Hello Folks! I was walking around taking photos and he just stood there perfectly still watching me. He asked me what I was doing and I told him that I was taking photos for the blog. He said, “OH. I thought so.” Then he asked, “Why are you getting so close.” I told him because I was taking a closer look. Then I asked him why he was spending more time around the chicken house lately instead of on the back porch and around the house like usual. Well, it is partly my fault, as he pointed out. Several days ago I offended him. He had lost his tail feathers and I also noticed a lot more photos in his coop. I asked if something grabbed him. He said, “NO, they just fell out.” I told him he looked like a hen without his sickle feathers and that offended him… I had already sensed that I had offended him a few days ago, and I did apologize. But he still seems a little embarrassed over loosing his sickle feathers. His brother also lost his, but the bigger roosters still have theirs. The hens are also starting to loose a lot of feathers. Of course, they will grow new ones, and so will he. I reassured him he would grow new ones and that he wasn’t going bald… I did decide on a name for him, though. I think his name will be Harvey (after the hurricane). I chose that name because a few days ago dad said, “I wonder what Harvey is doing?” I asked who Harvey was, not realizing he was talking about the hurricane. I thought he had named the rooster… SO, I decided that would be a good name for him.

Dad is getting along pretty good at 86.  I took this photo after I came back inside from taking photos. I turned around and looked toward him and thought that would be a good photo. He spends his day watching TV, napping and sitting on the porch smoking his Falcon pipe. He doesn’t usually get off the porch unless we go to Wal-Mart or he needs to go to the bank twice a month. His check-up with the doctors is every six months now, which he is very glad of. When I moved back here there was a nurse practitioner at the clinic he and mom liked. Well, she started working at their other clinic out of town so they had to see the other lady. After mom passed away, dad wanted to make an appointment with the other clinic so he could see the nurse practitioner he liked. SO, I did that. She started running all these tests, sending him to the heart doctor, taking X-Rays, doing blood work and so on. He got tired of all that so he wanted to come back to the local clinic… Now all is well again. The first lady knew dad smoked a pipe, and has since he was eight. She told dad that he was healthy and he could smoke away… I thought that was a little odd for a nurse practitioner to say.

I don’t think he gets enough exercise but I am not 100% sure how to go about getting him more. He walks slow and doesn’t pick his feet up like he used to. Him walking up and down steps bothers me because he sometimes catches his heal on them. He goes slow because he knows he could fall easily. I could take him down to the park and walk around which would be a lot safer than him walking around on the farm. There are a lot of holes and low places, weeds, etc. that could make him fall. He used to mow a little and work in the garden. He hasn’t been to the garden since 2014. He used to mow part of the big yard with the riding mower but I think it started bothering his back so he stopped than a couple of years ago. He usually helps when I get the cows in the corral to sell the calves, but he didn’t the last time. I know he used to do it by himself, so I guess he thinks I should be able to as well.

Ummm… I took close to 200 photos this afternoon but wound up with 86. I have to take two of everything in case one is not good. If I took just one and it was messed up, then there would be none of what I shot… Then there are always a few I have taken at a different angle or maybe was blurry. Anyway, I wound up with 86 after I was finished naming and numbering them. I started out taking photos of the Colocasia because I was going to write a post about the difference between Alocasia and Colocasia. Next thing I knew the idea changed somewhat.

The Colocasia gigantea ‘Thailand Giant’ has really grew since I transplanted it here toward the end of May. (I bought it on May 20 and the next photo of it was May 26). At that time the two Colocasia esculenta didn’t even have leaves yet. On August 20, the ‘Thailand Giant’ and the two Colocasia esculenta were 54″ tall, all three the same height. Today the Colocasia gigantea ‘Thailand Giant’ is 64″, the Colocasia esculenta (in the center) is 72″,  and the one on the right is 61″ tall. I don’t think I have had any get this tall since I was in Mississippi… It surprised me when the Colocasia esculenta in the center grew 18″ taller in just 9 days, and actually outgrew the Colocasia gigantea.

I put a quarter in the center of the leaf so you can kind of guess the size… I accidentally poked that hole in the leaf on August 20 with my pen when I was measuring it… It was 33″ wide x 42″ long then and it is still about that same size. The next one will be bigger… The largest Colocasia esculenta leaf is about that same size but it was complicated taking it’s photo without getting on a ladder because it was toward the back of the plant.

Now, my attempt in taking photos was to show some differences between Alocasia and Colocasia and why Colocasia leaves droop and Alocasia leaves point upward… But, the Colocasia gigantea leaves don’t droop like the Colocasia esculenta. In the above photo you can see the angle of the petiole where it is connected to the leaf… That shows why the Colocasia leaves droop downward.

This photo shows how the petiole of the Colocasia gigantea attaches to the leaf. Then I got sidetracked and my mind began to wonder…

According to my iMac’s dictionary, the definition of wonder: a feeling of surprise mingled with admiration, caused by something beautiful, unexpected, unfamiliar, or inexplicable. The thesaurus added: “She was speechless with wonder.” 1) surprise, astonishment, stupefaction, amazement. 2) the wonders of nature: MARVEL, miracle…. etc.

You get the picture… Then I started paying closer attention and started taking more photos which completely threw me off track.

The Conoclinum coelestinum (Floss Flower, etc., etc., and so on) next to the steps is starting to strut it’s stuff now. Flowering up a storm! Every flower is a masterpiece of nature.

Just take a look at the Coleus ‘Spiced Curry’. Maybe I am supposed to say Plectranthus scutellarioides ‘Spiced Curry’. Well, there is STILL some controversy about that name and Coleus is so much easier. Chartreuse leaves with maroon veining. What a combination!

Then the leaves of the Coleus ‘Songbird’, so dark and mysterious. Take a closer look and notice the edges of the leaves… So precisely made. I would like to know why they named this dark leaved cultivar ‘Songbird’ anyway?

The Phlomis ‘Edward Bowles’ leaves are of a completely different texture, kind of fuzzy feeling.

The Salvia coccinea (Scarlet Sage) are really flowering this week… Such an awesome bright red!

The Marigold ‘Brocade’ (Tagetes patula) flowers, each petal delicately laced with gold. I had previously thought that the redder flowers and lighter colored flowers were on different plants. However, with a closer look, most all of the plants have both shades and none of the plants have just the lighter shade.

The Salvia nemorosa ‘New Dimensions Blue’ has managed to survive despite the aggressive takeover by the Marigolds.

Even when you take a closer look at the Talinum paniculatum (Jewels of Opar) you see a miracle of nature. Just look at those tiny flowers and seed pods!!! Now, I am thinking I have flipped, calling this a miracle of nature! It will be no miracle when they come up by the thousands next spring… I really need to cut those stems off (how many posts have I said that in?).

Then I walked over to the other yard to take a few more photos for the “next post”. I already got sidetracked with this one… Just as well finish and just take a bunch more photos.

OK, OK! I will call it by it right name this time. The “CRAPE MYRTLE” is now flowering. I managed to keep the two on the south side of the house completely cut down this summer. They were just to much and I couldn’t do much of anything with that bed with them there. This Crap Myrtle, I mean Crape Myrtle, has been here since my grandmother planted it in the early 1960’s (maybe sooner). When I lived here in the early 1980’s there had been several along the house. They all died, or so I thought. SO, I planted a row of Red Barberry. Well after I moved away in 1987, dad didn’t like the Barberry because of the thorns and the Crape Myrtle started coming up AGAIN. SO, he removed the Barberry.  The two “MYRTLES” in the south bed came from this spot… GEEZ!!!

I don’t know how many of you have seen an Leptinella squalida ‘Platt’s Black’ in real life, but they are really weird (in a good way). Their ferny leaves are smaller than this photo shows. Apparently it liked this location because it is still alive and actually spreading out a little. The interesting thing is that the leaves unfurl green then turn this dark color.

The older Hosta are doing very well this year but the newer ones are kind of sorta just sitting there. Well, considering none of the new ones are going to be HUGE plants anyway, except for ‘Empress Wu’, I guess they are doing pretty good. The miniature Hosta ‘Blue Mouse Ears’ is doing the best. Just look at those little round leaves!

Normally I show the flowers of the Achillea millefolium, but if we take a closer look, the leaves are truly unique. Intricate, lacy, ferny… The new leaves emerge similar to a fern, in a way, and have this strange fuzzy feeling. You have to use more than your sense of sight, or small, to enjoy the AWESOMENESS of nature. Touch your plants and you can almost feel the energy and them wanting to be one with you. GEEZ! I know I have lost it now. Being one with a weed!?!?!?

YES, folks, I will have to admit I think the Equisetum hyemale (Horsetail) is a miracle of nature. Despite is ever increasing determination to take over as much land as possible, this plant is made to survive. This plant’s ancestors were here with the dinosaurs roamed the earth, went through the ice age, flooding, intense heat from when the meteor hit the earth and killed the dinosaurs, and so on. They are still here. The Native Americans used their rough stems to wash their cooking utensils and found other uses for them. I guess they figured they must be here for something… I wonder if they also used the hollow stems as a straw?

Now lets go to the plant tables…

I like the dark leaves of the Begonia ‘Brazilian Lady’… But what do the undersides look like?

The leaves of this Begonia have this kind of fuzz growing out of them. What do you know? Begonias have whiskers! The underside of the Begonia ‘Brazilian Lady’ leaves are a deep maroon. Isn’t it neat how the petiole attaches to the leaves and then the veins go out from it? Kind of like blood veins but they also add support.

These are the leaves of the very beautiful Begonia ‘Fannie Moser’. Dark maroony green leaves with silver spots! My iMac is learning all kinds of new words!

