Saturday, January 16, 2021

Beauty Fades. Dumb is Forever.

This English countryside painting is the screensaver image on my desktop.
I find a new one every week.

Strolling down a cobblestone pathway.. accompanied by a dog who prefers to walk beside you.. 

Well, how cool would that be!?!

In contrast to my real life dog, breaking his leash, racing miles ahead to jump on all the passersby. Barking like a maniac. Prompting me to apologize over and over and over again... 

I suppose the upside to the Hell Boy scenario of walking my own dog is that I get to meet a lot of people. Though they rarely introduce themselves. And, it's highly doubtful they would ever invite me to afternoon tea.



The view from my window. Yes. I've contemplated chopping down those electrical poles. Many times!

That English countryside painting - the screensaver image on my desktop - is a common exercise during the non-gardening half of the year. 

Inspires grand plans. And, new gardening notions.


My favorite 'Christmas Cactus' rarely blooms before mid-January. 
Which makes perfect sense because it's not a Christmas cactus. 
Different varieties bloom at different times of the year. To tell them apart, look at the leaves.

But this year, those wonderful little paintings are for a different reason entirely. It's supposed to fool me into feeling all cool, calm and collected.

It's not working.

I'm so pissed off right now.


Every sunny window deserves a Mandevilla. Even on the worst of days, listening to the news, 
her plentiful pink flowers put a smile on my face. Draw the blinds in the afternoon
 if you live in a hot climate. Fertilize monthly and trim the plant. 
She'll grow 20 feet tall if you let her.

During the ‘it's a hoax/fake news’ bullshit of these last 4 years, I have come to rely on the Atlantic. An excellent magazine that has been around since 1857. You know. Before the first civil war?

If you haven't read The Worst Revolution Ever, you should stop looking at my flower pictures and do that right now.

The magazine is filled with daily, thought-provoking, articles from very smart people. Who don't always compliment my point of view. This morning they were preaching kindness and tolerance toward all those morons ~ who are just dumb enough ~ to believe all the lies ~ that person ~ who wasn't elected ~ told them.

Problem #1 when reading magazines on your iPad vs a paper magazine. You can throw the magazine across the room in disgust. But, if you do that with your iPad you are forced to buy a new one. And, they're expensive!


Did you know that most of the micro mini roses sold in the grocery store will flourish in a zone 5 garden?
I have dozens of them planted along my walkway.

It is pretty easy to do, ya know. 

Read newspapers and magazines. In search of the truth. 

Listen to a pack of lies in a publicized speech. And, question that truth.


Kalanchoe bloom for a long time. The best (only?) way to kill them is by over-watering. They will re-bloom but it's hardly worth the effort. Treat yourself to a new one. Re-blooms can never match the beauty of these babes forced under the grow lights.

If you happen to be one of those dummies. Who voted against the environment, against saving endangered species, against education, against affordable health care.. in the high hopes that you could stop progress, so we can return to the 1950's. A time when you felt comfortable because you can't handle change? I invite you to step off this blog and never return.

Because that whole kindness and tolerance suggestion from the Atlantic? It ain't happenin' here.


Today's tirade is brought to you, in part, by: 
  • Twitter - for stopping the disgusting chatter.
  • United/Delta/American - for putting those pigs on no-fly lists.
  • Forbes - for taking a stand against the incessant lies perpetuated by Press Secretaries.
  • Apple/Google - for deactivating the apps 'they' use to coordinate attacks.
  • Shopify - for shutting down the terrorists' websites. 
  • Stripe - for refusing to process credit card payments on any maga websites.

#impeach #stopthestupidity

#flowersmakeeverythingbetter

Friday, January 01, 2021

Hey, 2020 ~ Here's you're hat, what's your hurry?

Cheers to the end of the most difficult year.

I survived. That's what I was thinking as I was gazing at the playful clouds on this New Year's Day.

I survived. And, if you're reading this. You did, too.

