A Bit of the SouthWest, Nor'Eastern Style

Holy Cow! I had been told that Prickly Pear cactus are native to this area and that they bloom, but I'd never seen it happen. We've had this plant for a few years now and whenever bumps of new growth appeared along the leaves (do you call them leaves? nodules?) I'd hope for a flower bud. Nothing grew except more "ears" with gigantic thorns (that like to implant themselves deeply in unsuspecting flesh). But this June thrilled us with a week or so of lovely portulacca-like yellow flowers. Quite spectacular.
This, as you may remember, is the cactus that I planted up in the air in a cement vessel. It wintered over in a peculiar deflated fashion. As the weather warmed, the leaves re-inflated a bit at a time. It's an entertaining addition the the garden.

this photo has nothing to do with the Prickly Pear, but was a dramatic conclusion to one of those plentiful afternoon thunderstorms we've been experiencing. Very faintly, you can detect a rainbow, the end of which was right in our yard, just past Bob's sculpture and the hydrangeas. It was ethereal and magic.

So Much To Say!!

(I've been unable to post a blog for so long that the entire early summer session of life seems to have slipped away. I have a rush of photos to add, illustrating our progresses and stalemates! We all know the cliche about good intentions. In truth, it was more "acts of god" than laziness on the part of your humble blogster. I'll relate the harrowing tale of Internet inaccessibility in a future posting; nothing is ever easy, or as easy as corporate advertisements would lead you to believe.)
I drove home from Gainful Employment Land on Friday and I chose a different road, along a pleasant suburban semi-farm area hoping to avoid the air pollution coagulating along a more travelled route. I was tooling along a bit more slowly than my usual break-neck speed and I was enjoying the occasional grazing cow, and roadside horse. On the right periphery of my vision, I detected movement and braked my car for what I took to be a very large dog (think mega-Rottweiler) approaching the road. Instead, a good looking black bear gallumphed directly in front of my car- mouth wide open no doubt to gulp the hot and muggy air. He was, after all, wrapped in a thick coat of black fur. I reached for my camera but he was long gone! Quite a sight. You'll just have to imagine that.
Another missed Animal Kingdom Photo Op occurred while I was moving Crisco the Stallion's portable pasture. (See all the new things happening at the BauHaus Chicken Coop? I promise a posting about our amazing Equine Lawn Mower.) Crispin enjoys watching me move the portable fencing. He know he'll have new eating. But on this particular afternoon, he was engrossed in something else, snorting and shaking his mane and cantering from one end of the fence line to the other. Feeling his oats, so to speak and showing he might have a touch of Lipizzaner in him what with his attempts at Airs Above the Ground. I finally had to go see what he was looking at. At the bottom of his permanent pasture was a very large turkey, not responding to Crispin's flirtations, but just standing his ground and seeming unmoved. Crispin would run full tilt down the hill towards the turkey and then- being more than a bit of a chicken- turn and canter back up the hill. This went on for a good ten minutes until the turkey expressed boredom and flew off. that in itself was a sight as he had a most impressive wingspan.

Did You Miss me?

Having been accidentally booted off the Internet during a particularly violent thunder and lightening event, we are finally back on. Don't ask. Please. Someday, when I am feeling especially long-winded and sullen, I will relate the entire sordid tale of attempting to sign up for Hi Speed Internet. (What country do we live in?)
So the inside of my brain is now resembling the assembled trash pictured above. That's all for tonight! I quit. But at least we're still here.

What We Do in Our Spare Time: Part 56

Bob decided that last night's whoopie pie was improved by giving it peanut eyes and having it puke applesauce. I couldn't agree more! Kinda makes you wnat to come and enjoy dinner with us, right?
Well, I always say, if you can't have fun with your food, don't bother eating. Good choice of plate, too.
(These particular whoopie pies were a bit on the dry side. I prefer them to be stickier.)

A Seedy Avocation

We know we really live here because we're sowing seeds! Last year was too hectic and disorganized to really sow as many vegetables and flowers as we usually do; I think we started morning glories and planted most things from pre-grown nursery stock.
This year finds us (so far) sowing annuals (thunbergia, tithonia, heliotrope, castor beans) perennials (delpinium, holly hocks) and vegetables (three kinds of okra (!!) award winning English onions, lavender, brussels sprouts, and savory). This should keep us busy for a while! All of these infant plantlings are residing on a table in my studio. Add another layer of dirt to our already soiled floor...
Bob also started Indian yellow snow peas that are up and quite happy outside. Our blueberry plants are beginning to flower and I hope they aren't bothered by the chilly (although truly more seasonal) weather.

There is certainly something so encouraging about sowing seeds. Life may suck at times, but small seeds get tucked into warm, moist earth and they grow. It's satisfying and comforting. One night last week, I just couldn't fall asleep. I went downstairs and filled cups and trays with potting mix and started some more seeds. I spent a good hour or so, considering what a funny thing it was to be doing at 1 in the morning. But then it was gratifying to see they germinated just fine.

A Fondness for Festivities

Never one to miss out on miscellaneous festivals (or to invent new ones when needed) I decided last Tuesday was as good a day as any for our First Annual Tulip Festival. We were never able to celebrate the blooming of tulips when we lived in our previous house as our carefully planted tulips were annually consumed by maurauding deer. Here, we have been lucky so far. I know that the day is not far away that the local deer will discover cultivated culitvars and practice a sort of scorched earth policy but until such time, let us now praise famous bulbs!
The red flowers (above) were dominate. I planted several clusters of the red and a smaller offering of white. We also had white tulips for indoor enjoymeny provided by the cut flower garden. The tulips all bloomed rather quickly once they sent up buds as the weather has been remarkably warm. But at least we got to admire them!
We had food color themed to reflect our flowers: salmon and strawberries and red wine and tomato salad. It was simple and delicious and after the week (or two) that we've had working and running around like maniacs, it was good to slow down and watch the flowers grow. Maybe there should be a festival a week; don't they celebrate various saint's days (or other excuses for a good time) in Europe? Sounds like a healthy idea to me!

The Sweet Smell of (Chemical) Spring

That's Jules and I off on our morning jaunt. Jules has collected quite an extensive array of sticks and logs. Walking back up the road is an adventure as some of these sticks are wide enough to obstruct traffic. People driving by seem entertained by Jules' heroic efforts in bringing home next year's fire wood. What's even funnier is Jules requesting that I assist him on the very large cumbersome branches. He'll pick up one end and look imploringly over at me and I'll pick up the other end and between the two of us, we move some sizeable wood. I wonder just why hauling timber is supposed to be fun. I only hope that our vehicular observers don't think I'm making him gather logs.
All of this was a long way to relating that we have quite an impressive assortment of wild flowers in bloom here. Trillium, anemones, trout lilies, marsh marigolds, and a few as yet unidentified individuals... sasparilla? (small white flowers that resemble fire works), tiny pink cups that look a bit like anemones but more delicate? So many wonderful flowers, especially in the wild areas on the far side of the brook. You couldn't improve on them or the way they sow themselves in free wheeling abandon. I'll try and photgraph some of these wildlings for a late blog.
But instead of the earthy aroma of newly turned dirt of spring, or the sweet smell of wild flowers, our neighborhood is frequently scented by the odd chemical cocktail of fabric softener. this depresses us. Better to smell nothing than chemistry!