SO Done With Rain!

The weather in my little corner of Kansas has just not been cooperating with my weekends. Last weekend it rained and stormed the entire weekend, and this past Saturday it was sunny but cool in the morning and cloudy, windy and cool the rest of the day with scattered showers. Sunday was cloudy and cold all day long. Blah. I managed to get my chocolate mint, sweet basil and some flowers potted during a sunny period, but I still need French lavender, dill, and parsley. I found this great idea that I would love to try for my herb garden and pinned it on my Pinterest. Of course, I may need to move it up on the ol' project list in order to see it realized. It's a long list.

Last weekend was a Civil War encampment at the Fort and I felt sorry for them because it rained and stormed the entire time. Those are usually fun to attend, but not in the rain and not in heat, either. This year's annual Civil War Encampment was celebrating the 150th anniversary of the end of the "War Between the States" and was to be a big deal. Although the turn-out was less than expected, it wasn't too bad. What I thought was interesting, was the person who did the writeup in the paper described the participants and their clothing mostly accurately, except that he referred to the women as wearing "Victorian dress". The reason I think it is interesting is because while the Victorian era lasted from 1837 until 1901 and the American Civil War was right smack in the middle of that (1860-1865), regardless of what was actually being worn during the period, the clothing typically worn by women at these encampments is mostly frontier and prairie with a few 'Southern Belle' style, which is, technically, early Victorian.  When I think of 'Victorian dress', I mentally see the narrower skirts with the bustle in the back, not the full-skirted earlier version typical of the 'Southern Belle', even though that's what they technically were. The bustle. That is something I just don't get. You gotta wonder why anyone would think adding that much acreage to a woman's ass was a good look. The 'Southern Belle' dress with all of its many layers and accoutrements enhanced and emphasized a number of features and hid a multitude of sins underneath all of those yards of fabric, but it was also a highly sophisticated form of torture. I wonder how many women dropped dead from heat exhaustion or lack of oxygen? The numbers must be staggering...

This morning, when I went out to feed the cats before I left for work, I discovered that one of the young first-time mamas had her kittens in the carport - again, right out in the open. This one had hers on the blanket that she used to cuddle up on with her siblings last year. I sure hope she gets them moved somewhere safer soon. Thursday or Friday of last week Mama Cat had her babies - in the shed again. So I have kittens under my AC unit, kittens in my shed, and kittens in my carport, and I know there are at least two more that I've seen that are pregnant. Seriously praying that they have their kittens elsewhere. I can't take the stress. Why on Earth do they want to have their babies in my yard anyway? I have dogs! Why not in my neighbor's yard where she doesn't have any pets or even kids out there to bother them? It's a complete mystery.

This afternoon when I got home from work, I checked on the newest mama and her babies. She was away from her kitties and I was able to count four. Three different shades of gray - possibly some stripes? - and one orange-ish one. The older babies (by two weeks) I still can't get a really good look at so I don't have a clue as to how many there are. After I checked on everyone, I watered my herbs and took a moment to enjoy the lovely scents in the air: lilac, rosemary, oregano, basil, mint, and the spicy-floral scent of my little Stock (Matthiola) flowers. Ahhh! Now I need to get a nice patio set for the deck. I can sit outside on the deck enjoying the evening, listening to the spring peepers and toads and this summer watch...some old guy in a wife-beater riding his lawn mower down the street behind us. Yikes! But that is exactly what I saw as I was thinking about how I would be watching the lightning bugs and listening to locusts (again, cicadas to the rest of the world) later on in the season. This more than likely is a guy who has had his driving license taken from him, so clearly, he can just hop onto the ol' riding lawnmower when he wants a drink from Sonic. And, unless he does something stupid, which is highly likely, actually, no one will think anything of it because it is so common. These old guys who can't drive anymore, for whatever reason, understandably don't like losing their wheels, so they find a way around it. They still want to run to the hardware store or get a Coke whenever they want, and by golly, they're going to, and if that means hopping on the mower or a golf cart, that's what they do. Oh yeah, that's legal here too. Some cities have policies about driving golf carts, but so far nothing has changed here. It is a rare event indeed when something around here changes... I leave you with some beautiful Kansas sunrise shots.

Tuesday Morning

Monday Morning