Also kinda virtuous.  I’ll have to add text later. Also, I forgot to take a photo of the oregano C gave me a couple of weeks ago, but I planted it in the bed with the catnip. Once both of them are established enough to start blooming, that should “bee” heaven. C says that bees love oregano flowers, and I know they love catnip flowers, too!

Got up and actually looked at the gutter guards.

I also finally got around to cleaning my vanity and painting the…uh…thing that I made to hold makeup brushes. I was going to paint it copper, but after seeing how the primer soaked into the wood, I decided to go for the stone textured stuff. Came out pretty well, I think. Beside it is the little heart-shaped metal container that (inexplicably) had Spider Man crap on it. Came in a Happy Meal, but I liked the shape, so I painted it…with nail polish. I have a dark coppery colour that I like, but seldom wear. Wasn’t a great job, but I decided it was good enough to topcoat.

My virtuous lunch of carrots that had been out of the ground less than 24h. I planted them for Black Swallowtail, but never got any caterpillars. Anyway, they did okay, considering I never thinned them at all. A mix of Little Fingers and some other kind I got as freebie seeds.

Tropical milkweed, going another round. I didn’t expect it would, but it had news for me.

The old bird’s lilac. It really does seem very happy; I hope it looks better next year than it did this year.

I may not have had much luck with Gaillardia at 544, but it seems to like Parview’s yard quite well. Lantana did, too.

Yes, the marigolds again. I just think they’re so bright and cheerful-looking. The bees and flutter-guys agree!

Moar Gaillardia. These are the ones I grew my very own self from seeds. Not bad, considering I couldn’t get plants in 4″ pots to grow last year.

Pretty little sulphur (probably Orange) on a marigold.

Just bee balm, but darker than usual, and at this point in time, I’ll take anything that’s still flowering.

My tickseed didn’t do really well over the summer, but I still have one pretty bloom!

I hope this stuff blooms next year; it’s from the penstemon ‘Husker Red’ seeds I collected from the plants at 544. It was actually almost an afterthought because I didn’t think I could grow it from seeds. I cut the tops off and just stuck them in a big envelope all winter. Shook the seeds off this spring and tossed them in the Horseshoe. Thought nothing would come of them, but then I saw the reddish leaves.

Pink mallow may clash with marigolds, but in late October, I don’t care!

Old lady’s mums look pretty. Not a favourite, but they’re nice enough.

Yes, my toad lilies again. I just think they’re so cool-looking.

My hardy fuchsia. I’ll be surprised if it makes it through the cold-cold winter we’re supposed to have, but I sure hope it does because it’s lovely!

I may have had a credit card stolen once, but it wasn’t because I don’t properly destroy old cards!

My clean, dust-free vanity with makeup brush holder. Look carefully…it never stays clean and dust-free for long.

“Body looks well-preserved.”
“Been some cold snaps last few months. Ground’s frozen.”

(Criminal Minds, S03E13, “Limelight”.)

Okay…first of all, they clearly show the body in question being dug out from under approximately 12-18″ of soil. The ground is frozen, yet the soil they’ve dug up is at best damp, certainly not wet with melted ice, and it appears to have been hand-dug. That had to to require some serious muscle in frozen ground!

More obviously…not only is the vegetation green, there are FFS black-eyed susans blooming right behind the person claiming that the ground is frozen. Apparently, she’s not much of a gardener, or else a goddamned good one. My flowers practically never bloom in frozen ground!

The pretty orange leaves are mostly gone, so I couldn’t take the picture I wanted, but the leaves are still pretty at work.

My toad lilies are pretty,  too.

These little fuchsia leaves aren’t exactly pretty, but this is the one that had its leaved turned into lunch, so they’re welcome!

I took the afternoon off (with enthusiastic permission), but even if I didn’t get all of it to do nuffin, I did see some friends and pretty things!

Painted Ladies

“Hummingbird”

Tornado Honeysuckle, still a few blooms.

Also, I got this in the mail. I asked how to pay for it, but she said, “Consider it a gift. Enjoy!” I feel kinda bad now. Kinda.  😀

I’ll have to add text later!

Okay…adding text. 🙂 These are my volunteer red bee balm, and given what I paid for that pitiful little bunch of stems, I’m glad I’m getting a few for free (assuming, of course, that the seedlings somehow make it through the winter.

I was looking around in the flowerbeds on Saturday, and found this lovely little lady. I’d say she wasn’t even an hour old; she was still punch-drunk and her wings were very soft. I have no idea where her chrysalis was; I couldn’t find it even after she’d eclosed and I know brand new butterflies don’t go far at first!

The garden may be winding down, but the marigolds didn’t get the memo. These things are nuts!

