You Grow Girl™

Yo!~

As those of you who have read my Journals will know, I'm a picture-taking fool. So I thought I'd dig out some of my favorite odd yard pics to share.

Birds. There's a flock of Red-headed Finches that hangs out in our yard. They are the gangsters of the ornithology 'hood, chasing all the other birds, even the Cardinals, off the feeder at will.
My personal ghods were with me the day I took this. I was stalking the feeder that day, as there was an albino finch in the flock. No good pics of the albino, but I did catch this finch just landing.

Rats. These are one of the big drawbacks about living in a neighborhood where there's a lot of construction. The loud, daily human activity chases the furry so-and-so's out of their holes and they make their ratty little selves at home all over the place.
Here's a pic from three days ago. Our first real snowfall shows the part of the RatExpressway that goes through our yard. They start at the restaurant at the end of the alley and make a beeline through the backyards along the block to whereever it is they live.
They sneer at our traps, whether we use the PC live traps or the nice nasty snap traps. We've been told to bait them with Slim Jims and if we could read the footprints around the traps, I'm certain they'd spell out: "Thank you for the lovely lunch! Next time, please serve up the spicy variety."
Then it's back through the viburnum bodnantense and false cypress 'Sawara', around the pool, under the lilac 'vulgaris' and spirea 'Anthony Waterer', one last dash under the Sage-That-Ate-Chicago and back to the restaurant for dessert.

Aliens. In September's journal, I wrote about the effects of extra-terrestrials in the yard. Here's pictorial proof that they also have a great sense of humor about cameras. During a beautiful snowfall, Bob went out to take a pic of the ListGargoyle who lives in the spirea x van houtteii. Somehow the cosmic beam from the Mothership turned each snowflake into a Jingle Bell.
Where's Rod Serling when you really need him?

Clematis. Plain old alba, but it graces our front fence beautifully every year. Here is the last bloom to consider opening up this year getting caught in the first real fall of snow. Even the ivy behind the Cancer Gargoyle has gone to sleep for the year, but this delicate glory gave it one good try.
To give the clematis its' due, here's a scan of one of the first blooms of this year.

Snowman. Was he at the Bucktown Pub too long? or is it the juniper bush after a heavy snowfall. You decide.
There were three Gay neighbors standing at the fence and applauding me for my Xmas yard art, though.....

Happy and safe Holidays to All!
--Karen--