News of the Day

  

Since we got back from the Beautiful Granddaughter’s Wedding, I haven’t done much exciting. 

And, before I get started on what I HAVE been doing, just a few things from the BGdW trip. 

Friday morning in New Braunfels, my sister and I went out for breakfast.  One of the menu offerings was – Baked Oatmeal (something I’ve never had).  Just in case you’re not familiar with Baked Oatmeal - “Baked oatmeal is where traditional oatmeal meets breakfast casserole. Oats, milk, and spices are baked into a casserole dish for breakfast that's less sad porridge, and more bread pudding.”  Well, okay.  The restaurant version was described as follows:

Rolled oats and steel cut oats combined with shredded carrot, apple, cranberry, and orange juice baked with brown sugar and egg, topped with toasted pecans and cream.

For a “bacon and eggs” girl, that’s just too many things in one bowl.  DanaBug, I thought of you when I read that.

On Saturday in NB, we all went to a Farmer’s Market just down the road a bit.  Very nice.  Not too many fruit/vegetable choices but seasonally we’re between things now.  Too late for tomatoes, too early for broccoli.  However, I did see

Microgreens

So, microgreens are a very young vegetable or herb seedling really.  They can be incorporated into sandwiches, wraps and salads.  Or, blended into smoothies or juiced (and that just sounds terrible).  And, used as a garnish on pizza, soup, omelets and other warm dishes.  Interesting.

Locally grown mushrooms.  And all sorts of mushrooms.

One young gardener had plants for sale.  These are planted in soil wrapped up in a sheet of sphagnum moss rather that in some type of container.  Most of the plants displayed were “house” type plants and not meant to be planted in the garden.  Very cute though I wondered about watering them.  The Blooming Basket

In the Weeds is a very cool place that creates all natural, organic, holistic, chemical-free products including face creams, lotion sticks, soaps, candles, firestarters, and these, …

smudge sticks.  This is the one I bought – Soulshine.  It’s made with sage, dried calendula flowers, a dried orange slice, a cinnamon stick, and a piece of orange calcite hand-tied with a hand-dyed, recycled sari silk.  I haven’t burned it and may not - right now it is resting on my small alter. 

And, the final booth that caught my attention was

The Planetarium, Handprinted Textiles.  All items have botanical inspired designs.  Very cute tea towels, t-shirts, totes.

So, back to “haven’t done much lately ……. Not to say I’ve just been sitting around because - - - no, I haven’t.  Thank all the gods, it’s finally cooling down just a bit with mornings in the upper 60’s and not much over 90 by midafternoon.  Ahhhh – Fall in the Gulf Coast Plains. 

Now is the time to transplant many things.  And, so far, I’ve dug up and transplanted several crinum

across the front of the house.  Still have several more to plant.  They can eventually get really big and wide and bloom throughout the summer. 

I also planted more trees – a sycamore, a loquat, and a bay tree (am working on having my very own forest).  Transplanted the lavender.  Cleaned up the herb garden (am fixin’ to pull up the basil as it has gone to seed in a big way).  I moved the big zigzag cactus and night-blooming cereus outside.  They’ve gotten too big for the porch.  So, I positioned them in the only shady-ish, protected place I have and told them – on your own now baby.  And, finally, this past Sunday, I truly hurt myself.  I planted my pony tail palm in the ground. 

Like this but a whole lot bigger.

It had outgrown the 10gal pot it was in, gotten 6’ tall and has a very large bulb.  No way I could put it in a larger container and move it anywhere.  So into the ground it was to go.  I chose a spot close to the house and the back porch (sunny and protected, while it could survive a freeze, it's on the north side with open ground around it - hopefully it won't freeze. - assuming it's actually going to be winter here), prepared the area, dug the hole, and broke the pot it was in.  And tried to lift it into the new place.  That’s when I hurt myself.  Now I can lift and carry 40 lbs easily enough.  I can lift 50 lbs.  I’m thinking that plant weighted in the neighborhood of 214 lbs.  Okay, maybe not 214 lbs but way more than the 50 lbs I can lift.  Still – determination, orneriness, perseverance, and general stubbornness got it into the hole and then ------- my back went CRACK! and I had to lay down in the dirt for a few minutes.  Then, got up and got the damn thing planted and came inside. 

