The most exciting thing that happened today was that a hummingbird finally showed up. Didn’t stay long, just long enough for us to notice. Perhaps my plantings and such are making them visit!
Category: Gardening
Rain on my Parade
“The voice of a single raindrop will always make a splash when it has something to say.”
Today is a day where I spent some time just sitting and looking at the garden and being all zen. I also bought a new hose and some other things, as the previous one starting leaking at the spigot and it got annoying. I went all out with this though – contractor strength connection! No more leaks hopefully forever! I also bought a couple more plants and planted them under the hummingbird feeder as I thought it was a little bare there and these plants’ blooms should also attract them as well.
Not sure what was going on here. Carson was watching this rabbit come on the deck (again!) and the bunny just watched Carson. They had a stare down for a good minute or two. Carson has now made ‘friends’ with this bunny, a finch, and possibly a chipmunk as of this afternoon.
Going to try something different tonight and grill a pizza out on the grill tonight. Check back to see how it came out. Also RIP Angel the cat, it’s been three years since you’ve been gone now – forever in our hearts.
Update: The pizza didn’t turn out so great. Oh well. Back to the drawing board on that one.
The Cabin by the Lake
I can remember as a kid staying in New Hampshire one week by a lake for a vacation with my family. The memory is blurry and I don’t remember why or how we stayed there, but I do remember walking off a dock and falling into the water and scaring myself half to death over it. Luckily I was able to make it back to shore by myself. I had totally forgotten all about that memory until right now. I wonder if that’s partly why I am somewhat averse to going into the water a lot of times, plus I can’t swim. Never learned, never had the desire to. I must have been around 8 years old? Anyways all I can seem to remember is the lake and the sand and the dock.
Guess all that work I’ve been doing to maintain these gardens is paying off – just look at these gorgeous blooms I’ve been waking up to in the morning.
Grace
Here we have Grace (an eastern cottontail rabbit that’s been hanging around – LD named her, I think it’s a her anyway) getting ready to eat some clover flowers. This particular bunny (a youngster we believe) spends all day in the yard and seems rather friendly and not so scared of people, as long as they don’t get too too close.
I placed the hummingbird feeder back out which had been gathering dust for a year or two now. I also moved it from it’s previous location. It was closer to the patio but I’ve now moved it into the back garden area where it’s more “secluded” and surrounded by natural nectar producing plants. I did this to make them feel safer and should provide me with a better view of actually seeing them. I remember earlier in the year just sitting on the back deck and this thing hovered in front of me with a buzzing sound. It took me a moment to register that it was a hummingbird in front of me! Of course, by the time I realized that, it took off – but it is pretty wild how they fly and hover and move in such varied ways, for a bird. So hopefully, I’ll get to see some more often.
Rando thoughts: Found an old copy of my Watchmen graphic novel from the ’80s. Think I’ll reread that. Setting up a new microwave. Got a simple outdoor inflatable pool yesterday, probably set that up this weekend. Still working on assembling the sideboard – it’s more complicated than I thought, with it’s Ikea-like directions and many parts. Hitting Home Depot to get a new hose and maybe some grilling accouterments, Speaking of grilling, I grilled last night and we ate by the firepit – I’ve become rather adept at it now – I actually prefer the hickory smell rather than the actual fire itself, although there is something meditative about just watching it burn – plus the smoke keeps the bugs away.
I spent the afternoon mowing the lawns, I like to keep it looking pretty, or at least, neat. Went to Volante’s this afternoon and ended up picking up a dwarf rose of sharon and a foxglove, which I planted in the patio area. Then hit another place down the road for a couple of hanging plants also for the patio area. Holy shit, gardening is a lot of work!
Tonight’s movie watch was Crash. Interesting flick – lots of well known actors too.
Early Lily
How pleased was I to see this first fire lily be open! I take another shot once more have opened but this is the first one. You can sort of see the hydrangeas and roses and clematis vine (can you spot it?) that surround it.
We were admiring a neighbor’s garden on our midday walk around the neighborhood, and so we got to talking and he gave us some great pointers about plants and the various critters and a little about himself. One thing about these quarantine days is we’ve really gotten to know the folks who live on the street in a way that we never have before. Very cool.
