Bill Kelly Memorial Garden

Yesterday we finally got a break from the brutal, oppressive heat wave that has kept me inside most of the days this summer. 

I took advantage of this normal weather and edged the flower patch I have around the transformer I share with my neighbor Bob.

In a previous post, I wrote (and showed) how Comcast command that Bill's white picket fence had to be removed from around the transformer. Bill thought that transformer looked ugly (it is ugly) and wanted to camouflage it with something more pleasant to the eyes. That's when he installed a white PVC picket fence. We've had that picket fence

The white PVC picket fence Bill put in 2010

around the transformer for about fifteen years until last month when Asplundh, a local tree removal company, hired by Comcast, came by and ripped everything out. 

I understand that Comcast wants access to their equipment. I'm not totally unreasonable and in fact, I wasn't even in favor of the fence but Bill wanted it. So we had it. 

What an ugly scar Asplundh left after their workers ripped the fence and vegetation out,

leaving a sad pile

in my driveway of what was once a beautiful fence and flowers. Even my neighbor said something about it. So I planted a few flowers. 

Better.

Then I planted a few more flowers. My clematis, which I assumed were dead since they were ruthlessly ripped out, came back from the dead. So then I resurrected my rusted out trellises that I had stored behind my shed, that were destined to Got Junk, and put them over the new clematis growth.

Even better.

Then I had an idea. Rather than let the years long mulch buildup around the transformer return to wire grass hell, why not keep pulling the weeds out and keep that as a garden? Viola! I have turned a lemon, an eyesore, a scar into lemonade. No longer would my neighbors have to look at that transformer, which resembles Russian architecture at it most brutal.

I even added a garden gnome!

However, it has been difficult to maintain this new garden because of this stifling heat and humidity we're having this summer. I try to some garden maintenance at the end of the day when the sun goes down but the humidity is still here. I'm soaked in only five or ten minutes of work. I do manage to water and fertilize, despite the humidity that just drains all the energy out of me.

Then yesterday we got a reprieve, however temporary, from this brutal heat and humidity.

Know what I did? I edged the garden! Yes I did! I even took three wheelbarrows full of wire grass infested dirt out to my compost pile at the far edge of my property, where I put all my garden waste. Yes, I keep all my garden waste in a compost pile at the edge of my property. That's why I chose this lot that bordered a road and a cornfield. I specifically didn't want a property that bordered on my neighbor's property because surely they would complain about the compost pile. Nobody complains about my compost (where I also put my kitchen waste) pile now. 

I completed the edging last night. Today, at daylight (I was up at 3:15 AM again this morning, I can't figure this out but will go into this recent phenomenon in a future blog post) I will finally clean up that small remaining pile of mulch that has been in my driveway since spring. I had hoped to have that mulch gone by July 4th but the heat and humidity prevented me from doing so. I'm sure my neighbor Bob will be glad to see that mulch pile disappear. Personally, I will miss it. I have grown fond of it. Every time I went outside and saw it, I felt like an old friend was waiting for me to finally give it a home. Today is the day mulch pile!

Now here's the best part folks. After I finish the job, I am getting a plaque from Amazon and renaming that flower garden as "The Bill Kelly Memorial Garden."

Bill has always loved colors. The multi colors of Christmas lights and especially a the festival of colors of an flower garden. Yes, he would approve. And now ever time I drive out of my garage and I see that colorful flower garden, I will be reminded of my undying and eternal love for Bill. 

Me and Bill July 2010 - he was my life and I his. One day we will be reunited once I get out of the Dystopian nightmare this country has become under The Felon and his cowardly enablers. 

Fence Removal

You know folks, it's always something.

This morning while I was relaxing in my bedroom, staying out of the oppressive heat and humidity that is hovering over southern coastal Delaware today, I hear my doorbell ring.

"Oh who is it now? Another salesman?" 

Alas no, the person ringing my Ring doorbell was a very attractive redhead (not Pat) in a orange construction helmet and Day-Glo lime green T-shirt.

He identified himself from a local tree service company called Asplunh. He was here to remove Bill's white PVC fence from around our transformer. 

I knew this was coming.

For the past year there have been rumblings about too many homes here in paradise i. e. Sussex County, Delaware, hiding their transformers with shrubbery and the like. 

