Apropos of Nothing v.12

We had ducks when I was a teenager- they gobbled down slugs like they were candy. :)

You know, I'm pretty patient with the slugs. But I found one tonight living (LIVING!) in the center of my new Arisaema sikokianum. He had completely eaten the spadix and was living the cup. I am not amused.

How do you spell this thing called slug.

S L U G
U G L Y
S L U G L Y

Bad slugly (great term judi) eating my newly transplanted lettuce.

Slug poetry!! Maybe we could have poetry readings at the Plant nightclub - we could have a beat night for all the black blossomed/leaved plants - cool plant jazz, with the eulogizing poetry about the slugfest plants, slow rhythmic leaf snapping, counting out the beat of gardener's tale - yea, man, sooooocoooooooooooooool.

I am really on a sofer wavelength here.

Beastly cold here today - I've been rained on, blown about, and chilled to the bone - finally called it quits for the day. Just fed up and squellchy. Decided to take the rest of the day off - blah. ENOUGH. Forecast for tomorrow better, gardening will resume in a.m.

As I was drifting off to sleep last night I decided that some of the slugs pictured on this thread are big and burly enough that they ought to be drafted as bouncers at the Plant nightclub. They would let in only the prickliest and chomp resistant - the punk rock plants. The shy wallflowers and tender leaved would have to wait in the queue.... perhaps practicing their beat poetry.

Bouncers! Perfect! But they must let the wallflowers and tender leaved in - you know, the ones who dish about the "loose" tenders hanging out at the bar, and go to the loo in groups.

Beat poetry readings. Love Flashback to the 60s!

How are we going to get the smokey atmosphere? I'm sure Pix won't let them have cigarettes - I do think those slugs would make perfect bouncers (although isn't there a nicotine spray they use to use for killing slugs) - something about soaking cigarette butts - and I just love the idea of all these florals in kitten heels dancing around their handbags and going to the 'ladies' in groups - what do girlie plants keep in their handbags? A little atomizer of liquid seaweed to brighten up their petals? A couple of chicken poo pellets to give them a boost if they get depleted?

Reason #9,768,462 why I love my hubby: While mowing the lawn, he stopped to move a ladybug out of harm's way. :)

Great Husband!! Never met him but I like him already!

I'm pretty fond of him, myself. ;) Beautiful photo, by the way.

So since when are petunias perrenials? Some of mine came back. Wasn't seeds, either- I kept them deadheaded. I have a couple of nicely established plants now.

We'd need designated drivers -- those would be the jade & cacts, the above-it-alls who wouldn't dream of having more than a sip of compost per year.

What a surprise we had this morning!!! Guess who came out of her nest (which I *thought* was empty) with 10 little baby ducks!!! She sure was sneaky!!!!!!

I didn't get ANY work done in the yard today.... it was spent watching (guarding) Mama and baby ducklings playing in the pond... later, papa showed up, all proud and protective... I hope he sticks around for a while....

*squeeeee!* OMGBABYDUCKS!

Sorry... cuteness overload... that's so awesome! :D

This was taken during nap time... ;)

So adorable. :)

Oh, I second that squeeeeee. So darling - how fortunate and just in time for Mother's Day!!

Pony, that's an awesome man.

Love the ducks! Awesome!

Oh those ducklings are pretty cute. Mama duck has her hands full!

Pony, that man's a keeper.

Happy Mothers' Day everyone. And it counts if you are a mother to furry things as well.

So I've been having trouble getting server responses here and on FaceBook. I'm guessing that it must be my machine, then. But . . . just in case other people are having to wait and wait for things to load. I'm finding that there's a quick way to move things along if you press the "send" button and your message transmission gets stuck.

Just press the red "X" in your toolbar (if you're in Firefox - I think it's the same for Internet Explorer). That stops the process. And then press "send" again and it goes right through. It just seems like the server gets stuck the first time . . .

Happy Mothers day. Have been out in the agrden since around 8am. It is such a perfect day. The sun is shinning,the birds are singing, the flowers smell wonderful.Been clipping back some of the tulips, pulling weeds ..pulling more weeds and I have been listining to one of my neighbors "EDGING" his law for the past three hours. Man it is so annoying! My lawn guy edges,cuts the grasss and blows the clipping in about fifteen minutes(front and back) What is taking this guy so long. All the lots are about the same size. Had to come in the house for a break!! I hate power tools!

Beahive, I'm with you! Especially on a beautiful Sunday/Mother's Day. We have a neighbor who has a yard crew come to his house at 8:00 am on Saturdays. It's really irritating.

The fence is coming along nicely.

Thefence looks neat with the tiles on top.

I'm in agreement with you guys. Even as far away from others as my place is, I'm very conscious of when I'm mowing and try to make sure that it's not too early and not barbecue time, either.

Apropos of nothing, Mike was sitting by the pond this morning and noticed a great blue heron take off from one of our big fir trees. This evening I had dinned by the pond and a heron flew over the pond and looked at me. I have put extra fishing line across the pond and have strategically placed furniture and tables and pots at the edge of the pond deck. My poor fishies! I hope he doesn't come back because I can't sit out there all day. They hunt morning and evening but even so, I'm counting on that fishing line!

