...and yet...waiting... still...

I was jarred from the arms of Morpheus...
rather rudely this morning... it was still dark...
so I hurled a "sweet nothing" in the direction of the Piglet...
[when I REALLY wanted to "hurl a book"...]
as she was banging the window and yowling...

this would happen a couple of times more...
before I gave up...
and got up... just before 8...

I instantly saw WHY Piglet had been being such a butt...
but that's a whole other post...
so you'll just have to come back...
[heh, heh, heh...]
[p.s. scheduled to post at 9 PM...]

so I accomplished my morning routine...
enjoying the damp, fall-ish tang in the air...
as well as the changing angle of the sun...
and the softening of the light...

I used to miss this time of day in the fall...

I drove to school in the near dark...
and spent my mornings inside...

when I taught music, I could stand outside my room...
during the passing periods, "watching kids"...
but really looking at the trees across the street...
whose colors deepened daily...
flaming overnight into torches that took your breath away...

there was a Chinese pistasche across the street...
from my good friend's room in the early years...
I'd go there to say "hi" on my 2nd period prep...

we'd stand there, smelling wood smoke and drink in the sight...
as that tree would turn blood red...
and glow in the fall sunlight...
surrounded by other trees turning yellow & orange...

then the bell would ring...
and we would go our separate ways...
our spirits sated with the sight...

I love fall colors...
[so being an "autumn"...
has just been serendipitous...]

so...I always get a palette of mums to plant...

and today...
I needed to plant the ones I got yesterday...
but first...

I HAD to mow the lawn...



so after I mowed the lawn and set a sprinkler...
I soaked the old planter boxes by the back fence...
and then laid out my colors...
I had white/yellow center, yellow, red & orange...
I thought I had a tannish brown too...
but they're marked "orange"...

I also got some dark red dianthus...
[if it's red... I love it...]

so with only some grunting and sweating...
they were planted...
making sure that I sprinkled ALL of them with snail bait...

I also put some in a pot...
that was left in front, under the lemon tree...



then I planted the dill I bought...
I can't seem to get it to grow...
and these 3 were the healthiest...
of the rapidly dying bunch at OSH...
so I figured... uhh... ummm...
[OK... I felt sorry for them...happy now ?]



these are NOT dead... really...
these were some iris Mom took from the ranch...
[the purple planter would be a dead give away...
if you knew Mom...]

they were her favorites...
so I kept them after she died...

they didn't bloom last year...
but neither did mine...
only had 1...first time ever...

this is the time of the year...
that the leaves die...
and they can be dug up...
divided and planted...

I need to do that in my iris bed next to the driveway too...



then I got my cart...
first moving the containers of kitty litter...
that are heavy enough to end up "living" in the walk way...
around to the back, by the door, where they belong...

then I used the cart to move some of large flower planters...
from the front ...to the back...
to get them out of harm's way...
for when the job FINALLY begins...

all the while, truly relishing the freshening breeze...
and the changing light...
so glad to be out in the glorious morning...



so I finally got the biggest ones moved to the driveway...
and turned my attentions to compressing the others...



I moved things back and in...
clearing the steps completely...



by moving the biggest ones towards the ledge...
as well as back towards the house...
they should be out of the way...



I'll move the chair before they get here...



once the big planters & the kitty litter containers...
were moved... I could clean up along the walk...
I used clippers to cut back the creeper...
then swept and put the debris into the green waste can...



cleaning up around the corner...



and down the driveway...

here you can see how badly...
my iris beds need cleaning out...

the last time I did it was about 5 years ago...
and I had help...
I ended up with a large box of iris tubers left over...

now that I've "rested"...
[while writing this...]

I need to get busy...

I need to water the indoor plants...
clean out cat boxes...
take out the trash...
wash dishes...
pack up & move my bath stuff...
buy cat food for the vet visit...
put the collars on the kitties...
put Advantage on all the kitties...

write that "other post"...
[how's that for a teaser ?]

and WAIT for that @#^&* phone call...

[God MUST be teaching me patience...]