I think my cats

are best buddies now. They have two cat beds side-by-side, but try to fit in the same one together. It's snug!

Mabel wouldn't look at me when I squeaked to get them both facing the camera. 

baby snake

Found along the edge of garden bed, when I was trimming back the grass. After spending hours out there (or so it felt like) pulling the weeds from the beds. I saw this wriggle away and thought it was a large earthworm, but it moved differently. I actually saw three of them- and caught one (gently) just to take a picture.

Tiny Northern brown snake! (my best guess at identifying). I am fairly sure it is the same species I saw years ago as adult- I'm glad to know they're thriving in my yard. This one so small it's the width of my wedding ring. Literally.

I show nothing of the garden yet because it's in such terrible shape. But there are a few flowers lingering even though the heat- from a mixed packet my sister sent me last year. (I don't know which these are)

little celosias

It's started to come back- my desire to work in the yard and garden. I just woke up one day and felt like going out there and doing stuff. Maybe the malaise from TBI is finally lifting. Yesterday I actually went out and cleared all the weeds and dead plants from the garden beds- it's still rather untidy with leggy going-to-seed nicotiana and some other flowers leaning all over the place. But looks a bit cared for now. I also weeded out the front bed, which is full of gaps and alarming empty spaces since I cut back the boxwoods severely months ago and it is so slow to regrow (but showing some progress now). My next task is to dig out the bottom of the leaf pile and spread mulch here. And then plant something. Not more boxwood (one of them has died). Maybe a beautyberry, or an azalea.

But what really was my first move into doing plant stuff again was for someone else. Or a bunch of someones. I'd weeded the mailbox spot when trimming edges for mowing again, and there were a lot of little celosia seedlings growing up in the grass just outside the bed. I felt bad to keep just mowing their tops off, so I pulled most of them, potted up, and gave away via the online neighborhood group. At least half a dozen people came and took some. 

They were so sad when first potted up!

So spent a few days in my mini greenhouse to recover with some extra humidity. It was nice to put the greenhouse to use again. 

Part of the roof panel had torn off from the wind, so I fastened on some temporary plastic sheeting. On one short side, the plastic shower liner has started to tear. I taped it up. It's the section that was already used when I put it on here- the liner that I bought new shows no signs of wear yet. A year for that is pretty good I think, and if the new-bought one last two or three years, even better. It was only five dollars. Ten bucks every few years to re-skin my greenhouse is great.

Back to the plants- they all perked up and looked fine by the time I set them out for giveaways. It felt satisfying to get my hands a little dirty again.

this plant

is a good indicator of how off my mental state has been since the concussion. It's an American beautyberry- a plant I snatched up with delight at the last plant swap. I'd neglected to actually put it in the ground so it was waiting for cooler weather again. I should have been devastated (or at least sad, disappointed?) to find it wilted and looking dead after the heat wave we had, when I forgot to water most of my outdoor potted plants. I looked at its folded dry leaves and felt nothing. I didn't care. I wondered if I would ever care about plants and gardening again.

But I watered it, and all the other things, and most of them revived- my ginger mint is putting up a few new leaves again, the geraniums pulled through. Chives appear to be completely dead, but that one is no biggie- easy to start or buy more in spring. The beautyberry revived! It put out a lot of new leaves and looks good as ever now.

Weird thing is, I don't feel thrilled about this. I should be glad. I'm pleased, but in a way that feels remote. It's just such an odd thing, to not care much about what was once my passion.

Another sad aspect of this is, I looked back at what else I brought home from that plant swap. Most of them didn't make it. The mountain mint, sweetspire, St. John's wort, aster, bergamot and shining sumac are all dead. I am disappointed about the sumac. The rosemary is looking pretty terrible- most of it ended up afflicted by some insect and I cut it back and just a few stems are regrowing. I am not sure about the elephant's food and the sedum- will have to look next time I'm outside. And of the houseplants, I still only have the Haworthia. But do I feel sad about all this? No, just rather- indifferent. Which in itself is sad.

our two kitties

are starting to get along! Just a few weeks ago, I would have never seen them relaxing together like this. They still have plenty of spats and swat at or chase each other, but also do friendly greetings, nose bumps and I've even caught Eliza briefly licking Mabel's head, or giving her eye-squints. Good signs!

my tucker fish

 has great color again- better than it shows in this photo. He seems to love the heat wave we've been having. 

I'd somewhat neglected his tank lately, but this week have got it cleaned up again. Did a water change, scraped algae off the glass, dosed with a bit of plant fertilizer, and replaced the airstone in one of the sponge filters. Will try to get a full tank shot soon too.

ditched the acorns

What happened with the end of that project. I got to the step of leaching the tannins out. Had all the ground acorns 

in three containers of water in the fridge. Poured off, stirred up and poured off again, and refreshed with new water every day. For over two weeks it felt like (I lost track). Just never seemed to get clear. Pictures of one container, several days apart each image:

Really dark with tannins at the beginning

Started to get lighter after just a few days

but then seemed to go on forever never getting clearer than this:

I finally stopped. I think it just went on too long- the ground acorns seemed to be spoiling in the fridge. Had that same unpleasant, slightly-pink greyish color as many of the nutmeats I'd tossed out when shelling them, because I thought they were bad.

So either all those acorns I saved in the freezer went bad, or they went bad from taking so long to leach the tannins out, or I'd thrown away masses of them at the beginning, that I didn't need to. I just don't know which it is.

Either way, I did taste a tiny bit of the acorn 'granola' (that's what it looked like) and it was very bland. Not soured or rancid, but not nutty and sweet either. 

