Saturday, April 03, 2010

Easter Parade

Every Friday, KC and I get together for a long, hard hike. Then we hightail it to a restaurant where we consume at least as many calories as we burned. (Hey! We earned it.)

This week, we switched up our routine, skipping the hike and heading straight to lunch. Why didn't we think of that years ago??
I still got a great workout. We spotted a 50% off sale at the local flower store. So, I arm-wrestled other gardeners for great deals.

I bought a newfangled Easter Cactus (above) to keep Edna (below) on her toes. You remember, Edna, don't you? The Christmas Cactus I've had since college. She began flowering last November. Still going strong. That's 4 months longer than normal.

This does not have me delighted. I fear she's trying to tell me something. Like ~ pay attention to these blossoms, buckaroo, this is my last hurrah. I sincerely hope that is not the case.
Not the best photo of Edna, though it sure has everybody excited. Look behind her grand display of flowers to understand why. You can just make out a.... vacuum cleaner!

Hmmm... I wonder if it still works? It's been so very long since I've turned it on... 'Tis a holiday weekend.  I may just have to give that a try.
I came home from vacation to discover that one perfectly horrible housesitter let some of my (indoor) flowers die. And, I know of only way to manage that grieving process...

Buy new ones and try it again!

I hope you've enjoyed the old and the new. Happy Easter to one and all....

13 comments:

Gail said...

Happy Easter to you.

I have horrible luck with house plants. Yours are beautiful.

CanadianGardenJoy said...

Kate girl ! Happy Easter and WOW !!! .. You have such amazing plants .. if you saw mine you would fall on the floor laughing .. truly !
I can't believe that cactus .. what the heck are you doing to it to make it bloom like that girl !
Yes .. get over the sad plant loss and buy MORE !!! LOL
Joy
2010 days till Halloween ? ;-)

sweetbay said...

You've got the plant grieving process down pat, excellent.

Wow, that's amazing that Edna is still blooming so much. She is magnificent. She looks like one of those old-fashioned smooth-segmented ones.

Monica the Garden Faerie said...

Girl, you should have come to me earlier... I've known all about lunching without hiking for YEARS, lol! Actually, I enjoy good walks and hikes (and even bike rides) but I've always enjoyed eating more. Edna is quite a grande old lady! If you're worried about her not blooming (or she does indeed stop, though I dunno why she would), you can prune her back quite a bit to rejuvenate bloom. This happened accidentally with mine when I knocked it over and it lost a ton of its pads. Now it's blooming just as much as before.

D said...

A happy and blessed Easter Kate! We are having an early dinner, say about 2... Shall we set a place? ;)

Enjoy this wonderful day. Diana

Kate/High Altitude Gardening said...

Hey, Gail;
I have to be good at the indoor ones... it's the only way I can cope with my long, cold winter!

Kate/High Altitude Gardening said...

Hi, Joy!
I don't know what I'm doing to make Edna bloom like that. I'm worried that she'll use up all her mojo and then die on me. From what others are saying, that's not too likely?

Kate/High Altitude Gardening said...

Hi, Sweet Bay!
Yes, Ed's old-fashioned, for sure. She must be at least 40 years old. Maybe 50 or more...

Hi, Monica!
Yeah, yeah, the dining without hiking is the best idea we've had in years.

Thanks for the tips. I guess I'll stop worrying about the old gal and just enjoy her pretty flowers. Maybe I'll blame it on global warming. Might as well. I blame everything else on global warming...

Kate/High Altitude Gardening said...

Happy Easter, Di!
2 p.m. works fine for me. I'll be there with bells on! :))

Lona said...

Edna does look beautiful and happy in her spot.That is why you skipped the hike so you could get in on the plant sale. Well arm wrestle to get at the plants. LOL!
Happy Easter to you Kate.
Lona

Kate/High Altitude Gardening said...

Happy Easter to you, too, Lona. Hope you had a marvelous holiday weekend. :D

Rose said...

Now, that's a great attitude, Kate--rather than grieve over the old plants that died, go buy new ones! Hope you had a wonderful Easter.

By the way, my vacuum got its first workout this weekend in many weeks, too:)

Melanie J Watts said...

Happy Easter Kate. Edna looks beautiful and healthy. I see no reason why this should be her last hurrah.