A Village in a Valley and other things...

 I've spent some nice time today reading further in this book. Beverly Nichols is one of my favorite authors. This is the third book in his Allways trilogy. He was a young-ish English bachelor when he wrote this particular book in the 1930's, and I think he's a person I would have enjoyed as a friend and neighbor. He seems to have been very kind-hearted, compassionate and full of good humor. His books are a delight to read.

 I haven't done much marking up of his books, but I thought this excerpt was particularly insightful. He seems to understand women very well. I find myself thinking these very thoughts, and then have to have a good talking to myself. :)  (Don't forget to read it with an English accent. I imagine he has a very pleasant and friendly voice.)

 He moves effortlessly from the serious bit above, to something lighter. I find myself chuckling out loud a lot when I read his books. The goings-on in the small village of Allways are a source of unending pleasure and interest to this reader. He has a gift.

Besides reading, I've done a bit of bird watching. My balcony seems to be a popular hangout these days for many small song birds. I even had a rather large red-winged blackbird sampling the fare a short while ago.
I've abandoned the hanging birdfeeder because it causes more mess than it's worth. The birds just throw all the seeds around. So I've put out small containers on the ground. The middle one is filled with water, which they seem to appreciate. 

 This little guy wasn't the least bit afraid of me although I got within three feet or so of him.

 This tree, just outside my door, is packed with red-winged blackbirds. Noisy rascals! At the farm, our house was in the middle of a pasture, and the woods were a little distance away. The birds weren't nearly as loud as they are here. The robins begin chirruping at about 4:30 a.m. The blackbirds begin next. One can only TRY to sleep, lol.

 I'm a sucker for bird feed...

 

Speaking of being a sucker...I picked this up at Walmart yesterday. :) It's for outdoors, but for now it's on my couch.

I've potted up a few veggies and flowers. Now I'll have to keep an eye on the night-time temps in case I need to drag them indoors. It's early to plant outside in Minnesota. I got impatient.
(I should have taken pics this morning when it was nice and sunny, but I was too lazy, I guess?)

 The gal at the greenhouse wasn't too helpful when I asked what type of soil I should use for my containers. I liked the idea of sheep manure compost. I'm hoping it came from the big sky country of Montana. Maybe from Jody's ranch! :) A delightful thought! We'll see how my garden grows! I also have a few pots which I planted with summer squash and sunflower seeds.

 

My latest ATC swap is called Postage Stamp People. The idea is to take a stamp with a person's head on it and incorporate it into an ATC...giving it a body. I think Janis Joplin was my favorite. Collage isn't my forte and every time I do a collage swap I swear it will be my last. Oh well, live and learn.

God is good, all the time! Blessings on your households and your weekend!
Shalom, my friends.