Amaryllis Watch - Week Two

For this second week of Amaryllis Watch 2016 - 207, I present to you all the excitement and fast-paced action of watching plants grow.

Nothing visible has happened with the old bulb I planted last week, and it's the same story with the "new" old bulb I planted this week. My rescued amaryllis is very, very slowly beginning to straighten, by about 25° over the week. That's what my protractor tells me, and science is nothing without data.

Last week was very grey and overcast, with only about six hours of sunlight bright enough to cast a shadow all week. I'm hoping for more light next week, some tiny little bit of green appearing on the old bulbs, and some more straightening.

It's a good thing I work at home so I can carry my amaryllis around the house to various windowsills so they get the most light possible throughout the day. An outside employer might not be so understanding of my caretaker responsibilities! I shouldn't be taking credit when really it was the sun and plant hormones doing the work. Come on auxin!

Amaryllis Watch 2016 - 2017

Have you seen those commercials where Sarah McLachlan talks about donating to the SPCA and urges people to consider rescuing animals while heartbreaking pictures of the cats and dogs are shown? I know it's not quite the same thing, but I could have sworn I heard Sarah McLachlan's voice as my cart veered toward a large display of amaryllis while shopping the other day.

There were probably a hundred or more bare amaryllis bulbs, packaged in a pot with a cardboard cover tight on the top. I don't need any more amaryllis as I have five or six ready to be repotted for reblooming. But then I spotted the one valiant, dauntless bulb, that even without soil, light,or water had still managed to produce a flower stalk which was growing sideways out from under the cardboard cover. That seemed an amazing feat to me, so I rescued it, brought it home to plant, and so begins Amaryllis Watch 2016 - 2017.

It's obviously the one on the left with the flower stalk and leaves bent at right angles, but I'm hoping that with a little TLC and sunlight, positive phototropism will work its magic and it will soon straighten out. The one on the right is one of my old bulbs that I repotted in hopes that they would provide each other with a little company and encouragement.

Sunlight has been in short supply here for the past four or five days, but now that I've rescued this amaryllis, we're both going to be looking for the light.

Almost ...

Since today is a little bit special, I set out with my phone to take a few photos.

I inhaled the intoxicating aroma of our honeysuckle.

Took some time to appreciate the plenitude and beauty of the roses.

Was delighted by my bleeding heart blooms, especially because I just planted them.

And also found a couple of other things to photograph.

I've been thinking of my age as "almost 60" for several years now. This is my last year of "almost" and I'm going to make the most of it!

Still Life in Brown and Green

I hesitate to post these photos because they sure don't look like much, but this is the beginning of the garden this year. We planted tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, zucchini, Napa cabbage, and Brussels sprouts over Mother's Day weekend.

If you squint just the right way and use your imagination, you'll see some turnips, chard, spinach, beans, and peas in this muddy expanse. Spring weather has been quite variable here -- first it was warm and dry and the peas and beans didn't germinate even when we were careful about watering, then we had ten days of cold and rain so the seeds just rotted in the ground. They've all been replanted, so fingers crossed!

We had lots of extra plants that I had started from seed, so we planted our "offsite" garden at my mother-in-law's with more tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, zucchini, beans, and watermelons.

Five varieties of tomatoes are planted, caged, and mulched.

I have a little bit of space for flowers within the fenced vegetable garden and I'm especially excited that my columbines seem to be doing well. I started them in pots from seeds last summer (wrong time, they're meant to be sown directly in the fall) and they weren't ready to plant outside last year. These are small and also don't look like much now, but they have grown, and I have even more that I started from seed to plant outside.

These bits of green in muddy brown soil are underwhelming now, but I'm thinking of them as the "Before" photos to compare with the hopefully more impressive and verdant "After" pictures in a month or two.

Older, Wiser, and Happy Birthday!

Nobody is more deserving of a rare Sunday post than this kid. 

Today is Justin's 23rd birthday, and while I can hardly believe how fast the years have flown, he has grown into a young man that I'm exceedingly proud of. He's charming, funny, able to think for himself, solve problems, and do the right thing, even when it's not the easy thing.

Justin is interested in all types of wildlife, from large-mouth bass (always catch and release), to bears, chipmunks, and horned lizards that shoot blood out of their eyes to deter predators.

He taught himself how to taxidermy rattlesnake skins (which I think is pretty darn cool).

 He also has a fine appreciation of sunrises, sunsets, and the beauty of nature.

In a recent Messenger conversation he said, "Work hard, learn something, take pride in your work, and good things will come." Justin does all those things and I wish only good things for my wonderful son!

Right Now - February 2016

Working On - Taxes. Tallying property tax amounts and medical expenses, trying to understand IRS rules concerning HDHP and HSA, and what to do with a 1095-C from an ALE. Oh, the drudgery and resentment of every single moment that I spend trying to get our money back. On a positive note, I was happy to figure out that we could still claim an exemption for Justin, even though it's the last year for that.

