Lagniappe

 

Sunset colors over the church next door. 

Happy Corned Beef And Cabbage Day!

Yes, yes, I've posted too many pictures of the wisteria already but I think it may be, at this moment, in peak bloom. Also, it may freeze tonight so we shall enjoy it while we can. 

While I was out taking its picture, Maurice strolled by and when she got to the end of the petaled path, I called her name and she turned back towards me which was my intent and I got a few pictures of her walking the purple carpet. 

As I so often say, all cats are supermodels whose superpowers are posing. 

When I woke up this morning it was freaking cold and I told Mr. Moon that I was "dying of anxiety." 
I can be a bit dramatic. 
My anxiety, of course, was due to the trip we're taking to The Event (oh, wait until I can write about this) and how I did not have anyone to stay here and watch my own supermodel and we didn't have a place to stay on our way up on Friday night and...
Well, that was about it. 
But that's enough to kick my ass into panic gear. 

I finally gathered my courage and texted Mark, my other son, to see if he'd be interested in coming to stay while we're gone. When Mark is here, I know that all is well. Sometimes Maurice even gets on the bed when he's sleeping so I'm pretty sure she adores him. And he is such a tidy person. Such a responsible person. 
But the thing is, is that he's house/Sophie sitting for Jessie right now and I know that he is very, very involved in taking care of family members who do need help. They all live together and I believe that Mark is the cruise director, chef, sound-bath healer, driver, and general Mark of All Trades for them. And so would he feel okay about staying here right after he is relieved of house-sitting for Jessie? 
Turns out I didn't even have time to type out a second text burst after my first one before he'd written back. 
"Yes. Every time. I can't wait." 
And with that I felt about 75% better. 
His parents only live a few miles from here, really, so he can easily go check on them. 
I can't tell you how much I appreciate him. He even asked if he'd need to water the garden. This is not his first Lloyd rodeo. 

And then, to make matters even better, Glen found a place for us to stay on our way up in a little town called Cave Spring in Georgia. We've never been there but we will be on Friday. There's a sweet old house that takes guests and all the reviews make it sound like a very good place to stay. So THAT is covered. 

I am so grateful. 

Of course, once again, even knowing I was going to town, I fucked around and then found out that it was already after 1:00 before I hopped in my 2017 Prius and drove to Midtown Pizza. The timing there was fine because the lunch rush was definitely over and so I had May almost all to myself. I ordered some lunch and we talked and talked and talked while I ate and she folded pizza boxes. She brought out the bin of clothes and we went through them. Some I swear I do not even remember. 
"Really? This was mine?"
One dress had NOT been mine. It had been Sue-Sue's, my friend who died many years ago. I did not remember that in the least but May did. I have no idea if any of these dresses will fit. I haven't had time to try them on yet so we shall see. 
Here's the sad thing about body dysmorphia- when I was wearing some of these dresses, I thought I truly needed to lose weight. 
I did not. 
I was beautiful at that size. I was beautiful at a larger size. But far more importantly- I was simply not overweight. I just wasn't skinny. I have wasted so much of my life fighting a battle with my very own self, sometimes in what could be called a healthier way, sometimes in what could be called a disordered eating way. 
I could write books about this. I have written a lot about it in this blog. But what I want to say now is that if I try on those dresses and none of them fit me, I need to not suddenly feel as if I am fat. As if I am overweight. I know I'm not. It is an extremely complicated subject and I fear that my brain has been wired a certain way since I was about seven years old. I honestly don't think I can rewire it at this age to be more accepting of the truth. To be more accepting of myself. 
Which I mostly am! I know I am doing what I need to do to be healthier, easier in this body, more able to bend and to move and to not try to avoid every mirror in the world I come across. 

So that's that. 

And speaking of, well, we weren't speaking of it, but...food.
Happy St. Patrick's Day which for me personally just means an excuse to cook corned beef and cabbage and make Irish soda bread. The corned beef is simmering away, I need to go put the cabbage and carrots and onions and potatoes in and I need to find my recipe for the soda bread which is delicious. 

