Rejected, I did not make it into the Lifeforms show...again.
I'm not wowed by the new expensive 800 thread count 100% cotton sateen sheets. While they felt soft enough in the package in the store, they're a little stiff or rather, have a lot of body, and not as soft as the 600 thread count Egyptian cotton sheets we wore out. Hopefully that will change as they get washed more.
Did I mention that the two yellow angel trumpets in the ground did eventually come back? My sister noticed the one over at the shop so I checked the one here and yup, coming back. And I'm finally getting some buds on the sweet peas and this not quite completely open flower surprised me this morning!
Even though we had a couple of cool mornings and low humidity days last week, it is definitely summer now. The yellow clasping leaved coneflowers and the white queen anne's lace are in full bloom in pastures and roadsides and the corn in the fields is about 4' tall. It's hot and humid and the mosquitoes are out, big black ones, a sure sign of summer.
The poppies are done, now I'm just waiting for them to finish going to seed before I pull them out.
I'm working on repotting (or planting in the ground) all the plumerias since it's been several years since I last did and they are all root bound and getting them moved to their summer stations. Another one, the very tall bridal bouquet plumeria that blooms white all summer, has gotten so big, 8' tall, I'm considering ditching it's pot and putting it in the ground except I don't think I'd be able to get it back out in the fall. It was so gorgeous blooming all summer that I am loathe to cut it back though I may have to. If not this year, then next. And I'm having to juggle pots. I split the nun's orchid into two smaller pots so I could use the bigger one it was in.
Nothing else much has been going on around here, just dousing myself with mosquito repellant and dicking around in the yard and sweating.
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Yesterday was a very full day. Did my yoga, wrote on this post some, fixed breakfast, did some repotting and moving of pots around, dug up a clump of the dwarf gladiolus and divided it and delivered the two pots to two neighbors and got some marigolds and a peach colored iris from one and some homegrown green beans and yellow squash from the other in return, gave Minnie a car ride while we went to take pictures of the yellow coneflowers and queen anne's lace, did the dishes (always a mountain since I let them pile up until all the plates, with accompanying silverware, are dirty) (I do rinse everything off so it's not all piling up dirty and glasses and kitchen plates and pots and pans and flatware goes in the dishwasher), and fixed some roasted cauliflower to go with dinner, cleaned up the kitchen after dinner, called the cat in, locked up the house for the night, brushed my teeth, brushed the cat, and fell into bed.
And of course this morning, after I pronounced it summer, which it really is, I woke up today to another cool morning.
You did have a busy day! I have been doing that lately - listing every single thing I did so I can prove to myself that I am being active and getting things done. Even small things count! I love that field of queen anne's lace! So pretty!
ReplyDeletesmall things certainly do count!
DeleteDear God, you are a VERY active gardener. I feel like I've had a big day if I pot a couple of plants! Bummer about the life forms show, but there will be another, I'm sure. (I was going to write, "And screw those bastards anyway!" But then I thought maybe you LIKE these people so I should be more circumspect. LOL)
ReplyDeleteI have a much larger garden than you do and my window for getting things set for the summer is closing fast so I am particularly grateful for this cool overcast day. and yeah, they have rejected me twice (though different juries) so screw those bastards!
DeleteLOL!
DeleteI love seeing the blooming flowers there. So very beautiful. Sorry about that life forms show, but as Steve and you have already written, "Screw those bastards..." I like your attitude!
ReplyDeleteAs one of my wisest art teachers used to say when someone didn't get into a competitive show: it only hurts for a minute! That used to help me in that situation.
ReplyDeleteI hear yoyr gardening has to go full speed because of the deadline of torrid heat. I keep forgetting you don't have the long leisurely season we do. Just a couple of weeks in July is too hot for me to be outside.
It's hot here, supposed to be 100 Thursday and Friday. That's pretty early even for here. I love Queen Anne's Lace, it's just gorgeous.
ReplyDeleteAs you said to Ellen D- small things DO definitely count. And if it's really hot, a walk to the front yard can be one of those small things.
ReplyDeleteI spent most of my day in town so I'm exhausted from that. Ugh.
I sure do admire your gardening.
To legally be Egyptian cotton, the thread must be actual brand Egyptian cotton. It is a longer fiber cotton and a strong thread. Sateen is any cotton, but treated to be strong and minimally pill. It is treated with a lot of different chemicals to not shrink and be strong and not break. Because it is minimally processed, Egyptian cotton is the better of the two and even a 600 thread count Egyptian cotton is totally satisfactory.
ReplyDeleteOff soap box now.
I suspect your sheets will soften up, like blue jeans. The ground around here is softening up, too. Some have had a touch too much rain, but ours has come in just the right way: slowly, and able to soak in.I can't even imagine an 8' tall plumeria. I think the tallest mine ever got was about 5', but I cut them back every year to one degree or another, and that made a difference.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry you didn't get in the show. Your work is surely worthy. The judges just don't have any taste in art! Hmmmph! Thanks for sharing that photo of the Sweetpea. That's my birth flower and I've only been able to grow them a couple of times in all my many years. Just love their scent. Blessings to you ....
ReplyDeleteSo sorry you didn't get in to the Show this time. Fabrics, I have a Passion for them and have my Favs, sometimes some can be a disappointment, I'd go with the Egyptian 600 you liked before if you can locate the same Brand? I'm fanatical about my Towels and many kinds wouldn't be acceptable to me. I didn't realize how Loyal I was about TP Brands 'til the Pandemic made it impossible to come by and I substituted and was so relieved when our regular Brand could be easily found and purchased again. Some Brands of that I'm surprised anyone buys after experiencing them! *LOL* Those Fields of Flowers are Sublime! I just Love Spring!
ReplyDeleteYou always have so much energy. I cannot work in the heat and humidity and I do remember that when I lived on the coast of Texas. Of course, our heat and humidity is just a month away!
ReplyDeleteYay! finally sweet peas abloom! The last time I bought 600 count "Egyptian" cotton sheets it took 6 dozen washings to make them soft! Not sure anything is soft and comfy out of the package these days.
ReplyDeleteThese big expansive fields of blossoms are a feast for the eyes. Are these just wild flowers or are they grown commercially like our rape and mustard and sunflower fields? And in France, lavender and poppy?
ReplyDeleteI am sorry your beautiful piece was rejected for the show.
I spent yesterday repotting our plumerias as well, or rather, I assisted and bossed the gardener man around. We split one that had branched out last summer and after a long time of nothing, there are green shoots along the top of the stem. We shall see what that brings, not that we actually have the space for even more plumerias inside during the winter.
Sorry about the show. Mike & I bought some supposedly very fancy sheets once that felt like canvas even YEARS later - they never did soften up. But I still used them because they were expensive. Ha!
ReplyDeleteThose field photos look like poetry.
ReplyDelete