My Platycodon

My Balloon flowers are in full bloom and the bees are in their glory!

I have both white and purple AND they've crossed over the years to give me some interesting and unique color combinations.  Really, no two are the same.  I've seen pink balloon flowers on the Google machine too, which would be a nice color to add to my garden one day.

Here is how they got their name -

Here's one opening but not quite there yet -

Tada, fully open and ready for "beesness" - 

Here are some pics of the random and cool color combinations - 

Some folks, my kids when younger, liked to "pop" these flowers, which made the gardener very upset...

#Blessed

This Is One Hot Mailbox

How's this for a fancy mailbox?!

After seeing this mailbox and if you asked me what profession I thought the homeowner might be in, I would guess firefighter.  However, the home where this mailbox resides is in a VERY exclusive neighborhood.  The Google machine is telling me the homes in this development have a, "median price range appears to be between $1.11M and $1.63M."!  

Zillow has the value of this specific house listed at $1,503,300, so, that rules out a firefighter...

Just look at the slab of granite that the mailbox is mounted on!  That alone has to be worth thousands!

It's good to be the king!

** UPDATED 8-10-2025 to include the following - 

How To Open This Cool Mailbox

Honestly, people SUCK!

** UPDATE **: Here's an update to my posting from Thursday, July 17, 2025 titled, "Press Release - For Immediate Release"

On my walk yesterday afternoon I see that someone moved the trash can lid off the grass and out of the way.  It's still unsightly AND now an ideal breeding ground for mosquitos, of which there are mosquito larva swimming around in the collected water - 

In the picture below, you can also see a fresh BIG pile of dog poop that some selfish, lazy, inconsiderate POS couldn't be bothered to pick up!  It's only a kids ballfield at an elementary school so clearly there no need to remove this -

Dollars to donuts the owner of this dog is one that touts how much of a dog and animal lover they are and one of the first "keyboard warriors" to jump on to defend any negative social media posting about POS dog owners who refuse to clean up after their animal.

May the dog's owner get violent and uncontrollable diarrhea when standing in line at the grocery store check out counter!  Karma's a bitch...

Find The Critter

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

Be Still My Beating Heart...

It's been a couple years now since I've seen one of these beauties here at the ole homestead and I was shocked and extremely excited to spot this male praying mantis!

Up on my deck no less, some 15' high.  With all the flowers in bloom just below, why this dude was up there by the mint plants is beyond me.

Where there's one there are more!

I need to step up my I Spy game to see if I can spot others.

SO exciting!

#Blessed

Why?!

Would you ever?!?!?!

I award this person the following merit badge -

That's all.

Penny Wise, Pound Foolish!

Alas, as much as it frustrates me to see how the town of Franklin is spending our tax dollars, it does give me some satisfaction to vent about it here.  I don't have the patients or desire to call or try to reach out to the town directly on this issue, simply because I don't care to hear their excuses...

The parking lot at the grade school a mile down the street recently had the parking lines repainted.  However, as you can see in the few examples below, there was little to NO prep work done to prepare for the repainting or to help extend the life of the pavement itself.

Whomever did the work simple repainted over the old faded lines, weeds, rocks dirt and all!  How shoddy is this?!  Who made this decision?  At the end of the day how much money did they save, in the short term, by not prepping (removing weeds, rocks, dirt, etc.) and sealing the cracks (to prevent the winter freezing from heaving and making the issue BIGGER)?

It's an embarrassment really but what I've come to expect from how the town of Franklin is run and managed.  

Side note to further illustrate how skewed the town priorities are - the Franklin town Administrator has an anticipated - annual salary of $245, 267 for fiscal year 2026!  How is the world can this be justified?! Perhaps a BIG reason why the $3.6 million dollar override failed to pass...

My First Red Ripe Tomater!

I picked my first ripe tomato this afternoon after work -

Immediately diced it up -

Added diced red onion, sliced black olives, feta cheese, olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper -

Placed in the refrigerator for an hour or so (truth be told I couldn't wait any longer) to chill.  Then ate about half with my pasta dinner.

OMG, SO amazingly delicious!

I'm salivating knowing that fresh tomato BLTs are literally right around the corner!

Actions Speaker Louder Than Words

What's That In The Road Ahead?

Nope, not a turtle. Not a snake.  Not a critter. Rather an attractively arranged bunch of flowers - a rose bouquet!

On my way back to the post office this afternoon, after a long, tiring day of delivering mail to two different routes, UGH, a bouquet of one dozen white roses was in need of rescuing -

They were awfully dried, not sure how long they were laying on the hot asphalt but hoping a small stem trim and a vase of fresh water, with a cup full of hydrogen peroxide, will reinvigorate them -

They certainly look much better sitting on my counter than in the middle of the street!

Another roadway save -

I Named Him Joey...

How you doin?!

Another Sad Anniversary

7-21-2005

Hard to believe it's been 20 years, where has the time gone?

I wish we could talk, SO many milestones since you've been gone and SO much to talk about.

"Phone Call to Heaven"

Miss you each and every day.

Find The Critter

Can you find the critter in the below picture?!

A lone doe grazing her way along the far side of the soccer field.  With school being out for the summer, I supposed she's able to wander out a bit farther than normal -

Bumble Bee Tuna Bones

I found this fish bone is a can of tuna -

Thankfully, I found it as I prepared the tuna!

It's getting dangerous out here!

BIG Flowers - Dramatic Flare!

I deliver to this Norfolk, MA condo association when doing route 10.