Watching - The Walking Dead. I am so not a watcher of anything dark, yucky, or about zombies, but strangely enough I've gotten hooked on this. I blame Justin. Yes, there are plenty of times that I have to cover my eyes and look away from the screen, and I may not be able to watch more than one season, but the characters are complex and multi-dimensional and the story is compelling. I find it especially chilling that some of the worst characters are not the walking dead, but the evil humans.

Knitting - Baby alpaca fingerless mitts. My fingers are freezing!

Learning - Calculus, still. It may be time to move on or get a better teacher. (I'm trying to teach myself :-)

Reading - A Doubter's Almanac, Last Chance to See, and A Mother's Reckoning. Very different from each other but equally interesting.

Wondering - Why the front axle on my 2012 Forester has to be replaced. It's under warranty, but cost isn't the issue (for now, anyway), safety is. I've liked this car so far, but after having the steering rack replaced twice, along with the left and right rear axles, multiple recalls for the brake lines and the thermostat, and now the front axle issue, I'm seriously questioning whether my next vehicle will be a Subaru.

Wishing - That the service advisors and mechanics at Subaru service would listen to me when I describe my car's symptoms and not make me feel like I'm being dismissed simply because I'm female. I came dangerously close to yelling this time, and I'm proud of myself for not saying, "See, I told you so!" when it was the front axle, just like I told them. I'll be giving some serious thought to my survey response to Subaru when/if this latest repair is completed.

Drinking - RumChata. Come to think of it, Justin may be responsible for this also. We were at the liquor store and he mentioned that he thought I might like it. I replied that I had more than enough wine, beer, and Scotch at home, but his answer was, "Come on, Mom. You only live once!" That sounded almost like a dare, so of course I had to take him up on it. It's a creamy rum-based lightly cinnamon-flavored liqueur that is delicious in tea and hot chocolate, and addictive when added to chai. I may be on my second bottle. (I blame Subaru.)

Eating - Mashed potatoes. I've been craving their creamy, buttery goodness and since I'm the cook, that's part of what we're having for dinner tonight.

Hoping -That my indoor hyacinths bloom soon. I'm anxious for that delightful spring-like fragrance since our spring-like weather has been quite changeable.

Planning - We did a lot of planning for a possible summer vacation in Alaska, but for many reasons, it doesn't look like that will work out. So now I'm planning my next visit to Colorado. It will cost less and have more yarn.

Starting - a Hitchhiker with this yarn. It will be an antidote to the drab end of February and I can also use it as a reward for working on taxes.

Trusting - That the universe is unfolding as it should, and sometimes wishing that I could nudge it to unfold in slightly better ways. :-)

What's going on in your world right now?

Look What I Found!

I was out refilling the bird feeders when I spotted some bits of white out of the corner of my eye. At first, I thought they were little patches of snow, but I found something quite different when I walked over for a closer look.

Snowdrops!

Possibly the smallest snowdrops I've ever had, and I'm not sure the flowers

 will survive the frigid temperatures and howling winds to ever open, 

but they are snowdrops nonetheless.

These two are barely an inch tall, but they've managed

 to push through the frost-heaved ground to make an appearance.

Our high today is only supposed to be 15°, with lows this weekend of -10° 

along with 20-30 mph winds. I don't know what these intrepid snowdrops 

will look like once temperatures finally warm up, but I am grateful that they've
 braved the winter weather to remind me that spring will indeed be arriving.

Wishing you a happy and warm weekend, along with hopes of spring!

The Big Dig Out

Just in case you haven't seen enough snow pictures from the east coast storm this weekend, I've got a few more. Here in central New Jersey we ended up with anywhere from 27" to 34", depending on where you measure; the official National Weather Service amount was 28.3". We had some drifts like this one that were over 40".

The wind scoured the snow away from the back corner of our house 

(thanks, wind, that was one less downspout I had to dig out!), but also managed to nearly

 bury my neighbor's cars. There is a Volkwagen under that pile of snow behind the
maroon van. The wind was fierce but thankfully we didn't lose power.

John and Justin waded through thigh-high snow to dig out the snowblower.

 

This mountain of snow at the end of the driveway may melt by March or April.

Here you can see some of the 34" walls of snow we had to dig through to

 clear the sidewalk.

It looks like I won't be hanging out any laundry for a while, not without putting on my
hip-high waders. My sister did point out I could hang short things. :-)

Here's Justin, our snow-clearing hero, relaxing in the sun after tunneling through one of the 40" drifts. He manned the snowblower while John and I shoveled all the places that aren't snowblower-accessible, then grabbed a shovel to help us dig out all the vehicles and aid his weary parents with the final clean up. It took the three of us six hours to dig out, and I'm so grateful we had Justin's help!

Saturday Sky

So far, this Saturday Sky has brought us 18" of snow and 40 mph winds, 

with another 10-12" predicted before it ends tomorrow. 

Yikes.