I did not answer comments but once again, perhaps I will get around to it. 

Here's another vacation adventure photo.

Y'all- it's not even that warm down there. I mean, it's probably warmer than where many of you are but it's less than 60º which to us is WAY too cold to be swimming. 

Children. 

And the latest forecast on my weather widget for tonight here in Lloyd is 33º. 
Holy shit. 
Well, it will be what it will be and there is no way in hell I'm bringing any plants in or covering anything in the garden which has just been planted. 

 To repeat myself once more- Root hog or die. 

Love...Ms. Moon

What The Hell Is She Talking About Tonight?

I have no pictures to offer from today so I'll give you this one which I took last week when we were at the nursery. This is a pink wild azalea in full bloom. I seriously doubt either one of my two will ever look like that but as I recall, last year's bloom of the flame azalea I planted years ago had more flowers than I'd ever seen on it so maybe it will be even better this year. There used to be a flame azalea planted very near here on part of the yard of a house that had been unoccupied for a long time which had grown up into weeds but every spring that azalea bloomed and was beautiful. Then the damn Methodist church who owned the property decided to turn the old house into offices and cut down everything in the yard, including that azalea. 
I will never not be pissed off about that. They probably didn't even know it was there and I wonder if they would have cared if they had. But that yard is sure neat and tidy these days. 

It was raining hard when I got up and then it rained even harder. We got thunder and lightning and a tornado warning but I don't think there were any actual tornados reported. The power went out, as it generally does during a storm, and although the generator kicked in the way it's supposed to, it soon cut back off with great sounds of pops and backfires. Glen looked at it but it was still raining and lightning and so he closed it up and came back inside and the power company did get us all hooked back up relatively soon.
All I can say is- he better get thing fixed, sooner rather than later. 

As I laid in bed this morning, enjoying the sound of the rain and the coolness of the air coming in through the window above my head, I thought about the fact that I could take a day off of doing yard work without any guilt. I imagined knitting or mending or even working on that jigsaw puzzle which I doubt I will finish before I die, no matter how many years I have left. 

And I did finally sit down in front of the TV and work on a shirt I've been patching for well over a year while I finished watching the movie "Blue Moon" which I'd started a few nights ago. I was interested in it because Ethan Hawke played the main character, Lorenz Hart, he of the Rogers and Hart duo. Almost the entire movie was set in a bar where Hart had gone to get a drink which he felt he dearly needed after watching the play "Oklahoma" which had been written by Richard Rogers, his writing partner of 25 years, with Oscar Hammerstein. 
Not a movie for those who crave action, excitement, broad comedy or romance come to fruition. It is a movie for those who like dialogue, excellent acting, good writing, and true stories about real people which can often include deeply unrequited love.

So yeah, I loved it. I have recently come to admire Ethan Hawke since I watched him in the series "Low Down" and I am hoping with all my heart another season comes out soon. 

The best thing that happened today is that I got to talk to May and we talked for well over an hour. I have been needing that. All of my children are so wise and so funny and so very, very precious, each in their own way and I have not gotten nearly enough of May's wisdom, humor, and preciousness in quite awhile. I can't even really talk about it. But it was good and what I needed. I hope I was able to give her a little bit of what she needed. 

One of the lighter things we discussed was this upcoming event which Mr. Moon and I will be attending on Sunday. We will be leaving on Friday, spending one night on the way up, two nights at the destination, and one night on the way home. 
Needless to say, I am having some major anxiety and am still not certain about the "pretty dress" that I am supposed to wear at this event. 

Anyway, May suggested that I try on some of the dresses I have given her over the years, generally because I have outgrown them. There may be one or two that I can now fit into and truthfully, they are all beautiful in their own way and definitely all fit into the category of pretty dresses. I'll probably go to town tomorrow and pick them up from her at work. Even if none of them fits I will have gotten a hug from my darling girl and that will be worth it all. 

