Bees, please!

Last spring, a sunflower-seed-craving bear took a swipe at our backyard bird feeder.  To cover up the pole, I decided that runner beans would be a good solution.  Normally, I would have planted Scarlet Runner seeds but, by the time I got to the store they were all out of that variety.  I bought a cousin named Painted Lady.  The store helper assured me that the beans were very similar.

Now, she's blooming.  Isn't she pretty?  But, all along the blossom stems where I expected to see little beans forming, are nothing but stems from the old flowers as they drop off.  What is happening?  A bad seed batch?

Aha!  Maybe this is the answer.  Around the front, the globe thistles have captured the bees attention.  The heads are covered with bees foraging for what must be some pretty wonderful nectar.  Of course, when I went to get the camera, they refused to perform.  Here is one busy fellow... but they were just one to a blossom and I couldn't herd them together.

Later in the afternoon, I went back to the beans.    I spied a little bean.  And another.  And yet another.  

Thank you, bees.  We may have a crop after all.

Personality quiz?

OK.  I confess. I play games.  It helps me think and calms me down when I'm frustrated.  Usually with the computer.  It's also the way I start my day.  I check all my emails, then travel around visiting my friends and neighbors on Facebook, Ravelry and, of course, blogland.  I save the games for last.

So, this morning, I made my regular rounds, leaving my calling card here and there.  At last, I switched to pogo where I can find any kind of game one could imagine.  And many that make one wonder who did imagine them.  But, I digress.

Being a creature of habit - what you hadn't noticed? - I do one word search, timed, with the word list hidden.  Then I usually move to a solitaire game, or two, or three...

But this morning, I noticed that when I finished finding all the words,  I breathed again.  I think I may have been holding my breath for the whole time!  Well, perhaps not;  I'm not that quick.  But then, as I clicked on the cards, my whole body relaxed.

So, here's the personality part.  I know I'm very much a process person.  It's more fun for me to keep the game, task, discussion, research, whatever, going than it is to finish.  I never really get task-oriented people who want to do stuff right away and get it over with.  How much fun is that?  But, I don't think I've ever experienced a more physical response to the notion of process.  It's all in the cards - I can't change now.

Which one are you?

Ruby Tuesday

Here's my offering for Ruby Tuesday:

red potatoes right out of the garden.  There's some white ones, too, but even they have a bit of a blush.
The red ones, though, are amazing!  They taste delicious without any trimmings at all.  But I think they're best in potato salad.  Ah, summer!

For more Ruby summer photos, visit Mary T here.  Thanks, Mary, for all the fun. 

Mellow Yellow Monday

Look WA-A-Ay up!  And think BIG!

Remember that shrouded ship-building crane I showed a few weeks back?  Here it is out of it's paint overall and shining for the world to see.  This is at the historic shipyard site on North Vancouver's waterfront. 

These are the wheel housings that allowed the crane to move along rails.  I think they might be even more interesting than the crane.

Today is Mellow Yellow Monday.  Find out more here at Drowsey Monkey's place.