Blooms and Birthdays

53°f/11.7°C,  this morning, now 84°, windy, cloudy, with storms moving in as I write.

I am very glad to see the change in the weather coming. It has just been too hot for me. Tomorrow night will be in the 30s again--too cold! Can't please us, this crazy weather.

I was happy to see that most of the seeds I planted last week are now up, although apparently Clyde the cat decided they needed to be stirred up into humps and holes in places, so my neat rows now look like I just sowed the seeds randomly. Ah well, it will be fine. Today I planted broccoli and cabbage plants, and seeded a row of green beans. Larry intended to get some corn in, but after mowing he ran out of steam. I did my stringtrimming, or at least most of it, and now I am pretty tired too. And since rain is coming soon, I intend to spend the evening reading!

I did a garden walkabout and took a few photos of what's in bloom now. The poor tulips didn't get a chance to show off much this year, and are already gone. But columbine and iris are starting to bloom now.

First though, my one and only azalea, which is in a very sheltered corner. I have tried planting it other places, but I think our crazy temperature swings are too hard on it. This one, though, has survived for about 30 years in its little corner.

30 years, and only this big! The columbine seeded itself everywhere, including right here by the porch steps. So did that fallen-over daffodil and the ajuga. (Pip helped me take photos....see him on the right?)

The columbine started with one plant I bought about 4 years ago. It was purple, but the seedlings vary from white to pink, lavender, purple and white mix, and deep purple.

The first of the iris opened on Wednesday. 

Columbine made itself at home in this garden too. 

So did fleabane, a wildflower/weed that is much too prevalent here, but so pretty when it blooms.

The alliums are just about done.

Below is an odd space, not really a garden. We stuck daffodils in here a couple years ago when a friend begged us to dig some up because her garden was overcrowded.  Then I tossed in a pack of wildflower seeds, and coreopsis came up and took over. Last Fall I put in some extra tulip and allium bulbs, and this spring tossed in more wildflower seeds. 

The walks are still a mess. I hope I can pressure wash soon, but look how the columbine has nestled up against the stone.

I really like the way this purple columbine tucked itself in beside the white iris. The Star of Bethlehem is beginning to make a nuisance of itself in this garden; it resurfaced after a good 40 years, when I used to have a garden here but abandoned it when I started working full-time.

These next two are actually different varieties of iris, but they look very much alike.

The original columbine, still thriving.

Lots of work ahead: weeding, pressure-washing, getting the planters filled, painting, and planting the rest of the vegetable gardens. I guess we will get it all done. Sometimes it seems overwhelming,  then mid-June I look around and realize that somehow we did it. Or if we don't get it done, will it really matter? The plants will grow, flowers will bloom, and nature will continue doing what she does without our interference.

Today is my oldest son's 57th birthday. How did he get so old! He is talking about retiring this year. I hope he does; it is so good to be able to retire young enough to still do the things you don't have time for when you're working--like long mountain hikes.

It's also my Granny's birthday.  Granny was born 132 years ago, and i often marvel at the changes she saw in her lifetime. She died in 1993, just a few months shy of her 100th birthday. Since she lived in England, my sons never had the chance to meet her, and the last time I saw her was in 1963, I think. But I remember her well, a sweet, loving, gentle, but strong lady who had lived most of her life very simply in rural England, and raised her 5 children alone after her husband died in 1930. Naomi Florence Hagger was in some ways a woman ahead of her time. This photo was taken around 1954, when she came for an extended visit around the time of my sister Mary's birth. Here she is holding what looks like a pretty big birthday cake!

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.

Pity Party, and Books

67°f/19.4°C, windy, mixed sun and clouds. Reached 87°today, far too hot already.

This has not been a good week. Do you ever have times where it seems like just one thing after another? I know I have them, more often than I would like, but sometimes I can't seem to summon my usual resilience and positive outlook. Maybe I put them away someplace safe, and now can't find them?

Okay, now I am making myself smile. Such a pity party! But yesterday was just one of those no-good, very bad days. It started Monday, actually, when I realized that I had somehow gotten into a swarm of sneaky mosquitoes that had bitten my feet and ankles at least 20 times. I never even felt the bites, although I did kill one of the little b*st*rds. I didn't think a thing of it until later, when the awful itching started, and bumps popped up all over my feet. Misery, misery, and little sleep.

