And The Beat Goes On...

My view in early August.....

 ...my view now (at least there's a tree :)

 The way we got here....

 ....not everyone was happy initially...

 ....change is hard, y'know....

 ....but eventually creature comforts can be found.

This post is the last for the blog called Millertime...I feel that I've taken it as far as it can go. It's been a real hoot, and I will leave it in place for the foreseeable future. I'm just in a state of transition these days, and so my blog life is as well. But I'll be back...like it or not....for I am an irrepressible, un-stoppable, un-shut-up-able force! (Like y'all didn't know that by now, eh? :)  See you in the funnies!

Fall is a Season of Change

These autumnal changes are widespread and not all of them good. Plants are "dying" (most of them sleeping, really), temps are dropping, and many creatures are preparing for hibernation or the challenges that winter brings. I'm dealing with some hard times myself, which have kept me away from my blog. When I can post, it's utilizing dialup which is excruciatingly slow for uploading images. For instance, I swore I'd uploaded four images for this post...only "Alvin" here made it through. But I'm an optimist, doggone it....so Blogger can challenge me, life can frustrate me, and haters can kick me in the head when I'm on the ground-I don't care! The Lord made all these days, better or worse...and you can't keep a good woman down! So bring in the funk, and I'll belt out my noise! Woot woot! :)


"Whenever evil befalls us we can think how we can turn it into good, so that we may take occasion from a bitter root to raise perhaps many beautiful flowers." Goodness will always prevail- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Music and Light Show

Okay, I tried to post this yesterday, but it wouldn't play the video! Now I think it works....


.....the music really fit my mood yesterday, and actually most every work day! ;-)

Orphan Post Rescue

Since I find myself riding a rollercoaster of iffy health and such lately, it's time for another "orphan post rescue", since this is what I'd love to see right now. What I'm getting is 6-10" of new snow! Yay....*sigh*...whatever...

Come on spring, please get to it. Knuckle down, buckle down, do it, do it, do it! Woot woot! :)

Bloom Day bloom! Posted late, but I have good reasons for that. Sure, this is in the house, but I'll take it! I got this nice little hyacinth to force as a Christmas gift, and had it in the fridge until I saw growth about a week ago. I wish y'all could smell it, it is divine!

My carnivorous plants are continuing to improve, too....
.....even the cute little volunteer mushroom is maturing nicely. And if you enlarge this picture, you can see that my sundew caught itself a couple gnats...sweet!
And the lithops are coming along nicely, although they look funny. According to a website: "Lithops should be left totally dry throughout winter and spring. During this period the plant will generate a new body (or pair of bodies). The new body will consume the moisture and nutrients of the previous body as it completes its growth. This process should be visible by early spring. Throughout the winter and spring keep the plants cool but avoid freezing. Watering can commence once the remains of the old plant body are shriveled and drying." Cool!
Especially since indoor plants are all I get right now. More snow... ...and a cardinal! Sorry it's blurry, but it was taken through a window and I was excited! Many of you see these on a regular basis, but not me. This is only the third cardinal I've seen in 9 years living in this house. I see them in town, so I don't know if there are too many raptors out here for their liking, or what.
Despite the melting, I still have plenty of snow on the ground to drive birdy customers to my feeders...


.....even some seed heads left (I don't think birds eat sedum seeds).

Guess what else I had for Bloom Day? Vertigo! *sigh* For the third time in the last year, and really bad this time! I can usually function with meds for dizziness, but I awoke with it this time, and nausea was too severe to keep the meds down...kind of a "chicken/egg" thing.
Finally back to work after several days feeling "froggy" like this....
...I hope that's it for illness, cuz' when spring finally explodes onto the scene, I need to be ready!

Y'all diggin' my new header? I sure am! This is courtesy of Kim the Blackswamp Girl...I told you Bloggers and "lurkers" are awesome! This comes at a great time to cheer me up...I have been home from work with a terrible case of the flu for the last several days, and the smile is sorely needed!! Ah well, "tis' the season"...*sigh*.

I want more...from my holidays than just poinsettias........although the little splashy variegation helps... ......and more than just gifts (but just look at all the coffee my dear friend sent me! Seven pounds!!!)

I want more snow.....
....although when it gets deeper, I have to break out this old plastic cutting board as a platform to keep the seed on the surface for my birdy friends......I want more scenic beauty...but to be out in it, not just wistful observations behind glass.......sure, I even want more catalogs! This was from just one post office trip-bet they're glad I have a P.O. box and they don't have to carry them.

