Pretty Things

I imagine you all thought I was kidding when I said it was nice to have the chair so Badum would have a place to sit...so I thought I'd share this image with you. I'm sure if I'd gotten there first, things might have gone differently.

But I was hard pressed to sit still last night, trying out the new Swiffer, playing the sliding tile puzzle game with all the boxes, cartons, milk crates and laundry baskets full of stuff, so I could Swiff (is that that proper verb form here? I'm new...), rearranging furniture, etc.

Anyway, he looked too comfortable to move and when I did sit down, I had color swatch charts spread out on the floor around me.

What fun to have carte blanche with colors! I think I've come up with the Plan of Attack, and might even be getting a start on the painting this evening. It just makes sense to try to do as much of it as possible before actually unpacking too much.

Of course, once I was reminded on the radio of the good possibility that the world as we know it might be sucked into a black hole when they turned on that particular accelerator in Switzerland, I did settle down a bit. No point being all exhausted when I get to the Hereafter, I figure. Considering I'd just found a great apartment and paid rent, it made perfect sense that the world might come to an end, at least according to the laws of Murphy.

Still, I was quite happy to see this morning that it had not. Hopefully, those scientists will be able to learn incredible new things about the birth of the Universe without all the trouble of those pesky black holes or dark matter. I can get all that in comic books, for gosh sake.

Considering the last few days, though, I am a little tired and not sure I have loads to say today, so I thought I'd give you a break from all that (and me, too), and just share with you some pretty flower pictures, which have been a bit minimal for the last few days. There are some nice shots from my visit to the garden on Monday that I think you'll all enjoy.

Oh, but I did want to show you first, one of the cool features of the Gardener's Nest I hadn't shared with you yet: this cool, plaster light fixture on the living room ceiling. Not having a supply of spare bulbs, I've not had the chance to see if it works yet (on the list of things to do this evening), but I sure hope it does.

Purty, ain't it?

Cinco

An old friend surprised me this spring. This is ajuga, which I am happy to say hitched a ride with this clump of shasta daisies. Also known as carpet bugle, this plants diminutive flower spires stand three or four inches tall. And just look at the deep blue of those flowers!

I'm pleased to see it's happy in this location, which I can tell by the way it has already put a finger or two of a runner out into the garden bed. Ajuga's a nice ground cover that plays fairly well with others. I like the idea of a little colony of them filling in some of the space between other plants, particularly around the various bulbs I've already planted.

Meanwhile, in another part of the forest, I also spotted one of the neighborhood cats perched on the roof of the neighboring house. I imagine it must've been nice and warm up there as the sun worked its way through some clouds lingering from the weekend.


This single cream- colored daffodil has also appeared alongside the house by the old hyacinths and the money plant.

It was nodding on the breeze quite a bit this morning, which I offer by way of explanation that the photo isn't more sharply focussed.

Right nearby, the bleeding heart has reached a height of about two feet or so, and lots of sprays of those special blossoms have sprung out on all sides now.


Outside the restaurant, the single pink tulip I photographed last week has a number of companions now, who were all on their best show this afternoon as the bright sunshine returned.



By this point in the afternoon (around 4 pm), our temperatures had climbed back up into the high 50s...with a forecast/promise of cracking into the 60s tomorrow.


Across the path, a quartet of red tulips added to the show.


I was at work a bit later than I'd anticipated, but I still got out in time to catch this terrific sunset at Skaket Beach, before making my way home for the evening stroll around the Hood with My Girl.

By the way, I did get to the Brewster in Bloom parade on Sunday, and it was awfully fun, if you are a fan of parades(which I am). I'm working on a presentation of some of that for you all, but it's taking a little longer than anticipated. Soon...

Seeds For Tomorrow

Mother Nature's being quite kind to us this week, a nice payback for those cold gray days of winter.

Yesterday before work, I boiled down some jalapenos to make a spicy spray to coat the remaining crocuses, daffodils and such, in hopes of warding off the Nibblers, whomever they may be. Before applying that, I watered the garden border for the first time this spring...since its suddenly been a little while since it rained last.

