Monday, September 10, 2018

stormy monday

After three days of cool weather - COOL weather! - there's quite a bit of rain in the forecast. I did barn chores early this morning, so the goats would have access to hay inside shelters, instead of the paddock picnics they've been enjoying recently.

AZALEA and MALLOW

 The sky was overcast so I got right down to the garden to harvest vegetables - beans and kale for myself, and a little chard and okra to share with the goats as I walked back up through the herd. I was back in the house at about the time I usually begin chores, and still dry, which made me feel all smug and efficient.


Another batch of green and yellow beans went into the freezer, and I steamed a bowl of snapped beans to add to the Pyrex cornucopia (a cornucopia is a food container that's never empty, right?) of bean salad in the fridge.

My pole beans began to struggle during recent days of heat, before I noticed and began to water them - something that had not been necessary even once earlier in this Summer of Continuous Deluge. They are still flowering and producing. I should write an entire post about these pole beans. They are wonderful.


While in the garden, I selected a few zinnias to provide color and cheer in the house should there be the predicted series of murky days ahead. 



They are also likely to become models for more of my Daily Markmaking efforts. Zinnias have turned out to be fantastic subjects for sketching. There is a great deal of variation from one flower to another, and they are a lot of fun as well as a challenge to draw and paint. Or maybe the challenge is part of why they are fun?

Here is one of the green zinnias, growing in the second raised bed:


And here, the very next day, is the same zinnia from a slightly different viewpoint.
With a special guest!

According to the Internet of Dragonfly Identification,
this one is a male flame skimmer - Libellula saturata.

My plan for today - after the chores and the garden and the photographing and so on - was to do a lot of housecleaning. Planning, it turns out, is different from doing. The rain started while I was downloading photographs, and both Moxie and Della anchored me solidly in place. So I decided to write this blog post before disturbing the cats in my rigorous pursuit of a tidy kitchen.

I may be doing that housecleaning stuff at about suppertime.

Meanwhile, I hope these zinnias help get your week off to a cheerful start.
If you sketch them, let me know!


~~~~~

10 comments:

  1. Goats!

    I used to dislike zinnias when I was young. They seemed to be such a messy flower - all different with loud colors. I appreciate them much more now that I'm older!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I really appreciate how long the flowers last - they are amazing! I don't remember them as being quite so vivid as many of them seem to be now, but mixed in amongst softer colors - which are my favorites - the bright ones are like accents. I had hoped to have some red and white peppermint-y ones which I thought were common years ago but I have yet to see one here. No complaints, though. And the green ones are kind of nifty!

      Delete
  2. I love that amazing shade of green that appears in zinnias - I don't think there are too many other flowers that come in that color. Alas, no drawing will be happening here despite wishing it were so.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I didn't know zinnias come in green until I saw the seeds this year! I planted three different varieties (or maybe the color groups are not considered varieties - I don't know) and am planning to save seeds from favorite colors and hope to add more different-colored ones from new seed next year too!

      Delete
  3. What a summer. I got so very tired of the heat and humidity I started talking about moving north! Either too much rain or not enough, flowers wilting or drowning, gardens needing watered or getting overtaken by weeds during the long rainy periods. I am very glad to see signs of autumn's approach.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh, Sue...you'll have to go farther North than Massachusetts! Northern Maine, maybe. Or Canada. Maybe I'll hitch a ride with you!

      Delete
  4. Those Zinnias are beautiful! It made me grin to imagine your kitties holding you in place :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm really enjoying the zinnias - they continue to be a highlight of the 2018 gardening adventure!

      Delete
  5. Lovely flowers to brighten up your house while it's stormy and dark outside!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. And they last such a long time even in a vase! :)

      Delete

Thank you for leaving a comment! I enjoy reading each one, and will usually reply either here or on YOUR blog!

Due to spam, Anonymous comments are blocked. I'm hoping to avoid the annoying Word Verification gizmo! If you find you cannot leave a comment, please email me so we can try to sort it out.