Tuesday, March 29, 2022

At Least Nature's Putting Forth An Effort


 There's some wisteria gone wild for you. 


Same yard, just higher up. That house is three buildings down from us. The church is next door, the people who voted for Trump and who are still proud of that fact, evidenced by the signs fading in their yard, are next to the church, and then that house which no one lives in and which will, I am sure, eventually rot into the ground. I think our neighbors with the Trump signs own it. 

I walked down to the county line today and the main reason I did that was because my neighbor told me to. 
I am a good little Girl Scout. 
It was a nice walk though. A few houses down from the wisteria house is another house that was obviously built when the road was about wide enough to allow the passage of a horse and wagon as it sits almost on Old Lloyd Road. They have some beautiful azaleas blooming now and I was happy as heck to see them buzzing with bees. 


Now isn't that a fine, fat lady? 
I saw a little anole hiding amongst the blossoms too. She was shedding her skin and must have felt vulnerable because she scooted into the deepest part of the bush before I could take her picture. 

A little ways down from the azaleas, almost to No Man Lord's, I passed a beautiful wild azalea in full bloom. It was in the shade but here's the picture I got. 


I am thrilled whenever I see one of those beauties. You never notice them at all unless they're blooming as their foliage does not stand out in the least. Not to me, anyway. So when they put forth their flowers, it's like an unexpected and splendid surprise. 

No Man Lord was in his yard along with two other guys and I gave a quick wave but did not stop. Still no sign of Pinot and I would have liked to ask those guys about him but they were deep onto the property and I do not want to just walk on up because as I have said so many times, I deeply respect No Man Lord's right to privacy or at least whatever privacy he can achieve on a bare lot with two campers on it. It's not just his privacy I respect, it's his dignity. 
Honestly, in rural areas, at least in the south, it's not considered good manners to drive or walk onto someone's property unless you have been invited or have a really good reason. I'm sure there could be volumes written on the cultural reasons for that but the most important thing is to simply abide by the unwritten rules. Politicians and Jehovah's Witnesses break that rule all the time, considering I suppose that they think they have a good reason. Around here, a lot of the local politicians believe they have a god-ordained call to serve the public (or at least they say they do) and of course the Jehovah's Witnesses believe they have been ordained by their god to bear witness to his holy word and pass out those ridiculous Watch Tower pamphlets with the luridly colored illustrations. 

I've been in a strange state of mind today and I can't really identify what I'm actually feeling. An itch of sorts, an anxiety, a feeling of hopelessness, ennui, irritation? I don't know but it's not pleasant. I will most likely wake up tomorrow feeling better and more focused. I hope so. Ironically, I spent some time working on Maggie's doll's "big, red smile" this afternoon. She has her eyebrows now and so she is beginning to develop a personality. 
I hope it's a pleasant one. 

Here are two more pictures from my own yard.


I took this yesterday evening. It's my Japanese maple whose unfurling leaves were set on fire by the setting sun. 


A Southern blue flag iris. 
Did I plant it? 
Who knows? Not me. It's a pretty little thing though, isn't it? 

Love...Ms. Moon

29 comments:

  1. Parcel posted just now, dolly might have a wardrobe. The growing things are so welcome! It has been an exceedingly long dark winter.
    Growing up where i did, we were pretty much free to go where ever- in other's yards, sit on their porches, pet their dogs and climb their trees. It still has not dawned on me that people are protective of their spaces. I have gotten in trouble up here many times, forgetting that property is private.

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    1. Poor Dolly! I have not touched her all day long. I need to get her finished. I swear- I could spend four hours a day just on mending, sewing, and crocheting and still never get it all done.
      When I was growing up in Roseland, we pretty much went wherever we wanted although there were certain houses where we knew we would be more welcome than others. In some ways, North Florida is far more deep south than Roseland was. Hard to explain.

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  2. A lovely Iris. I thought that variety was simply called field iris. How nice to see it called a blue flag iris. I grew up knowing them as flags, and realizing they were iris to the world was confusing for a while. I did some research and learned the name flag came from their resemblance to the French fleur de lis.

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    1. That IS interesting. I had no idea but yes, they do look like a fleur de lis.

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  3. Your pictures are wonderful. The light level there is so much higher than ours, it's so picture friendly. Thanks for the bee!

    When I visit, even with an invitation, I park on the street rather than intrude on their driveway. It feels funny, driving right in.

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    1. Oh, we have plenty of light although we can get some pretty dense shade, too.
      That's interesting that you don't feel right driving up a driveway, even if invited. I get it, though.

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  4. You are fortunate to walk around so many beautiful blooms and trees. I hope you feel better tomorrow.

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  5. That wild azalea is so beautiful. All your photos today reminds me so much of spring in Georgia and walking around to see what is blooming. Sort of like a hunt for hidden treasure or a scavenger hunt. Thanks for sharing those moments of joy in seeing the sights of a southern spring.

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    1. Yes- a hunt for hidden treasure! Exactly! Even the unfurling ferns make me happy.

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  6. Such stunning, stunning flowers!

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    1. I know there is no dearth of them where you are!

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  7. That wisteria is on a mission to take over! I love the wild azaleas way up in the tree.

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    1. The wisteria will definitely take over. And that's actually a pretty large wild azalea.

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  8. All the magnolias around here are now in full bloom, and as always happens we are predicted a frost tonight and snow showers tomorrow, so that will put paid to them! Such a shame.
    I have a japanese maple in a pot, but it isn't showing signs of life yet.

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    1. Maybe the magnolias will come back! I hope so.
      My Japanese maple is going crazy mad!

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  9. Great photos. I love the iris. We have some irises too (a different type) but they won't appear for another month or two.

    I wonder what is going on with Pinot? I hope you get to ask at some point.

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  10. Gosh, it is nice to see so many lovely blooming things! I was bundled up in my winter coat, mittens, and ear-flaps hat for my walk yesterday! :)

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    1. You're so much more tolerant of cold weather than I would be. And of course, I don't even have mittens or ear-flaps. I'm so grateful I never really need them!

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  11. I love the iris but the wisteria is my favorite! It's

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    1. For some reason the wisteria always reminds me of some sort of fancy candy. Perhaps French.

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  12. All your pictures are beautiful but that Japanese maple is just stunning. My neighbours have one in their front yard and it fills me with pleasure when it is blooming!

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  13. Well, at least Mother Nature has stopped snowing here. That's something, I guess.

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    1. Well, it is indeed something. I'm sure you're looking forward to some fancier efforts though.

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  14. Tardy in commenting.....but yes, in rural areas (I live in one too) it IS bad manners to appear unannounced or uninvited. I get that. I do hope Pinot is OK, though. And I am stunned (almost) that that beautiful old house is not inhabited, or restored to a habitable state.....but the fact that it is overwhelmed with wisteria's.....just makes it seem *right*
    Susan M

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  15. I would imagine that another good reason for not just walking onto someone's property in The South is that you might end up being blasted to bits with a shotgun. I can imagine driving into Lloyd to pay The Moons an unannounced call and from the back comes Mr Moon with a mean look on his face and a shotgun aimed at my head. He growls, "I WILL GIVE YOU TEN SECONDS TO GIT OFT MY LAND STRANGER! ONE-TWO..."

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  16. Flower names can be so descriptive--blue flag iris. That Japanese maple is stunning. I hope the mood, whatever it is, flows right on through. Hugs.

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