I do my best to keep this fern going during the winter months, knowing that if I can, it will blossom once it’s outside again. But there are lots of dead fronds along the way, lots of vacuuming, lots of worrying. As long as I see new growth – and I do – I know it’s okay. It’s just in dry, inside-the-house, winter mode.
This is the only place I can keep it – upstairs in the office – where it gets enough light and we aren’t bumping into it all the time. I have to do some nifty maneuvering to get to my desk but I’m a pro at it now.
We watched Dr. Strangelove last night. It was on TCM. It’s one of our favorite movies. Don had been in the city all day and as he was doing something in the kitchen he mentioned that he’d like to watch something funny that night. As if on cue, we saw that Strangelove was on. It’s simply brilliant on every level.
It’s quite cold here today and I think it will remain that way for a few days. But it’s partly sunny, so I’m happy. Actually, I don’t mind the cold. I grew up in Michigan and have spent most of my life beyond the Michigan years in the Northeast. That’s really all I know, except for 8 years in San Diego, which were nice and refreshing for a while until I realized that I missed the seasons. Even my Southern California born-and-bred husband now loves winter.
I’m reading Hi Five by Joe Ide. This is his fourth book in the IQ series. I can’t recommend his books enough. Ide is a terrific writer, funny and irreverent and Isaiah Quintabe, IQ, is such a wonderfully drawn character. When I learn that Ide has written a new book, I’m so happy. After my experience with Lock Every Door, it feels so good to read a book in which the plot is complex, as are the characters, and I know I’m being guided along by a pro.
We’re going to lay low today and hang out here in the cottage. I’m looking forward to it.
Happy Thursday.
Laying low on a cold winter day is an excellent plan. I plan on doing the same. It is frigid here as well. A good day to catch up on things. I’ve got a kitchen drawer that needs sorting, and I’d like to catch up on my reading, as well as my very crowded DVR.
Your fern is looking good. I’ve noticed new growth on several of my houseplants…always encouraging. I had repotted several of them a couple of weeks ago, and they have recovered nicely. These sunny days have greatly helped my plants…they love the light, especially as it reflects off the snow cover.
Enjoy your day! ;)
I figure if there’s new growth, I’m doing something right (even if it’s simply leaving them alone!) Thanks, Donnamae!
Claudia, what a lovely Boston fern. I wish I had space for one. I keep my mother’s 30 some year old Christmas cactus inside but it too gets in the way. I keep her on our covered front porch once the weather changes and then she blooms for me in October. She bloomed non stop for mom throughout the year. Guess I don’t have the touch for her. My other plants do well though. It’s cold here in Michigan also but sunny which I will take. Our local library is showing “Judy” for seniors so think I will venture out, along with filling bird feeders. Take care.
I so wish we had an enclosed porch on the back of the house. That would be perfect for plants. We loved “Judy” – hope you enjoy it, Penny.
A nice quiet day to enjoy in the house, not much is better than that! A gift to appreciate, for sure.
We have had a sunny, but quite cold few days here. It is still only 2* right now, but up from the below zero temps of earlier. It is supposed to get up to 43* on Sat and Sun.
The fern looks so pretty. Enjoy your book and stay warm!!
I looked at the weather forecast and it seems to waver between the forties and the thirties for the next few weeks. A couple days are supposed to be in the low fifties. Thanks, Chris!
Oh yes, your maneuvering around your fern is so worth it ! It’s a beauty and a delight to
see. I too missed the seasons while residing in California and one day found myself
the only person purposely slowly strolling through the rain without an umbrella just to feel the chill of the drops on my face. How silly I must have appeared.
Have you screened an older movie “The Public Eye”, ( Joe Pesci ) ? Admittedly, the sub-plot is
quite contrived but the idea of the ” slice of gritty life” crime scene photographer ( likely based on Weegee) using the vintage camera and the soundtrack rather make up for the film’s
shortcomings.
No, we haven’t. Don would love it as he has a Crown Graphic, which is the kind of camera Weegee used. Thanks so much for the informationQ
Everyone deserves a lay low day or two (or three…) and this is yours. Cherish it! And I love your fern and hope it will make the rest of the winter relatively intact. I kill plants as soon as they come inside. It’s what I do. I wonder what’s worse for them — a lingering death inside or quick and freezing out…
I’m not sure! Luckily, I do okay with indoor plants, but I will say that some outdoor plants just aren’t meant to survive the transition to indoors. They’re meant for outside. I never could get my impatiens to last more than a month inside. Take comfort, Jeanie.
