0
Spring is here!!
in
Geek
The dull green of the evergreen trees is gradually being replaced by the faint, blushing greens of new growth. There are tiny little newborn leaves on trees everywhere, and dogwoods and cherry trees are blooming.
Even the grass has returned. In the field next door, the children return from their explorations with their arms full of wildflowers to gift me, with declarations of their love.
The felines are not immune to the change of season, either. My alpha cat has given birth to 4 kittens, each one with a distinct personality, if not coloring, and Mama Cat has successfully put the fear of God into Sam, the puppy, so that he knows that the cats are his betters, lol!
Next month, baby chickens arrive here... I’m still trying to locate the plans for the chicken coop, so I’ll have to do a search for it online, and then spend time picking up materials, and picking my neighbors’ brains about how to take care of them.
I’m a never-ending source of amusement to my country friends, mainly because I’m a total tenderfoot about this type of stuff, and ask ‘interesting’ questions like, “Can you put a harness on a pig to make him easier to handle when you are moving him?” Country folk, try answering that one with a straight face... that’s how I asked it (and why can’t you, really?)...
This is also the time of year that I lose my mind and buy plants like they are being given away. Why I do this, I don’t know, because I have what is quaintly known as a ‘black thumb’. I have killed all kinds of plants, even the ones that are allegedly impervious to black thumb. (Yes, even a snake plant). So you know that me buying a plant is tantamount to a death sentence on said plant.
But, hope springs eternal, and every spring, I buy plants, and grill the sellers about how to take care of them, and examine them carefully, because they need to be in the best health...
And I take them home to die.
Sigh.
But, I’m getting better... The wandering jew that I bought last year is still alive, and my eldest has started another few plants from the cuttings. I have two aloe plants that I was given that are still going strong, and, the crown jewel in my arboretum, an african violet that I had to repot, because it outgrew its original one.
Yes, I said african violet. Who knew?
Apparently, african violets ‘thrive on neglect’, as one acquaintance put it... if you water them when the soil is bone dry, keep it in indirect sun, and leave it alone, it will grow, thrive, and reproduce (mine has done all three). I have had this african violet for over 4 (!!) years, and it’s still going strong. Recommended for black thumbs everywhere, lol!!
Even the grass has returned. In the field next door, the children return from their explorations with their arms full of wildflowers to gift me, with declarations of their love.
The felines are not immune to the change of season, either. My alpha cat has given birth to 4 kittens, each one with a distinct personality, if not coloring, and Mama Cat has successfully put the fear of God into Sam, the puppy, so that he knows that the cats are his betters, lol!
Next month, baby chickens arrive here... I’m still trying to locate the plans for the chicken coop, so I’ll have to do a search for it online, and then spend time picking up materials, and picking my neighbors’ brains about how to take care of them.
I’m a never-ending source of amusement to my country friends, mainly because I’m a total tenderfoot about this type of stuff, and ask ‘interesting’ questions like, “Can you put a harness on a pig to make him easier to handle when you are moving him?” Country folk, try answering that one with a straight face... that’s how I asked it (and why can’t you, really?)...
This is also the time of year that I lose my mind and buy plants like they are being given away. Why I do this, I don’t know, because I have what is quaintly known as a ‘black thumb’. I have killed all kinds of plants, even the ones that are allegedly impervious to black thumb. (Yes, even a snake plant). So you know that me buying a plant is tantamount to a death sentence on said plant.
But, hope springs eternal, and every spring, I buy plants, and grill the sellers about how to take care of them, and examine them carefully, because they need to be in the best health...
And I take them home to die.
Sigh.
But, I’m getting better... The wandering jew that I bought last year is still alive, and my eldest has started another few plants from the cuttings. I have two aloe plants that I was given that are still going strong, and, the crown jewel in my arboretum, an african violet that I had to repot, because it outgrew its original one.
Yes, I said african violet. Who knew?
Apparently, african violets ‘thrive on neglect’, as one acquaintance put it... if you water them when the soil is bone dry, keep it in indirect sun, and leave it alone, it will grow, thrive, and reproduce (mine has done all three). I have had this african violet for over 4 (!!) years, and it’s still going strong. Recommended for black thumbs everywhere, lol!!