I sure appreciate the fact that you allow me to be flexible with timing between posts. If nothing presents itself in my life to share, I can wait until something does.
So here is a little snippet of my Thursday morning for you that I hope makes you chuckle a bit as it did when I shared it a few times with others.
SO THIS is how THINGS GET LOST.
I did not anticipate the early-morning frost on my windshield before I went to work, so I had not pulled my truck in under the shelter of the carport.
I grabbed my ice scraper from the back seat floorboard and spotted it. There also on the floorboard was the dog’s harness and leash. What in the world was it doing there? I do not even remember the last time I took the dogs anywhere. Of course I realize it must’ve been hubby’s lack of grabbing everything the last time we were together and he was doing the unloading. Surely it wasn’t my fault, right?
I pulled the harness and leash and put it in the front seat, so that when I came home for lunch, I could remember to take it in to put it where it belongs.
At work, I got out of my truck and crossing the parking lot, I realized the leash was dragging along behind me! Then I realized there it was conveniently hooked to my purse!
So I grabbed the leash and I stuck it inside my purse and the words popped into my head, “this is how things get lost.” And the words lingered there in my head and I laughed to myself.
Will I remember at lunchtime to take it out of my purse to put it where it belongs? Or will it travel with me a great distance until it decids to sneak out and get lost somewhere else?
Of course, it could have followed me halfway across the parking lot until gravity pulled it down to the ground, and a passing by car could have wound around its tire, and it already have been out and down the road somewhere.
This is how things get lost.
I found a bit of humor in the ordinary of my day.
Hydrangea Update
You may recall my “WHOLE lot of learning about Hydrangeas” from my December 24, 2023 post.
I put all the information on my website page if you need a review.
Remember how I learned I have the wrong kind of Hydrangea and that I am trying to save the buds that formed in December so that they will bloom later this year? Remember how I packaged them up with a pretty bow as a gift to myself and then covered it with a plastic tub?
Friday it was 66 degrees out and sunny! The plan is to remove the tub when the weather is warm so that it will not rot the plant or buds. Someone told me that would happen. My canvas is now over the tub and rying out from the rain. Apparently it did not stay dry under the tub as I had anticipated it would have done.
I looked carefully for a sign that the plant was still alive and not rotting and spied a bud sticking out! Yes! It was greener and had grown more than I had anticipated. I carefully tucked it back inside the wire and covered it with leaves.
I may JUST get this to bloom yet!
More Garden Tidbits
Here’s the blue skies of Friday over my back yard! Oh have I needed to soak in the blue skies! They have been so grey and dreary. The garden beds look so lifeless, but I know they will not stay that way. This is like a before photo.
Ria was rolling in the grass and was so happy with the day! She stopped when I grabbed my camera, of course, but here she is relaxing in the sun on the futon on the patio. Dogs know how to live life and appreciate the small comforts, don’t they?
Nothing ever grows in this pot. I loved the pot in my tricycle, but it has no hole in it to let out water and nothing ever grows in it. So last year I put some miniture hostas in it and they grew! I usually take the pot into the shed for the Winter, but because it has a perennial in it beneath the dirt, I left it out in the elements. Today I see the pot has shattered.
My first thought is to take the dirt and put it in a flexible inexpensive plastic pot. But then my thoughts turn to what I could so with this bit of broken pottery. I could make a stepping stone with it in a mold, but I got rid of my mold and supplies recently. Or did I? I could break it up even more and use it as a later on top of the dirt of a plant similar to people who use pepples on top of the dirt to stop those nasty gnats from making a home when you overwater.
And then I looked at the pot as it is, where it is. I kind of like it where it is, all broken. I am imagining the hostal growing up and how it would look in this broken pot. I might like it. As long as the trike holds the pot together as it is, it might be an artistic bit created by the natural forces of the weather.
What shall I do? Leave it? Or do you have ideas for me?
Pruning
Last weekend we pruned the rosebushes back. You do know you are supposed to do that in January when they are dormant, right? If not, here is your reminder! It’s a great motivation to get yourself outside when it is cold.
We have one climbing rose though that we prune right after it blooms in the Spring. It will bloom this Spring on old growth from last year and new growth from this Spring.
Crape Murder
We also cut back our Crape Myrtle. I did an educational video and website page of it last year while it was blooming. You can go see it there.
It is more like we did “crape murder” as the saying goes, but I am going to try to do something different with it this year. I just do not like how it grows out and pokes into the backs of the chairs. I thought it would make a great scene, and it did sort of, to have the flowers behind the chairs. After several years of it this way, I have decided to change it up.
I am going to try to groom it like a mini tree rather than a bush. We cut it back heavily. I do not have a photo of it at this time. It was thinned out and only about four stems were left as I imagined them to come up more like a tree.
So when it begings to grow in the Spring, anything that tries to grow low on the stems or from the ground, I am going to immediately take off. I will allow anything at the top to grow. At least this is my plan. For new trees, they call these things “suckers” because they suck the life out of the branches you do want to get big.
Every year I change things up in the garden and patio. I reimagine it and try to take what I have and make it new without spending too much money. I think you, the reader, enjoy the journey with me.
Crocus Bloomed!
My crocus bloomed on Friday February 2nd! The groundhog said that Spring is going to be here soon and my crocus agreed! How fitting is that!
As I started last year on my website, I moved my journaling from my handwritten booklet to my website. I am SO glad I did that! I think I am going to be so much more successful this way and I can add so much more information.
I keep track of first blooms in my journal to see when they bloomed last. I also started with studying each flower and making educational notes that you and I can both benefit from. I need to do that for the crocus, so that will be my next post to you. I new I would be doing this project again, but I did not know it would be so soon!
Have a happy day!
Cheryl
P.S. Remember, join Substack so you can like my posts and leave me comments. I’m still loving this place.
Hahaha! The leash story is great!! And then your broken pot pondering...it all reminded of the kids book, If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, with the one-thing-leads-to-another type of writing. Enjoyable read!
Holding onto hydrangea hope with you!!
That reminds me - I still need to prune back my rosebush, too. Although it is covered in snow right now from yesterday's storm, so maybe later this week when the weather warms up again. :)