Color to the rain or Walking to the Fisher's

A soggy tread on fallen leaves
Glow undampened by the rain
Hus contest gray clouds, slight fog

Sweet gum gates the yard,
Red and orange -- then white
jasmine, light against the gloom

And look!
Shocking! -- Purple
Bells droop
Spire strong
Color to the rain

Hurricane lilies

The tiredness always hits the morning after sleeping. Post-call Saturday. Slept, danced, slept. Fuzzy brain Sunday morning. Out the back to sow some fall seed. Back toward the house, and glory be --- look who woke up!!!

Day of the SWC

Today
I spent
Hours
Making
Nice Plant
Boxes
Ten, I
Think, in
Total.
Or nine
Perhaps.
Kitty
Litter
Boxes
Are so
Useful.

Pictures
Later.

spring comes for the gardener...

And despite a cold, chilly winter -- unseasonable for North Carolina, but lovely for a transplanted Yankee -- all sorts of edibles and eye candy have survived!

The SFG got to looking pretty ratty and tatty. Some sort of orangey-black bug got at the broccoli and chewed holes all through the leaves, and of course the broccoli went to flower in between my nibbles at tiny brocco-heads. The radishes sprouted mangy stalks with dingy leaves because I didn't harvest them aggressively. The first radish or few I had over the winter were stunning. They started with a hint of earthiness and then exploded with flavor and earthy spice. But the radishes I left until a couple weeks ago were awful -- more woody than earthy, and some unchewable.





Once I cleared out the broccoli, radishes, and miscellaneous garden stakes, the SFG looked a lot neater. Now I just need to refill it with those seedlings I started mid-winter. :)

My swiss chard also survived handily. I didn't get much yield from it mid-winter, but by mid-April the plants were looking strong (left photo). The picture on the right is from only a couple weeks later, and the chard is back to fluorescing. I've started worrying that the chard will try to flower. It's time to cook with the stuff!!



My chives flowered beautifully this spring. Unfortunately, I haven't yet captured the full blooms -- but just look at the buds!





This spring's irises were gorgeous. I haven't seen the deep purple irises yet, just the ethereal translucences. However, I was very excited when my Texas star hibiscus finally reappeared. They're still stuck in a pot too small for their roots, and really deserve a better home. Maybe they'll move back to the SFG.