We've been warned to REMOVED ALL OBSTACLES but of course I've been ignoring the warnings because Bill put in that fence. It's part of my memory with Bill. Actually, I was against putting in the fence, I wanted to keep access unobstructed to the transformer but Bill insisted. He said the transformer was "ugly."

Bill and our neighbor Bob leveling off the fence

Over the years I've had many colorful and beautiful displays of flowers including a magnificent display of light lavender clematis. The past several years I've been the talk of the neighborhood with my blazing red display of salvia flowers. That is no more after today.

Poor Bill, he would be turning over in his grave if he was in a grave. Actually his ashes are in a beautiful box in his bedroom downstairs.

After the guys from Asplundh left I put a call into GOT-JUNK! to remove the fence. They want a minimum of $398 to take it away (quarter tuck). Instead I posted "FREE WHITE PVC FENCE" on my NextDoor app and got an immediate response within five minutes. It's 12:30 PM now. "Jared" said he would be over at 1:30 PM.

I feel bad for my salvia plants that just took hold and my long time clematis but it is what it is. 

Another piece of Bill's history gone. 

"Your Plants Are Lovely"

Me yesterday on our back deck with my planters of color - my arrangement folks!

"Your plants are lovely."  That was the comment one of my Facebook friends made when I posted this picture that Bill took of me yesterday on our back deck.

Both Bill and I love flowers.  We love the color. 

My last blog post I ranted about Bill turning off our irrigation system thus depriving my plants of much needed water during our current hot spell. Bill didn't realize that he was drying out our flowers, he was concerned about overwatering our lawn.  I am not.  I said "Let the mushrooms grow!"

Bill has since turned on the irrigation system and will let it run three times a week (Monday, Wednesday and Friday) as it is currently programmed.  We do have a rain meter which disables the irrigation system if the skies open and our lawn receives rain from Heaven. No worries there.

After a wet spring, we have been enjoying some really spectacular summer weather here where we live in southern coastal Delaware. In my previous life when I lived in Philadelphia, PA I would wish I lived "at the beach" so I could enjoy those ultra violet cancer causing sun rays on the beach.  How ironic that now I live near the beach, I never go there in the summer.  The main reason is that Rehoboth Beach (and Lewes Beach) is just way too congested.  And besides, my laying in the sand days are over, since I contracted with my dermatologists over thirty years to ago to visit semi-annual to check for pre cancerous skin lesions (actinic keratosis). 
 

Me at Herring Cove, Provincetown, Mass circa 1976 - in my pre visit the dermatologist for skin cancer days

So far no skin cancer for yours truly but those little bumps keep showing up with regularity. I've lost count how many times I've had them burned off with dry ice and even several times surgery perform to take a chunk of my flesh out for a biopsy. But I digress, I started this blog posting talking about how pretty our flowers are this year.

Flowers are my passion. All my life I wanted a home where I could grow all manner of plants, almost all flowers and herbs.  I rarely grow vegetables, there are too many local options for buying fresh vegetables.  I do have a few cherry tomato plants but that's about it. I lost my taste for growing vegetables the year I grew broccoli.  I steamed my freshly picked broccoli al dente, just the way I like it.  Prepared to savor the taste of my own freshly grown broccoli I ate my first bunch. Bitter!  What was that taste?  I looked and lo and behold I discovered that I had eaten "broccoli caterpillars" that were the same color as the broccoli.  That was my last time growing my home grown veggies (with the aforementioned exception for cherry tomatoes).  

Tomorrow is the first day of summer. I am prepared folks!

The only thing on my agenda this summer is a colonoscopy (always a "fun" time) coming up at the beginning of July.  Do I know how to celebrate the Fourth or what?

I made my call for jury duty Saturday not and the good news is that I didn't have to report.  One more call next Saturday then I'm home free.  In a way I would like to do jury duty (never have) but at my age and my Morning Bathroom Issues, I don't know if I would be the ideal candidate to sit in the jury box.  Especially since I couldn't have my iPhone with me.

I didn't know Bill took this picture but here it is anyway. A good way to end this blog post (I guess)

Glorious Spring Saturday Morning

 Good morning folks! This is what life is all about, this glorious spring Saturday morning. This is what I live for folks.

Bill and I just got back from Pepper's Greenhouse.  I had to by some alyssum flowers for my oval planter.  

Alyssum is usually the first spring plant that I buy.  This delicate, aromatic flower thrives in cool temperatures.  I can plant it in my oval planter and it will last all summer up and until the first frost and a few weeks thereafter.  It doesn't like the heat of summer and goes go into a bit of hibernation but quickly recovers during the cool fall temperatures.  