Okay, a few fun facts –

Oddly enough, it’s not a palm or a tree but is a member of the Agave family and is considered a succulent. 
It is nicknamed “elephant’s foot” and it stores water in its trunk.
It has thin leaves that are 6ft long and only 1 inch wide. They emerge in a fountain-like fashion, curling downward.
A mature Ponytail Palm (10 years +) produces creamy-white flowers in spring or summer.  okay, I am going to work on getting it to flower because it’s over 10 yrs

It can get up to and over 10 ft tall and 5-10 ft wide.  Okay, getting tall is not a problem.  10 feet wide could be a problem.  

I was going to share some of the things blooming in my yard but this has already gotten long so pictures of pretty blooming things will have to wait until later.

English spelling is easy. We all no that as this poem demonstrates.

Eye have a spelling chequer, it came with my pea sea,
It plainly marks, for my revue, mist aches I cannot sea.
Each time when eye have struck the quays I weight four it to say
If wot eye rote is wrong or rite. It shows me strait a weigh.
As soon as a mist ache is maid it knows be four two late
And I can put the error rite. I really find it grate.
I’ve run this poem threw it, I’m sure you’re policed to no
It’s letter perfect in its weigh
MY CHEQUER TOLLED ME SEW.

 

11 Oct 2022

 

Beautiful … Beautiful …

  

The bride was beau ….. hold on, I’m getting ahead of myself.

Granddaughter #1 got married this past Friday!!!!

My older daughter, Denise, came in (from NM) for the wedding and then last Thursday late afternoon, she, my sister, and I drove to New Braunfels. 

New Braunfels is just north of San Antonio and is considered one of the fastest growing cities in the state.  It was established in 1845 by Prince Carl of Solms-Braunfels, Commissioner General of the Mainzer Adelsverein or the Noblemen's Society.  Prince Carl named the settlement in honor of his home of Solms-Braunfels, Germany.  Located in the Texas Hill Country, it is still known for its German Texan heritage.  There are two rivers that run through New Braunfels – the Comal and the Guadalupe.  The combination of rivers, German architecture and food, and beautiful scenery make tourism a big business there. 

 

The last time I was there, it was a small town – emphasis on small.  Now it’s a good size city with a population of 90,000.

We arrived early evening to the AirB&B.

It’s very nice.  And, we had some surprise visitors in the early morning hours – pretty cool considering we were right downtown!

We stayed on the second floor which consisted of two good size bedrooms, one bathroom and a small living room, dining room and kitchen.  We got the car unpacked and everything up the stairs.  Now, Vicky had some specific thoughts on what she wanted in regard to her wedding cake.  Not the traditional multitiered cake but instead she wanted a small cake (for the obligatory cake cutting photos) and cupcakes.  Lemon and Strawberry cupcakes.  Her mother (my youngest daughter) made the lemon and I made the strawberry.  So, in addition to suitcases we also hauled up the stairs a large cooler holding 40+ cupcakes, strawberry icing, and extra strawberries.  My goal for Thursday night – get those cupcakes frosted and into the travel boxes. 

Okay, I had brought cake decorating tips/bags and thought we’d use those to end up with fancy frosted cupcakes.

Uhmmmmm – no.  That didn’t happen.  First of all, the B&B was very warm when we arrived and then the icing got soft very quickly and none of us had any experience with using the decorator tips and we finally just iced them and put a strawberry on top.

Here they are – all ready to go to the reception venue.  Friday morning Ellen and I took the cupcakes and dropped them off.  And, since there was a little time, we did a bit of shop looking.  We had both seen a shop we wanted to visit. 

