Palin disses President on Today! How dare she?

Out of curiosity, and I must be a fool with masochistic tendencies, I tuned into the Today Show.

It took about five minutes of Sarah Palin's high-pitched, whiny voice that said nothing of substance, to make me return to Good Morning America which for years has been my early morning news standby. Five minutes of commercial advertising caused me to turn that off too. 

As a side note: I did watch GMA yesterday. I found the addition of Katie Couric to be a breath of fresh air. Together with George Stephanopoulos and Jake Tapper doing the news was the kind of professional programming I want to see more of. 

Too many advertisements detract from the programming however, so if I want news, the internet is and will remain, my medium of choice. 

There, I can watch what I want and ignore that which I don't. Fortunately, I am smart enough to choose to read and/or watch even some things I disagree with. To me, the internet is a learning tool. It is not just an entertainment resource, although it does an admirable job of that as well. 

This morning, I saw a clip of the Today Show. To see what I missed, I listened as Matt Lauer interviewed Palin just prior to her taking the seat as his co-host. He asked her if she was happy that Mitt Romney would be the GOP nominee. She stonewalled him, just like she did Katie Couric so long ago. Lauer pressed her. Not only did she refer to the "lamestream media," but she referred to any GOP candidate when she said, "anybody but Obama." 

Palin's blatant rant really annoyed me. Perhaps it is because I once did news reporting for a living. When I interviewed someone, I always put my personal feelings aside. They have no place in professional news gathering. It wasn't always easy, but to me, credibility was much more important than simply spouting my opinion. (Perhaps this is why I love blogging.) There is a big difference between news and commentary. To me, both my personal opinion and news requires credible research, but that's just me. 

NBC, which was once a credible news outlet now has stooped to the level of Fox News, which is not news at all. It does little or no research on its news stories and obviously its television personalities require no credibility for which to derive their opinions. 

Back to Palin, the Fox News transplant to NBC's Today Show, I was appalled to see a co-anchor diss the President of the United States that I plan to erase NBC from my programming lineup.

It is frightening to think there is a relationship between the mundane NBC and the brilliant MSNBC, which is chock full of news and opinion that is really worth listening to. The difference here is that opinions on MSNBC are backed up by real facts, rather than the kind of made up stuff, like what is on Fox. 

The good stuff must come from the Microsoft portion of the arrangement. The NBC side must be the one that requires advertising for the Keystone Pipeline and the beauty of natural gas extraction or fracking. ARG!!! I feel as though my senses are being assaulted by these greedmongers.

If NBC wanted to have better ratings, which is obviously why it pulled this stunt to put Sarah Palin on the morning news, why didn't it just put out a better show?

I suppose eyes affixed with dollar signs simply cannot see what is plainly in front of them. 

The bottom line isn't really making money. The bottom line is earning money. Put out a good product that is worth buying and people will buy it.

Taking the spring cleaning outdoors

Wow, I'm still tired from hours spent working in our Ozarks gardens.

It was time to move the nesting instinct closer to where nests usually are--outside.

Our toil involved raking, leaf blowing, burning, digging, mulching, weeding, cleaning, planting, mowing, and lots of other things.

 Pictured here, was our biggest accomplishment. At left, my husband John is trying to coax down a branch that had fallen during the ice storm in January, 2009. For the past three years, the huge branch that had broken off has just been hanging there teasing us into trying to pull it down. Unfortunately, all our attempts only succeeded in wedging it more tightly into the fork of two branches. Last winter, we decided to just wait until Mother Nature took care of it, finishing the job she started three years ago.

Piece by piece, the old branch weakened. Pieces of it would fall here and there--until this week. With a little coaxing, we are finally rid that old oak tree of this hideous reminder of that horrible storm when the power was out for five days and so many trees were damaged, not just on our property but in the whole southern portion of the country. Arkansas was hit hard; so were Missouri and Kentucky.

I'm so happy the thing is finally gone!

