I have already written two posts (on July 17th and 20th) in conjunction with this particular morning spent getting in my steps and checking out the usual haunts at lovely Heritage Park.
I have stopped to check out the Community Gardens at Heritage Park twice this year. The first was when I participated in the 5K walk back on May 9th. Due to the pandemic, the gates were locked and signs advised that a directive was forthcoming when gardening would begin again.
The Community Gardens are located on the Heritage Park grounds, halfway between the historical village and the Conservatory and Botanical Gardens. The Community Gardens consist of personal plots of land where folks can garden ’til their heart’s content for an annual fee. Also found in this area is the Good Will Garden.
The purpose of the Good Will Garden is two-fold. In 2002, through a program developed by Judge Geno Salomone of the 23rd District Court in Taylor, Michigan, community service workers have tended large garden plots and all produce is donated to the Downriver Fish & Loaves Community Pantry. Planting begins in May and the last harvest is in October. The community service workers maintain the gardens throughout the growing season. It is a win-win venture to give back to the local community.
The Community Gardens got off to a slow start …
I am sure many wondered if and when plants and/or seeds could be planted – what would happen to everyone’s crops in 2020? Well, when I bopped by to check out the personal plots and community service plots over Fourth of July weekend, was I in for a surprise! After the lifting of various restrictions imposed by the Governor during the pandemic, the growing season had begun in earnest. Between bouts of torrential rain, the sunniest June on record and a horribly hot start to July, the veggie gardens were already producing. Here have a look.
These are the work force detail gardens.
These are the personal plot gardens.
I love the ambiance here – for example, this quaint wooden chair with the flowers planted where the seat would be and a cheery-looking birdbath.
There are garden doodads and other homey touches in most of the personal gardens, an extension of the owners’ personalities it seems. The nature lovers often put out bird feeders, houses and baths to cater to their feathered friends. Others have brought along Adirondack chairs to take a load off their feet. You may recall last year I chatted it up with Mike who was watering a double plot on an equally hot and humid Sunday morning. You can read about my visit with Mike and see some of the garden photos if you click here. Mike told me one of their plots was dedicated to flowers and tended to by his wife. Mike was in charge of the veggie plot. He enlightened me on the whole process, as I had no clue that regular folks could own these plots. I thought the produce was grown strictly for donation to the food pantry. Mike explained that 20-by-17-foot plots cost $50.00 apiece to lease from May through October each year.
As I walked along the fence, I decided the gardeners must have slept in, likely the result of neighborhood fireworks going off in and around the Downriver area until all hours of the night. I was the only one walking around the garden area and boy were the mosquitoes making a meal of me due to the heat and humidity. I wondered if the gardeners here don’t mind tending to their gardens in the heat of the day?
Of course a few lucky gardeners have raised beds for their gardens, so no stooping or bending is required to tend to their crops or flowers. This is the way to go and easy on the knees too!
I did concede, as I ambled along, that someone had been by to water the raised gardens before I arrived, as all the greens had a fresh and dewy look. Here’s a close-up of those raised gardens nearest the fence – it’s like stepping up to the salad bar.
Was the corn knee-high by the Fourth of July as that expression goes? From my vantage point, I eyeballed those rows of corn, while trying to figure the height on the morning of the 5th of July. What do you think? I know fellow blogger and Michigander Ruth, or Diane with her huge garden in Ohio will know the answer.
It’s not all about the veggies – one plot had nearly ripe berries peeking over the fence.
And this one lone Coneflower had grown mightily in the few short weeks since the garden had commenced. Perhaps this gardener has a perpetual plot filled with perennials?
There are farm implements that were used long ago and now serve to enhance the garden area. I’m pretty sure these gardens will never need the likes of large implements like these. The bales of straw are spread over the soil by the community workers to keep the soil moist between waterings.
I wrapped up my long morning by heading back to the parking lot and sitting in the air-conditioned car a good ten minutes before taking off – whew! I’m no fan of the intense heat and humidity, but it is sure to help your garden to grow. I’ll leave you with this quote: “Garden as though you will live forever.” ~ Thomas Moore
Linda Schaub
WALKIN', WRITIN', WIT & WHIMSY 
That flower is so pretty in its lonesomeness. And awesome that it grows there.
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With all the heat I am surprised it did not wither away Ellie. Yes, very few flowers in that area, so it was an oddity – I even though it was a flower that might become a vegetable eventually, but not sure.
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Wonderful gardens, I love the old farm implements. We have an old small plow surrounded by flowers also. I love the touch of history with those. The best looking plant in my garden is the Milk weeds. They are done flowering now.