 It was filled with Talavera pottery so we stopped for a look-see.  And, the place was huge with shelves stacked high with pottery.  It was like walking around in a maze.  I’m pretty sure I didn’t see everything.  No purchases but a lot of hard thinking.

The wedding was to start at 3:00 Friday afternoon and we were supposed to be there around 2pm for photos.  As it happened, people were running late so the big family photos never happened but that gave me a few minutes to take a quick couple of pics.

The gazebo for the actual ceremony.

The reception venue.

Her way to remember her grandfather and make sure he was there too. 
One of his hats and a photo on the bride/groom table.

Daughter Denise and I.

The Beautiful Bride.

At 3pm, the music started, everyone stood up, and Vicky walked down the isle on her father’s arm.  Then the officiant stepped forward and said …..

“Mawage. Mawage is wot bwings us together today.”

And, if you’re not a Princess Bride fan, you may not get the reference.  Vicky is a Princess Bride fan!  Past the opening line, the ceremony continued normally.

Beautiful, wonderful, lovely and beautiful.

Just a few reception pictures –

Vicky and Josh and Me

Youngest daughter and Mother of the Bride dancing with the new son-in-law.

There’s more to the trip but this is long enough already so I’ll save the rest for tomorrow.

 

4 Oct 2022

Groaaaaannnnn

 Sorry, but I just had to share this one ----

Back soon

28 Sep 2022

Hummmmm

  

The Hummers are passing through.

In the early spring and early fall, we start seeing more hummingbirds as they migrate to or from Mexico and Central America. Right now, we are seeing more as they begin to move toward the coast in preparation for the 500-mile trip across the gulf or down through Mexico.  However they go, these small birds can make the journey in less than a day.  Pretty impressive.

So, when I noticed more hummers in the yard, I set out the feeder.  Right now, I have one (possibly the same one each time) that is feeding from the multiple bird feeder throughout the day.  There are several others that try approaching the feeder, however that pushy little bird keeps chasing off any others that are interested in stopping by for a meal.

Now, (several days after I started this), it seems the original bird has either moved on or accepted that other birds can feed and there will still be plenty for all.  I look out currently to see 4 or 5 little hummers sitting at the feeder for breakfast, second breakfast, elevensies, luncheon and so on. 

So, just in case you ever needed to know –

A hummingbird’s brilliant color is not caused by feather pigmentation, but rather by iridescence in the arrangement of the feathers. Light level, moisture, angle of viewing, wear and tear, and other factors all influence just how bright and colorful the bird may appear.

Hummingbirds cannot walk or hop, though their feet can be used to scoot sideways while they are perched. These birds have evolved smaller feet to be lighter for more efficient flying.

Hummingbirds have over 900 feathers, the fewest number of feathers of any bird species in the world. Not only do they not need as many feathers because of their tiny size, but fewer feathers also keep them more lightweight for easier flight.

An average hummingbird’s heart rate is more than 1,200 beats per minute. In comparison, a human's average heart rate is only 60 to 100 beats per minute at rest.

Hummingbirds have no sense of smell but have very keen eyesight.

Hummingbirds lay the smallest eggs of all birds. Their eggs measure less than 1/2 inch long but may represent as much as 10 percent of the mother’s weight at the time the eggs are laid. A hummingbird egg is smaller than a jelly bean!

This year at our garden club’s plant sale, I bought two Rose of Sharon seedlings.  And, promptly planted them in the ground, side by side, somewhat intertwined (I wanted them to think they were one plant).  Both have done very well and this fall they’ve bloomed.  Both were supposed to be white and I was expecting them to look like this

However, this is what I got -

Fine, I like purple.

And, this

I’ve never seen a white one quite like this.

Rose of Sharon or Althea grows very well here.  It likes our summers and winters.  They attract hummingbirds, butterflies, and other pollinators.  The leaves are edible as are the flowers.  The plant is being studied for its ability to lower blood pressure and it contains vitamin C and other antioxidants. 