Container Gardens
“It is a golden maxim to cultivate the garden for the nose, and the eyes will take care of themselves.”
― Robert Louis Stevenson
The petunias are in full bloom, the various species of Dahlia are starting to bud and bloom, tomatoes are starting to form on their vines, zucchini and eggplant are forming and everything else is so far so good. The clematis vine is crawling all over the hydrangeas, which is kinda cool looking and the various pots out front and full of different flowers all in bloom as well. I deadheaded some of the dianthus so that new blooms will form. I also picked up a new Celosia today with yellow, red and purple blooms. Someday I may try my hand at growing wisteria to cover the front fences – I bet that would look pretty cool but for now I want to go out later and get a new Hibiscus to replace the dead one out back. The Rose Campions have really started to spread themselves, one is even in the lawn out back which I left alone to see how it’d fare (it’s in bloom now too). LD doesn’t like them but I think they’re cool and I like how the spread and make more of themselves. They almost look florescent to me with their reds against the light green of their stems. Makes me think to get some more or something similar to take up any bare areas out back and to cut out the weeds from getting some space. I cut back all the spent blooms from the butterfly bush out front – hopefully it’ll have all new blooms in a few. The various lilies are starting to bud – the fire lilies always looks spectacular and I can’t wait for them to open, but the star gazers on the patio and the old regular lilies in the back are also getting ready to pop. The pumpkin and butternut squashes so far are still growing their leaves out. The salvia are keeping the bees busy with pollinating tasks.
Home Life
I signed up a few days ago to attend a Zoom meeting about backyard birds. It was really good actually. I had already known most of the stuff but I did learn a couple of new things. It’s made me want to get back into birding. We’ve intentionally planted things that attract birds, bees, and butterflies but I think I might want to build a nest box for some species that may want to visit. Then spent the night binge watching old episodes (Season 1 and 2) of Grey’s Anatomy – what’s happened to me?
Cotton Candy Skies
Did a bunch of lawn maintenance today – trying out the new mower. I’m very pleased with it! Spent a bit of the evening watching the firepit. As we were just hanging, a rather large skunk started toward us in the lawn. Thankfully it kept moving on to the other side and out, just passing by.
Beach Roses
“Wildflowers aren’t meant to be cut & tamed. They’re meant to be loved & admired.”
I read and finished another book yesterday afternoon, My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite. Not the kind of read I usually do but this one was pretty good.
More plants and flowers are starting to bloom. I’ve noticed that the dahia tubers we planted weeks ago are now starting to bud (really interested to see what these’ll look like as I think they are specialized species – Black Satin and Diva), and the rose campions out front are also starting to flower now. The salvia and speedwells have also starting showing their wonderful blue and purple colors and are attracting butterflies just like we planned. Even the zucchini and eggplants are staring to fruit! One other thing I’ve been doing is photographing plants that I don’t know on my phone and using Google Lens to identify them – I’ve discovered cats-ear in the lawn (the false dandelion) and some other species to educate myself. Some things that I thought were weeds actually are not and vice versa! (although some of them could be considered like weeds as they grow in lawns, etc). Yesterday we watched 4 bunnies run around and play with each other and later one was taking down clover flowers like no tomorrow. It bit the stems and then it moves into his/her mouth like spaghetti until the last part to be chewed is the flower. Really cute to watch – just as long as it keeps it’s appetite to the lawn is all we ask. Speaking of lawns, was able to get a brand new Toro gas lawn mower that a neighbor wanted to get rid of for a good price – so that worked out swimmingly! I really needed a self-propelled one which this one is so cutting the lawn now should be easier for me.
Been watching current events – Sharing anything in this digital space that isn’t directly related to the changes happening feels inappropriate in some ways.
Discovering Oneself
The garden is coming along nicely – gives me something to look at and to do, a sense of accomplishment, although to be honest, the plants do most of the work themselves. It’s a treat for me to see a new bud forming, or a little tomato start to sprout, and the colors, the beautiful colors, brighten up things.
I feel I’m starting to become a little bit lazy. The days seem to pass by rather quickly. I grilled some trout last night on the barbecue. It came out pretty good.
