Stuart's Meme

Alice has tagged me with Stuart’s meme.
I tried to think of some answers last night but the old brain was pretty much blank. Now morning has broken, and after a good night’s sleep I’m actually having a few original thoughts….nothing earth shattering, mind you, but I’m ready to give it a go.

If I was only allowed to keep one plant in my garden which would it be?
I’ve decided on echinacea, or purple coneflower.

Their color is delightful and they bloom for a long time. They reseed easily and their seeds are a favorite with the birds. I could also use them for medicinal purposes if I could figure out which part to use!
However, I could only make this choice knowing almost certainly that I’ll never in reality have to deal with this question. I can’t even imagine a garden with only one plant!

If there was only one thing invented in the past 100 years that I was permitted to keep, what would it be?
Compound interest!!!!! This was my hubby’s answer and I liked it so much, I had to put it in here :)
If Stuart means an actual machine, I'd be inclined to pick my computer. We’d have electricity to run it since electric generators were introduced in 1882, and were sending current around NY City at that time.

How would I keep in touch with all my blog friends without a computer?

Name 3 animals you saw yesterday (excluding cats and dogs).

Downy Woodpecker

Numerous birds, including woodpeckers, chickadees, sparrows, blue jays, gold finches, starlings, crows, a nuthatch, and a female cardinal. The only other things I saw that are remotely animal related, apart from our 14 barn cats (which I’m barred from mentioning), were a daddy-long-legs spider and a ‘slow fly’….large, comparatively slow-moving flies that show up in the house as the weather begins to warm (charming creatures….they die in piles on the floor in front of windows and glass doors and have to be vacuumed up. Some years there are zillions, other years hardly any).
But! Today on the way to choir practice I really paid attention and saw chickens and roosters, muscovy ducks (the funny-looking ones), horses and a herd of Black Angus cattle.
This morning we had a very large flock of red-winged black birds in our front yard. They are true harbingers of spring. We usually only see one or two at a time. Having a whole flock show up was a real treat. There were starlings and grackles mingling with them too.

Red-winged Black Birds - Unfortunately had to be taken through the porch railing from inside the house otherwise they would fly away.

I was pleased to feel more aware of my surroundings….so, thanks to Stuart and Alice for promoting this awareness.

Which season do you like the most?
This is the easy question. Hands down it’s summer! This is a beautiful season in upstate NY. The average temperatures are usually in the 70’s and 80’sF (21 to 32C). Last summer was unusually hot and we had a longer period of warm weather beginning with a warmer than usual June. It was wonderful! I spend as much time as possible outside.

Name the person who imparted the most wisdom into your life?
My mother certainly taught me a lot about life. She was a mostly self-taught person with a passion for reading and a love of word-related games, including scrabble and crossword puzzles. She was very creative, especially with a pair of knitting needles, a sewing machine or a pair of gardening gloves and a trowel.

She also showed me the importance of love by giving it in abundance.

I’m tagging Connie and Sonia and Sue.