The Meaning of Rainbows

Last Sunday I was beginning the second 24 hrs of my 48 hr shift and noticed the beautiful sunrise in the west
while unpacking my gear at Station 1.
In the east this rainbow appeared, followed shortly by a second one above it.  My first 24 hr shift was rough, we were up all night taking care of drunk minors. 

When I saw the rainbow I commented to one of my co-workers, Brent G., that the rainbow means I'm going to have a better shift today. 
Brent in all his wisdom said, "You know what the bible says about rainbows don't you?". 
Me: "No".
Brent: "God promised that there'd be no more rain.  He didn't say anything about other disasters".
Me: ".........oh, great".
The reality was a little of both.  The day was way better than expected.  The previous on-duty crew did all of our daily chores and maintenance for us.  The night, was just like the previous night, and we were up all night.
There was no rain that day, so perhaps that's all it was suppose to tell me that morning.

Apologies to my yard

My yard is a mess.  I did some "spring cleaning" yard work, earlier this week. It doesn't get any easier if you leave it for an extra 7 months.  I didn't have the desire to get out & work my landscape this summer.  It could have been the weird weather we had, which was wetter and cooler than normal.  It could have been the amount of time I spent on the computer, or the fact that we headed to the coast almost every vacation opportunity that we had.  We were very busy people this summer.
Excuses aside, the yard is still a mess.  Let me officially apologize to all my lovely plants, I'm sorry to have negelected you!  Having said that, there are a few bright spots to mention.

My "Limelight" hydrangea.  The flower start out pale cream with pale green.  This year they added this nice pink tinge.

One of my favorite roses, "Electron".  The picture doesn't do the neon pink justice.

A plant find at the Peoria Nursery sale, Thumbergia variety.  AKA: Glory flower.  I will look for this again next year.  It climbs nicely up my arbor, flowers easily and doesn't need full sun. This plant was potted late and didn't have the full summer to do it's thing.

A red geranium my neighbor gave us for watching their dog.  This was from Walmart and is a prolific, continuosly flowering plant.  Would do this one again too.

My "Jack Frost" Brunneria seeded itself into a nearby pot.  The parent plant is in the background. A snapdragon also started itself here.  The hosta was the orginal occupant of the pot.

The bright pink flowers are petunias that volunteered themselves from last years planting.  The lavendar in the middle was planted during my "spring clean up".  It was a clearance plant I found in Florence.

A colorful flower head from my Endless Summer hydrangea growing on the deck in Florence.  I loved all the pretty colors throughout this flower head.

This is a "must have" clematis that is growing on the deck of the condo next to ours in Florence.  I don't know what it is, but I'm glad it's growing my direction and I might have to find a place for one at my house.

My winter project is to find a place to put one of these trees, "Forest Pansy" Redbud.  It is a small tree with big interest.  It flowers with pretty pink flower in the spring. The leaves are green at times and red at other times. The leaf shape as well and tree form are eye catching.  This will find a place in my yard.

So many colors on one tree!

Fantasy Time....

Fantasy Football that is!  This is my second year with a team (team name: Code 3 Fall) and I can say that I love having a fantasy football team. Sundays haven't been the same since I joined the league at work. 
It's hard not to like being league Champion, which I somehow managed last year.  Randy helped me draft my team and gave input as I navigated my first year.  I knew coming into this season that things would be different with a whole new team and a bigger league, so my expectations aren't as high.  Randy helped me pick my team again and I felt pretty good about my players.
Then I had a huge curve thrown at me.  I was suppose to have 2 starting QB's, not one.  With 14 teams in our league there was no way to pick up a starting QB after the draft.  My season is in jeopardy and we've only just begun. 
I've got a 4 week fix with Dennis Dixon filling in for the suspended Ben Rothlisberger, then I'm going to have to scramble to find a QB to get me some points.  For now I'll continue to root for the former Duck as he learns his way through the starting QB job.  Fingers crossed.  Hopefully he doesn't remember any of the "Duck Rants" I had against him.
Yesterday week 1 closed with 2 MNF games, and I ended the week as a surprise winner.  I won my head to head match easily, and   currently I have the highest point total in league with 250 points.  Maybe I do still have a chance to finish near the top of league.  What a great game!!!  Go Peyton!