Time to get going

I've tried to be productive today, went upstairs to my sewing room and ended up...puttering for 45 minutes. I started one project, had an idea for another, but didn't like it after all, then spent 15 minutes looking for material that I know I have up there, with no luck. So I fed the dogs.

And now I'm on the computer. Thought "Oh, I should really post something, it's been a day or so" but meh. Peggle is calling my name but I am resisting that siren song. It's like drinking- you can't do it too early in the day... Not that I drink... hard stuff...no, really.... Diet Coke all the way.

It's sunny and almost 50 degrees outside, I could walk the dogs. But I have a plan for that and it entails J mowing the lawn inside their yard later while I take them out. So, yeah, that has to wait. What?  Two walks? That's crazy talk.

That reminds me that I didn't say that J gave me a cute metal rooster for Mother's Day (And I'm not getting up to take a picture of it) plus took me shopping for plants at Gingerbread Farms Greenhouse. We'd never been there before, but definitely will go back again. Very healthy plants, a nice assortment of perennials and annuals, plus they gave away 6 inch container gardens to moms on Sunday!  Score! Now if it would just warm up enough to plant them, I'd be happy.

Okay, okay, I went and took the picture! Happy now?

I included Sectaur's roses which are still going strong, and our cute yellow egg basket- complete with eggs. And see that pitcher on the right? That was a recent transfer station find. It's handblown and has bubbles all through the glass. Hard to believe someone threw that out, although it was covered with greasy dust and grime.

Wait a second, I'll be right back...I had to Google buttercups to see if they really are poisonous, as I  remembered being told years ago. Ma, you were right.
Per Wiki:
"All Ranunculus species are poisonous when eaten fresh by cattle, horses, and other livestock, but their acrid taste and the blistering of the mouth caused by their poison means they are usually left uneaten. Poisoning can occur where buttercups are abundant in overgrazed fields where little other edible plant growth is left, and the animals eat them out of desperation. Symptoms include bloody diarrhea, excessive salivation, colic, and severe blistering of the mucous membranes and gastrointestinal tract. When Ranunculus plants are handled, naturally occurring ranunculin is broken down to form protoanemonin, which is known to cause contact dermatitis in humans and care should therefore be exercised in excessive handling of the plants[1]. The toxins are degraded by drying, so hay containing dried buttercups is safe."

There you go, my Public Safety tip of the Year. And the reason this popped into my head? Last week when I took the dogs through our pasture, I noticed one whole side of it is covered in buttercups. This is the part of the field where our horse friends come to spend the summer. I guess they are smart enough not to eat the buttercups, which of course means there are more to propagate each year.

I am considering taking our lawn tractor down there to cut them before they bloom. I suspect it would be a fighting a losing battle however.  I like our pasture to be grass, not buttercups and not milkweeds, which are also moving in. (And I realize that both plants are food sources for different butterflies and they grow elsewhere on our property, but I don't like an overgrown pasture look)

I really can't ramble much longer, so I will go upstairs and prepare to be surprised when the missing fabric pops up in front of me.

Oh, and speaking of getting going, Ameranth is planning to set off today on the last 70 miles or so of Erie Canal trail, ending in Buffalo.