A DRY OCTOBER DAY

We had rain only twice in September, I think, for an inch and a quarter, total. Nothing so far in the rain bucket for Oct. But we have a promise of Tropical Storm Karen working her way up here beginning of next week. They promise 3 days of rain. Lord knows, we need it. Normally I would have drained the hoses and had them back in their garbage can for the winter, but not this year. I got some mums for my birthday, and they need to drink or die. I put some out front next to a campaign sign for one of my “boys.” Well, Ralph has not been a BOY for quite a few years, but once they are your boys, they are always your boys. Who would have believed that skinny little kid would be first a neurological pediatrician, then a Senator, and now running for Lt Governor? But he has always been a good boy, and that is what counts most, isn’t it? Anyway, I have a few of his signs up and this was a perfect place for some of the mums.

 

As I said, it has been dry. The deer are coming up into the yard to drink out of the bird feeders. I find them  drained dry every morning and have finally put a tub of water out for them. When there is water in the ground baths, it stays very busy. I was happy to get this shot since the other birds tend to scare the cardinals away from the birdbaths. Can you see him?

 

The veggie gardens are just about done, but I have baby yellow wax beans just coming. This is the second planting in my stand-uppity garden.

The tomatoes have been slow this year. Many of them just up and died. The ones I plant in strange places, after the tomato garden itself was full, are still going strong. Not often one sees tomatoes in an azalea bush! But this seems to be a favorite growing area.

I was told I did not show any of my window boxes… and these are right outside the window here, with my birthday camellia behind them.

 

Thanks for visiting my garden!

SOME OF THIS, SOME OF THAT

OK, I DISAPPEARED... well, sort of. I have been so busy I have had lists of my lists of things to do. And I also had a major Lymes flair up that seriously slowed me down and made getting things done a hundred times harder. It is scary when the Babesia in my chest gets active. It is hard to tell if I am having a heart attack or it is "just Lymes." The symptoms are so similiar. Add fear to pain and not much gets done. OK, I read a couple books, something I seldom have time to do anymore. But, I am back on my feet, more or less... You can see some of what I have been up to at the other blog- http://onley-spots.blogspot.com/. Tho I must confess, I have not done much there lately... the body has not been cooperating, and then there is the problem with the heat. I do not do well in serious heat and humidity. I tend to pass out. So, last week while the guys labored in the heat, I sat with my camera and encouraging words and felt awful. I hate to not be productive, and my plans for all the work I needed to get done before this heat set in... well, I just get real mad at myself.
Then on June 16th, I was the "official" (!!!) photographer for our Shore's annual Juneteenth celebration. You history buffs know what that is, I am sure, but did you know that our county, Accomack, is actually mentioned by name in the Emancipation Proclamation? Unh huh.. Sure is. I will not bore you with all the pictures of the politicians and dignitaries, I will spare you all the entertainment shots, but will post Black Elvis upon request! However, I did get a few shots for my own amusement. I will share my kid fix shot for the day. They were dancing up a storm, these two, much to the entertainment of the assembled crowd. Ah, wouldst I could have a bit of that energy and pure joy!!!
Meanwhile, back at the ranch, the lilies decided to put on a show. This, a new one, is in front of the St John's Wort. The older lilies have been spectacular this year. Here are just a few of them. I really like what my aunt called 'funny faces' - deep color contrast lilies. This is my version of Happy Happy - and as close as I will ever get to owning one. Look it up, see what Happy Happy costs! In the rest of the yard there is an assortment of color run riot... blue, purple and orange! The window boxes are mostly deep reds and pinks.. And some unusual combinations seem to happen like Russian Blue Sage and gladiolas growing next to each other, and the phlox and coleus out by St Francis. I just thought I would share my garden with you. It has given me so much joy even when I can't be out in the midst of it. For those of you who get my Musings, those are faded prayer flags in the upper left corner. Thanks for stopping by! Next cool day, if you are in the neighborhood, come sit in one of the Adirondacks, have a glass of iced tea, and visit. Punkie will join us, I am sure. He LOVES company.

the LAND OF CAMELLIAS, KITTY CATS, AND POSSUMS

I started this post several days ago... did not get to finish it as the 'puter was in the 'puter-pital for a few days. Now, so thoroughly cleaned that I have to reload everything (and have lost tons of stuff - sigh) it is back. If you have not heard from me - that is why. I will do better after I retrieve your info and a lot of other things.

From last week: I just had a phone call from someone who was complaining about the fog this morning, the frost, the noise the VDOT men were making out on the road, the cat demanding his breakfast, the dog underfoot needing to go out for a pee… We live within 2 miles of each other so I am sharing the same fog, same frost, and even though I do not have a dog, I do have 2 outside cats I have to go out and feed, so I cannot escape the elements this morning. I headed for the door, can in hand, but, instead, rather than taking out a can of food, I turned around and came back for my camera. The sunrise was beautiful thru the fog. OK, not one of those brilliant bright awesomely colored sunrises but it was not all just a lessening of the gray sky, either. If you are a sunrise watcher, you know how quickly the colors change, and indeed the red brilliance had started to soften when I took the time to come back inside and get the camera. In the space of only a few shots, the red was gone and an orange glow took its place. For a couple seconds I was reminded of a forest fire in the distance. Instead, it was sunrise over the ocean. I stood beside the van on the carport – I was still in my slippers – and took these shots while a little cat wound around my ankles telling me he loved me dearly and especially admired my ability to open cans. Please open one. LOL! The other cat lounged sleepily in the heated box and waited, no beggar he! Soon the camellias will be busy with honeybees… Yes, honey bees love my yard, especially in the winter when it warms up enough for them to fly. There are usually a hundred or more camellias in bloom loaded with pollen, a mile from their bee boxes at my neighbor’s to the east. See the frost on the edge of the leaves? It will not hurt the camellias. The winter camellias can survive even a nice snowfall. They do not like a prolonged period of cold like we have had for the past 2 years. I stood there in the chilly morning air, petting the little cat that had jumped up on a shelf, all the better to be petted, looked at the camellias in January, and thought how lucky I was to live in such a place. Sure, I have a bigger house up in the mountains, beautiful scenery, a river with white water 1000 feet from my house… but no camellias. And there it is seriously cold this morning, and a light snow is falling. I am not into driving on icy mountain roads. Lazy, I guess… no longer adventurous enough. Or, maybe I have that wonderful elusive thing so many folks search their whole lives for, move from pillar to post looking for – contentment… happy to be living in the land of camellias, where kitty cats drink out of the bird bath, and possums hang out on the carport.

