My Tulip Culprit!

For the life of me I was flabberghasted at the reason why my tulips were not coming up! The majority of them look like the photo above, with the center flower bulb missing and the leaves in tact. I was even thinking we were having a late Spring, and my flowers were coming slowly.

A couple had the leaves sheered off like the photo above, also with no center flower bulbs. I counted TEN all together, that were like the two photos I've pictured here. I always wanted to have Spring tulips in my garden! Thankfully I took several shots of them last year, when they bloomed. The colors were magnificent, hot pink, lavender purple, orange and red, yellows, and bright red ones.

I just happened to look out my patio door yesterday and found my tulip culprit. He was chewing on some grass right near my flower garden. The groundhog made his way slowly around my garden, which surrounds my house. I shot this photo right from my window, I was surprised he didn't notice me. He just went about his business gnawing on the leaves growing in the grass.

My husband would've shot the groundhog, being so close to the house! I told him I don't care about the flowers, I don't want a life taken merely for flowers. I see groundhogs shot in the farmer's fields. They are a nuisance building their deep holes and the tractors get stuck in them. They are often hit on the roads around here too, tagets for idiots who try to hit them for fun! Groundhogs can sometimes become rabid, and bite so I try to stay clear just in case.

I believe every life has a purpose, and deserves to live it to it's fullest. Even though I love my tulips, I loved watching that groundhog enjoy his precious grass leaves. Scampering along the ground, on a beautiful Spring day. Happy to be alive, rejuvenated from a long cold Winter.

Hypermiling Cruising For Dollars!

Hypermiling are you doing it! They call it coasting, I call it cruising! With the rising cost of gas in the past few years, many are trying to find ways to preserve their car gas suppy! Living in Pennsylvania with all the beautiful rolling hills, I‘m an irresistible Hypermiler. I remember as a teen hypermiling my 318 Dodge Challenger which had amazing coasting abilities. We used to see how far we could coast our cars down the many hills here in PA.

A lot of folks push hypermiling into the danger zone coasting in neutral. Coasting in neutral is against the law in some American States. Coasting in neutral can cause your engine to stall suddenly, possibly causing an unwanted stop in the middle of the road. So unless you’re an expert, I wouldn’t recommend the neutral tactic.

Other ways to maximize gas efficiency is to make sure your tires are properly inflated, and carry only necessary loads within the confines of your car! Plan your destinations ahead of time. Map out the easiest routes to follow, with the least amount of stops! Make sure to shut off your engine when parked. Excessive breaking and idling wastes gas, and emits more emissions into our air supply and ozone.

Another great idea has been implemented by UPS for years. UPS drivers have been mapping out routes with mostly right turns. UPS has saved millions of dollars in gas costs by using this technique. By limiting left turns, there's less waiting time at traffic lights, for traffic moving in the opposite direction.

Most of all, be a safe and courteous driver. Road rage has become an unwanted epidemic in our society. Don't we have enough crime and hate already? At least for the moment, gas prices have become bearable! Our gas prices here are $2.09 and still fluctuating daily! Happy Hypermiling!

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Spring Garden Decor Cute And Affordable!

I'm always looking for a bargain so Spring Decor is no exception! In fact Garden decor is a real weakness of mine! We drove into the city to the Wow outlet store, and I found these adorable bee and dragonfly decorations. The bee and dragonfly actually twirl back and forth on top of the springs! 4x4 1/2 inches these little cuties will add a special touch to my flower garden! Price $1.00 each!



My deep love for animals can be found in many of my surroundings! This one of a kind feline with wire whiskers stole my heart. His markings much like my own OP cat! He will be the perfect welcoming garden stake to bring a smile to my guests! He is all wood, not pressed wood! He was a bargain at Wow for a mere $5.00.



Lastly are my resin garden critters. These irresistable critters I purchased at the dollar store last year. Resin doesn't weather well, so I'll keep the critters and garden stones below my roof overhang where they won't get rained on. When they get wet they will disintegrate, so to prolong their use I keep them as dry as possible! Isn't the racoon too cute! Price was $1.00 each!

