The Bird Bath

I've been waiting for a long time to see if the birds would use a home made bird bath I placed in the yard months ago. Today I was rewarded. Peeking out the upstairs window, drawn by the singing of a bird sitting on the fence. I watched the bright red cardinal for a while. To my surprise he swooped down into the bird bath. Not just sitting on the rim to perhaps drink water. He entered the water splashing and playing before emerging and flying off. I finally caught him. It's the small things that bring me joy. No pictures yet since I wasn't expecting to see this.

Hopefully I'll be able to catch him soon and get a picture.

Journaling

In a perfect world I could share all aspects of my life and thoughts on my blog. But in the times we live in it may not be wise because people sometimes take information and use it for unsafe purposes. I'm going to try to blog more to share my thoughts in this walk called life. I'm on summer vacation. This is my 4th week. If you've been following this blog you know I always have lists of things to do and often don't complete them all as planned. This year I finally had the tree cut in the front of my house. I miss the branches with it's shade that helps keep the house cool in summer. Although I won't miss sweeping up as many leaves in fall. It'll fill out again, hopefully not too fast.

I got an estimate of having the trim on the outside of my house done. Now to contact the painter to come and start. There were some areas I wanted to do. Why paint anything if you're hiring a painter? I love to paint and some areas seemed labor intensive like treating and removing rust on a gate that may be time consuming. It wasn't and I cleaned and did a little sanding on the rust before applying rust removal. Days later I wiped off the gate again and painted it. What a difference it made. Time will tell how good preparation and application of paint was.

I also did a wood door and surrounding trim. The other side of the door still has to be done and spaces filled between the frame and door with calking. Thought spaces were large enough to insert wood shims but they weren't so I'll use caulking. One small part of the trim has rotted so I'll have to decide what to do with that since I won't be replacing the frame or trim right away. Other home repairs are more important. I discovered wood epoxy which can be sanded and painted. A project for another day before winter with snow and ice so The wood can be sealed and pained for protection. Hopefully this will be the only area with damage.

I live in a old town home in the city. We call them row homes but it seems real estate now call them town homes as though this sounds better. My house is brick with the front exterior covered in stucco. Not my choice but that of the previous home owners. I believe I'm the 3rd person to own this home with a husband and wife who divorced and sold the home to me being the second owner. I'm told the previous owners were a elderly couple.

The house is old in the colonial style with wood moldings and trim, wood floors, large windows that keep the house bright which I love. A fire place in the living room which drew me to the house when I was house hunting and a sun porch and nice sized back yard for a home in the city. Our neighborhood is changing as many around the country. Buying a house here is now about 4 times more than what I paid when I bought mine. Can't imagine spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on a house but many do and have that type of income. The larger the home the more maintenance and expenses and at this time in my life I think I chose well as each year is a new year of age and I'm learning that less material things are sometimes more. There are a variety of homes in the neighborhood. New construction, colonial, Victorian, Greek revival, and others.

I love that I can walk a short distance and visit historic homes and see the chickens walking in the yard at Grumblethorpe, shop at farm stands, and enjoy what other gardeners are doing with their gardening spaces and front yards and stoops. Philadelphia has a lot to explore and lots of entertainment whether live entertainment, plays, music, restaurants, museums, historic homes and sites, even a circus school in Germantown where you can be taught how to use the trapeze. It's interesting driving by the school and seeing people fly through the air. Our neighborhood is changing for the better and that's good since I'm blooming where I'm planted. Still long to live in a wooded area but that's a dream that may not be full filled or practical. I just have to visit these types of settings more and we have many in the city. Philadelphia is the gardening capital of the country with 30 public garden spaces, arboreta, and historic landscapes within 30 miles of the city. 

There are always repairs and maintenance living in a old house. Although all homes have to be maintained or they'll deteriorate. Before I return to work I hope to have the painting finished and some other painting indoors that I'll do to freshen up. What's on my to do list? Hire someone to finish tiling the kitchen floor. Spend saved monetary gift from Christmas on a new stove. New light fixtures for the kitchen and sunporch. Hire someone to remove a few items from a basement room and give a good cleaning before getting estimates to have the room cemented floors and walls. It also needs brick and stone work. Have to keep the foundation of the house stable. Continue to declutter and go through items for the Good Will so that rooms used for storage can be used as a guest bedroom again and a walk in closet room. Some things on this list are priority, some will wait till spring.