Some of my photos finally got an actual mention on the newscast from the anchor along with showing them and that was exciting to see. It was the Fairhaven sunset and the bunny in the flowers on the deck, which I do have to say, feel are some of my best work. A lot of times I just never know what I might capture. Sometimes I’ll have an idea of what I think I might have in mind, but much of it is spontaneous (like the bunny) that just happened to be there. Like when I went to Fairhaven, I knew I’d like to get some sort of sunset shot (because folks seem to like those the best) but I had no idea of the surroundings or that I’d discover that field of poppies growing in the sand. I had to walk over to that location not even knowing it was there. Lots of times I’ll walk over to a place and there’s nothing great, but every once in a while I hit pay dirt. Part of the appeal for me is the discovery. Having had something of a sheltered childhood, I like to get out and see things now when I can. Somewhere in my head, there’s a curiosity – a need to discover and to learn, to find out more about the things that interest me. I only learned that over the years about myself. I started taking photos to prove to myself that I experienced what I saw and wanted to share it – almost like a validation that it really did happen, and to remember. That’s still true and probably always will be. Back to Fairhaven, I spent quite a while there, waiting for the sun to drop slowly lower and lower from the sky and to line up just how I wanted it to frame. I could see it in my mind how I wanted it to look – sometimes what I come back with isn’t the same as what I had envisioned, either the photo came out better than I had thought, or worse. I couldn’t get quite the angle that I had wanted, but it came out alright.
Smashing Time
Kinda bummed that on a drive home a rock hit my windshield on the highway and left a nice chip with small cracks coming out of it. Guess I’m going to have to have that looked at. Balls!
I am pleased with the garden results thus far. The Butterfly Bush out front is growing kind of wild though, so I’d like to rein that in a little bit. My purple rosebush is starting to bud, which is nice which sits right next to the butterfly bush. The two sets of columbines are in bloom, one the usual baby blue and white, and also a purple variety which looks really nice. I noticed the clematis has purple and a red which I never saw before. The azaleas out back are in bloom, but the lilacs are starting to fade a little bit. The Fuchsia is in bloom along with the dianthus, dahlias and creeping buttercups. Speaking of dahlias, one of the strange varieties that we planted may be starting to break through the topsoil. Same thing with the butternut squash seedlings. Not sure why some of the lettuce is already flowering and possibly going to seed. Seems a bit too early. There’s a lot more other plants too but I’ll describe their status better as they come closer to fruition.
Thanks NECN
This photo is from some of the gardening that we did the other day. I put together the planter (it has much more in it now then when this pic was taken) and LD planted and arranged it. NECN has really been liking my stuff as of late! Remember you can always get some of these on your wall from my shop if you really like any of them. I would much appreciate it!
Actually after taking a mini survey it’s quite an impressive collection we have to get started. Besides the petunias there are marigolds, lettuce and squash varieties, peas, ageratum, various dahlia species, verbana, rosemary, lavender, basil, eggplant, chives, snapdragons, cucumber, various tomato species, bell pepper, kale, salvia, zinnias, cat grass, bee balm, columbines, butterfly bushes, roses, hydrangeas, foxglove, clematis, azaleas, creeping buttercups, violets and various lily plants all starting to either starting to or already blossoming. There’s a few more as well but I forget their names. A good start though!
Somerville Tulips
I took a visit over to Earth-1 today to take care of some personal business, just trying to get some of my accounts in order. While there I happened to notice these cool looking tulips growing on the side of the house so I snapped it. I always liked tulips – they’re pretty cool looking, but they seem to come and go so fast.
Red Roses
“But he who dares not grasp the thorn
Should never crave the rose.”
The story behind the photo: This was a valentine’s gift one year and I felt like playing around with close up photography. I wanted to focus on the rose petals toward the front of the shot with the baby’s breath muted in the background. I then applied some effects after to give it a “softer” look. The red rose has been associated with love and passion for thousands of years. In Greek and Roman mythology, roses are often linked to Aphrodite, the Goddess of Love.
Gametime: Ice Roll. In case you haven’t noticed I have a thing for Puzzlescript games. I like these kinds of games that make me have to think on how to get to the exits. Maybe they can help you pass the day away too trying to solve them.
Spent some time over at Earth-1 this morning/afternoon. It was a good time, ended up watching SpiderMan 2 of all things. I think tomorrow I’m going to do some planting.
