Steve`s Country
For a smile as wide as a country sunrise
It’s One Of Those Days, Again.
Good afternoon everyone on this cool and rainy Tuesday. I had one of those days the other day. You know the kind. When things just don’t seem to go right. However, when I look at it afterward, it really is funny. Like this one. It really got me laughing just thinking about what happened and what it must have looked like. What did my facial expression look like? That sort of thing. So, speaking of painting. I wanted to paint a bird house. Well, it was mostly painted already. Just needed a few details done to it. The sun was shining that day and it was warm enough on the deck for painting. And it’s safer to paint outside than inside. Normally.
So I opened the can of paint. Carefully. I thought. It was a small can of paint. As I pried the lid off, it flipped up. I tried to catch it. Why, I’m not sure. I grabbed the lid and of course got paint on my hand. In the process of doing this, I knocked the paint can off the little table I was using. I naturally grabbed for the paint can. And stuck my fingers in the paint. Now I have paint on both hands. I didn’t bring a rag out with me. So I wiped my one hand on my shirt. Forgot this was not the shirt I used for painting. It is now.
A mosquito landed on my face. That is not allowed. Anywhere else is fine. But not my face. So I swatted the mosquito. Got paint on my face. I decided to wash my hands before doing any more. Got paint on the doorknob. Should have used my other hand that I had wiped on my shirt. Muffin is watching this from her chair by the door. As I come in my foot catches on the chair leg. Almost knock it over. Muffin goes flying. I almost join her. I grab the chair. Now there is paint on the chair.
Forgot about that. Should have left it alone. The chair wouldn’t have fallen over anyway. So there is a lot of paint going in places it is not supposed to go. And nothing where it should be going. Which was just a little bit of detail painting on that birdhouse. This is not a birdhouse to be used by birds. It’s a table decoration. If I ever get it painted.
When I finally got everything cleaned up and got back to the birdhouse, I found that some of the paint had spilled on it as well. So I had to repaint that side. So I had to wait for another day to finish what I started to do but never did do. One of those days, that’s all. But I have to admit, it’s funny. Just thinking about it all. I hope everyone has a great day and God bless!
Steve and Muffin.
© 2019 Steve McLeod.
Autumn And Coffee!
Hi everyone on this somewhat rainy fall, or autumn, day. Hard to believe it’s September already. Although walking out the door in the morning to feed the birds and chipmunks certainly helps me to believe it very quickly. It is definitely on the chilly side in the morning now. Well, okay, it’s chilly all day now.
Autumn is a beautiful time of year with all the magnificent colors. Those colors started a bit earlier than usual this year. Usually just the birch start early. This year so are the maples, ash and aspens. Most trees are still mainly green, but the colors are starting. And some trees are quite yellow or orange.
This morning I thought maybe we would go for our weekly coffee chat to a little spot behind our local Dairy Queen. If you are not familiar with DQ, that is our local ice cream shop. Probably the only Dairy Queen left where you still have to stand outside to make your order. But there is a nice spot behind there where there is some picnic tables and on a sunny day it is a very pleasant spot. We will have to use our imagination a bit today though, since it is not sunny today. 
But even with the sun, you will want to dress warmly, so I hope you brought a jacket, since the temp would only be around 10C (50F) on a normal day. Unfortunately now that September is here it has gotten very quiet. Most of our smaller birds have already headed south. Even robins have gone already. Most of our warblers are gone too, some sparrows, most of our gulls and many other species of birds. All gone until next spring.
Still a lot of flowers blooming though. As you can see over to the right are the bright yellow tansy. Many people don’t like them, but they are bright and great for attracting butterflies. And if it’s good for butterflies then I like them. And right over there by the trees is the panicled aster. It’s one of two white asters found in this area and the most common of the two. It wouldn’t be fall without the goldenrod, there is a lot blooming now, and several different species.
Some people don’t like these either due to allergies, but goldenrod is not the problem, it’s ragweed that causes the allergies. Goldenrod pollen is too heavy to travel in the air and cause problems. Goldenrod however, is a very beneficial plant used by over 100 species of butterflies and moths here in North America. Plus bees and other insects also feed on this plant. Like the tansy, it is a great plant to have around.
Look at this one over here. This one is called Boneset. They are found all through this area, but are not particularly common. They are kind of an odd looking flower. This is the first one I have seen in 4 or 5 years. Nice. Oh, look at that. We were just talking about butterflies and there is a nice one now. Such a nice bright fritilary. Come over here and take a look at what I see under the trees here. A nice little group of mushrooms. Look how the stem flares up to the top. Those are a cool variety. I wish I knew more about mushroom identification. We have so many different varieties in this area.
Well, not too much for today, but I hope you enjoyed our coffee time anyway. Next week we will try something a little different. I hope you all have a wonderful day and God bless!
Steve and Muffin.
© 2019 Steve McLeod.
Steve`s Country 