Dogs, Garage, & Flowers

Trixie loves playing with the water hose-- to the point that if you try to water plants with Trixie nearby, she will bite at the water-- hurl herself after it-- and potentially crush the poor, thirsty plants in the process.  She has to go inside for the sake of the plants' continued well-being (not to mention the continued well-being of my sanity).  But every now and then, we point the hose out over the lawn and let her have at it.

She looks like a different dog, when she gets wet.  (True for all long-haired and/or fluffy dogs, I guess.)

We've introduced Luna to the hose, too, and she's a little interested, but not nearly to the degree that Trixie is (and maybe that's a good thing).  On the other hand, she displays some interest in the plastic kiddie pool that all our other dogs have shunned.

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I'm pretty sure Donald's posted this photo (as well as some of the dog photos above) on FB, so you've probably already seen it, but here's a photo of the garage workbench and cabinets:

(Still haven't finished putting everything in place...  Yard work has taken up all "outside time", lately.)

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This past winter got very cold (by our standards) and killed back some plants harder than usual.  The umbrella plants under our covered patio, for instance, are still very slowly recovering.  Nowhere near as tall and lush as they were last year, but they're alive.  The sago palms were also hard-hit.  It's taken them a long time to put out new growth, but they finally have.  (Late May, early June.)

I don't know if I had any other options, but the frozen, dead fronds seemed so dead that I just cut them all off.  I don't think they'd have recovered.  The downside of doing that is that removing fronds makes the plant into more of a (very) short tree shape, which I'm not sure I love... But oh well.  It's what the plant wants to do, naturally, so I guess I'll learn to like it.  ;o)  (I'm slowly learning how exhausting it can be to fight what a plant naturally wants to do.  They can be extremely stubborn, plants.)

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This new batch of daylily seedlings is doing so much better than the last!  I'm not sure how much of it is due to better practice and how much is owed to a better supply, but I'm happy.  Now if they'll just stay alive... Daylilies are hardy, so chances are good that most will, I think, so long as I take a reasonable amount of care. 

It's sad to think that we won't see blooms from them for at least a year--  maybe two or three.  Worth the wait, though. 

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 Flower photo "slideshow":

Latest Garden Doings

Latest garden doings:
-- Planted a few more of the sprouted daylily seeds.  Almost all of them have sprouted, and the few left might, too.  The paper that came with them said it could take up to a month...

--  Planted a couple packets of seed.  I've had these for months, but just never got around to dealing with them.  One pack of (annual) black-eyed Susan.  I may have waited too long for those... We'll see.  If so, I'll try again next year.  I enjoy our coreopsis, which reseed themselves pretty well every year.  I hope that black-eyed Susans would do the same.  The second pack was (perennial) purple cone-flower.  I really want to get these started... I'm on the prowl for hardy perennials.  Annuals are nice, but something that comes back year after year is even better. 

--  Transplanted a shrub crepe myrtle ('Victor', supposed to be about 3'x3' with red blooms) from the front/side of the house.  It wasn't doing well in the old spot; in fact, I was surprised when it put out leaves this year, because I thought it was long gone.  Maybe it will be happier in its new location.

--  Transplanted various and sundry other plants from around the yard-- bulbs the identity of which I am not sure and some daylilies that I think are the plain orange type.  I think I'm going to move the latter yet again, because I don't want them crowding out the hybrid daylilies that I plan to (eventually) put in the same area.  These can go down by the shed, maybe... Or along the edge of the garage... Somewhere out of the way.

-- Cut back the English dogwood, because it needed a fresh start.  (Should've done that immediately after blooming, because now it wasted energy putting growth on the old, tired, mostly-dead stalks, but that's ok.  I think it will bounce back.  If not, at least the piece by the bay window is doing really well.)  I dug up two rooted bits and moved them to a couple of different places around the yard (by the front left corner of the garage and at the corner of the covered patio).  One of them alternates between drooping sadly and perking back up, depending on the time of day, but I think it'll settle down soon.  (If I recall correctly, the one by the bay window also went through some theatrics before deciding that life was good again.)

--  Set up the birdbath in a new spot.  I don't know if any birds will use it, but it's there.  (And now I have to remember to keep it clean... I may be too lazy and inconsistent for regular birdbath maintenance.  This one is so heavy, too!  Not easy to empty.)