Get Through
Another somewhat uneventful day. Did go for a nice little walk around the neighborhood. Spent some time trying to get some things in order around the house. Did take up some of my old birding hobby today – managed to watch a little woodpecker begin to dig out a hole up in a tree in the backyard.
Did start watching a ridiculous show on Crime Investigation channel called Monstresses – basically women killers that are a bit on the deranged side you might say and I’ll just leave it at that and an exercise to the readers to find out more about it on their own should they so wish. I feel it’s shot weird too – like parts of it remind me of a comic book layout. (Actually looking it up I learned there’s only one season consisting of only three episodes).
Pulling Muscle
I don’t know what the heck I did last night but my left shoulder up to my neck is killing me right now. Perhaps I slept on it wrong, or I don’t know, but it’s a real bummer. I did power on and mow the front lawn however because it really needed it but I should probably take it easy. While sitting out in the sun room I noticed the trees out back looked pretty nice, so I took a quick picture. Going to suck having to deal with these leaves when they fall but that’s life.
There may be a pregnant bunny that was witnessed out in the back yard, but it didn’t appear to be Brazen Bunny. Also Squibbs the squirrel out back appears to be clawing and scraping away at the pumpkins out there. Really annoying.
I’m messing around with the site design a little bit. Might go back to what it was before, but I do like how this design puts my photos front and center. Only thing is it sends all the sidebar material to the bottom of the page (click the ‘plus’ sign to see what I mean down at the very bottom of the page).
I’ll also go back and read my latest issue of KMT magazine, It’s a quarterly that deals with ancient Egypt. This particular issue really strikes me as some of the articles in it are really interesting to me. One about the actual lineage of the 18th dynasty – does it really start with Tao I and end with Tutankhamen? Lots of gray area on that. A really cool article about using state of the art CT scans to look inside mummy coffins to see who and what’s inside including any artifacts they had on without opening them or damaging them (the photo quality they can get now is amazing and in three dimensions) and using iPads and software to recreate the hieroglyphic walls adorning various tombs accurately digitally – a process called digital epigraphy. Told you before I was a complete nerd for this stuff. So with all that I feel I’ve got to try to rest up and let this shoulder heal up a little bit.
Barbells, Sean Jr., and Books
Some friends of ours are opening a gym, so to celebrate them we created these “barbell” appetizers where the weights consist of different fruits for last night’s get together. We also ended up playing some games, including Scattergories (which is fun but hard, although I did learn from tricks from LD’s friend who visited a while back) and something they brought over called Mexican Train which uses dominoes (and I didn’t care for).
Our pumpkin, loving called Sean Connery Jr. because the seeds we planted were from a pumpkin I got the seeds from last year (obtained from same friends mentioned above) and they had named Sean Connery. (The reason why it was named that is a long story that goes back to a previous party outing with them).
We dropped off a bunch of books we had lying around from little libraries and deposited them at a bunch of different little libraries. While there I picked up two new books to read: The Golden King: The World of Tutankhamun (which I know a lot about already as I’m a big ancient Egypt buff – but I do find this book a great introduction to the Boy King) and Proof of Collusion: How Trump Betrayed America. Looks interesting so I’ll give it a read and it seems topical to what’s been going on in the news recently.
Hibiscus!
Went out after work to do our walk at a local plant nursery and ended up getting a giant hibiscus (along with some mums and a purple ornamental pepper plant). We’ve been wanted a hibiscus for a while now and the opportunity finally presented itself! Good deal price wise too. We’re going to decide where to plant it tomorrow.
I forgot to mention: It’s a Giant Hibiscus, not just the regular kind – so it’s blooms are large and spectacular looking in a deep reddish purple.
Trying the Impossible
Well, I jumped on the bandwagon for this one and this afternoon partook in the trying out of an Impossible Whopper at Burger King. I had heard of this thing for about a week now so I was curious to try it myself and see just how it is. And you know what? I actually liked it. It tasted just like a regular whopper to me. It is more expensive and the patty is plant based meat substitute. So I give it a thumbs up. I would get it again.
Sean the Pumpkin Vine is really starting get long – will we get a real pumpkin out of it? Fingers crossed! We did get the flowers already. Also been watching the 90210 reboot. It’s actually not really a reboot, but a story of the actors from the show getting together to do a reboot of the show. Pretty Meta – it’s actually not bad, I find I’m kinda digging it. I never saw the originals anyway.