We’re still having summer though the temperatures have dropped to the low 90’s and this morning at dark-thirty it was 68° outside.  That’s like kind of coolish (for us anyway).

 

14 Sep 2022

Today and Yesterdays

  

Today I swallowed a bug.

I know, sounds like something from Shel Silverstein or Simms Taback.

I’ve spent the past several weeks doing a coupla three hours out in the yard on days with no rain.  My goal has been to:

Weed places I’ve completely ignored for the past 3 months.
Start putting into the ground, plants I do not intend to winter-over.
Move a few things from one place to another.

And while the temperatures haven’t been abysmal, I have gotten outside by 730am and back in by 10am, hot, sweaty, and very tired.  We’re lucky (sort of) here as we have a very long growing season (like from February to November).  The good thing about it is that I can plant things in the fall and not worry they’ll freeze in six weeks.  Of course, the bad thing is that we have six months of very hot summer.  

Today I decided to weed my herb garden. 

Because I tend to ignore my #1 piece of advice to gardeners (know how big your plant will be when fully grown and plan accordingly), I tend to think

Yes, I’ve planted 9 herbs, all of which will be 2-3 ft tall and wide when fully grown.  But, but, but – lookie there – an empty space or two and I can squeeze one (three) more plants in there and there and there.

This past spring, I thought that same thing and planted sunflower seeds.  All of which came up.  All of which were big and T A L L.  All of which, while beautiful in April, May, and June, died in the mid-July heat and drought leaving some very big stalks I couldn’t pull up.  Today, after spending some time working on one of the stalks (push, pull, push, pull – getting looser!) took a deep breath in preparation to pull up that stalk and …… I swallowed a bug.

ICK!  ICK, ICK, ICK!!!

Last time I wrote, (yes, I know, a while back), I mentioned the August Earth Lab – Ikebana, The Art of Japanese Flower Arranging.  It was a huge success.  We had a large group of people and everyone worked on a flower arrangement and seemed to have a very enjoyable time.  Yay!

Coming up sooner that I thought is the next Earth Lab.  The working title has been

OHMIGOD,

I’VE PLANTED ALL THESE HERBS

WHAT AM I GOING TO DO WITH THEM BECAUSE,

A little wordy but I’m working on that.  Oh – yes, it’s my program.  I plan to talk about how best to preserve, use, and protect the herbs grown.  With the holidays coming up, suggest some unique homemade gift ideas.  Plus, make some suggestions as to herbs that can be planted now and have a good chance of surviving whatever winter we have provided it doesn’t look like this.

Originally my program was supposed to take place in October but we had to do a switch.  And, then I promptly didn’t think about it until last week. 

Working under pressure –

the right way to get things done! 

For the most part, it’s done.  Just a few more tweaks.

I hope you noticed in the third sentence above “days with no rain”.  Yes!  After months and months of 100+° temperatures and serious drought conditions, we started getting some rain. 

I don’t like to boast but I may have helped by dancing around the house with my rain stick.

Or, possibly whoever controls the rain taps finally got the plumber out to fix the problem. 

Or the universe finally took pity on us here and allowed the rain to come back. 

Whatever it was – THANK YOU!

Guess I’ve probably bored you long enough.

5 Sep 2022

One of THOSE Days

 

Honest to god, I’ve had One of THOSE Days for a while now. 

Last week, while driving, in Wharton, I sort of got lost ….. twice.  Well, I didn’t actually get lost, I missed my street. 

As it happens, occasionally when driving my brain sort of divides into parts and one part keeps an eye on the other cars, any stoplights, people walking down the middle of the street and another part starts working on any projects I have in the hopper.  The project my brain is currently working on is an upcoming program I have to give.  I haven’t thought about it much because, until recently it wasn’t scheduled until the end of October.  P L E N T Y of time.  Then I had to reschedule and now the program is going to be in September – like the 2^nd week of September. 