--  Moved the tiny, sad little clump of what I think is agapanthus (a.k.a. lily of the Nile).  It's dwindled away to almost nothing, and I don't know if I've ever seen it bloom, here.  (It came from Mom, and I remember hers blooming, at the old house.)  From what I'm reading, it sounds like lots of people have problems getting them to bloom, so at least I'm not alone.  ;o)  If I remember, I may try to scrunch it into a small pot, sometime...  (Many people say it seems to like being crowded, and at least that way it would be easy to move it around as I attempt to find the right light situation.)

--  Pulled weeds... including tons of cypress vines.  The little red star-shaped flowers are pretty when the vine's in bloom, but they do drop a lot of seed and pop up everywhere the next year.  I'm pulling most of them out, this year, where I find them.  I still haven't decided whether or not to let one or two of them stay... Maybe up by the front fence... I'm not sure I'll be diligent enough to get them all, anyway.  They're very easy to pull, fortunately, but there are so many of them! 

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Here's some of the produce from our garden.  A couple of bell peppers (already chopped and frozen for use in that "Wendy's chili" recipe we make fairly often), a handful of cherry tomatoes, and a "regular" tomato that ripened early. 

"Where the Boats Go" -- M83

"Political Diversity"

RED ALERT!!
This is a politically-themed post.  If you're here for photos and innocuous garden-based posts only, you'll want to skip this one.  :o)

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I don't know if WKRG hired a new "media consultant" or one of the existing employees got a bee in his/her bonnet, but someone has been posting a lot more often on Twitter, lately.  (...Well, unless I just started following their account recently without noticing it. Which is possible, during some of that bad weather we had a month or two ago...)

Anyway, this morning's Twitter link back to the dreaded FACEBOOK was this:  "If you live in Baldwin County you may have noticed a common theme with the upcoming election.  Do you think there is enough political diversity in Baldwin County?"

(And then there was a terribly blurry and amateurish photo of some of those ugly "candidate signs" that people stick along the roads before elections.  I mean, seriously, anyone with even a moderately-intelligent smart phone could take a better photo with their eyes closed.  Someone could probably draw them a better picture with a box of Crayolas.  (g)  But that's all beside the point...)

First, the very way they pose that question irks me.  Hm.  I wonder what they think the answer should be... (More on that in a minute.)

Second, since they ask about "political diversity" I assume they're referring to the fact that this is primarily (and by "primarily", I mean "far and away") a conservative/Republican county-- in a "red state", to boot.  But really, it doesn't matter what kind of diversity they're oh-so-subtly suggesting might be lacking... because my answer is that, no, I don't care about diversity or lack therof in this matter.  (Actually, enforced diversity doesn't appeal to me at all, in most matters.)

As far as I know, nothing and no-one is stopping anyone else from running for these offices (or other offices, when those positions come up for grabs).  Now, possibly the reason that there aren't many (any?) democrats running this time is that they are familiar with the local political waters and know that they don't have a serious chance of winning, if they run as democrats.  Do I care?  NO.  If it mattered that much to me, I'd probably have to move somewhere else, because (again) democrats are out-numbered around here.

That brings me to things that do worry or concern me...

-- I am concerned that with so many people flooding into our county, its character (political and otherwise) is bound to change.  I worry that I won't recognize the personality of this place-- the only place I've ever lived!-- in another few decades.  I don't want people bringing us down with a whole fleet of other sinking ships, and I'm afraid they will... (That may sound funny, coming from a woman who married "an outsider" from a country that's very different from the U.S., politically.  (g)  Yes, but I made sure of his personality and beliefs beforehand. ;o)) 

-- I do worry that "Republican" doesn't mean what it meant 30 or 40 years ago.

-- I'm frustrated that I can't believe what candidates say they stand for.  Instead, I'm convinced that many (if not most) would tell a thousand lies without batting an eye, if they thought it would advance their political careers.  I'm disappointed that politics is a lifelong career for so many of these people-- and that they still turn around and expect us to honor them for their so-called "public service".  Yeah, it's not "public service" anymore, for most of you.  You make a career of it, and you are generously recompensed in the form of pay, power/influence, and shady inside deals for you and your families.  You will not get my automatic respect and gratitude, too.