One of our other accomplishments was rejuvenating the magnolia garden next to the porch, so named by its most prominent occupant.

It may not look like much, but getting this garden back into shape is always  a chore! When we created the garden, we got rid of as much Bermuda grass as we could. We pulled, tilled, burned and mulched. It was like a never-ending task to keep this garden weeded. But this year, after our seven-plus inches of rain, the weeding was fairly easy. The soil amendments we have been adding for years seems to have finally paid off too. We now have a nice little bed in which to plant more perennials and perhaps a few herbs. A few are coming back from previous plantings.

John cleaned the barrel and got the pump running in the little water feature on the left. It is always nice to hear water run while while sitting on my wicker rocker and sipping iced tea. In the late afternoon, while taking one of my many and final breaks, I watched a frog hop all the way from near the road to the garden to claim his place. Last night I heard him croaking, so he is apparently doing a little spring nesting of his own.

I brought most my house plants outdoors for the season. My aged spider plant is visible in the above picture. We moved Lady Spider here with us eight years ago. She sits on the rusty old milk can next to the house in the shade garden alongside the house. She seems perfectly happy there. That is probably because there are no cats lying in her pot or eating her leaves. For some reason, the cats just love to nibble on her leaves.

Another chore that we undertook was the decision
to turn an overgrown garden area near the road into a wildflower garden. We had only briefly touched this area. It is just a bit too far to reach with the hose. Note to self: We will need to work on that. There are two peonies, a clump of irises and a few daffodils that were planted by previous owners of the property. We may move the peonies, but the rest can stay.

Part of that project involved one of my favorite springtime chores--burning leaves and brush. The before and after pictures show the world of difference.

Fire is exciting, but very scary. During my days as a journalist, I followed too many fire trucks to grass and field fires to ever take fire for granted. I certainly didn't want to cause an innocent burn to get out of control. I'm very cognizant of what can happen.

Needless to say, that was a pretty hard days work for a couch potato like me. I spent yesterday recuperating--deciding to work on my quilt instead of venturing out into the great pollen-filled outdoors.

There is still lots to of work left to do. In fact, I think it is never ending. It is such good work though. Gardens is so satisfying. Just one of the rewards came that very afternoon. At about the same time I watched the frog claim its place, I also watched this butterfly sipping the nectar of these lilacs.

After it was all over, I wondered if there could be anything more refreshing than a hot shower and a good night's sleep to end our beautiful day in the Ozarks.

Please sign this petition

Stopping this project has been a very important part of the last 25 years of my life. I urge everyone who cares about not being run over by a state government out of control to sign this petition. I'm sure the people of eastern will County will thank you! I thank you!

Free Petition by iPetitions.com

Springtime and maintaining the nest

One of the aspects of springtime is evidenced by the "nesting" instinct. Not only do the birds do it, but we humans do it too. 

There is just something that comes over me when the sky is blue and a breeze blows into a houseful of open windows. Perhaps it is the fresh air or realization about being cooped up all winter, despite the wonderful season we had this year. At any rate, my nesting instinct got the better of me. I rarely question this kind of behavior, since humans have largely lost the ability to behave instinctively; we have ignored our instincts for so long.

Yesterday was a rather lazy day, as many of them are now that my husband John and I are retired. We have largely settled into a routine of not having a routine. He had just finished his afternoon nap and I had just finished putsing around on the computer. It was about 4:00 in the afternoon when I decided it was time to do a little spring cleaning in the living room. This was not something that was planned or even verbalized; it just happens. I know it would have made more sense to begin chores in the morning, but that wasn't when the mood struck.

John didn't grumble; pitch a fit about having better things to do. He just jumped in and helped out without my even having to ask. I guess after 35 years of being together we are just attuned to these kinds of things. Spring cleaning isn't unlike finishing each others' sentences or thinking and saying the same thing at the same time.

We began by washing windows. I took care of the inside of our huge picture window with two smaller ones on either side while John washed them from the outside.