The end!

A POSSUM FOR THANKSGIVING

NO, we did not EAT him, he just paid us a visit, much to Punkin's dislike, not that Punkin dislikes possums, but he was not feeling like sharing. Punk went over and took a sniff, turned around and got back on the steps to wait until the slow poke finished and "mommy" brought out fresh food. I did not recognize this possum. I guess he was visiting for Thanksgiving. He sure was a big fella, and hungry. Or maybe he just liked the fixin's here. The big crockery DOG dish is heavy. Raccoons can't steal it, the wind can't blow it away. The plastic keeps the food dry in a windy rain, and keeps leaves out of their food. More camellias are in bloom. I am never sure which is more impressive, the masses of flowers, or the individual ones. Even tho we have had temps below freezing, the camellias are quite happy. If you follow this blog, you might remember pics of snow on the camellias from last winter... one of my favorite sights. They get "burned" when the sun shines on the ice on the petals, so some folks cover their plants. Camellias are hardy, to a point. They will not take repeated freezing temps like in the teens. These leaves are from last week. The wind from Wednesday stripped the bush of all but its berries.
I hope you had a happy Turkey Day. Be safe over the holidays!

SHORE FALL COLORS

THIS IS an amazingly beautiful time of year. Sure, it has been pretty in New England, yeah, the Poconos were awesome, as usual... and there is nothing as beautiful as the rocky coast of Maine anytime of the year. But, I am getting, OK, make that, I am older... and those beautiful hills and that beautiful but treacherous snow is something I no longer want to deal with on a daily basis. Here on the shore, we have something that we can't find in Maine. Won't happen in the Poconos... but brings beauty to the shore starting in mid-september, blooming often all winter long, into late spring... Camellias.
Some of these camellias are 12 feet or taller! This is Yule Tide by the maple tree. See the power line running thru it?

As you can see, by now, most of my camellias are more like small trees. This last one is Yule Tide again. It is also more than 12 feet across. I know it needs to be cut back, but I so hate doing that. Yule Tide was a gift from my friend Sabra, more than 20 years ago.
Yesterday, I was taking a short walk around the place with my camera noticing all the beautiful color combinations for this time of year. Yes, they will change soon. It is windy this morning and the leaves are falling as I type this. But let me share a bit of My Little Corner of the World with you today.

The berries are plentiful this year. That is supposed to mean another rough winter. We shall see.

And! Look carefully, a baby zucchini! See it?

THE BEGINNING OF FALL

IT IS THAT TIME OF YEAR the mornings are crisp if not almost cold. You can get in a few hours of work outside before the mosquitoes thaw out and become pests. Usually by the time they start to look for a snack, I am exhausted and in the shower anyway. The colors here are subtle. I appreciate that, having lived in New England and the Poconos where autumn sometimes screams at you… Not that I don’t appreciate all those beautiful colors, its just that I guess I like the surprise of a spot of color here and there. No one can say that autumn on the Eastern Shore is ever over-whelming! But this is a place where it is green, well, sort of, all year long. We have lots and lots of evergreens, not just the pines, but magnolias, camellias, bayberry, boxwood, holly, acuba… even the nandina and azaleas stay mostly green with hints of red to brighten them up in the winter. I like understated…

I have had azaleas blooming for over a month, and the camellias started the middle of September. Some of the phlox are still in bloom and the daisies just started on the first of October. The dogwood tree is usually the first to change color and get its bright berries. Then comes the Rose of Sharon (Althea), and then the big deciduous trees around the first of November.

Remember the song about the autumn leaves of red and gold? Well, here we have the autumn azaleas of red and the cat of gold! How’s this for autumn colors? Pumpkin and Spook came to me around this time of year… here’s Spook and Pumpkins and Punkin and potatoes! Yep, I still have potato plants… I will have a second crop of redskins… OK, maybe not too many, but a few meals worth, I am sure! I still have tomatoes. The azalea does well at holding them up.

This is also the end of the mega spider web season which usually starts in September. For about a month, these webs are EVERYWHERE! We learn to walk with our arms stretched out in front of our faces so we don’t wear the webs in our hair all day. I don’t dislike spiders, but I am not fond of webs in my face.

It is the season for apples, especially Macintosh. My dear neighbors brought me apples again this year from Maine. How I love apples and especially fresh home-made apple pie, made with honey and plenty of cinnamon. NO PHONY STUFF! The house smells so good on pie baking day. Mmmmmmmmmmmmm mmmmmm. Nothing lke a nice warm slice, fresh from the over (not warmed in a microwave – I don’t even own one of them, and a cold glass of real milk on a chilly afternoon. Life is good.