Got a new puzzle game to rack my brain on: Landfill. I like it, but I do find it challenging.
Simple Saturday
Nice to have an afternoon where I could just sit out back and get to reading my latest book for a few hours – would love to finish it this weekend if at all possible. I am finding it to be a enjoyable read. We did have a massage earlier in the day, which was nice. Even had another friend come over during it but she didn’t stay long, which in a way was also nice. The timing of that getting over was good as my boss called a little while later wanting to go over some of the text of the proposal we’re working on. Basically my section is too long so I needed to pare it down some. But what do you get rid of? Don’t want to ax something that may be important. Well, I’ve come to the realization that we can only do the best that we can, if we lose this project, well, I’ll have to find something else to do, even if it is a bummer for me. I can only control what I can. Probably wouldn’t lose this job on anything I wrote anyway – most likely it would come down to cost – doesn’t everything?
Now I’m heating up some more panko chicken dinner for us, while the annoying neighbors kids next door keep screaming as they belly flop and splash into their pool.
While putzing around the yard I noticed and was pleased to see some of our pumpkins are starting to sprout from their seeds (Sean Connery’s progeny – Sean Connery being the name that the pumpkin had that the seeds came from – we didn’t come up with that, the steward of Sean did). I also noticed some strangely colored butterflies (but didn’t get a chance to see up close unfortunately) and even a hummingbird visiting the fuchsia! Maybe tomorrow I’ll be lucky enough to catch it again. Maybe I’ll finally pull the grill out too.
Flower Survey June 2019
Just a sampling of some of the flowers growing around the house 🙂 Click on one if you want to see any of them a bit larger. Like I said, just a sampling!
Bit by the Garden Bug
I never really considered myself a gardener. When I was younger I couldn’t have cared less. I can remember my grandmother yelling at me because my basketball (we had a hoop against the garage at the time) would inevitably bounce over and squash something that she had been growing. And I didn’t really seem all that bothered by it.
But then somewhere along the way I decided to try my hand at just growing some basil. Not sure when or how the idea took place, but I actually found myself liking to watch things grow.
Then the green thumb bug hit me. Little by little over time I would try my luck with various easy to grow herbs. I felt accomplished as these things grew and truth be told, I preferred the ones that basically grew themselves with little help from me.
I got to share my gardening with the Ladydoc. Just like me years before, she never really had a chance or a thought to grow anything. Probably felt didn’t have the knack or the time or the space. Come to find out, she discovered that she likes it now too. There’s something zen about working with the soil and communing with nature (does dirt have to be so dirty though?) We might not be the greatest at growing edibles but we’ve had some success. We really seem to hit the mark with flowers these days. We even increased our level of difficulty by trying to grow various species. Not all were successful, but the ones that have lasted have become established and are starting to fill in certain areas of the property. My original vision was just to have something pleasant to look at after coming home from a long day at work. Come to find out, the Ladydoc seems to have a knack for arranging all different species into various pots that give the place a feeling of being alive and all the colors of the rainbow. She really is the Container Gardening Queen. I’ve created a monster as she loves the more plants we get. We have plants in the ground, plants in raised beds, and plants in various pots about the decks.
It’s not perfect. I’m not very good at weeding and admittedly it’s that fact that I find the least enjoyable, as I’m sure most people do. Sometimes I don’t seem to water things enough. There’s the antics of squirrels and chipmunks. We decided not to use harsh chemicals because environmentalism and animals and all that. I think they seem to appreciate it as witnessed by the various creatures that pay us visits daily. Strangely, they don’t seem to go after the edibles in our raised boxes – not sure why, but pleased about that. I guess we came to some sort of agreement, you’ll all get other treats, just as long as you stay away from these – – Garden of Eden anyone?
It’s funny how the little things in life can give so much joy. I do enjoy the sense of accomplishment I get when we see a flower bloom finally after waiting a few months, and I suppose the bees and butterflies appreciate it too, and it’s great to see them flit about playfully. Lately we’re trying to grow pumpkin, along with the usual lettuce, tomatoes, squashes and herbs. The pots are filled with various perennials to last throughout the season. The funny thing is we never grow basil – Ladydoc doesn’t really like it. The herb that got me started in the first place.
