I'm Not Gay

I'm wondering about people voting about what marriage is.  It seems to me that the separation of church and state is violated with this problem.  It seems that people can be married in a religious ceremony but they also need to take care of the civil technicalities.  People can just be married in a civil ceremony.  All this time I've been thinking that the civil end of it was just another way for the government to make a buck...or a few.  But the overlap where married people have different rules than single people because of this ceremony seems interesting.  The part where the government has any say-so at all seems odd.  Why don't they allow the various denominations to determine the beliefs they uphold and just charge a license fee to any who commit to cohabitation legally?
I'm sure there are a lot of ramifications I haven't thought of.
It isn't illegal to room with a person of the same gender.  Does the government really care who people have sex with as long as they aren't inflicting it on someone who objects?
I'll bet there are heterosexual couples who are married who don't have sex.  Does the government care?
Over half the states in the United States have voted on what marriage is.  It just seems like a religious thing not a civil one.

Fidget While Sitting Still

It turns out that my Kindle Fire allows me to fidget while sitting still.  I read some of Maximum Ride, a few pages of a Permaculture book, a few pages of an Atkins book, took notes on the two nonfiction books, looked up heirloom wheat (I heard that wheat has been genetically modified to make the yield larger, but it also causes the body to form more fat), checked my email, checked other people's blogs, went back through the three books, over and over.  I was at the hospital.  I did everything on my list of "chores" talked to whoever came in, sold a couple of things, and entertained myself with my Kindle.
Back when I read real books as opposed to ebooks, I would have taken one book with me to the hospital.  I wouldn't have wanted to have stuck with that book, but that would have been all I had.
With a Kindle Fire, it is easy to flip back and forth because the most recent books are "on top."

Blueberries Are Starting to Ripen

I picked a small handful of ripe blueberries today.

Bald Spots

 These chunks of grass came from the edge of a flower bed.

 Larry said they are too tall.  I said for him not to cut them until they have reestablished their roots, then just scalp them with the lawn mower.  He said it is bad for the lawnmower.  I said to just never cut them.  I dug the holes as well as I could and I didn't see him out there helping.  I'm sure I would have noticed.

We planted bulbs here.  The oak seedlings are doing the best however.  Today I plan to put garlic, cilantro, tomatoes, peppers and mulch here.  The bulbs may rot because I will be watering this section.  I'm not sure what I will use to edge it.  I want something free.  We don't have enough rocks.  I may use monkey grass.  Larry thinks I should use treated lumber.  The only way that will be free is if treated lumber suddenly drops from the sky.  That hasn't happened so far in my life, and I'm really OK with it.

Big Three

We went to Kenya a couple of times and while we were there, we went on photo safaris.  The big three there were rhinos, leopards, and lions.
I'm not a fan of wildlife, actually.  It was interesting to see the animals that we normally only see in zoos roaming around...not always in Nature Parks.
Now we live in Tennessee.  We have annoying wildlife, here, too.  Sometimes I'm happy to see them, but more often, I'm wondering if they are going to eat sometime.
For me, here in Tennessee, the big three are seeing indigo buntings, goldfinches, and cardinals all together.  I can't get a picture that shows them clearly, but they are wonderful together.  Each of those birds is individually charming, but together, the colors really pop.
I saw my big three today:)

It's Pretty Right Now

I'm not great at living in the moment.  I had a fourteen-year-old boy helping me in the yard this morning.  I said, "It's going to look really pretty"
He said, "It looks really pretty right now."
I was somewhat taken aback because I tend to see what I'm planning.
I should enjoy the moment more.

I had him dig up the irises from my rose hill and plant them in this strip.  I wanted the colors mixed so we took care of that.

Some Days Are Better Than Others

 All of our ground isn't bare.  The structures visible in this view are for grapes and muscadines.

 The dark spots are holes for a ground cover Larry decided would be good.  They are tiny juniper-looking things.  Larry dug eight holes with a shovel yesterday and four this morning.  I dug six this morning with my Mantis.  It is easier to dig with a Mantis.  The dirt is lovely when the Mantis gets through churning it up.

 This is what they look like.  The dirt is some from a shovel-dug hole...see the clumps?

 More blooms have opened on the Little Gem Magnolia.

 My idea of ground cover is knock-out roses, day lilies, irises, and things that will seed.  I'm also rooting crepe myrtles to go between the roses.  In my mind, the crepe myrtles and roses are the same color.  I guess I'll see if the crepe myrtles ever bloom.

 Here is Larry operating a shovel:)  He was exhausted after digging four holes in this hard clay.

 Most of the irises are finished...but the day lilies have started putting up a few bloom stalks.

 Eddie Jean stopped by today and ran the cable for the fountain.  Then he put "Caution" tape in.  The cable is inside 3/4" pipe.  It isn't connected to anything yet, but I can cover it up and plant flowers.  I asked if the yellow tape is so I won't forget about the pipe.  He said he knows I know where it is, but if somebody else digs, they'll have a clue. The dirt to the right of the trench has been there long enough to be hard.

I ran the mantis through the ridge.  Then Larry started filling in the trench before I had a chance to tell him I wanted to drop plants in before filling it in.  Oh well, the dirt was easy to make holes for the leggy impatiens I am going to put there.