Chicory

Chicory flickery flock,
Blue flowers for Mr. Spock,
Old Spock, half man,
Half floral Vulcan,
Chicory flickery flock!

Look what grew in our yard!

What can I say? I'm a sucker for flowers.

Sharp Trash Safety Capsule

Do you live in an apartment building that has a garbage chute and/or dive-worthy dumpsters?  Do you occasionally throw away sharp objects such as toothpicks, plastic forks, old pins and needles, or broken scissors?  Are you concerned that someone might somehow encounter your trash and handle it in a careless fashion and become injured by one of those sharp things?  Do you drink plenty of soda from 2-liter bottles?  If your answer to all of these is yes, you may wish to construct a sharp trash safety capsule.  All you need is two empty 2-liter bottles, a pair of scissors (not broken), and some tape.  

Cut the narrow top quarter off of each bottle.   Throw the tops parts away.  Store one of the remaining bottles, and keep the other near your wastepaper basket.  As you have sharp objects to throw away, put them into the bottle instead of in the trash.  Keep this up until the bottle is full (this could take a long time, maybe even a year).  When it is full, get out the second bottle.  Turn it upside down and carefully fit it over the top of the first, full bottle.  Tape the loose edges firmly to the first bottle.  You now have a sleek, smooth, danger free capsule that you can throw in the trash with nary a care. 

The prototype shown below was invented and executed by a dear, thoughtful couple.  I love their ingenuity as well as their desire to look out for others, whether their neighbors, the garbage men, or dumpster divers.

Haiku: Catalpa

Northern Catalpa,
bean tree, flower carpet tree,
lost in Illinois.

Spring at last!

Spring came really really late this year.  But now that it’s finally here, hooray!  Spring!  And violets all over the backyard! And in a vase on the table!