As it turned out, I couldn’t.
The tooth fairy will be fluttering into the Patch tonight, let me back up a little.
She came home, sticking her tongue behind her front tooth, forcing it forward to a particularly unnatural angle (which looked completely ridiculous). She quietly asked me how I used to pull out my loose teeth when I was a kid. I barely finished telling her when she came back from the kitchen, sat beside me, reached into her mouth with a paper towel and tugged…
Not thinking she would actually go through with my “procedure”, her actions took me by complete surprise…”pop”!
I believe I was wincing more then her, the sound of her tooth exiting her gum had me up and about, involuntary performing a silly walk around my front room.
Quickly changing the subject…
After receiving a recent dowsing of rain (just shy of four inches) in classic Texas gully-washer fashion, these Gothic toadstools emerged overnight.
Calm down Bella!
This one was particularly disgusting, but I have had a lot worse in the Patch…who could forget this:
https://www.eastsidepatch.com/2009/04/my-sweet-olive-oil/
Another fast responder to the rains are the
oxalis,
Fatsia Japonica and
my Persian ivy.
Weeds have also responded positively to a “wee-nip” of the wet stuff…
I have been pulling out massive amounts of dandelions and a bunches of these
Erodium cicutarium
or Redstem Storks Bill (the fruit of the plant resembles a bird’s beak).
Not a bad looking weed really. The finely divided leaves and rosette growth habit are distinctive features of this winter annual weed.
I was also informed by Patricia that traditionally a leaf tea from the plant was used to induce sweating and as a diuretic. The leaves have also been put to use in the bathtub to help treat rheumatism.
Thanks for this Patricia.
Now where is my trowel?
Bluebonnets, poppies, blood-stained celosia and more weeds are battling it out in the Hellstrip
it looks like it will be a good show come the spring.
These feather grasses are in desperate need of a good grooming
and gopher plants are ready to be cut back.
The new central growth offers a good reminder of when it is time for some pruning. I generally wait until the older longer stalks start to look really bad before I attack them. Be sure to wear gloves, the sap from this plant can be quite an irritant…I found out the hard way:
https://www.eastsidepatch.com/2010/11/“i-decapitated-a-gopher”/
Moving on:
Lots of purple and pinks showing up this week in the Patch…lantana and artemesia ‘Powis Castle’.
Desert trumpet blooms do not last long on the vine with snaggletooth around.
Finally:
Back to the rock tumbling…snort
I am relieved to say that we have passed onto the final stage…polishing. Every time he lifts the lid to this cooler and rock tumbler he emits the same refrain: “Phew, that stinks!”…and it really does.
No need to call the authorities, this is the aluminum oxide polish going into the drum.
and here are the rounded stones pre-polishing.
Now to wait yet another ten days, it is a long process this rock tumbling business and it is testing my patience almost as much as “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner”…I said almost.
I will leave you with this image outside a restaurant in east Austin:
Chickens going to roost.
Stay Tuned for:
“Peas in a Pod”
All material © 2012 for eastsidepatch. Unauthorized
intergalactic reproduction strictly prohibited, and
punishable by late (and extremely unpleasant)
14th century planet Earth techniques.
Inspirational Image of the week:
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How big were those mushrooms – if they’re anything like the ones I get, you would have had to just lay the camera on the ground to get those shots…impressive.
Hi Katina…that is exactly what I did.
I went to look at them the next day and they had already disappeared…Bella must have got to them in the night.
ESP.
I think with inflation the way it is, tooth fairies are leaving $100 now a days. Just thought I’d let you know.
Also I thought I’d let you know something about the Stork’s Bill. In the country it is known as Fillaree. There are two types, yours and a more erect type with much larger blooms. It is the single most important plant for grazing animals as it is the plant with the highest protein level of any plant in the hill country, around 17 to 19%. As much as ranchers hate wild flowers, they actually love these.
I just knew you would have invested in a looong extension cord by now and put the tumbler in the back shed. With the beauty of the rocks it will be worth having a tumbler though. Think of the many batches to come. Woo Hoo!
Hi Bob, not the “Patch” tooth fairy! She is a complete skinflint and adorns rather raggerty stained wings (one of which does not even work, she tends to fly around in circles uttering obscenities in the night) a very classy fairy…she is not. I just hope my daughter never gets to witness her charismatic disfunctional tendencies first hand, Santa is bad enough after all.
I read and learned about about the upside to Stork’s Bill / Fillaree as I researched and wrote this post, perhaps we should start consuming it ourselves? – I have enough of it popping up this year after all!
Not a bad idea on the extension cord front, I ran my stock tank pumps in such a fashion for years after all. The tumbled rocks ended up a great success as you will see in my next rather delayed post. We have a lot of ideas for more creative tumbling endeavors in the near future…halfling teeth, sea shells and some unidentified little bones that Kumo has dug out of the garden to name a few…Bad Kumo!
ESP.
The beauty of the rocks are dimmed by the beauty of the smile. What a beautiful picture!
Hi Gail.
It is a good thing that her smile remained completely shut in this shot, we know the gaping horrors that lie behind it :-) (brrr).
I’ve awarded you the Versatile Blogger Award: http://bit.ly/yhCUbI. Yay!! I’m so glad you’ve had some rain. :o)
Thanks for the award! Am I on the list? ;-)
Yes rain! Not a bad winter so far, fingers crossed for a damp spring.
ESP.
After reading this post and looking at the photos I have two things to say: The photo of Trump’s hair is bothersome to say the least. It is DISTURBING, more so than the photo of the bloody tooth in the paper towel. And secondly, the desert trumpet bloom looks like it’s about to INHALE ME!!!!
Also, I used to have a rock tumbler/polisher when I was a kid and I loved it. Wish I still had it.
Also, it’s RAINING OUT! IN AUSTIN! RIGHT NOW!!!!
Ok. So I had four things to say.
Hi Roberta.
I also have two things to say:
I loved your word: “bothersome” as it related to Mr Trumps troublesome tufts, very polite I thought in the face of such absurdity :-) Also the desert trumpet blooms put on their best show in years this year, lasting well into late winter…I love this hardy vine, especially when it is placed on a fence line where it can be allowed to spread…and it most certainly will.
You need another rock tumbler! We are so obsessed at this point that we see tumbling opportunities in the most ridiculous of subjects…fingernails clippings, kidney stones (ahem), and baby teeth to name just a few :-)
(Insert mad Dexter expression here)
ESP.
The inspirational photo at the end looks like a home for your beautiful fairy children…great photos Philip! We need to have that get together…soon! I’m loving this rain and thank you for id-ing some of those weeds…I’ve just got one patch of grass left that is riddled with weeds this spring…oh rain, I love you! Have a good one! I just love your creative posts!
Hi Cheryl.
Thanks on the photo-front, I just bet they would love it too…”The Patch on steroids it be” (sadly yes…more Yoda)!
That last photo looked fake when I first happened upon it, closer scrutiny revealed the fairy-tailed truth…amazing, just imagine walking up to the front door, unlocking it and walking in…I bet it has a storybook fireplace, probably a spinning wheel in the corner, roasting pheasant aromas filling the air, Gandalf bumping his head etc.
ESP.