Another just ridiculously beautiful day. And it was so cool when I woke up this morning. Burrowing-under-the-covers cool. Put on a sweater cool. Sweet, sweet, sweet.
I took that picture just a little while ago. Yes, you can see the generator but that is a thing of beauty to us so try not to regard it as something that looks out of place or inappropriate. I also cropped out the AC/heat pump but that is possibly even more beautiful than the generator.
But oh, the lushness! These pink azaleas are on a bush that never did very well until I started throwing kitchen scraps around them when I had the chickens. Every day they would spend time scratching there in search of treats and as they scratched, they would poop and before I knew it- the azalea was a dazzler.
OH MY GOD I MISS MY CHICKENS!
What you see framed between the magnolia tree and the cabbage palm is the spray of the sprinkler I turned on to water in what I planted in the garden today.
Whoa. Mr. Moon just got home and made us a martini and I've completely lost my train of thought. However, since I rarely do have much of a train of thought, it hardly matters. We went out to the garden together and I showed him what was going on there. I planted some peppers, a tomato, and two eggplants, just then realizing I had inadvertently bought white eggplant plants and WTF? today after I took out the kale which hardly did a damn thing this year. I carefully saved every usable leaf though and I've been doing the same with the arugula I've pulled up although I have not saved every leaf. I'm leaving quite a bit of that as it is flowering now and the bees seem to enjoy it. I am going to plant more very soon. Since I discovered last summer that arugula can indeed tolerate the heat, I am not so panicked about running out of that delicious peppery green.
Oh! I know something I wanted to talk about and that was more about the hookworms. I really don't want everyone to think I was the poster child for abject poverty in the south. I mean, we didn't have much money but I could have worn shoes if I'd wanted but I didn't want to. And if I did wear shoes, they were those rubber flipflops that cost about a buck a pair, if that. This is how all the kids ran about. The soles of our feet were tough as shoe leather although they were not impervious to sandspurs. And those are a whole different subject.
So yes, most of us got ground itch at one point or another. We also got pinworms and if don't know what they are, just take my advice and don't google them although they are quite common, even now. I read once that one of the reasons southerners, especially those who lived in poverty which was a large percentage, had the reputation of being slow and lazy might well have been due to the vast numbers of people who had various intentional parasites and probably the dermatological ones too. They literally sapped people's energy and caused anemia and gastrointestinal and abdominal problems. And let us also remember that many poor southerners had a less than optimal diet.
So there's your little inservice on parasites which can affect humans. Oh, I forgot to even mention tapeworms but let's leave that for another time.
Probably never.
Shall we move back to the garden?
My carrots have been incredibly slow growers this year but I finally pulled two today. I washed the dirt off of them and cleaned the kale in my outside sink today. What a beautiful sight!
All of my bucket bag tomatoes are looking very nice. One of them has potatoes coming up in it too. Did I already mention this? And some of them have what is probably acorn squash making a nice healthy appearance too. I know I'm going to have to pull some of these things in order for the tomatoes to thrive but you know how hard that is for me.
No, no! Do not kill them!
Oh please, Mary. You know damn well that when the little black nymphs of the giant Georgia Thumper grasshoppers appear in swarms you will be smushing those things like you were getting paid to do it. Somehow I can rationalize that whereas pulling purely innocent plants that just want to live is much harder.
A few more pictures of spring.
Wisteria, of course.
Mulberry leafing out and blooming.
Lizard on porch screen, scratching his head.
You may notice I have stopped discussing anything going on in the world at large. I guess I'm taking a break.
I do not want my heart, soul, or consciousness to be filled with anything but the magnificence around me. Who knows how many more springs I will be able to enjoy to the degree I am enjoying this one?
And that's what I have to say about that, even though I feel guilty as I say it.
Anyway...
Happy Friday, y'all.
Love...Ms. Moon
Growing up in the tropics I had my share of intestinal parasites. Nasty things.
ReplyDeleteYour spring photos are glorious and scream "joy".
There's nothing we can do about world events and worrying isn't going to change anything so I heartily endorse your attitude and share it myself.
The tropics not only nurture and sustain beautiful trees and flowers and other plants, they nurture and sustain extremely gross parasites, don't they?
DeleteI am not sure I've ever enjoyed a spring more than I am enjoying this one and I am fairly certain I have needed that joy more than I ever have before.