Each year I have to make sure I get to the local greenhouse early enough to purchase my alyssum.  One year I got there too late and they were out and I was out of luck.  I had to go the whole spring and summer season without my "carpet of snow."  

Of course this morning was a chore getting to Pepper's.  Bill still has to load me into the back seat of the car.  My leg doesn't bend enough, with this leg brace still on, to sit in the front seat.  But I'm hoping my doctor advises me to ditch the leg brace and advising me to bend my leg (knee) more.  

While we were at Pepper's we ran into my co-worker Lou and his lovely wife Eileen (I think that's here name).  

Bill, Lou and Eileen at Pepper's Greenhouse this morning

 Small world around here folks!  That's what I love about living in Delaware, especially southern Delaware. Look at Bill, he looks thrilled doesn't he? He still has to follow me around, pushing a cart and making sure my leg doesn't give out.  Oh it was so good to get out this morning and at least start back on some semblance of my regular spring routine of visiting Pepper's.  I also brought to parsley plants.  The danger of frost isn't over yet and parsley is one of those plants that can take a mild frost of two.  Later on when the danger of frost is past (after Mother's Day or May 15th) I'll buy some basil, sage, cilantro, and other herb plants.  

When I woke up this morning the swelling on my injured leg was almost nothing.  I was swimming in my brace, moving my leg and knee around almost like normal.  

I can feel normalcy returning folks!  Isn't it amazing how the body heals itself?  Life is amazing. And I treasure every moment I have.  

This morning I was thinking about my friends Ed and Wayne who died earlier this year.  No more will they experience the special joys of spring. So sad for us who have been left behind but, hopefully, wherever they are they are happy and enjoying eternal bliss.

Here's to you guys, you are missed.

Ed Cage - died January 27th 2015

Wayne Juneau - died February 17th, 2015

Flower Delivery

Yesterday around 5 o'clock our door bell chimes went off. Bill answered the door, thinking it was our neighbor Bob who frequently brings food to Bill (we have great neighbors).  However, this time Neighbor Bob wasn't at the door.  Instead the person at the door was a women in her seventies (we have a lot of seniors working down here in Lower Slower) delivering a bouquet of flowers.  "For me?" was my first thought but Bill said "No, they're for Shannon" (our next door neighbor).  Our neighbor Shannon wasn't answering her door so the lady flower deliverer asked if we could take the flowers for Shannon.

Bill put the bouquet of flowers on out black granite counter top where I was stuffing my face with dinner of biscuits and chicken a la king (without the pimentos).  

Bill asked me to call Shannon and leave a message that we had flowers for her.  Bill doesn't like nor does he make phones calls.  I made the phone call and left a message.  Shannon is a school teacher and her husband is a physician's assistant (PA) who works in the emergency room at the local hospital in Lewes. Even though they have two small girls, they're frequently not at home. Not unusual.

So why am I telling this rather mundane, routine, everyday occurrence and making it into a blog entry?  It's just another example of how Bill, when something is out of the ordinary,  is like a dog with a bone, he just won't let it alone.

Ever since the flowers were delivered yesterday Bill's been after me "Call Shannon and tell her there are flowers for her."  I said "I called and left a message. That's enough."  I'm ready to go on with my life.  I put the flowers, which didn't smell good by the way (they smelt like cat pee) away from where I was eating and placed them by the fireplace.

Last night until he went to bed all Bill could talk about is:

"Why didn't she call?"

"What's the matter with them?"  

"I shouldn't have accepted the flowers."

"I'm not going to do this again."

You get the idea.  Bill's routine has been disrupted.  He won't let it alone.  He was driving me crazy.  In fact, even as I type this he said: "I'm going to take those flowers over now and ring their doorbell!"

When I got up this morning for breakfast, there was Bill again "Call Shannon."   

I called her again and left another voice mail.  Then I called her cell phone . . . and left a voice mail.  

Bill went over to the flowers and pulled off the card.  

Uh . . . I think we have our answer as to why Shannon isn't returning our calls.  

I told Bill "Let it go.  Shannon has more things on her mind now than to pick up a bouquet of stinky flowers."  

Of course he didn't let it go.  He just delivered the flowers.  Ah, such is life at Casa Tipton-Kelly.

