The Ciel Show

By Ciel - About Me - E-mail this page - Add to My Favorites - Add to Blog List - See other blogs in Journal

Monday, July 20, 2020

New week check-in

Here it is, Monday again. Embers has just come out of the warm on the front deck, and I have closed things up to keep what's left of the morning cool inside. It's only 80F but will climb at least another 10 degrees in the next couple of hours. The doves have come and gone a few times these past several days. And the garden is growing well. Next year, if I'm still here, it will be bigger, not just a hopeful experiment after years of half-hearted, moderately committed ones with unfortunate... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Ciel at 11:14 AM | add or view comments (2) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Friday, July 17, 2020

Friday with visitors

I was enjoying coffee and a bit of breakfast out on the deck this morning, reading, when a little motion caught my eye. Across the deck, up beside a planted pot, a tiny nose, whiffling... then, bright little eyes, and little round ears...! Yes, bane of my kitchen but okay outdoors--a wee mouse! No doubt it comes for the bird seed that falls from the feeder. With the coming of cold weather, it will likely want to move indoors. It will not be welcome there. Also, while I was sitting there, one of... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Ciel at 8:56 AM | add or view comments (5) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Sunday, July 12, 2020

Dove report

The young doves are now nearly as big as the parent who keeps on coming back to the nest and feeding them. I thought they would fly last week, but here they still are--sometimes flapping like mad, exercising those flight muscles, but mostly just still hanging out. I wish sometimes that they had more distinctive individual features, or that I could band them, or something. It would be most interesting to know if it is the same parents coming back to use the nest every time, or if some of the... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Ciel at 8:57 AM | add or view comments (4) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Saturday, July 11, 2020

Happy Saturday!

It started cool this morning, and is quickly warming with no forecast of cloud or storm to cool the afternoon. I am glad to wake early: morning is when I get things done. I went out to survey the garden, and took the camera with me. Things are blooming and a few fruits have appeared on the tomato plants, and peas on the pea-ramid that was left behind the wysteria that I bought last summer, that didn't do so well. So I was delighted to discover amid the pea vines--fresh new wysteria leaves! And... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Ciel at 9:06 AM | add or view comments (5) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Friday, July 10, 2020

First Harvest

Yesterday I plucked some beets out of the garden, cleaned all the dirt off, and cut the roots from the greens. The roots ranged from very small to what a small beet looks like at the grocery store. I have not used them yet, but will probably toss them into soup or stir fry. I cooked and ate the greens last night. The start was a couple of pieces of meaty, thick-cut bacon. Onions and garlic went into the fat, then the chopped greens and the crumbled bacon and a splash of rice-vinegar. Cooked down... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Ciel at 1:22 PM | add or view comments (5) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Wednesday, July 8, 2020

What, Wednesday already?

Dovelings are flapping and settling and flapping some more... Parents still drop by to feed, but flight into the world is imminent... It has been exactly a month since they were but little white eggs, which puts them right on schedule. I got out in the cool of the morning to water herbs and plant up a hanging basket with what I hope will grow into a new lettuce garden. The sun is beating down now in the back yard, which puts other gardening on hold. You know how digging into corners of the house... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Ciel at 9:24 AM | add or view comments (6) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Tuesday, July 7, 2020

Starting Tuesday... .again.

A cool morning... and 90s expected this afternoon. Thunderstorms--maybe--will cool that right down. But they are not in the forecast. Could be a downstairs day, where the temps are 10-15 degrees cooler on hot days. The young doves are flapping their wings... The eggs were laid June 8, so they'll fly in the next day or two or maybe three. There is a parent there now, feeding the big littles, and it's quite a crowd in the nest! Today I will finish reading/polishing Charlie's Guardian of Taihar. It... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Ciel at 8:50 AM | add or view comments (2) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Monday, July 6, 2020

Here comes The Week!

Last night, after several nights of not sleeping well, I took a sleep aid, and slept through to 9:30 only having to turn on the light again and read a while, only once. So far, it's a good morning, not yet hot--We expect 90s today--and feeling well rested, there is not that Monday morning stupor and meh... Also, Charlie grocery shopped for me yesterday, so there are many easy choices for making a breakfast that does not rely on high carbs. My weight is actually down a few lbs from last week,... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Ciel at 9:20 AM | add or view comments (9) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Friday, July 3, 2020

Afternoon darkness

It has been a hot week, and today was predicted to be the same, but while I was having a little nap, the clouds moved in and the temperature dropped maybe 10 degrees or more. Then the rain came with a few flashes of lightning and rolls of thunder, and the wind that blows plants off their stands. And then, a return of sun in time for a 'golden hour.' Beautiful! Now a cool evening is coming on... I expect there will be some fireworks tonight. There were a few noise-makers during the day. So I am... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Ciel at 7:16 PM | add or view comments (7) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Thursday, July 2, 2020

Committing to Life

I woke this morning feeling even more intensely than usual, my mortality. I am 67, have diabetes and symptoms of psoriatic arthritis, and used to experience asthma symptoms and chronic bronchitis. I have learned to do end-runs around chest colds, to avoid those things. I have a real dread of dying of suffocation. I lost a mother, a grandmother, and the little dog who was my best friend, all before I was 6, and in each case, without warning and without closure. Then, for the rest of my childhood... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Ciel at 3:18 PM | add or view comments (7) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

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About this Blog

I'm doubtful the events of my life will be of great general interest, but I'd like to share a little more of me to the several of you on Blogit I've come to feel are real friends, and the many I imagine are potentially real friends. We'll see how it works out. ______________________ all my words and images posted on Blogit are copyright 2005-present, all rights reserved.

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