What's Been Happening...

I have been some kind of busy since last posting, and am going to have to play catch-up. You know... with getting a new phone line to replace the one that the lightning melted. That's still not completely finished. We're going to have to talk to Ma Bell, aka AT&T, about finishing hooking up the new line and removing the temporary one. The new line had to be buried because of my all my trees. At least we got that far. Your guess is as good as mine to finishing the connection.

Also, the old power adaptor for the computer indeed did succumb to the effects of the lightning strike. Evidently the wires were so weaked that they simply broke... at the most inconvenient moment, of course. However, the Lord has provided, and all the bills are being paid. It's been keeping up with the e-mails and online communications which has been killing me. :-)

As for the Lord providing, my church has a crew of men who handle emergencies. They were my angels. Here they are, repairing the roof. Because of their unselfish generosity, I was able to afford it.

And look what a beautiful job that they did. This is Christian love in action. I cannot thank them enough. God bless them, and may we all learn from their example.

Due to recent current events, I've been applying my writing to other areas than to the Science Fiction Romance which is the book of my heart. Pray that I may be able to eventually return to my labor of love. The Supreme Poodle Pasha Zackery still rules, and his HaremKitty MaxiCat followes him everywhere... At the moment, it's my lap. With both of them and the computer, the lap's rather crowded.

Happy Writing and God be with you,

Frances

Writing to inform my friends of what is happening in our nation.

My Secret Garden – July 2009

How doth my garden grow? Until day before yesterday... it didn’t! Don't take this picture seriously. I just loved the kitschyness of it.


After a spring of rain, rain, rain, jungle, jungle, jungle, we’ve gone for over two months with less than ½ inch of water from heaven...which we have now gotten... yes, day before yesterday! Flowers, basically, had stopped; and, their leaves wilted and turned brown. Even the grass stopped growing, and I haven’t had to mow in weeks. Last night it poured and we're expecting more later. Hurrah! Just so long as it doesn't storm violently. Such are the vagaries of summer gardens of the Deep South. If we can't eat it, and it isn’t watered by God, it doesn’t grow. On my hill...it is root hog or die.


Except...we did water the vegetable garden which my roommate and I planted in my patio. I have success to report in this department. Well, qualified success. The Supreme Poodle Pasha Zackery, MaxieHaremKitty, and catnip have done their work. They have been ferocious defenders of the growing larder (they both like lasanga). This year, the deer haven’t gotten fat at our table’s expense. Houston, we have tomatoes. The watermelon, squash, cucumber and eggplant have been busts. Never made it off the launch pad. But there have been other problems in our organic garden.



First, it was the roly-polies. They are those tiny grey crustaceans which roll up into a ball when you touch them and are supposed to clean up dead leaves. Except, they decided that tiny new plants, dianthus in particular, were gourmet provinder! Sorry, the dianthus had to go... and the roly-polies returned to their proper duties.


Next, it has been the Tomato Horn Worms. They’re about the size of your little finger, and are truly voracious


MONSTERS. My roommate calls them the “pedophiles of the garden”. She says Horn Worms like ‘em “young and tender”. Yes, I know, vulgar, but she did give me permission to use the phrase. It isn’t a patch on what she really said the morning she found the top growth eaten off of all our tomato plants, so thank your lucky stars for my tender sensibilities in not repeating her exact words. Picking these worms off the plants over several days and spraying the plants with a Pears soap solution did the trick. The plants are now recovering and continuing to produce. We hear that pure diatomaceous earth works on both roly-polies and horn worms. Oh, well, next year!


Last night we had the first real rain since May. Everything has perked back up. The cashmere bouquet and summer phlox are no longer wilted, but are beginning to bloom again. The confederate jasmine has also started blooming once more. The daylilies are all rebloomers, but will take some time to recover. The next flowers to bloom on my garden calendar are the Philippine Lilies and the Naked Lady Lilies. I’ll post pictures as they open.


Happy writing, happy gardening,



Frances

Gardening and Writing Science Fiction Romance
Real Love in a Real Future

P.S. I haven't forgotten about History, Part III!

How Doth My Secret... Jungle Grow?

Err, ah, I meant my garden... It’s supposed to be a garden? Isn’t it?

June is the month of unbridled growth in the US Deep South and I can’t keep up with it! Never have, and probably never will. I might as well face facts. The grass is going to remain above my knees this month. Perhaps I can catch up next month.

The overwhelming color in my garden is VIRULENT JUNGLE GREEN! Of course there are other colors too. Lots of other colors! I have many aims in my garden: twelve months of bloom; gaudy color; good smell; feed the birds; feed the butterflies; and above all... be able to survive without any effort from me!

Remember that if you want to see a larger version of any of the pictures, simply click on the picture.

New Gold Lantana attracts butterflies and humming birds. Be careful of lantanas, because the berries are extremely poisonous. This variety has almost no berries. It was developed at Mississippi State University and exceptionally well suited to mid-latitude growing zones. It’s a good, hardy plant.

Homestead Purple Verbena also attracts butterflies and hummingbirds. Very hardy. Mow it after its first bloom and it will bloom again.

Butterfly Weed, also known as Pleurisy Root by herbalists, is... you got it... loved by butterflies and hummingbirds. Slow starter, but very hardy after established. The North American Indians used a tea from its roots as an expectorant.

