For the last week or so, when the alarm goes off, I pop out of bed pretty quickly and dash the curtains aside, looking out our window to see if the deer have returned. They have not. The thing is, we knew when we left the cottage that our deer gazing days were most likely over. Maybe not 100% over, but pretty close, so it was with astonishment that last week I performed the above and what to my wondering eyes should appear, but a family of four deer in the empty lot next door!!
Racing down the stairs, well as much as this old body will allow, I grabbed my camera with the zoom lens, unlocked the door, stepped into my porch sandals, and raced to an open spot in our towering hedge, all hoping that they were still there. And they were, as you can clearly see.
Although the photo would make you think that it was pretty light outside, actually no, it was not ideal lighting for good photographs, but as I once told a small class I was giving tips to, take what you can because with wild animals you may not get another chance. Anything is better than nothing, right?
So far my morning efforts have produced nothing but I will keep trying! In the meantime we are contenting ourselves with our rabbit visits. Most days two cotton-tail rabbits do weed control, and then they hop over the little stone wall between our house and Shannon's until we meet again the next morning.
Wasn't this post meant to be about gardening? Why yes it was, and I will get there, but let us talk about something I did not plant and in fact was shocked to see had returned and that is those tiny mushrooms!
I was admiring my hydrangeas, and really how could you not?
The tree adjacent to the above plant laden with blooms, so heavy and plentiful that the branches are drooping like mad, but I digress. The Rose of Sharon tree is right there and again, what to my wondering eyes should appear but this at the base of the tree:
They are back again! The next day the mushrooms had formed, extending into the grass,
and around the other side of the tree trunk.
Aren't they just so cool? Don't get too attached because, voila, the next day they had vanished again! I will keep my eye on it; perhaps it is a monthly thing?
Because we spent five years obeying condo rules about plants and now I don't have to, I am having a heyday with plants, so many plants. Some were here while some are new. Thank God for all of the what I am calling "the legacy plants" that we were gifted. The Rose of Sharon plant has begun blooming, with two trees and one very large bush of the same just coming along nicely.
The aforementioned hydrangea, and the hostas are about to show off big time.
One of the roses Matt gifted me last year when we moved in has become happy and is starting to bloom, while not yet profusely, promising is the word I might use to describe it.
Just this week two more were delivered from David Austin and Bruce was kind enough to plant them because he is much better at digging in the hard dirt than I am. Once they take hold I will show them off.
LOOK!!
Aren't they cute? So far so good with the tomatoes, I've got about ten strawberries on the two plants as well as three pepper plants that have the tiniest peppers on them right now. Plus a cucumber plant that is flowering!! All of the above are in pots because of my digging problem and also because we lack a lot of sunshine in the back yard. What we have I am using to showcase a floral display. So there are petunias and impatiens along with zinnias in the pots in the foreground.
On the wall are the Vancouver geraniums that I bought to replace the pansies in the front planters, but although they are looking somewhat bedraggled, they still have not given up. I've got lantanas, more pansies, salvia, more impatiens I put out under the magnolia tree which brings me to the blooms on the magnolia tree. You know the one that is about a hundred feet tall with four trunks? Yea, that one. The blooms are gigantic which is hard to show in a photograph so take my word for it, will you?
Geraniums are producing their vibrant blooms like mad and the mandevilla Bruce planted is going gang busters.
Just yesterday I freaked out when I saw that at least one of the caladium bulbs had broken ground. I had to interrupt my writing when Bruce came home from taking Grayson to play pickleball for the first time. Turns out that he is a natural and will be good in no time according to Bruce. I mention this because, of course I knew you would want to know about their time together, and two, because I was just out in the yard and found two more coming up! I love caladiums but have only bought plants in Florida. Having a bulb come to life is such a miracle to me.
On the front porch here are the balloon plants I told you about. They open like a Chinese dumpling or something like that!
The back porch is home to indoor plants that are thriving in the humid weather.
The truth is, one of the biggest stories around these parts is that rain has been our constant companion.
Day after day it has been raining at least some of the time. One of the days, coming home from VBS, I had planned to walk, imagining this sky would wait for me to get home.
Not a chance! Rob and Mary insisted on taking me and it was a good move on their part as the heavens opened up just as we got to their truck!
Through the living room window I watched the sun come back out, as is often the case.
By golly, looking the other way, well you probably already guessed what I saw. If not, here it is.
Faint, but still it is always a joy seeing a rainbow.
With all that rain, comes problems. Closest to home the problem is mosquitoes despite having the yard sprayed twice. I feel bad about asking them to come back but on the other hand, I've gotten far more bites than I would like. Secondly, the river, controlled by the TVA, looks terrible. Sluggish, over the banks and brown. You have seen this view many times before but never looking like this.
Yesterday I took the above photo, minutes later crossed the bridge and the heavens opened up on the other side! Finding shelter under some big trees, I carried on once it stopped and saw how much the water had risen.
The town did good when they put these brochures for the river walk under plastic.
I had sprayed myself liberally with repellent before I began my walk but after the rain shower soaked me, I decided not to take any chances with bug bites and made my way back to the street that leads to our neighborhood. Everything is growing like mad including this butterfly bush I saw on my walk home.
Leaving plants behind, oh wait.....Dale sent me this gorgeous card from Vancouver last week and it is so pretty I wanted to share it with you. Along with it in the picture are some weird "made in occupied Japan" s & p shakers I bought at an antique store. And, of course an hydrangea that I am putting in several rooms so I may enjoy them while they last.
Another off topic item is this corn salad I made for Saturday night company. No ordinary corn salad, it is
from Ina Garten and it is every bit as simple and good as folks say. My word friends, if you can get your hands on some fresh corn on the cob, MAKE it!! Bonus for me because I was able to use basil from my plant. And I don't really like red onion!
So good. Tammy and John are up from Florida for the first time in months and months so it was fun catching up with them. Wait until you see the bird box she brought us! Once Bruce has it up, I'll show you how elaborate it is.
Bruce brought his kayak with us this time which means he needs a place to store it off the ground. A trip to John's house for the post hole diggers,
a trip to Lowes for lumber and he was off and running, only stopping for another fierce rainstorm.
The process to make that joint was one I should have caught on camera. So impressive!
If it sounds as if I am enthusiastic about this planting business it is because I AM! This is what living with seasons will do for a person and I'm all for it. Thus far, bugs have not gotten to my plants, but I suppose only time will tell. I cannot wait to show you what comes next. Oh wait, I have no idea what will come next, but I eagerly await the arrival.
In closing, enjoy our neighbor Jason's front wall, so lovely and so reminded me of England. Oh wait, this was once an English colony, although I suspect they never got this far west when they were in charge. Who knows, maybe they did. (a quick search is inconclusive as to the British, the Scottish on the other hand...)
In spite of a sunny forecast clouds are forming.
your friend,
Gail
p.s. My last post with the bluebird family is here in case you missed it. For some days the twins, as I came to call them, spent time at the Bird Buddy which was fun, but I am afraid those days are past. Time will tell, but here is one of the juveniles when they were around more. Such a cutie!
