Saturdays in the Garden - Bison, Butterflies and Another Crazy Week

OUTSIDE
One of the areas where I'm doing Lek surveys for Prairie Chickens has bison and instead of being far off in the distance as usual, they moseyed on over close to the road.  If I let my eyes unfocus and block out the powerlines, fence and road I could almost imagine I was out on the wild prairie of the 1850s.  If I actually got transported there, I would quickly become terrified as I have no homesteading skills but it would be an awesome sight.

Despite a busy week I made some time for the garden and the garden did some things all on its own without help from me:).  I planted carrots, an Asian Greens mix, radishes and some sugar snap and regular peas outside.  The chives, tarragon and horseradish have begun greening up outside and all my starts have now started.  Now comes the obsessively checking the beds everyday for sprouts:0)!  I love this time of the gardening year - it's almost better than harvest - the anticipation and the welcoming back of green.

The peppers - reluctant as always but starting to peek out of the soil.

The St. John's Wort seed was itty bitty and now a lot of little itty bitty plants are coming up.

The Lilac bush with buds - maybe it will bloom this year??!!

Tarragon

Chives

Horseradish

 LIFE
This week was totally insane schedule-wise and I thought about laying it out but honestly I'm so muddle headed and tired and forgetful that I'm not sure I could do it justice.  So here's an incomplete pictorial tour.  The first day of the week started at dawn on Monday on a prairie in Northern Missouri (see also pic above):

The last day of the week ended today at dawn on a prairie in Southern Iowa:

Folks on the Prairie Chicken Viewing Platform for the Prairie Chicken Festival

And continued with a lively celebration of prairie chickens and the Native American culture at the zoo in Des Moines:

WATCHING, READING and BLOGGING

The watching portion of this is easy.  I haven't been watching much of anything since last we spoke.

Reading has been a bit more active and I finished three books this week!  I finished and already reviewed (see below) The Miss Mirren Mission by Jenny Holiday.   My car audio read, The Last Detective by Peter Lovesey also finished up this week.  I really liked it and will definitely continue with the series.  Most excitingly perhaps, with inspiration by Selah at A Bibliophile's Style, I started and finished a re-read of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone on audio.  I mean I know it's a little redundant to say it but this series is so utterly delightful and charming.  I tried to look for nitpicks and flaws this second time around (because I'm a horrible person) and if anything it was more flawless and awesome than I remembered. Can't wait to continue and re-read the whole series! When I finished that I started re-reading The Chronicles of Narnia starting with The Magician's Nephew which I am already pretty far along in (lots of time on the road this week).  Listening to these two books side by side is interesting.  I also started Graced by Amanda Pillar which I am not sure I want to finish but it's reading quick so I will likely continue.  Still reading Fingersmith by Sarah Waters - BLOWING my mind right now - not at all what I expected and also The Fall of Hyperion by Dan Simmons.

On The Blog LAST Week:

SUNDAY: Review of Lirael by Garth Nix (book 2 in the Abhorsen series).  Short Review: Loved it!
MONDAY: Review of Abhorsen by Garth Nix (book 3 in the Abhorsen series). Short Review: Loved it!
TUESDAY:  Top Ten Tuesday  - New Additions to the TBR. 
WEDNESDAY: Review of The Miss Mirren Mission by Jenny Holiday.  Short Review: Loved it!
THURSDAY: Tough Traveling  - Enforcers.  Exploring tropes in fantasy - this week it's about the servant thugs.

On The Blog NEXT Week:

SUNDAY: Review of Zenn Scarlett by Christian Schoon
TUESDAY:  Top Ten Tuesday is the Characters you'd like to check in with after their books or series are done.  Fun topic!  Hosted by The Broke and The Bookish.
WEDNESDAY:  Probably taking the day off but there could be a surprise post.
THURSDAY: Tough Traveling - Unique Flora.  Hosted by Fantasy Review Barn. 

Okay, I am off to vegetate for a good few hours.  How was your week?  What's the most unusual thing you do to relax after a busy week?  I could use some tips:0)!