I’m not sure where I was going with this entry. I just wanted to share the garden love and maybe be a little proud of our tiny piece of work in the grand scheme. It’s not much, but its ours, and I think it looks nice. I wanted to showcase some of the work that the Ladydoc has done, as the place really looks nicer than anything I could have put together. She’s become better at this than I ever was! And I’m glad I could share that interest of mine with her as well, and that she could run with it, and make it better and better, for ourselves and guests to see and enjoy, and forget our troubles for a little while.
If Chipmunks Could Smile
We saw a very strange and annoying yet somewhat cute sight this morning while looking out the back yard picture window. We have a strawberry plant that is producing quite nicely but it’s hung up on a planter hanging by a hook type setup.
Lo and behold, a chipmunk had somehow gone up the stairs and took a flying leap into the container and was gorging himself on the ripened strawberries thus far – a veritable fruit buffet of such delights that I don’t think a creature could ever be so happy as that chipmunk.
“No doubt to relish in the spoils of its labor”
We purposely did this and placed the setup as so as to make it difficult for this to happen. We tried to get a picture of the crime but the little bugger would hide underneath the canopy of strawberry leaves.
And then, without missing a step, it fell right out of the pot (looked upside down to me) and into the waiting arms of the buffeting hosta leaves, and then was gone, no doubt to relish in the spoils of its labor. It was kinda cute though seeing the head pop out from under the leaves, and did I see a smile on its lips?
Trying Out New Old Things
Let’s try to get caught up on a few things that have been going on since the last real update. In no particular order: Last weekend just browsing one of those Buy Nothing Facebook Groups I saw this bike available. So I threw my name into the hat, and wouldn’t you know I got picked!
So I went to meet the woman giving it away and came away with this sweet cruiser. A little banged up and serviceable. I spent part of last weekend fixing it up a bit, getting rid of some stuff she had on there that I didn’t want, such as a broken rear view mirror. Overall it seems to ride pretty well. I saw that Somerville is having a Bicycle Committee Community Bike Ride today so I’m going to go down there with the group and really give it a go. I think this will make a nice companion ride to my old mountain bike. Great to have options!
In other news, in case you were wondering, I did finally get the blade off the mower and installed the new one. Cuts really nice now, should be great going forward.
Speaking of moving forward, the Ladydoc finally decided to get some real home improvement work done over the last week. Namely, redoing the bedroom with newly painted walls, and finally removing the age old carpet which had great hardwoods underneath. They needed to be sanded and buffed and all that but they were in great shape to begin with. I guess being under that carpet so long preserved it! Apparently most of the house has these hardwoods but the previous owners covered much of it in carpeting, which naturally has been left, at least up until now. Also went down and got a new ceiling fan that’s made of brushed nickel and looks pretty cool. LED lights and all. Still need an electrician to come in and install a recessed light that LD wants over a chair in the room by the window to assist in reading.
In the plants realm, I did break down and buy and plant a new butterfly bush to replace the one out back with looked like it was regrowing and then suddenly went kaput. Not sure what happened there, although I think one night last winter when it got crazily cold may have put it over the edge. Otherwise, everything else seems to be blooming like crazy, especially the rose bushes, columbines, and clematis. Also the raised box vegetables are really starting to grow now. I love it when a plan all comes together!
What else? Well, last night while going out to dinner, we did see a red tailed hawk just sitting by the road. Majestic looking creature. Sadly, upon closer inspection he had what appeared to be a recently deceased baby bunny under his talons. He stayed there for quite a while as folks got out their cell phones and took some shots of him. We did too, until we saw what he had done. I know it’s nature and all but it kind of put a damper on it for us. What can I say? We’re a little sensitive.
And finally, speaking of dinners, I did get a chance to take my mom to a place called Earl’s in Assembly Square last weekend. I must say I was impressed with the decor of the place. (We had gone there after visiting my grandparent’s gravesite). Probably the most stunning thing about the visit though was our waitress who legit looked exactly like Jennifer Aniston. She said she gets that all the time and dresses more like her for Halloween. Well, if Jennifer ever needs a younger double, she’ll know where to look!