Background:  Recently I went to the ophthalmologist – couldn’t see very well and couldn’t use the computer for longer than 30 minutes without my vision going a wonky.  And, yes, I had to get a new prescription.  Ugh.  And, I need to do the 20-20-20 thing more regularly (you know, work 20 minutes, stop, look 20 feet away for 20 seconds).  I am keeping my frames, just getting new lenses (which are costing the moon and a few stars all by themselves without getting frames). 

So, I finally got a text from the glasses lady and went to get the new lenses.  And while driving over, thinking about my upcoming program, all of a sudden, I realized I was at a stoplight.  No – not right – no stoplights on the way to the glasses place.  Where am I??  Damn, missed my turn. 

Turned around, went back and got there without further problem.  As it turns out, I only got one new lens because the other one was not right.  Not only could I not see anything through that lens, it gave me immediate eye strain and a headache and vertigo and all sorts of other terrible things.  So I got one new lens and one is being remade.  (this being rather useless information, I know)

So, when leaving, I drifted immediately into the program subject and maybe taking some examples and making a slide show and ……. damn, missed my turn to go home.

I just hate it when that happens.

I had to take Daryl to the kitty cat doctor again.  He started acting a bit weird, okay weirder than what’s normal for him.  For instance – he’d hide in a tiny dark space – all day long.  And he started have muscle ripples, from neck to tail, down his back and he started doing obsessive grooming.  Now, Daryl is happy to get into the kennel, until I shut and lock the door.  Then he starts making pitiful baby kitty mews.  When we get downstairs and in the car, the mews get louder and stronger.  And, when the car actually starts to move, he screams bloody murder.  All the way to the vet.  Once we get there and into an exam room, he immediately goes silent and backs up to the very back of the kennel and makes himself as tiny as possible.  I told the doctor the problem and that I wanted to know if she could see, hear, feel anything out of normal.  Would Daryl come out of the kennel?  No, we have to turn it door down and shake him out.  Then, omg, two strange women touched him all over (he does not like to be touched much).  The doctor did do one thing I shall not describe here having to do with anal glands.  The upshot?  Well, he's a healthy, 18-pound, solid cat. (My daughter tells me “solid” is a code word for fat.)  We got home without problem but with loud cat shrieks.  I don’t know if the gland deal was the problem or the entire trip alarmed him but he’s back to normal and all is well. 

I am concerned that this week may be another of THOSE days because at 3am, one of the Demon Duo threw up.  In my bed.  Right next to me.  This is not a positive thing.

My next Earth Lab is coming up very soon.  The July program was on local birds and was very interesting and well attended (yay!). 

This rather drab looking fellow is our state bird

The Mockingbird.

The August program is on Ikebana – The Art of Japanese Flower Arranging.  It’s a two-hour program with one hour dedicated to a presentation, explanation, and examples of Ikebana.  The second hour is a hands-on workshop. 

Now, in case you don’t know,

Ikebana can be traced to the sixth century with the introduction of Buddhism to Japan from China and Korea.  Buddhist floral offerings, called kuge, were placed on the altar of temples.  The offering consisted of three main stems gathered closely at the base and rising from the water as one.  The three stems represent the harmonious relationship between heaven, man, and earth.  Each stem in the arrangement has a symbolic meaning drawn from both religion and landscape art with the whole arrangement representing the entire universe.  Today this art form can be found in contemporary spaces where people live, work and play. Arrangements make use of natural materials, bringing the beauty of nature indoors. The tradition has evolved into a modern art form that can be enjoyed by everyone.

I am stressing “modern art form” because I don’t want people to think it’s all about dumping a couple flowers in a vase and done.

I am currently experiencing – omg-what-if-nobody-shows-up. 

I’ll be better by Saturday afternoon.

And that’s all I have right now.  Except for …..

 

Just getting everyone ready for the October holiday season.

 9 Aug 2022