If it is Monday, Rain is Just Fine

It's storming big time right now. Although the Weather.com website reported a 10% rain chance at noon, I was told otherwise by Carolyn. Carolyn who? Someone I met this morning while riding, that's who. First thing today Bill called, asking if I would ride over and check on a house for sale he thought might make a good rental property. He thought wrong. To be fair, he had not seen it in person; going on the information on Realtor.com, he knew it was a fixer-upper, he just didn't know how much of one! I don't know where to start on that really--add-ons here and there, no rhyme or reason to it at all. The weeds were so tall, even though I'm pretty nervy, I am not that nervy.

Continuing my ride through Maureen's neighborhood, while stopped to photograph another home for sale, Carolyn was crossing the street to her house after feeding some cats living on an abandoned house property. She called out to me, "I don't think you want anything to do with that house!" She's probably right. We began chatting about the neighborhood where she has lived since 1966 in one house or another. One thing led to another, and the next thing I know she is telling me how she has eight birds. During our conversation I kept wondering how I could get a photograph of our encounter. Finally, when one of the birds was screeching so loud that I could hear her in the street, I asked if I might photograph her prettiest bird. Mind you, we were standing pretty much in the middle of the street and her house was sealed up for the summer, so you know it was loud! Apparently, this particular bird is kind of like Baxter in that regard, if we're outside, he's barking inside! She returned with not only her bird, but a calendar featuring her on the cover!

For the life of me I can't remember her name or what type of parrot she is, but the blue spottiness on the head is normal.

Clearly the bird doesn't plan to go anywhere, despite being fully feathered:

Carolyn explained that means that if the bird chose to, it could fly away, however, with the diet she feeds them, blueberries, cherries, and the like, I suspect all eight of them will stay put. Did I mention in addition to the birds, she has four little dogs? When I first arrived, all four of them were yapping like nobodies business, eventually assuming I meant no harm, or so it seemed.

Aside from the bird talk, she told me a lot about the rich history of the surrounding streets. Before taking her leave, she suggested I attend the monthly Audubon meeting this evening at Leu Gardens. Perhaps some other time.

Sunday, we closed the market a little early what with the threat of rain and lightening; thankfully neither occurred. It's quite something to get all the vendors in and out of there, especially in inclement weather. We were ever so grateful to not have to dry everything out! After dinner, and watching my favorite golfer come in second in the US Open golf tournament, I took to the streets. Mostly because I wanted to work off a little of that dinner in order to have a little dessert, namely the homemade vanilla ice cream and brownies I'd made as a treat for the father of my children. Sadly, the other day someone asked me if my father had thick hair (I know--you had to be there), I could hardly remember it has been so long since he died. He certainly wasn't the best father out there, but he was mine. Re:my bike ride--another sunset:

 Parking my bike in the side yard of a neighbor's house, I wanted to get a shot of her boat house,

which at one time had a lot more personality when it was painted turquoise!

During the market I met a young girl who originally appeared to speak no English, however, perhaps she was merely shy. After perusing my baskets, she asked me about myself. We shared a common camera, an Olympus Pen, however, her menu looks a little different than mine.

Then there was a young girl looking for a Father's Day gift. I think she might have been about 7 years old? Anyway, although she told me what kind of doll this was, it quickly left my mind. I wonder what you think of this?

Moving limbs! Pink hair! Bow lips! I imagine an earlier generation thought the same thing I'm thinking about the infamous Barbie doll--too grownup for little girls. That said, I loved my Barbie doll for sure. I'm fairly confident it did me no harm. :)

I just finished talking to Matt about both his coming to America, and us going to England in the fall. Speaking of England, I can still remember seeing this plant for the first time in Kew Gardens, thinking at the time that it was so exotic. Little did I know that my friend Lois would have the very same thing in her yard, not that it bloomed while she lived there, but Cheryl now gets to enjoy the show. The nickname is "crab claw" and you can see why.

There must be at least ten blooms right now. In other nature news, I've had to do a little re-arranging of the bird feeders, moving the Nuttery to the back yard under cover. For the longest time the birds did not go near my beloved feede,r and now I know why. Apparently, without cover, the seed gets slightly wet and moldy at the bottom. Who can blame the cardinals for eschewing it in favor of the three other feeders? This is all very important to me, and I can understand why you could care less, however, this feeder is the one I see through my kitchen window while I'm cooking. Mama Cardinal is having a snack:

I missed this little piece on FAVO in Saturday's paper--nice. Of course, few people read the paper anymore, but a girl can hope.

While I was out selling my wares, Bill and David took Bruce out for a father-son lunch. Later both Matt and Jonathan called, making him a very happy father indeed.

My goodness, there is a little sun peeking through the clouds as I look out my office window. I can't say enough how delighted I am that the rain held off until Monday and now it seems to be over. Time for a little yard work--things are growing like mad, some good, some not so much.