challenge for the green thumb

I have inherited (or more suitably, adopted) some of Mother's houseplants. Some had been in much need of TLC, but, at the time our focus was on attending to Mother's needs. Below are photographs of the more critical cases. I thought it would be fun to share the progress of these plants on their journey to recovery, or if (heaven forbid!) they perish under my care.

Below is the Chinese Evergreen that I think will be my biggest challenge. As can be seen in the photograph, there is much trimming that needs to be done. At the base of the taller stalks there is new growth, which offers hope that it will fill in quite well. This plant won't be transplanted into a larger terracotta pot as I don't want to put too much of a strain on it at this time.



Below is the Aloe Vera, which had held up considerably, and shown it's resilience under some rather trying times for us. A little pruning of the dried portions should do the trick, along with a transplanting into a 4" terracotta pot.



Below is the Christmas Cactus that for many years had bloomed beautifully for my parents. I don't recall just how many years they'd had it, but, I do have recollection of the Christmas Cactus from my days as a young boy. At one time this had been an expansive plant, and it is my hopes to return it to it's former glory. A transplanting of it to a 4" terracotta pot could be done at this time without having too much of an impact on it. Generally, it is in good health.



Below is the Spider Plant that had hung in my Mother's kitchen window. It is of the size that it had been for the past few years. Despite our best efforts, Mother and I, just couldn't seem to get this one to grow beyond it's current state. With this plant, I'll be transplanting into a 4.5" container that had been gifted to me some years ago, and will take it's place in the kitchen window of my home. Along with transplanting it, I'll be placing the knot at the base of the greenery (evident in the photograph) into the soil to generate rooting. Once this has taken hold, I'll sever the two portions and with luck, the older portion of the rooted plant will generate new growth on it as well.



Now, I just couldn't resist sharing the latest in the Butterfly Garten. For nigh on five years the Common Milkweed has been growing in the garten, but, had never bloomed. I was elated to find that this year two of the plants went into bloom. In my youth, the Common Milkweed had grown prolifically in the fields that surrounded our yard (the fields have since grown into a wooded area where new homes have sprung up). We could observe many Monarch Butterflies fluttering about the plants. We'd had the honour of observing the various stages that this species undergoes, beginning with the caterpillar (larva), the chrysalis (pupa), and the emergence as the Monarch Butterfly (adult).



I've inserted links to various websites containing information about the plants in the photographs above. Just click on the words in bleu, and this will take you to each website.

and the Timeless Lace?

Progress on this project has been steady, though, slow. Hey! it's summer time, and there are warm luscious days to be enjoyed before that eventuality of brrrrrr (winter).

Currently I'm on round 14, which is just slightly over a quarter of the way to completion.



This round will be a bit of a challenge as it requires picots, but, the crux that I've encountered is that the printed pattern doesn't designate how or where to place the picots. I'm now relying on the cover photograph to help in determining where they're to crocheted.

Overall, I'm enjoying this project and am pleased with the appearance thus far.

in the heat of July...

...the colours in the gartens have shifted from the pinks to hot oranges...



...and yellows.



In the coolness of a shaded area, this little one quietly rested on a stalk of buds that will soon add the colours of bleu and purple in the gartens.



I was delighted that the dragonfly remained relatively stationary while I photographed it.

Table Topper

My Mother was quite a collector of dishware, in particular, older settings. She had found and completed quite a few of her sets. Of all the items in her home, the collections in the china room held many fond memories for us.

One of the chinaware that I chose was this set.



It's incomplete, but, there are a sufficient number of pieces that it could be used for an afternoon tea and scones. The pursuit for myself, now, is to find additional pieces to add to the set. There will be many afternoons of browsing through antique shoppes, garage and estate sales.

Another challenge was to crochet a table topper that would compliment the design. After looking at various colours of crochet thread, I'd arrived at the conclusion that black would be best suited in accomplishing this, and as can be seen in the photograph above, it brings out the colours in the design splendidly. With this settled, the next step was to find a pattern. One has been found. It's from the Leisure Arts leaflet number 2983 titled "Exquisite Table Toppers". The pattern is titled "Timeless Lace", and is shown on the cover of the leaflet (photograph below).



The materials needed to crochet this lovely table topper are crochet thread is size 10 and a steel crochet hook in size 1.90mm (5 US). The thread has been purchased and I've begun working on the table topper. I'm using J&P Coats "Royale Classic Crochet Thread", a 100% mercerized cotton. At present I'm on round 5 in the pattern. It's working up quite nicely and quickly at this point, but, as it expands outward, the progress will no doubt be less apparent. I'd lightened the exposure in the photograph below just a touch in an effort to show off the design thus far.



Generally, I'm a wee bit of a taut crocheter, thus I've been slightly concerned that I may need to restart this project using a larger hook. At this point it is slightly difficult to tell if this will be necessary.

Pride 2008

Today marks the culmination of the Twin Cities Pride celebration.

Leading off the parade were the Dykes on Bikes.


Among the several participants in today's parade were a number of political figures (including the mayors of Minneapolis and Saint Paul), assorted religious groups, civil rights organizations, various clubs, corporations, a few representative organizations from around the region, and quite a few others.

The following are a few photographs of some of the participants (before my camera decided to stop working).

The Automobile Club




The Minnesota Freedom Marching Band


The Gay Rodeo


The North Country Bears


The Geek Squad




The Twin Cities Gay Men's Chorus


The Imperial Court


Wells Fargo Stagecoach


Though I've not marched since the early 1970's into the 1980's, I've not missed attending the closing day's feastivities each year since, and on occasion have attended some of the rallies, picnics, boat cruise, art shows, and other activities that occur during the week long celebration.

Pinks phase

During my absences the gartens have done quite well. At present the gartens' blooms are predominantly of variations of pinks.

The Sweet William is now in bloom...



...and displaying it's diverse colour variations.



The Lupine surprised me greatly. When I'd last left the Cities; the growth had been minimal. With each returning trip to the TC's, I'd stroll about the yard and noted that the Lupine was slow in growth. It certainly has burst forward quickly.



Most of the Peony bushes have begun to bloom, with a multitude of buds just about to open.



The pale pink Peony bushes were the first to show their colours, followed shortly after by the white, and the rose coloured bushes.

Thank you

You have warmed my heart and lifted my spirit with your kindness, and supportive and encouraging words. I've shared with the rest of the family your emails and comments and they have been touched deeply as well.

Thank you.

Friday the 13th...

...has been given a reputation among the superstitious of being a worrisome day. Not so for me today. It had been my second day back to the job, which went fairly smoothly. During my drive home it had been lightly raining and off to the east were reflective rainbows (two rainbows with the colours in reverse order). The colours were very intense set against a backdrop of clouds.

I dashed into the house upon arrival, grab the camera, jogged to the end of the block in the hopes of capturing the image. By the time I'd gotten into position the reflective rainbow had faded considerably (ever so slightly visible to the left of the visible rainbow), but, the primary rainbow remained quite vibrant.



After returning to the house content that I'd succeeded in photographing this evening's rainbows, I was delightfully surprised to find that the Hibiscus is in bloom.



The colours of the blooms are quite striking, and I'm thrilled that the plant had survived the trip home.