In the Garden Today

Acacia dealbata

Blooming now, backyard.

New Machine, New Curtains

In the summer of 2005 on the night before I moved from Baltimore to Austin, my mom's beloved Singer sewing machine, the machine on which I had learned and sewn exclusively ever since, was stolen from my packed car. The Hampden hillbillies we know must've done it probably abandoned it in an alley. It breaks my heart.

About a month later, I bought a new machine. Its box remained unopened until this week. I think I didn't/couldn't open it sooner because I was still so dang sad about losing my mom's antique Singer, and I also feared I couldn't sew except for on that machine. But it was time.

Our dining room needed curtains because my neighbor's front porch is, like, right there. The temporary stitch-witched window coverings had not been intended to stay up for this long, and they were making me sad. It was time to sew, so I sewed, and it was fun. I love the new machine, though it lacks sentimental value. Above is a picture of the finished products in situ. Below, you can better see the fabric pattern.

Yay!

Today

Swan's Neck Agave are blooming now. Mine are too young and newly transplanted, so I'm showing you the ones near our favorite spot in Dunsmore Park. Scale is important to capture here; these flower stalks are huge. The picture in the center includes a bird (click to enlarge).








Treetops. Beautiful blue sky. Clouds that linger after yesterday's rainstorms.

Tonight

Today

Raining, Raining, Raining!

We're getting some much needed rain and feeling much better about precipitation (and life in general) now that it seems I've fixed, if only temporarily, the roof leak(s). It's weird. Living here, you kind of forget what rain is like and how to deal with it. Had to laugh at last night's breaking local news story. They had someone "live on location" in a parking lot to report on the "puddling" occurring across Los Angeles. Puddling!

(I don't mean to be insensitive to our neighbors to the north and northeast, for whom this really is a serious weather situation. Mud slide related evacuations have forced hundreds from their homes.)



It warmed my heart to see that Violet found a way to cope with the frigid temperatures (in the sixties) and seemingly freakish moisture-from-the-sky. Love that little whiskered face!

Blooming Today — An Inventory

At mom's request. . .


Above, the big guys: Pink Abutilon, Sunflower (under the birdfeeder), and Camelia Yuletide (performing well since right before the holidays).



The daisy-like fellers: African Daisies (purple, next to pond and out front), Euryops (upper-right), and Gazania.



Some succulent action. I've forgotten the exact types: Aloe relative (upper right), String of pearls (lower left), Warty-leafed paddle-type guy (lower right).



Four kinds of Geranium.



Teeny cluster flowering guys (clockwise from upper left): Sea Lavender, Jade, Lantana, and Sweet Alyssum.



Edibles: Rosemary, Lime tree, Beets, and Cilantro.



Pink: Dianthus, Kalanchoe, Ice plant, and Sage.



Leaning to the right: Bird of Paradise, Mexican Sage, and Paddle Plant.



And leaning to the left: Bacopa Snowflake, Cape Honeysuckle, and — ugh, groan — Clover.