There are three things that you need to know about this BLOG. It would not exist if I didn’t have Roger (my computer guru) “saving my bacon,” as he did this morning. Thanks, Roger.
The second thing is that I am pleased to include a poem from my youngest grand, Lillian. Her dad (I’m proud to say, my son-in-law) turned sixty on Monday. This is her poem for him.
And, third. My friend, teacher, and writing mentor, Denise, is personally hitting this sixty milestone. She asked for thoughts about it; so I wrote to her.
And, I thought you might want to see some of Larry’s flowers. It is August, so the yellows are showing.
Another favorite restaurant. Gone by the wayside. Gone for condos. It will be missed.
A friend died this week. Not a flesh and blood friend. But, a restaurant that we’ve frequented for years and years. I was driving south on Colorado Blvd. and saw that the gigantic American flag on its tall-tall pole with the truck on top was missing. No cars in the parking lot was another clue. And, seeing no cars around the La Quinta at the back of the space, another.
How do you know when you are having or have had a good time? I’m not sure that I have fun often. How do you really know? I’ve been thinking about that for some time. I’ve liked things. I’ve enjoyed things. I’ve laughed at things. I’ve enjoyed being around peole. But, is that having a good time? Is that having fun?
I’m old, I know, and I know that our language changes. Probably with every generation. But, what has happened to “you’re welcome?” What has happened to “of?,” and all of the other words we seem to be dropping, these days? What vulgarities are deemed acceptable in our language, today?
I do not think that a turtle or a tortoise is a pet. It seems to me that a pet is an animal that comes when called, and seems to have some recognition of living with someone. Chere is very independent – as independent as an animal can be, living confined in a habitat.
The internet definition (not the best resource in the world) of thinking / thought is: the process of using one’s mind to consider or reason about something; using thought or rational judgment; intelligent.
I’ve been thinking about what constitutes thought. We humans think. (Well, some of us think; I’m not so sure about others.) We can problem solve. (Again, some of us … ) Problem solving is thinking. Do “dumb” animals think? And, why do we call them “dumb animals?” I’m writing, today, to see if I can puzzle through what I consider thinking. Nothing scientific, you understand. Just my thoughts on what it is that constitutes thinking.
After thinking about what to write in the BLOG, this week, I discarded many topics. Shall I write about our Nation’s Independence? Shall I write about the assault that is happening to my country? Is that too political? And I promised – no politics. As a character in one of my favorite Hallmark movies (Rip in Time) says, “When we fought for our independence, it was really just a theory – democracy; at the time, it seemed like a grand experiment — we didn’t know if we would survive . . . as a people . . . as a country.”
What does it take to move ten yards (or almost twelve ton) of rock from the driveway to the right places in the west side yard, the east side yard, and the back where Larry’s vegetable garden used to be? Rock – first of all; machines, shovels, rakes, wheelbarrows, lots of cold water to drink, and workers with a strong work ethic and lots of muscles!
This has been a very interesting week. It is hot. Alexa says that today’s temperature is 99 – and, it’s only June. Only mid-June, and it’s 99!
You know how it is when a friend calls and tells you something you really don’t want to hear? Sometimes, this premonition washes over you, and you know the friend is going to say something sad. I remember talking with a neighbor while having coffee, and “that” feeling washed over me. She told me that her husband, a prominent pediatric physician, was an alcoholic. She went on to describe situations she encountered as a result of his drunkenness. I didn’t want to sit there and listen – but I did. Clearly, she needed to talk. It helped me, in future situations with other people, to just be quiet and listen. And, if you knew me, just being quiet and listening is not, generally, my strong suit.
This week, I thought I’d show you spring in my yard. Thanks to Larry, who spent three years planning and executing the plan for the flower gardens in the front yard, the plants that have been here for most of that time are starting to bloom.
The spirea bush has been in its location for years. Larry and I always had a difference of opinion – is it or is it not called bridal wreath?Close up of the bridal wreath (my preferred name).The mullein is plentiful, this year. Sometimes, the flower stalk will reach the roof line of the house. The wrens will eat the tiny seeds later in the year.The only flowering plants in the back yard. Bryan and I transplanted Larry’s bed of iris two years ago. Lots of friends took pieces and they are now starting to blossom in their yards.More of Larry’s iris.The climbing rose has buds of red on them. Larry always wanted red roses against the split rail fence.Giant lupine – my addition to the garden last year from seeds given to me by New Mexico friend, Chris. I have never seen lupine this large before!
I’ll leave you with a story about these flower beds. Larry planned to have flowers in the yard. He planned to put the beds in the back yard, but I was able to convince him that the front yard would be better. We are in the front yard every day; not so with the back yard. So, he did.
Planning and executing this project was a three-year event. The first year, we drove throughout the metro area to see what plants bloom when. The second year, he spent double digging (French intensive gardening) the beds.
Double-digging – that means that you dig off the top twelve inches of soil and set it aside. Next, you dig down another twelve inches and turn over the soil. Then, the top twelve inches is returned to its place with “stuff and junk” (my words) that will make the plants grow. And, by the way, this is how he prepared his seven twenty-by-four foot vegetable beds in the back yard.
Finally, the third year involved buying the plants and putting them into their places, according to the his plan. In one of the many gardening catalogs, Larry found a salmon-colored iris that was large and beautiful. Larry really loved that iris but felt that he just couldn’t spend the $40 for the tuber. $40 would now be about $80, I suspect.
I cautiously and not too kindly reminded him that he had just spent three years of his life planning, digging, and planting the beds. He WAS going to spend the $40 for that iris. So, he did. And, surely enough, it became one of the showcase plants in his collection. It will bloom a little later in the spring; I’ll try to remember to show you
There are promises of other blossoms, buds just waiting to pop. Among those are the cottonwood tree kernels that pop and shed cotton ALL over the neighborhood. So, about now, I pray for soft, gentle rains each day to make the cotton stick to itself, fall to the ground, and not blow about the neighborhood.
I hope you have enjoyed the brief tour of Larry’s gardens; there will be more to come.
