Bzzzzz!

I have plenty of BUMblebees in our garden, and thank you, Boru, for reminding me to tell you about them. Hungry flying insects first appeared when the scarlet runner beans that I have on two trellises on either side of the dining room window started to bloom. When the oregano came into flower, more bees came to feast. But now that the globe thistles are showing tiny blue flowers all over their prickly surfaces, the bees are really having a ball.

Speaking of thistles, I've been watching the Scottish thistles in the garden next door.

They are growing in an area that was once a vegetable bed for the lady next door and her granddaughter. The little girl is now grown up and the tomatoes have been replaced by goldenrod, ragweed and tansy -- until this year, that is. Thistles have taken over completely, and some are about three meters (10 feet) tall! Their purple tops are now turning white and the fluffy seeds are drifting our way. Oh dear! The house was sold recently, but the new owners don't seem interested in the garden. I hope that once they complete their indoor renovations they will put a little effort into the wilderness that was once a neat and tidy back yard.

 

Slava Ukraini
Glory to Ukraine

Booty Mask

From time to time I order skin care products from an online pharmacy that offers reward points. Recently, the reward offer (50,000 points after spending a minimum amount) was too good to pass up, so I ordered some products that I regularly use.

Included in my offer were several samples of products I have never used: neck cream, upper arm cream, facial mask, booty mask.

Wait, what? A booty mask? The label promised a firmer, tighter bum with regular use. So I tried it. The label warned to wash hands after applying, and that there might be a tingling sensation. I dipped my fingers into the jar and rubbed it onto my less-than-firm bottom.

Unfortunately, some of the cream strayed into the sensitive area between my cheeks, and my "rosebud" was on fire. Yeowch! I tried to wash off the cream in that area as best I could, but it didn't stop the fire. So I reached for my container of Bag Balm and rubbed some on. If you aren't familiar with it, Bag Balm was originally developed to treat the udders of cows with mastitis, but it has since become quite popular with humans. It's like medicated Vaseline, and is very soothing on delicate areas of the body.

The jar of Booty Mask went into the trash, and my butt cheeks sizzled for about an hour or so. I'll have to learn to live with an unfirm, loose bottom. No more masks for me :)

Slava Ukraini
Glory to Ukraine

The Highlight of my Week

Last Friday morning Ron said to me, "Tomorrow is going to be the highlight of my week."

I was a bit surprised, but pleased. Our regular spanking date is on Saturday, and we'd missed the last two because of family for Thanksgiving and medical concerns. I assumed that was what he meant, but innocently asked, "Why is that?"

"Today's the day we water the air plants!" We both had a good laugh at this, so let me explain.

As a thank-you gift for taking in the mail for our neighbours while they were away, we were given a small ceramic bird with a magnet on the back. The note from our neighbour explained that it was an air plant holder, and that they had had good luck with their plant by soaking it once a week for 20 minutes.

I had never owned an air plant (Tillandsia) but was willing to give it a go. So I went to Etsy and ordered a bunch.

Since the cost of shipping was the same whether I ordered three, six or nine, the more the merrier!

In the meantime, while putting away the gift bag and folding the tissue paper, I discovered an air plant among the wrappings. How thoughtful! I popped the plant into the holder and attached it to the refrigerator door. Very pretty, but what was I going to do with the batch of plants I ordered?

Ron had the idea of putting them in our egg coddlers. 

 

At one time I started a collection of them, in two different sizes. Since we only use two at a time, the rest sit in the cupboard, so why not put them to good use, minus the lids, of course. So now we have a nursery garden of air plants, and together each Saturday we water them together, then enjoy some playtime (wink, wink, nudge, nudge).

Slava Ukraini
Glory to Ukraine

What am I Growing?

We have a rosemary and a bay leaf plant that we keep for adding flavour to our recipes. They live in big terra cotta pots; in the winter the pots are in our front window, but in the spring they go out into the garden. Last June, the rosemary plant perished, so the hunt was on for another. By then the garden centres were all out of herbs, and the supermarkets seemed to have only pots of chives. So the hunt was on.

Instead of going to the seed suppliers I usually use for my annual order, I went to Amazon to save the cost of shipping. I found a source in a faraway land that sold rosemary in packs of 20 seeds and ordered one. Shipping was free, and in a week the seeds arrived in a tiny plastic bag, along with a strip of paper that assured me they were rosemary. I planted four seeds in my Aerogarden and waited. 

According to information I found on the internet, the seeds would take 2-3 weeks to germinate, yet in two days they sprouted. Odd, but good progress. Then they started to grow rapidly, and as they grew they failed to take on the look of a woody rosemary plant. Nor did they have any scent when I broke off a tiny branch. This is what they should have begun to look like:

rosemary

 

But this is what they actually look like:

Not rosemary

 

I looked up "plants that look like rosemary" and that didn't help. The plants are pretty, but what the heck are they? Can anyone help?

Oh, yes, I did eventually find a real rosemary plant at the supermarket, and it is flourishing.

Slava Ukraini
Glory to Ukraine

A Pot Pourri

It's mid-morning, but outdoors it seems like twilight. Canada is experiencing hundreds of forest fires, and although none are close to us, the air is filled with haze from the fires. It smells smoky and there is an air quality alert. Best to stay inside and find something interesting to do. Any suggestions?

The baby bunnies have dispersed and there has been no sign of any of them or their parents since. The garden thanks them!

Speaking of gardens, our tiger lilies are flourishing. For many years they were plagued by lily bugs, small orange beetles that chewed the leaves and ruined the flower buds before they opened. This year there has been no sign of them. Climate change, thank you :)

In blogging news, I have been getting comments flagged as spam. They aren't, though. It's the work of the Blogger bots, ferreting out comments that are many years old from valid readers saying things like "Happy birthday", "Cheers", or "Wow". I sigh just republish them.

In keeping with today's gardening theme, I hope you enjoy these bum-shaped offerings.

Slava Ukraini
Glory to Ukraine

It takes a licking...

and keeps on ticking. That was an old advertising slogan for Timex watches, and I can vouch for its accuracy. Last month I told you about losing a watch the day after Ron gave it to me.

Yesterday, I was out with one of our dogs who was exploring a flower bed. I was keeping a close eye on him in case he deposited something I needed to pick up, when a sparkle caught my eye.

The sun was glinting on something gold and shiny. Could it be my long-lost watch?  I bent over to look more closely, and sure enough, it was! I picked it up. brushed it off, and brought it and the dog inside, where I proudly showed the watch to Ron. It was a little dirty, but still showed the correct time after being exposed to the elements for half a year. The little light even came on when I pressed the stem. I wore it proudly the next day, with a strip of electrical tape over the clasp to be sure it wouldn't go wandering again.

 But that wasn't the only watch to be lost and found. Pictured above is another watch Ron gave me. I loved it and wore it often until one day it disappeared. I searched everywhere but was unsuccessful, so I ordered another one just like it. 

About a year later, I was tidying the area around my desk. I moved a stack of saved bubble wrap next to the wastebasket and lo and behold, there was my watch! Now that was very odd, because I only take a watch off in the bedroom and store it in the dresser. What was it doing on the floor in another room? 

Fast forward a year or so. That particular watch suddenly went AWOL again. Some weeks later Ron discovered it in the drawer of a bookcase in the living room, where we store greeting cards, batteries and other miscellany. How did that watch get there? We'll never know. Perhaps it just likes to go walkabout.

Slava Ukraini
Glory to Ukraine