Category Archives: Garden: Verb and Noun

Portrait of a Finch

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My poetry professor would be proud of this haiku I wrote…

solitary finch
perched deep in the mulberry
will you stay or go?                                 
                                  By Princess Rosebud

This morning, I looked up into the branches of a winter-nude mulberry and couldn’t resist snapping a photo of this precious little finch.

I had to run to retrieve my phone as I willed her to stay long enough for a photo op. “Please don’t move, please don’t move, please don’t go.”

And she didn’t.

I was rewarded with a mostly monochromatic composition, which is exactly what I’d hoped for. In reality, the little bird has a yellow breast, but the quality of light turned everything almost colorless and dramatic.

If Thoughts Were Clouds

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If thoughts were clouds…what would these say?

As I cleaned up the garden from leaves and branches and other debris, I looked up and snapped a photo of the very last of the clouds from that atmospheric rain event that brought us four+ inches of rain in a short period of time.

It’s warm and the sun is drying out the soggy earth.

My Soul Mate is a Monster

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Sorry for the typo.

I meant to say my Giant Monstera is my soulmate. I certainly should have done a better job of proofreading…my bad.

This guy is the cause of my freak injury. I know I should hate him for it, but he’s so beautiful, especially when backlit by the sun.

I can’t help but love the source of my trauma, my pain.

You can’t really see it in this photo, but the reason why I raced down the stairs in slippery socks (and fell HARD) was to get the Amazon package that contained the moss poles to help my BFF climb to new heights.

When we first met (at Trader Joe’s) and fell in love, he whispered to me that a little support would make him happy. Since I love to oblige, it was an easy request to grant, however, this proclivity of mine set the stage for me to become irrevocably injured.

Deep wounds take a long time to heal, but my love for this Giant Monstera will last forever. Pretty soon I’ll need taller poles and more support because he’s growing and thriving under my care.

Love hurts, but isn’t he gorgeous? My monster(a), my soulmate. 

Update on my injury: Stitches came out yesterday (after two weeks) but were replaced by a dozen Steri-strips to help the eight-inch gash finish healing, which it is,  but at a snail's pace, probably because I'm not a very patient patient. I'm a much better caregiver. The recommendation was no strenuous activity for at least two more weeks or it'll open up again and I'll need more stitches and the doc threatened me with an aircast to immobilize my leg. "Threatened" might be a SLIGHT exaggeration, but that's how I interpreted her words...

Forget-Me-Not

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I was at a free expo a couple months ago and grabbled a package of forget-me-not seeds. I tossed them in a planter and forgot about them until today.

This is their first flowering!

Forget-me-nots symbolize true love, fidelity, and respect. It’s also associated with Alzheimer’s disease, and has (weirdly) been adopted as a symbol by the Freemasons.

Germans coined the most common name used for this flower, das Vergissmeinnicht, because of the myth of two lovers who first saw the bright blue flowers as they walked along the Danube River. The man retrieved the flowers for the woman but was swept away by the river. As he floated away, he told her not to forget him.

Whether the story is true or not, it’s certainly made the forget-me-not a lasting symbol of remembrance.

Myosotis sylvatica readily reseeds, so I’m hoping to grow more and more in the garden because the blue is so valiantly BLUE and truly unforgettable.

My Frog Prince 🐸

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If this is a crystal ball vision of 2024, I’m cheerfully apprehensive (or apprehensively cheerful) about what the next twelve months may bring…

Do you remember the Grimm fairytale, The Frog Prince? It’s about a princess who befriends a frog who was really a prince that had been turned into a frog by an evil witch. The princess’s transformative love was the remedy to break the spell.

I’m in the middle of living a real-life version of this story, but I have some basic issues that seem to be obstacles in the way of fulfilling this enchanted experience.

For the last few days, I’ve been hearing a frog croaking in the garden and every time I do, I run outside and try to find him. So far, I’ve been spectacularly unsuccessful.

The croaking seems to emanate from the lower hill that’s covered in a mass of California native plants and I simply can’t locate my frogprince, no matter how hard I try.

Maybe it’s some kind of weird, bizarre twin flame scenario; the more I chase, the more he runs away. Maybe I need to take a deep breath and allow him to come to me. What do you think?

He’s out there right now, beckoning me with his hypnotic, sexy croaking, and I can’t, not for the life of me, track him down.

It’s important to note that this is a highly unusual occurrence; we don’t normally have frogs around this mostly drought-y part of the world and I have heard them so infrequently that I can’t even remember when the last time there WAS a frog around here.

If you could see me running around the garden from one spot to another, you’d have serious doubts about my mental state, and I’d have to nod my head and agree with you.

Why is my prince hiding from me? I am a princess, after all…

While I’m waiting for my frog/prince transformation, here’s what I learned about the spiritual meaning of frogs…

🐸 Frogs symbolize water and land. They help to connect us with the natural world and our intuitive side. They have the power to transform, mature, and renew the soul.

🐸 A frog’s ability to transition from one element to another — depending on its environment — represents change and transformation, rebirth, and evolution.

🐸 Frogs are symbols of new beginnings and creativity because they hatch from eggs and emerge into the world as tiny tadpoles.

🐸 A frog’s spiritual meaning is associated with fertility, good luck, prosperity, money, transformation, new beginnings, love, and the Moon (due to its close connection with water).www.thepeculiarbrunette.com/frog-symbolism-spiritual-meaning/

🐸 Croaking is usually associated with mating and is used by males to attract females, although some frog species croak to mark their territory or indicate their presence. Frogs may also croak because they feel worried or stressed, warning other frogs around them. 