With all this looking out the windows of late, checking out all the blooming plants and growing oak leaves readily visible just beyond the front porch, it was really nice to have a clear view again, unencumbered by cat paw and dog nose prints inside, and tiny tufts of feathers outside where a stray chickadee made a wrong turn into the window.

Once that task was completed, I decided it was time to move the furniture. For some reason, men just hate moving furniture. Women love doing it, especially when they help. Furniture really does get pretty heavy at my age. Anyway, it is always easier for two people rather than just one.

I had a method to my madness; it wasn't just all about cleaning. Not only did I want to vacuum under and around the furniture, but for some time I was thinking I wanted to position the couch in front of the windows in order to take advantage of the light during the day for quilting purposes.

John has a recliner, so admittedly, I am the couch potato in the family. Moving it also causes me to sit on the other side--which aids in equal wear on both sides.

Since we had gone this far, we might as well continue the usual cleaning surfaces, dusting stuff, throwing away old magazines and catalogues that had been lying around.

Once it was all done and I stood back to look at what we'd accomplished. It looked like our living room was much larger. The problem is, our cats are totally confused; the dog doesn't know where to go. In fact, I'm not as comfortable on the 'wrong' side of the couch either. I'm sure it we will all be used to it in no time. 

With the spring coming early this year, we might just get the whole house done. By the time summer comes, we will think we are living in a totally new house. 

Plenty of rain gives way to beautiful spring

The older this plant gets the more flowers it
has. I look forward to these
sweet-scented lilacs every year.

It finally rained--the kind of rain that is memorable--more than seven inches. We needed it! I absolutely loved watching the rain.

I'm grateful that predicted severe storms didn't materialize. I'm slightly terrified of what Mother Nature can do and has done all around us over the past several years. We aren't that far from Branson, which was hit on Leap Day this year by a powerful, destructive tornado. Gassville which was hit a few years ago is woefully close by--in the same county. So, I feel fortunate.

This recent rain event was nothing like that. In fact, while there are some dock owners on the lake that aren't happy around here, I saw our rain as nothing but positive.

Since spring had already commenced, Mother Nature's magic nectar has transformed our landscape into almost a terrarium.

I had planted a few things in the garden, but just a few. After all, it is only mid-March and I don't want to face plant death from a freak frost. So, I kept it to a few things that I could cover if need be. I plan to sow more seeds this weekend. There is time to take it slow.

The only possible negative I can see from the vast quantity of rain we received is that the flowering of the early trees and shrubs was accelerated. The forsythia and redbuds no sooner got their flowers open when they fell off and sprouted leaves. To tell the truth though, that was enough flower for me because I really live for those beautiful spring-green leaves. To me, they are as beautiful as the flowers.

That quick flowering cycle of the early trees and shrubs is about to give way to the soon-to-be flowering of azaleas, lilacs, mid to late-blooming tulips and irises. It is all fine with me. To me, spring is like magic.

Spring is finally here!

With such beautiful, record-breaking warm weather all over the country, I can't help but be a little nervous about what July and August will look and feel like.

To tell the truth, I'm a little worried about what it might look like later today. In north-central Arkansas, we have been hearing more than murmurings about a forecast of up to 10 inches of rain. So far, I have yet to see a drop. The radar shows big green, yellow, and red globs that seems to be just to the west of us. Since weather moves from west to east as a rule, we could get hammered later today and tonight. I love rain; I'm just hoping severe weather doesn't accompany it.

One tiny pink hyacinth among the whites
Since this picture was taken several more have appeared

Once the weather starts getting hot, and the new landscape transitions into its summer, I already look forward to the coming spring. If only spring could be eternal.

There is such a feeling of joy to watch new little buds appear on the trees and shrubs. The distant landscape begins to take on a faint green tint. Every day the hues become more intense until one day, the distant trees are painted varying shades of green.

A dainty daffodil

The view up close shows branches and twigs covered by that almost intoxicating chartreuse,  yellow-green color. Whenever I look at new leaves, I am always reminded of the color in the crayon box labeled spring green. What a great descriptor!

