GardenGrrl's WunderBlog 

Hi Patti, You are 1st! So sending (((hugs))) back from Texas and thanking you for checking out my butterfly blog.

Hi Rob, thanks for coming by and looking. Am really stoked how good these shots came out. There were so many butterflys (I was out there about 2+ hours and took 193 pictures...digital cameras are great). The hard part was picking favorites afterwards.

Hi Sandi, there are six bushes and hundreds of butterflys. Tried backing up to get that type of shot but they blended in to the shrubs. Glad you like the shot of many different types on one flower stem.

Yes I am banging the PicMonkey drum. That is what a photo editor should be like ;-) Thanks for the Flickr link. Blues photo is some really neat editing. He is such a handsome cat.

Hi Ylee, yes I kind of like Tundras too. They have a sporty yet tough look to them. The decision was made last night. It's a 2009 Chevy Quad Cab Silvarado work truck edition that came with a 12 month bumper to bumper warranty and two years of oil changes from the dealer.

Now it's off to take Roxie to get her bordatella booster so she can play with the other dogs at the dog park.

Hi Briar, Seems the butterfly party is happening on other shrubs like this on around the park. They have never been this active when these shrubs flower. Must be making up for last years drought.

Also, the butterflies seem much smaller this year. Maybe it's because I didn't see any last year, but I swear they shrank. That is fine by me as long as they keep coming back.

Hi Ylee, here is the new truck. It's a half ton 09 Silverado with V8 vortex engine. I think it is the biggest truck on our block right now.





And a shot of Roxie when I woke her up to take the picture.



Okay, so you can't see them at the moment, but sooner or later will put it in the WU area.

It's back to the batcave in the morning.

Current weather; calm, humid with distant flashes of lightning. The air around the house smells like roses.

Hi Ylee, the plan today is to do all the outdoor chores at work before the sky opens up.

***Everyone all together think; No Hail!****

Hi Prose, You will like PicMonkey for doing the quick touch ups. Your right about the collage editor though. That is the one good PSE feature. Will be collaborating with niece this weekend to make something for her Quinceanera.

Hi Karen, thanks. Sounds like you had some great nature over head at your house with all the thunder symphony going on.

Hi SP, That is sooo cute. Now I'm imagining pink flamingo prisoners staked to the ground with knitted ponchos in unflattering colors ;)

Hi Shore, everyday as I learn about that camera I am happier and happier with the purchase. The good news about the truck is that now Roxie's travel kennel fits and she can go to the dogpark when my car isn't home.
The little critter sheds something fierce so she can't get on the car seats. Btw, started listening to the video and had to shut it off because I was starting to get sleepy. (It's 5am and time for work).

Okay, past my blog time. Have to go make money to support the birds and butterflys.

Good Morning All, it is in the mid 60's calm and clear.
Am waiting for a friend who wants help picking plants to landscape a clients house.
Plant Shopping? No problem.

Ylee, it worked, there was no hail.

Hi LC, it was beautiful meteor weather. Saw two about 11pm before bed. Got up briefly at 3am. Was tired and Roxie was being hyper-vigilant..coyote or cat so we all went back to bed before she got to barking and waking the whole neigborhood.

Hi Sp, had the niece and nephew over. Showed them the Bronie link. Which lead to them showing us all the other new internet stuff, the meme page and troll face being a favorite. So of course being the good/bad aunt that I am I showed them "Corn Dog" from the 90's.
Link

They get worse from there. hehehehe.
Really loved the "Cains Arcade" actually got a bit "oh that's so sweet teary eyed" on that one.

Here's Cains Arcade from SP
It's about ten minutes long, but really cool.



Hi Sandi, Happy Earth Day to you to. I watered the garden and fed the birds...then found...wait for the news flash in the next comments section!!!

