Water Water Everywhere...

At initial glance and from this distance my pool looks great, however, that couldn't be further from truth and to be honest I've had it with the pool, the expense and especially the upkeep!

I just cannot get the pool clean.  I've spent hours vacuuming it, cleaning the filter and yet there's always dirt and debris all over the bottom. Seems like the filter just isn't filtering as it should be and it's frustrating.  I've checked the filter grids and they look fine, no tears or holes, so there's something else going on.

Also, July has typically been a month where the water seems to attract all sort of insect that "fall in" and this year is no different, perhaps even more so.  I can skim the pool in the morning, removing most of the floating leaves and insects, then go out a couple hours later and it's like I hadn't skimmed it at all.  There are oodles of flying ants, crickets and beetles galore - oriental beetles, Japanese beetles, June bugs and others I cannot identify, it's maddening!

I wouldn't mind doing all the needed upkeep if the pool was being used, and the toad I pulled from the water the other morning doesn't count as "being used".

 Such a shame and a waste and to be perfectly honest, I'm already counting the days to when I can shut it down, winterize and close it.

Find The Critter

Can you find the critter in the first pic below?!

This is the area where I store my trash and recycle barrels and this dude is hiding either under the barrels or in this case, tucked neatly into the corner. I luv having him around and am extra careful when needing to move the barrels but if it gets any bigger, there's no way he'll fit into that corner -

I took these pictures on Monday, my trash day.  Yesterday, Wednesday, following the torrential rain we had overnight, I pulled this same toad out of the pool!  Not sure how long he was in there but looked exhausted when I grabbed him, and of course placed him behind the barrels once again.

ribbit!

Someone's Shy

Aww, an embarrassed Black-eyed Susan -

Just Empty Chairs

Can You "Beelieve" It?!

The bumblebees are a plenty this summer, sadly that's NOT the case for the Honeybees.

This plump bumblebee is taking advantage of my Petunia plant and flitting from one flower to the next!

"Busy as a bee", as it's said -

Asiatic Lilies A Plenty

These are the beautiful colors the Asiatic lilies I have planted in my yard.  I have white ones too but failed to snap a pic before they passed -

The orange ones are the most prevalent ones I have.  They're spread over the years and do very well, perhaps because they're planted in the pool area with gets direct sun for most of the afternoons.

The other colors are planted in more shady areas and although they faithful bloom, they tend to be smaller blooms and smaller plants.  Supposed I should transplant them to the pool area to see how well they do.

Just wish the flowers lasted a bit longer than they do...

"Thank You"...

Question for folks that have an Amazon Alexa device in your home - 

Do you say "thank you" to her after she provides a response or update?

Asking for a friend...

Well That Went By Fast

Another year and another successful garlic harvest!

(33) cloves planted in the fall and (33) picked on Independence day!

Nice long, deep roots -

They're now hanging in my garage to dry -

I'll process them in a couple week, until then my garage smells garlicky

Find The Item

Can you find the item in the below picture?!

Frustratingly, this is an all too familiar issue here in my town of Franklin, ALAS!

In years past the excuse the Franklin highway department always revert to was Covid.

However, this year they're blaming it on the towns failure to pass a $6.8 million dollar proposition 2 1/2 override vote this past June 3.  So, since the override was voted down, the town is cutting back more services. A poorly managed town to say the least, in my opinion anyway.

So, instead of calling the highway department and wasting my dime and my time, I brought my hand pruners with me on my walk earlier this week and took care of the overgrown weeds hiding the hydrant -

Took less than one minute to cut the weeds back to expose the hydrant.  You would think this a safety issue and that the town would show more concern but nope -

Hopefully it'll never be need to fight a fire but it's clear and visible now just in case!

Some McLuv'n!

C'mon, what's more American than a pair of cuddling Milkweed Beetles?!

Enjoy the 4th!

Happy 4th of July!

Wishing family and friends a happy and safe Independence Day!

To The Victor Go The Spoils!

I've been having a terrible time with chipmunks digging into the base and roots of SO many of my plant this year!  I'm not sure what they're after, perhaps even eating the bulbs or plant roots?!  I don't recall this being so drastic in years past but they're constantly doing it, even redoing it when I fix the damage they've done, GRRR!

Here are just a couple examples -

Well, I FINALLY caught one of the culprits today - my persistence paid off!  This is a youngster that was doing damage and making a mess in the flower beds and potted plants in the pool area -

If there's one, there's two and more, so the battle rages on...

Pretty in Pink

My neighbor gave me the below daylilies last fall when she was thinning out her flower beds.

At the time I had no idea what these would flowers would look like but VERY pleased!

They're plant itself smaller than the typical orange daylily I'm used to and have throughout my yard and the flowers are SO much bigger too - guessing some ~5" wide -

From what I've been able to find, I believe these are called "Pretty in Pink"!

They're a beautiful and fragrant flower that have been attracting bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds.

How Dare You!

I had an encounter with a real life "Karen" on my mail route this past Monday, OMG!!

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the term "Karen", here is the Google machines definition -

Karen is a pejorative slang term typically used to refer to a middle class woman who is perceived as entitled or excessively demanding. The term is often portrayed in memes depicting middle-class white women who "use their white and class privilege to demand their own way".

Seems this person has not been receiving her USPS mail for well over a month now, maybe closer to two months.  She's called the Millis post office several times now to report this issue and spoken to both the supervisor and the post master who have told her that they'd look into it. Admittedly, being relatively new and all, I don't know the process or how such an investigation work, however, there doesn't appear to be any urgency on the post office side, so I understand "Karen's" frustrations.