Right Now - January 2016

Watching - The Detectorists, a quirky, endearing, compelling British series on Netflix. The storyline is summarized thusly: "The lives of two eccentric metal detectorists, who spend their days plodding along ploughed tracks and open fields, hoping to disturb the tedium by unearthing the fortune of a lifetime", but it is so much better than that dry description. There are only six episodes in the first season, but I've watched them all at least three times. Season 2 has been shown in the UK, so hopefully it will be available here soon. The theme song above is hauntingly beautiful and figures brilliantly in Episode 3. 

Knitting - A Twisted Rib Cowl (note to self: forgotten yarnovers are not fun to fix, especially three long rows later) and my seventh pair of Jacoby fingerless mitts, now with more alpaca.

Learning - Calculus. (note to self: calculus is hard.)

Reading - My Name is Lucy Barton and When Breath Becomes Air. Both books are original and wonderful in their own ways so I'm reading slowly and savoring.

Thinking about - What to make for dinner. It seems that I make the same six or seven things in an endless boring cycle. Maybe it's just because I'm making a lot of soups and stews lately, but it wouldn't hurt to add some variety and spice to the rotation. 

Drinking - Lots of hot tea to stay warm.

Eating - Game meat. We've been gifted with some red deer, bear, and venison, which are all perfect for winter soups and stews.

Starting - To think about what to plant in the garden this year. This would be hard not to do with the avalanche of tempting and hopeful seed catalogs that have arrived.

Hoping - That John survives some long, intense, and important projects at work. He's working 12-hour days, doing work "homework" when he does come home, and working weekends. I'm hoping February is a kinder, gentler month for him.

Wishing - That we had a third person to play Euchre. Justin's internship ended, so he's back home and looking for a job. He learned to play Euchre with the great bunch of guys he worked with, taught us, and I've really enjoyed learning the game and am beginning to understand strategy. You need at least three people to play, but John's been so busy (see above) that he can't join us. Justin isn't interested in Scrabble or Monopoly, so we have even considered resorting to a jigsaw puzzle.

Dreading - The approaching tax season.

Planning - A summer vacation. Maybe Alaska? Maybe Victoria, BC? Maybe both?

Trusting - That the universe is unfolding as it should.

What's going on in your world right now? 

Ten on Tuesday - More and Less

This photo has nothing to do with 10 on Tuesday; it's just a cross-section photomicrograph of grass that makes me happy.

The Ten on Tuesday topic for today is an interesting consideration of 5 things you want to do less in the new year and 5 things you want to do more. This seems like an especially good way to list the ways I'd like to live in 2015, so I was able to come up with more than five fairly quickly. I'm in no way promising I'm going to be a learned, walking, encouraging, mindful listener by the end of the year, but I am going to be taking the necessary and ongoing small steps.

I may have to post this next to my kitchen sink as a reminder!

 Looking forward to reading more Ten on Tuesday more and less lists ...

My Year in Books

I've tried to figure out how to share my reading in 2015, and it looks like the easiest way may be through goodreads' compilation of My Year in Books.

In 2015 I read:

• 83 books
• 26,899 pages
• 12 5-star books
• 31 4-star books
• 31 3-star books
• 8 2-star books
• 1 that I couldn't bring myself to award any stars (Hausfrau in case you're wondering.) 

Some of my favorites in 2015 include:

• Our Souls at Night
• The Wild Inside
• A Man Called Ove
• Truck
• Mink River
• Gratitude

Some books that I'm looking forward to in 2016:

• My Name is Lucy Barton by Elizabeth Strout. I loved Olive Kitteridge, thought that The Burgess Boys was just average, but I think I'll be listening to this one as soon as it's released on Jan. 12th.
• Barskins by Annie Proulx. This won't be published until June and doesn't seem to be in goodreads yet, but since she's the author of The Shipping News, I have to give it a try.
• A Doubter's Almanac by Ethan Canin
• Pax by Sara Pennypacker. This is juvenile fiction, but the irresistible cover makes me want to read it.

 Here's hoping you have some time this year to enjoy a good book (or two)!

I'd love to hear what you're excited about reading in 2016.

A Memory Jar to Jar My Memory

New starts always feel like great opportunities to wipe the slate clean, begin again, and try to do things better. January 1st is a BIG new start, but I've certainly learned over the years that trying to do too much, too quickly, too perfectly inevitably results in frustration and failure on my part. So, my New Year plans for 2016 are simple.

I've got one resolution (I'll elaborate in a later post) and I'm doing one thing. I think both of these will have some interesting and long-term results, but on the surface they are straightforward and uncomplicated, greatly increasing my chances of actually carrying them out.

My one thing is a jar. Not a new or original idea by any means, but one that Justin brought to my attention after he read a facebook post. The idea is to write something every day on a small piece of paper, fold it up, put it in your jar, and then dump them out and read them all next New Year's Eve. The fact that a 22-year-old male thought this was meaningful enough to mention to his mother really struck me, so that's what I'm doing.

People have written about something they're grateful for, an accomplishment that day, or just something lovely that they noticed. I'm not giving myself any constraints, just that I write something positive. We shall see what this year brings.

Wishing everyone health, happiness, love, and something memorable every day in 2016!