Daffodils

We moved into Casa Tipton-Kelly in November of 2006.  When the Spring of 2007 rolled around and I was very disappointed to notice that I had neglected to plant any spring bulbs, especially daffodils.  How could I have forgotten that cheerful harbinger of Spring, the bright yellow daffodil to puncture the monotone drabness of the end of the previous winter?

I immediately made a vow that Spring day in 2007 to correct that oversight and plant plenty of spring bulbs the following fall.  I thought I had planted a lot of spring bulbs in the fall of 2007, but when Spring of 2008 rolled around, there was only a smattering of yellow. MORE BULBS!  

In the ensuing years I've been planting more and more bulbs and I think now, the Spring of 2014 (oh how the years do roll by) I'm getting there.  I still have a long way to go but surveying and recording my Riot of Yellow this morning, I'm getting there.  

Next up, the tulips!

A Rose is a Rose is a Rose

A single rose in my backyard this morning

A few days ago when I told a friend that I had bought a new SLR camera (very expensive) he asked me "Why did you buy another camera?"  Actually, it was a good question.  So here is the answer:

Many years ago I had a SLR (Single Lens Reflex) camera.  I took thousands of pictures with that camera.  Really nice pictures, the kind that had the blurred background and the wonderful portrait shot.  Then one day I dropped my camera on a cinder block and broke it.  I must have had that camera for twenty-five years at least.

I tried to get it fixed but it was never the same. I gave it to my brother.  I don't know what happened to it but I felt like I gave up an old pet for adoption.  I felt like I betrayed my "friend" the camera.

I got a new camera.  This time the stores had all these inexpensive "point and shoot" cameras which claimed to be "just as good" as the more expensive SLR cameras.  I got one of those cameras.  It was all right but it wasn't the same as my "friend", my old SLR camera.

Over the year I bought a couple more those "just as good" cameras, hoping for a different outcome.  While the pictures were good, I couldn't get those clear foreground and blurred background pictures anymore.  That was good enough for me.  How many portrait pictures would I take anyway?  How many closeup pictures would I take?  I learned to do without.  I still took a lot of good picture but group shots were everything was in focus.

Then about a year or two ago I saw a blogger friend of mine (Mark H. for those of you in the know) who was taking some spectacular pictures of his family.  Wow.  I had to have one of those cameras.  The only thing was the camera cost more than a computer!  So I did without ...again.  I made do with my digital camera.  That was fine for 95% of my pictures.  The other 5% I did without.

Every season I would see these great potential pictures that I had to pass up.  Then I got to thinking (always a dangerous and expensive proposition with me - just ask Bill), "Why not?'  I can't take IT with me so why not breakdown and get that EXPENSIVE SLR camera?"  So I did.

This camera has everything on it from sports continuous motion shots to high definition video that you can probably send directly to the movie theaters.  I probably won't be using those features.  What I'll be using is just what you see on this blog posting.  A closeup picture of a dew covered rose that I took a few minutes ago on this rainy day.  You might see a closeup picture of a butterfly, or a praying mantis or a caterpillar.

Soon I will start taking closeup portrait pictures of my friends, neighbors, relatives and strangers.

Bar the door Katy, Ron is back in business!

Clematis

Just a short post today.  I'm back with my beautiful, colorful, flower motifs.  I've taken quite a few pictures of flowers lately around my house.  I was inspired by the beautiful pictures that my friend Walt takes at his home in France.

My blog posts tend to lean towards my natural propensity to complain.  I also post a lot about entering this new (and last) phase of my life as I age.  Most of my other blog posts are about trips down memory lane.

What I try to avoid is posting about politics and religion.  To me posting about those two subjects is like spitting in the wind, you're not going to change anyone's mind and you end up with your own spit on you. Of course you understand "spit" is the nice version of what I really mean (you can figure that out.)

So I find it is a "palate cleanser" to occasionally post a picture of the many flowers, plants, and wildlife that I am fortunate enough to have in abundance at our home here on the flat coastal shore of southern Delaware.

The picture I'm posting today is of the clematis flower.  I love these plants because they are so easy to grow, have such lovely colors and always bring a smile to anyone's face when they see them.  Bill put a white fence around the transformer out in front of our house.  I planted several clematis plants around the fence to soften the sterile lines of the fence.  I like purple and Bill likes pink (which he calls "pank").

Have a great day folk!

