Pistils Up on the Passion

| Flower Roberts

I know my garden like the back of my hand, so any little change is noticed.

On a misty, moisty morning last week, I was out with my camera and noticed the Passion flowers looked wrong.

They usually have the stamens and pistil parts in a whorl like a merry-go-round above the lovely corona.

On this morning however, the pistils were pulled up away from the stamens.

Were the pistils being prude for a particular reason?

I wish I could answer my question. I did do some research.

Some flowers are “male only” so that only the bisexual blooms set fruit to save plant resources.

All the blooms were pointing their pistils up, so I do not think this is the case here.

I checked today and all the pistil parts are down again, cozying up to the stamens and their pollen.

Ready for business with their styles spread wide.

Maybe some of you botany folks can shed light on this mystery.

Does the androgynophore  morph due to temperature, humidity, maturity…?

Flower

 

Your Poison Spreads

| Flower Roberts

It started with bird seed. You wanted to watch the pretty birds.

All that extra food attracted a raccoon, a ground hog and a chipmunk.

All three uninvited guests feasted, grew fat and multiplied.

Now the raccoon family needs to eat my trash.

One of the ground hogs wants to nest in my seawall.

There are chipmunks digging tunnels everywhere. ( I love my tiny friends, holes and all.)

Then came the feral cat to eat the chipmunks that ate the birdseed.

You did not want all these uninvited guests, only the pretty birds,

so you put out poison.

Some of the chipmunks ate the poison which made them thirsty

so they came and drowned in my fish ponds.

I check the ponds each morning so our koi won’t get poisoned as well.

NOW something big is dead under YOUR pier.

Did the cat eat a chipmunk that ate your poison?

What got thirsty after your poison and went under there to drink and die?

Is it one of your ground hogs or raccoons?

Is it you?

It’s okay. The black angels of death are here to clean up your mess.

These birds aren’t so pretty.

Where will your poison go now?

Furious FLOW

 

‘Good Hope’ is a Good Sign

| Flower Roberts

I was busy with my daddy this winter.

He went in the hospital on December 19 and came out of rehab on March 12.

We were lucky to get him out just as Covid-19 closed off visiting.

He is home carrying on like the cancer is gone.

I did not look at my plants in my workshop for those three months.

I watered and pruned nothing. I did not even think to check on them.

When I finally went down there most plants were dead or almost dead.

That’s okay. I have too many plants and only one daddy.

The one plant that seemed to ignore being ignored was this Clivia.

IMG_2390

It is a Fire Lily named Clivia miniata.  Its hybrid name is ‘Good Hope’.

I popped it outside in the shade and it is thriving.

IMG_2389

As I walk by it I say its name “Good Hope”.

All hope is good. Hope is always good. That’s what we all need.

Good Hope

Flow

You Don’t See It?

| Flower Roberts

I have learned to be an observer.

I pause and examine things closely.

This pond looks empty at first glance.

IMG_2327

The noisy nights have let me know that things are happening.

I pause and ponder and bend down to look into the empty pond.

The green water is dotted with specks.

Some specks have heads and tails.

There is wiggling and swimming going on in that empty pond.

It is teeming with life.

IMG_2311

Watch it. Wait for it. Let it be and see what evolves.

Just because you don’t see it, doesn’t mean it isn’t there.

IMG_2309

Look closer.

Flow

Brighten Your Corner

| Flower Roberts

I needed something tall and light

to brighten a dark corner in the garden.

IMG_2320

The corner is shady during the day.

It is also where I sit in the evenings as the sun goes down.

I thought white would be nice, so I planted a Navona lily.

IMG_2325

Tall, white and fragrant. Perfect.

But not all the ‘Navona’ bulbs were white.

IMG_2347

When the ‘Navonas’ came up about half of them were white.

IMG_2345

Others were a very tall yellow.

Sunny yellow with freckles. Perfect.

That corner is brighter and more beautiful than I planned.

IMG_2318

Sometimes you get what you need, instead of what you think you want.

IMG_2348

Brighten your corner.

Flow

 

The Placebo

| Flower Roberts

The Placebo’s effectiveness is based on the belief of the patient.

If the patient believes in its curative powers, the patient feels relief.

The belief caused the relief.

The Placebo alone has no power. There must be belief for it to work.

Once the patient believes in the Placebo his suffering diminishes.

Symptoms are ignored because the Placebo is “working.”

The sickness spreads as the Placebo is religiously taken.

The Placebo claims to cure everything as the peddled snake oils of the past.

The cancer claims more space as the Placebo stands guard.

Blindly believing is dangerous and deadly.

It’s time for some REAL medicine.

We are sick. We are dying.

The Placebo is a fake.

Fx

The Humans are Driving me Crazy

| Flower Roberts

My own species is making me feel like an alien.

I may have to pull in, tune out and hide in my shell.

 

My nature friends may be pesky eating my flowers and trash,

but I can forgive them. They are just trying to survive.

Who am I to hoard yummy trash and delicious flowers and all this space?

Humans will not get my forgiveness for their hateful behavior.

So I will be sharing all my nonhuman friends today.

They make me smile.

They make me laugh.

They keep me company.

They warm my heart.

I am thankful for them.

I will protect them.

Because I love them.

Flower

The Phoebes and I are No Longer Friends

| Flower Roberts

The Phoebes and I are no longer friends.

They picked a bad spot for their nest again.

They chose our front porch with a hanging light fixture.

They’ve attempted to cover the top with their mixture.

The moss and mud mix fall down on the mat.

I used a small ladder to try to end that.

IMG_2160

My head got a buzz and my ear got a filling.

To tell you the truth the attack was quite thrilling.

The light is now topped with a circle of wire.

IMG_2161

I will watch and report the events that transpire.

I was very supportive during their last brood.

but these mess-making Phoebes have ruined my mood.

Flow