Back yard dreamings and plans

A blank palette. Just do it, just pick up things and put them Somewhere Else. Break up the scrap wood, stack it with the other wood. Take the broken bicycle and put it by the broken car. Finish reclaiming   the back porch and decorate it with magnificent cacti and succulents. Plant flowers to attract the bees. Gradually claim the yard as MINE. 

And so it goes. It's currently full of rocks. Growing needs to happen in containers, but I'm thinking if I put some good dirt by the fence and water and fertilize and plant them, they will grow. This spring the little corner was full of wild geraniums, mallow, marestail, and some unknown stuff. I let some grow, and it is blooming. Teensy not pretty blooms. Lovely green though. If I scatter some wildflower seeds, then it will be awesome, except for the foxtails that have been growing there for decades. I'll just keep pulling!

But there's a tiny praying mantis (or is it preying??) and some other flying bugs, a couple of caterpillars although are they good or bad don't know. Even though it has been up to 112 degrees here and full of smoke from the burning west coast, I've picked six zucchinis, we had them for breakfast. That was more than I thought we would get since the plants kept wilting in the heat, even though I covered them with shade cloth. 

Sometimes it's tough just to look at the positive. Today I got up early, so hoping to go to bed early and repeat getting up early. It was nice to be up before the television begins roaring. 

These are tough days. The political climate is alarming, there are many many fires here on the west coast, and oh yeah, there's still a pandemic going on, even though there are people who STILL think it's fake, how many people do you have to lose before you see? I don't know.

Didn't get many tomatoes this year, I think I must persuade the bees to be here at the right time. Some plants don't matter, like lettuce, carrots, potatoes... they don't need bees. But so many do. I watched many tiny zucchini fail because they weren't pollinated. I don't think I am good at it yet. 

As you can see, lots of good green leaves, very few yellow, lots of cherry tomatoes, only 1 Roma and 2 that are supposed to be yellow pear. Next year, only cherry tomatoes I think. I was successful just freezing them whole and throwing them in the crock pot whole and frozen, in the soup. Can't really make tomato sauce with them, but hubby doesn't like the thought of canned anything anyway....

Years ago, I did a bit of my garden the Ruth Stout method, which is basically mulch mulch mulch. I may be able to talk my husband into giving up some of the Potential Lawn Area. 

One day at a time as always.

I'm loving this succulent. I haven't tried to figure out what it is. It's very colorful, and made it through this hot hot summer in the sun. It has grown a LOT... it was a snippet last year, and this year it crowded out everything that was in that box. 

I do have quite a lot of cacti. I need another huge pot I think, and consolidate the small ones into one big pot. They never bloom as beautifully as my dad got them to. There again, I will enjoy whatever I get. My tiny paddle cactus is supposed to have a yellow bloom, eventually. It has one finger at the moment. It looks like it is gesturing.... well never mind.

I pray that we are still around to enjoy the spring, and to be able to see my family and friends. I hate the isolation, but I've been sending out cards and giving away sets of cards, that helps. I keep hoping that one day that wall hanging will finish itself, it isn't cooperating. 

so keep gesturing at these fires, little cactus, and at this pandemic. I'm hoping for a bloom someday, I will have to figure out where to let it grow however, and if I live long enough, to maybe eat one of those paddle when they are big. 

My gardening calendar told my hubby to dig up the freesia. Long story. We traded computers. I can't figure out how I can sign out of that computer without him losing access to a bunch of files he put on there before setting up his own profile. I may have to change my email address. 

My daughter in law gave me that freesia many years ago, and even though the rats ate most of them a couple years ago, a lot came back. Gorgeous and fragrant. The other plant that a different daughter in law gave me is going strong. 

I am indeed blessed with daughters in law, as well as sons and daughters and grandchildren. I miss our gatherings. It's hard to be patient. 

But there's gorgeous roses blooming. Yellow and this lovely orange and pink one. The yellow one was supposed to be a MINI ROSE but it's currently 6 feet tall before I prune it. The orange pink one was a slip from my mother in law's rose. She could just clip off a slip and stick it in the dirt and it would grow. There's a tiny yellow bush coming up under the other one, it needs to be dug out of that spot, but it has tiny blooms. I wonder what it's going to do..... 

An afternoon in someone else's garden

This was from an unknown time. We spent the afternoon in Ruben and Griselda's garden, it was lovely. I think it was only Cole, he must have been around 3.  They were living with Papa and Nana until their house was finished. It was so sweet for him to ask us to move in, but I don't think Papa and Nana and Mom and Dad agree.  

well it is Ruben and Griselda’s garden. It is very beautiful. We had a lovely afternoon just talking and watching as Cole blew bubbles, drew on the cement, and gave us a tour. We saw pill bugs, a snail, and various spiders. We talked about the Hulk, and just chatted. The highlight of the day was when Cole invited us to move into the house with them! Sweet, but…. um no. Not enough room, LOL

Can a Squash Blossom be Encouraging??

Sometimes life feels normal, sometimes it doesn't. We picked up groceries this morning, we choose to go at 7 am when few people are there. We don't go in, we just pick up our order outside. It's a pretty good system, I wouldn't even mind keeping it up under normal circumstances, if it ever gets normal again.

The garden was encouraging today. The squash are blooming again after a few days of dry heat it was cooler yesterday and today. There is even one tiny green bean. That struck me funny. I planted NINE green bean plants, and only 3 came up, and only 1 survived bugs. So we may be able to have a bean or two for dinner some night. I'm going to plant again pretty soon, we don't have frost here until November or so, so we may get another crop in. 

