has it really been that long?

it feels like summer has only just begun and really it’s not much of a summer. it’s still pretty chilly but at least the sun is out most of the time now. i waited until i couldn’t any longer before planting our tomatoes not only because it was so chilly and gray but also because the mary rose had so many blossoms i didn’t have the heart to move her but move her we did and she looks pretty dead to me though the dishwasher believes she will revive. the tomatoes are going great. both heirlooms. green zebra and…. must remember to keep those little tags next time.

the brussels sprouts grew to outrageous size. behold…

and all but one plant was so infested with aphids that we had to toss them. the remaining plant got a serious spray from the hose and i’m keeping an eye on that one.

the fortnight lilys made a brief appearance last week ….

and the hydrangea are finally fleshing out in front of the lair. yay!

the monk also made an appearance and this year’s project was a rock garden. he got to work soon after arriving gathering all the stones and broken pavers he could find in our yard and built his little “ruins” rock garden up on the hillside ….

i haven’t been able to muster up the mojo for planting it yet. i don’t know why. it’s probably best i wait for the rains anyway though i’m planning on succulents and whatever else volunteers. cerinthe and bachelor buttons would be most welcome.

it’s reached the point where it pretty much does what it does without much attention from us. the whole veggie garden thing has been a bit of a disappointment this year. the brussels sprouts loss took a bite out of my enthusiasm. that was alot of investment in time and water for what was to be one harvesting for each plant. i won’t do that again. i’ve got a beautiful and slightly scary butternut squash vine creeping it’s way around one of the beds and the fourth bed has 4 bush bean plants which put out about 9 beans altogether. the eggplants are still going though and i had the first one in last nights panang curry. delicious.
the parsley has been the best performer so far. it’s huge and this after i cut it down to the ground 2 weeks ago.

that is all.

somewhere between trader joe’s and the home despot i lost my wallet.
it wasn’t the $2 or the bank card or even my anthropologie gift card which granted, only has about $20 left on it, but still, it was the wallet itself i felt the loss of. it’s a little red faux leather thing with a little black monster with sharp gray teeth that folds over and holds the whole thing closed. i could drop that wallet in any of my purses and find it easily in and amongst the detritus. i would definitely miss that wallet. i couldn’t get that whole letting go thing to work for me.

so i’m feeling particularly hopeful and joyful and there is a spring in my step today despite this weird knee thing, because someone did call late in the evening and said someone had found it and i could pick it up anytime. and my $2 and my anthropologie card and my bank card and even my little post it list of things to get was still in there!

thank you whoever found my wallet and returned it! thank you dishwasher for going through all that rigmarole to get it back to me!
thank you.

somewhere between trader joe’s and the home despot i lost my wallet.
it wasn’t the $2 or the bank card or even my anthropologie gift card which granted, only has about $20 left on it, but still, it was the wallet itself i felt the loss of. it’s a little red faux leather thing with a little black monster with sharp gray teeth that folds over and holds the whole thing closed. i could drop that wallet in any of my purses and find it easily in and amongst the detritus. i would definitely miss that wallet. i couldn’t get that whole letting go thing to work for me.

so i’m feeling particularly hopeful and joyful and there is a spring in my step today despite this weird knee thing, because someone did call late in the evening and said someone had found it and i could pick it up anytime. and my $2 and my anthropologie card and my bank card and even my little post it list of things to get was still in there!

thank you whoever found my wallet and returned it! thank you dishwasher for going through all that rigmarole to get it back to me!
thank you.

last night i dreamed that em was pregnant. a soft round ball pressing out the front of her overalls. i spent the rest of the night thinking about what blanket to knit for the baby and listening to lu licking herself. She’s lately taken to coming into our room in the middle of the night and waking us one at a time for no apparent reason. scott thinks she’s having bad dreams. or maybe it’s our dreams waking her…

last night i dreamed that em was pregnant. a soft round ball pressing out the front of her overalls. i spent the rest of the night thinking about what blanket to knit for the baby and listening to lu licking herself. She’s lately taken to coming into our room in the middle of the night and waking us one at a time for no apparent reason. scott thinks she’s having bad dreams. or maybe it’s our dreams waking her…

last night i dreamed that em was pregnant. a soft round ball pressing out the front of her overalls. i spent the rest of the night thinking about what blanket to knit for the baby and listening to lu licking herself. She’s lately taken to coming into our room in the middle of the night and waking us one at a time for no apparent reason. scott thinks she’s having bad dreams. or maybe it’s our dreams waking her…

Scott is painting the house. I am not helping at all. I seem to be in slug mode but not liking it much at all.
In spite of that I managed to plant some foxgloves, snapdragons, bacopa, basil, poblano chili and another little eggplant. I also potted up the Bird of Paradise and did some laundry.
It’s windy again and chilly but at least the sun is out. We had a couple of really hot days a week ago. 90 degrees. In April!
Here’s what it looks like around here…

The back deck. Moved the little $10 Japanese Maple back there to protect it from the wind and now I can see it from my bed.

Buff Beauty busting out. Also nice to see from the bedroom.

The Lair. Looking very festive with our Ikea curtains.

The deck behind the studio. The bamboo is starting to fill in that little bed. Soon it will be a wall and that little spot will be a private little nook.

