Ode to Barley

| Flower Roberts

I truly hope this is my last sad post for a long, long time.

Barley my precious, brown bunny had to be put down on August 4, 2020.

He had many health issues. It broke my already broken heart to let him go.

I first saw Barley when my family went to a pet store to purchase fish.

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It was love at first sight. This was December 2014.

I did not want him to be lonely, so I had Rose pick out a girl bunny.

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Barley and Charlotte have been like two peas in a pod.

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Always together. Always entertaining. Unbelievably cute.

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Here is my last photo of my precious Barley.

His back legs no longer worked, but he happily continued to eat and scoot.

Charlotte has been in mourning, but seems to have finally forgiven me for taking her boy.

BELOW are links to my favorite bunny posts.

https://floweralley.org/2016/01/07/bunnies-in-the-doghouse/

https://floweralley.org/2017/05/05/bunny-secrets-revealed/

https://floweralley.org/2016/05/11/busy-and-not-busy/

 

You can see from these posts why I love them so much.

My world is small.

Losing my daddy and Barley this summer has made it painfully smaller.

I have written many posts about my daddy.  Type “my daddy” in the search box to see them.

Hopefully Flower will get back to her flowers.

FLOW

 

I Will Not Kill It

| Flower Roberts

I know that everyone pulls these off their tomato plants and kills them.

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I know they munch on the tomato leaves and poop on the plant.

That’s how I find them.

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There is something that might make you pause before you murder one.

These big Tobacco Hornworm caterpillars (Manduca quinquemaculata)

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turn into large Carolina Sphinx moths.

These moths come at sunset to my Four-o’clock flowers.

They are spectacular and magical. They are worth every leaf they eat.

Sometimes eggs of a parasitic wasp are laid on them. Ouch!

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So be a good host to these giant, green munchers,

later you will be rewarded by flyers that look a lot like fairies.

https://floweralley.org/?s=Four+O%27clocks

Flow

I Must Keep Caring

| Flower Roberts

I have told myself that I must keep going.

But I was wrong.

Going is not the problem.

I can still cook, weed and do laundry.

I can still clean and shop.

I can do anything I want to.

But I don’t want to.

This is not depression. I know it well.

This is despair.

My heart is not broken, it’s missing.

I am afraid of this non-feeling mode.

I do things, but I don’t feel things.

So now, instead of telling myself I must keep going

I am urging myself to keep caring.

I usually care too much.

Now I am numb.

Floe

 

Magical Mushrooms

| Flower Roberts

We have had quite a bit of rain in my part of North Carolina.

We delayed our mountain trip by a day due to more rain.

All that moisture creates the perfect conditions for fungi.

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I did not take along my usual camera, so these are from my phone. My shoe is in photos for scale.

At first my daughter got irritated with our stopping for mushrooms.

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By the end of the day she was pointing them out to me.

There were hundreds of different types and thousands of them.

Some tiny and others giant. This white one was a foot tall.

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It was absolutely magical.

We crested a hill to see thousands of these little orange mushrooms

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scattered on both sides of the road.

It was a glorious day.

Rain is a good thing!

Flow

Climbing Okra Again

| Flower Roberts

Of all my posts about all my plants, who knew Climbing Okra would be the biggest hit?

Maybe it is that I offered seeds to my readers. (No more requests please.)

I am two years behind on my list for Luffa acutangula seeds.

Last year’s pods were feasted on by a tiny mouse.

I found it with its bottom sticking out of my largest pod.

I had to start two different sets of seeds this spring.

I planted the seedlings in three different locations.

I finally have a few pods big enough to eat.

No worries John P, Kevin K , Alley and Susan E , these first fruits will be saved for seed.

(You four can email your address to b12alley@yahoo.com. Nobody else please.)

I will let these pods get about a foot long, take them in to dry, then separate the seeds.

I will mail these out in October. No swaps or payments needed. I like to share.

All these gorgeous flowers in my garden and my most sought after plant is a luffa!

Flower

( I may post about the ants later. I must do more research first.)

Ground Cherries

| Flower Roberts

I found this unusual, little plant at our favorite local greenhouse.

It looked like a potato but the tag said Ground Cherry ‘Goldie’.

I put it in a big pot near the entrance to keep an eye on it.

What a perfect spot for the source of my favorite snack.

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This plant is a Physalis relative of Chinese Lanterns/Jack-o-LGround antern plant.

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Its little yellow pods contain a juicy sweet berry.

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The taste is like pineapple.

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It has been dropping dozens of yummy fruits each day for weeks.

I read that it may reseed.

I hope so.

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I Spy

| Flower Roberts

I purchased pairs of plastic chairs for my parents and in-laws.

Now that folks have to visit outside, they needed more seating for guests.

I kept two in my own carport. I call mine the “Spy Chair.”

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I do not usually do much sitting around during gardening season.

Since my father’s sickness and death, it seems all I do is sit.

I look at all the things that need doing without feeling the need to interfere. (Sorry Moss)

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I call out to my neighbors from behind the vines.

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I drink my coffee in it each morning. I sip sangria while spying in the evenings.

I do not get involved in what goes on.

I only spy and sometimes cry.

I look out at my little world with detachment.

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I do not know when I will rejoin the action.

For now, I will quietly spy as the world goes on by

without me… and without my daddy.

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It is all I can do.

Flow

 

Queen or Angel?

| Flower Roberts

I found a surprise while watering my potted plants yesterday.

I had not noticed the bud on my Epiphyllum oxypetalum before.

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I usually notice every change in my garden.

Right now I am too busy. My precious father is dying.

I go to the hospital alone to take the first shift. Only one visitor at a time due to Covid.

So I am very blessed to happen to notice the bud ready to bloom.

I set my alarm clock to wake me near midnight.

I slipped outside with my flashlight to sit alone with my flower.

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This was its first bloom after many years of growth.

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I was amazed at its complexity.

Its pistil had a shaggy end.

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Its anthers glowed in the light.

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It was the whitest white I have ever seen.

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I sat there in silence thinking that if an angel were a flower, it would look just like this.

It would come to me in the still, cool darkness and give my heart a moment of peace.

This flower may be named “Queen of The Night”, but it was my angel.

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Flower

Stargazer Pollen

| Flower Roberts

The most beautiful lily on the planet has a flaw.

It’s its pollen.

The anthers (male parts) start out harmless.

They surround a single long, green pistil (female part).

As the flower matures, the anther ends turn inside out.

This exposes the pollen which looks like rust dust.

It stains anything it gets on.

Flower shops usually remove the male parts of lilies.

This avoids issues caused by pollen, but changes the look of the flower.

I love Stargazer lilies, but I am not a pollen fan.

Their scent is heavenly, but keep your nose away from those anthers.

Flow

 

P.S. Stargazers, like other lilies, are poisonous to cats.