I don't remember hearing of pinworms, ringworms until I got to nursing school. Tapeworms...yes. Did many people down south have those?
ReplyDeleteYour flowers are just breathtaking. The wisteria is awesome. I AM jealous of your weather. It's been cold here with high wind warnings all day. It's still roaring out there. At least it's not snowing...yet.
Paranormal John
Yes. People in the south could and can get tapeworm, although not as often anymore as it is associated with eating contaminated meat. And as for what I've read, it is a problem generally associated with poverty-stricken areas which the south has certain had its share of. Still does.
DeleteOh, John. One day, and may it be soon! you will write to say that your weather is changing and that you can smell spring in the air and you can see green beginning to show.
If ever there was a time to revel in the glory and the beauty of Spring, this is it alright.
ReplyDeleteAmen.
DeleteO, god, pinworms! Yes, I remember those, got invaded a couple of times and boy, they itch! And as you probably know, at a far more delicate place than your feet! Fortunately they were treated with cream and not with nitrogen! They blamed the sand-boxes we all played in which were used by the neighborhood's cats as well ..
ReplyDeleteYep. And if one family member gets them, they must all be treated. Itchy butts, especially at night, are miserable and that is one of th ways they are spread- kids especially scratching their butts and then not properly washing their hands. Or at all.
DeleteI don't think cats have anything to do with pinworms. From what I read, they are transmitted from butt to mouth (as above) but they can survive for 2-3 weeks on household surfaces if they have been transmitted their. Also from clothing and bedding...
They really want to live, don't they?
Every picture here is worth its weight in gold. Such bounty! Although you can keep the kale, I hate it. I thought the sprinkler spray was a sunbeam at first. Not sure if pin worms and thread worms are the same thing, but I think they are. I remember one time a child I was minding daily as his parents worked got a tapeworm and his father came to us apologising and with enough medication to treat all of us just in case, said the worm was probably from the family dog who was right now at the vet getting treated.
ReplyDeleteI find that if I cut kale very thin it is less offensive in salads and if I cook it with other greens like collards, they are quite good.
DeleteYes. Pinworms are the same as threadworms but tapeworms are a different animal entirely. If, you know, they are animals.
We've grown white eggplants for years - love them. They demonstrate why eggplants are called egg-plants. Hope you like yours!
ReplyDeleteDebra She Who Seeks speaks wisely.
Chris from Boise
Okay. I am willing to give these eggplants a go. And I am also thinking of how the purple ones are called aubergine in Great Britain and aubergine is a lovely color of purple.
DeleteIm imagining the scent of your wisteria! Great to see your blooms. It’s fun hearing about your plants, and I agree completely about honoring their lives as opposed to those of pests. Something just doesn’t make humans like those tiny insects until they are bees or butterflies.
ReplyDeleteAnd the little grasshopper nymphs turn into three-inch long yellow, red, and black giants when they mature. Those things can tear a garden up.
DeleteI’m glad you’re enjoying and sharing the beauty and excitement of spring! Your photos make me happy this morning!
ReplyDeleteI wish you could be here in person to enjoy. Your beautiful city will soon be (if not already) bursting into all the colors and scents.
DeleteIt is starting to burst. When I was out walking Friday and saw orange trees full of buds.
DeleteThe best!
DeleteYour photos are helping to get me through to our spring:) I love that shot with the sprinkler going.
ReplyDeleteYou mentioned pin worms and now I wonder about Jack complaining of an itchy butt hole. Sigh. Now I'm itchy.
Have a lovely day.
Well, you know how to check for pinworms, right? Grab a flashlight! Not a pleasant procedure.
DeleteI did have a nice day. Thank you.
Wonderful photos! We needed that! The light and color of your world is exceptional! Still grey and dark here for the most part. Rain, icy rain. The price we pay to live in a liberal bubble away from the nation's chaos.
ReplyDeleteAnd this begs the question- how do we define "live"? I think that if you and I were transported to each others' worlds where we had to live, both of us would end up saying, "I can't live like this!" And we would both be right.
DeleteWow! That first photo is so fabulous! Your garden is sure looking wonderful. Nature is really going crazy in your yard and it looks glorious.
ReplyDeleteNature is losing its MIND here right now. I love it!
DeleteOh Mary, I know what you mean about the world at large vs the world in my immediate vicinity. I'm squarely in disbelief that those who have the power to stop his madness are so in thrall to it.