I have some old white wood boarder fencing that I'd like to put around the area of the tree out front. I'd prefer iron fencing but I'll see how it looks and holds up over winter. It can always be taken down. In the fall I plan on planting narcissus among the ivy for a beautiful spring display. That should be pretty although it'll be difficult digging holes with tree roots. One good thing is that I won't have to worry about critters eating narcissus. They won't eat them although they may dig some up.

What do I do for entertainment? Spend time with family, reading, blogging, going out for dinner, gardening, visiting other gardens, shopping, cooking. I haven't traveled out the country in several years and really don't miss the airport process. Although I haven't been on any trips yet this summer, I plan to do a few day trips before school starts like the Philadelphia Zoo, Amish Country, and maybe a few days at the beach. We went to the zoo in June but didn't stay because unfortunately it was closing early for a beer garden. What does beer have to do with animals?The beach really doesn't draw me like the mountains do but on a family trip you can't always pick your choice. It'll be nicer seeing the fall foliage in the mountains when the weather changes and being outdoors will be more enjoyable.

At the end of summer break I'll be starting at a new school and I'm hopeful that I'll love it. I can walk to work and it's a small school. I'll probably have to drive though because if another nurse is absent I have to drive to the school when it's my turn to administer medication or do a procedure. I'm dreaming of retirement and hopefully this will be the last school I'll be working at before I retire. But that may be 7-10 years from now if my health allows. Life and what happens can't always be planned.

Some Blooms in July

Gloriosa  lilies from the Philadelphia Flower Show bloomed although not on the trellis placed there for it. They grew straight up with tendrils that attached to the other surrounding flowers. My small flower bed is a jungle in July. But the pollinators are loving it. I've never seen as many different types of bees, butterflies, and other insects. The blooms are beautiful and worth having every summer. The bulbs will need to be removed from the flower bed before frost to save for next season.

Hope my sunflower gets taller but maybe not. The head is starting to form.

Balloon flower needs to be dead headed.

The bees love it.

They're at least 7 feet as are the white Casablanca lilies blooming in the yard which smell wonderful. Although beautiful they aren't as fragrant. My daughter asked if they could be cut for a vase. No....

Welcome Summer

Summer has arrived with lower humidity today. It was rainy all week and cloudy with thick humidity. Felt like I was back in Jamaica. Kept me from starting some painting on the basement door and gate. Maybe next week. A gentle wind is blowing and the hope of a completely dry day tomorrow. My plan, the Philadelphia Zoo. Haven't been in years. It's supposed to be nice weather tomorrow so I'll get there before it's too hot. It's time to plant pansies for fall. Have a beautiful summer and happy gardening.

Resting on the asters. Don't know what type of insect it is though. It's nice to see different insects on the blooms this year including lots of butterflies and bees. Even saw the first grub in the soil which I've never seen in the flower bed. Now I know what has been eating my zinnia seedlings. I have one sunflower plant stretching for the sun with so many plants in a small space fighting for room. Hopefully it'll continue to grow. Thought I had a picture of it but next time.

Can't beat zinnias in summer.

Allium seed head. Can I get seeds from them?

All the plants have filled in, too many.

The ladies in red are beautiful this year and tall. Would be nice if they stayed in bloom longer.

Coreopsis

Cosmos

Echinacea soon to bloom.

Gloriosa lilies next to the zinnias  have buds and should soon bloom.

Asters

Lantana hasn't grown much yet but it's still alive.

The lily is taller than me, possible 6 feet now.

Black Eye Susan's starting to form buds. I can see this being a problem and taking over the flower bed.

Lambs ear looking better now that the cats have stopped laying on it. And one zinnia seedling. Guess I should move it so it has a chance.

Salvia and lantana.