The route that this "Karen" is a part of has over 500 mailboxes!  There are also (4) carriers, myself included, that rotate and deliver to this route, so one customer not receiving mail is NOT something that would be noticed.  Especially since this "Karen's" mailbox is in a CBU of an apartment complex and one of over 25 mailboxes\slots being delivered to each day.

So, on Monday, as I'm standing in front of the CBUs with their doors opened and an arm full of mail this "Karen" pulls up, gets out of her vehicle and approaches me.  Now I'm an easy going person and ALWAYS greet anyone who approaches me with a smile and an hello, and I'm ready to help in any way and did exactly that!

"Karen" was a bit tempered and calm when she first walked up to me and began her questioning.  Still unaware of what was coming, I remained friendly and helpful, and even offered my sympathies. I told her what I knew, that her issue was being looked into and that we've NOT received a single piece of mail for her (hence why it wasn't being delivered) for months now.

Believe it or not she pooh-poohed everything I said - in one ear and out the other!  She claimed she knew her mail was making it's way to the post office, just not being delivered, then flat out asked me why I, ME, was taking her mail! She was actually standing right in front of me and accusing me of taking her mail, I KID YOU NOT!!! 

Of course I was taken aback at the accusation and honestly in shock at the turn of events going from having a civil conversation to one where I found myself the accused and having to defend myself.  I did my best to remain calm and respectful, perhaps using the "F" word once or twice to stress how I felt about being blindsided and her nerve to confront me and accuse me of such a thing and in such a manner.  I told her I was done talking to her, ignored her and went back to delivering the mail, as she continued ranting and saying she was going to get to the bottom of this to prove I was steeling her mail, UGH!

There is clearly an issue at and with the post office, as her mail is NOT arriving at the Millis PO, and it needs more urgency to figure it all out and to get resolved.  I understand her frustrations, however, IT DOES NOT JUSTIFY HER ACTIONS AND HOW SHE TREATED ME!

Here is the note this "Karen" left inside her CBU mail slot!  This after talking to management at the PO - 

Sadly, this is just another example of people today and where we are as a society.

I hope the issue gets resolved soon AND I also hope this "Karen" gets violent and uncontrollable diarrheas when stuck and sitting in traffic for pulling such a stunt!

Big Brother's Watching!

I spent a couple hours yesterday tending to and working on the pool, which is a love-hate type of relationship.  As much as I loath it, it was a beautiful day, so I flipped on the radio to a local country station (more thoughts to come on this in a future post...) and got to work.

The weather has been so hot and humid the last couple of week, with little rain, the water level in the pool has been slowly dropping due to evaporation.  So, as I worked the vacuum, I turned the hose on and threw it in the pool to raise the level.

Seems I added some 320ish gallons and received the below 'high use notification' email from the Franklin Water & Sewer Superintendent, OOPS!  These emails are generated and sent automatically, so I'm not too worried about being called out on my usage.  However, that's not to say that they're not alerted or flagged when high consumption is reported.

Franklin has a water ban in effect and as a matter of fact they have had one each of the 20+ years I've lived here.  I hate to do it but it's a necessary evil of pool ownership.  Ironically, I didn't need to add a single drop to the pool last year, as Mother Nature helped me out.

The pool is looking So much better now!  Stop over for a swim anytime!

The Knot's Been Tied!

CONGRATULATIONS Stephanie and Audrey!

My oldest daughter got married this past weekend, Saturday June 21, at the Oceanview of Nahant in MA!

It was a magical wedding!  The weather cooperated and was beautiful, the events all went off perfectly without any glitches, both brides were stunning and everyone truly enjoyed themselves!

Most of the wedding party stayed at the luxury landmark InterContinental Boston hotel located in downtown Boston on the waterfront -

The Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum was directly next door to the hotel.  You could see the visitors reenacting throwing boxes of tea overboard -

The Night Before Welcome Party, on Friday night, at the Bostonia Public House was great! It was great to see everyone and mingle.  The food was absolutely delicious and the drinks were tasty and cold -

Father of the bride, that's me!  My boutonniere -

The flower bouquets held by the brides and bridesmaids, then used as the table center pieces were beautiful -

View of the brides, with their photographers, looking down from my daughters suite on the 10th floor -

The nuptials on the ocean was perfect!  The driftwood altar adorned with wedding flower and the ocean backdrop was also perfect! Kate (KB), a friend and fellow Sacred Heart alum, officiated the wedding.  The nuptials she wrote were terrific and SO creative, capturing both brides love for sports - WELL DONE KB!

Another beautiful touch, the brides acknowledged the family members who are no longer with us, both during the service AND with a special table setup at the wedding hall with pictures of each -

There was a very cool, unique yummy espresso martini bar following the dinner -

A memorable one-of-a-kind espresso martini each adorned with the brides pics -

YES THEY ARE!

Class from beginning to end -

The wedding was made even more special by having close family and friends to celebrate with.

I couldn't be happier and more proud!

Stephanie, you've grown into an incredible woman - strong, kind, compassionate, and full of grace.  I'm SO proud of the life you've created and the love you've chosen.  Marriage isn't about perfection, it's about choosing each other every day, through the easy and the hard, with laughter, patience, and faith.

Know that no matter where life takes you, I will always be cheering you on!  All my love 💗!

A Bee Magnet!

My friend Tim gave me this Hollyhock back in the fall and I planted it per his instructions.

It survived the winter and boy-o-boy did it take off as soon as the weather started warming and just look at it now!

It's FULL of  beautiful flowers with oodles more on the way!

The bees are going crazy in the flowers -

It got beat up a little, like the Milkweed plants, during a very windy day we had a week or so ago but otherwise doing great!

No Regrets!