Imagine
my surprise when I went to the south side of my house and found these dahlias
blooming. They are the first ones for this year, and judging by the appearance
of the others, this dahlia will remain in first place for some time to come. I
don’t dig my dahlias up every year, but wait until the plant is sending up far
too many stalks. Then I dig up the huge clump, replant a portion and give the
rest away to whomever would like them. Also, the south side of my house is sort
of out of sight, out of mind, so it never gets the attention it requires. It
does get attention from my cat and the neighbor’s cat since they use it as
their personal toilet space…maybe another reason I don’t garden there often.
Thursday
seems to be another gray day and while my preference is to tuck myself back
beneath the covers to get warm and sleep it away, I’m up, have done my PT, and it’s
just about time to go walk. I think my mood is just about as gray as the day,
but perhaps walking will energize me and change my attitude. If that’s the
case, I’ll get some stuff done and; when I return to finish this post, maybe I’ll
have something to actually write about.
Well,
I actually did get some stuff done after my walk. I discovered that my zucchini plants (black zucchini??) are making little zucchini. I may just pick some in a couple of
days to eat in some kind of stir fry. I like them when they’re small. I thought
the plants would vine, but so far that’s not happening. I also asked Haley to
move my tomato baskets to the front of the house when she was here. So, this
morning I found a couple of long S hooks so they can hang lower. They haven’t
been getting the attention they deserve out back and really need to be watered
every single day which I wasn’t doing. Still, look at the few tomatoes I’ve
harvested already…and at least one of them was ready before June 30th…the
earliest I’ve ever gotten a tomato.
I
also spent some time judiciously spraying Roundup on weeds as well as pulling the
bigger ones out. Also cut off the tops of the spent lilies and it seems like
they bloomed way early this year. The front yard got done, but it was beginning
to rain…really???, yes REALLY…so I put my tools away and came in to finish this
for you to read today.
This
gray stuff is really annoying the heck out of me. I suppose part of the
annoyance is due to the fact July 4th is Saturday and I’ll be here
all by myself, as will millions of other people…well, not with me here, but
alone. I always loved the 4th picnic and seeing people for the first
time since the year before. And, of course, the food we all brought was
soooooooooooooooooo GOOD. This year there won’t be any of Supa’s spring rolls, yummy
crispy ribs, Ken’s special sauce he either learned to make or orders from the
east coast, plus the various great dishes that other guests would bring. I
always ate a lot and left feeling as though I wouldn’t need to eat again for a
week. I almost always made a fruit salad and packed it into the watermelon
rind. Then, a couple of years ago Ken’s brother brought a fruit salad in a
watermelon that looked like a shark. That’s when I handed off the fruit salad
to him. Last year I think I took veggies and they were definitely not the hit
fruit salad always was. Ah well, maybe in 2021.
Maryanne
and Claudia are supposed to join me on my deck for lunch today…we practice
social distancing. Of course, if the weather person is wrong about the weather, we
may have to cancel. I don’t yet know what we’re going to have to eat because no
decision has been made. Whatever we have it should be delicious just because I
won’t have to cook it myself. Maybe I’ll even order in for Thursday...I've really been wanting cheese tortillas with rice and beans.
There
is an idea in the back of my head. I’m considering digging out the photobooks
and pictures from my growing up years. Perhaps they will bring some happy
memories to mind about which I can blog. If I do that, y’all can take a stroll
down memory…long term memory…lane with me. I’ll see if I can’t bring it from
the back to the front of my mind and actually do something about it.