So I never cooked with them at all. I think next time I collect acorn mast to keep the deer from hanging out in my yard all winter, I'll just throw them in the woods.

this blog

has kinda gone defunct, because I had various health problems and injuries one after another, and simply didn't plant a garden last season, or this. It's all weeds out there plus some self-seeded and perennial herbs, a few flowers. Borage, nicotiana. I still have the mints, the figs, the geraniums (for now). The chives died in the heat this week, but perhaps will revive with some watering. . . 

I don't know if I'll get the garden going again, but did want to make note of some changes.

One: we got a new cat!

two, actually-

The first one is quite a little beast. Sweet at times, but definitely has her own mind. And she likes to chomp on plants. Has eaten my big spider plant- all the foliage shorter, with shredded ends. Well, now I will be glad of all the babies to start new ones with! (I used to constantly give them away)

I had to give away and re-home a ton of houseplants that would make her sick (or outright kill her) if she nibbled on them. And I'm so glad I did, because she shows no signs of stopping. My Pilea peperomioides has bite marks in all the leaves. And the second cat we adopted, the tortie- she likes to dig in the dirt of my parlor palm. I'm sweeping up and replacing dirt in there all the time.

I kept only a few of the toxic plants- heartleaf philodendron, velvet philodendron, zebrina and pothos 'cebu blue'-

they are on very high shelves she can't reach, or hung from the ceiling.

It was difficult to part with so many, but many went to my brother-in-law's girlfriend, a woman just as passionate about plants, and when I visit her home I will see them thriving. The giant dracanea flowered again the week after she took it home!

Photos of our big schefflera, the only houseplant we'd named (Bob), right before I gave it away.

I had recently cut it back severely. There were plenty of new baby leaves growing

Some stem pieces I had cut and dipped in rooting hormone, the leaves all dropped off and I thought they were done for, but I pulled one out and after weeks and weeks, there were roots finally growing at the base of the cutting. So I was looking forward to see if those finally sprouted new leaves. Maybe they will and I will see someday.

I was most sad, to part with my angelwing begonias. These were cuttings I'd just started of the narrow-leaved one (forget the variety name at the moment)

And all my different coleus. They're planted outside in the front beds or in pots now, but I won't be bringing cuttings inside to keep over winter again. Toxic. I can't even name now, all the ones that are gone- but it was well over half my collection. Two-thirds or even three-quarters of it.

I do still have most of the semi-succulents, the creeping charlie (sweedish ivy), boston fern (shabby but regrowing), most of my african violets, and the zygo cactus. That's about it. For now.

Someone had just offered me cuttings of her zz plant, one I'd always wanted to have, but I had to decline. That one's toxic too. It's just not worth the risk. I know I'll never teach this cat not to chew on plants when she's bored (or antsy that dinner's not getting served fast enough). But we already love the kitties too much, they are more to me than plants right now.

how's my Tucker

doing, fine. Better color now again-

though hard to get it in a photo (as usual) because he starts zooming back and forth when I'm near. So most pics a blur or simply backlit-

or he lurks in the large anubias corner. 

Got this decent pic from the short side of the tank.

Something's still going wrong when I do the water changes. I admit it had been too long between them again, and I had never done a very thorough cleaning since the time away on vacation. Yesterday attempted to remedy that- siphoned the gravel, but only on one side of the tank because thought I ought not overdo it and put him into shock.

But then I continued with trimming plants and decided to move a few, and cut down or pulled out all the rotalas in the back (a lot of them dying, looking shabby) and trimmed some bolbitis fern off the log, tied onto stones to put in the background, etc. It ended up being too much change. So I thought. Except, the fish looked relatively calm until I started pouring the new water in, then he clamped up, hung at the surface, barely moving, curving his body. Looked alarmingly like the symptoms my minnows died of.

Prime doesn't expire. Nitrates were low already. My best guesses are: the city is using chloramine or added excess chlorine (but Prime is supposed to nullify that anyway) or I released ammonia into the water column when pulling some plants up (but the fish looked okay at that point) or, the new water caused a pH jump. I think it's the latter. Must test before and after next time.

He looked shocky all that evening and I was worried. But this morning seems completely fine, so phew.

our old man cat

went to his final rest yesterday. We miss him so much. 

He was a great cat. Super friendly, handsome and confident-

Loved to be with his people. He would sleep on your lap for hours. Keep you company if you were sick. Greet anybody walking by our house (unless they had a dog). This photo taken years ago by one of my kids with a toy camera.

When they weren't at my house for a week, he'd go around looking for them, and sleep on their beds. 

Same if my husband traveled.

His favorite foods were tuna, chicken heart, greenies, or anything he caught himself (except the chipmunks and voles). Squirrel, mouse, bird, rabbit . . .  Many apologies to the small wildlife on his behalf (though I don't think he was one bit sorry) I always did feel bad about that. 

Sadly, in his last few days had no interest in the tasty morsels we offered. (He could be picky, but in this case it was because he was ill).

He liked boxes.

Especially if somebody's clothes were in there

Great at relaxing (aren't all cats?)

Yes, look at all the pictures of my cat sleeping-

this pic from years ago when we had two cats (turned out he didn't like sharing his household with another feline) I always though it looked like he was going to melt off the chair-

He was a big fan of the outdoors, and a superlative hunter, as noted above. I won't show again the evidence of his skill.

Dear Irwin, we loved you so much. Best cat I've ever known.

 Nineteen and a half years of a very good life.

Bonus: video my husband took, playing "let's knock the pen off the desk" game. Which became annoying later- the cat would use this to get our attention if we ignored his demands, knocking all sorts of things off the counters in the kitchen! Now it's funny and endearing in memory.

(All the photos on here that you haven't seen before, were taken by my husband, one of my kids, or my stepson.)