My Commonplace Book

... but not from the sky. From the hose with the leaky fittings.

With no meaningful rain in weeks, I finally had to get out there and water the garden. We're under water restrictions, so I had to do it by hand, standing there with the hose -- sprinklers are not allowed unless they have automatic shutoffs.

The last time we had more than a tenth of an inch was on July 10, when we had 1.87 inches. There was just over a half inch on July 4 (of all days! We watched the fireworks in the rain!). In June the only day that had any rain worth talking about was 1.91 inches on June 3. In May we had a total for the month of 0.94 inches. A normal May is 3.89 inches. The occasional sprinkles of a trace to a half-inch in between haven't been enough to penetrate the ground, and there haven't been very many of them. It's very unusual for this part of the country.

I've been putting off watering because it's been unremittingly hot. A temperature in the low 90s with reasonable humidity is uncomfortable, but not horrible, for most people. (Although it will be horrible for the next few days.) But this year when I spend any time outside -- even 20 or 30 minutes -- when it's above 90º, it seems to be making my fibromyalgia flare.

But yesterday there was a light cloud cover in the afternoon, and the pachysandra was starting to look dangerously droopy and I didn't want to lose it, so I figured it was time to drag out the hose. (Which was easier than it used to be since I got a hose reel cart from freecycle!) Unfortunately, my hose nozzle is old and rusty, and refused to do anything but spray, so I had to turn the flow way down so it wouldn't blast everything away. Meanwhile, while I was spraying the plants, the hose was spraying me. The hose itself is fine, but the fittings leak at both ends (or maybe it's the cart that leaks at that end!). But at least at that end it just soaks the ground under the cart, while the fitting just below my hand sprays in several directions!

But the sprays, though strong, are very fine, and they kept me cool while I stood out there, so I didn't really mind it getting drenched from head to toe. (Except windshield washers on my glasses would have helped.) The pachysandra perked up nicely -- except for the areas that got Round-up on them when I sprayed the poison ivy .  I apparently splashed more than I thought I did. Oh well, it will just have to fill in again -- that's the only way I can weed any more, since I can't kneel or bend.

The rest of the garden has been standing up to the drought pretty well, but it does look better now. The ceratostigma (dwarf plumbago) looked fine, but had few flowers -- it looks much happier today. A few weeks ago I almost lost the small-leaved basil that momomom gave me, because I forgot to water it for just two days and it started to dry up -- it's just a baby and doesn't have much of a root system. But I remembered in time and it greened right up and fluffed out, and I've been very mindful of it since!  A generous sprinkle of fresh basil has really perked up my favorite my summer salad of sliced heirloom tomatoes (sometimes with sweet corn or cucumbers) drizzled with vinaigrette.

Of course, since I watered, it rained about an hour later! But it was less than a tenth of an inch, so it wouldn't have done anything for the plants, and it left the area under trees completely dry -- and the pachysandra is under the canopy of the dogwood. So I needed to water anyway. But I've been totally lethargic and out-of-it all day today, just kind of wandering around the house in a daze. I have an acupuncture appointment tomorrow, and I'm hoping that Karen will be able to make me feel better.

This is one of the flowers on a shrub planted in the back yard of a townhouse on the lake where I walked yesterday, so it's probably an exotic and/or a cultivar. The flowers are striking, and the buds are lovely. Although the flower is white, the buds are a beautiful, delicate pink.

Does anyone have any idea of what it is?

I brought the car in this morning to have the lock fixed. As I explained in reply to Meredith's question, the trim panels are pretty delicate -- the instructions for removing a trim panel are replete with warnings about being careful because they crack very easily. I mentioned that I had found information on the web and how delicate it said they are, and he just nodded and uh-huh'ed in agreement. So I wasn't too hopeful.

They gave me a ride home and I had breakfast, feeling subdued. I had just gotten a mug out for coffee when the doorbell rang. Not too many people drop by without calling, so I had no idea who it might be. I went to the door and there was nobody there ... except there was a long, thin box on the porch. My eyes widened ... flowers???

( Flowers! )


That sure brightened me up! I took pictures, and  wrote a heartfelt thank-you note to my kids and was getting ready to upload the pictures when the phone rang. It was momomom inviting me out to lunch! I said, "Sure, I'd love to, but you have to pick me up -- I don't have a car!"

"That's fine, I'm right near you," she said. So we went out to Ruby Tuesday to get some salad. I was surprised when the check came and Carla grabbed it. "I'll treat you," she said. That was so thoughtful! My spirits that started out so low this morning went up another notch.

After we ate my cell phone rang ... it was the body shop. I was surprised to hear from them so soon.

( Repair results )

So I'm a happy camper! But deeper than my delight about the car coming out okay is my joy in knowing that my kids and my friend care about me enough to send me flowers and to take me out to lunch to cheer me up.

That makes me feel far richer than the $600 I saved.

oniricwolf gave me some IDs in response to my post of UNO's (Unidentified Natural Objects), and I put in the correct captions. While I had the various galleries open I noticed a few things in the wrong place, and I ended up spending the rainy day today catching up on posting photos that were sitting around in various "To Upload" folders, adding captions and keywords to dozens of pics that were sitting around naked, and moving things around. (Now if I could just do that for the house, I'd be in great shape!)

