A Good Day For Healing

I was sick all last week, and about the time my fever broke, so did the weather. Fortified with antibiotics and steroids, I was able to poke my head out the door for the first time on Friday. The sultry, oppressive heat was gone! Warm still, but bearable with a pleasant breeze, and the sky was lovely with puffy clouds. 

I got a book, my camera, and a glass of ice water and settled onto the patio for some outdoor therapy. I didn't get much reading done as I soaked in the sounds and sights that refreshed my spirit and body. I wasn't up to wandering the yard, but there was plenty going on nearby to catch my attention.

There was the view through the rose arch:

The Zephirine Drouhin rose on the right has been cut back and is not blooming now. It will put out more blooms as the weather cools. The larger plant that is taking over the arch is jasmine. The purplish tree seen through the middle of the arch is a Japanese maple growing on the other side of the front lawn.

I noticed how much the rosemary has grown. This plant loves where I have put it, near a concrete walk, so that some of the lime leeches into the soil there, counteracting our normally acid soil. The little Christmas tree in the middle is a dwarf Alberta spruce, growing in a pot:

Here are a few flowers blooming near the patio:Clockwise from top: Knockout roses have bloomed through the summer heat; caryopteris, also called bluebeard; a plant that looks like a perennial hibiscus but is not.(I have forgotten its name!); cosmos

I was delighted to see this beautiful tiger swallowtail butterfly:

There were lots of hummingbirds, but their arial maneuvers were too fast for me to capture. However, my dog Lily was happy to cooperate for a photo.Matted and wet, Lily was glad to see me and wanted to climb in my lap. We have had some rain, and she had been rolling in the mud. She is collie mixed with some sort of mountain dog, and she really belongs in Alaska or Canada. Although her fur was cut very short at the beginning of summer, already it is growing long. The stuff was thick and warm and sticky. Poor Lily. She sheds almost year round and needs constant grooming.

I sat on the patio for several hours, until the sun began to set behind the chimney.The sky was layered with black and gold and rosy clouds.  

Can you see the two cloud people dancing in one of the photos above? The day came to a close, and I was feeling better.

A Talavera Lizard and Voodoo Pot

My voodoo plant finally has a new home. I found a Talavera pot with an exotic look appropriate for this unusual plant, and I have placed it in the front garden near the blue bench. 

Talavera is a classic form of Mexican pottery. Artists hand paint native floral and animal motifs onto a white glazed background. The colorful ceramics are still produced using techniques introduced to Mexico by Spanish guild artisans in the sixteenth century. In Spain the same type of pottery is called 'Majolica'.

I also have a Talavera lizard. It has lived for several years in a moss encrusted concrete planter. Talavera is a good way to add a dash of color to a garden. I wouldn't use a lot of it, but a piece here and there is just right.

The voodoo plant is looking a little stressed. An unknown critter recently uprooted the tuber from its plastic pot and left it lying on the ground. It was saved by a rainstorm which kept it moist until I found it later that day, wilted but alive. I hope the new pot will offer better protection!