Wildflowers

Frequently I don't have the slightest idea of what I'm going to write about until I sit down and start to do it. For me, writing the blog post isn't like sitting down in the morning and knowing that I'm going to have a bowl of corn flakes, and that for the next five or six days I'm going to sit down and have a bowl of corn flakes- unless of course the breakfast fairy shows up and magically produces a plate of ham and eggs. I like to take pictures of various things from wherever I'm at to possibly use for a post in the future. For today's post I was able to draw on some photos  I took several weeks ago.  The top picture is of Alaska's state flower the Forget-me-not. I love them. They grow wild all over the place and add a bit of beauty to a hillside or garden in the spring. Chances are, if you gave someone a bouquet of Forget-me-nots, they'd never forget you - even if they wanted to. Wake up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom, they're thinking of you. Studying for an important exam- they can't get you out of their mind. On a date with that special someone who you've been waiting to ask you out- guess who you're thinking of. The next photo is of Salmon Berries. I didn't look up the Latin name for them. It's probably something like Pinkius Berryious Tastyious or some such thing. The hummingbirds seem to like these pretty well. They seem to be attracted to red or bright pink flowers. I'm pretty fond of them myself. The berries get larger than raspberries and are either red or yellow. They have a sweet flavor, but are somewhat watery. Mixed with sugar and pectin, they make a delightful jam. When the berries are ripe there are usually paths through the bushes where the neighbor children are stocking up. I don't know if bears eat them or not, but since they're omnivores, I imagine they do. Speaking of bears, last week one came down between my house and my next door neighbors during broad daylight. That's kind of unusual. We've never had any problems with bears in this neighborhood before.He ran across the street and was scared by a lady who was yelling at it from inside the house. I guess she literally scared the crap out of him. When I came home she was outside hosing if off the street. Last night a bear got into a garbage can from the neighbor who lives behind us. Of course he dragged it into our backyard before he apparently pounced on it causing the trash bags to fly out of the can like a choking person launching a hunk of meat after receiving the Heimlich maneuver. I think if they're going to get into someones garbage, they ought to at least have the decency to consume it on the premises, instead of acting like they've ordered take out. Some people's cubs, I swear.

  The bottom picture is of Astilibe. This particular plant isn't really wild, it was planted in our backyard. I think it was a gift from our daughter. It does grow wild here though, all along the road down towards the cannery. When I hear the word Astilibe, I'm reminded that my dad wanted to name my sister Trillby. My mom absolutely wouldn't hear of it. Women have a lot of sway when it comes to naming the kids. I'm actually glad. Who knows what my name would be otherwise. I might have been Elmo or Horatio or Jeeves. Personally I'm kind of fond of Zeke- although Jeeves wouldn't be so bad. Probably not many fishermen by that name. With a name like Jeeves your fellow boat stall owners might expect you to bring them tea or tidy up their boat for them a bit. You would always wonder if they were inviting you over to talk fishing or serve them orduorves. Guess I'll stick with the name I've got.