Do you keep up with the NCAA college basketball tournament? I usually have a few teams that I pull for. This year, Virginia has done very well. They won the ACC regular season and the ACC tournament and are ranked number one in the East Division. So my first loyalty goes to Virginia. I also like Duke.

I didn’t fill out a bracket, though. I just don’t know enough about all the teams to make intelligent guesses about who is going to win.

Three

Spring is here, and worst of winter is over. I should be full of energy, right? Only I’m not. I am sleeping way too much and have little energy or motivation to do things beyond what I am responsible for doing.

What gives? I don’t know. I’m going to talk with my doc next week during an appointment because I’m tired of this. Pun intended—I can still laugh.

Four

The other day for lunch, I ate some turkey and rice soup at a local café. It was delicious. However, I fished out every carrot that was in it and placed it on my plate. I didn’t eat them.

I don’t like cooked carrots, and I decided I was old enough to admit that and to stop making myself eat them.

What good-for-you-food do you just not like?

Five

And a strange random fact: Both Chase Bird and me need new brushes. Chase Bird needs a new soft brush, and I need a new vent brush to use when I dry my hair. It broke off in my hand recently. I can still use the brush part, but it’s a little hard to hold in my hand.

Chase Bird and I just can’t look our best without good grooming tools. J