I also spread some allyssum seeds along the front edges of the the border and got those watered in. I will probably get a few seedlings at the nursery, anyway, 'cause I just don't think you can have enough of the stuff. But, I also used the allyssum seeds primarily around where the crocuses have come, as a way of marking their location for my reference later in the season...like when I want to plant other bulbs in the same area.

Here's the Little King lounging in the laundry room yesterday. I sort of set this up, by putting an old throw pillow in my now- chocolate-free Easter basket.

It didn't take him long at all to find the comfort in it. The laundry room has many windows, so its a favorite bird watching spot for Agent LaChat.

I've recently spotted (as I'm sure he has, as well)the first goldfinches of the season out in the apple tree, and hope to also hang out some orange halves, as the orioles should be arriving shortly. And this weekend I really MUST get that big bird bath set up.


Today was a day off, and also reason for cele bration as we had a handyman visit this morning to replace the defective valve which decides when and if we get hot water. Since it has recently been deciding against our having hot water, this is terribly good news.

As a bonus, I spent the day with Mom and Dad, touring around Route 28, visiting various stores and shops, having lunch and enjoying one another's company some more.

As a garden-warming present, they bought me a new watering can and some packets of seeds for the season ahead. I also priced soaker hoses at assorted locations and found one for $6.99 at the Christmas Tree Shop(of course!), and also picked up a few more packets of seeds.

I'm waiting on the appearance of assorted lilies before I'll lay out the soaker hose, so I can arrange it properly without accidentally digging up anything important. I'm sure it'll be the most efficient way to keep this full-sun garden well-watered this summer.

As for those seeds, I'll be working with Morning Glories (in assorted colors), Bachelor Buttons (in what appears to be a matching color assortment), some California Giant Zinnias (the same species I photographed last fall in another gardener's plot), purple Cleome, some Seashell Cosmos, and also some German chamomile.

Most of these can be direct sown into the garden, but not for a while yet(last frost the last few years has come right around Memorial Day for us). I think I'll start some cleome seedlings to give some of them a headstart...and the same with the morning glories. In advance of that, and a new planting of sunflower seeds I've got in mind, I sat down tonight and made two new trays full of paper pots, which I'll get planted in the next day or so.

I've also now transplanted all the sunflower seedlings from the first planting into larger pots and my south-facing bedroom window is becoming quite full.

Oh, check this out:

This fabulous blossom caught my eye yesterday morning in the bleeding heart bush.

It took only a split-second to realize this was no bleeding heart flower, though, but a clever ruse planted by my Loving Other Half as a surprise. His long history of practical jokes includes having wired fake flowers onto roses finished blooming to fool Provincetown tourists, back when he lived on Commercial Street, so I wasn't a bit surprised. But I did get a good laugh...and those are always welcome in the garden.

You can see there'll be no shortage of real bleeding heart blooms in a very short time, from all the bud clusters pinking up. For now, though, I've left this Fool's Flower of April to play with anyone else who happens by.

Two Random Notes

A long, long time ago, in a galaxy far far away...oh, wait...I mean, back in the early 1990s, as my college career was finally wrapping up, I made the acquaintance of a tiny kitten. His name was Martin and he'd been adopted by a friend who's landlord didn't care to have a cat living on his property. Martin came to live with me.

He was a crazy little puff of a fellow, who used to climb me like a tree to perch on my shoulder. At night, he'd make a nest in my longish hair and settle in with me. Apparently he needed less sleep than I, as he was fond of batting at my eyes when REM sleep set in...and then we'd both be awake to play. Weee...

Sadly, our landlord was not a cat fan either, and we parted ways. I'd sort of forgotten where he'd ended up in the frenzy that was senior year. And then I heard from friends a year or so ago, and learned that he was still living happily with their family in Georgia (a long way from his Adirondack roots...).

This week, the old man turned sixteen years old and his people sent this along. Doesn't look it, does he?

Happy Birthday, dude! And my thanks to Tom, Patty and the kids for giving my old pal such a great home and what sounds to be a pretty happy cat life!!

On a totally unrelated note, have you seen the insect below in your garden? I certainly hope so!!

We found this one out behind the restaurant the other day, and I've since learned that it is a ladybug larva.

Wouldn't have guessed that one in a million years. I believe this pic will embiggen nicely, so you can marvel along with me at those crazy tiny branched spines on their back.