I'll be on the hunt for more garden bargains! Look around at the outlets and dollar stores in your area, for some excellent buys on Spring Decor! Spring is finally here. Happy Spring Shopping!

Prohibition Regression In Economic Recession

Is the so called sin tax leading us back into the Prohibition era? The Price of tobacco has risen $1.00 a pack or $10.00 a carton. A of bottle of beer at a major concert event could run you $4.50 - $6.00. The drink tax has been debated numerous times with a proposed 10% increase. FACT ~ Friends Against Counterproductive Taxation, an organization against the drink tax wants to lower the tax to 0.5%. The drink tax last month in Allegheny county was 7%. Drinking and smoking may become a luxury of the rich. Are we not being taxed and governed to death? Will smoking and drinking eventually become illegal, and they're intending to raise taxes even more?

Congress proposes to raise 65 billion dollars within 10 years to fund coverage for uninsured children. The drink tax is funding mass transit here. Officials complain that hundreds of thousands of smokers die prematurely from smoking. Then why don't they put the extra tax into heathcare costs and smoking cessation programs for the SMOKERS? How about funding for lung cancer, or lung cancer prevention? Uninsured children are a problem, but why should smokers pick up the tab! The righteous must stand for something, and more often prey on the faults and sins of others! Smokers must dig deeper in an already slagging economy, or quit cold turkey. For the small tobacco retailers, business will get worse and theives could be on the rampage like back in the prohibition days. Folks forced to bootleg and grow their own smoking tobacco!

A reformed smoker of 4 years on Mother's day, I can say smoking was a very satisfying and addictive habit. I still miss smoking to this day! Loving something beyond myself, I didn't want my child to be the next generation becoming a slave to the nicotine habit. Scrounging around for change to buy a pack of smokes, paying a tax which breeds off of a persons addictive habit. I was a diehard smoker standing on the corners of buildings feeling like an idiot, on display like look at me "I'm a bad person," "I'm a a sinner!" Meanwhile folks who smoke and drink are some of the best people I know! It was my choice to quit but I know how hard that choice was, so I don't condemn others for their chioces! We're all going to die of something, some of us sooner than others. We can only make the right choices for ourselves and those we love!

I quit cold turkey, which is the hardest way to go! I'll compose another post in the future with tips on how I quit! Hey maybe you can trade those pack of smokes in for a beer even up?! The price of each is almost the same in some instances! What insane tax will they think of next!
My Black Rasberry Chambord pictured above is one of my favorite liquers.

Three Year Remembrance ~ My Tree Of Life

The coming of Spring leaves me bittersweet. The season which brings vibrant life to the earth, brings forth memories of death to my heart each year. While robins fill the air with chirping song, my sweet mother lies six feet under the ground.

Death gives life, and life in return gives death. April 6th marked the three year anniversary of my mother's death. I still remember the last night I was with her, as if it were yesterday. We were very close. more like sisters than mother and daughter. Someone stole her small budda, I left there last Summer. Budda will bring theives much bad luck!

We decided on purple daisies, and yelllow daffodils this year for moma's black vases. The purple daisies have a yellow center. My nephew rolled his little red tractor on top of moma's shinny black headstone. When we buried moma that evening a full moon lit the darkness. I hated leaving her there all alone, yet it was as if the moonlight had welcomed her! In fact this week we had nights of glowing full moon!

The tree above was taken at our cemetary, which grows only a few feet away from our plots. When I die I'll be looking up at this big ole tree. Towering high to the sky, the tree of life barely makes it's branches in my photo. Much life scurries above thousands of headstones in this beautiful typical Pennsylvania country like setting.

I believe you can miss a person more, the longer they're gone! We hadn't even celebrated the first Easter when moma died. In fact holidays are the hardest without her presence. Yet her death brought the first two wonderful baby boys into our family. They've become our main focus now. Moma was the strong deep rooted tree, and we all continue to live on through her ever guilding loving spirit!

Read past tribute posts to my mother here:

A Poetry Tribute To My Japanese Mother

Two Years ~ A Tribute To My Japanese Mother