Temperature Does Matter

I bought a small Aeonium Decorum at a succulent class back in April, 2011. It's a plant native to the Canary Island of La Gomera. I wasn't able to duplicate the tropics inside my house, but it did survive until the warm weather of May arrived when I put it outside in a container along with an Escheveria Princess Katena, the taller plant in the back. There's also a small donkey tail in the pot. As the temperature and sunshine increased, so did the rosey-pink edging of the leaves. It quickly became my favorite new find for 2011.

Fall arrived and the temperature started to drop. I brought it back into the house, but between our cat and the lack of bright sunshine the pretty plant started to suffer. Last week when it became clear that it wouldn't make it until May, I set it back outside to let nature take its course and it did just that.

So Sad!

If you have an interest in succulents, here's a very "sweet" blogger who knows a lot about them and her photos are great, too. Visit Candy at Sweetstuff's Sassy Succulents.  

The Coo Coo Kid is busy with fourth grade, but still has time for fun. Here he is eating cotton candy at the Harlem Globetrotter basketball game. Everything about this child makes me happy.



My first time to upload a video to a post. Looks a little distorted, but guess I won't know until I publish it.

I hope that 2012 has been good to all of you, so far.













Keep The Kids Home

Another day another sign. To see more, visit Lesley at signs, signs. 

Note to Self:

Remind the kids to stay out of the park! 

My First Time

My first time to participate in Lesley's signs, signs.



This is the sign in front of a haunted house not far from my house. It's in a 1920s school building that's next to a church and a graveyard. The school was used as a morgue after an influenza epidemic in 1929 left many people dead. Mysteriously, the deceased bodies disappeared and zombies took over the building and continue to live there today. 

The official hair stylist for the zombies is also my hair stylist. This fact both fascinates and frightens me! 

  

The Pinhead and Her Fungus

I've been referred to as a pinhead before, but never has it been more apparent than in this photo of my shadow. Here I am with my big body and little head flanked on both sides by a couple of mysterious-looking fungi. I know nothing about mushrooms/fungi, so maybe someone can identify them for me.  

Here are some close up shots. I'm really curious about them. They're even bigger now than when I took the pictures.

The bucket garden has been put to rest for the winter. Gardening this way was both fun and successful and I'll do it again next year. I grew tomatoes, watermelons, cucumbers and 3 different kinds of pumpkins. Will add a couple additional buckets next year.

Not many blooms left this time of year.

This is about all I have left for color and they've

 been moved to the back of the house for the winter

along with all the other containers.

The pretty colored leaves are gone, too,

but the big, brown Oak leaves hang around forever.



The Coo-Coo Kid is still a big part of my life.

He talks about working on his blog,

but wants to include YouTube videos.

Trust me...the videos are not about gardening:)

We're still debating the issue.

He makes me HAPPY!

Try To Remember.....

"Try to remember the kind of September

When life was slow and oh so mellow

Try to remember that kind of September

When grass was green and grain so yellow....

A September day at Kimberly's Point with my mother.

Bless her!



Try to remember the kind of September

When you were a young and callow fellow

Try to remember and if you remember

Then follow--follow, oh-oh."

Try to Remember, Lyrics by Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt

A random fellow at Riverside Park.

He used his wheelchair to reach the water.
Bless him!    

Remembering 10 years later....

9/11 World Trade Center Memorial

Green Bay, WI 

 

Pumpkin Pleasure

Who knew I'd be the recipient of so much pleasure attained simply by growing pumpkins. My blogger friend, Julie, gave me the idea of growing vegetables in 5-gallon buckets. You can find Julie and all her good ideas in Florida at A Succulent Life. 

There are three different kinds of pumpkins; Super Freak Goosebumps, Connecticut Field and Rockafellow. We'll be cutting them from the vine before the first frost, which will be soon. Each bucket needed a couple gallons of water a day because of the hot summer we experienced, but it was worth the effort.

My bucket garden also included Early Girl tomatoes, 3 kinds of peppers, Iznik cucumbers and Shiny Boy watermelons. Everything was delicious although the 4 watermelons haven't been harvested yet. I've been tapping and listening for a dull sound, but not hearing it. The spot where the melon touches the ground is turning white/yellow, so maybe we're getting close.

The buckets are white and printed with

these words in green & gold:

Green Bay Packers

Super Bowl

XLV

Champions

No wonder my bucket garden was a success!



 

It's Been So Long......

It's been so long since my last post that I barely remember the process and can't think of anything clever or amazing to share (not that I ever did), so I shall just jump in with something. That something is the first bloom on my Morning Glory 'Flying Saucers'. The vine covers an old bench that sits in the front yard and is one of the first things I see when stumbling into the kitchen for my morning coffee.

The Morning Glories started out with seeds planted in a container on May 22. Also planted Moonflowers, Star Gladiolus, Iron Cross Shamrocks and lettuce in containers.

It probably wasn't ideal to plant Star Gladiolus in a container, but it worked better than anticipated and produced about 3 dozen blooms. This was the first. The first bloom on any plant is always my favorite.

The Iron Cross Shamrock has been a container favorite this summer. The green clover-like foliage with purple cross-shaped markings intrigues me and the pink flowers are pretty. This "good luck plant" will be in my garden again next summer.

Back in early June, Debbie, passed along to me a flat of Oxalis plants. I forgot to ask her the name of them, but judging by the bright pink flowers they might be 'Rosea'.  Because she was generous in sharing so many plants I was able to give some to my gardening neighbors. Thanks, Deb! My plan is to surprise her with some of my Iron Cross Shamrocks next spring. Of course, it won't be a surprise if she reads this. 

Are you in the mood for wine? Then you're sure to enjoy this Oxalis 'Charmed Wine' as much as I do. They're really much prettier than how they appear in this photo. The photos are from earlier in the summer and the plants are bigger now and very impressive with the burgundy foliage and delicate white flowers. They are drought tolerant and require no deadheading which makes them a true Proven Winner. I bought them in 4" pots back in April at a greenhouse and grew them as houseplants until late in May. Plant stand, courtesy of neighborhood yard sale - $1.00.

The container grown lettuce has been eaten and I'm still waiting for a flower on the Moonflower vine. The book The Moonflower Vine by Jetta Carleton turned me on to wanting my own plant.

Hey, it feels good to be back in blogland. Be looking for me to visit you soon. I've been having trouble leaving comments on some blogs where I used to comment on a regular basis. I need to check that out and get it corrected. Or maybe I'm just out of the club!