Pretending to be Domesticated

I have been busily running about my house this morning, pretending to be domesticated. That’s not to say I’ve done everything that needs attention – no point in overdoing, after all. But I have removed a couple of layers of dust from flat surfaces, dealt with a bit of laundry and a few other things. Now I am ready to sit down and share a few random photos and perhaps some random thoughts.

As the sun presented itself over the hill behind us this morning, I decided it was a good time to wander outside a bit – not too far (that overdoing thing again, you know), but far enough to capture a few things in that beautiful early morning light. It’s been awhile since I’ve done that – but then again, it’s been awhile since I’ve done much of anything besides just enjoy my time with the kids before they left. I must say, I am missing those times.

I found Little Lady Lily (who am I kidding? A lady she definitely is not!) in the chair on the deck, which seems to be her preferred place for sleeping these days. She does come in and grace us with her presence every couple of nights. I wonder what she’ll do when winter arrives again.

This rugosa rose shines in the morning sun. Such a pretty little girl, don’t you think? Not as lovely as a tea rose, but our climate dealt with the tea roses I planted quite harshly and I finally had to give up. Sadly, things of delicate beauty shiver and shrivel in our late frosts – and early frosts too. The weather this morning issued a frost alert. Our little town was not named as one likely to be frosted, but you never know. Yes, it is still August. In your area, that might mean safety for your growing, blooming children for awhile – in mine, not necessarily.

This Gerbera Daisy – the one the Artistic One brought as a spring gift, which bloomed so happily in my window until finally it seemed she might survive outside – has now become comfortable enough in her outside home to bloom again. Sometimes it seems to take awhile for things to bloom where they are planted; have you noticed that? When placed in new, unfamiliar surroundings, do you immediately burst into your full glory, or do you take awhile to spread your roots, become more comfortable with your surroundings, before you shine?

The pot of lantana and fountain grass has matured very nicely, I think. I’m charmed by the fountainy growth habit of these plants, and I think I’ll repeat this planting next year. I might even put lantana in the hanging pots on the front of the garage, since it seems to be so very tolerant of my failure to water as regularly as I should. My kids said they think I’ve developed ADHD and they just might be right – the result is that I decide I need to water plants, but then something else presents itself and off I go. The wrong direction. We’ll not talk about how many unfinished things I keep finding.

The sun shines prettily on this cardinal, one of the stained glass pieces my brother did for me. This is the one meant for Kat – which she can have when I die. It begged me to allow it to live in this window, and it is the only cardinal I shall ever have visit me here, in this western location.

You remember Juan (Won) Carlos, my granddaughter, don’t you? You probably remember her as a nice white kitty however; which she is not in this photo. The day before she was to board a plane to fly to Muscat, Oman, she found, somewhere in our yard, a bunch of loose dirt. She obviously very much enjoyed that loose dirt. Her father, my Gep, was not overly pleased; one cannot, after all, take their daughter to a new home in such a condition. What kind of impression would she make?! Her dirt frolic resulted in a bath for her, which apparently was not so very traumatic because I heard nary a sound, sleeping through it.

Here she is, in her new home in Muscat, feeling not yet completely at home, but safe in her tree, Gep says. I didn’t know the fat chick could jump that high!

That concludes my wanderings for this day. I hope your day, your many days, bring you enough.

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