Both Jessie's and Lily's families are on vacation. 
Jessie, Vergil, August and Levon made it safely to the campground where they are staying in their new camper. Here are a few pictures she sent me. 

Here's what she wrote: " It’s mostly been cooking and cleaning for me so far. But I think the boys are having fun. 😜"

To which I replied, "Yeah. That’s camping life for moms. Doing everything you usually do but under more difficult circumstances with inferior equipment."

And here are the pictures Lily sent.

Mermaid Maggie!

They're staying in an Airbnb in the same area where Jessie and her family are camping. I believe they're all going to get together tomorrow to go to Weeki Wachee Springs and you know how much I wish I was going to be there too. 

And finally, a few pictures May shared with the group of her and Michael's 10th anniversary trip to Savannah. 

Hank and Rachel have sent me no pictures of them on vacation because they are NOT on vacation but at home where they are working and living and getting ready for a surgery Rachel is having soon which we all hope will help with the horrible chronic pain she has. 

But those are many of my babies and I love to see them all having fun.

I've made a soup which is appropriate as the temperature is dropping like a stone in a deep, cold well. I felt the need to deal with some leftovers in the refrigerator. I can only describe it as chicken/red lentil/many vegetables soup. I also attempted to make Boud's beautiful baguettes  but once again, my bread has failed. Well, not in the sense that I burned it up or it's inedible but in the sense that my baguettes are rather flat. Not enough flour, I am thinking. I do not really know.

I have lost my bread-making abilities which is a huge hit to my ego. 

Hardly life threatening though. It will still taste good, dipped in the soup. The chewier the, well, chewier, I guess. 

And it makes me so happy to think of my grands at Weeki Wachee. Here's a link to a trip I took down there with May, Lily, Owen, and Very Young Gibson. 

No mermaids for me this week. 
Sigh. 
But I am glad there will be for the grandchildren. It's somewhat crazy and quite wonderful that my children still love Weeki Wachee so much that they will take their own children to bask in the mermaid magic. 

Love...Ms. Moon

From My Heart

Can you see the buckeye blossoms? 

Here's a closer image.

Don't they just look like they were designed for hummingbirds? 

I have three little buckeye saplings that have sprung up. I need to find new homes for those. 

I didn't do much today. It was, shall we say, a leisurely day. I did a bit of leisurely work in the bed I want to plant herbs in. I used the big loppers to trim the damn sago that lives there and then I used them to prune the roses. I think there's probably a law against that. But it had already put out new stems, and the thorns on that plant are wicked sharp and unusually large so I had no desire to get up close and personal with my small hand pruner. I did what I did and you can bet the ranch I have not killed that rose. It will grow back with mighty power and meaty branches. Trust me. And it will probably bloom just as much as it usually does which is to say- not a whole lot. As to the sago- well, you know how I feel about those. Too bad the comet that killed the dinosaurs didn't destroy all of the sagos too which actually predated the dinosaurs. I imagine dinosaurs hated those things as much as I do, always cutting their tender dinosaur flesh, refusing to be a part of their diet, their frond needles getting stuck between their toes. 
Clearing that area in order to put in herbs is a task. The border grass, chenille plant, Virginia creeper and other ground-hugging species are almost impossible to tear out. I don't really care how far out the border grass and chenille plant grow. That battle is well and truly lost and Mr. Moon just mows it but they also grow into the gardening space itself which of course decreases the amount of growable area every year. I fear this is a fool's errand. 
Oh well. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
But the fact is, I did not plant even one sprig of rosemary. I did discover that the oregano I planted some years ago has made a comeback which is nice. 
La-di-da. La-di-da. 
I gently cut back the dead parts of the limequat tree and watered it. I was afraid it had been freeze-bit to the point of all-encompassing death but it appears to have new growth coming along. Bless its little baby heart! 