I'm talking about surviving the hopeless, helpless feelings that plagued everyone, during this horrible year. I am not making light of the tragedy that has befallen so many.


One $5 dollar flower bulb gifts you with all these pretty flowers. Just add water. Buy an #Amaryllis kit!

Some lost quite a lot, considerably more than me.

All I really lost was faith. 

And, 12 months.


I can attest to the fact that Christmas cactus live for a hundred years. 
I've had this one since my college days.

Which is why I forced myself to stay awake until midnight. 

Getting up at 3 a.m. is easy for me, what with all my irrational fears and worries... I'm very good at that. 

But staying up until midnight - to ring in the New Year? Now, that is hard work. 


During 2020 Covid lockdown, I planted tons of flowers, by seed, in my sunny window. #Zinnias

Felt like I needed to do it.

Stay awake. Watch the clock announce it is 12:01 a.m. 

And, kick this awful year to the curb.


Elf Sunflowers are tiny + adorable. Grown by seed in my sunny window during lockdown.

In prep for NYE, since we cannot socialize.. 

I curled up on the couch, gazed at my beloved mountains… and took a delightful afternoon nap.


10 days into our first covid lockdown, I created a shrine to the cutest little artist on the planet. 
Hattie B. My granddaughter. It was the longest time we were apart since she was born. 
[#Anthurium flowers]

I was tired!

All talked out, after real true phone calls, not text messages (yay!), from people reaching out to me. Wishing me a Happy New Year. Thinking of me. 

Missing me almost as much as I miss them.

Feeling ‘loved’ and no longer invisible. 


Social distancing tomatoes. Grown indoors, from seed, during covid lockdown. 

Which is how you feel ~ invisible ~ when you can barely cope with the first lockdown..

So very excited for that to be over. 


Chalk it up to lockdown boredom, I ordered Passiflora seedlings, and she bloomed!!!

Only to discover that it's time to do the isolation thing all over again.


Yes. You really can grow Morning Glories indoors. But, they need a whole lotta space!

When I woke up, I thought about this long, strange, blurry, dragged on forever year.

And, how grateful I am for the little things that kept me going. 



Like this goofball. 

"This is the bestest stick ever!" - Charlie Waffles

The dogger who refused to take no for an answer on days when I was too sad to walk out the door.

Royal Velvet Amaryllis - growing in the big bay window.

Grateful for so many little things. Like a sunny window. 

Where I can grow pretty much anything. 

Canterbury Bells.

How. During the worst of it.

When everyone was soooo busy - selfishly fighting over the last roll of toilet paper..

They quit buying all the blossoms at the supermarket flower store.

Paper Whites (Narcissus)

So I started my very own Flower of the Month club. Rescues from the discount bin.

Audrey - my Venus Flytrap. An essential plant for an indoor flower garden. (She gobbles all the bugs.)

And, how walking the dog isn't always a bad idea. 

Like the day I found this:


And, when I discovered this remarkable wildflower. On one of our many wilderness adventures. 

Some kind of Wild Iris!

Which prompted me to starting writing a photo book. 

Of all the gorgeous wildflowers we discover in the High Uintas, northern Utah. Our favorite stomping ground.

Knowing full well, that book will never get published. Since it took me 15 months to write one blog post... what are the odds of finishing that thing?

Oh! And, I baked bread. 

Lotsa bread..

Just like everybody else did. That's why we all gained those 19 covid pounds..


From my very own sourdough starter. 

Back toward the beginning of this nightmare. When I truly thought this is how the world ends. For the last time.

Ornamental Sweet Peas. Best grown by seed.

But, it didn't. 

End, that is. It offered a brand, new, beautiful beginning. I know it's not over but it is getting better.

Here's wishing everyone a Happy New Year.

PS: See you in hell 2020


***   Here's your hat, what's your hurry - quoted from It's a Wonderful Life, 1946