Progress

Remember my Drastic Measures post? Well, it worked! At least it's working on the smaller of the 2 Ficus trees. This picture is a couple of weeks old but it does show that new growth is coming on. At this time, the new branches are getting longer, the leaves are getting bigger and it's starting to look just a wee bit normal!

Now if the taller of the two would just get busy! Actually I am surprised that the smaller of the two is the one to recover first. Just goes to show ya, mother nature has the last word!

Could This Be Spring?

At last we are seeing the sun. After so many days of rain and grey skies, it's a joy to see the sun. Clear skies and no snow. Feels like Spring! We've hit above the 50 degree mark today and looks like we might enjoy the same thing tomorrow. I can take it!

I don't think I'm jinxing anything by talking out loud about our great weather. It's early March and things can change, but I'll wallow in the warmth while I can.

Drastic Measures!

Do you recognize these? No? They are Ficus trees! Yep, sorry looking as they are. They seem to drop their leaves just by looking at them. So I started to investigate them and discovered that they had scale. Weird to look at, little flat, brown splotches that were most prevalent on the newest, greenest growth. And there were little sticky spots on the leaves too. At the same time that the damage was being done, the trees were starting to put out new leaves.

I thought that by cutting everything back I would get rid of the pests. By brushing some insecticidal soap over all of the remaining branches, the new growth will be unaffected. And it's still early enough that the trees should put out new leaves and new branches as spring approaches.

That's the plan anyway. Hope this works, otherwise I now have 2 new modern sculptures in the bedroom!

And more!

More Winter Blooms

Still getting the hang of this blogging stuff and discovered I should write and post a pic and put it up instead of trying to add more that one picture at a time. The words then, don't match the picture! so with that in mind, here are some more blooms.

Winter Blooms

Winter is so long and I miss being able to work out in the garden. But I don't have to miss out on the beauty of flowers blooming. I have orchids that bloom throughout the year and enjoy them regardless of the outside temperatures.

The Cymbidium in this first picture bloomed for almost 3 months. I got it in a swap when the flower spike was only 3" tall. I watched it grow to 24" and open to the palest pink color with a dark mahogany color on the lip. The flowers, all 11 of them, were about 3-4" in size. The fragrance reminded me or tulips.

I never used to pay that much attention to orchids. I'd see them occasionally in the market, just plain white or lavender and think that they were rather ho hum. But visiting a local independent nursery, I noticed that there were all kinds of flowers in the greenhouse that I had never seen before. Once I learned they were orchids I was surprised to realize that there were so many unusual shapes and colors to choose from.

I bought a good all purpose book on orchids and devoured it in no time. I then went back to the nursery and chose one that appealed to me and at the same time was of no great expense. I figured the price was worth the learning experience if it should die. Eventually it did die. but I also learned that I just couldn't grow that type. I even tried another of the same kind a couple of years later with the same sad results!

since that time i have become more involved with orchids and can now appreciate those so called ho hum orchids in the store.

These pictures are all of the orchid Phalenopsis. Not a boring one in the bunch. They are all beautiful in their own way. The colors speak for themselves. The shapes are essentially the same but the size and color variations make each unique.

All these are adding to the winter color in my home.

Has It Really Been This Long?

I never did get started with this blogging when I thought I would. After some conversations about blogging, with friends, I thought about my neglected start. Here I am again, going to give it another try. So bear with me during these beginnings. I'm sure I'll get the hang of it eventually.

I have been spending lots of time reading and can say that I read 88 books during 2009. I am making a great start this year with a baker's dozen read so far. Most of what I have been reading though hasn't been by any authors on my list. Mysteries and who dunnit's have always been my favorites ...starting with Nancy Drew in grade school!

Visiting our small town memorial library is a weekly event that I look forward to. While the library is small, we have the advantage of inter library loan so I am able to get just about anything on my reading list. I work up a list and give it to my librarian so that she can submit the requests. It may take a few weeks to get some of the books but that's alright. They come from all over the state and I'm not the only one who wants to read them.

I have always liked going to the library. I remember when I was young and the library was just a few blocks away from our house. With my youngest sister in the stroller, mom and the rest of us would walk down to the library in the afternoons. At that time, to a child's mind, the walk seemed to be so very long and take forever. But once at the library, it was well worth the distance! The stacks and stacks of books, the tables, lamps, and the smell of old paper.

Years later the library moved farther away and it was no longer in walking distance. By then we had grown some. On saturday mornings, we along with our friends would pile into the car and daddy would drive us there. I don't remember how long we would spend at the library. Daddy would wait patiently for us in the car, smoking his pipe and enjoying the sun and quiet. Once finished and our ams loaded, we'd all pile back into the car for the ride home, showing each other what we had checked out.

Those are pleasant memories. And I am still in love with books. When was the last time you ventured into your nearest library?