Back to Blogging, Looking Like a Drowned Rat

We had an unexpected death in the family, then Hurricane Matthew. That's why I haven't blogged in awhile. I'm still feeling quite bedraggled and befuddled, but here I am.

We lost our longtime furry companion. Fortunately, these days more people "get it" that when our other-species companions leave, it hurts a lot. We're losing some of our human arrogance and realizing that relationships with other creatures can be strong and meaningful. That's progress!

It doesn't matter if a loved one is old or young, sick or healthy when they leave. We miss them and it hurts. One of my teachers explained that grief has 3 parts- you feel for them because they suffered and you couldn't stop the suffering, you want to know where their spirit has gone and if they are OK, and mostly, you suffer from the hole in your heart where they used to be. Takes time to work through it all and incorporate the pain into a new version of you, but it does happen:

The Day After, MRobb, 2016

So right after this happened, we had to evacuate 100 miles to escape from Major Hurricane Matthew. Packing our lives into a few small suitcases was a 12-hour marathon I call Speed Prioritizing Your Life. It was quite interesting, and I never want to do it again. I'll write more about it later, most likely.

Fortunately, Matthew took a little wobble to the east ("Wobble, Matthew, Wobble!) and we only lost part of our roof and several chunks of ceiling. Our neighborhood is a mess, but it's livable:

I am feeling very grateful to God and LaSirene for moving Matthew a little to the right...

LaSirene, MRobb, 2012

but also feeling sad and worried for those to the North who are dealing with some horrendous floods.
OK, so what about the garden, after all, this is a garden blog. Well, my indoor garden is OK, but the outside garden is basically gone:

The only thing that stayed standing was one bedraggled schefflera and the Buddha sculpture, and a few Leaf of Life plants from Jamaica:

I did, however, find horseshoe crabs in the garden, left by the storm surge and fierce winds:

Our beach lost a lot of sand it didn't really have enough of in the first place, but the sky was incredibly blue from the fresh and clean air after Matthew roared through:

After the Hurricane, MRobb, Oct2016

So my Weekend Walkabout will be in the clean, fresh air, surrounded by piles of rubble. Hmm.

Adromischus cristatus, the Key Lime Pie Plant, Blooms!

My original post on the Key Lime Pie Plant, aka Adromischus cristatus, remains one of my top 3 popular blog posts. Who could have guessed?

Adromischus cristatus, MRobb

This plant is now bigger, has had multiple children, and is still going strong. This week, it bloomed next to my blue garden Buddha....

Key Lime Pie Plant and Buddha, MRobb, 2016

You can see that as the plant matures, those orange adventitious roots go nutty, and daughter plants sprout alongside the mother plant. Each leaf can start a new plant, so every once in a while, I pinch off a leaf, dip it in rooting hormone, and "throw it and grow it". Wonderful!
And here's a nice pic of a few American Fish Crows from our local Clan Munin:

American Fish Crows, MRobb, 2016

As I always like to say, they are as intelligent as chimpanzees, and as sociable as we are. Love 'em!
Have a great weekend!

Weekend Walkabout? Not So Much....

I recently had major dental surgery so I am too zonked out to think of anything intelligent or amusing to post for y'all! Please forgive me, I'll be back in a few days. Happy gardening to you all in the meantime!

Lantana, MRobb

Frithia pulchra, MRobb

Mammillaria, MRobb

Now back to bed for me....

Think About It Thursday: Is Life Seeded by Comets and Asteroids??

The OSIRIS-REx Mission may be able to answer those questions, at least a little. Cuz' it's gonna land on an asteroid! To follow this way cool mission, launching from Cape Canaveral, Florida, tonight, check out the website:

http://www.asteroidmission.org/

But hey, every post needs a picture. And I don't have one of OSIRIS-REx. So, on a totally unrelated topic, here's how the Blackwork Embroidery is going:

What do embroidery and asteroids have in common? Well, maybe asteroid-seeded life forms that like to do embroidery? Who knows? We will, someday. Maybe.
Happy gardening and creating, everyone!

Weekend Walkabout: A Baby Bloomin' Babytoes, Goodbye Hermine, and Blackwork

So Hermine has said goodbye, the first landfalling hurricane here in 11 years. We had a lot of rain and wind, but thankfully, no storm surge on our sand dune.

I have a young Babytoes which is not like my other Babytoes- it's an aurantica! That means its flowers are quite yellow, although it could be a hybrid, as the petals are a light yellow, but not white:

Blooming Baby Babytoes, Aurantica Hybrid???

And I'm working hard on my Blackwork sampler, because I really loved the series "The Tudors", and the magnificent blackwork embroidery in those linen undershirts caught my eye. One of the women in my embroidery group took pity on me and gave me a full course on blackwork embroidery from the 1970s, and this is where I'm at with it:

It's extremely painstaking and meticulous work, but very rewarding. May take several months, but I'll get it! In the meantime, happy gardening and creating!

How To Water Tillies in a Tropical Storm

How do you water Tillies in a tropical storm? I found out today with the outer rainbands of Tropical Storm Hermine. The answer is...don't.

Fellow weather spotters had been tracking Hermine (aka 99L, aka TD9) for two weeks. The models promised development, but shear and dry air kept ripping her up. We became bored and complacent.

Today, she finally pulled it together. And then some. Without warning, we got drenched!

Outer Rainband, TS Hermine, 2016

My Tillies were outside in their buckets, waiting for what I thought would be a nice summer shower. Instead, we got 45mph (about 90kph) winds and drenching rain. The Tillies became...concerned (probably).

Waiting for a little summer shower....

I really did not want to go out there and rescue them, but I did. They were starting to blow out of the buckets.

Jeepers! I have to go out there???

Now they're safe and sound, and well-watered, as am I. Like a drowned rat....
Alert Gardeners' Tip: If a tropical storm or hurricane is in your area, keep yourself, and your Tillies inside!

Safely home in their Tillie Tower.

Weekend Walkabout: Munin the Fish Crow and the Bloomin' Babytoes

Babytoes bloomed today, just in time for the weekend. And I finished a difficult painting, a tiny little thing that has been bugging me for months (another in my New Orleans Wall Fragment series), so I put them together for a mini-portrait:

Bloomin' Babytoes with New Orleans Wall Fragment 2, MRobb, 2016

After a whole month of drought, we got a lot of rain (phew, no more evening waterings!), so I thought I'd publish a portrait of Munin, our resident Fish Crow Patriarch and Way Cool Corvid, enjoying the rain on my fence- have I mentioned that Fish Crows are as intelligent as chimps?

Munin in Rain, MRobb, 2016

Here's a more regular portrait of Munin, singing on the balcony while I play my HAPI drum:

Munin at Dawn, MRobb, 2016

And finally, a new soul window, from an indigo center to a bright yellow outer ring. This one will go to the winner of our local poetry contest:

Soul Window, Indigo to Yellow, MRobb, 2016

Have a wonderful weekend and happy gardening!