Meandering

Meander, n. an aimless wandering. Henceforth, whenever you see that heading, be forewarned that I'm in a stream-of-consciousness mode. Whatever happens to be on my mind at the moment is what will be on that morning's blog.

You will note the times on my blog entries; I am usually up and online by 5:45 every morning, although I don't create an entry until after I've checked out the morning news, a few Yahoo groups and our e-mails. I think the early morning awakening is still a holdover from working, it's just that now I can get up and do something a little more productive. Since Denny can sleep until 8 a.m., B.S. (before satellite) I would just lie quietly in bed waiting for him to wake up. I like this much better!

So this morning I'm listening to all the happy birds outside, as the watering system is on already and the birds are taking advantage of the easy access to worms and having a wonderful time splashing around in puddles taking makeshift baths. Here in Washington we've noted they water lawns and crops almost daily, including corn fields. Being from Ohio, seeing a corn field being watered is strange as the farmers in Ohio leave the success of the crop up to the vagaries of the weather. If it rains, good, if it doesn't it's a bad year for crops. We were told the people of Washington have to water a lot due to the clay base beneath the soil. That's what Ohio has, too, but the folks there don't dedicate as much time and energy and money to irrigation systems and lawn maintenance. And yet Washington still claims to be under drought conditions. Go figure. But I must admit, we're enjoying the lush green fields and gardens thick with bearded irises and peonies and roses. And we're hoping before we leave the state that some of the fruit crops will be in so we can take advantage of the local fresh fruits, especially peaches. We'll won't be here for apples, unfortunately, as we love fresh apple cider (not the pasteurized kind) and it's so difficult to find now. Plus Denny makes a mean Dutch apple pie.