Badly damaged by the late frosts, but this proud fuchsia is proud to be here…
Image by Gabriela Piwowarska from Pixabay
#Macro Monday…
#challenge
#Six on Saturday… (sorry there are no flowers…)
This week there were no new flowers to be seen in our garden, but everything was happening in the growing area.
Mainly dahlias because I have been meaning to grow these for ages, and three of the ones I planted in April are getting on with the business in spectacular form.
I tried to be professional with these dahlias. I brought new labels and a posh marker pen, so I would know what colour they were.
But… the pen was rubbish. The first time I watered the pots, the ink ran away. I have no idea which is which, so I can’t wait to see them bloom…
These seeds were an impulse buy. Everyone in my family loves sunflowers, but I was getting fed up with the usual spindly 12 feet high specimens that never seem to stay upright. Last year I grew supposedly dwarf specimens which were an improvement…
2022 Look at all those flower buds!
So when I saw seeds for a blood-red sunflower, I knew I had to have them.
If the snails can leave them alone long enough, we might get to see them in all their glory!
While I was buying seeds, I picked up some Alysum and Aubretia, just because.
I have never been very lucky with seeds, as sometimes they grow but often do not, so time will tell…
Finally, I am becoming very fond of this cutting of a weeping willow from our local pond.
Three years old already, and I think I have persuaded it to weep a little…
It has a very promising future, I think…
This post is inspired by Jim Stevens, who really knows all about #SixonSaturday: https://gardenruminations.co.uk/2023/05/27/six-on-saturday-27-5-2023
#Colleen’s Magical #Poetry Challenge…
#TankaTuesday Weekly #Poetry Challenge No. 321, 5/23/23
Let’s get magical!
Image by ThePixelman from Pixabay
Today, Colleen Chesebro’s challenge is an acrostic poem, and we know how much Anita loves acrostic poetry!
©AnitaDawes2023
Milo… growing up!
You will probably remember Milo. That adorable marmalade and white kitten who arrived unexpectedly just before Christmas?
Turned out to be a bit of a monster. Still adorable, of course. Very affectionate and all that, but still a monster.
There are times when we wonder if there can be such a thing as a cat with schizophrenia, as he does seem to have a split personality. He can leap from docile to demonic in seconds, and his temper has to be seen to be believed. He also has one hell of an appetite and has grown so much with no sign of stopping.
Milo had been desperate to go out for ages but had to wait until he was vaccinated and chipped. When we finally unlocked the cat flap, we thought he would sail through it, more than ready to explore. He had spent enough time looking out of windows, so his reluctance seemed odd.
We tried everything. We put his toys outside where he could see them. This didn’t work. He followed me everywhere, always hoping for food, so I went outside, expecting him to follow. Not a chance. Maybe he knew there was no food out there?
After a while, we gave him a little shove. We were getting a little desperate by then, as he still wanted to go out, but only if we opened the door.
He liked being outside, although he didn’t venture very far. When he had enough, he shot back through the flap like a bullet! To this day, he won’t go out through the flap but always comes back that way.
See what we mean? Milo is a very crazy cat. His temper is worrying us, though.
We first began to notice it in the mornings after our number one son leaves for work. Milo runs around the house like a ninja on speed, wrecking anything that gets in his way. We learned the hard way not to interfere or offer any condolences, to simply wait until he calmed down. I was badly bitten just by offering to console him, which hurt my pride somewhat.
His favourite pastime is trying to rip the roller blinds in the living room down. He can jump to reach the chains but also hangs on the bottom, managing to drag all the material from the roller. All carpets are his scratch pad, despite spraying them with a multitude of deterrents.
So you see, life with Milo is certainly different and not what we are used to. Well, mostly. When he is asleep or affectionate, he is lovely…
The Blessed Blurb… Help Needed?
Well, I went ahead, out of sheer desperation, I might add, and paid for a professional blurb for Anita’s wonderful story, The Scarlet Ribbon. This is part of our general improvement campaign.
I am not sure how I feel about the result, to be honest, but I know I can rely on our good friends to point me in the right direction.
The Original Blurb on Amazon
When a car loses control and mows Maggie down, leaving her in a coma, her life changes dramatically in an instant, and she finds herself in another world.
A world where she rescues a sad, neglected and abused child from a violent situation, but when it looks as though Maggie will wake up in her own world, she has to find a way to bring the child back with her.
Is this other world real, or was she only dreaming, locked in the prison of her coma?
And if it is real, can she save the child?
One of my efforts ??
Will love take Maggie to the place she was meant to be…
A car loses control and mows her down in the street, changing her life forever.
She finds herself lost in another world, unable to communicate
Forced to witness the bitter truth of her old life.
She rescues an abused and terrified child, determined to take her home
But how is this even possible if she has to stay in this nightmare world?
The Blurb I Paid For…
Where do you go when you’re in a coma?
Maggie doesn’t like her life, but when she ends up in a coma after a runaway car knocks her down, she finds herself fighting for it. Fighting to wake up to the sound of her husband’s voice that she keeps hearing but is unable to respond to.
However, when the darkness of the coma takes her to another world, Maggie starts fighting for a lot more.
There’s a child in that world, a neglected and abused girl in a horrible situation. Maggie doesn’t hesitate to rescue her but is unsure what to do next. She needs to leave this strange world and wake up – and hopefully change a lot in her life; she didn’t even realize how bad it became – but what about the girl? She can’t just leave her there!
