DAY 18 - Live Long and Prosper

We were driving around downtown Zanesville the other day looking for more of those 7 foot tall vases when I spotted this mural on the back of a local chiropractor's office. Not only was the Star Trek mural on the back of the building, but the side of the building facing the street had other murals painted by local artists -- Zanesville has quite a large artist community.

DAY 17 - Must you interrupt my nap?

Doesn't this look say "Mom, I'm really getting sick of that camera thing." Look at those slanted eyes!





We have an old lounge chair cushion on the garage shelf right outside the door into the house. That's kitty's spot to zonk out -- and she know there's always a little petting for her when anyone goes in or out the door!

DAY 16 - Disco Bell Rosy Red Hibiscus

How's that for the name of a flower! Our local Lowes store has a reduced plant area in their garden area where they put their perennials that have bloomed already, but still not sold. The price is 50 to 75% off normal price, so it's quite a popular area with gardeners! I bought these two little plants last fall -- they really looked no more than a little stem with a couple of leaves -- no indication of what the flowers would look like.

Well, was I ever surprised when huge buds started to form in June. And then they started to pop open in July. The blooms are huge -- over 9" across -- and the plants are loaded with open flowers and buds. I'm really intrigued by the center of the bloom -- the stamen (is that what it's called) has a tiny little red flower on the end of it.

I take alot of my Ebay pictures on the patio outside my Ebay room, so this flower has become the backdrop for quite a few pictures. The picture with the miniature Mapletree baskets came out really well.

DAY 15 - I'm So Tired, Mom

This is Sam, our 11-year-old-or-so golden retriever. He's zonked out in his favorite napping spot, under my husband's legs between the chair and the footrest.

DAY 14 - Knee High by the 4th of July

No problem with this field corn being knee high by the 4th of July -- it's well over 8 feet tall now! This gorgeous field of corn was next to the parking area of the township fire department. The car and the field are on the same level.

There is alot of agriculture in Muskingum County -- field after field of field corn, soybeans, and hay -- and, of course, all the veggies.



The colors of the silk coming out of the developing ears of corn caught my eye -- gold and pink.

DAY 13 - Chicken Barbecue at the Firehouse

Our township fire department had their annual chicken barbecue lunch today. Yum-o as Rachael Ray would say! Tickets were $6 per person for chicken, baked beans, applesauce, roll, and drink. They had a constant stream of people beginning at 11:00 a.m. -- we were there about 12:30.

We bought our tickets for it about a month ago -- it's kind of hard to say "No" to a fireman at your door with his big red fire engine parked outside! That's how they sell so many tickets to the event -- they canvas the entire township with their big red firetruck -- the kids love it! For today, they moved all the trucks out of the building and parked them in a field with easy access to the road, just in case they had to go out on a call.

And finally, here's a shot of the food on the barbecue grill! It was hard to get a good shot of the firemen doing the grilling -- really smoky -- and look at that pile of empty charcoal bags -- these guys were grilling all morning!

And . . . before and after....................

Day 12 - The Hubcap Man at Yard Sales

While I was yard saling yesterday, I saw the truck belonging to the local hubcap man. Not too difficult to figure out his line of business. . .

And I saw this neat huge tree in the neighborhood having a community yard sale. Instead of the usual yard sale sign, they had one of those banners. . .

DAY 11 - More on the Vases

I found a news story on the Zanesville Radio/TV site (WHIZ -- We're here in Zanesville) about these vases decorated by the local artists' community. I thought I'd post a few of their pictures for you. This weekend I'm going to drive around and see if I can find more outside the local businesses. About 60 were auctioned off -- $500 minimum bid!

Day 11 - Vase-apalloza

Pottery was and still is the area's claim to fame. It's the clay soil -- good for pottery, bad for hydrangeas. At one time, there were over 100 working potteries in the area -- Weller, Roseville, Brush, Shawnee, McCoy, Ransbottom, and more. Unfortunately, because of all the cheap China crap pottery now, the pottery industry has dwindled down to just a handful to diehards -- Hartstone being one of the largest potteries left.

The area artists community took part in a project called the Weller Vase Project. Numerous artists each decorated a Weller replica vase that was then put on display at local businesses, attractions, etc. within the county. Hand painting these vases was no simple feat -- Did I mention that these vases are 7 feet tall , 170 pounds? Sidenote: The humungous vases aren't actually made of pottery -- molding a 7 foot tall vase was rather out of the question. They're fiberglass.

The one pictured here was in front of a local bank. Over the next few weeks, I'll try to get shots of some of the others -- I believe there were about 100 or so of them. Many were auctioned off this last week for charity, so they're on the move.

DAY 10 - My Hydrangea

Iris photo of her hydrangea prompted me to post mine. To get that gorgeous deep blue color, the soil has to be just right -- acidic. Here is SE Ohio, our soil is clay -- great for pottery, not so good for planting until it's doctored up. I have to add aluminum sulfate to the soil around the bush every year to get any blue color to turn up at all. If I don't feed it, the color is white!

I was playing around with the flash at twilight, and shot this one:

I've added a link to a website I found that talks about the colors of hydrangeas and how to change the colors depending upon the pH of the soil.

DAY 9 - For the Birds. . . Not Any More

I think it's time I look for some new birdhouses. . .

DAY 8 -- Making Hay

With all the rain this summer, the farmers are making hay like crazy. These shots were from the cow/horse farm from a couple days ago. They were making the smaller rectangular bales when I shot these, but they also make the huge round bales. They usually put those huge round bales out in the fields in the winter for the horses and cows.

DAY 7 - Lulabelle

About 3 years ago our neighbors across the street moved to Oklahoma. Mike and Kathy had a tender spot for all animals -- so they took in all the stray cats in the neighborhood. Before they moved, they tried to round them all up and took them to the local animal shelter (a no-kill shelter!). There were a couple they couldn't catch -- so guess where they ended up. . .

We inherited a black mama cat and her yellow brother. Brother cat disappeared after just a few weeks. But mama liked her tuna (yep, that's how I got her to come to me) and found a new home. Then I spotted the kitten lurking in the bushes -- we didn't know there was a kitten for at least a month. Another month of tuna, and the kitten was comfortable in her new home.

Now, we've never been cat people, but the kitten grew on us. We took mama to the shelter the next summer (along with her kittens who were old enough to be adopted). But we kept the kitten, had her fixed, and she's taken up residence in the garage.

Her name -- depends on my mood -- cat, kitty, Lulabelle, you little stinker. She's quite independent and is affectionate on her terms in her own time.

DAY 6 - Cows and More Cows

Do these cows ever have the right idea! It's been in the low 90's for the last 5 days or so with high humidity.

On our way home from town these cows on a large farm were cooling off in the pond. They've been in that pond quite a few times this summer. I finally had my camera with me! With all the rain we've had, they have a really large swimming pool to enjoy.

They also have a large herd of horses who sometimes are in the same field as the cows. But not today. The horses were probably back cooling off in the woods.