Then poor Daisy. Just so hard to see her go. At the same time, I was trying to finish up our taxes. Between crying and itching and crying and itching, the Lord above only knows what I filed. 

I think i did it all correctly, but filing for our tiny business is far more complicated than it needs to be. According to the government, we made a whooping $128 profit last year. Whoopee! Now I know it was more than that, but with the way they figure up costs, especially our vehicle expense, that's what the final number was. Which is good, actually. We needed to show a profit to continue claiming it as a business; otherwise it becomes a hobby in the government's eyes, and we would have to claim all the income but none of the expenses. 

And did I mention it's been hot? And humid. I have zero motivation to work outside, especially with these itchy feet. I had planned to get some more plants and seeds in, but it's not going to happen until this hot spell breaks.

So I have found house things to do, like finally setting up my business spreadsheet for this year and starting to enter my receipts. I shredded all the 2018 tax stuff, and organized my receipts for thus year into the correct categories, which will make getting them entered in the spreadsheet a little easier.  And I started painting another chest of drawers, finished up painting a mirror frame, and priced a couple totes of things for the booths.

I also made comfort food, just to make me feel better: chicken with fettuccine Alfredo,  asparagus, salad and a chocolate layer cake. (Which I need like a hole in the head.) We are getting lots of asparagus as the new patch we planted a few years ago is really coming into its own. I may have to freeze some. 

Our neighbor Jeff stopped by yesterday. It felt awkward, as he and his wife, whom I have known since she was born, are separated. My sympathies lie more with her, so I changed the subject when he brought up their split. Have you ever had to deal with a situation like that? How did you handle it? Just awkward.

I have added a couple more books to my daily reading stack. I find that I enjoy this style of reading very much---a mix of essays, short stories, poetry, diary entries, historic calendar events, and two novels. I wonder if it is the internet that has pushed me to this reading short bits from a variety of sources? It is the way we interact online, isn't it? 

The book of diary entries (The Assassin's Cloak) has sent me researching the diarists,  and the book about writers' rooms has done the same. In fact one of those essays prompted me to order a book called The Country of the Pointed Firs, by Sarah Orne Jewett, a writer I had not heard of before. I am enjoying her old-fashioned but beautiful prose.

The other novel I am reading is called Traveling Light, by Lynne Branard.

It's a light, humorous read so far, about a lady who wins a storage locker in a contest, and finds a box with someone's ashes in there. She de ides to take the ashes back to New Mexico, where the deceased was from, and the book follows her adventures as she makes this journey.

Oh, and I ordered a copy of Dylan Thomas' poems too because of another entry in that book. I confess that I find Thonas difficult to decipher. I find I cannot read more than one or two at a time, and must go back and read over them several times to try to decipher his meaning, but his use of language is intriguing and brilliant, I think. His life was tempestuous and tragic in many ways, so much of it self-inflicted, and it is sad that such a talent had to die so young. To think what works he might have created had he lived! Wales is right to be proud of this native son, troubled though he was.

Well, I feel in a much better frame of mind now! So if you made it this far, thank you for being a listening ear. I promise to be a more cheerful companion tomorrow!

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.

Goodbye, Daisy

65f/18.3C, light overcast and strong breezes.

Our Daisy left us last night. She was old for a yellow Lab, almost 18, but has always been healthy, even though she only had one kidney, apparently born that way. She had slowed down a lot in the past year, and particularly in the past month, Then the other day she didn't want treats, odd for her. Last night she laid down in her favorite spot, and this morning she was gone.

So poor Larry had to bury yet another dog, the hardest part of loving these lovable beasts. Over the years we have said goodbye to some good ones, most living, like Daisy, beyond their expected years.

Still, that doesn't make it any easier when they die.

Daisy was one of those quiet, undemanding dogs. She didn't clamor for attention even when she was young.  She scared visitors when she'd hackle up and growl, and we had to reassure them that she truly was a sweetheart and never hurt anyone. She actually loved company, although she wasn't crazy about visiting dogs. She knew her job as protectress of this place, keeping the wildlife away, but never chased any critters past our property line 

Even in death, she tried not to cause any trouble. She was a good girl,  and I am going to miss her deeply. 

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.