Uncategorized

Needing Some Purple

| Flower Roberts

I needed some purple today. Whether you are in the U.S. or not,  I am sure you are aware that it is election day here. All American women should feel threatened.


Those of us who have been pregnant, given birth or had miscarriages know that it is risky business. It seems one party values the sperm more than the egg, its maker and hostess. Our survival is being threatened. I have a daughter, a son, and two nieces. I am in this battle for them and all my former students, male and female.


I have been losing sleep and my hair is falling out. My gut screams around despicable men. I am having trouble understanding how folks do not see what is so obvious to me. I will stop there.

I have been keeping busy doing manual labor as a distraction until results are in. One of my tasks for today was watering all of my plants. Watering over the winter must be limited but consistent. Maintenance is required on most tropical plants year round.

Imagine my joy when I opened the shop door and discovered my purple ginger in full bloom again. This has lifted my spirits so much.

Two elections ago I posted a blog “My Hope is Green.” I am reminded of that again today.

Purple Ginger

I am much more intune with nature than humans. When this is over, I will go back to being a plant geek until duty calls again.

A woman’s work is never done!

FLOW

Wild Fairies Rerun

| Flower Roberts

Since I have no internet due to Helene and AT&T, I will be sharing a formerly posted Halloween blog involving the fairies, a pumpkin and some bad behavior.
I love being silly. Creating a fairy world is my escape from reality.



ENJOY AGAIN FOLLOWERS.

FLOW

Fairy Halloween Party

Looking for Normalcy

| Flower Roberts

I needed to focus on what has not changed this morning. It has been troubling to follow the updates about Hurricane Helene’s damage.

I wanted a photo of my Pink Muhly Grass in the morning sun.

Pink Muhly grass


Then I spied last fall’s mum thriving along the side of the house.


Before I knew it I was out in the yard in my new house shoes and without my stick.


The Lablab purpureus is still blooming and making purple pods.

Lablab purpureus


The purple ginger is blooming again.

Purple Ginger


I will relish these sights as I go through my tasks.


Well, maybe not this one.

Wet and dirty…now that is normal!

FlOWER

Horrible Helene

| Flower Roberts

We are fine. We have power and water. I drive to a near-by Coffee Lodge to use the internet once each day.
The Statesville Airport is shipping supplies non-stop by way of pilots using their own planes and helicopters.

I sit out on my porch and watch them fly over headed north.
Many families are taking shelter at the KOA Campground off I-77 exit 45.
I have taken supplies to both sites.


Now, we are ordering from Amazon and shipping supplies directly to friends in need and the airport has a wishlist.


I will try to share it below


Thousands of folks in the south eastern USA need help. This will not be over anytime soon.
I will stay busy to prevent going crazy.

FLOW

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/jfyRM6qbJ45c9A96/

I think our airport is overwhelmed.

They have shared other links and addresses.

HELP ANY WAY YOU CAN

Hellene in Swing

| Flower Roberts

We are being visited by Hellene with her wild wind and crazy rain.
The river is high, brown and choppy. This ribbon of water will be a parade of debris, loose boats and boat houses later.
We have been here a long time. Long enough to not be surprised by the power of water and wind.
What happens is beyond our control. All we can do is watch the show and clean up the mess when its over.
I will have my camera ready for action. Until then, I will watch the trees dance wildly then stop abruptly…like the music ended only to begin again suddenly.
FLOW

Just One Butternut

| Flower Roberts

It happens every summer without fail. One appears in my garden from the place where I buried compost. If more show up, they are removed. It takes just one you see.

Butternut on the move.
Butternut hanging around in the garden.

That one butternut vine winds its way around the garden, over and under the fences. It will not be contained.

Its gorgeous leaves hide its treasures. First they are a lovely green. Then they ripen to a color I call babydoll beige.

This year’s haul from one butternut.

That is when they are ready to be removed. We harvest all the butternut squash and haul away the massive vine, about the time of the equinox.


We store our stash in a cool, dry place. These are the winter’s vitamins and sunshine soups. All from one butternut.

FLOWER  is still trapped on the deck and using a walker.

RAILING ARRIVES TOMORROW!

Stay tuned.

Our Bop Loved Blue

| Flower Roberts

Not just any blue, bluebird blue.
I have refurbished two things that belonged to my daddy.
One is a metal file box. I have cleaned it and sprayed it with the perfect blue paint. This will be my writing box. I can carry my supplies where ever I wish to write.

Label ripped to remove the key.

The other object is my daddy’s sun hat. I soaked it and it still was yellowish around the band. So I dyed it…blue.

Bop’s hat.

We will leave this refurbished blue hat in the mountains for whomever forgets to pack a hat.

Bop had skin cancer on top of his head.

The cancer was removed and skin from his thigh was grafted over the spot.

Then the surgeon sewed something that looked like a chalkboard eraser or an ice cream sandwich onto the top of his head. We called him Eraser Head until it was removed.

Eraser head in his blue chair.

When the bandage came off, he had wispy thigh hair on top of his head. This made my sister and me squeal when we combed his hair.

Daddy showing some thigh.

My daddy is still helping us out. He would be pleased that these possessions of his are still useful.

Our Kiki. Still cute at 92.

Daddy loved blue and he loved Kiki too, no matter what color she wore

FLOWER

Excursions in Costa Rica

| Flower Roberts

We planned one excursion every other day. We did not want to get worn out. On the off days we swam in the pool or sat in the cabana to chat and plan. It helped to stay balanced between adventures.

Rawhide rocking chair

One trip was to ride a catamaran to an island to snorkel the reefs. We enjoyed meeting our fellow passengers.

Another was to hire a skiff to see wetland and marsh wildlife including crocodiles. Our guide was very careful and respectful of the creatures we were stalking.

Young crocodile

Our tours of two rainforests also included a trip to some hot springs in the evening.

Our guide,  Andrey Salazar, drove so we could relax and enjoy the sights. The locals have a secret route to avoid tourist traffic. That was a wild ride!

We did not shop for souveniers much so we stopped here on the way to the air port. It is a wonderful shop with gorgeous artwork.

We were sad to leave this wonderful place. It was a dream.

FLORA