Today
was not a typical Monday. Instead of
going to work, I used a vacation day to attend a face-to-face training for my
online teaching job. It seemed that most
of the faculty attending the class were not happy to be learning the online
platform. Several remarked they had no
intention to use any part of the online platform in their classes (because they
teach on campus, not virtual courses).
Even so, as is oftentimes the case with technology change, they must
learn to use some parts of the online platform before 2015. They complained about anything and everything
the entire day. It was interesting to be
on the outside watching this because usually, I am the whipping boy rather than
an observer.
After
class, my plan was to take my kayak out for the rest of the afternoon. Thunder rumbled in the west where the sky was
black, so I decided to stay close to home and plant some flowers. As it turned out, the sky cleared completely
around 6 PM which made me thoroughly regret my decision to stay home and
work. Planting flowers is enjoyable…not
really work…but my kayak would have been more fun.
I
planted a few pots of flowers, then decided to flop down on the hammock. What a divine way to waste lots of time. KYLady has become so terribly lazy this
spring! I laid there on my back staring
up at the leaves shimmering in the breeze and sunlight. The maple leaves are dark green and dense,
but the hickory leaves are lighter with a multitude of shades and patterns
where they overlap each other. The
hickory is my favorite tree in our yard.
The squirrels like it too.
 |
| maple and hickory leaves over my hammock |
We need
to have many of my beloved trees trimmed.
Really, the giant maple my hammock is tied to has a scary crack. A strong wind may cause the tree to split,
and it’s already hanging over our roof. The
maple growing right beside the cracked one is growing at a 45 degree angle and
drooping over one of the apple trees – smothering it. It needs to be taken out completely. The maples out front need to be trimmed
back. One has a giant limb low over the
driveway, the other has grown too close to the house. The trees were here first, but it just needs to
be done.
 |
| ominous crack in a very large tree |
So
tonight, I planted begonias in two strawberry jars. Out front, I planted impatiens, because they
will bloom in shade, and that’s all we have in the front – lots of shade with
very little grass. In the back, I
planted pots of all colors of verbena, petunias, snapdragons, alyssum, and
zinnias. These will set on the deck out
back which gets morning and afternoon sun.
Up
close to the house in the back is my newly started flower bed where Timothy (my
gargoyle) sits vigilantly guarding it all.
It has bleeding hearts Sarah gave me last year, and some dianthus that have
come back this spring. The dianthus are
spindly and barely blooming. The soil is
perhaps too acid right there, and maybe there’s just not enough sun for them. Work is needed. Much work is needed there before I set out
the jack-in-the-pulpits and trillium I bought earlier this spring.
 |
| tarry awhile |
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