It was quite beautiful today, once again, although working outside was a sweaty proposition. Mr. Moon who was clearing vines and branches suffered far more than I did with my little bit of effort. It's supposed to rain tonight but not much. And as I said a few days ago, there is actually the possibility of a freeze early Wednesday morning. I am simply not going to worry about it. Right now the sky is darkening and the birds are quiet. We do very much need rain so I will welcome it if it comes. 

************

I have been having a lot of thoughts today about things concerning the Epstein files and the horrors being brought into the light. I've written about this before but it occurs to me that for those of us (and our numbers are legion) who were sexually abused as children, these reports are a constant trigger. So. Should we simply not read any of what's being discovered? Or refuse to watch survivors' videos? 
Is that even possible? 
And has there ever been a time in history where the actions of one group of men (and some women) have caused so much emotional turmoil and pain to one specific group of people in this way? 
What would happen if all of us banded together and sued Donald Trump and all the others in those files who perpetrated such violence and pain on children for emotional distress? 
Yeah. Not going to happen. 
At this point though, it would certainly be a start if at least some of these people had to go through the legal process of being arrested and tried and imprisoned for what they have done. Knowing that they walk free now, completely able to enjoy their massive wealth and their positions of power is untenable and incredibly agonizing. 
All of us who are affected by this and of course, especially those who were directly victimized are having a hard time right now. I don't even pretend to have any idea about what those survivors are going through.

It is starting to rain. Not much. Not nearly enough to clear the air of the pollen which is affecting so many or to nurture the new growth of which spring has presented us, but a start, a promise of a promise. 

Better than goddamned nothing. 

Love...Ms. Moon

So Many Pictures

Spirea, camellias, azaleas. 
Okay, Spring. You're just showing off now. 

Don't stop! Please don't stop!

Tung blossom. Now, according to everything I've read, one tung seed can kill a person if ingested and the entire tree is toxic if humans are exposed to the different parts. However, as I told Glen a little while ago, I have never once heard of anyone dying by tung seed, neither human nor animal. I used to worry a bit as my chickens pecked under that tree frequently but none of them ever keeled over. Or even got bad tummies as far as I know. 

I had more insomnia last night. 
This will not stand. 
I didn't even have any itches to blame it on. I simply could not get back to sleep. Eventually, I did, but there was at least an hour of time where I just laid there playing alphabet games in my head. 
And I did not feel great when I woke up. I almost wondered if I was coming down with whatever Mr. Moon had. But when he asked if I wanted to go to town with him to shop at Oak Tree Treasures while he delved into a Moon Plaza situation involving trash pick-up and then have lunch, I said, "Yes. I think so."
And so I did. 
Hank and Rachel joined us at Oak Tree. They live less than a mile away. And it was SO fun, shopping about with them. Rachel and I had a very good time, holding up garments and commenting on them. Not always in flattering terms. 
Well, what would you expect? 
And hanging out with Hank and discussing different finds is also just a damn good time. 
I did not find any clothing I wanted or needed but I did find a rocking chair that yes, I do believe I wanted and needed. Rachel (I think) took this picture of me sitting in it. 

It was the sweetest little old granny rocking chair you can imagine. And that did come home with me. It is now in my bathroom because I love my bathroom and I love to put things I love in there. 

I believe it will probably end up on the porch at the cabin. 
Maybe. As for now, I may or I may not sit in it in the bathroom. I did try it out there, curious as to what I would be looking at when I did, and it was rather nice. 

I also bought these. 

They are plates of the salad or side-sized or luncheon-sized and I have been looking for more of those. I really like the way they are painted. 

All different and yet definitely of a set. I didn't Google Lens them until after I got home. They were priced so reasonably and I liked them so much that their value was obvious to me. When I did look them up, I discovered that they are vintage, collectible, and far more valuable than what I paid for them. I mean, not hundreds of dollars, but perhaps thirties of dollars. 

But the main thing is, I bought them because I liked them and that was that. I just won't be putting them in the dishwasher, knowing what I now know. 