Hi Calpoppy, thanks. Isn't PicMonkey fun. Just a crop here, a tich more saturation there and a tich more sharpness; voila! The new truck is great. We could probably put Roxie in the back and let her run laps. lol.
The Grosbeak has to be so cool. Would make my day every time it came to the finch sock. We each have different but abundant blessings in our worlds.

For Earth Day I recieved the fabulous gift of a Texas Horned Toad in my yard!!!
Have not seen one since I was a kid, and really have been looking too. Thought they were extinct.



Picture taken by "Rootie Kazootie" Flickr.

Anyhow, this was really a cool creature to find in MY yard.

Well it's the day before back to work do laundry, play in yard, go grocery shopping, catch up on blogs etc. As it is now a comfortable temp outside it is finish the blogs and get to the yard :)

Hi Azgrandma, how cool you are getting these too. I really thought they were extinct in N. Texas because no one I know has seen one since they were kids as well.
For photo editing PicMonkey has really made me happy. Will really be happy if they develop a "Slide Show" program too.
Spent ALL day Sunday with niece trying to put together a slide show for her birthday (Quinceanera) on my Photo Shop Elements 10. It looks good, but dang, it took long.

Calpoppy, that picture is a total grin. Amazing photography too.
The one thing that worries me about the horned toad is that they eat Harvester ants, termites and beetles. Now I have to go spee-lunking under the house to look for termite tubes.
Have seen some non-fire ants around though. We have been treating fire ant mounds as they pop up for about the length of our walks with Roxie on the back hill area over the years. This may be allowing the beneficial ants, lizards etc to live around here.

Hi Prose, Today is everyones Tues, but for Gams and I it is "Sunday" before work. It has been so amazing having all the butterflies this year. Was very much afraid last years drought and heat did away with our flying flowers.
Have definitely been rewarded for keeping my yard bird and butterfly friendly. Roxie sends puppy hugs to Koko.

Good Morning all, wow, it's after five already. Going to be a fast day.

So Hi Sp, Corn Dog also used to be a screen saver for Windows 95? If you paid you would get different cartoons periodically.

Sandi, I do love baking weather...then again I love baking. Best I live where it is mostly warm. There is such a thing as too much cake ;)

Hi Plapman, Mmmmmm Bison steak. Nothing finer for a carnivore. At -20 below, now that's some grillin.

Hi Ylee, You are always working. We have some OT coming up. Want to cover those shifts? You'll feel right at home lol.

Good Morning all,
where does my fifteen minutes of blogging time in the morning go?
Hi Shore, Ylee, Briarcraft, Sp :-)

The toad with the giggly name has prompted me into learning to tell which ant from what so the wrong mounds are not treated. We get some serious fire ant mounds if not vigilantly taken care of.
Am also seriously thinking of pulling up some more turf, laying pea gravel down and planting native grass that the red ants like to encourage the little dinosaurs to flourish.

Good Morning All,
The Bonsai (shopping) Convention was very fun. Went back this morning for the end of convention sale prices and picked up some great plants and pottery.

The niece called to say grandma was going to drop her off to finish the making the photo slide show.... Typical teenager did not call a day or two ahead of time.
She's lucky we just got home when she called.

So yes Sandi, I did put my shopping sherpa to work :)

Hi Ylee, seeing as we are talking about manufacturing, needing a job reference could go both ways. Hope not until both of us win the lotto or are ready to retire.

Hi BC, Well better threatened than extinct. I hope I can find a way to keep the little critter happy enough to start a family.

Hi Shore, that's a good link. One of the hardest things for people with "sudden" devasting illness is a change in how we feel about our bodies. It is like someone stole my physical self and replaced it with a defective and pain wracked model. Like the author, it is always preferable to have someone ask where the hair went etc.
I've found that the part where my hair is coming back like a buzz cut and I no longer look ill to be the hardest part. Being called "sir" with a slight snicker.
The discrimination that comes with looking visably different in the bible belt from these "good christians". That is worse than the cancer.