I have to learn about how to prune these roses, I've just been chopping at them, and they bloom really well, but still. They were supposed to be a tiny mini rose plant. They have turned out to be about 6 feet tall, and definitely NOT miniature. 

This card front has been done a long time, but never mounted on to a card. It's a Michael Strong stamp, and a script background stamp with glittery embossing, on an ink blended background. Sometimes I like cards so well I want to keep them. This one is that. But it's getting sent off tomorrow, hope they like it.

Good night, sleep tight, don't let the bedbugs bite. 

hummming

Hung up two hummingbird feeders today, one out front, one in the back. Still have a finch feeder to figure out where to put. We've been saving the Warming Up water for the plants, so watered some of them. Unfortunately I think we lost the blueberries. They were kind of in an obscure place and when we went on vacation I didn't water them before we left. Oh well.

Tomorrow I will actually have a finished project to report. I hope.

and who am I reporting to?? LOL I don't think anyone reads it but me. I guess I'm going through a why-am-I-doing-this-anyway phase.

Good ol' Dirt

Today I planted a tomato plant, and transplanted a Jade plant and a Christmas cactus. It felt so good it makes me wonder why I put it off for so long. Something about digging in the aromatic soil just relaxes me and makes me feel so at home.

I always feel like I need to grow something. If I can't, it depresses me. This year I was going to not have a garden at all but I couldn't stand it. It's a cherry tomato bred for containers. Can't wait for that first warm and straight from the garden tomato. I have two blueberry plants, but the birds are getting all the blueberries so far. My third plant died, so I need to get another so there will be better pollination.

I miss gardening very much. I miss going out there and picking snow peas and lettuce, chard... one year I even grew potatoes! The last few years have been so incredibly full of caring for everyone that I just didn't feel like I could grow anything. I hope someday to be somewhere I can grow broccoli and spinach and maybe even potatoes again...

So this year there's only the tomatoes. So if for some reason I can't be here all I will lose is the tomatoes. Maybe next year. Sigh.
 

in memory of Dad

  I think I have my head swirling about. I told myself that today I don't have to DO... just BE. I've been running around so much I kind of feel like I am in a whirlpool. I wanted to make some hot glue stencils but can't find the glue sticks. Found the glue GUN though.

Thinking about my dad. The things he created-- anything wooden. Furniture. Buildings. a house! He and my mother designed it and were their own contractor.  He made the house with cement block. Plenty of wood in it though. He made the most beautiful exposed aggregate sidewalk.  A greenhouse. a couple tree houses. A barn. A chicken coop within the barn. Walls, doors. Shelves.

My uncle Lloyd loved to do stained glass, and my dad did some of that. He painted ceramics. He built a wooden car. Made toys. He taught my children (those who wanted to learn!) the basics of wood working. They helped him build walls, a tree house, a doll house.

It didn't dawn on me until recently that my father was an artist. He made the most amazing garden at the facility where he lived. When he could no longer garden, he made photo albums of activities, pets, people... and of course the garden He inspired other people to get involved too.

Inspiration for my journal page. Picture to follow when it is dry and photographed.

where does the time go??

Being creative is sometimes hard to fit in to everything else. Right now, I'm only home 2 nights a week-- the rest, staying with my mother in law. I spend my days there, and so far haven't taken paints. I should. She might like it too. I got an outdoor table, so I ought to just do it. She's losing her sight, but she used to paint, and if she could get past not Being Perfect, then maybe she could...I gessoed some pages and did some more ghosting while i was there... just finished, and am dissatisfied with the results... just am so tired I can't think much less create something. Of course the beauty of painting is i can just gesso it again and start over.... maybe tomorrow, or technically today since it is after midnight.

A funny thing happened today though. I planted the sweet pea plants in the garden and found out that they are not "sweet peas" but they are "sweet peas". Not Sweet peas the flower. Sweet PEAS. LOL.... I had a good giggle, and I guess they ought to look pretty anyway but I was disappointed. I also planted snapdragons, dahlias,   and transplanted 4 peach seedlings, at my mother in law's request, because she wants to see what kind of peaches we will get.... but she's 95 and I don't know if they will be bearing soon enough. Oh well, I will do it anyway, and we will see. She might surprise me. I planted 3 kinds of tomatoes, and am preparing the beds for swiss chard, lettuce, and several kinds of beans, although not the favorite one-- blue lake pole beans. Couldn't find them anywhere. :(  I am LOVING the gardening. I get up around 6:30 and garden in the coolness. Very cool. Pictures someday.

Speaking of creating, and speaking of my mother in law, she has something new she made for lunch one day. The peanut butter and pickle sandwich was one thing, but when she added raisins to the tomato soup and loved it, I'm shaking my head.

She hardly ever acts like she has dementia.  LOL

SUNday

I started this page just painting it yellow, having no idea of what I would do. Then I thought of the sun, but since the page was already yellow, I couldn't very well make the SUN yellow, could I? So orange it became. I used a henna stencil on the top of the orange with yellow for interest... I was going to just journal on the bottom but then started between the sun's rays.

My husband doesn't want to grow anything. I do. I didn't realize that it was bothering me so much... but it is. I have to grow... he will have to understand that, it is a part of me I can't just ignore any more. I haven't had much garden here, and I miss it intensely. I'm looking forward to gardening at his mom's place, I'm just going to DO IT....