I’ve decided that I’m not going to plant cosmos ‘Sensation’ anymore because the rain fucks with them so badly. These dwarf ‘Sensation’, however, I like very much. They did okay, especially considering that I planted them at the very end of July!

It’s a little past its prime, and still absolutely nothing I’d call “raspberry”, but the hummingbirds didn’t seem to care. It’s as ‘Raspberry Summer’ as they needed it to be.

Again, a bit past its prime, but I just love Agastache “Tango”!

I think Scarlet Sage is what will go along the fence line next year, maybe with some zinnia. I’m sure the MLBs won’t be heartbroken, and this stuff stands up to wind and rain very well.

The picture doesn’t do the red zinnias justice. These are dwarf, and although they don’t hold up to rain and wind really well, everything likes them, they grow anywhere and bloom for ages, and they’re so pretty!

I will never tire of nasturtium blooms, either. I wish it was reliably cool enough to grow these. I just love them–especially the mixed orange/gold/yellow–but they don’t like the heat.

The old lady’s lilac didn’t look like much this year, but I was just glad it has survived being moved. A while back, though, I noticed that it has some new growth from the ground, so I think it’s happy where I put it.

I got to use my leaf blower yesterday; I cleaned off the patio because OK acts like wet leaves are molten lava. Besides, P tracks so many inside. Anyway, I took a photo because I’m sure it won’t look like this for long!

Not a great shot, but I also used the leaf vacuum/mulch feature of my leaf blower. Worked out pretty well, too; I put all of the shredded leaves in my compost pile (which, if it actually all composts, should save me a bunch in fertilizer next spring!)

I bought 12 pairs of trouser socks in assorted autumn/winter colours (plus the six black pairs I bought a couple of weeks ago), a pair of high boot socks, and a pair of dark brown (almost black) footless tights. Two black sweaters–one hip length and one long–and two scarves. One flowered scarf and one sage green solid, both infinity. Anyway, with the knee highs and panty hose I bought when I got the black trouser socks and the ones I got tonight, I shouldn’t need to buy any for the rest of the winter. I’ll go through my old ones and pick out any that are still fit to wear, too.

I forgot to post these of my hardy fuchsia. This is the one that didn’t get eaten. Pardon the flash; it was getting dark.

Even the one that did get eaten is trying to recover. It’s too late in the season for it to do much, but at least the roots are alive (let’s hope that’s still true next spring!)

The old lady’s chrysanthemum. I dug them out of the patio flowerbed, but then felt bad for them and just stuck them in the ground in the border. Onje slept in them a lot, and I didn’t think they’d bloom after all I did to them, but they’re tough…and kind of pretty, as chrysanthemums go.

I was on the wrong side to get a good shot, but the maples at work are changing colour beautifully. Only yellow and green here; can’t see the orange. Still pretty.

I sent this to R this morning. Copypasta to save myself the typing…

I just heard the first white-throated sparrow! That is the first songbird I learned to identify by its call by myself (Dad taught me my first songbird because he’d pretend to talk back when they sang, “Chick-a-dee, dee, dee!”) We don’t have the white-throats in summer; we’re too far south. I’m sitting on the patio, and to the west, I hear, “Oh-sweet-Canada, Canada!” from the sparrow, while to the north, I hear the fussy chatter-squeaking of a hummingbird (they sound like angry typewriters). Winter and summer, singing at the same time. October is a funny month!

I forgot to post this yesterday or the day before, or whichever of the cold, crappy, rainy days that we’ve had for nearly a week, but my toad lilies are starting to bloom. I don’t remember whether I actually bought them at Lowe’s to plant here, or whether I just bought them very close to the time we made an offer on the house, but I know they sat in their pots, waiting for closing so I could plant them here. I also potted the Virginia snakeroot to bring over, but squirrels or something dug it up. A few survived, though. Anyway, toad lily. Not great…it was getting dark, and it was half raining.

It was sunny when I got home, and although I didn’t see any MLBS (one, possibly two later), I did have three Monarchs. Two girls and a boy. This is the boy.

They came and installed the gutters today. It rained off and on, but they worked in it anyway. I just wish I could find that goddamned key. Anyway, no more rinsing my yard away, and I think that corner won’t stay so wet, though we did discover we have a problem with the roof. Hope that’ll be either covered by warranty or not too expensive!

May I have a volunteer from the dead Hypoestes plant, please!

I was watering the Peperomia when I saw bright green leaves. Then I saw a few pink spots, and realised the flowers on the Hypoestes had gone past their prime even before I quit watering the plant and let the ugly thing die, and they were hanging over the Peperomia’s pot.