Mother's Day 2024

Heard from my 3 sons, and 3 daughters in law, and one grandson. They all wished me happy Mother's Day. Long phone conversation with one son about his work.

Was I happy? I think so. I have a main sense of just total satisfaction at this time.

Gardening, listening to audio book (Outlander's latest one)...comfy clothes, great weather. No hoopla. I got a take out dinner broiled white fish, cold slaw, baked potato, hush puppies. My tapioca pudding desert had lots of pecans thrown on it. 

I worked on my potted plants for my porch garden. Saturday I got some little purple petunias, and a coleus, and some kind of purple leafed thing, "Persian Sheild." Oh and a new hefty lavender plant. I'm still nursing the one that is probably root bound. Maybe I'll have the energy to put it in a new pot with more soil. I've half a bag of potting soil left, and still 2 purple petunias and the Grosso lavender to plant.

It's 54 outside and partly cloudy. I hear some bird greeting the day, and a constant whir from cars on the two nearby highways. Rain my happen this evening. I'm living in my summer nest among the maple branches outside my second story window on the one side, and my front side of apartment now has pretty plants. Somehow I'm not drawn to bright flowers this year. The purples caught my eye and I went for it.

Today I'll go to the Senior lunch at Lake Tomahawk. I probably will walk down to the dam (1/4 mile) to see what's happening since I've been away. Then I'm meeting some friends who are doing their picnic lunches and walking at their paces. It's always ok for us to stop and rest on the benches along the way. I remember when I first started back, I could only make it to the first bench. Now I can get to the dam without stopping. Next when they open the walk over the dam, I'll try to do the whole half mile around! One of my younger friends can go all the way twice (or did before the dam construction started.)

Oh I almost forgot, there's the apple-mint plant also!

And I spent a little time in the studio yesterday also. Picked up these two new pots, the small one is degfinitely for an orchid to be repotted. I'm thinking larger for the Grosso Lavender. It will probably want to be big.

This is hanging over the balcony on the elevated side of the apartment. It may not get enough sun. We shall see.

Real life most often happens during the in-between times, when we are not celebrating a special occasion.

The newly potted

I spent all day Sunday (well starting at 3:30) repotting all the new plants, and one almsot new. It had been direct afternoon sun on my little porch up till 3:30. Somehow our earth has got these shadows switched over to summer already.

Only one pot didn't end up being vinegar treated, so we'll hope the fungus doesn't survive with new dirt.

I will be watching her!

I  was glad to get this free from Earth Day orchid out of it's pot and dirt which had lots of mildew on it. I must have given it too much water. Anyway, I'll try to remember, even though it doesn't look like an orchid, it needs to be treated like one. My other two are aching for new pots, but since they want room to put out all those air-roots (my name for them) I can't figure out what will work. Perhaps just cutting off all the dead ones, and repotting with new bark where they are...just thinking.

I fell in love with this begonia. It's a tiny plant and already blooming!

It certainly has the right name "Nonstop Joy"

A simply pair of peppermints. And are those aphids on it? I looked as well as I could with these non-prescription eyes. Maybe not. Only one leaf looks to have been chewed by a caterpiller. 

Sorry the phone wasn't pointed quite right for the basil plant. There are 3 intwined plants and I didn't notice they are just too close to pull apart. Shucks.

A bit better on the basil.

A nice little lavender, and I put a little ceramic head in with her, to watch over the garden perhaps.

I'll wait a few days until this nice coleus has settled before clipping off some and rooting it for more plants. Since it's hanging, I don't want it to get much taller, but it needs to fill out to the sides. Cutting off the highest point (pruning perhaps) will cause the side shoots to have more energy.

I would probably like Bonzai, execpt it's too disciplined for me, not to mention the cost of all the tools!!

All of these plants came from different nurseries at the Black Mountain Annual plant sale. So the 2 herbs are from one nursery, and the begonia and tiny lavender are both from another one, and the coleus is from yet another.

Today's quote:

 

We all have our time machines. Some take us back, they're called memories. Some take us forward, they're called dreams. -Jeremy Irons, actor (b.1948)