Introducing HIS Lordship

[Management expresses sincere relief that at last - Claire is CURRENT with this blog. Amen. Pass the plate.]

Have to show this off - my office plant buddy, my Gloxinia. This plant is somewhere's around 5 years old now. I bought it at the farmer's market and am astounded with the thing's success in blooming annually, like clockwork; HUMONGOUS red bells with white ruffles.

His lordship, Emperor Fredrick Von Gloxinia

Purdy, huh? I recently ordered seeds of the colors/varieties below. They're easier to raise from tubers but no one has them this time of year and I'm too antsy to wait for next spring.

My future gloxinias - Mother Nature willing...

I used to have the variety Emperor William (above, top left flowers) which also bloomed like crazy. It died during an unfortunate pot transplant. I didn't even know it was possible to kill a Gloxinia, they're so amenable. Oh well, nice to know I have a talent at something.

Interesting side note. My office desk is on the 10th floor. All my office gloxinia and two geraniums have pink or red flowers and I can not have red flowers on the windowsill. Why not? Because hummingbirds fly up ten stories to hoover just outside my window and give longing looks at the flowers, and dirty looks at the human that dares to taunt them with unobtainable goodies. To save the little guys the energy loss I have nothing red in my window - the glox up top was moved shortly after its photo session.

Being an office building there are NO windows I can open, otherwise believe me, I'd be feeding the feathered little helicopters.

Guess Again Ms. Know-it-all!

Side note to yesterday's report on Mommy Nancy's visit last weekend. She saw a small bird in my backyard, and picked my ever handy Field Guide to North American Birds.

Nancy: "I found it... hum... Black Phoebe... it was this one, a juvenile... it had brown on the wings."

Know-it-all-Claire: "Naw, that wasn't a juvenile, it was an adult, they're solid black with a snowy white belly. "

Nancy: "I thought I saw like a reddish brown on the wings."

Know-it-all-Claire: "No, no, there's an adult or two that always hang around the yard."

So, flash forward to this morning, I look out the window and whom do I see lined up on the Pool fence?

Juvie Line-up
Waiting for MaBaby Phoebes! Honestly, I'm tickled half to death. I wish I could be home every day to watch the little guys line up for their chow, and their harried parents. They all ignore me, but when a Scrub Jay buzzed in, the entire family was off in a flash. You know how it is when THAT creepy neighbor comes calling. You just have to pretend you're out!

Feeding time at last

Girly Weekend - Part II

I can't say I was a traditional Sex and the City (SatC) fan, because I never watched it on HBO, I watched it via a weekend SatC DVD fest. Still, as soon as I heard of the SatC movie, I began plans for seeing it with a buddy or two. Barbara and I originally planned to see it on it's opening night of its release, which would have been in Denver, the night before flying home. Alas, our vacation was cut short. No biggie - Mommy Nancy decided to see it with me. After the play last night, she came home with me and we watched a few episodes of SatC on tv.

So we got up this morning, ate a LONG breakfast, sat in the back yard yakking, went for a quick swim, then headed for the movies in Roseville.

Even though SatC has been out since late May, it was still sold out when we got to the theater. No biggie - we got tickets for the next screening but that meant (drat!) we had to go next door to the theater for a yummy sushi lunch at Mikuni's Japanese restaurant *belch*.

Totally enjoyed the movie, though I admit, I enjoyed having company to sit in the back yard with even more. I don't really sit out in my back yard much. I don't even have lawn furniture out there anymore because every freakn' kitty in the neighborhood gets more lounge time on the furniture than I do (I do have foldable camp chairs which are quite comfy, thankyouverymuch).

Hey! While on the topic of the garden, I never showed off what happened to the stuff I planted back in March.

A bumper crop of Denia Lillies in early May

Not only did the lilies bloom, but they had the good graces to bloom before I went on vacation AND while I had company. I have a humongous rock in the center of the pot above, so Rum-kitty doesn't bed down on and kill these lillies like he did some Oriental Lilies I planted a few years ago. I am still waiting for the Nerine Bowdenii flowers to bloom. Maybe they're not willing to come up while the lilies are offering such competition.

Don't be too impressed - this pot is currently a pansy's vision of HELL.
Aha! And below is the first and only orchid that my birding buddy done gave me that lived. I think I've murdered some twenty something orchids from him. HEY! We can't all have green thumbs you know. I think this one lived because I ignored it. Sometimes a plant, well you know, it just wants to be left alone.

Cymbidium Survior