Life at the lake

OK, so I finally got around to planting my flowers for the year. Usually, I am done with this project by around Mother's Day. But weather did not allow that to happen this year. Then I ran short on time, and a balance in my bank account.

When all the stars aligned last Saturday, I purchased my new flowers.

For the last few years, I had been trying to go totally perennial. The plan was, I could spend a little more one time and let nature take Her course, the lovely plants and blooming flowers would just come back year after year and I would not have to spend another dime.

Well, nature certainly did take Her course. I have been battling little varmints that eat my plants. Some apparently choose to eat them from the roots up. Others wait until spring when the fresh green shoots begin to surface and then chew the vegetation down to the dirt.

This year, some of my favorite flowers didn't make it.

I had it. I decided the plan wasn't working and went back to annuals. I got a variety of really cool looking blooming flowers and plants with various textures and colors. I can't pronounce, nor spell, any single one of them. Just cool looking flowers with vibrant colors. I kind of arranged them in the bed in front of my house but tried to make it look like it was not symmetrical, but had some sort of nature flow. All in all, I thought it looked beautiful.

I had heard that rabbits did not like marigolds. I am not particularly fond of them myself. But some are not so bad. So I bought a flat of them to plant on the perimeter of my front yard flower bed. The plan was to surround the pretty flowers with the marigolds to keep the bunnies away.

The plan was working. For about three days.

On the fourth day I looked out my front window and to my horror, every bloom from the marigolds had been picked off each and every plant during the night.

I did not see any little bunny tracks in the soil, so I am left wondering who ate them? I am thinking a deer tip-toed up the the house and helped himself to a midnight snack. Some little fury critter ate them all, that is all I know for sure. Now I have naked marigolds surrounding my unique flowers. And I am afraid for their lives.

There are definite pluses to living in the woods. And there are a few minuses as well.
The frustration of the swallowed up marigolds is running second to the frustration of adequate Internet service.

I currently have dial up. I am too far away from any box to receive cable or DSL. So finally broke down and decided to take the leap to satellite Internet service.

Three weeks of waiting for the provider to tell me it would work left me ecstatic with anticipation of surfing the web, transferring files, sending emails with large photo attachments, video phone conversations and instant messaging that is really instant and down loading music at warp speeds. My son was looking forward to being able to watch a three minute You Tube video in three minutes instead of 20 minutes.

The technicians were out at my house this morning installing the dish -- bigger than the satellite TV dish by twice, but at least not the size of the dishes from the 80s.

I was thinking aliens would be able to find my house quite easily now.

Much to my disappointment, after the three hour install, or should I say install attempt, I learned that the dish thing really wont work at my house unless I cut down a tree -- or at least the top half of it.

I think it is a sacrifice I am just going to have to make.

I will miss that tree. But I will get over it as long as I can surf the web.

Now I need a chain saw....

Peace.