What's New, Pussycat?

Well, it's me and Maurice holding down the fort at Casa Luna once again. We are ready! Maurice stresses out when she sees Glen packing far more than I do. She followed me around this morning, probably to make sure that I wasn't going anywhere like the tall human obviously was. And then later when I was outside doing things, she followed me around as I worked, sniffing at this and that, lying in nice sunbeams, and just generally keeping an eye on me. 

Mr. Moon got on the road around noon, I think. He kept saying that he felt like he'd forgotten something and when I came in from kissing him good-bye, I saw that indeed he had. His pillow and soft blanket were in a bag in the hallway. I grabbed that bag up, raced out of the door, and yelled HEY! so loud that I even scared myself. He was just taking off but he heard that and braked immediately. It's funny- I always remind him that he can buy anything he's forgotten if it comes to that but is not true of one's pillow and favorite blanket. And that is what he'd forgotten. 
All is well that ends well, though, and he's made it to Orlando and picked up his sister at the airport and I'm sure they've grocery shopped and gotten settled into the villa where they'll be staying throughout the volleyball tournament his sister's granddaughter is playing in. They will have a good time, Glen and Brenda. They always do. 

I've had a nice productive and yet, fairly relaxing day. It was almost perfect weather today. Actually, I think it WAS perfect. Warmish, coolish, not much humidity, blue, blue sky, everything starting to sprout and spring up, indicating that winter's cold fingers have loosened their icy grip on us. The firespike is coming back after the snow, little green leaves showing up at the base of the black stems that I trimmed after the freeze. The native buck-eye is swelling at the tips, and the Ash Magnolia out front has its little white glove on, a sure sign it is coming to life. I'll take a picture soon. 

One thing I did today was to try and create a little more order on the front porch. I also took a few plants back outside that have been in the house. And I watered them all. I could almost feel them expanding and sighing in pleasure. 

That branch in the forefront of the photo is a limb of the buckeye. Baby buckeyes are coming up all over the place. I am excited about this. That pile of random linens is some of the covers I used for the plants when we were having freezes. I will eventually bring them in and wash and dry them and put them away for next winter but I am superstitious and don't quite dare to do that yet. It feels so good to have a tidier front porch with the ferns hanging again. I have much to do in porch-plant care but for now, everything is okay where it is. 

I have some palm-like plants in the front yard that I planted years ago that needed trimming. I really should know what they are. I do believe they were originally sold as a potted plant. But the freeze hit them hard so I cut them way back. 

They may or may not put out new fronds. We shall see. It won't break my heart if they don't but it'll be nice if they do. And then I started in on that area back there in the sun which is the section of the front yard around the ancient, giant oak tree. That whole place is a big mess which feels so disrespectful to the tree. It is also where the trillium grow which I feel a great need to preserve space for. Lots of ferns grow in there which is fine with me and some other Gee Dee plant that I don't know what is but it is invasive and has spread and become thick. It has runners that break easily so when you pull it, you know you're not getting to the root (haha!) of the problem. But I did my best on the small part I worked on. There were also a lot of fallen branches there and dewberry vines and, oh, other things. So back on my knees I went and worked until I'd filled up the garden cart to the very top and way beyond, and then hauled all those things to the burn pile. While I was out there, I had to go look at the garden which was calling me. The lowering sun was making the blossoms of the bolting Chinese cabbage glow like little suns themselves. 

Can you see Maurice in the top left corner of the garden? She was nosing the garlic and having a tiny taste of the onion tops. 

I went to take a close-up of the blossoms and discovered a bee, having a late afternoon appreciation encounter of her own. 

I picked a few stems to put in a little vase but I left most of them right where they stood. 

I am listening to a book by Carl Hiaasen, the quintessential Florida writer, called Squeeze Me. It was released in 2020 and is a very thinly disguised satire about a president who has a "Winter White House" in Palm Beach, plays golf all the time, hates immigrants, is ridiculous, inept, and an idiot whose Secret Service name is "Mastodon." A death is involved, as well as a very large python, also a wildlife removal expert, stupid criminals, a strip club, a Melania-like character, and a group of very wealthy Palm Beach widows and divorcées and widowed/divorcées who are slavish Mastodon supporters. They often gather to eat and drink at his golf resort and applaud every time he enters the dining room. These women, all of a certain age, call themselves the POTUSsies. Get it? Potus Pussies? 
Hiaasen is a Florida treasure and if you've never read anything by him, you might want to pick this up and give it a try. He's a master at pointing out the absurdities and realities of living in the Sunshine State, especially as applies to politics and the environment.

So that's it from me tonight. August is doing much better, his fever abating. The tea olive is blooming so profusely that I can smell it in the kitchen and on the other side of the yard. 

Tomorrow I will play piano. It will be so bad. 
Who cares? 
Not me.

Love...Ms. Moon