Melissa, I have covered my pond with bird netting right now since I replaced the filter and the water is pretty clear. I had anticipated taking it off when the waterlilies filled in more, but I think I am going to get a new piece and custom fit it for the pond. I think I told you the heron cleaned me out several years ago. I now have a dozen or so very large fish and I do NOT want that to happen again. The bird netting doesn't look so bad that I will do without it anymore. The dogs break my fish line when they go to the pond for a drink, so I don't want to trust just that.

My health care provider has jacked up my rates approx 33%. I am getting so sick of this! Shopping around for a new provider, buy the rates are still crazy with other companies. I will need to get a separate policy for my 20 year old as she is not a full time student anymore. I can then add her back on my policy Sept 1st under the "Obama care". Stupid! So I will be paying the same rate for the family plan but 1 child instead of 2 and pay additional for a separate policy for my 20 year old. So much for heath care reform. They are robbing us blind!

Sorry need to vent!

I agree, Bea. That is unbelievable, when the execs are taking home millions. And college aged girls are unlikely to high benefits users, so those premiums are just going into the pool unused. I paid insurance premiums (as did my employers) for years and didn't ever go to the doctor. Where did that money go?

At least the insurance companies are on notice with the latest legislation and you can get some relief in September. I'm continuing to actively communicate with my representatives regularly about the need for reform - it can't go on the way it is. I can boycott movies because of movie star salaries, and professional sports because of athlete salaries, but I can't boycott insurance, so we have to find another way to make change . .

Beahive, 33% is crazy.

Sharon, how do you attach the netting over your pond? I have netting but it's difficult to put on since my pond is so irregular in shape.

Bea, I have a college kid graduating as well. Do you mean the Obama thing doesn't take effect til 9/1???? I thought it was now. Oh, dear!

I think if they are already on your policy they are fine after they graduate until your renewal time comes. This was a new carrier I was looking into who told me they could not cover her on a family plan until 9/1. ( my currect policy expires 7/1) I may have to keep my old policy for at least another quarter and just bite the bullet so my 20 year can have coverage. It is giving me a headache!

My health insurance also went up 33%, and I don't have the option of shopping around because I am "uninsurable" with celiac disease, which is treated not with expensive drugs or multimillion dollar equipment or special procedures, but with diet alone. You want to know where a lot of that premium money that is not used for patient care goes? To lobbyists. I get angry whenever I think about it. I am thankful to be able to have insurance through OMIP, but the rates are outrageous. I never thought I would say this, but I can hardly wait until I'm 65.

On a lighter note, I hope everyone had a nice day yesterday!

Yes, and money to lobbyists, too. It's outrageous.

I can't even believe that they call Celiac Disease a disease. It's a sensitivity to certain types of food - and there are lots of forms of that, much of it undiagnosed. Thatt's just an excuse to deny coverage to some people. Continued watch for reform is needed. At least we have a platform now. This is the first time that there has been this kind of momentum for change and we need to keep traction.

Join the organizations who are making change, write and call your congressmen and women. Write and call congressmen and women from other states. Share your opinions with friends and ask them to be active. We can change this if we all work together!!

Actually, celiac is not a food sensitivity. It's an autoimmune disease. You are correct about many undiagnosed celiacs - 1 in every 110 to 133 Americans have it but only 2% of celiacs are diagnosed. Some ethnic groups have a higher incidence, like the Irish, English, and Italians. So beware! But whatever category it fits into, they don't want me!

Oh, that's interesting. Can I say that it's an autoimmune disease that gives you a food sensitivity?

It's really not a "food sensitivity" but a reaction on the villi of the small intestine that severely damages the villi and causes inflammation. The systemic results are many and can be serious and deadly. Food sensitivities generally affect the GI system but don't result in actual damage - but can certainly be unpleasant. It's interesting that in Italy every child is tested for celiac before the age of 5. I was diagnosed in London, where the awareness is much greater that in the US. I have been on a gluten free diet for over 4 years and am much better but because I was diagnosed so many years after having symptoms I have some residual damage. But I have learned to make a killer coconut cake using brown rice flour, tapioca flour, and potato starch!

Okay. That's good to information. I know several people who have been diagnosed with it and through diet management are much better now. I'm glad that you are.

I would love to have that recipe!
Also, I thought part of the new insurance plan was that companies would not be able to turn people away because of pre-existing conditions.

Pixy, I put rebar stakes in the dirt around the koi pond for the bird netting. The rebar holds the netting nicely without needing fasteners. My pond is also somewhat irregular, thus the need to make a custom shape, which I haven't done yet, but I think the temporary set-up is more than sufficient for the time being. (Extra fabric laying around in various places.)

Hey everybody- my subscription is expiring in a couple of days and I can't renew it because we're broke from vet bills, so could someone else take over the re-posting of this thread if I'm not here to do it? I have been doing it right around 300 posts.

I'll renew my subscription as soon as I can, but it may be at least a month. One of our kitties has been real sick, and it's probable that all three of them have FIV. (feline AIDS) This isn't necessarily a death sentence, but it's certainly distressing to say the least. On a positive note, Henry seems to be doing a little better today, and his vet thinks he'll be fine soon. I sure hope he's right.