Multiple Daylilies, old fashioned orange (single and double), yellow, pink, peach, orange, bright red, deep black red, purple, and all sorts of multi-colors. With new hybridizing, they come in almost every color, are fragrant, and the band ought to play ruffles and flourishes in their honor.

Oakleaf Hydrangea, wild, all through my woods. A very large, stately shrub.

Old Fashioned, Heirloom Hydrangea, you know, the type that your great grandmother had, and were used to decorate for your grade school graduation. They can be anywhere from blue to purple to pink, depending upon how the mood strikes them.

Buddleias, both pink and blue, have a wonderful, delicate fragrance, and of course... are loved by butterflies and hummingbirds.

Gardenia fragrance can be almost overwhelming, so I recommend not planting them too close to the house. They can get pretty large and need pruning... which for me is a pain. However, the cuttings root easily. I love them.

Magnolia Grandiflora, wonderful, lemony fragrance, and I just found a new tree growing on my hill this spring. Whoopee! I need all of these large evergreen trees that I can get.

Cashmere Bouquet can be a spectacular garden THUG. It’s decided to take over one of my beds and... everyone loves it! I guess I’ll let it stay. The flowers were used for the perfume and soap which our grandmothers loved. The flowers do smell wonderful. However, don’t mess with the leaves. They stink worse than a skunk!

White Yarrow is a lovely white light in a deep green jungle. Before the advent of modern medicine, its leaves were used to stop bleeding.

My roommate decided to engage in biological warfare for the vegetable garden. Besides planting the garden in the patio under the bedroom window, so that the Supreme Poodle Pasha Zackery can guard it, and he has been diligent, she has planted catnip among the tomatoes, peppers and squash. Now, Her Serene Highness Maxine, the royal Harem Kitty, has taken up residence in the middle of our vegetable garden. No one, but no one is allowed to approach her catnip. Heaven help the deer this year.

After days and days of rain, it has been an absolutely gorgeous day here. I wish the same for you.

Happy gardening, happy reading, and happy writing,

Frances

Writing Science Fiction Romance
Real Love in a Real Future

My Secret Garden, April and May 2009

By the end of April, my German Bearded Iris had faded (but only for the time being, since I have rebloomers). Now, my Amaryllis have come in and are still blooming. My Daylilies have just begun. They'll reach their peak about the first of June and continue until Fall. But, that'll be for next month's blog.

As far as blogging about about my garden in April... once had to suffice, both then and now. I am too busy working. Spring is work time. All flowering shrubs such as forsythia or azaleas must be cut back within six weeks of their blooms ending so that the blooms for next year aren't obliterated by the prunning. Same for wisteria. This doesn't even cover the grass which just topped my knees.

There are also the flower beds to be cleaned. When you live on dirt which could truthfully be spelled c-o-n-c-r-e-t-e, one must weed while the gound is soaked by the Spring storms or it doesn't do a bit of good. Roots left in the ground multiply. And, for heaven's sake, don't forget preventing errosion! Holes must be filled, and liriope planted on hillsides. The liriope comes out of the beds which are being cleaned, and... it's a never ending circle.

Then there is the vegetable garden. This year we moved it under the bedroom window because of the deer. We had very fat dear last year when the garden was away from the house. We got three tomatoes, and the deer got the rest, as well as the squash, the peppers, the eggplants, and the mellons. I hate Bambi! The Supreme Poodle Pasha Zackery has his work cut out for him this year. Keep the deer away or no lasagna, dog! Don't tell me that you weren't warned.

And MaxieCat, don't even think about letting up on Chip and Dale! The first time that I see one of my plants disappear down a hole, you are getting the terrible lecture, cat!

And people wonder why my children don't respect me!

Hoping your Spring is wonderful too,

Frances

Writing Science Fiction Romance

Real Love in a Real Future

5/19/2009 Garden Update:

The Peonies have finished blooming and the Confederate Jasmine is in full fragrance. Gee it smells good around here. :-)

Frances

Merry Christmas...and BTW

Help! Help! I'm being held captive by the Supreme Poodle Pasha Zackery and the harem kitty, MaxieCat. They won't let me go.

This morning, MaxieCat asked to come into the house. Pasha Zackery jumped on me to let her in. What she wants, he is going to see that she gets. I was trying to write! I got up and let his girl friend into the house. I went back to trying to write.

Then MaxieCat decided that she wanted my lap. The computer was in my lap. Pasha Zack was on my shoulders. Pandamonium ensued. Pasha Zack said (in extremely loud and ungentlemanly terms, and also next to my ear - I wonder why I have this ringing in my ears?) that my person belonged to him alone. Evidently, what he is willing to sacrifice for true love has some limitations. MaxieCat ignored him, and shoved.

The upshot is that Pasha Zackery has retained his shoulder rights, and now MaxieCat is sharing my lap with the computer as she gives herself and my hands a bath... while I continue to try to write...with ringing in my ears. The computer is doing very strange things with human fingers and kitty fingers all mixed together. Communal effort was not what I had in mind as I began writing this morning. I write Science Fiction Romance... while I try to deal with inter-species romance.

May you have Peace and Joy in your house... even if I am beginning to wonder if such a thing exists.

Happy writing

Frances

Writing Science Fiction Romance

Real Love in a Real Future