“WHOA!”, she said! I almost got slapped as I flipped over her leaf! I just wanted to see what the underside looked like… And WHAT IS THAT?!?! Dimples? ‘Fannie Moser’ has DIMPLES! Just look at the strong petiole!!! AMAZING! Now she is blushing….

Begonia ‘Frosty’ is a really nice looking plant for sure. Just look at those AWESOME silvery leaves with the dark green veins… Seems to be a thin maroon margin around each leaf, too. Then I asked, “Can I see your underside?”

WOW!!!! Would you look at that! Nice legs, nice petiole, dark veins running through the leaves. Looks like a true wonder of nature with the sun shining through the leaf. Notice how the end of the veins merge with the edge of the leaf to form the maroon margin? But wait a minute! The veins on top were dark green and they are maroon underneath!  Like a friend of mine always said, “How cool is that?”

Begonia ‘Sophia’ is smiling at me, kind of blushing, waiting to see what I will do with her. GEEZ!!! I was almost afraid to ask to see her underside.. Nice dark green leaves with silver splotches… I think she needs to learn how to apply her make up from ‘Fannie”.

OH MY GOODNESS!!! I didn’t even have to ask because ‘Sophia’ isn’t shy at all! Would you just look at that! A photo is worth 1,000 words and I am speechless! Time to move on from the Begonia girls…

Oxalis triangularis subsp. papilionacea (Wood Sorrel, False Shamrock)… I was really fortunate to have this plant come along when I bought my Amorphophallus a few weeks ago. I had one in Mississippi, actually more than one, but the leaves were smaller. Back then, in 2012, it was Oxalis regnellii var. triangularis… When The Plant List was updated in 2013, Oxalis regnellii became a synonym of Oxalis triangularis… Probably, when I do research for this plants own page, I will discover that was a name it had long before 2013.

Hmmm… The underside is much different than the top side. The top side is darker purple with a lighter purple in the middle. The underside is more of a maroon or maybe the same color as the center on the top side. The petiole is a completely different color!

The flowers close for the evening! I never realized that until this afternoon when I took a closer look at this amazing Wood Sorrel! Believe it or not, these plants have bulbs and this plant is also edible…

Now, this is interesting… The stems and leaves of the Buddleja davidii ‘Pugster Blue’ seem pretty simple. But, this plant knows it’s heritage, you can just see it when you really get to know the Buddleja. Although the ‘Pugster Blue’ will only (hopefully) only grow to 24″ tall and wide, he knows he has relatives that are trees growing to over 30′ tall. He has lots of relatives with family members on all four continents. There are over 200 species and naturally occurring hybrids in the genus Buddleja!

WHAT IS THIS? Is Callisia fragrans is going MAD?!?! I didn’t realize this was happening until I took a closer look. She isn’t going mad, she is happy! Happy to be alive, free and feeling one with her surroundings. This Bromeliad is truly something else!

HA!!! Just imagine what this plant would do if it were in the ground or in sphagnum moss in the fork of a tree! A few weeks ago I turned the pot around and this plantlet (is that the right word) on the end had roots growing under a brick. It’s like where the joints touch something it signals to grow roots. Talk about a survivor!

The Cotyledon ‘Silver Storm’ has done very well and has even grown a few sprouts. Lets take a closer look?

It is also growing branches… I haven’t done any research on the Cotyledon yet, but I am sure I may find out these aren’t stems, branches and sprouts. There will be some technical botanical language… But for now, I will just redneck it and call them sprouts and branches.

Hmmm… There is a voice inside me that is asking what a redneck is. Seriously, I have no clue what to say. Actually, what I think a redneck is doesn’t even apply to me. I just checked out my iMac’s definition of a redneck. NO, well, maybe sometimes in a way, partly correct… It says that a redneck is a working-class white person, especially a politically reactionary one from a rural area… As an example, it says “rednecks in the high, cheap seats stomped their feet and hooted…” I am scratching my head at that one and my inner voice has a big question mark…

MOVING RIGHT ALONG!

I know I haven’t shared many photos of the cactus and succulents lately (OH CRAP, I have been forgetting about the Sedum kamtschaticum). I have taken a few photos for the pages to the right, which I have been working on. Anyway, since I was taking a closer look at some of the plants today, I thought I would take a few photos of the cactus. The above photo is one of the Echinocactus grusonii (Golden Barrel Cactus). I have two which I didn’t realize until I got home with them. Well, I had bought several cactus that day because they were cheap and when I came home and was taking photos and measurements there were two of two different cactus. I will admit, though, my cactus probably get the least amount of attention of all my plants. They just sit there and SLOWLY grow. SO slow that I have to measure them once a year to see if they are actually growing at all. That is pretty sad they get ignored when they are some of the most amazing plants on earth.

Parodia leninghausii (Golden Ball Cactus)(Syn. Notocactus leninghausii) is unusual because of it’s golden hair-like appearance. Kind of reminds me of pig hair. OH, I have hairier cactus than this but I didn’t take their photos today.

Umm… This is the Faucaria tigrina-Tiger Jaws. Still one of the most interesting succulents I have grown, although this one is not as nice as the one I had before. I think it will get there slowly but surely. The correct spelling, guys, is fow-KAR-ee-uh tig-REE-nuh not what you were thinking. Look at those teeth! OUCH!!!

Talk about teeth…

This Agave is STILL unnamed… Where did I get it anyway? I know I bought it last year, maybe from Wagler’s since it is unnamed. I know it needs more sun, though, and all this rain we have had lately is not good for it.

Well, folks, that is finally the end of this post. I took more photos of the Alocasia, Caladiums and Amorphophallus, but they are for the next post… SO, until next time, take care, be happy, healthy, prosperous and GET DIRTY!!!

Hello and here we go! I am going to start with the biggest pot of Alocasia ‘Calidora’. I could have sworn I took a photo of the Alocasia ‘Calidora’ BEFORE I removed these to HUGE offsets. Oh, well, just have to go with the photos I wound up with because I can’t put them back and pretend I didn’t. It is 11:12 PM as I am starting this post, but if it were daytime, I may be tempted. Just kidding, of course.

Those two girls were really stuck good! Note to self: “Don’t let them get that big next time before removing.” I have said that before.

After I removed the two babies, I removed as much of the old potting soil as I thought I should then…

I filled the pot with about 3/4 new potting soil (with a timed release fertilizer) and 1/4 of the old I took out, mixed together. I didn’t put any of the “GOOD STUFF” in the pot because I think this ‘ol girl is big enough. Carry these huge pots around a few times and you would say the same.  I put a brick in the pot to make it stand straighter because she was leaning a bit too much. Never know when her leaning over could make the whole pot fall over, especially in the wind. I have been surprised their HUGE leaves don’t act as a sail in the wind anyway.

Oh, yeah, baby! ‘ THE GOOD STUFF!” I went to the pasture where I fed hay 2 years ago and a few times last winter. NICE!!! I will need that for the other pots.

Since the two Alocasia ‘Calidora’ offsets were pretty big already, I have to use good sized pots. I filled them this far with a combination of new potting soil and the old potting soil I removed from their mother’s pot.

I got this weird feeling I was being watched. That’s very normal because I am never alone anyway, none of us are. But #3 is always where I am when I am outside. This afternoon I let the Old English Game Bantam hens out with him, so he is extra happy.

The other chickens are out, too. Since I was planning to be outside all afternoon I decided to let them out so I could keep an eye on them. We have foxes so you just never know. One of the neighbors whose property joins the trail brought home some hens not long ago. After a couple of weeks, he only had one left…

Then I filled the pots the rest of the way up with ‘The GOOD STUFF”.

The Callisia fragrans seems to be watching, too. I think that is because those plantlets or offsets (whatever you call them) want to jump in some dirt of their own so I have to keep an eye on them! Callisia fragrans is a new Bromeliad for me, so I am going to leave the stems, or whatever you call them, with the new plants on the end as long as possible to see what happens. I wonder if the plants on the ends will grow their own stems and new plants. I noticed some of the stems are growing stems now so they will have their own new plant on the end. This plant is going to be a multiplier for sure!

OH, now we have a visitor! Can you see it? The Snowberry Clearwing Moth (Hemaris diffinis) enjoying the flowers on the Buddleja ‘Pugster Blue’. Yeah, that’s the one I bought and have yet to figure out where to put it. Maybe we should walk around together and find a spot. It sounds too good to be true, but it is only supposed to grow 2′ tall x 2′ wide…

Where was I?

Then I dumped the contents of the two pots into the wheelbarrow to mix. Most of the time when I am transplanting I will take the pot I am going to use and fill it with everything I want in it before I mix. That way I usually have just the right amount, more or less.

Then you take one of the plants and kind of guess how much soil you will need to fill the pot up to where the bottom of the stem (I mean tuber) will be. Well, I get a little confused sometimes, especially when the tuber isn’t even large enough to be called a tuber, but it actually is. GEEZ!!!

THEN you have to put three stakes along the side of the pot. This is very important because there aren’t many roots and there is A LOT on top. If the plants aren’t too tall you can use rocks for support until enough roots grow to support the plant.

If the roots are very long, I trim a little.

Not much, though. Alocasia roots are good sized and they spread out and eventually develop a very good support.

Place the plant on the soil (in the center, please) and spread the roots out around it in the pot. There are no roots directly under the tuber.

You can either tie twine to the center petiole or around them all. I usually go around all of them but this time I am doing just the newest one. New petioles grow out of the last one and eventually the older ones, on the outside, will die, which makes the tubers become larger. Are you confused?

