Rich Paschall

FOTD – Our First Daylily Yesterday, while I was outside feeding birds and watering flowers, I saw the very first blooming daylily. There are hundreds more buds out back and out front. And the hedge roses are covered in buds. They should bloom during the next week, and it will be amazing. 2022’s First Daylily Lily buds

Editor’s note: Compare these thoughts from 2013 with the situation today. Where do you see yourself in five years? – RJP While the government diddles around with our lives, someone asked me, “Where do you see yourself in five years?” This is a bad question to ask people our age, especially right now. We are living on fixed incomes that barely allow us to survive. The future is not something we…

UNOFFICIAL BLOGGING INSIGHTS Dr. Tanya usually appears with her weekly Blogging Insights prompt. However, she let us know she won’t be doing one this week. We hope Dr. Tanya will be back again next week. Fandango has stepped into the breach. Here’s the quote: “You must write for yourself, above all. That is your only hope of creating something beautiful.” – Gustave Flaubert Regardless of how…

FOTD – June 17 – QUEEN ANNE’S LACE Last year, we let the Queen Anne’s Lace grow without interference. This year, there are many more than last year. Practically a whole garden full, now plentifully mixed with long, golden daylily buds. If the sun shines tomorrow, it’s going to be stunning. It’s a prettier flower than it seemed at first. Its foliage looks almost like ferns. One of the truly…

Red, White, and Royal Wait, by Rich Paschall It’s Pride Month, and some of you may be looking for some BL (boys in love) movies or series. While you are waiting for the sequel to the movie Red, White, and Royal Blue (Prime) coming up at the end of the year, or early next year, or season 2 of Heated Rivalry (HBO Max), slated for April 2027, we have a few new series to recommend. YouTube and…

FOTD – More Flowers From the Deck The orchids — the three that have been in bloom since the beginning of April — are finally dying. The last one is the one that was also the first to bloom. I do have one more that is full of buds, so I expect it to bloom next. Meanwhile, though, the flowerboxes are doing beautifully.

SHARE YOUR WORLD 6-14-2022 I got up this morning, and it was beautiful. Shining sun. Warm. Dry. Flowers blooming and birds singing. I looked at myself in the mirror and wondered if I remembered how to put on makeup. I used to be good at it, but that was a long time ago. A diversion about things we used to know and over the years, forgot. We’ve been paying a really high price for FUBO, a…

It’s not that I mind the cooking, though on days like today, when I find myself spending almost an entire day in the kitchen, I begin to wonder about my role in this world. But really, that’s not the problem. Nor are the ridiculously high prices for food the problem. It’s about what I need to feed the boys. Garry, you see, is too thin. Owen is overweight. Garry needs to eat more and damn the…

FOTD – River Bend in June It was such a beautiful day today. Garry needed pictures for (potential) bit parts in movies or commercials. He has an itch to interact with a television camera again, though a movie camera would do just fine. In between taking pictures of Garry, I took pictures of plants growing at River Bend.

FOTD – Columbines My Columbine isn’t as perfect as Cee’s, but I do have a lot of it. It isn’t really a perennial, but if you leave it alone, it will form seed pods and reseed itself. Those seeds also respond to the wind, which is probably why we now have Columbine growing in three different gardens, but we only planted it in one. The wind — and maybe the birds — moved those seeds everywhere.

I’ve drawn a lot of Goldfinches. That shouldn’t be much of a surprise since they are one of the most common birds I see at my feeders. They often feed in flocks and nest in the hedges at the back of the yard. This is the most recent drawing. The one before it was a bit better, but this one shows the difference in markings and patterns. Some have strong black markings on their faces. Others have…

FOTD – Pink Double Ruffled Petunias Pink double ruffled petunias, and the flowerbox is full of buds. They remind me of full ruffled skirts.

This isn’t a new cartoon. It was created in 2018, so it has been around for more than four years. Yet, it’s as relevant now as it was when it first came out. Maybe more. I’m pretty sure there was a time when this might have been funny. With all the other things we need to fix, this one could be easy. I know because other countries have managed to find a way. I guess they don’t have as many gun…

FOTD – Red Petunias The red Petunias are there to attract butterflies and hummingbirds. It’s doing well on the hummingbirds, a bit weak so far on the butterflies, but at least I’ve seen one. Which is encouraging because I hadn’t seen a butterfly in a couple of years.