This and That

Emma the fisherman, all posed to catch a big one.    She is such a beautiful animal with large intelligent eyes that shine when she sees you.    She has never met a stranger so a watch dog she is not.   That tail is big and bushy and waves like a proverbial windmill when anyone comes into sight.   

I wonder if I can find some of these beauties for my garden.   The picture comes from Old moss Woman's Secret Garden and the flower is a Borage known as the star flower.  It has a cucumber taste and a history as a medicinal herb.   The pink turns blue as it ages and it self seeds and shows up again and again.   Yeah, I think I'd like some in my garden.

Another idea for your garden, comes from A Thousand Welcomes . . . Ireland.  It has some merit, although  think I'd prefer the hens and chickens, if that is what is in the little pots, to be in the ground and spreading on its own.  Pat would laugh out loud if she could hear me....'It's okay but . . . "
 

The newest picture of granddaughter Erin and Donaleo.  They are in Spain right now and heading for Seville.   They found a remarkable difference in prices as they came out of Istanbul to Spain, from clusters of poverty to affluence and very high prices.    They are about to wind down their trip, although I am sure they would love to keep going, but money and time have caught up with them.    It is time to return home for a visit before getting back to the mundane existence of working in the confines of much smaller spaces.  

Speaking of experiences, if you are going out to work in the garden and it is windy, you might think about wearing some protective eye wear.    I went out to water the front bushes yesterday and the wind was not really that strong.  I picked up a few weeds and checked around only to have my eye start to burn and weep.    I had no idea what was wrong, and of course I kept rubbing the eye and finally put drops in hoping to clear it but it was not about to cooperate.    As the eye got redder and hotter and hurt,  I called the eye doctor's office to find he, or the other doctors, were not available and I had to go to the office in Crescent City.   Daughter Pat, my life saver, came and got me and off we went to wait an hour and a half before the doctor came in to check the eye.    Some emergency . . . he finally numbed the eye, checked it and found a tiny white piece of spore from a flower or a bush, not quite the size of a dime, and he took it out.  He put it on a card to show me and said I could frame it.    I bet I couldn't repeat that incident if I tried.   Who ever heard of a flower spore getting into the eye.  In all my years working out in the yard I have never had this happen and believe me I wouldn't want it to happen again.  So know that the wind can bring about some misery if you are not careful.    If you see me out in the yard with protective eye wear, you will know why. Sheesh, one more thing to add to the be careful list.  So if you decide to garden today, keep in mind that you should grab a good book, find a shady nook, and leave the breeze to itself  and garden another calm day.    It is a matter of 'don't do as I did, but do as I say' . . . have a bright and beautiful Tuesday and make your seconds memorable.    Check the attitude, check the smile and practice your hugs today until you perfect them.    Hugs to all.