First, my heart goes out to Minnesota. The senseless murder of a legislator and her husband, the shooting of another legislator and his wife – it is incomprehensible. As I write this, I see that the murderer has been caught. Sending love and prayers to all who mourn this senseless loss.
The news of this act of violence was in the same news feed that showed the wildly successful and powerful protests going on in this country and all over the world. Bravo to everyone involved, everyone who took a stand. There is nothing more inspiring than seeing the millions and millions of people saying “No more!”
I need say nothing about the parade. The images tell the story.
Taken from my position on the porch yesterday, right after I finished mowing the lilac side of the front lawn. You can see the white of the catalpa blossoms in the distance. Right now, the tree is full of blossoms, but rain is on the way for Tuesday and Wednesday. In the meantime, as I mowed or did anything on the property yesterday, the scent coming from the flowers was heavenly. I try to imprint these delights in my brain so I can remember them come winter.
Bees were all over the spirea yesterday. Everywhere I looked, there was a bee. Hurrah! Not only is the spirea beautiful, it provides nourishment for the bees.
I don’t know if you remember this, but for several years I had crown vetch growing in the big garden bed. It initially came from some cuttings from my friend Heidi. It filled the left side of the bed, and I really loved it there. But we lost one of the big limbs on the maple tree, a limb that provided shade for the bed, and within a year, the crown vetch disappeared. It needs shade. It’s been about 8 or 9 years since it disappeared. Last year, I noticed a bit of it reappearing. Was it a temporary situation? Well, this year, a lot more appeared, both in the garden bed and outside the bed near the funky patio. I’m so happy to see it return! And it’s blooming.
This is right next to the maple tree. Gardening has an element of magical mystery, doesn’t it?
A big thank you to reader Judith who left a comment with the name of this wildflower. It’s beardtongue. You can see the ‘tongue’ in the center of the flower. It’s native to the eastern United States.
I found some more near the porch. Such a delicate little flower!
Stay safe.
Happy Monday.
Your pictures look so lush, thanks to all your rain. Our hills are turning brown. Rain won’t be in the picture here for quite a while. Yes, the pictures of the protesters across the country, and even the world, are a contrast to the parade pictures. I do feel bad for the Army. They justly should have celebrated 250 years, but not have been used in the way they were.
Yes, they were used and clearly they were not happy. I don’t blame them.
Thanks so much, Barrie.
Stay safe.
happy that you see some crown vetch has returned, have a name for that pretty flower (beardtongue), can catch the scent of the catalpas and are finding more bees nearby. though i need bugs, etc. to stay outside and away from me (ha not ha), nature is wonderful.
we received about ten minutes of light rain last night. we could use a lot more, for several reasons. here’s one … the entire metro area is currently banned from watering lawns, trees, etc. for the time being all we can do for the october maple out front (which most often gets water from a patch of grass about 6×7 feet in size or occasionally we use a water spike for trees) is pour at its base the water collected from the dehumidifier each day. thankfully the swamp oak in the back gets water from a much bigger lawn.
happy about the numbers of people who protested and were safe. thanks to all of them.
also relieved that the suspect was caught.
need to get going on some stuff.
hope you, don and everyone else have a nice day and stay safe.
kathy
It’s always very hard when there are watering restrictions. We worry about our plants and trees. Southern California is often under restrictions. I sure hope you get more rain soon. Here, we were in a drought for several months and it’s only because of the vast amount of rain and flooding that we had this spring that it was finally lifted.
Stay safe, Kathy.
Your yard is so beautiful this time of year. Love all the flowers. I’m counting the days until surgery on Wed.
Oh, Linda, I will be praying for you on Wednesday. Sending love and light to you.
Stay safe.
Claudia, I’m terrible at remembering botanical names, even plants in my own yard. So, I love seeing and reading about your garden and wild areas, and the history that you know so well of your favorites.
I do have bouts of forgetting the name of a common flower. I sometimes have to look them up via a previous post on the blog!
Thanks so much, Wendy.
Stay safe.
The small town in which I lived until I landed in hospice care for leukemia had photos of their parade/protest. Planners say there were more than 700 people willing to stand in temperatures in the high 80’s and protest. Cars drove back and forth and honked in support, too.
Are you in hospice care, Linda? I didn’t know that! I’m praying for you.
Stay safe.
I thought I ought to comment again and not leave you with the wrong impression. Although I was warned that I might not achieve remission, I did! I was then told it would be likely that leukemia would hit me again, and that a year, or perhaps two were likely the most I could expect if I did achieve remission. So far, I have no signs of leukemia, but Parkinson’s has come to live with me, ever the joker, making me into a herky-jerky person, but still here to get ice cream sundaes with my grandchildren.
This does clarify things, Linda. So happy you did achieve remission, but I’m very sorry to hear about Parkinson’s. You seem to have a good attitude about it. My cousin, Gordy, has it, as did his mother.
Sending all the best wishes for more fun with your grandchildren.
Stay safe.
It was lovely to see your lush surroundings. You and Don should be very proud of all the effort you put in to keep your property so beautiful. Hugs, Elaine
Thanks so much, Elaine.
Stay safe.