MORE company…

“GIRLS, that is NOT a good idea!” Because of their lighter weight, it really isn’t usually a disaster when they climb around on the pots. All the pots have bricks around them to keep the wind from blowing them over, so a little hen isn’t going to knock them over either. Notice the hen on the left with her wing out? She slipped and I got a photo of it. She stepped into the pot with the Huernia schneideriana and after I was finished repotting I noticed she had broken off a couple of pieces… No big deal. After about a week I will just stick them in the pot and they will grow roots.

I had forgotten chickens like the flowers of Begonias. Last year, when the Delaware rooster and the bantams were young they would climb around in the pots like this. The Delaware, being much larger, became a bit of a problem. The Old English Game can walk in the pots and even step on stems without breaking them. The Delaware loved getting in the pot with the Begonia boliviensis and eat the flowers. Strangely enough, the flowers the hen was eating were also on that same plant. The ‘Brazilian Lady’ has many more flowers and she hardly touched it. I wonder if they taste different?

Moving along… (actually, I had to save this post here as a draft and finish later).

This is the second pot finished.

SO, here you have the two new pots of Alocasia ‘Calidora’. There is still another pot of them to be divided but that will have to wait. Next, I am going to tackle the strange pot of Alocasia ‘Mayan mask’…

But first, I want you to see this…

Earlier this spring I took the big pot of Alocasia odora and put the 5 larger plants in their own pots (I gave 1 away). I put 3-4 of the smaller plants into 3 more pots… The bigger plants now have kids of their own. I counted and there are now 25 Alocasia odora. How I came to have Alocasia odora is a story in itself and I didn’t know the name. I sent photos to a few Aroid experts and only one replied. He said it was Alocasia odora so that is what I call it. That species gets HUGE but mine have never grown taller than around 20 inches even after 5 years. SO, I think it is safe to say the mystery continues…

Remember the photo from a few posts ago of the ‘Alocasia ‘Mayan Mask’ with the A. ‘Portora’ babies in it? This is the one. Besides the parent plant, there is a very large “baby” growing right next to it which could be a little tricky removing without removing the parent plant, too. We shall see.

The original tag from Brent & Becky’s where I purchased my Alocasia ‘Mayan Mask’ in the spring of 2012… Yep, this big plant is the original plant, 5 years old, and it has not gone dormant (very close, though). Actually, the ‘A. ‘Calidora’ I just removed the two babies from is also the original plant from Wellspring Gardens in 2012.

I removed 7 plants but I left a tiny one that was up next to the parent plant (still attached). Four of the plants are A. ‘Mayan Mask’ and three are A. ‘Portora’. The big baby came out a lot easier than I expected. Much easier than the two Alocasia ‘Calidora’. I put each one in their own pot.

I think probably, somehow maybe, I must have added potting soil to this pot from a pot that use to have Alocasia ‘Portora’ in it… That’s the only explanation I can figure out how they got in this pot with A. ‘Mayan Mask’. The other option is they somehow crossed up… BUT, I don’t think so. That is almost 99.999999999999999999% impossible.

I put the larger A. ‘Mayan Mask’ in a good sized pot and had to stake it, too. The others didn’t need stakes.

SO, that’s that for now. Started out with 2 pots and now there are 11 and four more pots to do the same with. So, in the spring I started out with 7 pots of Alocasia. Now there are 21. I gave away 4 earlier besides that. Now, I have to buy another bag of potting soil before I can finish the other pots.

I think I need to write a post telling the difference between Alocasia and Colocasia. Explain why Alocasia leaves stand up and why Colocasia leaves droop. Why do Alocasia prefer shadier areas while Colocasia does best in full sun? Explain the difference between petioles and stems. Also to talk about the difference between bulbs, tubers, rhizomes, corms… I think I need a refresher course, too, because it can get confusing. Some have eyes and some don’t… They multiply in different ways so it is very important to know.

Well, that’s it for now. The task was started on Wednesday afternoon, the post was started Wednesday evening and finished Thursday evening… Round two will begin when I buy another bag of potting soil. That may not be until next week… But it has to be done SOON because one of the pots of Alocasia ‘Portora’ has HUGE plants to be removed…

SO, for now, have a great and blessed day, or rest of your evening! Stay positive, be happy and healthy. Wealth is not only in finances and you can’t buy happiness. Money can buy freedom, however, and that brings happiness (and more plants). Go outside and breathe in that good fresh air and give someone a hug. Remember to thank God for all the awesome life and energy and all you have been blessed with. The universe is ALIVE and we are all part of it. Most of all, pick up a handful of good dirt and give it a good whiff… That’s life in there! GET DIRTY!!!!

Marigold ‘Petite’ at 32″ on 9-19-11, #79-1.

Hello again! Seems just like yesterday when I made my last post. I guess that’s because I did. Anyway, I have been working on the plant pages to the right which has brought back a lot of memories from Mississippi. Some I have to laugh about.

One of the memories tonight was about the Marigold ‘Petite’ and ‘French Dwarf Double’ seeds I bought in 2011. I made a corner bed (at the corner of the den in the backyard) in 2009 and so in 2011 I decided to plant ‘Petite’ Marigolds along the front of the border and the ‘French Dwarf Double behind them. By then the Salvia farinacea (Mealycup Sage) had a permanent home in kind of the center of the bed. I had a row of Brugmansia in the back… 

I was confusing myself trying to explain so I decided to draw you a map… The bed was at least 12′ wide and deep… I forgot one thing, though… The bed grew to be in front of the Nandina and between them and the brick sidewalk going to the den. The brick sidewalk, which I discovered by accident, led to the… OH, you should just read the story about the Mystical Mansion and Garden… It isn’t finished yet, but the story about the brick walkway is the last thing I talked about. Otherwise I will be here for HOURS (I will be here for hours anyway).

OK, where was I? Oh yeah, the ‘Petite’ Marigolds. Anyway, while I was updating the page I remembered how they got so much taller than they were opposed to have grown. So did the ‘French Dwarf Double’. Remember yesterday I was talking about how the ‘Brocade’ Marigolds always grew much taller than the information suggested. Well, the ‘Petite’ Marigolds were only supposed to grow to 8″… The top photo was taken on September 19, 2011 and those 8″ tall plants were 32″ tall! I am not pulling your leg.

This photo was taken on October 12, 2011. When I start looking at old photos I drift back in time. I remember how much fun I had in the back yard of the mansion. It was a disaster when I arrived but it became my paradise. One photo leads to another and one story leads to another. Everyday was a new experience.

OH, NO!!! Where us this folder going to lead…

I always laugh at this one… A good friend of mine, Kyle Hall, and his girlfriend (Sara at the time), came over frequently. They lived in a room upstairs in the mansion for a while, too. Anyway, I had Kyle take a few photos. This wasn’t one he was supposed to take, though and I have no clue what I was talking about now. This photo was taken on September 6, 2009.

He took this one before I was ready, too. Kid of like “blooper” photos that no one ever sees. I was trying to get him to take photos of me on the top of the ladder (well, not all the way on the top step) showing how tall the ‘Cowhorn’ Okra and ‘Love-Lies’Bleeding’ Amaranthus grew. This photo was taken on September 26, 2009.

It seemed like everything grew to monstrous proportions…

This is where I started uncovering the brick walk in the backyard of the mansion on May 1, 2009. It led to the old covered patio… One time a lady stopped for a visit and she said she hadn’t been there for many years. She said the old patio was falling in then. It was either built by the first owners or the second. The mansion was built in 1905 and the covered patio was built out of Cypress. I made plant tables out of some of the lumber and I brought them with me when I moved back here. The plants with the HUGE leaves are Japanese Rice paper Plants. The upper left hand corner shows my first garden there… I made the raised bed out of the lumber that was stacked inside the old patio that was part of an old fence around the back yard long ago. I later moved the bed which is where I had my Zinnias for several years. I made a second bed where I planted the Asparagus which brings me to another story… It is when I first met the fire ants. I had prepared the bed like so to have two rows of asparagus. All nice and straight. When I started putting in the Asparagus crowns I noticed something was weird. The ants started covering my hands. I always thought fire ants were larger until that day… Needless to say, the Asparagus did not get planted in nice neat rows…

OH, there are SO MANY PHOTOS!!!

I had started a new project in April 2010… Eventually I was going to tear down the old covered patio, so I decided to make this, ummm, whatever you want to call it, for my potted plants. By this time there were over 100. I also did this along the left side of the garden.

Both of those photos were taken on April 20, 2009.

You may be wondering what i did with all the pots in the winter. Well, the den, the kitchen, the butler’s pantry, two sunrooms on the first floor and three on the second. Actually, I didn’t use the three on the second floor that much.

The date stamp is wrong. This photo was taken on December 16, 2009. On warm days during the winter I would put the plants on the 40′ long front porch and then bring them back in side in the evening. I did that until I moved in February 2013… Even after there were… A LOT MORE and BIGGER pots.

I also made this new bed in 2010.

This bed along the west sunroom was nothing but ivy and Vinca major until the spring of 2011. The Colocasia esculenta loved it here and so did the Tradescantia pallida (Purple Heart) as you can see. This photo was taken on August 1, 2011. This bed kept growing, too…

This was a few from the west side of the garden (which really wasn’t west) on August 1, 2011. The okra closest is ‘Burmese’ and on the other side is ‘Burgundy’ which I didn’t care for. SO, I switched to ‘Red Burgundy’ in 2012 and it is what I planted this year.

OH, this is the corner bed by the den on October 24, 2011… GEEZ!!!! That is what lead to this post in the first place!

Here’s another view since I already got WAY off course!

The Zinnia’s got a little carried away, too…

Can’t stop now, I am on a roll! This photo was taken on May 16, 2012. I had torn down the cold covered patio, removed the chain link fence behind it (which was apparently a huge dog kennel) and dug up the whole area with a shovel. NOW, the garden went all the way back to the back fence along the alley.

