flowers — Page 289

Random Thoughts on a Monday Morning

August 6, 2012 at 7:49 am by Claudia

:: Does this photo look like I used a special effect in PicMonkey? Nope. Just a foggy lens courtesy of this awful humidity.

But I sort of like it. It looks a bit magical and mysterious.

:: Don’s home for about 36 hours. Originally it looked as if he would be working tonight as the play is moving onstage for a week of tech/dress rehearsals, but the cast got the night off. One of his fellow cast members lives south of us in New Jersey and gave Don a ride to our local park-and-ride, just off the Thruway, where I picked him up. The dogs were very happy to see him. So was I. They made him shave his goatee and cut his hair for the part he’s playing. (I miss his goatee.)

:: Yes, I know. This is a rather boring photo of a hose and hose hanger. But, in the why-didn’t-I-do-this-years-ago category, after 7 years here, I finally bit the bullet and bought the hanger. Previously, the hose just stayed in a sort of coiled mess on the ground. For some reason, the spigot for the hose is all the way around on the far side of the house. So I had to buy a 150′ long hose a few years back in order for the hose to reach the big garden bed. This hanger makes things so much easier. And neater.

:: The weeds that I see from our kitchen window are very popular. Yesterday, I posted some photos I took of a goldfinch that was flitting among the flowers. Today…

Same weeds, beautiful Eastern Swallowtail butterfly.

Such ephemeral beauty.

:: Is it wrong of me to say I’m getting a little tired of the Olympics? I am. I usually love watching them. Indeed, I have spent every evening this past week in front of the television cheering on those athletes. But I’m getting a bit weary of the whole thing. Part of the problem is the fact that I can’t look at any news sites online or on television without seeing some result posted before I have the chance to watch the event in primetime. Some sites handle it well and say “Spoiler Alert” giving readers the chance to make their own decision about that sort of thing. Many of them, however, including CNN and other major news outlets, just blast the headline, not caring one bit whether they might have ruined the element of surprise for their viewers. I find the whole thing tedious. Since I’m online a lot, I feel like I’m trying to walk through a field of spoiler-landmines.

I know that covering the Olympics is an enormous undertaking but I do wish the commentators didn’t feel that they have to fill every moment with words. Too much talking! Sometimes I end up shouting “Shut Up!” at the television. When I was growing up in Michigan, we were able to watch Canada’s coverage of the Olympics, which I found much more sane and much less hyped.

Swimming and diving and gymnastics are my favorites and they’re pretty much done at this point. I used to love track and field, but now, not so much. Last night, it was a relief just to watch The Newsroom. Is there such a thing as Olympics burn-out?

I hope your Monday is a happy one.

Zinnias, Goldfinches and a Question or Two

August 5, 2012 at 9:23 am by Claudia

My first zinnia has bloomed. Yes, I know it’s a bit late but I seem to forget to put the seeds in the ground until late in the spring. I also planted some sunflower seeds. However, the plants that are coming up look suspiciously like the purple hyacinth bean vine that I planted in pots by the entrance to the dog corral.

I seem to have a problem with sunflowers.

Last year, a blogging friend sent me some giant sunflower seeds, which I excitedly planted. Whatever it was that came up was scrawny and I never saw a giant sunflower. Okay. So this year, I bought my own seeds and planted them. Something is coming up that bears no resemblance to the photo on the seed packet. In fact, yesterday I pulled out the seed packet (which I had saved in a drawer) to make sure that I had actually planted the seeds. I did. So what gives?

On another note: I caught a glimpse of this little goldfinch, who turned out to have a mate, flitting among the weeds on the edge of the property. I shot this through the mesh of the kitchen window screen, so it’s a bit fuzzy. He’d jump from flower to flower, sometimes hanging upside down. It was like watching a gymnastics competition.

Which brings me to a question I have about birds. In the last week or so, I no longer see birds at the birdbath. There was so much activity earlier in the summer and now….none. All of the rain and bird activity had dirtied up the birdbath, so I cleaned it out thoroughly, thinking that might be keeping them away. Still no birds. It’s so hot right now, I would think they’d be using the birdbath more than ever. And though I’m indoors a lot these humid days, I don’t even see them flying around. Where are they?

What gives? Does anyone out there have any information?

I miss them. That’s why I was so happy to see the goldfinches yesterday.

Other business: A few of you asked about the cabinets and plate rack I bought for the dollhouse kitchen. They are made by JBM Miniatures. I first discovered them on this site, but they no longer have them in 1″scale. They do still carry them in 1/2″scale. On checking the JBM site, I see they are also sold out. (This is why I decided to bite the bullet and purchase them the other day.) I found Grandma Holly’s House online and they had 2 left in stock. I just checked and there is still one available.

It’s a little more money than I would usually spend, but the units are so well made and are very high quality. The drawers open and are beautifully finished. To me, they were worth the investment. If you’re interested, I would click on that link as soon as possible. Good luck!

Happy Sunday.

Coneflower Crazy

July 25, 2012 at 7:30 am by Claudia

I’m wearing a rayon skirt right now because my shorts are in the wash. The darn thing is so slippery that my laptop is sliding toward my stomach! It’s not easy to type on a laptop that is sliding, let me tell you.

I love coneflowers. They are old-fashioned country garden flowers and they’re are all over my garden. By the entrance to the porch:

Extra-tall coneflowers are on the other side of the porch:

There are various other patches of coneflowers that have self-seeded. Don’t you love when that happens?

I was looking at the big garden bed the other day, trying to figure out what to do with the relatively bare patches in the middle of the bed. Ding! Why not some hardy coneflowers? So I trotted off to my favorite local nursery to see if they had any left.

Am I the only person out there who visits a nursery at this time of year and gets sad? Everything is picked over, dying, root-bound and generally neglected looking. I wandered around, talking to the plants. I was the only person there, so there was no one to observe this behavior. What happens to them? Do they get tossed on some pile of trash? I want to find homes for them. I did see a very neglected New Dawn rose that would need severe pruning. I didn’t buy it, but now I’m thinking twice about that decision. Should I go back and get it?

Anyway, I managed to find two “White Swan” coneflowers and two coneflowers that are part of a “Cone-fection” series, called “Milkshake.” They are also a creamy color and very pretty, though they haven’t bloomed yet.

Today, in the sweltering humidity, I planted them.

There’s another milkshake coneflower to the left, on the other side of the stepping stones. While I was there, I fixed some of the stepping stones that had moved out of place – the garden has a sharp slope and they tend to slide downward.

I know it will take a few years, but my hope is that they will fill in those bare spots and add a dash of white to the garden. Just like the David phlox that is blooming right now at the far end of the big garden bed:

Their scent is heavenly.

Should I go back and buy that bedraggled New Dawn rose?

Random Thoughts on a Monday Morning

Zinnias, Goldfinches and a Question or Two

Coneflower Crazy

Lambs Like to Party

A Note

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