Received with an email message. Thanks Marge.

This is heartwarming!!

The weekend belongs to our square dance club major annual event (yes, Friday, Saturday & Sunday). Blog communication is limited to this brief note. Visit an earlier publication for pictures of my square dance wardrobe. I’ll also wear that apron (click to enlarge… so you can read the humorous inscriptions).

Before the sun comes up, before I attack projects in the yard, I’ve been deleting old email messages. Found this… and must share The Beauty of Mathematics. Isn’t this awesome??

Thanks Nancy!!

Eleven o’clock and we didn’t see the sun until 10:40. This morning I drove to my storage unit and retrieved the many new planters stored there. I’m trying to “plan ahead” and prepare for the plants that may arrive soon (via FedEx or United Parcel). I arranged and rearranged planters trying to place them so aesthetically attractive–and best usage. The Cape Honeysuckle and two Mandevilla plants need something large. I want the Butterfly bush to have room to expand. This planter is probably larger than necessary for its first season?! (Repeating something I’ve mentioned before: Management won’t let me plant in the yard. I must limit my gardening to planters.)

Tentatively, I think the new Mosquito plant will go in the tan-color planter next to the rain barrels. I’m undecided about where to plant the Strawberry plant. See my earlier post titled Gardening Vicariously. And the blue Geraniums…? Perhaps in hanging baskets? So many decisions!! 

Soon, need to purchase many large bags of planter soil. Last year’s soil (in planters) will be dumped/spread along the berm so Periwinkle can grow and cover that ugly (despicable) white pipe.  (I have over a dozen Periwinkle [ground cover plants] from a friend’s garden. I’m defiant and will put Periwinkle in the ground!! If I’d had a choice… I would have spent the money for a berm that harmonized with my yard.) ~~ I really would like to expand the patio with eleven more paving blocks (in the corner beyond the rain barrels). ~~ Lots to do; this should keep me busy for a few weeks!! ~~ Oh, I’m planning for a veggie garden, too!!

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Three o’clock, same day, same obsession. Nap time; I’ve been up since 4:30.

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FYI: I provide lots of good drainage for my plants and I elevate planters so they aren’t sitting in dirt. Healthier plants, and planters are more attractive?!?!

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Last season, the two Mandevilla climbed the tree. This season (and thereafter) they are limited to the trellis. This season (and thereafter) the tree belongs to a Trumpet Vine.

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Yes, I’m “coo-coo” about birds!! All this work (and expense) to attract Hummingbirds.

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Click each picture to enlarge them for more detail.

Remember my series of blog messages about TracFone Nightmare!!? Perhaps you, too, had problems?? Here is a website where we can file a claim for reimbursement.

…according to the NBC Today Show; Savanna interviewed an Island official.

So I searched the Internet for additional details. Living in the 21st Century, we have so many conveniences!! Repeat: “…so many conveniences!!” Eking out a living, enduring hardship–in the 16th and 17th Century–was routine for my Nantucket ancestors (listed alphabetically: Coffin, Coleman, Gardner, Folger, Macy, Paddock, Sears, et al).

In 1992, I spent hours in the Edouard Stackpole Library –expanding my information about these unique Island families.

Oldest House

Ten o’clock and I’m heading outdoors. It’s 65 degrees (outside) and absolutely beautiful.

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Twelve-thirty noon and lunch time. See what I accomplished this morning?! Well, this, and more!! I “planned ahead” and had the spray paint for table-top. I have an ample supply of trash bags!! Looking good (IMHO)!!

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One o’clock: Removed the Christmas garden flag and hung my absolute favorite “Home Tweet Home” flag. ~~ Hey, “Be it ever so humble….”

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Four-twenty and “yours truly” is exhausted!! But I absolutely could not stop; there were so many things I wanted to do!! Frankly, too busy to even take pictures.

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Postscript, Thurs., Jan. 29, 2015, 5:00 AM: I was in bed at eight o’clock last night and enjoyed a good six hours of sleep. I’m enthusiastic about another day in the yard.

The weather is horrific throughout the Northeast. I’m grateful for sunny skies (in southern Texas) and temperature gloriously “warmer than” many locations in the northern states!!

Yesterday I mentioned family history. Today (on TV news) I heard there are wind gusts of 79 miles per hour on Nantucket Island, Massachusetts. So I checked the Internet and copied the current information. (I love the Internet!!) Check this web site for snow pictures.

The last two days, I have been thoroughly immersed with thoughts about family history. Can’t sleep…, remembering…, mulling over researched information. My head and heart are conflicted!! I want to jump back into research and documentation!! However, I also want to retrieve the new planters from the storage unit (down the highway), purchase planter soil, and start working on my garden. I can’t do both; I haven’t the time and energy. Correction: As a retired old lady, I have the time. So it’s a matter of energy? “No” it comes down to which is more beneficial health-wise. Getting exercise working in the yard is the best choice: Exercise, fresh air, beautiful flowers, delicious tomatoes and peppers, entertainment by birds and squirrels. I guess the answer is a “no brainer.”

Furthermore: The argument could be made that I already spend too much time sitting at the computer (indoors) when I might otherwise be outdoors walking, weeding, racking, etc., etc. ~~ Excuse me; it’s 10:15 and I must tear myself away and feed the birds!!

It felt like it!!

True to my earlier comments, I elected to work in the yard. (The pictures were an afterthought. I probably started before noon.) Getting that white frame “trellis” over the fence post and around a gnarled tree stump was a major challenge!! Had I planned my pictures, I would have a “before” picture with all the subsequently removed new growth on that tree stump. I’ve doused the stump with root killer and will continue to trim… and douse… until it is no longer a nuisance. ~~ Age-wise, I did too much?!?! My arms and shoulders ache!! ~~ The simulated whiskey barrel planters were arranged, and rearranged. I want similarity with variety of size and elevation. ~~ Having moved plants from the shelter, I pray we don’t have any more freezing weather. In a few days, or a few weeks, I’ll drill holes in the bottom of the large tubs and transplant the Mandevilla vines into the larger containers. (First, I’ll retrieve new planters from the storage unit so I can drill all at the same time.)

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“Millions hunkered down and snowed in.” Watching the NBC Evening News–with details about the blizzard in the Northeast–I feel guilty for enjoying such a beautiful day!!