This photo was taken on June 2, 2012.

This is the back view of the garden on June 9, 2012. The front part of the garden had tomatoes, peas, beans… The middle part had ‘Top Crop’ Green Beans and ‘Royal Burgundy’ Bush Snap Beans. The okra in the back part is ‘Red Burgundy’ and ‘Fife Creek Cowhorn.’  The little triangular area was for Marigolds and Amaranthus.

Umm… ‘Super Sugar Snap’ Peas, ‘Royal Burgundy’ Snap Beans… The above photo was taken June 21, 2012 (after the next photo).

Switching ends… Tomatoes ‘Homestead’ and ‘Atkinson’ on the left. I planted ‘Laxton’s Progress #9’ Peas  with the ‘Homestead’ Tomatoes. That is the same ‘Royal Burgundy’ snap beans on the right as in the previous photo. Ummm… The above photo was taken on June 9, 2012.

Alocasia’s lauterbachia, ‘Calidora’, ‘Portora’, ‘Sarian’, and ‘Mayan Mask’, plus the white Bird-of-Paradise on July 13, 2012.

This was my work area under the HUGE Magnolia and Ligustrum tree on July 12, 2012. The HUGE Coleus is ‘Kong Red’.

The above photo is of the front part of the east sunroom on December 29, 2012. GEEZ! That was my birthday! The plants from the west sunroom had been moved into this sunroom and other rooms I guess because there was a drop in temperature.

Along the wall… The doors on the left go to the front porch.

The back wall… At one time, the passion flower was in the corner… Until I found out it would overwinter outside… The HUGE Alocasia is ‘Portora’ that I bought as a starter plant in 2009. She is normally in the west sunroom She is mother, grandmother and great grandmother of the ‘Portora’ I still have. She was 88 inches tall when I had to leave her with a friend in February 2013. I moved things around a bit… Sometimes I had all the Alocasia along the back wall.

This was some of the succulents on December 29, 2012. We haven’t even made it to the west sunroom… There are also photos somewhere of the plants in the kitchen, butler’s pantry and den…

OK, folks… That was a lot of the photos from that folder so I think it is time for a break now. I was supposed to me working on plant pages.

I hope you enjoyed this trip down memory lane as much as I did. Take care, stay happy, healthy, positive and GET DIRTY!!!

Achillea millefolium.

Hello everyone! This afternoon I had a few thing on my “to do” list but I decided to just walk around the house and take a few photos and measurements. It was pretty hot once again this afternoon but i didn’t check the temperature. Yesterday morning I checked AccuWeather and it said 88 degrees but feels like 102. It said today would be hotter and would feel like 105. I decided to take the website’s word for it and not check. Hot is hot and cold is cold no matter what the numbers actually say. Our thermometer on the back porch is useless as far as accuracy goes. Somehow the darn thing can tell how hot or cold it feels and not the actual temperature. If it is 90 and feels like 100, it will say 100. If it is 30 and the cold north wind is blowing and feels like 10, it will say 10. It isn’t influenced by the sun or the wind because of where it is hanging, so I am not sure how it makes it’s decisions.

Ok, now back to the purpose of this post… What was I doing? Oh, yeah, taking photos and measurements. When I was in Mississippi I measured everything periodically. Some plants just blew my mind at how HUGE they got while others I measured to see if they were actually growing (like some of the cactus).

First, as I walked down the steps and turn left, I started with the Achillea millefolium. Right now it stands at 37″ tall in flower. That’s pretty good despite it is growing in a little more shade that it likes.

Lavandula dentata (French Lavender).

The Lavandula dentata (French Lavender) is holding it’s own at 21″. It has been nearly hidden by the Conoclinum coelestinum, Achillea millefolium, and Colocasia gigantea ‘Thailand Giant’. It keeps asking me what I was thinking when I put it there and then go and put the HUGE Elephant Ear next to it. Despite the Achillea already being there who also objects to this location. SO, I had to admit to it that I wasn’t sure if that was a good spot for it in the first place and I hadn’t brought the Colocasia gigantea ‘Thailand Giant’ home yet. It just looked me and sighed then said, “Well, next time… You will know better.”

Colocasia gigantea ‘Thailand Giant’.

I must admit I knew it would get huge in time, but I didn’t really think it would be this fast. The Colocasia gigantea ‘Thailand Giant’ I grew in Mississippi from a starter plant didn’t grow this HUGE after just a few months. This gal is 54″ tall ALREADY! That measurement is from the ground to the top of it’s tallest petiole.

Largest leaf of the Colocasia gigantea ‘Thailand Giant’.

This photo is the largest leaf on the Colocasia gigantea ‘Thailand Giant’. It measures ONLY 33″ wide x 42″ long.

Colocasia esculenta.

The two Colocasia esculenta growing in the north bed are trying their very best not to be outgrown by the young giant neighbor. Both are standing the same height as she is at 54″ tall. The largest leaf is 24″ wide x 33″ long. I had a few Colocasia esculenta in Mississippi that had larger leaves than this. Ummm… Looks like I have a visitor. Can you see it? If you can, leave what you see in the comment section.

Hosta ‘Empress Wu’.

I didn’t crawl back to measure it, but the Hosta ‘Empress Wu’ is still doing OK. I think it is a but lonely back in the corner, though. In time, this world’s largest Hosta cultivar will be around 4′ tall x 5′ wide.

Coleus Flame Thrower™ ‘Spiced Curry’.

I must admit the Coleus Flame Thrower™ ‘Spiced Curry’ is AWESOME! Even though it is nearly hidden under the leaves of the Colocasia it has still grown to 32″ tall x 31″ wide.

Coleus ‘Songbird’.

I don’t know why, but every photo I take of the Coleus ‘Songbird’ looks brighter than it really is. Despite that, it is a very beautiful Coleus that has grown to 34″ tall x 24″ wide. I see it has a few more flowers to pinch off.

Let’s look at the other side of the steps before we go around to the south side of the house…

Conoclinium coelestinum ‘Aunt Inez’

I don’t know what has gotten into the Conoclinium coelestinum ‘Aunt Inez’  this summer. It has grown to 35″ tall! A lot of the time, well, usually always, it starts falling over by this time of the year, like it can’t stand on it’s own stems. (Can’t stand on it’s own two feet). I did something different this year as an experiment and it worked. I did NOT thin them out like usual on this side of the steps because I wanted to see if this would happen. It did. I only removed several plants from the front and moved them to the other side. The plants on the other side fell over this past week after the rain. SO, that has taught me a lesson. I mentioned earlier that they come up much better in the spring on the east side of the steps than on the other side so I always have to transplant. I have a theory as to why but I won’t know how that experiment worked out until next spring. This is is the perennial Hardy Ageratum, Blue Mist Flower or Floss Flower that my dad got from his Aunt Inez (his mother’s sister). SO, botanically speaking, ignore the ‘Aunt Inez’ part. 🙂 OH, another thing… This species used to be Eupatorium coelestinum.

Lobelia cardinalis.

OK, folks… the Lobelia cardinalis (Cardinal Flower) was been the biggest surprise this year. Until I bought them I hadn’t done a whole lot of research on them. I had seen them in catalogs and always wanted to try them but I hadn’t until this year when I saw them at Wagler’s Greenhouse. Cardinals are red. The photos of Lobelia cardinalis in catalogs I had always seen were red. SO, when the first two flowered and they were pink, and didn’t even look anything like what I expected… I thought the tags were wrong and someone really screwed up. Unfortunately, that was not the case. Cardinal Flowers can be red, pink, purple and maybe white. SO why call them Cardinal Flowers? Have you ever seen a pink or purple Cardinal? On another note, what do the Cardinals in the Catholic Church have to do with birds or flowers? Maybe that is where the name comes from instead of a red bird. Now I have to check out the latin name for cardinalis… Well, Dave’s Garden says the meaning of cardinalis is Cardinal. That didn’t help… The name ‘cardinalis’ is in reference to the color red or scarlet. The common name is apparently in reference to the red robes worn by Roman Catholic Cardinals.

Now, let’s go around to the south side of the house… Normally I refrain from taking photos in the full sun but I did this afternoon anyway.

Phlomis ‘Edward Bowles’.

The Phlomis ‘Edward Bowles’ (Jerusalem Sage) is doing very well and has enjoyed the heat. Despite it’s near death experience this past winter it has done amazingly well. It is standing at 16″ tall x 22″ wide. Not as large as last year, but I am definitely not going to complain. The flower pot I cover it with in the winter close by (you can see it if you look close). I have two very large pots and I sed one to cover the Phlomis during the winter. The other pot is empty behind the shed where my plant tables are and every time I see it I wonder where the other pot is… Then every time I see the pot next to the Phlomis I say, “Oh, yeah, now I remember…”

Baptisia x ‘Lunar Eclipse’

As I suspected the Baptisia x ‘Lunar Eclipse’ (False Indigo) is unlikely to flower this year. The garden center had bigger pots that were flowering already but I chose to by a less expensive smaller pot without flowers. GEEZ!!! NOW I have to wait until next spring to see if it even survives the winter to see if it will flower then. This corner of the south bed will make me nervous all winter since the Phlomis and this plant are next to each other. Maybe I need to put an electric blanket on top of them…

I didn’t take photos of the Salvia coccinea (Scarlet Sage) this time, but they are 36″ tall. Their flowers are looking a little raggy but I can’t deadhead because they need to go to seed.