Brussels sprouts and spinach. Looking great!

Little girl with apple hiding in among the poppies, daisies and bachelor buttons. The soon to be tomato and zucchini bed. Just don’t have the heart to tear out all those Bachelors about to bloom.

These succulents seem to like living in the old tool chest.

Mary Rose shows no signs of slowing and so is also being spared a move at this time. The Love-in-a-mist is also blooming here giving me pause.

That is all.

The lair has new curtains! They dance in the wind.
This week we’ve had monster winds. I had to tie them down and they were fine but the mats and balls and pillows were blown hither and yon. Yoga and meditation in this lair is magical.

Meanwhile…

I’m waiting for the Mary Rose to finish it’s bloom fest so I can dig it up and put her in a pot in front of the studio where she will get tons of sunlight and then I can proceed to plant my tomatoes in her spot. Same with the bachelor buttons. They’re just starting to bloom and I’ll maybe be able to transplant them on the back hill so they can naturalize along with those crazy daises all up on that hill.

It’s musical chairs in our yard at this point. Move this here and that there.

“Whosoever is in Your grace is neither slain nor conquered; and distress does not reach him either from afar or near.”
Rig-Veda (3.59.2

It’s raining today and it rained yesterday and it will probably rain tomorrow. This is good news for my seeds. Forget-get-nots, sweet peas, morning glories, arugula, rappini and spinach. The last three have already sprouted. I check the others with a hopeful heart each day.

I am doing some spring cleaning this week. I started with myself and am having a difficult time not eating sweet things and bacon. Yesterday I cleaned the studio and that helped to keep my mind off of Vietnamese Pork Sandwiches.
Today I’ll probably try sewing some scraps in the studio and try not to think of chocolate covered macaroons.

I finally got to the bed behind the Lair. It was filled with sweet grass and even a couple of nasturtiums. Brave little vines that they are. I tried not to pull them up but they are, for all their bravado, very delicate. It takes very little handling before their thick juice soaked stems snap. I’ll throw some seeds back there at the end of the season and see what happens. I think they like more sun than this though.

I discovered the old jade plant that’s been back in that corner since we moved here 12 years ago? It’s in beautiful shape so I made some cuttings and stuck them in around the Buddha along with a fern, some succulents and an ivy I’ll have to keep my eye on so it doesn’t take over the world!
This is not my ideal design for this bed but more a use what I’ve got and what suits for the moment.

The Monk told me to study and think on my abandonment issues so I also threw in some forget me not seeds. I hope that takes care of that.

Later in the afternoon I noticed a fat little Bluebird studying the whole area like he was looking to move in so I’m guessing that when those little forget me not seedlings appear, they’ll make for a tasty treat and a good lesson in letting go.

This little monkey sits on my dresser. He holds my earrings and sits among the dozens of necklaces and bracelets I keep up there. I do need a better way to keep these things. Even he thinks so.

This little monkey sits on my dresser. He holds my earrings and sits among the dozens of necklaces and bracelets I keep up there. I do need a better way to keep these things. Even he thinks so.

This little monkey sits on my dresser. He holds my earrings and sits among the dozens of necklaces and bracelets I keep up there. I do need a better way to keep these things. Even he thinks so.

Here is my little plant hospital. It’s where I’m gathering all my volunteers, cuttings, seedlings, transplants and spent bulbs. This is only the beginning. I’ve spent the last 2-3 days digging in the dirt and moving stuff around. The weather is perfect for working. If only I could say the same for me. I’m more perfect for laying about and dreaming. All this work has left me bruised and battered. Really. My legs are covered in bruises and scratches I don’t remember getting and my arm was attacked by a rose thorn the size of my dog’s claw. It’s an angry swollen thing and makes me cry and whine like a baby at night.

And here is the second veggie bed. That innocent looking growth in the back left hand corner is The Killer Rose. Buff Beauty. She of the giant claw/thorns. Approach with extreme caution!
In this bed I have planted 4 little Japanese Millionaires (eggplants) and 5 Blue Lake Bush Beans.

They were sorry looking specimens from the get go but I was so excited to find these Japanese eggplants that I thought I’d give them a shot anyway. They seem to be doing OK. I will probably throw some lettuce seeds in between.
The other two beds are so lush with flowers at the moment I’ve decided to let them go for the time being. Instead I’ve started work on the back hill.
Slowly by slowly, as the Monk says.

You’d think I lived in Montana. I’ve shamefully ignored the garden the entire winter. And it doesn’t look half bad. This is definitely a result of all the work we’ve done putting in the “bones”. It made a huge impact when we defined everything by putting in all the paths and planting beds and we have such lovely weeds. Daisies and sour grass/clover! All cheerful little faces.
All the tulips I planted came up early and strangely. They bloomed as soon as they sprouted and then grew tall and somehow, even though I bought a huge bag of mixed colors all the pink ones are in the front garden and all the purple in the driveway. Go figure. They have become my favorite flower.
As my first order of spring garden business I dug up one of the beds in the central garden which I have designated the veggie garden this year. I relocated as much as I could from that bed to other beds and caged it and worked in all my beautiful compost and planted brussels sprouts.
One down, three to go.
It’s good to be out again.