I want more of these....wild birds everywhere! This is a Red-bellied Woodpecker... ....I even want more of these guys, as long as they stay off the bird feeders. Heh..."Got snow?"
My New Year is all about more, not less. Not less weight, or less spending, or less booze, or any other "cut backs" that are popular this time of year...
......I want more....a more involved, tactile, rolling-around-in-it year, filled with more sights like this.....

...and even this-Six Spotted Orb Weaver (Araniella displicata) on my side mirror at Walmart last summer, his body no larger than a pin head. But it's not enough to just follow my macro...I want to be less of an observer this year. Plenty of people say they need to take time to "stop and smell the roses", but for me the opposite is true...

...time to "shake the moss off this stone" and roll already! Happy New Year everybody!!

*Sigh*......I feel humdrum....winter has barely started, and I'm feeling blah and "so what?"....I don't get like this often, and I have a remedy: pretty spiders! My son has been raising these beauties, and they've gotten quite large. Plus he got a new camera, so I thought I'd share some pictures. These brave tarantulas are the survivors of "Evil Gizmo" and his foiled plot to destroy all pets competing for my son's attention. First, this lovely Greenbottle Blue...I really like his coloration!

Next is this beautiful blonde, Golden Starburst Baboon spider...and as the link suggests, she is very aggressive and not for beginners! She has grown a lot since he first got her, and like many fast, un-handleable spiders, she was very inexpensive (like $20). She's my favorite of all his spiders, and I'd get one like this if I ever decide to have any of my own. The meanest spiders are generally the prettiest, and I don't plan to handle any of them, so what the heck! She's scary fast, though, and got out one time when my son was trying to show her defensive striking pose...yeah...bad idea!
And last but not least, the Brazilian White-Knee Tarantula , very contrasty and pretty also. Not the kind of spiders most of us contend with in the garden...thankfully! Okay, so nobody thinks I've completely lost it, let's visit with my boy's more "acceptable" pets...
.....like the aforementioned Gizmo (in black) with his pal Bentley (so named for his bent tail). Looks like Giz is trying to comfort Bentley..."There there old chum, I'm sure that fuzzy ball will come out from under the couch eventually. Now let's take a nap."
Lady here was likely the cause of kitty toys vanishing...usually into her stomach! (Heh, which is also temporary :) She is a Boston Terrier and Pug cross, or "Bug" as they're referred to. Very cute and not really a spaz, but she got larger than anticipated. Probably 25 lbs., and if she stands on your chest, her legs feel like stakes being driven through you...she's a tank! She's a chewing machine too, but very content with chewing her own toys (unless you give her none).
Giz again, showing off...."You say I'm to keep off the kitchen cabinets? Foolish humans, I was built for just this sort of activity!" He's even funnier when you see the dirty looks he gives the dog....we imagine Kelsey Grammar's voice like his "Sideshow Bob" character on the Simpsons...heh....guess you gotta be there.
Anyway, I give the last "word" to Lady, who expresses my mood and sentiment exactly!
*Sigh*.......Is it spring yet?

Public Service Message: This blogger is fully immersed in a drug-like stupor, induced by the lure and promise of springtime blooms. At the risk of sounding all "Look what I can do", this gardener can hardly contain the ridiculously optimistic enthusiasm of the promises in these little bulbs! Any "overspray" of obnoxious enthusiasm incurred is just part of the deal...sorry.

Feeling the blur....life can sure come at you fast sometimes. If you're prepared, you can just ride it out, but if you're not....... ......you just wanna hide somewhere, y'know?Or perhaps consult a wise advisor......Snoopy? Is that you?You can also look to the clouds for the silver lining or the rainbow-whichever makes you feel better.....
.....but ultimately, when life has you "making lemonade" all the damn time, the best you can do is get through each day, enjoy the sunset, and hope for a better tomorrow.

Okay, enough pity party....on with the blog!

Transportation drama....so I'm driving along in my 1998 Dodge (with 248,000 miles on it), and I knew it had sounded funky lately, but then as I pulled away from an intersection I hear a loud "thunk"....followed by "ka-whump, ka-whump, ka-whump"! When I exit the vehicle, this is what I see..... ....now I'm no mechanic, but I'm guessing this is not good. So a few minutes later, the "cavalry"/tow truck arrives. And only 6 days, and $1,400.00 later (incl. rental car), I'm back on the road. I'm gettin' 300,000 miles outta this truck yet!