Ummm… Remember what this bed looked like in the post on June 25? But what happened here is another session to be learned… AGAIN! Every plant in the center row is invisible now. I knew the Celosia spicata ‘Cramer’s Amazon’ would get very tall and I knew how wide they would get. SO, I spaced the plants in the center row to compensate for that. I knew the Talinum paniculatum (Jewels of Opar) would sprawl out a bit, so I did not plant anything directly behind them. I also know there was a possibility the Marigold ‘Brocade’ could go bonkers. BUT, I also thought, according to the size the second row plants were supposed to get, it would be OK and they would be slightly taller than the first row plants. Well… That DID NOT happen… The Marigolds did go bonkers, though.

Marigold ‘Red Brocade’.

The plant in the above photo, one single Tagetes patula, Marigold ‘Red Brocade’ is 22″ tall x 36 ” wide. I am not kidding… 36″ across and deep. If you like Marigolds and don’t mind them getting like this, then you need some seeds! Information on the internet doesn’t say they get this size, but I am here to tell you they can… The flowers are around 2″ wide. The color can be somewhat variable even though I save only the seed from the red. Well, even though I save the seeds I haven’t needed to plant any for two years. I save them just in case…

Kniphofia uvaria.

Ummm… Yep, there are two Kniphofia uvaria’s (Red Hot Poker) in there. There were three but one died before. I think maybe I should do something to give them more sun… Don’t you think so? They won’t flower this year anyway or they would have already done so (May and June). They still need full sun, though. Despite their intrusion, the plants look really good.

Over just a little bit to the right, somewhere in the center row…

Rudbeckia hirta ‘Denver Daisy’.

I had to take a close look to find the three Rudbeckia hirta ‘Denver Daisy’. This past month with the heat and ample rain (and I did water a few times earlier, too), the south bed went wild! The ‘Denver Daisy’ is supposed to get 22-24″ tall, which would be around the same height as the Marigolds grew. However, that did NOT happen even though they had a good head start and were flowering when I put them in this bed. Maybe they were intimidated by the smell of the Marigolds.

Echinacea purpurea ‘Pow Wow White’ and ‘Pow Wow Wild Berry’.

“YOU WHOO!!! Where are you Echinacea purpurea ‘Pow Wow White’ and ‘Pow Wow Wild Berry’? OH, there you are!” Umm, they are supposed to be 24 to 36″ tall but as you can see, they are a bit shy. They aren’t supposed to be shy or short!!! They are Echinacea for crying out loud! Supposed to make a bold statement and show everyone their cones!

Talinum paniculatum (Jewels of Opar).

“OH CRAP!!!” That’s what I say every time I look at the Talinum paniculatum (Jewels of Opar). I need to get those stems cut off! The plants are 20″ tall, so far, but their flower stems are 40″ tall! This is their 3rd time flowering, maybe 4th. When I cut their stems off they will do it again and again and again and again…

Rudbeckia hirta ‘Cherokee Sunset’.

A couple of weeks ago the Rudbeckia hirta ‘Cherokee Sunset’ were screaming for more sun, so I had to make some adjustments. Now they are looking much better and flowering again. They are supposed to grow to at least 24″, some websites say 30″. Well, they didn’t, or haven’t yet anyway.

Buddleja ‘White Profusion’.

The Buddleja ‘White Profusion’ has really strutted this year as always. It is doing a GREAT job attracting butterflies, hummingbirds and the amazing Snowberry Clearwing Moth (Hemaris diffinis). One day I took several photos and videos for a post about them but the videos wouldn’t upload on the post… SO, it is STILL a draft. It was hard to take good photos because of how fast it moves but the videos came out good. The Buddleja is now 72″ tall x approximately 84″ wide. When I bought this Butterfly Bush it was supposed to grow 4-5′ tall. Now, information on the internet has changed it’s tune to a larger size. Seems like we all got fooled! The other Butterfly Bush I bought this spring, Buddleja ‘Pugster Blue’, is STILL in it’s pot because I haven’t decided where to put it. Normally when I get a new plant I already know where I am going to put it.

GEEZ!!! That’s all I am going to say about the “NEW” southeast corner bed… Besides the Rosemary, there is also Oregano and Liatris in there.

Rosmarinus officinalis-Rosemary.

Just as happy as ever the Rosmarinus officials (Rosemary) refuses to be outdone by the Marigolds. Standing at 23″ tall and still growing… She did ask me if I could do something about her smelly neighbors, though. She says they keeps sniffing her and rubbing up against her. Hmmm…

Zinnia.

The Zinnia are still looking good but the rose on the other side of them aren’t doing so well. The beetles have continually chewed off the leaves and now the whole bush is ailing. I have to figure out what do do about that very soon…

Monarda.

I noticed today that there are new plants coming up at the base of the Monarda (Bee Balm) I purchased from the garden club plant sale this spring. At least I hope those plants are new growth from the Monarda instead of some weed…

Persicaria virginiana (Virginia Knotweed or Jumpseed)

MYSTERY SOLVED! This interesting plant (weed) growing here is a Persicaria virginiana (Virginia Knotweed or Jumpseed). I also noticed a couple growing in the pasture behind the chicken house. I never noticed them until this year… It keeps growing!

Nepeta x faasenii-Catmint.

The Nepeta x faasenii (Catmint) is still doing very good in it’s own little corner. Despite the soil quality there it is spreading very good. I am so glad it is happy!

Dad’s red Canna’s.

The Canna’s have done really good AGAIN this year and have grown to at least 8 1/2′ tall! This fall, or maybe next spring, I am going to paint the garage then dig up the whole area along the garage and space them out more.

Well, that’s it for this post! I have been busy all week working on the pages to the right but still have a LONG WAY to go. You may have noticed that a couple of times on this post you can click on the plant names and be redirected to their own page. Some of those need updated as I take more photos.

SO, for now, stay happy, positive, healthy and get outside as much as you can. Enjoy nature, take a deep breath of good fresh air. Realize that we are not alone and just embrace the energy from the universe that we are all a part of. I hope you enjoyed this post as much as I enjoyed thing the photos and writing the post. If you did, I would love to hear from you and be sure and click on the “like” button.

One more thing… GET DIRTY!!!

We all have our opinions. I have mine as usual. But let’s be serious for a minute. The last several presidential elections have left us with very few good choices. In the beginning there are always several good choices but they seem not to have the support, financially, for some reason not to win. I always thought Mike Huckabee from Arkansas would be a very good president. He has run several times but just doesn’t get the support.

Hillary Clinton, to me, has always been scary. I believe she has always had her own agenda and tells us what she wants us to hear. Call it conspiracy theory if you want, but there is just to much about her that makes me very nervous.

It seems that some people who are republican or democrat will always vote that way no matter who is in office, regardless of their views. We need to choose our elected officials based on who they are and where they stand on important issues that face this country and not on their political party. There are rats in every party.

SO, I will admit to you… In the last election, even though I had many concerns about Trump, I absolutely did not want Clinton to be president. There is just to many lies and deception that follow her around like a big weight. Then there is Trump. His mouth, his crazy tweets… They should take his phone!

Whether or not we even know the truth about much of anything… The media does not like Trump and they can drag out a story for weeks and then bring it up again weeks later. While I am sure Trump may have some good ideas, others are just crazy. I mean, he just blirt’s out tweets like he can’t help himself!

I am sick and tired of hearing about the Russians… Let’s just drop all these investigations and move on. There are far to many things that are more important. I don’t even watch the news, but my dad, who is 86 and can’t hear tells me what he heras. Then there is the news posts I se overtime I log onto the internet. I scroll down and same various articles to my reading list for later, which after a few days I may read or I may delete.

We have the technology to stop hackers or follow them back with a virus. The internet is a two way street so why not give the hackers something to remember. If they want information, invite them to dinner or something. Let’s make it easier to hack so we can stop them. The harder we make it the harder they will try.

While it is true that there are many controversial issues where both sides have good and bad opinions. The racial issues in this country need to be faced head on. Telling both sides they are at fault, depending on the groups you are talking about is ridiculous. That is like telling the Jews they were partly at fault for the holocaust. Why, because they were there?

We live in a society where there is so much confusion about who is right and who is wrong. In many cases and viewpoints, we believe what we believe because of the way we were taught or brought up. Like the difference between Christianity and Islam… Christians and Muslims. In so many ways we/they are both wrong. That is particularly true if the Sumerian tablets tell the real story of man’s existence. SO, in effect, if they are true, then both Christians and Muslims are dead wrong. Christians say that the only way to be saved is to accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. No wonder the Muslims don’t like Christians. Then the Jews have their own opinion. What about the Hindu… We are all reborn into a baby or something. Well, according to the Sumerians… Besides, Abraham’s father was a high priest to Enlil in Ur… When we accept something as true, we fall through a funnel into a little bottle which is like the smallest dust particle compared to the universe. Ummm…. I climbed out of the bottle. We believe in our religion, no matter if it is true or not, but we believe regardless of other truths, or the truth. SO, what is the truth? Who is God? He is the creator of the universe which is ever growing and expanding. Why? Because that is what God does. He creates. But we are also creators. OK, I better stop there on that subject.

All people, all across this planet are part of the same universe and the same creation. In other words, we are all one. No one is greater than the other no matter your race, age, sex, or anything else. We are equal! We need to focus on the truth and build each other up as brothers and sisters.

Look at how much money is spent on weapons that could be used to do good things. Like feeding the poor, education, technology for the good of humanity, and so on… Why do we feel threatened by other countries? It is because they feel threatened by us. We are all paranoid!

