Sunday, March 14, 2021

Spring And Shit Like That


Another perfectly gorgeous day here in North Florida. The azaleas may turn out to be stunning after all. I've got a bush of them in the back yard right by the HVAC unit that's never done much but in the last year I've been throwing scraps out there so that the chickens will scratch around, get rid of the encroaching border grass, fertilize with their poop and work whatever they don't eat into the dirt where it breaks down as compost. 



That has worked nicely. 

The horrible, awful, dreadful invasive Bradford pears are blooming and as much as I can't stand them, their blossoms do look like white, puffy clouds now. 


Especially against the huge, glossy green leaves of the magnolia. 
Soon it will be time for it to bloom and how happy that makes me. The wisteria should be purpling up quickly now too. 
The native Buckeye that I planted has starting flowering. 


Its baby is doing well. I check on it every day and clear away the ferns and anything else growing around it so that it won't be choked out. I cannot tell you how much that little volunteer thrills me. 

I went out to the garden and weeded for about half an hour and then put down my trowel and said, "That's enough." I don't know what the hell I'm going to do this summer when it actually gets hot. It's not even so much that I can't bear it, it's more that I just don't want to. I was texting two of my best and dearest friends from nursing school today and I told them that I have become a very cranky old woman. 
One of them replied, "You???? Nah..."
It's like she still knows me. 
She does. 

Here's a picture I took in my kitchen of another string of pots. Bigger pots, but still smallish. I bought these in Cozumel at the mercado. 


The lovely and valuable Senor y Senora came from some thrift store, no doubt. I have no memory of when or where. Owen used to insist that they were his mama and his daddy when he was a tiny boy so that's how I always think of them. 

We changed our clocks back last night. No, wait. Forward. We changed them forward. I get so confused. For at least a week I'll be saying to myself, "The clock says five o'clock but it's really four o'clock..."
I woke up this morning and my phone (which of course is magical) had changed the time on by itself and it said that it was 1:00 a.m. and I was like, "But I went to sleep at 11:00 and that was 12:00 in DST so...wait a minute. Have I actually been asleep?"
I have figured that out today but in my groggy state I was almost convinced I was in Bizarro World which is not far from the truth. 
When I woke up this morning I had been dreaming that I was going to take a road trip with two friends and a set of parents but I couldn't find the right purse and I hadn't really packed (this is another dream theme for me) and then, well I couldn't go on a road trip because I found a beautiful horse in full regalia on a trailer that needed to be saved and I HAD to save it, right? and I thought, "Well, shit. I don't even know how to take a bridle or the reins or a saddle off a horse," at which point the horse turned into a cow and I took the cow home and I was trying to figure out what to do with the cow and there was a phone number on a bottle of Dr. Bronner's that I needed to call to find out but of course I still didn't have the right purse- the one with my phone in it- and on the whole, I was pretty happy to wake up. 
Some dreams make a modicum of sense and some just do not. Brain confetti. 

So here it is, six o'clock in the evening, bright as it was yesterday at five o'clock- imagine that! and we'll be eating supper in the daytime which I hate because it reminds me of when I was a kid and had to go to bed when it was still light out and other kids were still whooping it up outside, enjoying their happy, fun-filled lives, but at least when my body wants to go to bed at nine the clock will say that it's ten which is a decent hour for an adult to go to sleep. 

You still with me? 
Bless your heart. 

Bless mine too while we're at it. 

I'll try to stay more on task tomorrow but there are no guarantees. 

Love...Ms. Moon






23 comments:

  1. Ok murder cats, yes. When Lupin lived with us, she was a maniac. She'd roll around on the sidewalk in front of our house and neighbors would come by and pet her and say awwwwwww. Then she'd come inside and BEAT UP the other cats, especially Lola who was small and timid and who would shit/pee herself from the abuse. Then she'd lie around on us before shredding our hands, legs etc. After years of this, my girlfriend at the time said, "we don't have to live like this anymore, you know?" Revelation. We took her to the pound and wished her well. Sheesh. My big tom cat was afraid of her and he was twice her size. I chalk it up to poor/absent parenting.

