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It’s nearly spring.  Do you know what that means?  It means it is almost time to start gardening again!  Horrah!

I haven’t bought any seeds or a greenhouse to get me started, though. I should probably do that soon, if I intend to plant sometime after Easter.   Last year, I think Phil and I went a little over board with our garden.  We got a lot of food out of it, but it was very hard to maintain, and my water bill went through the roof!  It truly was a beast.  Every time I went to pick tomatoes, the bushes would swallow me whole.  Sometimes, I had to get my mother to help pull me out.  It was crazy, I tell you.

I’m not sure what I want to grow this year.  Tomatoes and cucumbers are a must, but other than that, I really can’t decide.  Last year, my beans didn’t do squat, but I think that had something to do with not having a big enough stick for them to climb.  The cantaloupe and the watermelon were a complete bust, too.  I didn’t get anything out of them.  It looked like they were going to yield me some yummy goodness, but then they up and died on me.  The green(red) peppers didn’t do so bad, but they could have done better.  They needed more support than what I gave them.

Maybe I can find some time this weekend to go to Lowe’s and stare at the seed section.  With so many choices, picking out only three or four vegtables is going to be hard!  If I had a farm and a million dollars, I think I would pick every vegtable imaginable.

This year I don’t have to worry about renting a tiller because Jeri, a family friend, has been ever so kind, and given me hers.  That was super awesome of her.  I nearly fell out of my chair when she said I could have it.  Last time, when I rented one, Phil only had something like four hours to till the entire garden area.  He was only able to accomplish that because we had spent the entire day and night before preparing the soil with a shovel!  Phil nearly broke his back that day.

I’ll be sure to post the progress, and if I have enough, you are all more than welcome to have some.

Oh, and this weeked Phil and I are going to the circus.  When I found out Phil had never been , I told him we had to go.  Everyone has to see the cirus at least once in their lives.  If we don’t run away with them, I’ll be sure to post losts of videos and pictures when we get back.

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I can only imagine what type of people are going to end up at my blog with a title like Blue Tit.  I guess it doesn’t matter how they get here, as long as they get here, and most importantly, stay.  Although, if they are looking for anything other than a Blue Tit bird, they will sadly be disappointed when they do arrive.  🙂

The sender of this card said, “It is a very common bird in Finland and stays here the whole winter while most birds are spending winter time somewhere in warm southern countries.”

I at first thought she was talking about a type of bird we have here in South Carolina called a Tit Mouse, but when I looked it up in Wikipedia, I found they are different types of birds, although, they do come from the same Tit bird family – the Paridae.

In Finnish, a Blue Tit is called a Sinitiainen, and they only have a lifespan of about 1.5 years.  Blue Tits are considered valuable destroyers of pests, like aphids, but can also be annoying pests as well.  They sometimes pull off the buds of various trees in search of insects to eat.  Another thing I found interesting, is that a pair of Blue Tits will use the same nesting box year after year.  When that pair dies, another pair will take its place.  Wikipedia didn’t say, but I guess that means they mate for life.

This spring I want to go bird watching. I hope that I can take pictures like the one above of the various South Carolina birds.  I’ve tried getting pictures of the ones in my yard, but they hide too far up in trees and won’t sit still for nothing.

Another week, another set of postcards from around the world.

At work, when I start thinking about how long it is until I can go home, I start thinking about the possibilities awaiting me in my mailbox. Will there be a postcard from a country I haven’t gotten one from yet? Will there be a thank you card from someone? Will it be written in a foreign language? What will be on the card? A fuzzy animal? Ancient scrolls from long ago? Colorful rocks? Or something self-made? Opening my mailbox is like opening a gift on my birthday. I never know what to expect.

Can anyone read Finnish? I’d like to know what that says.

I guess Pia didn’t have a lot to say.

When I first saw the front of this postcard, I thought it was from China, but no, it was sent from France. This is the first postcard that I have received from France. Postcrossing really is a learning experience. Almost every card I receive teaches me something I didn’t know before. I think that’s pretty cool.

Hopefully, my obsession of checking the mailbox won’t become debilitating. I’d hate to have to go to the doctor to get meds because I like getting mail – a lot.

I used to collect rocks when I was younger. I still have many of them sitting on a shelf somewhere.

This is my 4th postcard from Germany.

What a very interesting photograph. I really like how it is in black and white, and how she left the space on the left to write something. The frayed edge effect is really neat. This is the third hand-made card that I’ve received, and I can’t figure out why many postcrossers don’t want them. I really like them.

This one was actually sent to me in an envelope because it wasn’t affixed to a thick backing. I don’t think it would have made it all the way from Russia in one piece had it been sent by itself. I heard once that someone sent a banana through the mail. I wonder what in the world it looked like when it got to where it was going.

This past Friday, 4 postcards showed up in my mailbox. And then on Saturday, another came. All I have to say, is that postcards from around the world beat a bill any day of the week. 🙂

Card # 1

Tallinn is the capital of Estonia. Looks pretty. I really like the old buildings. So medieval. I’d bet money that the sky in this particular photo isn’t real, though. Take a closer look. What do you think? I can’t figure out why someone would photoshop a fake sky into a postcard.

I found it funny that she didn’t spell out China all the way. Interesting stamp, too. I imagine I’ll be getting many history lessons in the near future. I’ll have to look up his name to see what he did in order to be deserving of a stamp.

Card # 2

Mikkeli, Finland.

Anna-Lisa wrote with a very interesting pen.

Some letters are dark blue while others are light blue.

Is that a moth or a little butterfly?

Card # 3

Sibel lives in Manisa, Turkey, but this postcard is representing Uchisar, Nevsehir – Turkey. Sibel was the first person to receive a postcard from me through Postcrossing. She wanted to send me a postcard in return, so I gave her my address. Turkey seems like a really cool place to visit. I’ll have to put it on my places to go before I die.

I like it when postcards have a lot of writing on them. I’ve always wanted to fly in a hot air balloon. Had Phil and I had the money to do it in Yangshuo, China, we so would have.

Card # 4

I was expecting one postcard, not two from Sibel. I was pleasantly surprised.

All of these postcards are making me antsy. I’ll need to travel somewhere soon.

Card # 5

This fighter jet came all the way from Dayton, Ohio, from Emily. It’s actually her photo, not something she bought. This is something I am going to start doing soon – taking and sending my own postcards. I’ve got over 5,000 to choose from just from spending a year in China.

This is the first card I have received from America. I doubt it will be the last. Something like 18% of Postcrossing users are from America.

Horray! Last Friday, I received my first postcard through Postcrossing. It came from a 9 year old boy living in Veikkola, Finland. It took about 8 days to travel 4701 miles/7566 kilometers. If you want to get a history lesson on Finland, go here.

I think this is the strangest water tower I’ve ever seen.

I think Oliver’s mother transcribed his message for him.

Either that, or Oliver has the best handwriting ever!

Cool stamp. I used to have a collection of frogs when I was younger – figureens, not real ones.