I lived in Mississippi for several years and I became good friends with many people, both black and white. I was talking to a few black men one day, and one of them was pretty down about the fact that he was black. He was making my opinion about something and mentioned the fact that I was white. I put my arm next to his and said, “I be darned… My skin is different.” I went on to tell him that we had the same color of blood and we had the same creator. The mansion I lived in was on the side of the creek where many blacks lived. When I needed help, it was the black men in the neighborhood who were always there and available. I did have several white friends who were also like brothers, or like a son. I attended an all-white presbyterian church a few times but it was like I was an outsider. I was invited to a black church by a lady who was like a mother to me. I was welcomed with open arms and I went to that church from 2009 until I left Mississippi in February 2013. I went to several conferences with them where I was the only white person. I was always treated like one of them.

I lived in St. Paul, Minnesota with my brother from April 2007 until May 2008. That was quite a change for many reasons. One is because it was a much bigger city than I was used to. The other was because my brother (and his roommate) are gay. Ok, folks… I am a pure country boy with certain morals. I knew that would be a big change and it definitely was. But I got to see that “those” people are just like everyone else. My brother’s roommate’s family was from Jordan. They are Eastern Orthodox. This story could continue but I better stop there. I kept my sanity and my morals were completely left intact. But, it just gave me a different perspective on the gay community.

Then after I went to work for Dr. Skinner and moved to California I was around a couple of other groups. She lived in a neighborhood that was predominately Filipino and Hispanic. Well, Mexicans. SO, I got to meet and work with them. I didn’t work with any Filipino’s, but I did work with a lot of Mexicans. All the neighbors were very good people. The Mexicans were also very good people and I got along with them awesomely.

SO, what do I think about immigration? I think we are all citizens of this planet and we should be free to live, work, love, retire and visit anywhere we want to. As long as we have good intentions and mean no harm to anyone then we should be free to go anywhere we want and stay as long as we want. It is because of people who mean harm to other races and religions that keep the rest of us from being free. There are also those who move to a country where they have benefits from the government that make restrictions and and visa’s necessary.

I think that it is important to know who people are, sure. We need to try and keep criminals and terrorists from coming here, but it also makes it harder for people to come who are good, honest and hard working people. People who can and want to make a contribution wherever they live. When I say “contribution” I mean to work to support themselves, their family and help others less fortunate than they are.

There are A LOT of illegal men, women and children living in the US (and in other countries). Some are working in secret looking over their shoulders all the time. Others live in very bad conditions, just as bad or worse than where they are from. They work for cheap wages and bad working conditions and don’t say anything because they are afraid and can’t. Then, there are those who are in the drug trade… Criminals who come here to help traffic drugs and stolen property and so on. SO, what do we do?

I think everyone who is working in the US illegally should be made legal. They are here, they are working, so make them legal so they can pay taxes like US citizens. The others should be given work visas so they can find a job. Give them a time limit and help them find work. If illegal immigrants break the law, what do we do with them? Put them in jail at the expense of the taxpayers? I think they should be evaluated to find out why they chose to break the law, Surely most of them didn’t come here to break the law. Many of them come here to find work and can’t because they are illegal. Many are good people faced with tough and scary decisions. I knew Mexicans in California who were illegal who had good paying jobs, families and even were buying their home… Using legal Mexican’s name. SO, we are faced with many issues concerning illegal immigrants.

BUT, we also face many issues with American citizens as well. We have criminals that run free, Our prisons are full of criminals who are living on taxpayers money. When they get out, they commit crimes all over and wind up back in prison. We have people on death row that have been there for many years and still haven’t been executed. We have many people in prison with life sentences. We have handicapped people on disability that have not worked for many years and never can. They all live off taxpayers money. Believe me, I am not lumping disabled people with criminals, I am just stating that they live off taxpayers money, which they can’t help. But, there are people on disability that are not disabled, which almost makes them criminals.

SO, what do we do? We are all one. We are one with the educated and uneducated. The poor and the wealthy. The people who make this planet go great and the criminals. People of many races, cultures, religions, sexual preferences, and so on. We are all one together. Time to stop fighting with each other and embrace one another differences and realize we have a lot in common. We all breathe the same air, drink the same water, eat food for the nourishment of our bodies. Whether you live in a big city or in a remote jungle… We are all one in this universe which is truly amazing.

Well, I have more opinions… But I kind of got sidetracked. I was going to make this post because of Donald Trump and how shocked I have been about some of his behavior… Well, maybe that can be for another post somewhere down the line.

SO, for now, take care, be blessed, happy, healthy, prosperous and do try and GET DIRTY!

PS… Parts of this post may self destruct after 24 hours. I am supposed to be working on the tomatoes but it took almost 2 hours to write this post! MAN how time flies! How could it have taken 2 hours?  2,300 words!

Hello, I was wondering if you can do me a favor? When you move the photos from your video card to the trash what happens? Your video card is empty, right? So then you eject your card reader, remove it, or whatever thinking it is empty…

A couple of years ago I emptied my card as usual then left it in by accident. I checked my trash and HOLY CRAP!!!! Every photo and video I ever trashed was in my trash  AGAIN even though I had emptied the trash many times. THOUSANDS of deleted photos folders and videos. Not only what I had taken with my camera, but every photo and video I had taken with QuickTime (I have an iMac). That was good in a way, because I had trashed and deleted some photos I wished I hadn’t and found them again.

I know, that sounds crazy, but it is very true. Lately I have been going through photos and videos and deleting old ones that are blurry or duplicates, or whatever. Sometimes I take videos then take photos of the videos, then delete the videos. Even AFTER I delete the trash without the video card, they are right back in my trash when I put the video card back in. Videos/movies take up much more space than photos

So, what is the favor? Remove your trash without your card reader and card inserted in your computer. THEN, put them in. Remove the photos from your card… Then check your trash while the card is still in your computer. What do you see?

Hello again! This evening, after dealing with the little hen, I started pulling some grass and weeds from around and in the shade beds. A couple of days ago dad and I went to Sedalia because I had to get a HUGE bag of potting soil. I wanted him to go because he doesn’t get out much and a change of scenery would do him good. He enjoyed the trip and liked seeing the corn, soybeans and cows along the way.

The above photo shows how big Alocasia ‘Calidora is getting once again. She has had several flowers again this summer as she usually does. I think I removed one of her babies earlier and gave it away, but there is still another one that needs to come out… But, that is just the beginning.

This pot of Alocasia ‘Mayan Mask’ also needs some attention. How many babies does she have in there? Then I noticed something weird…

She has adopted someone elses kids! Now, how in the world did Alocasia ‘Portora’s kids get in to ‘Mayan Mask’s’ pot? You can easily tell my four Alocasia from one another. A. ‘Calidora’ has green stems, I mean “petioles”, and huge green leaves. A. ‘Portora’ has maroon streaked petioles and green leaves. A. ‘Mayan Mask’ has green petioles and the undersides of the leaves are maroon. A. odora is smaller and she is, uh, a different story.

I also noticed the petioles of the ‘Mayan Mask’ babies are not completely green. There is a faint hint of maroon streaks that I hadn’t noticed before. Maybe they have always been that way, though, and I wasn’t paying attention.

As you can see, the ‘Mayan Mask’ leaves have maroon undersides. The top of the leaf shows white veining.

This is a photo of the big pot of Alocasia ‘Portora’ The leaf at the very top is from Alocasia ‘Mayan Mask’.

Ummm…. Looks like the pot of Alocasia ‘Portora’ needs a complete overhaul. I didn’t count yet.

EARLIER, I had already divided the pot of Alocasia odora… I know I took a photo a few days ago of those pots but I can’t find them…  My camera or photo card is being weird lately, even more than before. I have gotten used to it giving me a few photos that are half missing so I have been taking two of everything. It also does this deal where the photos won’t open so maybe that is what happened to  the last photo (s) of Alocasia odora.

I put the larger plants into five separate pots and gave one away. Then after that, several babies came up in the pot I removed them from. SO, I put three each in four other pots. BUT, all the other four pots now have MORE babies. Alocasia odora is definitely prolific!

This photo, four of the pots of Alocasia odora, was taken on July 19… They look nothing like that now. I had stuck a couple of cuttings of the Coleus ‘Spiced Curry’ in one of the pots…

SO, I dug out as many of the medium sized pots I could find because I have to go to work on the Alocasia… SO, the next post will be about that adventure.

For now, that is it for this post and I hope you enjoyed it. Take care, stay positive, he happy, healthy and prosperous. Go outside, take a deep, listen to the sounds of nature around you and embrace life to it’s fullest! One more thing… GET DIRTY!!!

Hello there! Early this evening, a little after 6 PM, I decided to let the chickens out of the house, including the three Old English Game bantam hens. Since rooster #3 was outside as usual, I left #1 in their pen. For those of you who don’t know who #1 and #3 are…. Besides the two larger roosters, the Delaware and the White Chantecler, there were three Old English Game bantam roosters. 1,2, and 3. I gave #2 to a friend, #3 runs outside and #1 stays in the pen with the three hens.

ANYWAY… After I let the chickens out I went to the store and to get dad his dinner. When I came back home I took dad his dinner then went to the chicken house. The O.E. Game hens were in the chicken house instead of enjoying their time outside. I squatted down at the door and one of the hens, (in the above photo), walked up and just looked at me. I looked at her and said, “What in the hell happened to you!” Pardon my language, but that is what I said. She stood there looking at me and I at her because I could not figure out what the “F” (and I don’t mean frost or freeze) was wrong with her.

I guess she expected an instant reaction to her predicament but I didn’t have an instant reaction. I was in as much shock as she was. I was looking at her because of the look on her face… I could not at first figure out what was wrong with her. Her top beak was, uh, like missing. So she said, “WELL, now what?” That look of utter puzzlement was on her face and she expected me to do something. She walked off and I had to chase her down so I could have a better look.