So that was a very sweet shopping trip and being with Hank and Rachel was absolutely perfect. 

Glen and I had lunch after that. Once again, it was way late and once again, we ended up at the Cuban restaurant. My favorite server took care of us and I told Glen, sotto voce, "I love her."
"I know," he said. 
I never joke around with this server whose name is Jessi, as I am sure I have mentioned. She is too professional for that mess. She is friendly and polite and knows what she's doing and I have absolutely no illusions that she wants to be my friend. 

And then, back to my mission to find a Mexican basil, we returned to Native Nurseries where I was hoping they'd had some come in but they had not. 
Sigh. 
Oh well. Other things were bought. 

Just a few more herbs and vegetables and...

This kalanchoe commonly called Miracle Plant. 
I know nothing about miracles this plant can do but if you click on the link, you will find that it can CURE EVERYTHING.
Oh well. Sure. 
The reason I wanted it is that it used to grow in the woods in Roseland and I was fascinated by the blooms it made. I assume they were blooms. I'm not sure. They looked like this.

And you could pop them, which we did. We were not only entertained, we also recognized uniqueness when we saw it. 

It needs to go into a pot because it is not freeze hardy but it surely makes me happy to have it in a pot or in the ground, either one. I have been looking for one to dig up in Roseland but have not seen one. Perhaps all the popping of their blooms we did may have killed them all. They could still be there somewhere but I am not one to trespass on privately owned property to look for plants to dig up. 
Unless I'm sure I can't be caught. 

Dang. I have to go make supper. Air-fried catfish tonight. Caught in Lake Seminole by Mr. Moon. 
He will be so happy. 

Love...Ms. Moon

I Am Looking Up. I Am Paying Attention

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

Lots Of Cussing But Used Appropriately

 Spirea against blue sky.

I had the craziest experience last night. I turned out the light around 11:30 which is a little late for me but not unheard of. I woke up a little after two, which also is not unusual. I generally just come to conscious and fall back asleep but last night I couldn't because my right big toe was so itchy that I thought I would go insane. 
Now who in the world has a big toe so itchy they can't sleep? I can't recall my big toe ever being itchy at all except for the time when I had hookworms in my feet. I got those being a feral child in Roseland who mostly did not wear shoes and I doubt I've ever been more miserable in my life than when those fucking little fuckers were crawling around under the skin of my feet. 
Yes. It was as horrible as it sounds and yes, my mother did take me to the doctor more than once and yes, I did get treatment which consisted then and may still, of getting the area sprayed with liquid nitrogen which is -321º which in theory will freeze and kill the fucking fuckers. 
This is the same stuff your dermatologist uses to freeze off possibly precancerous dots and spots and places on your body. Generally, the doctor hits that spot with one spray but when I had the ground itch (which is what we called hookworm along with another term which was creeping eruption), the doctor showed us how to follow the little red tunnels where the worm larvae were dancing about with the spray and then really hit the end of the tunnel hard in hopes that's where the worm larvae actually was. Now when something that cold hits your skin, it feels like you're being burned, and in fact, if used too generously, blisters the skin and infection can occur.
Ask me how I know.
Okay, okay. I did not come here to tell that story once again. But trust me- it was horrible in all regards. 

So there I was last night, trying to get back to sleep by ignoring the itching in my toe and then being unable to stop myself, I would scratch the hell out of it and go through the whole process again. After about an hour of this I got up and took a Benadryl and about twenty minutes after that, I did go back to sleep. 
Even as it was all going on, I thought about how truly funny it was. It didn't feel funny at the time, but honestly- an itchy toe preventing sleep is ridiculous and I was quite aware of that. 

I might still be asleep had not Maurice come in a few minutes after nine and wake me up. She probably thought I was dead or was worried that I was dead and thus, would not be able to give her her morning treat.
Whatever. I got up.
And my toe has not itched a bit since then. 