Raking leaves reveals tiny sprouts of new life. Even a new dandelion is a beautiful sight.

Mowing the first time tidies the ground once covered with a thick mat of brown, dead leaves. What a transformation! We don't really have a lawn per se, but it is green nonetheless, covered with bermuda grass, clover, and other wild things that always benefit by a good trim.

The need to mow is most obvious when spikes of tall wild garlic rises high in random spots in the otherwise flat carpet of green. I love how mowing  releases their strong scent into the air.

Bluebird stands guard 

Then there are the spring bulbs. Can anything be more exciting than to see that first daffodil or tulip sprout, grow, and bloom? We planted several bulbs last December during our oh-so-mild winter. We are now reaping the rewards of  our labor with a beautiful show of flowers. So far, daffodils and hyacinths, wood hyacinths, and crocus have or are blooming. We are anxiously awaiting the tulips with buds still swollen, but not yet revealing their color. 

Dad takes a peek at mama sitting on a nest

I have a special fondness for the flowering trees and bushes. We have planted several that have performed well this spring--cherry, pear, crab apple  and magnolia trees. Once they get bigger, they will fill the yard with color. The resident redbuds that line the backyard are always a favorite. We had our first flowers on the new forsythia. Soon there will be bursts of color from the sweet-scented mock orange, delicate pink azaleas, hardy crepe myrtle and bunches of purple iris. I hope my lone white iris has seen fit to multiply since last year.

I'm not the only one that takes notice of spring. It is a busy time for my friends, the blue birds. This year, John put snake away at the base of the tree, so we might protect the nests from those black marauders that provided me a quick and ugly education in predatory behavior. I never want to catch the view of a long black snake tail hanging out of a bluebird box again.

Every day is a joy to look out a window, just to check what is new in the spring landscape. It is always something and usually always wonderful. I look forward to enjoying not just every day of this spring, but every moment of it.

This is the best day of the year--better than my birthday; better than Christmas--this is the first day of Spring.

Bring on the Monarchs

Monarch Butterfly Danaus plexippus Milkweed (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The weather has been so absolutely lovely, that I couldn't help but get into a little spring cleaning in the yard. I actually wanted to burn brush, so to prepare for that, I set out to create a clearing by using the leaf blower.

I proceeded to blow all the leaves away from the driveway and small turn around area, aiming them at a huge brush pile at the end of the driveway. I also wanted to clean out an area next to it where some cedar trees had sprouted, crowding out the oak trees.

My husband, John, took care of that chore with the chain saw and loppers. It is amazing how many little things grow where they don't belong.

The job proved to be much more time-consuming and labor-intensive than I ever intended, so we never did get around to lighting a match. During this leaf-blowing extravaganza though, I made a wonderful discovery. I found two milkweed plants at the base of an oak tree. There could be more, but these two were recognizable because they still contained seed pods.

Coincidentally, I've been haranguing on Facebook lately about Monarch Butterflies. They are one of the few butterfly species that migrate. They are in jeopardy for many reasons, but one of them is because of the strong herbicides being used in genetically modified (GMO) corn production, which I've also mentioned a dislike for on Facebook once or twice.

Milkweed is vital to the Monarch because the female Monarch lays her eggs on milkweed. In the larvae stage, the caterpillars only eat milkweed plants. These plants are basically essential to the survival of these beautiful butterflies.

I've always had a special place in my heart for them. As a small child I chased them around in fields. I've observed them, photographed them, and just plain enjoyed watching them. I cannot imagine life on earth without them.

I had even considered looking for a source of milkweed seeds to plant in the yard. Now I have my own source.

So, c'mon Monarchs. Our place is Monarch-friendly. Y'all are welcome here any time and you may stay as long as you like.

Related articles

• Study: GMO crops are killing butterflies
• Milkweed and the Dance of Life
• Monsanto's Roundup Ravaging the Butterfly Population

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