I didn’t have my camera with me, or you could tell by the photo why I was in shock. Her top beak had gotten pushed back and was stuck inside her bottom beak! I realize if you know nothing about a chickens anatomy that sounds a little impossible. BUT, inside the bottom beak is a v-shaped area, similar to the inside of our mouth behind our gums. Like where our tongue rests. ANYWAY, that is where the point of this hen’s top beak was stuck. The point of her beak was close to sticking through the skin under the beak. This girl was traumatized.

I took her to the house to show dad because I knew he had never seen anything like that. He looked at her and his jaw dropped. I went back outside and sit in a chair. Then I took a hold of her beak which she didn’t like and wanted down. I put her between my legs so she couldn’t get away and was about to try to somehow push her beak back to dislodge it. She shook her head and her beak popped out. SO, that was much easier than I thought it would be. I rubbed her face and beak for a few minutes. The rooster jumped on the arm of the chair and then on my lap. Her face and beak went back to normal and she started talking. She was OK. GEEZ!!!! I let her down and she immediately started cackling at the cats. Then she and the rooster went down the steps into the grass and she started eating.

I took more photos but I have no idea where they went…

I went out to the chicken house and brought the other two hens. One of them has been broody all summer and the other one for over a month. They are both in the state of confusion where they are coming out of broodiness. They cluck and sing both but are spending most of their time out of the nest now. They still aren’t interested in yet. LOL. The one hen, like I said, did not go broody and continued laying. You can tell the other two have not been laying because their combs are shriveled up…

The other chickens were enjoying their time outside, too. That coop is where #3 stays at night.

Well, I think that is all for this post. I just wanted to tell you about the little hens traumatizing event. Just goes to show you you never know what can happen with you least expect it. How she got that way is a mystery. Maybe she had jumped on the nests of the other hens, like she likes to do, and that happened when she jumped off. Thank goodness she is fine now. WHEW!!!

Stay well, be happy and prosperous. Of course, GET DIRTY!

Hello folks! I have finally finished picking the sweet corn and wound up freezing about 200 good ears. The sweet corn did good, and I can’t complain, even though 2/3 are still on the stalk. The remaining 2/3 are partly not ready to pick OR were ready but not filled out very well. You can feel the ears and tell how well they are filled out. I still have most from last year in the freezer! The green beans did very well and I canned 24 pints and put several quart bags in the freezer. I also gave away maybe at least 10 gallon. There are still 30 pints from 2016 and I found a straggler from 2013 and 2014 that somehow got mixed with the empty jars. Besides that, there are still 10 quarts from 2013… Dad wanted me to can a few quarts for when company comes, but that doesn’t happen very often and it seems we usually go out to eat.

OK, so now for today’s photos, unless I don’t get this post finished today. If not, they will be yesterday’s photos. When I was out behind the shed where my potted plants are, I noticed that Begonia ‘Fannie Moser’ had two nice flower clusters.

I have grown several cultivars of Begonia’s, but I have never seen such HUGE clusters before.

The Begonia ‘Brazilian Lady’ is growing up a storm. She is definitely a beauty!

The Billbergia nutans, Queen’s Tears Bromeliad, is blooming up a storm. I STILL haven’t gotten it divided. I think some day I will go out and find she has jumped out of the pot herself. You know the old saying… Well, I better not say it on the blog.

The flowers are AWESOME!

The Mammillaria pringlei is STILL budding. This species is on the red list in it’s native habitat and is down to only three locations. It seems that not only is it in danger because of it’s restricted range, but also because of the use of whole plants and it’s flowers as Christmas decorations… Apparently I need to update the name of this plant. Although the tag says Mammillaria pringlei, it is correctly Mammillaria rhodantha subsp. pringlei. I can’t imaging hanging this plant on a Christmas tree. That would definitely teach the cats not to play with the ornaments

This Callisia fragrans doesn’t look like much from this photo, but this Bromeliad, also known as Inch Plant or Grandpa’s Pipe, etc., will surprise you…

I am not sure how many of these it has now, but it doesn’t want to stop. I have no clue what I am going to do with it this winter. The Billbergia nutans is perfectly comfortable in the basement over the winter, and even flowers down there, but I am not sure about this one. I have only had the Callisia since June, so we will just have to take it one season at a time.

I kind of allowed the Oenothera biennis (Evening Primrose) to do it’s thing this year. First they were growing in a crack in the floor of what used the be the back porch of the old house. Then, they started coming up like mad in the flower bed. I always pulled them up because that is not what I want there. This year, I let them have the spot between the back porch and basement steps. I didn’t plant them, they did it on their own. I think they must have appreciated that…

I am still not sure what has been up with the Physostegia virginiana (Obedient Plant). It’s leaves look burnt or something… I thought this plant was supposed to be somewhat invasive, but that hasn’t happened. Maybe next spring it will take off. Maybe there is something about this spot it doesn’t like… Maybe I should move them…

The third Lobelia cardinalis (Cardinal Flower) is FINALLY going to bloom! Looks like it may be red! THANK GOODNESS!!!

I have never seen the Conoclinum coelestinum (Floss Flower, Hardy Ageratum or whatever you want to call them) go so wild! They are getting so HUGE and barely flowering yet!

The Achillea millefolium (Fern Leaf Yarrow) here by the side porch is now showing us what it can do. It has been flowering for a while, but this week it has really strutted. Like I said before, it doesn’t like it here and is trying to go farther out into the yard. It wants more sun and it is determined to get it’s way… As it moves farther out, the bed gets bigger. Maybe dad won’t notice a foot or so more a year. The clump by the chicken doesn’t complain at all.

GEEZ! I was looking at the leaves of the Colocasia esculenta and found this guy using one for a hammock! I have found them in the weirdest places! We have a lot of tree frogs!

The Salvia coccinea (Scarlet Sage) are STILL coming up and many are flowering very well now. I am trying to get them all to be red eventually.

They have the neatest buds…

The Celosia spicata ‘Cramer’s Amazon’ is… (I have to whisper to tell you how awesome it is otherwise it gets the big head!).

NOW that is the color I want from my Marigold ‘Red Brocade’ (Tagetes patula)! Beautiful mahogany red, gold edging and a little gold in the middle. So many this year went back to more of a gold color. I guess I have to dead head and discard all the odd colored flowers to they won’t go to seed and save the color I want AGAIN. You have to admit that is a nice flower even though it stinks.

OK… Maybe I did over do it. This is just half of them. Normally, I would just transplant two or three. But last year there were none for some reason. This of course, is the Talinum paniculatum (Jewels of Opar). The deal is, I like this plant… I like the color and texture of it’s leaves and the weird way it grows… It is heat and drought tolerant and just a great overall plant except for one thing…

It’s jewels… OH, there were more but all the rain we had over the weekend knocked most of them off. That’s what I get for procrastinating and not deadheading. It would be great if those were real jewels! We would all be quite wealthy (with money, that is).

Well, that’s it for this post. I actually got it finished on the same day I took the photos. I hope you enjoyed this little stroll and look forward to hearing from you. I need to go visit your blogs now and see what you have posted for the day. I have done pretty good the past few days reading your new posts and I have enjoyed every one.

SO, for now, take care, stay healthy, be happy, prosperous and, of course, GET DIRTY!

Hello everyone! I know it is Tuesday already and I took these photos on Sunday afternoon and  early evening. We have a new bull that actually arrived July 22. He is a Hereford like the one last year. They seem to have a much calmer disposition and don’t get to excited. This one is more alert than last years bull, though. Dad said I may have trouble with him but so far so good. I have been fairly close to him a few times and have had no problems. One great thing about using a Hereford is that the calves come all different. The cows are all black, with maybe a white spot somewhere if you look close enough. They all have different personalities, though. Some can get a little over friendly sometimes while other times they are stuck up.

This moth fell on the ground when I opened the door to the rooster’s coop. I picked it up and let it crawl on the trunk of the tree next to the coop. I don’t know exactly what species of moth it is, and I looked at plenty of photos online. I submitted photographs to the Butterflies And Moths Of North America website. Yeah, I had to join…

I know it’s caterpillar may be destructive to something, but that is for another day. Over the past few months I have been looking at life a little differently. I know, it’s weird. It’s like I have woke up and see kindred spirits in animals and even insects. Not all insects, however. Tics and mosquitos are a different subject, the blood suckers, and I have no clue why they were even created (or evolved). Even white flies and aphids I still don’t appreciate and don’t hesitate to eradicate them with Neem Oil. Neem oil doesn’t harm beneficial insects and they can even continue feeding with no problem (I think). I even let the squash bugs have what was left of the zucchini. Last year they attacked my tomatoes which I didn’t appreciate one bit, but so far this year they haven’t found them. BUT, if they do there could be a problem.

I noticed the “cones” on top of the Equisetum hyemale (Horsetail) have burst. OH, that is so great!!! Now there will be even more. I am just kidding about that being so great because these guys know how to procreate! Is there a birth control for plants?

Another plant that wants to invade anywhere it is allowed is the Lonicera japonica or Japanese Honeysuckle. It is all along the south border of the south hayfield and back pasture. I have noticed it popping up here and there in the yard and in the ditch, as well as a few other unwanted intruders. This honeysuckle produces yellow and white flowers and do attract a lot of hummingbirds. A while back I was in the hayfield close to the honeysuckle and was shocked at how many hummingbirds there were. There is a white one growing in a tree along the fence but it seems different and not as invasive. I took photos of it before but didn’t write a post about them. They will appear on one of the pages to the right some day. (LOL).

I walked up by the new shade bed and noticed the Heuchera ‘Obsidian’ is flowering now.