ReplyDeleteThe weather here has been gorgeous too and cool. In fact the last two nights I had to add the second quilt which I had put away for the year. I made a good down home southern dinner last night...smothered steak, mashed potatoes, and mustard greens. I went barefoot all the time growing up (still do) but fortunately never got any of those parasites though Minnie had a tapeworm that she got treated for a couple of weeks ago from eating fleas,
I think the number one question people from other questions have about what's going on here is, "Why doesn't someone stop him?"
DeleteAnd I have no answer to that. I think that as this war continues to wage and more and more negatives occur because of it and as people are becoming frustrated with prices and with the constant withholding of the Epstein files, Trump is losing his sway, even among his supporters and also in the Republican party at large. I am keeping my fingers crossed that the midterms will reflect that and that eventually, charges will be brought against him.
Going to get cooler here again, starting tomorrow I think. No freezes though, PLEASE.
Poor Minnie. Did she start coughing?
Your supper sounds good. I'm cooking greens from the garden tonight. Collards, chard, kale, and mustards. They're all about to leave for summer.
Well, as I said yesterday, I had hookworms once too -- and we were not in poverty by any means. I and all my friends ran around barefoot and that's just the way it was. I don't think I ever had pinworms, at least not that I've heard.
ReplyDeleteIt's so nice to see spring coming to your corner of the world. I've been outside doing stuff all day and it's happening here too!
You would probably remember pinworms. They are truly annoying.
DeleteIsn't spring just glorious? As I said above, I do not think I've ever enjoyed a spring more than I am enjoying this one.
Spring is actively visible in your garden. The wisteria is wonderful. To see you harvest two large carrots in March is amazing. Your success with grow bags is impressive. Grow bags are not found in MA. I've looked for them at garden centers and they do not exist. Where do you buy grow bags and what brand do you recommend? I'd like to try to grow tomatoes in grow bags.
ReplyDeleteParasites are a big problem in the North too. We have ticks. Everyone on my street (adults and children) have been treated for one or more tick borne illnesses.
I planted the carrots back last fall! So they're not really here too soon. I think Glen may have bought these grow-bags online. I don't know what brand they are or how many gallons of dirt they hold. I'll ask him.
DeleteTicks. Yes. Of course we have those in spades here. Also fleas. Because of course we do. And yes, tick-borne illness is becoming more common.
I am at my parents at the moment and Dad had (in his usual style) Sky News blaring away - I told him to turn that off. That we were not being improved in any way by 24/7 horror screamed at us and there was a LOT of better things to watch that would be better for all of our minds and emotions. I may have gotten quite firm about it. We ended up on a program that went to towns all over Australia and using a particular theme in each really explored the people and the towns - brilliant.
ReplyDeleteAs for hard feet - I had that sort of childhood - thongs over here (yes, ha ha) or "Japanese Riding Boots" were the preferred footwear of children if any footwear at all was used.
I don't think I knew a thing about Sky News but it sounds awful. The program you ended up watching sounds much, much better.
DeleteThongs, flipflops, we called them both. I've never heard about Japanese riding boots. What are they?
Thongs.
DeleteThe wisteria! I was just telling Steve that I feel guilty that I avoid discussing the events of the world but I honestly feel I have nothing useful to add, nothing everyone doesn’t already know, and possibly I’m quite misinformed by the way our news is being filtered and so I gaze inward at my little life, which is not to say I am not aware. Your garden is a storybook kingdom. I always feel this way. I miss your chickens too.
ReplyDeleteI don't feel I have anything to add either. Now, if I see something which, due to my perspective or experience, I have no problem in discussing that. And sometimes I am just so horrified that I have to say something. But for right now, god give me the wisteria.
DeleteBut like you, I continue to be aware.
I hear there's a flock of chickens up in the lake house neighborhood which are looking to be re-homed.
I am so damn tempted.
Oh yes, pinworms. And at one point in time the treatment was a disgusting red syrup one took by the spoonfuls that if you were very unlucky caused alarming red vomiting. I had been sent on to school after my dose and was in great disgrace afterwards. Also had been warned fiercely not to tell anyone about the worms and was also scolded at school for coming when I was sick, like a child had any choice about that. Childhood can be much less than idyllic!
ReplyDeleteCeci
All I can do about the world I'm doing. Nothing to discuss. And amateur politicians don't help! So enjoy your blooms while you can.
ReplyDelete