Bees and Birds

*laughing* No. This post is not about what you think. It's just about some observations and some things I've been doing around the place.

The bees first. There must be a hive of honeybees around here someplace. The little birdbath I have on the back patio has become a watering hole for the little things. This bee girl in the picture was enjoying it yesterday evening. There's always at least one out there, and usually more that that. Yesterday evening there were five or six of them taking their evening drink. The picture below shows them although you can't really see them clearly when I don't blow the picture up. It's interesting that Zoe ignores them completely, and vice versa. They buzz around when she first approaches, then everyone settles in for a sip. There's also a big black and yellow striped hornet that likes the birdbath. He's really much bigger that the yellow jackets I'm used to, but maybe they grow bigger here than in Colorado or Utah. I leave them all alone. Honeybees are important pollinators. If they want to take a sip at the birdbath now and then, they're welcome . . . and they don't drink much. *laughing*

It's really the birds that make such a mess of the birdbath. Besides drinking out of it, they like to bathe in it and wash their food in it. The birds I've seen use it this year include the big grackles, plus multiple blue jays, a couple of mockingbirds, a male and female cardinal and multiple morning doves. Occasionally I see a robin or two. This time of year when it's so hot I try to keep clean water in it, so all the little creatures have something to drink.

This morning I hung a bird feeder to the remains of the peach tree. Yes, I know I said I wasn't going to because I have cats, but I've realized that my cats are so old and fat and slow that they are seriously no risk to the birds. Now I'll have to see how long it takes the birds to discover it.

This morning I began my attempt to put in a new mailbox. The post on my old one is broken almost all the way through at the ground and it's only a matter of time before it falls over, either when the carrier pulls it open or when she shoves things into it. Plus the carrier once told me that I could really use a bigger box since I get so much mail. So I finally broke down and went by Lowe's last weekend and bought a new post and box. This morning, I began digging a hole at about 6:00 am (beat the heat as much as possible, I always say). That damn hole almost defeated me. Actually it did defeat me. It always sounds so easy in the instructions: dig a hole 20 inches deep by 9 inches in diameter. Okay, sounds easy enough. Unfortunately, the ground where I want the mailbox is run through with tree roots. I gave up attempting to dig at 9:00 am. Covered in clay-ey mud, sweating like a pig, I had managed 17 inches deep and about 6-7 inches across. I tried everything I knew of to make that hole deeper, and was seriously wishing for dynamite before I was through. And I have the blisters to prove it. So I finally gave up and modified the damn mailbox post so it didn't need to go down so far. It was also my very first ever encounter with cement, so I just hope that tomorrow when I attach the mailbox to the post, the post stays firmly in the ground in the cement where I tried to fix it this morning. Now I remember why I usually pay people to do these projects for me.

Speaking of paying people, I payed the plumbers to come and replace my garbage disposal this week. Last Sunday morning about 6:00 am I was semi-awake, rinsing out my coffee pot, getting ready to make coffee. I looked into the sink and thought: 'huh! this sink isn't draining', at the same time water began flooding over my feet. The garbage disposal had sprung leaks everywhere and was fountaining water onto and into everything under the sink and out across the floor. I suppose it just finally gave up the ghost. The house is 20 years old and I imagine it was the original disposal that was put in here.

The people at work tell me I practically have a new house since I've replaced about everything on this one. That's mostly true, but I do like this little house.

I'll have to mow the back yard tomorrow. The front isn't growing so fast, but the back is still growing like crazy. I was going to do it this morning. *laughing* The original plan was to put in the mailbox post and then mow the lawn before it got too hot. After the mailbox post, I had zero energy left for mowing, so tomorrow it is.

Anyway, that's all I have to say today, so until next time!