one more, a task, and abundant blooms

I have to say I was very surprised by all the positive comments about the willow card, so, thank you all. I finished the red oak leaf and I think I’m done for now. 

I may do more in the future but I have cleaned off my small work table, put the watercolor pencils and crayons and paper and brushes away. I have some sewing things that need doing so that’s what I’m turning my attention to now.

I spent the day Friday doing house things. First I cleaned out the linen closet which hasn’t been done since we first moved into this house about 15 years ago. 

I emptied it…extra pillows, blankets, sheets and pillow cases, air mattresses…and spread it all out in the hall: five sets of sheets that we currently use ( two of which the bottom fitted sheet needs some repair), one set of flannel sheets that we haven’t used in 20 years probably, one extra top sheet, and 21 pillow cases not being currently used including 6 extra long ones from early in our marriage when we had extra long down pillows and five flannel ones; three blankets, one lap blanket, a bedspread, a tattered quilt, a hammock, 4 pillows, a heating pad, and an extra shower curtain. I weeded out 16 pillow cases, the lap blanket, the quilt, the flannel sheets, and the lone top sheet. I'm donating all that except the quilt and lap blanket to the Austin animal shelter where Jade works. She says they use it for bedding for the animals. Then I rearranged it putting the air mattresses on the top shelf getting them off the floor. 

And because that apparently wasn’t enough work for one day I vacuumed the whole house and mopped the kitchen, the hall, and the dining room area (well, I used a Swiffer).

I had to stop and pull into the driveway of the shop on my way to SHARE last Thursday to take a picture of the morning glory bush. I can see it over the fence and it was just magnificent. I’ve never had one bloom this profusely, like bouquets, so you're getting three pictures.

Speaking of blooming profusely, I noticed a couple of weeks ago that the night blooming cereus was putting on another round of blooms. Last week I stopped counting the buds at 30. Thursday afternoon I counted 35 that were on the verge of opening. I went out at 10 pm with the flashlight and no, not that night but def the next. 

So Friday evening I set my alarm for 11 pm but went out with the flashlight at half past 10 and whoa! All but two of the 35 had opened, some in clusters the buds were so close together. She certainly earns the name Queen of the Night.

Hard to pick just a few.

 

weekend activities and a rainbow bracelet

Fall blooming bindweed in the ditch in front of Pam’s house.

Saturday I finally got out there and trimmed the yard and my arms were sore for two days afterward. The trimmer is only about 9 1/2 pounds but holding up 9 1/2 pounds for 45 minutes, it gets heavy. I did that after breakfast and then dug the thorny dewberry vines out of the long daylily bed in the big backyard in the afternoon. They’ll all be back though as the roots go deep, too deep to really get them out and everywhere a vine lays on the ground long enough it sprouts roots. Last summer when I couldn’t work in the yard recovering from one procedure or another and when I did it was cleaning up all the damage from Hurricane Beryl, they colonized three of my flower beds. So now it’s a constant battle. Of course where they’re growing they don’t get enough sun to actually make berries so they are just a big pain in the ass for no reward.

Sunday I set the sprinkler out moving it every half hour and intended to only go around and pick up loose bricks laying around. When I had a wagon full I pulled it to the front and I thought instead of stacking them in the barn right away I’d shorten the arm of the big flower bed in the front yard because when Marc mows he knocks the bricks askew and add those bricks to the wagon. Except, after I dug up the society garlic and shortened the arm I thought why am I taking these to the barn when I can just finish lining this flower bed, something I had never finished. So that’s what I did, pulling grass and crabgrass out and I only had to scrounge up about 5 more bricks.

Now I’m inspired to finally do this one (these were already here when we bought the place).

Later in the day I collected Paisleigh and I taught her to play dominoes with the set of Disney princess dominoes I got from another donation at SHARE (we can buy donated stuff (garage sale prices) that’s not food). When she tired of that we colored with the sidewalk chalk and then painted with the watercolors. Then we went across the street and she helped feed the four boys and Momcat and then we walked Minnie and I delivered her back to her parents.

More watering yesterday, it is still so dry, and finished the willow card and abandoned the bamboo. All the trees I’ve done so far; the gingko, pecan, maple, are in my yard, the willow grows at the end of my street. No bamboo in the vicinity. I decided to do a leaf off the red oak tree by my driveway instead.

Yellow bells and rangoon creeper in full bloom over at the shop yard.

This morning I had a rainbow bracelet. 

a hint of the possibility of fall, two more, object #9

The flowering senna across the street at Pam’s house. It definitely has not minded the dry weather. I think I’ve watered it only a couple of times all summer.

Monday and Tuesday have been so refreshing and this morning also. In the 70s when I got up Monday, in the 60s when I got up Tuesday, highs in the 80s, blue sky days with no humidity, AC is off and doors are open until it starts to warm up with highs back in the 90s. 

I made gumbo last night because I wanted to use up the last of the okra I bought from the guy at the Easy Lube that sells it from his garden, also I like to have fish at least once a week so I put catfish and shrimp in it. I’m not great at gumbo but this was probably the best so far, not that it was great, so I guess I’m getting better. And no I do not make my own roux, I use instant, just add water. Friday I plan on stuffed shells. 

