Friday, March 10, 2023

Dorothy Gale! Dorothy Gale!

 


The sky was slate gray all morning but the rain didn't even seem to want to flirt with us. I felt better and better as the day went on and did my Friday laundry and even got some weeding done in the little bed beside the kitchen where the bananas grow. The nuisance plants growing in there are, once again, threatening to take over the entire area and they are particularly hard to dig up, especially the lariope, or as we call it around here, monkey grass. As I have said before, the roots are like nylon netting, and a pain to pull. There is also the horrible chenille plant spreading like Covid at a Republican fund-raiser in 2021. These manage to squeeze their tenacious roots into the same space as the monkey grass making it all double the flavor, double the fun. To my chagrin, I also discovered that the fireweed has dipped its toe into the mix and I finally had to put on gloves. But, there are also roses which are blooming and the wild phlox coming up. Mint is starting to take off and there are some very nice volunteer tomato plants from when I used to throw my kitchen scraps out there for the chickens. Of course the pine cone lilies will soon be shooting up and also the turmeric, both equally determined to crowd out everything else. It's a miracle the bananas manage to grow there. 

Gardening in Florida is so much fun! At least the mosquitoes weren't out today. 

It finally started drizzling and so I finished up what I was doing there and grabbed some of the firespike that I started rooting early last winter when it looked like we were going to get a freeze and I planted that behind the generator by the fence. And then I came in and tidied up and ate my lunch (leftover soup and it is better today than it was yesterday and that was pretty damn good) and then the rain picked up and pretty soon it started thundering. 

It thundered and thundered, great cracks of it and then long rolling rumbles. A true thunderstorm and the next thing I knew, the wind was blowing like we were in a hurricane and the thunder and lightening got closer and closer and the rain just poured down. I actually got a small video of what it looked like for a few seconds and in it, you will hear me scream like a little child. 


Soon we were getting tornado warnings and I realized that we must have gotten a small band off of one which caused that intense wind. The warning that Hank sent me that he'd gotten was a little late for us but I read it and I cracked up at the paragraph that said, "Mobile homes will be DAMAGED OR DESTROYED. DAMAGE TO ROOFS, WINDOWS, VEHICLES WILL OCCUR. TREE DAMAGE IS LIKELY.

Okay. So mobile homes WILL be destroyed but tree damage is only likely? Do these people live in Florida? 

Our power cut out but our generator cranked up and before you know it, I was watching the rest of "This Is Where I Leave You" and Mr. Moon was on his computer. I have to tell you that the generator is amazing. We're just all la-di-dah over here with our lights and internet while our neighbors are in the dark. 
So yes, of course I feel guilty but that does not prevent me from also feeling very, very grateful and happy. 

Supposed to get cooler tonight and I am grateful for that too. 

Guess I'll go see if Mr. Moon is ready to make our martinis. We have survived an illness and a possible tornado this week. Life does just keep chugging along, doesn't it? 

Happy Friday, y'all. 

Love...Ms. Moon




24 comments:

  1. Never a dull moment chez Moon! Enjoy your martinis

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    1. Sure wasn't dull yesterday! Martinis were very fine.

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  2. Yep, that's a Florida rain like the ones I know! Looks like a summer downpour. Thanks for sharing it!

    It's safe to say that a mobile home will be damaged in any high wind. I don't dispute the certainty of that! As for your power supply, good thing you have that generator.

    I always get fireweed and firespike mixed up. There's also something called a firebush, if I remember right, and a firecracker plant and a firecracker flower. Who can keep track?!

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    1. I just went around the yard and picked up some of the "possible" tree damage.
      You're right about all of the different "fire" plants. And don't forget the fireweed! My mortal enemy.

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  3. I chuckled about this very apt simile... "the horrible chenille plant spreading like Covid at a Republican fund-raiser in 2021". I have sometimes fished around for good similes to connect with drunkenness or debauchery as in "As drunk as delegates at a Tory party conference" or "As drunk as members of The House of Lords on a Friday lunchtime". Good to hear you are feeling a lot better.

    * Tory = Conservative Party - roughly the equivalent of The Republican Party in America.

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    1. I have definitely heard "drunk as a Lord." I assumed that found its way from your part of the world. There's a phrase here that I do not know the derivation of but I have heard people say it. "Drunk as Cooter Brown." There are probably many, many stories of who Cooter Brown was. Of course, the all-time winner of describing a very intoxicated state is "drunk as fuck." Plain, simple. To the point.

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  4. That was a startled yell, not a scream That was a lot of lightening! It snowed here all day today. No real accumulation, but enough for me to cancel and reschedule the infusion I am not looking forward to.

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    1. And did you see me jump? Or, well, the phone in my hand did.
      Glad you got to cancel your infusion. Do you feel like you got a free pass? Of course now you have to reschedule. Bah.

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  5. I love the barely suppressed yell! No thunder here.....but we are getting absolutely drenched even worse than in January. 3 inches rain just today....interstate highways shut down....flooding rampant (except right here LOL)... thankfully we and all 8 neighbors home safely playing games, tending fires, and making soup! Our rural road is holding up well, errands were done early and all the chicks are in to roost. Bottoms up! It's Friday....and glad you are feeling better!
    Susan M

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    1. PS....the wisteria is absolutely to DIE for. I envy you! Susan M

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    2. cripes...another PS. *chicks* meaning our 8 neighbors! Not real chicks Susan M

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    3. I do not mind your P.S.'s. I like them! And I did assume that "chicks" were actually chickens. We had roads blocked and closed due to downed trees!

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  6. Holy cow, that is a rain dump! As you know, it does rain up here but rarely dumps like what you have in your yard! SPLOOSH!! Floridians huts will get damp! Glad you have a generator, wish we had one.

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    1. I tell you what- a generator is a damn good investment. It's like having the hand of god reach down and turn your electricity back on. Or something like that.
      Yes. That rain came down in buckets.

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  7. That is a goodly amount of rain for your garden. We had a thunderstorm here last week, but without the wind, daughter across town saw lightning, but I didn't bother looking for any. A generator is on my list of things to buy if I ever am able to buy my own house.

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    1. We saw so much lightening. And a lot of it came at the same time as the crack of thunder so- it was close!
      I highly recommend a generator if you can get one.

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  8. So glad you feel better. Had some rain here but not much.

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  9. Rain is always good especially when accompanied by thunder. I love a good downpour. Florida has gone up in my estimation. Not sure about your plants that seem to want to kill everything, though.

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    1. The problem with yesterday's storm was the wind which was scary for a few minutes. If I'd known there was a tornado in the area, I think I would have been even more scared.
      We do have some determined plants.

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  10. You have some terrific expressions in this post, Mary Moon. You are a clever writer!
    Glad you are safe from the storm and the germs.

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    1. I guess it's a good thing to be a clever writer. Thank you, Ellen.

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  11. Florida seems to be a climate where just about any of the plants thrive, even the nuisance ones, trying to keep things Alive here is the challenge. Every year my Beloved Queen's Wreath dies all the way back and I think I've lost it, fingers crossed it resurrects itself again? I have a weedy ground cover that does well in the pastures, but it has nasty seed pods, otherwise, I'd let it grow since it's at least Green and hardy with clover like leaves and tiny yellow flowers. *LOL* Glad you survived the storm and have a generator. I wouldn't feel guilty, people can buy them, we have one, it's worth the investment.

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    1. Well, plants that are truly tropical don't do well here because we do get freezes. Also plants that need colder weather to fruit or flower don't do well here either.
      Are the seed pods on the plant you're talking about sticky?
      Generators are great, aren't they?

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