One of the photos I found still in its folder was a picture I took yesterday of a wildflower with beautiful purple rays. I was going to add it to the UNO post, but I decided to try to ID it myself, and found that it's New York Ironweed -- an odd name for such an pretty flower.

( New York Ironweed )

Another picture I took yesterday that I hadn't uploaded was this detail of a large rock. It's obviously metamorphic, but Wendy didn't know what kind it is. I love the pattern -- I wonder how it got that way?

( Patterned rock )

I took this picture one week ago. It's a pebbly stream with the sun glinting on the water as it runs and ripples slightly over the rocks.

( Pebbles in the Stream )

This is one of three pictures of a gnarled old stump that I shot last April. I love the patterns and textures.

( Old stump )

I just uploaded this picture I took last month of an old barn in the park where I walk most often.

( Photo and history of the old barn )

And one more picture for those who miss Brood X, or just like natural art. It's a molted exoskeleton of an annual cicada, posed on a tree just the way the zillions of periodical cicadas were. I don't think I've ever seen an annual cicada shell before -- I don't know where they molt, but since they're defenseless at the time and they don't have the advantage of enormous numbers to perpetuate their species, they don't usually do it on trees right out in the open. You wouldn't think a bug's exoskeleton could be beautiful, but I love the amber jewel tones of the sun shining through it.

( Cicada shell )

I don't do anything to promote my photos, and they're on a somewhat obscure site, so I'm always excited when smugmug notifies me that I have a comment on one of them.

I eagerly clicked the link and saw it was for this picture:



I scrolled down, only to find this:

1. made by: Guest on:  Aug 15, 2006 11:06pm EDT
this is a jack-in-the-pulpit...not a canna!

Agh! I didn't say it was a canna, it's a calla -- a Black Forest Calla Lily. I know this because it's growing in my neighbor's garden and I asked them.

One thing it could not possibly be confused with is a jack-in-the-pulpit!


One is blackish-red, the other is bright green. One flowers in midsummer, the other flowers in early spring. One curls in a horizontal plane, the other curls in a vertical plane. One doesn't have anything visible in the center and the other has a big spadix in the middle!

Agh.

This includes flowers in my garden and the park, a very rare wildflower, and two pretty mystery flowers.

( My garden, other gardens, wildflowers )

More new wildflower photos here and on the following page.

Other new pics from my garden here.

Many more gorgeous new flower pictures here and on the following page.

Sunsets, mysterious phenomenon, wildflower and an odd bird

( Photos )

Here are the pictures from my walk today! I actually took them, got them sorted and uploaded and captioned and everything, and am posting some all in the same day!

It's spring!

( Wildflowers, cherry blossoms, daffodils, a cardinal and a cute kid )

A careful observation of Nature will disclose pleasantries of superb irony. She has for instance placed toads close to flowers.
              —Honore de Balzac (1799-1850), French novelist

I went for a walk this afternoon and had lots of first-time-this-season sightings. I also saw a record number of birds for a solo walk -- 31! And I wasn't even out that long ... less than 2½ hours. I checked the natural end of the lake nearest to my house, and then walked over to the small lake half a mile away. Altogether I walked just under 3 miles. I interspersed my account with photos that I actually took and got uploaded in the same day! (ka_crow, be sure you look at them!)

My first shorebird of the year was a solitary Killdeer scooted around a sandbar in the lake next to my house -- unfortunately they are planning to dredge the lake, so our shorebirds won't be there much longer. Like all lakes in Maryland it's man-made, so if it's left alone permanently it will turn into a swamp, and eventually revert to a river running through a shallow valley. But it's far from a swamp yet, and they could wait several more years before it gets anywhere near that stage, giving us more diversity of wildlife. But sand bars and mud edges aren't pretty enough for this upscale community, so they're going to spend a few hundred thousand dollars dredging two of the three lakes. Meanwhile, though, we still have shorebirds!

I saw my first bumblebee in the woods, and when I got home I was delighted to see one busy on the periwinkle flowers in my garden.

Two snooty Double-crested Cormorants -- my first for the season -- were on the small platforms placed in the middle of the small lake to provide a safe haven for birds. A Great Black-backed Gull was on the third small platform, and a Great Blue Heron shared the big one with a Canada Goose resting in the swans' nest box and numerous snapping turtles shingled along the sides. The snappers must have all come out of hibernation at once, because suddenly they were everywhere -- they were firsts for the year as well.

( Snapping turtles on a submerged branch )

Just a few feet from where I took the picture of the turtles, a beautiful weeping cherry tree is coming into bloom.

( Weeping cherry )

To celebrate Spring's arrival on Monday I went for a walk around the big lake. It was enjoyable, but it would have been better if it weren't so very windy! March sure is living up to its nickname of the windy month this year! With sustained winds near 20 mph and gusts to 30-35 mph, I thought I would get blown away, especially when I walked across the long dam. But it wasn't too bad in the woods, and the path on the north side of the lake is wooded most of the way, so once I got past the dam it was better.

I didn't get very many pictures, and only three are worth sharing. Those who know flowers, please check the last one.

( Photos )