I hope to discover what sort of magic is needed to find and befriend my froggy visitor for our very own happily-ever-after.

If you see me kissing a frog, don’t say a word, OK?

🐸🐸🐸🐸🐸🐸🐸🐸🐸🐸🐸🐸🐸🐸🐸🐸🐸🐸🐸🐸🐸🐸🐸🐸

Elusive Butterfly of Love

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I spent the day in the gardens, front and back. Neighbors dropped by to chat and comment on our beautiful weather in anticipation of much needed rain.

One neighbor recently got a sweet Golden Retriever that spent too many years at a disgusting Amish puppy mill and is now living her best life. A few minutes later, a young couple walked by with a newborn, their first. Kids rode by on their bikes and e-bikes on their way to play tennis at the park.

It was a wonderful, happy, Southern California kind of day, and I got a lot of work done, filling up three yard waste cans.

Even the butterflies seemed to be more active than usual, perhaps trying to sip as much nectar as possible before the rain or a southerly migration. I tried to snap some pics but they absolutely wouldn’t stay still long enough!

It made me think of that really old song, Elusive Butterfly. It’s beautiful, sad, poignant, even melancholy, but there I was, chasing that elusive butterfly — I could so relate.

Imagine how happy I was to learn that my fave Leon Russell played piano on this song, along with Henry Diltz (Banjo), Carol Kaye (Bass), and Hal Blaine (Drums). I had no idea!

Here’s previous butterfly photos, and these guys knew how to properly model.

I’m still obsessed with the lyrics of Elusive Butterfly

You might wake up some mornin’
To the sound of something moving past your window in the wind
And if you’re quick enough to rise
You’ll catch a fleeting glimpse of someone’s fading shadow
Out on the new horizon
You may see the floating motion of a distant pair of wings
And if the sleep has left your ears
You might hear footsteps running through an open meadow

Don’t be concerned, it will not harm you
It’s only me pursuing somethin’ I’m not sure of
Across my dreams with nets of wonder
I chase the bright elusive butterfly of love

You might have heard my footsteps
Echo softly in the distance through the canyons of your mind
I might have even called your name
As I ran searching after something to believe in
You might have seen me runnin’
Through the long-abandoned ruins of the dreams you left behind
If you remember something there
That glided past you followed close by heavy breathin’

Don’t be concerned, it will not harm you
It’s only me pursuing somethin’ I’m not sure of
Across my dreams with nets of wonder
I chase the bright elusive butterfly of love

Across my dreams with nets of wonder
I chase the bright elusive butterfly of love

Small But Colorful

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No, I’m not narcissistically describing ME, lol, but this little Thanksgiving cactus (zygocactus) with its dazzling, almost glowing, salmon pink showy blooms, is all dressed up to become the centerpiece at dinner.

Up close.

Pink Symmetry

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This is the first bloom from my Marie Bracey camellia japonica. Dozens of buds formed, but this symmetrical, ruffled, peony-like beauty is the first that’s fully open.

The camellia is a flowering evergreen shrub with dark, glossy leaves and large, lush blossoms that appear and bloom for several weeks during the fall through early spring period in warmer regions. 

Camellias represent a spirit of depth, self-reflection, and inner strength. This plant will need all of those traits to survive a mostly drought environment.

Camellias also symbolize perfection and excellence due to their symmetry. Soon, I’ll have to plant it in the ground, but for this initial blooming season, I’m going to leave it right where it is, at the front door.

As Above, So Below

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Did everyone survive 11/11? Are we all freshly intentioned, manifested, and affirmed? I hope so.

I don’t know if I can blame planetary energies or if I must simply and honestly accept full responsibility for the calamity that unfolded for ME yesterday. After watching a few DIY haircutting videos, I THOUGHT it looked easy enough to try a “wolf cut” hairstyle. It’s a cut that works great on curly hair. However easy the videos made it seem, it was for me completely deceptive.

I’m NOT posting any pics, but you can believe me when I say that it was a disaster. I was lucky enough to schedule an emergency appointment with my hair stylist next week, and have total faith in her ability to repair the damage, even as she’s shaking her head while examining my failed attempt.

Today I’m keeping myself far, far away from the temptation to chop off more hair. Since we might actually get rained on in the next few days, I fertilized the lawn and raked up some of the leaves from the mulberry tree. They’re continuing to change color, dry up, and fall to the ground.

As above…

So below…

I love the sound and feel of crunchy leaves, don’t you?

Ch-ch-changes | Autumn Colors

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Time may change me
But I can’t trace time
Ch-ch-changes…

Sing it, David Bowie!

We all fell back last night and gained an hour. For me, It’s always a bit of an unsettling feeling for about a week or so until I get used to it.

More ch-ch-changes…

Did you know that certain trees in Southern California DO change color and lose leaves in autumn?

This is my fruit-bearing mulberry.

The leaves morph into a sunny, vibrant yellow.

Green and yellow against a blue sky.

My garden doesn’t boast any maples that turn red, but these ch-ch-changes mark the hands of time; another autumn, another winter approaching, another year almost over and finished.

Ch-ch-Changes
Pretty soon you’re gonna get a little older
Time may change me
But I can’t trace time
I said that time may change me
But I can’t trace time