And again –

  

I haven’t fallen into a rabbit hole or walked through a mirror.

I have had my daughter visiting for two wonderful weeks.  But, mostly, I’ve been doing yard work.  And cooking.  And enjoying my daughters company.

My goal this fall (and we’ve actually had a few fall mornings; summer afternoons) is to get my container plants ready to winter over.  So, I’ve been planting a few things, tossing a few things, and giving away as much as I can. 

So far, I’ve planted a fig tree

Which, by the way, could grow up to 20 feet tall and 10 feet wide (I am thinking positive).  This little tree has had difficult life.  A good friend gave it to me (dug it out of her yard).  I planted it in my yard.  Unfortunately, it did not thrive - not enough sun.  So, I dug it up and gave it to my sister to plant on the acre+ at her place.  Which she did.  Then, poor little tree, got smushed during the house “building” phase.  She dug it up and put it in a pot.  And then last February we had a “100-Year Freeze” and little tree froze to the dirt.  However, it did persevere and came up from the root.  She gave it back to me and I planted it again.  Hopefully it will grow like mad and turn into a

a giant fig tree

Now, just a few Fig Facts

1 Fig trees have no blossoms on their branches. The blossom is inside of the fruit! Many tiny flowers produce the crunchy little edible seeds that give figs their unique texture.
2 Figs naturally help hold in moisture in baked goods, keeping them fresher.
3 Fig puree can be used to replace fat in baked goods.
4 The early Olympic athletes used figs as a training food. Figs were also presented as laurels to the winners, becoming the first Olympic “medal.”
5 In Roman times figs were considered to be restorative. They were believed to increase the strength of young people, to maintain the elderly in better health and to make them look younger with fewer wrinkles.
6 Figs made their first commercial product appearance with the 1892 introduction of Fig Newtons® cookies.
8 The fig tree is a symbol of abundance, fertility and sweetness.
9 Eating one half cup of figs has as much calcium as drinking one-half cup of milk.
10 Ounce for ounce, figs have more fiber than prunes and more potassium than bananas.

Interesting?  –  yes!  Unfortunately, I don’t care too much for figs so I will be looking for anyone to take them when the little tree starts to produce.  Next year!  or probably in a couple of years (positive thinking).

Okay, how good are you with tongue twisters??

I'm not a fig plucker, I’m a fig plucker's son.
But I'll pluck figs, till the fig plucker comes.

I also planted my lemon grass

I like lemon grass.  Mostly because it is easy to grow and doesn’t really require much in the way on “hands-on” attention. 

Just in case you’re wondering . . .

1 Chop lemon grass and add to rice when cooking.
2 Chop up and add to stir-fry vegetables
3 Add to marinades for chicken or fish.
4 It’s rich in folic acid, folate, zinc, magnesium, copper, potassium, iron, phosphorus, manganese, calcium, and vitamins A, B, and C.
5 Made into a tea, it helps with stress and sleep problems.

And, I planted my Coral Plant (Jatropha multifida).  It’s gotten too big for me to move inside during the winter so, it’s now in a “live or die” situation.  I am planning to take some cuttings – just in case.

I’ve had a couple of these plants over the past 20 years.  They’re a bit unique and can get 6-8 feet tall. 

This past weekend daughter and I made a daytrip to Austin to see her godparents and my long-time friends.  It was a lovely day and a nice visit.  My friend is (if there is such a thing) a Master Needlepointer.  She does exquisite work and she gave me a piece to bring home.

We finally got some rain!!  Whaaaawho!  I don’t think we’ve had rain since the middle of July so the past couple of rainy days have been nice.  Well, except for the thunder/lightning storm.  That wasn’t much fun.  Knocked out the power.  My daughter had an important conference zoom meeting scheduled.  No power, no internet. However, our library had power and internet so off she went.  The librarians there were very helpful, found her a room to set up in, and her call went on as planned.  Still it was a bit hectic here as she grabbed up her computer, cords, phone, headphones, notebooks and went tearing off to the library.  When the lights came back on here – none of the kitchen light fixtures worked.  Evidently one of the lightning strikes was close enough to fry all the lights.  I’ve ordered new fixtures.  Ugh.  Oh, and we got about 4 inches of rain in 24 hours!  When it rains, it doesn't fool around!

All the really cool, unique, different, unusual, odd, beautiful pumpkins are at the stores. 

 siiiiiigh

 30 Sep 2021