    Spring, huh? It's the uz here, cold, gray, raining, etc. My sister is in Florida and loving it, planning to move there. Whens she settles, I'm coming to visit and we'll come see you. yes we will.

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    1. I read an article about cats who bite and scratch, even the ones they love, and after going through some tips and tricks for training, the article said that some cats are just always going to do this and it's best to keep antibiotic ointment and bandaids around.
      I like your solution- don't keep the cat around.
      Spring here for sure. Where in Florida is this sister? Has she spent an August here yet?

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  2. My Dear ... you do have some interesting dreams!
    I so look forward to your blogs ... it has to be one of the best ones I read!
    Hugs! ❤

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  3. I like your Senor y Senora Plaques, at first I thought they might be those String Holders where you can pull String thru the Mouth. I have a Dutch Girl Plaque that is a String Holder, probably from the 1940's Era.

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    1. No, they are not string holders they are utterly useless except for their entertainment value.

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  4. "Brain confetti" - I plan to swipe that phrase!

    Chris from Boise

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  5. Brain confetti is a great term. Have a sweet night.

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  6. I have been dreaming a lot recently but can only ever remember bits of them when I wake. I call them my anxiety dreams as there is always a feeling of stress and worry. I do know that if there is ever a reason in a dream that I need to use my phone.....it never does what it should, or I can't find the phone or the number I need etc etc. Our clocks go forward on 28th but it doesn't really have too much impact these days. I usually go half and half with getting up time on the first morning, so as not to confuse the dog too much. I do spend the first few days thinking to myself what time it used to be!

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    1. I have read that the part of the brain which controls reading and numbers is not "awake" during dreaming which would explain why we all have so much trouble with our damn phones in dreams.
      The getting up half-and-half time is sort of what I do too. Luckily, no dogs to get confused. The chickens are not confused at all and keep their own time, of course.

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  7. when I woke up I thought it was probably around 3 because it was still dark so I was surprised to see it was really a little after 6 which means I slept most the night. hooray! yep, spring is busting out all over. I love your big azalea. I had three big ones at the city house that bloomed beautifully but they died the year of the terrible drought. we were living at the country house mostly and the kids just didn't/couldn't water them enough. while I have 7 here, they are small, well, the two are big bout sparse, and most of them didn't bloom last year.

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    1. Might be time to prune those azaleas back a little and fertilize them. I guess. You could try.
      I don't think I've ever heard of big azaleas dying. That must have been some drought!

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  8. How is it that azaleas do so beautifully in Florida when they are the quintessential cold-climate shrub (along with their rhododendron pals), transforming yards and gardens and parks in New England in May?
    It's not like they migrate, after all!

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    1. I have no idea. Yet another mystery. There are so many, aren't there?

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  9. These azaleas are a dream. I am relearning every year - spring forward, fall back - and it still does not make sense.

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  10. I had the dream where I am in a crowded bar and I cannot remember where I left my purse. I spend the whole dream in a panic looking on the back of chairs or in the corners where women have piled their purses. It tires me out and I think it means I am worrying about something... Our blooming is weeks and weeks behind your blooming but at least it is beginning.
    My daughter is on vacation now in Destin, Florida - is that near you? Her sunsets over the water are so lovely.

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    1. I lose my purse in dreams too. Which is weird because I never lose a purse. And of course, our purses represent...something...in our dreams.
      Destin is a few hours away. It is a beautiful area.

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  11. Those azaleas are just stunning. I love when I've been to a hot country and see all the beautiful flowers that we have a much harder time growing. Lucky you!

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    1. I am lucky. Our azaleas and camellias are my favorites.

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  12. Ugh. Time change. We have a few more weeks to go until I have to think about that! The azaleas look great and I am fascinated by that buckeye. I guess it's basically a horse chestnut, or similar?

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Tell me, sweeties. Tell me what you think.