There are staycations, and then there is my summer. I barely left my neighborhood, much less town. But somehow, I've had very little time for sewing or knitting. What did I do?
Gardening * Garage cleanup * Bookkeeping * Chauffeuring * Pool monitoring * Refereeing * Seemingly endless food gathering, prep & cleanup * Doctor & Dentist & Periodontist & Orthodontist & Veterinarian visiting * Play date monitoring * Housekeeping * Dog walking * Cat kill cleanup
Wash, wipe down, sanitize and repeat daily
Let's consider that enough said. Well, I guess that "cat kill" part may have caught your attention. Just as I was typing this list I was driven to get up from my PC by the incredibly nasty smell that suddenly overtook the room. WHAT is that? But I knew, at least generally. My darling cats like to drag their live toys to a spot in the garden just outside my office window before dispatching them. That, or take it to my office bathroom and dismember it in the tub. Sometimes after having been chased around the house with the poor creature dripping blood. We've had a few successful and dramatic rescues. Some lizards are fantastic at playing dead until you try to pick them up, at which point all involved - the handler, the handler's apprentices, the lurking feline, the curious hound and the scared witless lizard - jump sky high. I've rescued one bird that gratefully flew out an opened screen, leaving behind ruffled feathers and fear-induced poo. We've taken to trying to keep the cats indoors during the day to give the birds and lizards a little peace, but the little black cat is a determined huntress. She'll jump off the balcony to the roof and freedom. She's not caught snakes or rabbits only because we have a snake fence, but the less-fortunate list includes grasshoppers, lizards, mice, birds, and now a rat. Yes, rat, not a cute little mouse, a full-sized field RAT. Given its size that one might have been caught by the big orange cat. The sun had broiled mister ratburn to perfection and the down-chain organisms were having a cookout. I'm all for dust to dust, circle of life, natural order, etc etc, but not under my office window. Cleanup was required. Thank goodness I've not had lunch yet. The upside is that over this summer I've significantly increased the amount of time I can hold my breath. Ready for my own category in the mommy Olympics.
If any of this sounds whiny it's really not (well, except for the rat cleanup). I've saved loads on gas, gotten some tasks done, lost a few pounds and almost perfected my farmer's tan. You've not heard from me here because my creative time and PC access have been severely compromised by my constant companions who have not always been so self-entertaining. And we all know the old CSNY song ... If you can't be with the friend you love, torture the sister you're with. They go back to school in 95 hours and 12 minutes. Not that I'm counting.
This toothless smile is entertaining, but I need a break. Even a still shot conveys what a piece of work this little Missy can be.
The rest of this post is a photo essay on the small pleasures of my summer. Mostly garden related, with one fabric shot at the end (if you're inclined to scroll by the green stuff).
The new Passion Flower vine has the most sculptural blooms - I love it! I'll only abuse your good humor with three photos.
The vine is in the hottest and sunniest corner of our courtyard. This photo was taken just before the sun broke over the rooftop, but the rest of the day it bakes. It was pretty bare until recently and the heat just radiated off the wall, but I've finally found what's happy there: geraniums, tropical vines, succulents and cacti. The red vine is a Mandivilla.
The pots on my back patio baked too, so I cleaned them out and went with succulents. Nice thing about a succulent pot is that they can last for years.
I've been working to make the path to the side yard garden more attractive and inviting. Because our property is trapezoid shaped this gateway falls at the narrowest point between fence line and house. I'm trying to visually lead you over to investigate, but space is limited. That smallest pot isn't going there permanently, but it's protecting a young salvia for now. The duranta (blue shrub) makes me very happy.
Since I'm leading you over there, I figured I'd better get that garden in order too. That's my current project, so photos soon. We've had to clear out a lot of beyond-their-time or just plain dead plants over there and rework the irrigation system, which wasn't cutting it. Did manage this arrangement with the bits and pieces. The greenery is bolted Italian parsley. Gives the arrangement an herb garden smell and seems to keep the water from going funky.
There was only one bloomed-out stalk of the Black Knight Hollyhock left. I dearly hope that one re-blooms next year. Here's an older photo of the blooms from a few months back. The midday sun shows it as dark maroon, but it does look black next to other flowers in a bouquet. That puppy put out 7-8 stems and hit over 6 feet tall! That was full-body cleanup job.
We added a trellis this summer to support vines. A lonely Graham Thomas rose is peeping over the top, but we've planted a few other vines that just need time. Hopefully in a few years the whole side of the house will be covered in blooms and greenery. This is the SW face and it gets blasted with sun year round. We don't have AC, so any heat management is welcome. We've planted a tree too, but it's not big enough to cast shade on the house yet. Since the area to the right along the fence line is our veggie bed we don't want to shade that part, so we're hoping the vines help. If anything, at least the reflection off the wall won't blind you as you come around the corner. (to orient you, this photo is looking back toward the gateway area shown in a previous photo)
The tall yellow blooming plant is bronze fennel. Ladybugs love it.