I usually deliver their incoming mail to the Cluster Box Unit (CBU) located at the entrance of the facility.  However, large packages will not fit in the CBU and need to be delivered to their respective front doors.  So, while delivering larger packages the other day I walked into the courtyard and the daylilies were in full bloom and looked terrific! 

What struck me with these daylilies was the size of the flowers, each about the size of my open hand. These pics, although beautiful, just don't show their actual size. I have a variety of daylilies here at the ole homestead but honestly the flowers are "normal" (about half the size of the ones below) in size. 

Clearly, the landscape architect knew what they were doing when they chose these plants, well done!

Press Release - For Immediate Release

I alluded, in an earlier post, that the $3.6 million dollar town of Franklin override we voted on back in early June failed; it failed for the second time in a 6-month period.

This override quickly became contentious within the town pitting the "Yeses" against the "Nos" and it played out on social media and in the community. For example, FB posts often times had to have the commenting option disabled by the administrators after people became mean, rude, belligerent, inconsiderate, etc.  Also, people were complaining that both "For" and "Against" yard signs were being stolen and\or vandalized. Sadly, typical behavior in today's world.

Since the override failed, the town is using the failure to justify the town administrations mismanagement and overall shoddy upkeep. At this point they can no longer us Covid as a valid excuse as to why things are not getting down - boy did they wear this excuse out!

Here is one example of a new policy the town has instituted - a "Carry In / Carry Out" Trash and Recycling policy for the towns outdoor spaces, e.g. ball fields, playground, parks, etc. -

 

The item in the picture below is the lid to one of the trash cans that was located at the grade school ball field.  Seems the DPW crew removed the trash can but couldn't be bothered with taking the lid too.  It's SO bad that the town's ground crew, who are supposed to perform the upkeep of the ball fields and common area spaces, literally have mowed around this lid I kid you not!  Heaven forbid the mower operator dismount and put this in his town vehicle or at least move it out of the way in order to mow!

Typical and what I've come to expect from the town workers. UGH -

It's going to be interesting to see how this new policy plays out when the ball fields are actually being used on a regular basis.  From what I've seen, when there was trash cans available, there was ALWAYS trash left littering the sidelines and benches.  Seems parents today don't have the same values I was taught and clearly many of them don't pass said values along to their spoiled, peanut allergy ridden brats.

As Glum from the Hanna-Barbera cartoon said, "We're doomed", alas!

Think Smarter!

I deliver to this mailbox when I'm on route 8.

When the mailbox is opened, the spring with the orange ball pops up giving the homeowners a visual that mail has been delivered, versus needing to walk curbside to physically check.

How clever is this?!

Hello "Shark Tank"...

Out Of Sync...

Alas, this is how I feel my life has been going recently -

Purple Cone Flower Infatuations

My purple cone-flowers are the insect talk of the town!

They're covered with all sorts of insect, here are just a few -

A fat Bumble-bee -

A Green Sweat Bee, with pollen covered back legs and a Flower Longhorn Beetle -

One of my favorites, a Honey Bee and sadly one of the few I've seen visiting this summer.  In years past there would be oodles of Honey Bees visiting my flowers but the numbers and sightings have been dwindling over the years and this year is concerning -

I could sit for hours and watch these insects flitter from bloom to bloom!

#Blessed

This Is NOT a "Nursery" Rhyme!

How about this beauty, a Nursery Web Spider!?

The way the top of this Golden Rod was webbed up caught my attention while out on my walk the other afternoon, so I stopped to have a peek.  Upon close inspections SURPRISE!

From what I've read, she's built, and is protecting, a nursey where her babies will hatch and live until their first molt -

There's SO much to see and take in, if people would take out their earbuds and put down their phones when out on walks.

For example, it's just after 7AM on Sunday morning, and as I'm writing this I could hear a woman outside talking.  She had a headset on and was on her phone talking to someone. Who are you talking and what is SO important to be on the phone while out on a walk at 7AM?!

Dunno, defeats the purpose to me.

People suck!

Be Alert At All Times!

The dangers are real, VERY real!

A fellow postal carrier was rear-ended earlier in the week while out delivering mail on his route!

Slammed into by someone driving too fast (some were saying close to 40mph), too impatient and likely not even really paying attention.

Thankfully he was wearing his seatbelt, however, he was severely concussed, severely bruised where the seatbelt was (which not only is a laptop belt but also one that comes down and across your chest) and suffered a broken foot and broken arm.  Although, this happened in Millis, MA, he was rushed to Mass General Hospital in Boston for care!

This is the LLV he was rear-ended in.  The front passenger side is all smashed in too, as he was pushed into a stone wall.  The picture doesn't really show the damage and how bad the truck really is -

This could have been SO much worse too.  We not only deliver USPS mail but also Amazon and UPS packages.  These range in size from small, will fit in the mailbox, to BIG and heavy, which require the mail carriers to dismount the LLV to drop the package at the front door, garage, etc.. We're all super vulnerable as we undo the seatbelt to exit the truck, then climb back in and buckle back up. I can't imagine the outcome had this carrier been unbuckled and in the midst of the above.  Also, not to mention that we have an arm out the LLV most of the day, while placing mail in mailboxes, often times needing to stick more than an arm out in order reach a mailbox. It's scary to think of the scenarios of getting rear-ended when in this vulnerable position.

I see it every day that I'm in the LLV, people are SO impatient, drive too fast, come too close to the truck as they speed by and often times are angry that we're blocking the road by honking and flipping the bird.

I don't know what the answer is to address this but would VERY much like to see the police step up the enforcement of speeders, aggressive drivers and distracted drivers, AND not just in protection of postal carriers but for everyone on the road that has to deal with the selfish POS who think they own the road.

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!