Meanwhile, WKRG asks, "Do you think there is enough political diversity in Baldwin County?"  There's an implied answer.  ("No, of course there's not!  A democrat should waste his time and money in a hopeless bid for power!")  Really, how are you supposed to answer "yes" to that?  "Yes, I think there's enough political diversity, even though you just pointed out in your previous statement that there's a 'common theme with the upcoming election'."

We know that diversity is all-important, these days-- even more important than qualifications and just deserts and getting the best person for the job.  If you aren't for more "diversity", then there must be something deeply, horrifyingly wrong with you.  How can you ever have enough diversity?!

Another strike against you, WKRG.  I find myself tuning in to your news coverage less and less frequently, and this latest delight isn't changing my mind.

Progress Report (No Photos)

Over the weekend, we did some garage organizing and cleaning.  It's not finished, but already much better.  We've put mini-blinds in the windows on the south-facing side and have blinds ready to go into the east-facing side, when we get around to it.

The ping-pong table (oh, excuse me, "table tennis" table (g)) is out there, now, and we've played a few times already.  What a relief to have it out of the house!  Of course it's hotter (and more humid) out in the garage than in the house, but on the other hand, the table is no longer taking up precious space in our main room, blocking the view (and natural light), and being an eyesore.  I think we'll actually be more likely to play now, despite the lack of A/C.

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The new daylily seeds arrived sooner than expected.  These had instructions to wrap them in a damp paper towel, put them in a Ziploc bag, and keep them warm and moist until germination, which could take up to a month.  ...Yeah, it took about a day.  I got a bunch of pots ready, and Donald helped me plant all but ten of the seeds, which we held back because they looked like they could use a little more time.  The pots are on trays on the covered patio, out of Luna's reach.  I'm going to do my very best to see that these turn into real plants that will grace us with flowers in a year or two.  That means watering (from the bottom) once or twice a day (for a while, at least) and possibly moving them around to avoid violent downpours.  I hope that we'll have a higher success rate, this time around... I think we should, but let's not jinx it by being too optimistic.  ;o)

Oh, and there were 83 seeds.  (The listing was for "60+" seeds, so at least they were generous!)  That means 73 seeds planted, so far... Plus the dozen teensy daylily plants that made it from the last batch (assuming that they're all really daylilies... and I'm not sure about two or three of them).

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The Spanish lavender's still hanging in there, despite its reputation of disliking the combination of heat and humidity.  (Who does like that combo?)

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The ivy (on the trellis by the kitchen door) is slowly growing.  Emphasis on "slowly".  I've read that ivy likes a mulch of coffee grounds.  I'm going to have to start drinking coffee.  Donald doesn't like the taste, so he won't be any help in this area.  I'm ambivalent about the flavor, myself, but since I'm too shy to beg Starbucks for coffee grounds, I'll just have to make some of my own. (g)

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The passionflower vine, on the other hand, is growing very nicely.  I think it's bigger than the photo I posted last week, even!

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Our morning glory vines are slowly growing.  This variety (Grandpa Ott) is blooming much, much earlier than the Heavenly Blue did, last year, but the vines haven't really taken off like those did.  There's still plenty of time, of course.  Next year, it might be nice to try both varieties at the same time.  (I'd also like to try moonflowers, if I can remember to look for seeds next year.  Now is a good time to start a spring-planting wishlist.)

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The new Knock Out Roses are all doing pretty well, I think-- including the small one Mom gave us.  I need to fertilize them (and a lot of other things, too).

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Though most of the hummingbirds that were visiting earlier in the year seem to have moved elsewhere, I saw one this afternoon.  It was visiting our newly-blooming white-flowered rose of sharon (small tree-form hibiscus).  The other rose of sharon, which has lavender blooms, hasn't started flowering just yet.

We have a third rose of sharon that I thought had died.  Just a bad location for it, I guess.  Well, this spring I noticed short sprigs with the characteristic leaves coming up again, so I moved it to a new spot.  Long story short, it got mowed down not once, but twice.  Incredibly, it's still trying to survive, and I think everyone knows where it is, now, so it shouldn't be mowed down again.  (g)  If that plant makes it after all that, it will have truly earned its place in the garden, poor thing!