Trapped between life and death, Maggie can’t determine what’s real and what’s just a dream her comatose brain is producing while struggling to heal. But if it is real, can she find a way to bring the girl back with her?
Can she save the child that desperately needs her?
Over to you my friends, and please be brutally honest, my blurb writing days are depending on you…
Sad News…
Sad News…
You may have noticed that we have been among the missing for a few days.
Well, it’s not my fault or the weather. Since my last post on the joys of getting outside at last, and all the gardening I hoped to do, the weather has been terrible. Torrential rain, terrifying winds and freezing temperatures have left us all reeling and wondering what next.
What did happen next had me exercising my God-given right to slope off with a serious case of the miseries. Not something I usually approve of, but soldiering on, trying to ignore what was happening, suddenly wasn’t working for me anymore.
The basic reason for all of this has been my increasing inability to do even the simplest of jobs, including walking. Not to mention the depression of being unable to write for the first time in years…
After a lifetime of health troubles, I had begun to think that this last stage of my life would be a simple slowing down, that demon fate had finally run out of surprises for me. I don’t know why I thought that really, as what has been happening to Anita these last three years should decry that notion.
It seems I am way off the mark, for the breathlessness and the new pain in my joints have increased way past simple arthritis. I can no longer walk any distance; even cooking a meal is a nightmare. I have acquired the nickname, Quasimodo, for I must serve the meal hunched over, the pain preventing me from standing upright.
After dragging myself out of bed in the early hours to fetch pain relief yet again, I went back to bed and found myself weeping from the frustration. That was when I knew I had a problem, one I couldn’t ignore any more.
I telephoned my doctor, expecting to wait several days for an appointment, but after explaining, I was told to turn up for an emergency blood test. I have an appointment to discuss the results on Tuesday. At the very least, I should get better pain relief.
All of this is nothing new for me, and years ago I would have taken it all in my stride. These days, I just want a quiet (pain-free if possible) life where I can write, blog and garden to my heart’s content and be able to care for my sister…
Some Kind of Progress…
Some Kind of Progress…
Now the weather was warming up, I needed to make a plan to get outside and do some work. I felt more than a little guilty leaving my desk for the great outdoors, but I had made a list of all the jobs I wanted to do this coming week, indoors and out, so no excuses. I had scheduled, tweaked, and sorted everything into neat little time slots, so barring divine interruption, nothing will be neglected.
And who knows, maybe a few miracles will occur along the way. Well, a girl can hope, can’t she?
I am not expecting any of it to be easy, as I am definitely feeling my age this year, and every muscle in my body has learned how to scream! I haven’t had the chest X-ray yet, so still puffing around like an ancient steam train. You know, the one who wished he could…
If I am honest, I would prefer to sit quietly in my office and write. Hey ho.
It was lovely to be outside at last, enjoying the sunshine and fresh air. So that’s what it smells like!
My first job was my rapidly awakening bonsai, most of which are sprouting almost as I watched. I cleared their pots of dead leaves and weeds, and checked the soil, making mental notes as to which ones need repotting. Then I washed the shelves they sit on and swept the yard.
Then I moved to what I call the nursery area. This is where my fledgling bonsai live, along with cuttings and seedlings, and I do all the messy jobs.
I didn’t find any casualties this year, which was surprising, considering the terrible winter weather. My poor old azalea is finally blooming, and that was wonderful to see.
I wanted to plant up the dahlia tubers, but by the time I rooted out suitable pots and the right soil mix, I was flagging a little, and I hadn’t even looked at the garden yet. When I did take a look, the first job was immediately apparent. The grass had grown seemingly overnight and was approaching the difficult length for my mower to cope with.
This is when most of my plans went AWOL.
Torrential rain arrived and lasted all the next day. So much for being determined!
#WRITEPHOTO – Egg
photo courtesy of KL Caley
He could hear the sound of water
echoing through the walls of his shell.
He remembered other sounds
but couldn’t hear them now.
The soft, muffled movements
of his siblings faded away,
and his world grew cold.
Pecking at the wall of his shell,
Was it time to escape?
Try as he might, his feeble pecks
did not release him from his prison.
The sound of water grew louder,
and he felt movement. Time passed,
and there was silence in his world.
Warmth returned, and he pecked again.
Too weak to continue, there was a loud crack.
The broken shell fell away,
he saw his family for the first time.
Bright eyes and soft feathers
welcomed him, and he sighed,
Grateful to be alive and happy…
©JayeMarie2023
Macro Monday…
Image by Christoph Schütz from Pixabay
I love macro photography, but finding really good images can be difficult sometimes.
Up close and personal, it can be difficult to know what you are looking at.
I know what this image is, but do you?
My Bubble… #Poetry #Fiction #MLMM.com
I occupy the space inside a sweet bubble. Barely hearing a whisper Travelling through the parallel universe Trying to find value in all I see and hear The impact on my mind is symbolic at best. I do not have to feign interest. I feel like an initiate. Hoping my mind has become a sponge. When I break free from my bubble To make use of all I have seen and heard. To move, to change, to lead my best life… ©AnitaDawes2023 mindlovemiserymeagerie.com
Anita Dawes and Jaye Marie 