Upcoming Oklahoman Birthday

Doesn't that look like somewhere else... as in, "not Connecticut"? As previously reported, we had the dead and dying trees cut off at around 10 feet as we have a PLAN. (Oh just you wait...) Anyway, I have taken to calling our backyard "Oklahoma" (as in: "OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOk-lahoma where the wind comes sweepin' down the plain...") because the ground is flat and parched and there are no trees on the left hand side. I expect to see oil derricks sprouting. It's pretty bleak, especially as  it's been so god-awful hot and dry.
Here's a really hard to decipher close up of the (above) blue walkway:

Those are all ants, swarming on the mosaic. It was kind of gross, but really interesting. I don't know exactly what they were up to, but there is still a good deal of saw dust on the walkway from the tree removal episode so maybe they were eating sawdust. It's hard to describe how many there were.
But returning to the subject of flat, parched, barren landscapes, I am interested to see what happens with all the available space I now have in the backyard. While I was at work on Friday, industrious Bob picked up/rolled off and carted away the remaining giant logs that littered our lawn. There is a clear path through to the horse fence (and large heaps of attendant brush). As mentioned, the upside is more room for planting things! I am contemplating a sort of mini-conifer border. Sort of like this, but on a more modest scale:

A screen shot from the Iseli Nursery website. They're in Oregon and grow some pretty spectacular things. It's the stuff of my dreams...

I should probably make a field trip there some day, like visiting Mecca if you're a believer. Well, I'm a believer in Nature and plants!
So I have been starting my coniferous adventures recently. Here's a "De Groots' Spire" that Bob and I purchased at (of all places) Home Depot. You know how I like those tall pointy things!

This puppy grows only a foot wide but eight feet tall. Ooooooooooooooooh! I like that! We also bought a half-price juniper plumosa aurea in Vermont when we were there last weekend. (I hijacked Bob and made him go to the Home Depot in Bennington. They had a great selection- all 1/2 price! I wish we'd had a trailer!) And a word to all family members who may be getting me "living things" for my rapidly approaching birthday: I did NOT purchase anything on the lists of plants I provided. Rest assured, any and all birthday offerings are welcome!!

A Truly Peculiar World- Road Trip Edition

I remembered to bring my camera along to document... Gas Station TV?? Who thinks these (post)modern things up? And where have I been? The gas station on the way to the highway entrance I use when traveling to my mother's house is conveniently located, but features the above inanity. It's as if we can't stand quietly or entertain ourselves for the five minutes it takes to fill up. No, we have to be assaulted with ads for Snickers and Chevy and inane "Gas Station TV jocks" who blather at us. And obviously. we're a captive audience. At least if there were something good on. (Strangely, I caught possibly the one useful moment; they were offering a weather map. The light was terrible- reflecting off the screen and several of my shots of other Gas Station TV offerings didn't show up.) Additionally annoying is that the TV screen takes up all the space and the input buttons for payment options are positively hidden. Very, very annoying!

And here's another annoying thing: people who drive Audis. I swear, and I know I've mentioned this before, if a person is tail-gaiting you and swerving all over the road while on their cell phones, they're driving an Audi. Or if they speed up to hit you and your dog (hi Jules!) on your morning rambles, guess what they're driving? Yup. An Audi. They are positively the worst drivers going and they must feel that superior German engineering makes up for atrocious driving habits.
In any event, the above Juniper is soooooooooooooo cool and Bob and I passed it on our way to Mommy's house. We decided to snap a photo of it on the way back by. So I slow down and Bob hands me the camera- all ready to go and I start to photograph that lovely "sky needle" and the douche bag behind me starts honking and riding up our rear end. I'll give you one guess as to what he's driving. Somehow I did get a pretty good shot, through a dirty windshield and all. The pink house in the back ground is pretty fun, too.
Hey! Guess what I want for my next birthday? (And no, it's not an Audi!)