I went to what is called "open studio" in pottery which is like an extra class where you don't really get taught, or not formally at least. There is an instructor there to sort of keep an eye on things and lend help if needed. I knew I wanted to get my fish dish and flower bowl which had been fired and also wanted to collect the fish spoon rest I'd made for Billy which had gone through its first firing before glazing. 

I found my fish and my flower but could not find my spoon rest. Finally, I looked on the shelf where they put the kids' work and low and behold- there it was! 
That cracked me up so much. And honestly, it pleased me. Yes! My pieces are childlike! And what the hell could be better than playing with your inner child at the age of 71? 
I've brought that one home to put the glaze on (Stroke and Coat!) in the next week or so before the next session begins. 
As to the pieces I got from the kiln that were glazed, I like one and am vastly disappointed in the other. 
Here's the disappointment: 

The colors were not what I was going for at all and have little resemblance to the colors I was seeing in my head. In fact, I find it rather hideous. Again, a learning experience. 

And for the one I do like:

Now that is far closer to what I wanted. It's too bad it didn't end up being bowl-shaped enough to be a bowl but a dish is okay too. 
The class was a bit odd. The instructor person was not the teacher we have but another one who could not, for the love of god or money, quit talking. She could not, she would not. AND, she had a loud voice. She covered so many random topics that my pottery friend and I kept looking at each other and rolling our eyes and my friend finally said, "I can't." And I said, "I can't either."
And we closed up shop and left. 

Pottery class is the time when we are allowed to work in peace. And that was not happening today. At all. 

Jessie is getting ready for the little adventure they're going to take in their new camper. Spring break starts next Monday and off they will go. She's been working nights and has had no chance to start organizing. She'll get it done but spending two hours at pottery wasn't what she felt like she needed to do. She did come by and we got to hug and do a very quick catch-up and I gave her some bean seeds and some jars of green beans I canned last summer (I have to clear these shelves!) and she gave me a tomato and a pepper plant that she had no room for. 
So that was very, very good. 

After I left class, I decided to go to a nursery to look for a Mexican basil but they had none. I ended up getting pepper and eggplant starts, as well as some other herbs. I've decided to make a little herb garden sort of thing in the area beside the kitchen using bricks I've found while digging weeds. 
Let us put that on the list of things to do.

While I was at the nursery I was attracted to the colorful Mexican and Spanish ceramic pots they had and look what I found.

I just don't feel unique anymore. 
Interestingly enough, I was born in El Paso but my mother and father moved long before I was of an age to start noticing the pottery. 
Still, I've always wondered if that's why I feel so at home in Mexico. 
Yeah, probably not.

Before I leave, here's a picture of a bud opening on the native flame azalea, the one I planted years ago.

Hello, you tender little thing. Welcome to the sun. 

I believe I will put a Benadryl on my bedside table tonight. I am NOT going through that again. Better living through chemicals, better sleeping through chemicals. 
And needs must.

Love...Ms. Moon

Plant Life. Earth Life. This Life

Last night I cooked some of the biggest artichokes I've ever seen and I just thought the way this one looked with a few of its petals pulled was almost painterly. Just so perfect in its arrangement of leaves. So I took its picture. 
It was every bit as delightful to eat as it was to look at. 

Today has been so unusual in that I seem to have gotten a great deal accomplished while feeling rather lazy all day long. Like I just easily drifted from one task to another, put my hand to it, and all fell into place. 
I'm not sure I've ever experienced a day like that. 
Maybe it was my new magical cargo shorts. 
Speaking of magical- look at these beans.

I planted those little beauties last Friday. So five days ago. In that time, they've already busted out of the dirt and formed their first leaves. Once again, rattlesnake beans have proven their immodestly superior germination success and the swiftness with which that occurs. Don't even talk to me about your Kentucky Wonders or Blue Lake varieties. 
Get on with your bad self and plant some rattlesnake beans. The bugs don't seem to bother them much, the heat certainly doesn't, and if they were any more prolific you'd need stainless steel trellises to hold their weight and a team of helpers just to pick a darn row of them. 
And have I mentioned lately how delicious they are, whether picked young or more mature, pickled or steamed or boiled or canned? They seem to be suitable to every green bean need. 