I ate the first cherry tomato from the sad looking sun gold plant. It was a pretty shade of orange, sweet as described and so rich in taste. That's the difference from store bought versus home grown tomatoes. Hopefully the plant will fill out better but maybe not. One tomato is green and I hope for many more. They'll  be plucked off and eaten directly from the plant like the last one. The other vegetables, kale, lettuce, and chard were removed and replaced with vinca and impatiens. They didn't thrive. I've grown lettuce on the porch before and it did well but not this time.

Pothos from my desk at work home for the summer.

Most of the shades are kept down during the hot weather or the plants wouldn't survive on the porch. But the mandevilla is not having it. She hasn't bloomed since the first blooms although she's growing vines. Maybe soon.

New addition a boxwood topiary. Hopefully it's not dying already it was droopy today. I have the receipt just in case. Maybe a little water will help. That'll give me something green on the porch in the winter.

My begonia got burned from sitting in the window so I removed it today. Nice to see it has a bloom.

The other begonia tubers are growing slowly.

Repotted Christmas cactus in the spring and now it's developing new leaves. It must like it's spot on the porch. Hopefully it'll bloom again. The white blooms are beautiful.

Oxalis is such a pretty plant.

June and the Catmint

Catmint (nepta) has been removed from the flower bed out front. On the day I planted it one of many neighborhood kitties helped. He rolled all over the ground, rubbed my legs, and attempted to go sit on the sunporch which he often does. We're unaware until walking out and the cat is leaving the porch. Not a good thing because outside cats can transmit fleas and disease to house cats. I should have known this was a problem. Any way the first morning after planting it the plant was flattened, mulch and soil covered the ground. Lambs ear near the nepta was smashed and bitten off. I thought it was the work of squirrels. Never did I think it actually was a cat until the third time. I removed it from the flower bed what remained and replace it with 3 salvia and put up a small fence to hopefully deter the cat. The same day while sitting on my porch the cat came to my door. Not able to get in, he proceeded to the flower bed and found the nepta removed. I haven't had a problem since. I have to do some reading on cat mint. Wasn't aware the nepta is cat nip.

Today I planted 4 zinnia and purple sweet alyssum. The zinnia seeds I sprinkled in the bed have started coming up but I couldn't wait. Sunflower seeds also sown are coming up. The farm stand had beautiful flowers today including a variety of zinnias. Couldn't resist. Purple sage, sweet potato vine, and a cucumber seedling also left with me and a pint of fresh cheery tomatoes from the farm. Can't wait until it's time for peaches. This stand also sells wonderful selections of firewood from their farm. The year my regular man was sick and couldn't deliver I called them. It was the best wood ever and smelled wonderful. My neighbor several doors down commented on the smell and asked me where I bought it. It'll be that time soon. Until then, lets enjoy the weather. We've been having storms, heavy rain, flooding, and power outages in my area. Although the city didn't loose power, the county did and some schools were closed.

Pollinators are loving my choice of flowers this season with a variety of bees and butterflies. I've also seen the largest spider who sits in wait for flies and other insects. It's nice to see so many on the blooms. Last Saturday I had to pick up and release a orange and black butterfly from my sunporch. The blooms on the porch drew it in, but it couldn't find it's way out and needed help. The asters are getting taller and just beautiful. And to think I pulled up one and replanted realizing it could only be what I planted last fall. The other has light purple blooms but isn't thriving like this one.

Foxgloves are almost done. If I don't start taking care of the seedling ones inside they're won't be any next spring.

The other asters that aren't thriving. Maybe they'll do better next year.

Zinnias and sunflower seeds have started to come up.

Coreopsis

Hopefully the geraniums will start blooming soon.

Planted the sweet potato vine and it immediately wilted. Gave it some water and hopefully tomorrow it'll be okay.

They're starting to get their color.

Wonder how long the pansies will last.

May have to remove it. It looks too large for the container.

Planted the sweet alyssum.

Cats ripped the lambs ear when they were tearing up the nepta.

Unfortunately something is eating my seedlings already.

Seedlings looking good.

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Dahlias