Frosty Morning

 Last night was the first frost of the season.  I'm not ready.  There are things I want to plant.  The cold also made it hard for me to sleep last night.  One of today's tasks became making sure all the radiators were cleaned off and now the heat is on.  Other happy things for today are:

• Being the person to take Aesop out first this morning gave me a chance to see the beauty of the tiny ice crystals clinging to the plants.

Frosted black-eyed Susan.

• After lunch, I met a friend at the Tower Hill Pond Trails and we caught up.  We walked the loop around the pond but there are many trails that spur off.  

• As the sun was setting I noticed part of a cloud formation.  To me that one part  looks like one wing, like that of an angel.

☮

Currently reading:  Mount Washington A Guide and Short History, by Peter E. Randall.

Thank you for being part of my happy things. Stay safe.

Flora

 Work was long, especially after not getting enough sleep last night.  I just couldn't fall asleep.  One of the things I tend to do when I get home from work is to take off the steel toed shoes and stretch out my back on my bed sideways, with my legs up against the wall.  Generally I fight the nap that wants to take over, today I didn't.  It was less than an hour nap and allowed me to have enough motivation to do laundry and think about working in the garden.  It also meant that Winston, the orange tabby, could sleep on my pillow.

Instead of working in the garden, I observed some areas and tried to make a game plan in my head.  Then I walked around the yard and some of the property and found my happy place for today.  

I tried growing zinnia, this is one that lived.

I believe these seeds are from wild lettuce.
I love parachute seeds.
Whether or not I like what they produce varies.
😉

We let these black-eyed Susans grow in
the section of yard they chose this year.
They are getting ready for winter.
More in the same area next year would be nice.

This aster plant was the place to go for a bunch of bees.
One could think it was the only flowering plant around!

Bee.

This sack is really a bunch of
parachute seeds from a thistle.

☮

Currently reading:  Mount Washington A Guide and Short History, by Peter E. Randall.

Thank you for being part of my happy things. Stay safe.

Geranium

 This year one of the goals I had was to grow geraniums to plant at the family graves for Memorial Day.  There were many obstacles that got in my way and that didn't happen.  Many of the geraniums are now much closer to planting in the ground.  I took three of the smaller ones and planted them near where the zinnia were eaten by the woodchucks/groundhogs.  

These three geraniums are much smaller
than most of the others.

According to this site, scented geraniums are resistant to being eaten by deer and groundhogs.  I am hopeful.  Happy things for today:

• I am still employed.  (Yes, I'm tired and weary already.)  
• The blackberries are starting to ripen.  I had one today and it was pretty good.

Amid the black-eyed Susan and grasses
are the blackberries.

• Many thanks to Reader --K who noticed that what I thought was a yellow jacket yesterday is most likely a sweat bee.  I seem to remember seeing some last year, too.  

☮

Currently reading: The Backyard Homestead, by Carleen Madigan.

Thank you for reading, stay safe.

Pretty Weeds

 For my first day of work off, I slept in.  Isn't that what one is 'supposed' to do on a day off?  I spent part of the morning either being mildly productive or avoiding being productive.  Another classic day off strategy.  After lunch I made my way out to the garden.  Here I was very productive doing things that I wanted to do, but that weren't the high parts of my priority list.  It was a good day.  Here are other happy things from today:

• I planted something.  There is a small section of the garden that I pulled roots from, strained dirt back into, and needed to finish putting dirt back into.  I found even more roots that I missed the first time through, but got the dirt back in.  I had a zinnia that looked close to gone that is now planted there.  Maybe tomorrow I will get some more into that area.  

Poor lonely zinnia.
I hope it makes it.

• Some of the tiger daylilies that are by the common milkweed have opened.

Tiger daylilies with common milkweed behind.

• Yesterday I weed whacked in the garden and today I pulled weeds.  A few weeks ago I had noticed that the woodchucks, or some other critter, had eaten the greens off the radish plants.  While pulling weeds I found that some of the radish bottoms were still okay and I pulled them to eat.  Yay! A small harvest.

Radishes.

Midway into weeding.
The garden needs more of my attention.

• There is a trip that I am planning with some friends at the end of August.  I sent out an email this morning in preparation.  This trip is to check the contents of our SCA trailer in Pennsylvania and I am more excited to go than I probably should be for this task.
• It was just Zed and I for dinner and Zed had errands.  He picked up dinner at Subway-I am very full and it is good.
• Here are some pictures that I took today of some plants on the property.

The butterfly weeds.

Butterfly weed up close.
No butterflies on it when I looked.

Common milkweed up close.
It is so pretty.
I can see the relationship between this and the butterfly weed.

Yarrow.

Black-eyed Susan.

Raspberry, it may be a black raspberry
not yet ripe.

☮

Currently reading: The Backyard Homestead Seasonal Planner, by Ann Larkin Hansen.

Thanks for reading, stay safe.