I took advantage of the cooler weather this morning and pulled up all the zinnias. It’s been so dry I couldn’t keep them watered and just quit trying last week and besides they were at the end of their ability to produce flowers anyway.

Two more cards. I’m starting to wind down on this project though I think I still have a few more in me and then I want to start on a new colored pencil drawing for a friend.

I have no desire to comment on the continuing fuckery of this administration today.

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My Life In 100 Objects - #9

Objects really. Favorite items of clothing. I wear them until they are rags and still wear them until every time I do family members are all ‘I can’t believe you are wearing that ragged thing’. The previous favorite was a lightweight green long sleeved pullover shirt that I bought on the marked down several times rack for $1.99. It was surprisingly warm for its weight and also the first long sleeved shirt I would pull out when the weather finally turned cool enough. I wore that thing until the front was almost in shreds and only reluctantly threw it away. My current favorite item is a purple plaid flannel shirt with western style yokes front and back and pearl snaps. 

It had a big tear in the front that I mended years ago and now the elbow on the right sleeve is torn out and a spot on the left sleeve has opened up to a small hole, destined to get bigger and bigger. It’s gotten to the point where I probably won’t wear it out in public anymore but I’ll definitely still wear it in the house and in the yard.

 

art stuff, flowers, weird aging

I made a decision about my drawing. I left the large central petal for last because those white filaments coming off the side petals were tiny and fussy and with small gaps where the petal in the background shows through and the shading of them and quite frankly I don’t think I can detail them in any way that they will look right or that I will be happy with. I looked at lots of pictures of violets yesterday and many, maybe even most, don’t have those things. So. I’ve decided to take them out. I thought maybe when I finished the drawing I could use a little thick watercolor and add them in, experimenting on a scratch piece of paper but then I realized that colored pencils are wax based it might not work. I’ll still test it out so we’ll see. I did a quick little test and it might work but I still don’t think I can get the definition. 

I worked on it more yesterday, the bottom petal, and finally put it aside because I didn’t feel like anything I added or slightly erased was changing it in any significant way. Not sure I’m through but I probably am. Not sure how happy I am with it, for one I know I omitted part of the flower and two I don’t think the shadow reads as a shadow like it does in the photo but, hey, can’t expect every drawing to come out to my satisfaction. I’m not unhappy with it just eventually I get to the point where I’m ready to move on. I think I’m there.

So, now, do I do another drawing of the other violet while I have my pencils out or go straight to watercolor. Or maybe I’ll get out the watercolor pencils and play around with them just to see what they do. And speaking of drawings or rather prints of my drawings, one of my framed prints, the yellow trumpet flower, sold at the Hesed House market.

I had to get up early this morning, and by early I mean 7 AM, for a dermatology appointment in Rosenberg (or Richmond, never sure as the two towns are contiguous). It’s a 25 minute drive mostly on the highway and my appointment was for 8 AM. By choice. Am I crazy? I think so until I get there and no waiting because I’m first and back home by 9. The other choice is in El Campo which is closer but would actually take about the same amount of time to get there. Today is also the day I do my weekly grocery shopping and one of my days to fix dinner so not much free time today.

Just some random photos…Next year’s zinnias. There’s a seed at the end of each petal, not all mature but most.

The indigofera,

the beauty berries turning purple.

Can you see this? That black line in my palm is a rogue hair I pulled out of my left eyebrow. It’s over 3/4” long. Aging does weird things to your body.

who is that person in the mirror?

I think all my wrinkles underwent mitosis the other day.

I did take the truck over on Sunday and gathered up all the pruned branches off the white orchid shrub and the tallow tree and the vines of the virginia creeper and Eric emptied it onto the burn pile for me. Eric works with my grandson Mikey at the same auto repair shop and he and his wife rent a room in my daughter’s house (long story about how that came to be but it’s working out well for all parties) and so Eric is often over at the shop too after hours and weekends. Works for me. The boys are quick to help me with whatever I need. And since Paisleigh was also there on Sunday she tagged along with me. We ‘played chalk’ and she’s getting better at drawing a hopscotch and writing the numbers with a little help and guidance and then we came in and played doctor with one of the stuffed toys. Then she wanted to look at some pictures on my computer and when we got to the picture of the carrots I pulled the other day we went out and she pulled a carrot for her Pop Pop (my son in law) for him to cook and eat.

Then we looked at more pictures and then she wanted to write with my keyboard on the computer and this is what she wrote:  l pxooxaos-0qs0iqi  q os oq  iiufhofofooioir4utlkkhdjjcjkjkkjksjkjglllhskslljfojf’lofjrfhfljj. Then we played taking a nap and after that I took her back to her dad over at the shop so that I could go back home and take a shower and an actual nap. Only I sat quietly and read for a while instead.