I wanted to walk up through the south hay field to see how the grass was doing after the hay was baled…

I was walking along in the hay field and felt like I was being watched… We have quite a few deer around here and it is always odd to me how sometimes there will be one all alone. A few days ago dad and I saw a doe and her fawn grazing along the highway. A couple of years ago there were two orphan fawns, to young to have been weaned, grazing along the street close to our farm. I had also seen them grazing on the lawn at the motel, right along a busy street.

Along the south border of the farm is kind of like a wilderness, or wildlife habitat. Well, the Rock Island Railroad used to run along there and now it is the Rock Island Trail. SO, the right of way, between the farm and the trail is, for the most part, a jungle. Full of blackberries, raspberries, honeysuckle, poison ivy, Solidago (Goldenrod) as in the photo and…

Monarda fistulosa (Wild Bergamot or Bee Balm) is growing here and there. I like this plant.

I don’t know what this crap vine is but I don’t like it. It is very tough and thorny. I don’t like it so well that I am not going to bother to do research and find out it’s name…

Here is a nice patch of Poison Ivy if you would like a start… I have plenty to spare and it spreads really well so I won’t miss any if you would like a start. I have tried to give it away but no one seems interested. It’s leaves turn a nice reddish color in the fall.

There are two clubs of Asparagus growing in the northeast corner of the south hay field. I saw them last year when I was moving the hay. This spring when the Asparagus was coming up I found one spot (because there was a spear sticking up) but I never found the other. After I picked that one spear, I never could find them again. Yeah, I know, I should have stuck a pole with a red flag on the spot… This fall I have a good notion to dig them up and move them to where I can find them. NOT that I will harvest any, I just want them to spread like wild fire. Isn’t it weird how what we want to spread doesn’t and what we don’t want does?

The Vernonia baldwini is beginning to strut it’s stuff. Some people just call it Ironweed, but it is also known as Baldwin’t Ironweed and Western Ironweed, There are 671 accepted species in this genera, some of which are very important medicinal herbs. Butterflies, bees and other various pollinating flies love this plant!

We have several Persimmon trees, but this one is the main one. Strongly, this year it has very few persimmons. I saw one in the fence row behind the hay field that has a few and I didn’t know it was there until Sunday. The webworms love persimmon and walnut trees. Last year there were a lot on this tree and there will be more later.

This is the main hay field… I already removed the 17 bales and now the grass and clover are growing very good again. I will put the cows in here later like I did last year. Dad never did that and kind of didn’t like that idea. BUT, it is beneficial for many reasons. Dad doesn’t like to spend money for seed or fertilizer which eventually takes a toll on the soil which then allows the sage grass to grow and spread. I read where 80-90% of what the cow eats goes out in manure… When you cut hay it strips away plant material so it doesn’t decay and feed the soil (like grass clippings do when you mow the yard). SO, grazing the cows on the field adds fertilizer. I just have to harrow in the spring to spread it around.

NOW, I am walking through the hayfield back down to where I store the hay for the winter…

These 17 bales came off the main hay field. The south hay field made 10 bales and another 7 from a small patch behind the south hay field… Dad doesn’t normally bale hay back there, but it was vary thick, mostly fescue with some letpideza. I told dad I wasn’t going to run the cows in there because I was going to have it baled. It was very thick so it made 4 bales.

I have something special to show you behind the bales next to the fence…

Well, these weeds are are not what I wanted to show you, but I have to walk through them to get there…

There are many mulberry trees on the farm, but this is the grandaddy of them all. It was an old tree when I was a kid and it is still alive. 

It is all gnarly but that adds to it’s character and wisdom. Kind of like when we get old. get grey hair and wrinkles. Just think of how many birds and insects have landed and crawled on this tree. This tree has probably also been struck by lightening several times, too. It isn’t very tall for it’s age and there is a MUCH taller one in the back of the farm.

After that I walked back to the, uh, back yard. You know, it is very confusing explaining a location here. There are two yards. One is where my grandparents home was and the other is where our house is now, which used to me one of grandpa’s gardens and apple orchard. Then there is the chicken yard, which really isn’t a chicken yard since the chickens stay in the house (unless I am feeling nice). Maybe I should make a map and mark the different areas so I can just say area A, B, etc.

Not much has happened lately except I did repot a few plants. The Amorphophallus is now in a new pot. Now, when some of you think of this genus, you may think of the Voodoo Lily, or maybe not. Voodoo Lily is a name given to several plants in the Arum (Araceae) family or aroids, which includes species in the Dracunculus, Sauromatum,  and Typhonium genre. Even though many people call many of these plants Voodoo Lily, I think the only one that is the actual Voodoo Lily is the Sauromatum venosum. The name Amorphophallus comes from the greek word amorphos which means “without form or misshapen” and the word phallos which means “penis” which is in reference to the shape of the plants spadix. GEEZ!!! My computer’s new hard drive just learned a lot of new words!

SINCE I was given this plant by Wagler’s Greenhouse and someone gave it to her, she had so idea what the plant even was let alone the species. There are about 200 species of Amorphophallus… Luckily the leaves on the other genera are different so at least I know it is an Amorphophallus.

My new bromeliad, Callisia fragrans (Grandpa’s Pipe, Inch Plant, etc.) has a new pot. I think it should be in a hanging basket or at least on something up high so the, um, stems can hang down. One of them was sitting another pot and started taking root! I mean, growing roots. It didn’t take roots… Why do we say “take root” anyway?

The Tradescantia sillamontana (White Velvet, White Gossamer Plant, Hairy Wandering Jew, etc.) is really growing good this year.

When my sister was here to the greenhouses, she wanted a Baby Tears plant… I had no idea what plant she was talking about so she asked Mrs. Wagler. She told her it was this plant and my sister was happy (with the plant anyway). When my sister was leaving, I took a piece off of her plant. She exclaimed, “What are you doing?” I should have told her, “I a just being me.” Anyway, she said, “Alright”. But her tone did not say that. Now, folks… To me this looks like a species of Sedum and not like photos of “Baby Tears” online. It has serrated leaves, like a Sedum, but it is growing weirder than a Sedum… Baby’s Tears is Soleirolia soleirolii, which is also called Angel’s Tears and Mind-Your-Own-Business. I have news for you, sis… This is NOT a Soleirolia soleirolii. I just don’t know what it is… YET. I will tell you this much, it is doing very good!

My other Bromeliad, Billbergia nutans (Queen’s Tears, Angel’s Tears) is doing AWESOME as usual and flowering AGAIN. A very good friend of mine in Mississippi, Walley Morse, gave me this plant several years ago.  I have been needing to repot it for several years… It needs divided REALLY BAD!!!

It has just started and it’s flowers get MUCH longer. It reminds me of a Hermit Crab for some reason…

I also repotted several other plants but it’s time to leave this area for now…

This is the foundation of what used to be grandpa and grandma’s old house. This is where I lived from April 1981 until July 1987. The garden is in the upper left corner. The beds, where the Hosta are, and under the trees in the upper right corner. A few years after my parents had their manufactured home made and moved in, dad decided to get rig of the old house. SO, he gave it to the Amish. There were going to move it, but they realized they may have a problem getting it over the “hill” where the railroad tracks were. SO, they tore it down. They put the shingles from the roof and other stuff inside the foundation… SO, here it still sits like that. In my opinion…. This is a MUCH better place for a home and everything else just kind of fits around it. Grandpa had a plan where everything went, like the gardens, the orchards, the chicken house, the barn, etc. It was very functional and it worked well. Nothing was very far away. They should have torn down this house and put their new one in this same spot.

This is one of my beds for the “younger” Colocasia esculenta. They would do much better with more sun, but… I don’t really need them to do much better.

This is the north side of our house… I know, the algae needs cleaned off AGAIN! We are thinking about buying a power washer. I don’t want to go through the whole list of plants in this north bed. You have seen them all before on other posts already.

These are dad’s red Canna’s. They were in the bed on the south side of the house but I moved them to the north side of the garage. I should have spaced them out farther when I transplanted them because after just a couple of years they are overcrowded. SO, that is on my “to-do” list for this fall or next spring.

This weird plant decided to come up under the steps of the back porch. I let it grow because I wanted to see what it would grow in to. WOW!!! Did it ever grow in to something!

WHAT A WEIRD PLANT!!! The stems are very stiff and the flowers are so tiny… Where did it come from? I have no clue because I haven’t seen any other plants like it anywhere else on the farm. SO, here I go again. My research disorder is kicking in but I need to get this post finished. It has already been 2 days, make that 3 now, since I started writing it.

The south bed is looking really good! The Marigolds think they are the dominant plant and are trying to crowd out the plants in the middle row… I have cleaned up this bed a little since this photo was taken and I really need to cut the flower/seed stems off of the Jewels of Opar (Talinum paniculatum).

OH MY GOODNESS!!! There will be THOUSANDS come up next year! Not to mention the Marigolds and Celosia spicata ‘Cramer’s Amazon’!.

The cows are out in the front pasture now. They were pretty disappointed earlier when I went into the hay field and didn’t let them go up the lane to the back pasture. They were still waiting when I came back…

Well, that is it for this post!!! I have taken photos since these for other posts that will have be retaken. The photos that get outdated get moved to the various folders and to the pages to the right (eventually). It is a work in progress. My first Belmont Rooster blog didn’t take so long it seems. Everything was saved so when I did my second one it was a matter of copying and pasting. Well, most of those word documents were deleted so most of the pages now have to be started over again from scratch. I will NOT make that mistake again. Both not deleting the blog or the word documents…

Well, I better close for now. It its already Wednesday evening at 10:45. Until next time, take care, be happy, stay healthy, become prosperous if you aren’t already (you can prosper in many ways), and GET DIRTY!!! Go outside, take a deep breath. Listen to the sounds around you and take time to just embrace your life and the life around you. Live, love and learn!