Another Outside Day

We have been taking advantage of the nice weather to get some work done outside we spent most of yesterday working outside. Besides Declan the porch cat, there are other feral cats in our neighborhood, and some of the tomcats have come onto the front porch and left their signature spray. Terry sprayed it down and cleaned it well. With that done, she took two of the old cat beds that were there and disposed of them, and put a new one down for Declan. Then I took the two plastic lawn chairs down into the yard and sprayed them off good, too. It looks a lot nicer.

While I was at it, I also watered the pine trees and the plants in the front yard. Got another month or so before our monsoon season starts, and I wish it would hurry up because things are very dry around here.

Then we went onto the back deck, where Terry assembled one of the garden carts she ordered from Amazon a while back. The other one was for her mother and she put it together for her the last time we were down at their house. Once she had it together, she filled it with soil and she planted some rosemary, thyme, dill, and sage plants. Now when she wants fresh herbs she can walk out on the deck and pick them.

While she was doing that, I picked up deposits that Alli had left in the backyard, did some watering, and then we cleaned up some weeds that were growing along the side of the deck. We also switched a couple of outdoor hose splitter outlets to make it easier to cover all of the large backyard when watering.

By then, we were both hot and tired and came back inside. Dinner was three cheese tortellini with Terry’s delicious meatballs in homemade sauce, then we watched a little bit of television and the 10 o’clock news.

Today is your last chance to enter our Free Drawing for an autographed copy of Birdsongs by Jason Deas, who was featured in this week’s Author Spotlight. This first book in the Benny James mystery series is a fast-paced story about a former FBI agent fired for inadvertently sleeping with the perp in a murder case. Benny decides to retire to his houseboat and disappear, but before long boredom sets in, and he starts a service offering discrete investigations. He had no idea what he was in for when the local police department asked him to help solve the case of a body found crucified near his marina. Soon the media descends on the quiet waterfront town. Close on their heels are an ex-convict fresh out of prison with revenge on his mind and a strange young man raised by deaf mute parents from deep in the Ozark Mountains. Benny soon finds himself struggling to solve the most important case of his life and redeem his tarnished reputation.

To enter, click on this Free Drawing link or the tab at the top of this page and enter your name (first and last) in the comments section at the bottom of that page (not this one). Only one entry per person per drawing please, and you must enter with your real name. To prevent spam or multiple entries, the names of cartoon or movie characters are not allowed. The winner will be drawn this evening. Note: Due to the high shipping cost of printed books and Amazon restrictions on e-books to foreign countries, only entries with US addresses and e-mail addresses are allowed. After 30 days, unclaimed prizes revert back to the drawing pool for a future contest.

And finally, here’s a chuckle to start your day from the collection of funny signs we see in our travels and that our readers share with us.

Thought For The Day – Focus more on your desire than on your doubt, and the dream will take care of itself. – Mark Twain