I caught my neighbor Gary on Monday coming back from his evening walk and while he doesn’t have a pole chain saw he has a pole saw and he said he’d come cut the branches for me the next day, which he did Tuesday morning cutting more of the high branches above the weatherhead and some that were close to the end of the house. 

So already I have another load of branches to pick up and haul to the burn pile including a pile at my house from Monday when a windstorm blew through bringing a little rain that dropped a bunch of small to medium branches and one fairly large limb. I love that my house is surrounded by trees but why do they have to all be ones that self prune and drop branches all the time! 

Small forays out in the yard Wednesday, watered the plants in pots in the morning then later dead headed the zinnias which are still blooming but waning. Flowers are smaller and some of the smaller plants have died back. Pulled a few weeds. This will be the modus operandi for the foreseeable future entering the dog days of summer. 

Last spring you might remember that I moved a bigger table into the barn to keep my gardening and potting stuff on and put up a small shelf which almost immediately wasn’t big enough. I cut a longer shelf board a while back and today I finally put it up where the short shelf was and then put the short shelf underneath it. 

The mexican bird of paradise, also called pride of barbados, is still blooming as is the rangoon creeper,

the morning glory bush, 

the aforementioned zinnias, and the yellow bells.

On a closer look this young lady was looking for her next meal. She’s only about 2” right now but will get much bigger.

more of the same and this is what finally got their attention?

It’s currently 86˚ with the ‘real feel’ 20 degrees hotter at 10 AM (this was yesterday). I’ve been working outside the past week but only for an hour or hour and a half at a time. Have I spent that time on any one thing getting it done? Hell, no. I’m jumping around leaving little piles of debris all over the yard. I’ve pulled up all six tomato plants and only cut up three of them and tossed on the compost pile and put away those three cages. The other three are still laying on the ground as is the cucumber which finally grew like gangbusters and bloomed profusely all male flowers, except for two that didn’t get bigger than an inch before they disappeared. I deadheaded the zinnias for seeds for next year. I tackled the completely overgrown area under the big Chinese fringe flower tree that turns in a glowing torch in the spring on the northeast corner of the property getting the grass and weeds out of only half where the gerber daisy and easter lilies grow and bordered part of that with bricks (you can see the part that didn’t get done bottom right). 

I cut the water sprouts off the fringe tree and two of the crepe myrtles. I’m slowly cutting up the big limb that fell off the pecan tree one wagon load at a time and tossing it in the truck for eventual dumping on the burn pile. I cut some of the low hanging branches off the big cedar tree in the back. And Monday I discovered the ants had invaded the garage and the bag of bird seed, building nests under the foam mats, two big piles of eggs, so all the mats had to be taken up, the garage hosed out, the mats hosed down, the concrete swept after it dried, 

swept again yesterday morning because the ants weren’t completely discouraged, and the mats laid down again. 

A pain in the butt but the mats are absolutely necessary because while the concrete apron where we park the car and truck has a texture, the concrete floor in the garage is smooth and very slick when condensation gets it wet, dangerously so, slippy slidey so. Just as well, that whole area under the mats and against the wall needed to be swept out.

I’ve had no AC in the car for a week but Mikey looked at it Sunday and it’s leaking in two places. Seal kit is being ordered but in the meantime it’s all windows down.

That’s about all that’s going on around here and no political commentary because it’s all horrible and seemingly unstoppable and every time time you think that’s it, that’s the bottom we discover that no, no it isn’t. I’m a little heartened to see the rift in MAGAtland over the Epstein files/client list but confused about why that. It’s not like we didn’t know Trump is a rapist and sexual abuser since he’s bragged about it and we know he raped 13 and 14 year old girls on Epstein’s island because those grown girls have told us so. Trump was big buddies with Epstein and plenty of video to back that up. Of course Republicans and Pam Bondi were never going to release any of that because of who is on the list but they made a big mistake during the campaign promising to release it and bring all those 'pedophile Democrat liberals' to justice. And that’s why I believe the cultists are enraged, not necessarily because girls were raped (apparently rape is fine in MAGAtland as long as the women are grown) but because they believe it’s liberals on the list and now Trump is protecting them. We can only hope that this is the rift that allows some of his base to abandon him, something bad enough to let them save face, because obviously kidnapping and cruelty and loss of freedom and rights hasn’t been enough.

So I guess some political commentary. Anyway, here’s some random photos that have been piling up.

I enjoyed the Hamish Macbeth series so much that I thought I would read some of the books so the next time I went to the library I looked to see what they had and thinking I would start with the oldest that they had and work my way forward I picked this one. Think it’s been around a while?

Haven’t posted a pic of the prisms that the crystals throw on my walls and everything else in the mornings for a while. The summer canopy of the tallow tree prevents most of the direct sunlight but there is one little opening that allows a ray or two between 9 and 9:30.

Sunday’s sunset.

The rangoon creeper in full bloom.

The spider lilies are also blooming.

And the porterweed (was, it’s between bloom cycles now).

FYI, I didn’t answer comments for the most part for years but this year I’ve really tried to start doing that. You know, in case you haven't noticed and are interested.