Saturday, June 30, 2018

JO! THERE'S A SPIDER HERE!


I pretty much took today off. Just...fuck it. I did a few things and I went to Publix and to Costco but I zoomed through those places like lard on a hot skillet.
Phsssssssshhhhh.


I did get a little taste of hell (although not much else) when I went to Costco. For some reason it had not occurred to me that everyone and their patriotic uncle would be there, getting ready for the 4th and there were many, many sample stations set up and they were GOOD samples like chicken salad and spinach and artichoke dip and chipotle black bean burgers but there were so many shoppers that only the people who had no qualms about pushing in front of others or a lot more patience to wait for a space to open up than I did got any food. 
And if THAT isn't a first-world problem, I don't know what is. 


The pink phlox are just blooming everywhere in the yard. They are so cheerful and the butterflies love them. Speaking of which...


Here's another enormous Swallowtail on a banana leaf. I love the green and the yellow and the tiny dot of blue and of red, the black borders and the tiger stripes, too. What a fancy creature! 


Does anyone know what this is? Ellen? It's about three and a half feet tall, including the stalk of blossoms and someone probably told me last year and I've forgotten. I dug some up from next door when no one was living there years ago and this year it is finally making a showy appearance.


The grave of Elvis, our beloved and still-mourned most beautiful rooster ever. I buried him in the front yard so that he can keep watch over us all as he kept watch over his flock so faithfully. 


The coming-along beauty berry. In this picture you can see the blossom and the developing berries. Soon they will be the most gorgeous of fuschia colors. Their early colors are but pale indicators of what is to come. 


This is what the Japanese Maple looks like from below with the sun making glory of it. Is that not beautiful? The man who sold us this house brought it to the signing to give to me which I thought was quite lovely. It was not much more than a sprig then and now, it is a tree. 


A young golden orb weaver who is tangling her web in the phlox. Oh! They will get so much bigger! They are so territorial that I feel as if I should name each one as they will all be in the same place until it gets cold and they die. 


A tiny vase of the blooming June roses. I chose these at the nursery because they smell exactly as a rose should smell. And they are so perfect in their heirloom honesty of color and form. 

And since I began writing this, my sweet husband has come home, tired as can be but with grouper and vermillion snapper which I have never even heard of and is sipping a martini in his chair. Well, he's probably snoozing. The rain, which was hardly even a rumor of a cloud an hour ago, is falling, falling, soaking the sweet dirt from whence all of these beautiful things come. The thunder is grumbling all around and it smells of heaven. The incredible gift of summer rain as it breaks the back of the almost intolerable heat.

Did you march today? 
I did not but my son did. Here's a text I got from him. 


God, I love my children. 
Just as every mother does. 

Love...Ms. Moon

18 comments:

  1. I did not go , freezing cold rain and neck pain, BUT it was well attended and informative. lots of options to call, write, boycott- the usual.
    Your photos are stunning! Spider my fave!

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    1. I think these spiders are beautiful.
      I asked Hank how the protest went and he said, "Kinda hopeful, kinda hopeless."

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  2. I love your children too! That’s a great text Hank sent you! Is it me, Jo or the other Jo you are warning here!!! I love all your flowers! I think I might die if I had a spider that big in arm’s reach. I always thought if I died of anything other than natural causes it would be from a big encounter...

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    1. It was the other Jo, Joanne. I wonder why so many people have such fear of spiders when mostly, they are as harmless as butterflies. But I understand- as much as I love to look at frogs and lizards, I don't pick them up. I don't think I'd die if I did but no, I'd really rather not.

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  3. we were considering marching but it was over 100 degrees and i got sick yesterday (most likely from the heat) so we decided to not chance it. enjoy your dinner!

    xxalainaxx

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    1. Hot there too, huh? Yeah. It wouldn't have helped anyone if you'd passed out.

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  4. Good on the marchers We have a plant like that in UK called bleeding heart of something. Maggi x

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    1. Bleeding heart is a vine and this is not. But I can see why you'd think that.

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  5. The red plant looks like a clerodendrum species. Whatever it is,it's pretty! I love your children too. Thank you, Hank.
    Xoxo
    Barbara

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    1. I think you nailed it, Barbara! And in looking it up, I realized that one of the most invasive plants in my yard which we call the Beauty Bower is also a clerodendrum. I don't think that this variety is nearly as apt to take over the yard though. Thank you!

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  6. Costco is it's own special hell. I hate going there but it's where I get my photos processed, they do a good job with them. It's always busy and people are always buying shit they don't need. It feels like consumerism gone wild, or at least it's on full display there. Shopping carts overflowing with stuff.

    Your flowers are lovely and exotic, made me a little envious until I saw the pic of the spider.

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    1. I don't mind Costco generally and I think it's because all of the employees have become familiar and we always greet each other in a friendly way. I like that about Costco- they treat their employees well so that turnover is limited. But yeah, those giant carts holding giant amounts of everything- it's pretty weird and ridiculous.

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  7. when you send me the spider egg case, send me some of those phlox seeds too. the plant looks like leopard plant but that blooms yellow. I've sent the pic to my sister to see if she knows. I dug my beauty berry up in the middle of summer and moved it out here and it struggled ever since until I cut it to the ground last fall and it is coming out nicely now. will take a few years for it to get decent sized.

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    1. I'll probably just send you some tiny seedlings. They make hundreds. I transplanted some of those from my old yard to this one. They aren't exactly invasive but they thrive for sure. I'm so glad your beauty berry is doing better. We have SO many around here.

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  8. Go Hank!
    Ms. Moon, yours is the first blog I go to everyday. I love it and you always brighten my day. Thank you. Xx

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    1. Thank you, Laura! That made me feel a little better today.

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  9. The pink flowers against the white wooden house are storybook like. So pretty. I love how your mood in this post shifted subtly to a kind of joy when mr moon came home and the rains came. Please thank Hank for marching for us. You raised some good ones.

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Tell me, sweeties. Tell me what you think.