Thorns

It's been kind of a rough day, so I took my book, my camera, and myself outside to try to wind down.  I was hoping to sight some different birds (blue jay, please!!!), but really just wanted to sit in the sun and RELAX.  Unfortunately, it was HOT.  OK, not Afghanistan hot, and I was wearing a t-shirt and capris and had gone barefoot.  But, for early May in SW Ohio, it was hot.  And I'm being a big baby today.

I kept trying to distract myself from dwelling on what was eating at me, so when I saw this little guy scamper across the patio, I had to make sure he got his 15 minutes of fame (such as it is).  I thought it was funny when he suddenly stopped and sat up to make sure it was safe to continue on; I had heard the same odd sound he had, but he was more curious than I was!

I'm trying to decide if one or more of these critters are responsible for tipping the bird feeders to get at the seed, or if it's another critter that I don't want to think about having in the back yard!  What I DO know is that it tends to happen when the seed mix is a bit heavy on the cracked corn . . . where's Nancy Drew when I need her to solve the Mystery of the Cracked Corn Caper?

After I'd read for about 10 minutes, then leaned back and tried to let the bird songs relax me, I was still plain old antsy!  So, I got up, picked up some pruning shears, and decided to cut back a couple of bushes to make it easier for my neighbor to get into her car (she's in her late 80s and parks next to "my" Japonica and Lilac).  Then, I really went to town on the invasive honeysuckle at the side of the house.  I'm guessing I'll have to cut it back about every 2 weeks just to keep it from spreading (just like those darn trumpet vines).  I spotted this plant above and came back w/ the camera after I was finished w/ the pruning.  I don't know what it is (probably another weed or invasive plant!), but thought it was delicate and pretty.  Hope I don't have to eradicate it!

I think this bud is from the only rosebush left from the original owners of the house (think 1950s).  Mom was kind of hit or miss on pruning it, and I don't know anything about roses, so this will be yet another plant to learn about and try to coax into more production.  And of course, as I was trying to "encourage" the plant to stand up straighter by using one of those wire hooky things that stick into the ground, I stuck myself pretty good with a thorn.  I didn't realize it had broken off at first, but it sure made itself known when I barely brushed it!  It wasn't deeply embedded, so I was able to pull it out with my fingernails, then washed my hands with soapy water.

Yeah, it was an "aha" moment.  I had a mental thorn that I wasn't letting go of (I was working it in deeper every time I thought about it).  It was in deeper than it should have been, and it was all my fault.  But how do you pull out a mental thorn??  For me, it's a visualization process I have to go through.  I had to visualize pulling that mental thorn out of my head, then put it in a box, wrapped it up in beautiful wrapping paper, and finished it off with a big huge beautifully crafted bow.  I have to do that first, because the next step is visualizing handing this beautifully wrapped gift to God.  I don't like taking anything back from God (although I do it all of the time, I do NOT like it), so now if that thorn starts to prick at me, I remind myself that I gave it to God and He will handle it in His time and His way.  When I remember to let go and let God, life is so much better.