Monday, June 7, 2010

A reminder of how dependent we have become on modern technology. Sunday a squall roared thru the area driven by wind gusts of almost 60 mph. The power went out and stayed out all afternoon. No water, no lights or electricity, couldn’t read, couldn’t watch TV, couldn’t even clean house. About 8 pm , when the ComEd truck finally drove up and a little Howie Mandel-looking guy jumped out, I almost ran out and hugged him.


This morning a reminder of a different kind. This time it involved my border collie who had a close encounter with the call of the wild. I let her outdoors at 5 am and as usual, she made her rounds investigating the scents of animals passing thru her yard over night. About ten minutes later I heard her bark. I walked outside expecting to see some raccoon in a huff waddle across the lawn, instead a coyote jumped out from under a spruce and made a run at Aggie. I jumped off the porch and poof, the coyote disappeared like smoke. Aggie wasn’t upset, nor was she injured but I was upset and still am. This is the first time in 21 years a coyote has ever threatened one of my pets. I know they do attack pets in other areas but seldom do they attack female dogs or dogs as large as a border collie.


Note from Blogger: Monday, June 07, 2010

We're aware of isolated access issues in certain regions within the US. We're investigating this now and will follow-up as soon as we have more information to share. Thanks for your patience in the meantime.


Apparently I am in ‘certain regions within the US ’ because I couldn't post a comment on any blogs nor publish my own blog on today. My week is not off to a good start! Hope the entire week won’t be like this:)




Today’s photos are of oriental poppy, Allegro. I haven’t had an oriental poppy for years but have been admiring the ones I see on blogs. I found Allegro, red with a black center, locally last June and decided to add it to my garden.




This spring the foliage put an a pretty amazing growth spurt and suddenly I have super-poppy eating up a three foot by three foot hunk of garden real estate. The second shock comes when Allegro blooms in bright orange instead of red. Orange isn’t my favorite color, not even close.