IN Carmel

  Another fall bloomer that is to crowded this year.  It stands tall and sturdy but needs more room.  Another good purple for yellow BE Susans.  It's called Obedient Plant.  A super good name. Maybe that's why I like it versus sprawler. I'm happy to report that the fall lettuce is showing up again. Another starter day to the week.  And the starter day started with a walk around the block that included a good morning to Gina and Wyland on their walk.  That was a first for a Sunday morning arriving back home in time to catch that weekly ride to church. Yesterday's flower arrangements looked unusually big and wide.  Just what the sanctuary space needed, not getting lost in that huge space.  I would say the arrangement was one of those loose and airy southern things. Something I learned about at many Fellowship Music/Arts Conferences I attended years ago.                       ...

 Today was a little different.  Sometimes that happens.  I promised altar flowers for this Sunday so that was the work of the morning.  There was snipping and gathering and when the car was full of what I needed we were off to church again.  I stopped along the way to add cat tails to the collection. Because there was plenty to choose from I decided big vases for the sanctuary and a smaller for the chapel would do.  And all was filled.  Then much to my dismay I couldn't locate my iPhone.  Where could it be?  Much to my surprise with the phone ringing it was found in the waste basket.  While cleaning up I really did a good job and gathered it with all the trimmings and pitched it.  Poor thing and poor me with a tired body just didn't need a glitch.  But of course, I was happy to have it back in my pocket again.                              ...

 I flunked.  Dill doesn't support Monarchs!  Dah!  I had six new Swallowtail babies correcting yesterday's post.  But there is another thing of more importance than butterflies.  A blood test this morning!  I had a better score this time and able to start Kisqali again.  Oh, Yee of little faith.  I have felt pretty fragile about numbers lately and didn't quite catch on to that fact, until Julie called this morning with the blood results as I was parking at Aldi's. My white blood count wasn't in the red for the first time since the beginning of time. Other things are but that's what it is. Larry, Curly and Moe, my names for my three K pills, got right to work again.  A lot of tears of thanksgiving fell.                                              Still with us.  And still acting like hot race car tee...

 The morning was pretty quiet.  I checked on the caterpillars and they seem to be OK.  Some of the munchers have moved on to the sleep stage that happens just before the butterfly stage.  That's a good thing.  A few zinnias lost a few flowers.  The morning included a good rain for quite a while.  That's a good thing.  I can ignore watering the tomatoes.  No new lettuce has appeared, but I'll keep checking. Another huge tomato was added to the collection on the counter. I noticed one sunflower up.  Now where are the others?  The TV news is horrible with more children involved.  That's way to close to my memory of children in the classroom. A little news goes a long way these days. I spent some time doing some church needlework.  Little by little, the cross will fill with color.                This will be one of a kind for sure.  There will be many more steps taken to finish...

                                               Such clean, pure colors, complements of the zinnia family. What I though was going to be the work of the day turned out to not be the work of the day.  Something else came along. I'm always in a hurry to harvest seeds.  Hurry never works.  Seeds need to show maturity and dryness.  Well, there were just a few zinnias ready with those two things.  So...I just did plain old dead heading for about 80 % of the plants.  20% more to go.  I also decided what group will turn into seeds.  I won't touch them until that happens.  Patience, kiddo.   The work doesn't get much better than this with the morning sun, a cup of coffee finished, flowers and                     butterflies nearby. My "classroom...

Today, I worked on keeping my mind in the right place.  Sometimes that can be a problem.  I had some help for this dilemma which was good.  The morning stuff was pretty much the same as you have heard of over and over. I did a little more clipping and added suet back on the shepherd's crook. I did a walk around the block and talked to a long time neighbor for a while.  Listening to the next paragraphs, you might catch on to the help part of the day. Sometimes cancer can mess up one's mind in addition to the body. Neither are very good.                                     There is a lot of color on this little hill.  The spring planting is paying off.  I headed out a little before 11 with blood pressure information for the doctor at I U North.  I tired to phone the weeks results but the phone rang over and over again at her office.  I'm not...

The Michigan garden...There will be no tomato patch.  That's not a favorite veg. for sure.  I did suggest that the rototiller needs to do some enlarging adding more flowers.  Maybe in a few years or so.  I think it needs some repairs.                            It is so difficult to catch a Monarch sitting down.  But I got lucky this morning. And now for Carmel.  Yesterday I hinted that there would be a little trimming and that happened this morning.  Some of the big stuff got shortened that improved the view.  Even the cleome took a hit.  Not completely but I know they will be back.  Some of the purple left.  All the pink are on the safe list.      All pink cleome...lucky me.  The purple cleome have not been pulled out. Just cut off for the moment.   Stella invited me to hit the road meaning really to go for a wal...

  Now isn't this a wonderful way to start today's blog.  It's the Michigan Russell's garden.  So pretty. Easy wake up and then as usual, at 10 we were off to church.  Another week under my belt.  There have been many with the hope there are more.  There was another chance at hearing the choir rehearse which always is so enjoyable.  Another great sermon pushed us on to another week filled with something to think about.   Then home and lunch.  The outdoor temperatures reminded me of a sweet low humidity fall afternoon.  What a gift. I got my afternoon sleep in and then decided to walk the garden.  The two hibiscuses in the garden are bloomless now.  I pulled out the cart and decided to shave their size down to where I could see other things blooming.  Off with their heads and I found the tall cosmos blooming.  Well, some blooming. The dead heads were clipped making a little more room for all.  There should be ...

                                                         A wonderful way to start the day with a morning glory.                                                 I just wish they didn't crawl over everything, but they do.  Cleanup will be in a couple of months.   Thanks be to God.  An unbelievable 10 hours of sleep.  Woo. Woo.  I guess it can happen.  I got myself together and it was off to Bread and Bowl soup kitchen morning at North.  And we worked.  The crowd was big and noisy.  So, I guess friends were visiting big time.  That's what we like.  The food lasted.  My spot was working in the kitchen filling plates w...