Sounds like ‘my’ cat. Took him two years to make up to us after coming down the hillside (stray, not feral). We finally got him to go into a shed at night with all the comforts of home. Now, after a few weeks, he’s having none of it. He is resisting confinement. And is now hissing, warning us to not pick him up and we dare not take him from outside to inside for his own protection. I’m pretty upset about it but have realized I’m dealing with an animal who has somewhat reverted to the wild and can’t go back to whatever his original situation was, when he was clearly let down by some other human. He’s staying away for days at a time and I think only coming into the rear yard when he’s desperately hungry; so, I’m leaving him alone so he’ll at least come to us and get some nourishment. It’s the part of my somewhat-‘country’ life I don’t like; a certain lack of control. (I’m sure you feel it to a larger extent with your deer and their [lack of] safety.) Plants & animals; they want their natural life outdoors even though ‘it’s a jungle out there’. Air, sunshine, room to grow and ramble. As my husband says, “Freedom”…
It’s very frustrating not to be able help them. They’re wild, of course, and have a healthy mistrust of humans – which they should have – but cats are a different story. You feel as if they would want shelter of some sort. Sigh.
i am no plant expert, but your plant is beautiful. it looks to be thriving … because it is well-tended and well-loved, i am sure.
enjoy your day. it sounds wonderful.
kathy in iowa
xoxo
I had a very relaxed day with my current novel – Ohio by Stephen Markley. A mesmerising read
Hope you day has continued to be relaxing
Siobhan x
It has but at the moment we’re trying to help our friend in California try to learn how to use his phone. Oy!
Claudia, that fern is lovely. You obviously have a green thumb.
Marilyn
Thank you Marilyn!
You sound contented & comfortable and I hope you are indeed enjoying the day.
We just found out we have a $3,500 federal income tax bill to pay by April 15…some mess around all the retirement stuff…so I do what I always do when the stress is so high; headed for the SoCalif beach, for my sanity; try to diffuse some of the negative energy this afternoon. I need a LONG walk on that wet sand. We have a place we go where there are few people, especially on a weekday; it’s calming. Sea air to clean my brain. It’s 81 degrees out there, sunny & warm, clearest sky; gonna try to let my beautiful blue Pacific Ocean soothe me. Can’t get there fast enough.
(I know you and Don had that bad tax hit, too; just as you were planning the Paris trip. It’s a real dent to the meager savings account and fixed income here; nasty surprise when we thought we had all our ducks in a row. Buckling down for the rest of the year now, like no other. This sort of thing has a tendency to come in waves; it was recently, as I’d said, the dishwasher that decided to quit on us [a dishwasher for us isn’t a luxury; my hands are weak from arthritis and other issues, so dishwashing by hand is difficult for me; I drop things constantly; no grip strength]. We have to prepare for weed abatement [city ordinance/requirement for wildfire danger] within 90 days [big hillside in back of us; we own the land; it’s our responsibility; I know I’m lucky to own ANYthing; so, not complaining so much as just worried] and we’re not now going to be able to call in our yard crew as it’s too expensive, so my aging husband’s been up there with a weed wacker which he figures will take him almost three weeks of daily work, as much as his senior-aged strength can handle [which is only so many hours in a day]. These unexpected expenses are just killing my effort to save for a new roof. )
I think I need a good movie tonight, too. I’m saturated with political stuff and need a little break from it again. Gonna try to take your lead, Claudia!
We owed over $6000. It was devastating and I’m worried about what we’ll owe this year. I understand. Thanks, Vicki.
OMG. I didn’t realize it was that much. I’m sorry. I’m feeling your pain and worry. I’m still bewildered and angry about the entire thing; which, I feel, was a screw-up with his primary employer; but, you know, there’s no going back about it; what’s done is done. It’s been very startling. It’s when I’m really missing my dad; he was an accountant. I would have been having him analyze the paperwork along the way, looking to his wise counsel. Dang. In our now-long marriage, we’ve never been slammed by such a big tax obligation. Ah, for the days when we actually got a REFUND…
We got a refund the year before – Look no further than the tax bill the GOP passed. It gave tax breaks to the wealthiest and slammed the rest of us.
Brian and I need a lie-low day together on one of his days off. We seem to have so much to do (errands) and things in the house that need to be done, especially before we leave next month for CA. Oh well, that’s life sometimes.
I tried to keep my Boston fern alive for as long as possible indoors this winter, but it started drying and browning up so badly (despite watering and even misting the leaves), that I finally had to gently return it to the earth. Yours still looks great!
The back of the plant doesn’t look as great, but I think I can get it safely to spring and the outdoors. Fingers crossed.
Thanks, Melanie!