I piddled around in the garden a little this afternoon. I planted a grow-bag with squash seeds and one with cucumber seeds. Glen reminded me that when we tried that last year it seemed that the bugs did not get to the vegetables quite as much as they usually do. So let's try it again. I replanted a few sweet peas to replace the ones that didn't come up at the first planting. Not sure why that happened. It really is too late for them but might as well give it a try. I planted the African basil I bought last week and also some Thai basil seeds. I still very much want to get a Mexican basil. I am seeing quite a few bees this year and I'll do anything I can to encourage that activity. They are already bumbling about the wisteria which is popping into purple with the speed of light. There is a noticeable difference in the number of blooms between morning and afternoon. 

I'll get a better picture tomorrow. The sun is lowering and that area of the yard is in shade now. But you can at least get an idea of how quickly those bushy tassels are somehow managing to turn into clusters of flower petals. 
More plant magic. Spring is just filled with it. 

I watered my new baby azalea and the spirea. Also a few things in the little severely under-tended garden area beside the kitchen door. I have planted some Genovese basil I got from Publix in a bucket I got at the dump in which I'd made some holes in with a nail and a hammer. The funny thing is that there was a volunteer celery plant growing in it which of course I left and it's beautiful! 

Now how in the world did that manage to get there? I do not have any idea but it makes me happy to see it coexisting with the basil. 
Speaking of volunteers, I have found these sprouting both in the dirt of the garden itself and in some of the grow-bags.

They are squashes of some sort and I'm betting acorn although I surely would love for them to be delicata. But the last squash seeds I threw in the compost were acorn and so that's what they probably are. Whatever they are, I'm going to leave them be and give them a chance to show me exactly who they are and what they can do. I bought some Seminole pumpkin seeds this year and I need and want to get those in the ground. This is an heirloom squash/pumpkin which grows especially well here but has only recently become widely known and their seeds made available. Here's a good article about them. 

After I'd gotten everything I felt like doing in the garden done and had turned the sprinklers on, I strolled over to the tung tree to check on its progress. I write about the tung trees every year and every year I love them as passionately as I have in all the years before. They, too, are a sort of magic to me, having been imported to this country from China in the early 1900's for oil production and their flowers are indeed reminiscent of a Chinese watercolor painting of a blossom, their colors almost an indescribable peach/orange/yellow and almost crimson. 

But here's what they looked like today. 

They will burst out soon and once again, I will swoon. 
When I was on my tung tree expedition, I picked spirea, white and purple violets, and oxalis blooms. The camellias are still coming on although it seems almost as if they are trying to get it done, pushing out one flower after another in numbers I don't think I've ever seen although the blooms are smaller and some never really seem to quite mature. But. Many are still so beautiful. 

I made a tiny arrangement with the tiny flowers and here that is. 

I am not sure there is any place on earth I would rather have been today than outside in my own yard in Lloyd. Everywhere I turn, everywhere I look there is proof beyond doubting that life just wants to live. Joyfully and with grace and grit and grandeur. The sky has been so blue, and there has been a good, stiff breeze all day that has rattled the magnolia leaves and played the wind chimes and brought messages of life from far away places. That same wind is bringing in cooler temperatures and hopefully some rain tomorrow.

But being outside or even just on my back porch has peeled something inside me wide open, revealing some sort of core of me that I can neither describe or really understand. I have been overwhelmed at the power of it all. 

I just went out to turn off the garden sprinklers and had to take this picture. 

A live oak across the street, wrapped and bathed and awash in the setting sun's gold. 

I know there are places all over the world that are as beautiful and more magnificent than this little insignificant place where I live but some days I would not trade it for all those other places in the world. 

This has one of those days. 

Love...Ms. Moon