Petunias

We may be having a chilly spring, but it hasn't slowed down our petunias or other patio flowers -- the geraniums and African daisies are blooming up a storm. I don't think the daisies have ever had a better year. There are three petunia plants crammed into that little hanging basket and I fully expect them to outgrow it eventually, but for now they look fine.

We got some sun yesterday, which was a welcome surprise given the cloudy forecast. I mowed the lawn:

As you can see, I've left a little patch for No-Mow May. I considered not mowing the whole lawn but it was becoming a shaggy mess. That unmowed area contains some bulbs and ragwort as well as that big teasel, so it makes sense to leave it alone.

I've also left the area around the birdbath wild, but so many birds peck their way through that grass -- which is right beneath the bird feeder -- that I can't imagine it contains any live insects.

And look! Something's been pulling the fluff out of Curlie the Pig. I suspect pigeons. Whether they're actually building nests with it, who knows -- but I'm glad it has at least interested some critter.

Otherwise, I was home all day yesterday. I polished off another New Yorker, including this riveting article about Nick Fuentes and the frightening drift of many young men to the political right. I don't understand this drive to destroy our system that some of them seem to feel. Won't that just be a form of self-punishment, while letting the billionaires skate? It's astonishing how adept people are at blaming defenseless scapegoats for their problems, while the true culprits deflect responsibility. I worry we are headed toward even darker times. The one potential upside -- many of these young guys have turned against Trump. They've decided he's not their guy, and they don't love Vance either.

Anyway, I've cut the New Yorker backlog down to five issues, which I think is pretty good, so maybe I'll begin reading some books again.

I really need to do something about my glasses. I have two pairs from the optometrist, one of which is broken and the other very old. The broken pair has those bifocal lenses that I hate, and don't really need. When I retired, I grabbed a spare pair of readers from my desk at work, and yesterday I began using those -- they give me clearer vision than either of my regular glasses, but they're cheap and plastic and probably won't last long. I'm glad I'm getting some use from them but they're not a permanent solution. I wonder, though, if I should just buy drug store glasses when I need them instead of going back to the optometrist for a pricier solution. Off-the-shelf readers seem to serve my needs just fine.