Pandora

Photo of the Route 312 bridge taken from the Bridge of Lions on a rainy day.

Can't really get great radio stations here, but have discovered Pandora online and am listening to Glenn Gould play Bach.

The weather is finally cooling down. But I just tried to open my guest bedroom window where I am sleeping and there's no bloody screen!!! Ratz. Ah, the joys of owning an old house

Finished the landscape design class today. Now I have a better handle on what to plant, but the instructor suggested I wait a year to see what my yard does, what the sun does, before making any major plant purchases. I have planted my double apricot hibiscus and a gardenia and have a

coral vine waiting to be planted by the fence. None of them may survive the winter, at least not without some covering help, but then again they may. As part of the course, the instructor includes a free on-site home visit to give advice on what to plant. Best $30 I ever spent.

The agricultural center grounds where I took the design class has a community garden which I wandered about in today. Made me miss Edgerton very much, but at the same time it was interesting to see what people were doing with their plots. There was a beautiful circle garden, almost like a labyrinth, which quite pleased me. And someone else had constructed a bench with a bird house on a pole on one end and an umbrella at the other end. I've got to put in the ground the various bulbs I brought down from CT before they rot in the backyard. It has just been too hot to do much outside. Still trying to sift those darn rocks out of the front flower bed.

Photo of some local birds hanging around a borrow pit.

My rugs for the front screened porch arrived and I like them very much. I found some inexpensive shades I'm installing to keep the morning sun at bay, and purchased a standing fan on sale today as the porch ceiling is a bit too low to install a ceiling fan. Porch needs air circulation. Had my morning coffee sitting out there today for the first time.

Had a small fire yesterday when I put new lightbulbs into my stained glass cat-base lamp. The bulb popped when I screwed it in and then it burst into flames. All I could think to do was to pull out the cord from the socket and that did indeed stop the fire. So now have to have the darned thing rewired I guess.

Tomorrow I'm going very early to a community garage sale at Coquina Crossing, where some of my friends live. It's a suburb about ten miles out of town. You know how I love those events. Saturday there's a home and garden show at the ag center, and they'll be selling plants and hosting all types of vendors. Sunday it's over to S & J's for their weekly get-together and dinner and swim in the warm therapy pool if anyone wants. And of course Bindi will get to see her Corgi boyfriend Jasper.

Next week I'm going out to Palatka to visit Sandra Birnhak, which is interior Florida, but near the St. Johns River. She was hosting the Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Society table at the Florida Heritage Book Festival last weekend. What an interesting event that was, tables and tables of authors and books about the history of Florida, in all possible genres. I could have spent a lot of money, but I think I should unpack my own books first . . .

Slept thru this week's episode of "House." Would have had to have gone over to J & T's house anyway to watch it since I don't have a tv yet, but will make sure to catch it Monday night. Slept through a women's networking wine tasting event too this week, but that's ok, they do stuff all the time.

Got into a conversation at the hardware store today with a woman who said she was getting rid of the grass in her yard and letting it go back to its mostly wild state, and getting rid of the invasive plant species. She told me about the rattler and cotton mouth snakes in the area, and how they can kill small dogs with their bite. She advised me to get rid of the pile of brush that I have in the back yard of my house, as they like to hang out there, even tho the landscape design instructor advised keeping such piles for the snakes as they eat mice and other vermin. Oh the delicate balance of nature.