If Only I [Insert Phrase], Then I'll [Insert Phrase]

I was thinking today how insidious procrastination is. It's not necessarily about gardening, though it certainly applies there also. I was actually thinking about my mom today. I don't remember how many times when we were growing up she would write herself notes to "Start Diet Tomorrow!". Or how many times she talked about how if she got a new place to live she would take care of it, I mean, really keep it up nice. The diet never stuck, and when my mom did get a new place it quickly became as run down as the previous one. Don't get me wrong, this isn't a post to be down on my mom. More it's sadness for not realizing that things that get put off until "later" usually don't happen at all.

I was thinking today of how life seems to be a test sometimes. If you take care of the things that are given to you, you seem to get more. I remember this from when my husband and I first got married. We didn't take care of our house, our finances or each other. As soon as we started taking responsibility for the things that we had, we started to get so many more blessings. I know that there have been many times when The Gnomeslayer has waaaaay to much energy for me and I just want to lock myself in a room by myself just so I can have some rest. I think that I'll make sure to play with her tomorrow, give her more attention tomorrow, read her that book tomorrow. But what if tomorrow doesn't come? We take it so for granted that there will be a tomorrow, but I have been trying to live my life without that assumption. Excuse me please, I have to go read "Fox in Socks" to my little one. :)

A Prayer for Molly Marie

Today God has a new angel in Heaven today, Molly Marie. She is the daughter of my little brother Jimmy and his wife Angie. She was born very premature and weighed 1 lb. 10 oz. She fought a hard fight for six weeks, but complications developed and she didn't make it. Please keep my brother and his family in your prayers. I am not a person who is blessed with a silver tongue, and my only way of providing comfort is to feed people or to plant things. So today I went to the nursery and bought a rose to plant for Molly. This is a Chinese Butterfly Rose, whose petals start pink and shift to cream colored over the days after blooming. I hope that I remember her when I see it, though I never got to see her she has a place in my heart.

I Should Know Better

Typically I stop buying plants in May and don't start again until late September at the earliest. Almost everything that I have ever tried to plant in the dead of summer ends up...well...dead. We were walking around Lowe's this last weekend, and I saw these Blanket Flowers. I was immediately in love with their bright cheerful colors and somehow one ended up in my shopping cart. The Gnomeslayer and I planted it yesterday and gave it a good watering. I'm hoping that it will make it through and survive, I guess we'll see. :)

New Blooms!

I was very happy to see yesterday when I went in the back yard that the butterfly weed (asclepias tuberosa) that I planted this spring has started blooming. They are such a deep vibrant orange color, and they seem to be an ant magnet (you can see them if you look close). The stems don't seem to be very sturdy, I hope that they get better next year because they are flopping around and I stepped on a few. Last night was the first time in a while that I've been able to get any weeding done. The poke salad and ironweed have been taking over the bed back there, and I pulled out a bunch. Johnson grass has been taking seed in the mulch and I had to pull that out too. The plants in the rain garden seem to be holding their own, not knocking anything out but then it's their first year so I'm just glad they are still alive. Of course the weather has been so hot to work in, but when it's cooler outside there are too many mosquitos. You can't win no matter what you do it seems.

Home Again

I'm finally home again after spending a good part of the last few months traveling. We have been to Missouri, Arkansas, Illinois and Minnesota. I hope that I can rest here for a bit before traveling some more. The picture above is from the Canal Park in Duluth, MN. It's Wildcat Dreaming, a part of the Fountain of the Winds and it's always been a favorite feature of mine. I thought that the Gnomeslayer especially would get a kick out of it, since you can walk along the stepping stones in the fountain. Although I love traveling and seeing family I am so glad to get home to my garden.