Butterflies in the Oregano

Oh how I love summer days.  This is a short video I took of my herb garden which borders my backyard.  If you turn the music off you'll hear my happy birds chirping away, see the many butterflies gracefully landing on the blooming oregano plants and hear the traffic roar down Rt. 1, which is the main artery from northern Delaware and Pennsylvania to Rehoboth Beach and points south like Ocean City, Maryland.

Bill and I drove around most of the morning through our neighboring developments to see the landscaping designs of our neighbors and also to visit a couple of landscapers to see what kind of stone they have for sale.  Southern Delware has NO STONE, unlike southeastern Pennsylvania where we used to live where there was PLENTY OF STONE.  In fact we lived practically on top of stone quarries.

One of the landscapers that we stopped in to visit this morning was bragging about his stone being "imported" from Arizona.  Well... LA DE DAH!  I thought all they had in Arizona was cactus and 120 degree dry heat.  Stone?

We decided to do nothing today.  It is just too hot and humid to do anything.  The hot weather doesn't stop all the activity of nature in my backyard though.  There is a new batch of baby bluebirds (sweltering in their non-airconditioned bluebird house) and another batch of swallows that are about to leave their nest.  Some sad news, one of the baby swallows got caught in the open ventilating space in top of the bluebird house that they are occupying and died.  So sad.  I'm always sad when I see any of the baby birds that are born in my back yard not make it out of the nest.  But that is nature taking its course.

Enjoy the video!

Hibiscus

Hey folks, I'm still not in the mood for blog posting.  So I'm going to cheat today and make a very short post.  I took this picture this morning of my hibiscus plant that just bloomed today.

I'm going for lunch now.  I spent all morning cutting back my butterfly bush which was blocking Bill's view of our new river birch tree oval flower garden in our backyard.  Bill hates living down here in Delaware.  I planted the river birch trees and surround them with all manner of colorful flowers.  I find that soothes Bill and he might actually begin to like living here on the beautiful flatlands of coastal Delaware.

It is interesting but I find once I get away from posting my blog daily, I tend to let it go.  I can't do that.  There is so much that I want to tell and so little time.  This isn't what I thought retirement would be about at all.  I thought I would have all kinds of time to do everything I wanted to do.  That hasn't happened.  I'll tell you what though.  I am having the best time of my life.  This IS what retirement is about, finally doing with your life exactly what you want to do whether it be taking on a lot of projects or just doing nothing.

Right now I think I'll do nothing.  I'm feeling a bit lazy now.  Maybe it's the weather.  These 90 degree days with high humidity saps the strength out of me. I'll be back after my Power Nap.

Daisy - Flower of the Day

The fleur de jour (I think this is French for "Flower of the day" - check it with your other half Mark), are daisies.  As I got out of my car yesterday afternoon to go into work at the hotel I spotted these Shasta Daisies just begging to have their picture taken.

So many flowers, so little time.

Back to the Routine

I am so glad to be back home.  While our trip south was great, both of us are very happy to be at our home in Delaware.  I think Bill has a new appreciation for the flatlands of coastal Delaware after all those twisty, winding, "wiggly" roads through the mountains of Georgia, Tennessee and North Carolina.  

Our trip has provided me with a lot of new fodder for future blog postings which I am looking forward to writing.  But for now our goal is just to get back to our regular routine.  

Tomorrow I begin a regular work schedule at the hotel.  I'm filling in for the full-time front desk clerk who gave her notice a couple of weeks ago.  She stayed an extra week last week while I was on vacation.  Now I'll fill in for her until the hotel hires a new full-time front desk clerk.  So this means I probably won't have as much time to devote to my blog postings.  That may be good news to some, but I'm just putting it out there.

Also, now that the nice weather has arrived I'll be spending a lot more time outside doing yard work, which I love.  Yard work and blogging are perhaps my two favorite pastimes.  

So for now I must leave to wash my car (exciting stuff) and visit the East Coast Gardens for purchase three river birch trees.  Bill finally gave his approval to plant an island of those trees wright outside my bedroom window to cutdown on the hot, afternoon summer sun.  Also to provide me with a beautiful view outside my bedroom window.

Oh, one more thing, the bluebirds have build their nest and are carefully watching their five baby bluebird blue eggs.  This is such good news because last year the sparrows ran them out.  The two years previously we had two batches of bluebirds raised in that birdhouse.  I am glad they got their routine back on track too.  It's all good.