As do bees, butterflies, caterpillars, wasps, and beetles. That plant literally hums with insect life as you walk past.
This metallic green beetle fascinated me, but I didn't know until I got this photo on the PC that I was so interesting to him as well!
I'm thrilled that these beetles like my garden, I really really am. But when they unexpectedly zoom at your head buzzing like a helicopter it can be a little unnerving since they're hard-shelled and several inches around with their wings open. OK, I've been known to jump and yelp, but I'm trying hard to set a good example for my girls. Still, it can be hard in some cases. As I trimmed and cleaned the base of the fennel last Saturday a HUGE black spider bolted and took a path straight toward my gloved hand and bare arm. Make a C with your thumb and forefinger - it was that big including legs. Amazing how motivating that was - I did Tigger proud with my backward bounce. Even my dh, who generally dismisses my aversion to creepy crawly things, agreed it was big. And let's not even talk about ants. I'm SICK of ants.
Ok, enough bugs and spiders. Roses are more calming. Finally got around to fertilizing the beds and the poor starved roses are now rewarding us with individual blooms. I'm sure they're hoping the positive reinforcement works. Picked these at dusk last night and did a hasty arrangement, so I was happy to see how they glowed in the morning light.
Each rose is from a different bush. Here's one side...
And the other...
Enough gardening. I'll close with food and cloth. Tomorrow I'm blocking the next group of Noro Lizard Ridge squares, so yarn talk next time. Really. I swear. Scouts honor. Pinkie promise.
French toast with blueberries and bananas is the new breakfast treat of choice around here.
It's this bread that makes it so unbelievably good.
Ok, cheating here because this is a garden photo, but we've also been feasting on our first season of homegrown apples. If you're coastal SoCal, try Dorset Golden. Very low chill with a July harvest. Tart and firm but still quite tasty out of hand; they're perfect for baking. I even forwent my lifetime commitment to chocolate desserts on my birthday for my husband's apple blueberry crisp. Sadly, the last one was picked today.
The sewing machine has been idle, but I am dreaming in color. My crafting life and regular blog entries will return in 91 hours and 41 minutes...
I have a firecracker like yours!!! I'm homeschooling her this year. Yikes! She wants to quilt though, so there's hope. I'm counting days until the rest of them are back in school though.
Enjoy your garden!!!
Posted by: Maria | August 14, 2008 at 05:14 PM
Your garden is looking lovely!!
Posted by: marissa | August 14, 2008 at 06:30 PM
What a beautiful garden!
Posted by: kim | August 14, 2008 at 09:14 PM
With those beautiful photos who could just scroll past to see the fabric? Your garden is lovely. I can just see the Passion Flower becoming the inspiration for a quilt, but then I've just been flipping through Radiant New York Beauties by Valori Wells.
And, yes, I did read the text too - I enjoy cats, but I enjoy them even more since I can get my cat fix at the boarding stable and not at my own house (this is a reaction to growing up with 4+ cats in/out of the house at all times).
Looking forward to your quilt projects this fall!
Posted by: Toby | August 15, 2008 at 08:16 AM
I've been looking for your post and am glad you're back in the swing (cybernetically). Great story about the cats. We have three. One's too old to hunt, but the two others catch & kill the occasional mouse. The youngest climbed up a tree, & I swear, knocked out the robin's egg. The evidence was the blue thing on the sidewalk -- cracked. The robins were understandably upset. (Then I saw the cat over my head, in the tree, while I was on the sidewalk. This is how I came up w/ the 'culprit'.)
Of course, you're gardening work looks fantastic!
Posted by: Louise Snitz | August 15, 2008 at 12:10 PM
you have been busy this summer, and your garden is gorgeous! Passion flowers are one of my favorites, they are beautiful
Posted by: Amanda Cathleen | August 15, 2008 at 01:06 PM
your garden is looking fabulous, just wish my creativity could be so inspired in the garden, I'm counting the days until mine starts school, September 25th, but that's just mornings, things really get going in January when he is there from 9 till 3pm, roll on Christmas!!
Posted by: joanna | August 16, 2008 at 12:28 AM
Beautiful garden, just beautiful. I find that each day I have to check in to see if a new post has made it's way to us so I can keep up with your projects. I grew up in the high desert town of Lancaster, CA and find so many of your plants were also found in my backyard as a little girl. I now live in Northern Ca and am just getting started on redoing my backyard with plants that thrive in this part of the state. I'm almost finished with my Lizard Ridge but it has been marinating for the summer. Your comment on yours makes me feel like pulling mine out to start the sewing task. While your counting down the hours till the girls are in school, I'm remembering what that was like as my baby (youngest of three girls) just started driving. My older two girls are in collage. Where does the time go? Love your blog!
Posted by: Alison | August 16, 2008 at 09:47 AM
My girls are back at school today! Very exciting. Lovely photos, and I'm glad to know that other mothers yearn for the return to school.
Posted by: Ingrid | August 24, 2008 at 08:02 PM