flowers — Page 222

A Pox on Hard Freezes

October 16, 2015 at 9:12 am by Claudia

10-16 mgbuds

Do you see those little buds? Suddenly, there are morning glory buds everywhere, quite late in the season. I’m sure you will understand when I say I’d like to see them open up and bless us with their beauty.

But…Sunday night the temps are supposed to drop into the twenties. Just for one night. Then it’s back to normal. I’m in a little bit of a panic. The porch plants I can bring inside. The zinnias and morning glories? No can do. I’m already making plans to cover everything with a sheet and hope against hope they hang in there.

Otherwise, I’ll be in mourning.

10-16 butterfly bush

It seems especially cruel when there’s a hard freeze for just one night; it’s like a tease, but not a good one. I know winter is inevitable, but since the remainder of the nighttime temps are going to stay in the forties or high thirties for a while, it seems a shame not to see my flowers bloom.

Dad is still in a rather cheery mood. Meredith and I suspect that some of that is due to the pain meds he’s on. They’re mellowing him. As my dad can be rather irascible, to put it mildly, I must say it’s nice to hear him sound so happy. He calls me to tell me what he ate for breakfast and lunch. He details his conversations with the nurses. He talks about physical therapy. My dad, by the way, is pretty strong for a 92 year old, so I have no doubt that he’ll do well in PT. Tomorrow, they’ll assess his progress and decide whether he goes home or to a rehab facility. I’m thinking it will be rehab, but maybe not for as long as predicted.

10-16 openingzinnia

Don’t you want to see this flower open? I do. A pox on any hard freezes!

Don and Dan will be on The Front Burner radio show on WIOX on Saturday morning. They’ll be playing their music and talking about the new CD from 11 am to 12 pm. The show is hosted by our friends Elly and Dave (who will also be at the CD Release Party later on Saturday.) If you’re at all interested in giving it a listen, WIOX, which is a Public Radio station, streams live. You can find it here. Don’s going to be on another radio show next Thursday evening and I’ll share what I know about that later in the week.

If you have any wise tips as to covering plants during a freeze, I’m all ears – or eyes, in this case. The morning glories and zinnias are right up against and on top of a stretch of the chicken wire fence. Thanks, everyone!

Happy Friday.

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The Defiant Ones

October 10, 2015 at 9:43 am by Claudia

Throughout the garden there are signs of the inevitable decline that comes at this time of year. Flowers have stopped blooming; in many cases, there are dried up stems where once there were beautiful, green plants. I’ve been looking at all of it through the camera’s lens for the past couple of days.

There are, hidden among the fallen leaves and debris, a few defiant ones – flowers that still bloom despite the disarray around them.

All of the purple coneflowers look like this:

10-10 dried up coneflowers

But, almost hidden away in the side garden, I saw this:

10-10 coneflower

The last man standing. So beautiful.

10-10 brown-eyed susans

A few defiant brown-eyed susans.

10-10 rose

The last of the roses.

10-10 butterfly bush

A bloom hidden deep within the butterfly bush.

10-10 catmint

There are some catmint flowers here and there.

10-10 spirea

The spirea is giving us one last burst of flowers.

10-10 phlox

And the phlox isn’t giving up without a fight.

My goodness, there is such a beauty in this decline, these flashes of color amid the fading greens and browns of the Autumn garden. It’s easy to focus on what was, instead of what is. And what is, is completely gorgeous in its own right.

Oh, I saw a Monarch Butterfly the other day! I didn’t have my camera and it was flying quickly around the property. It was gorgeous. Sadly, I don’t see them much anymore, so when I do, I stop and watch it until it fades out of sight.

Today is another beautiful, sunny fall day. I’m lapping all of this up. Tomorrow, I head into the city again to watch a run-through of the show.

I stopped by the library the other day.

10-10 library haul

I’m pretty sure the Sue Grafton books I’ve missed reading are S through V. Fortunately, my little local library had them on the shelf. I’ve heard a lot of good things about Ace Atkins but have yet to read any of his books. This one was on display, so I grabbed it. I had been in the queue for All the Light We Cannot See and it finally came in.

Just as it did when I was a little girl going to the bookmobile every week, a stack of library books makes me very, very happy.

Happy Saturday.

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Don’s Very Own Nirvana and Other Things

October 8, 2015 at 9:14 am by Claudia

Because miniatures are fun and moving them around is just like playing house when you were a kid:

10-8 don's nirvana

I call this: Don’s Very Own Nirvana.

This chair, a guitar, and all things Beatles? Heaven for my husband.

10-8 nirvana2

Oooh, setting up this studio is going to be a lot of fun!

Last night, we were watching Frasier and he remarked on the furniture in Frasier’s apartment, saying that he’d read all of the pieces were made by famous designers. I said that the recliner was an Eames chair. He had no idea about the designer’s name, but I could tell he liked it.

He also has no idea that he’s getting his own Eames chair – albeit, in miniature.

It’s been sunny and warmish around here; simply beautiful fall weather.

10-8 my girl

My girl enjoying the sun.

10-8 wildflowers&bee

A bee savoring the wildflowers that are all over the property at the moment.

I forgot to share two items that were in the box of minis that Barbara sent to me.

10-8 mini games

Two games. Aren’t they great?

I think some lawn mowing is on the docket for the day. It’s grown pretty long from all the rain we had about a week ago. I’m halfway through Her Final Breath by Robert Dugoni. I reviewed the first book in this excellent series here on the blog. This is the second.

I also stopped by my local library yesterday and brought home four books. There’s always a little pressure when I check out library books – especially if they’re new and have a limited checkout time. Oh boy. One of them is All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr. I’ve heard nothing but wonderful things about this book, so I figured it was high time I took a stab at it.

Happy Thursday.

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A Pox on Hard Freezes

The Defiant Ones

Don’s Very Own Nirvana and Other Things

Lambs Like to Party

A Note

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