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I’ve been watching the Milkweed at the Park – it hasn’t bloomed yet – I think you’re ahead of us weatherwise, even with the wildflowers. You had photos of them before I saw a single one.
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That is good then, the milk weed by you hasn’t bloomed, that means you might get to see more monarchs. Look forward to those photos if you get any.
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I think I’ll make a regular trip over to Memorial Park once a week to see if I see them Sandra. I could not find the plants though. That is the strangest thing. When I read in the online newspaper they were planting Milkweed and other perennials, I went over to see where they planted it as I figured I would see the fresh plants or new dirt, etc. and know where to look … I have found yellow Daisies, Coneflowers, Irises and that Lantana but no Milkweed. But it does grow at Council Point Park so will have to just keep watching it to get more Monarch or Swallowtail pics,
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It took 2 years for mine to have flowers on them also. I just picked a pod in the fall when they were about to open. They were out in the country side. I planted the seeds and they grew. I did not think they would. I found out this type spreads out from the root. So every year I have another plant that starts right next to the first one.
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I see – my friend in New York sent me some seeds but they did not grow. But she had them growing around her mailbox in abundance so figured they’d do well here.
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I took some up to the cabin, and they did not grow there either.
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I never ever got a sprout out of them for some reason.
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I love that some people use their space for flowers. It’s hard to tell how high the corn is from a picture and of course it depends on whose knees you are measuring against but the corn looks like it is doing well.
The plant behind the yellow beans sign actually looks a lot like basil.
Also it is straw not hay that is commonly used as mulch in the gardens. Many people confuse the two. Hay is dries grasses and legumes. It is commonly used for animal feed and because it contains a lot of seeds is not good to use in the garden. Straw is dried stalks from grains such as wheat or oats. Since the seeds have been removed it is low in nutrition so not used for feed but good for animal bedding and used in the garden.
Thanks for the lovely pictures.
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I couldn’t tell either Ruth. In fact it looked kind of skinny to me, but I’ve never grown corn. Yes, it would depend on the knees … I never thought of that in conjunction with that expression. 🙂
I knew you could identify these veggies – we grew tomatoes one year, the first year we were here, and the squirrels and jays got all of them. Teeth and beak marks in all of them, so that was the first and last time for growing tomatoes!
You know, I should have known better and I’ll go and correct the post now. Hay is for animal feed and I’ve seen that in pictures of barns.
A fellow blogger, Diane (in Diane’s Kitchen) writes a daily post about cooking. Last week she featured her raised bed gardens that she and her husband tend to in their backyard.
https://wordpress.com/read/feeds/60744094/posts/2815863072
She mentioned the straw in the garden between rows, so I should have remembered. She mentioned there being sprouts growing in the straw and I said my neighbor had bales of straw at harvest time and we had a warm Fall and it had green sprouts all over the place sprouting in the straw, which she later used in a creche. Glad you enjoyed the pictures Ruth – I’ll be going back in August for pics of all the gardens.
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The corn does look skinny but that could be due to the variety of corn it is or it could benefit from some nitrogen fertilizer.
One of the most confusing things about hay and straw is when we talk about a hay ride. Straw is actually what is used for hay rides. We do find that straw often has some of the seed still attached and when used as mulch will often sprout up. It is easier to pull however that clover or other weeds that may come from hay and as Diane mentioned if it is aged or rotted some it is less of a problem.
We’ve never had a problem with squirrels or birds eating tomatoes – probably because they have so many other things to eat. LOL!
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I did go back and correct my post – thank you for bringing my attention to it Ruth and I had first called it straw, then called it hay and didn’t notice. Guess I was thinking of the expression “make hay while the sun shines.” Not only did all the tomatoes get trashed by the squirrels and birds, but the tulip bulbs my father planted the first Fall we lived here were all dug up and thrown around the yard – he found them in Spring yard clean-up. After that and the tomato debacle, my parents decided no more tulips or tomatoes.
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Looks like everything is growing nicely!
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Yes – especially since it got such a late start!
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Love the quote. I like the idea of a community garden, but am wary of how weary I’d be tending one. Your photos show a lovely space, though.
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Yes, it would probably wear on you after a while, especially in all this extreme heat we’ve had throughout July. It’s much easier to just go out in your backyard and work there, rather than driving to do your garden chores. I like the quote too Ally. I had heard it before, so had to Google to find it.
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What a fun way to give back to the community! The gardens look like they’re flourishing. I, too, enjoy seeing the personal touches that some gardeners include which give character to their area.
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I think it’s a win-win all the way around. For people with small houses or apartments and who want to garden, renting a garden plot is a great way to get out and get your hands dirty. 🙂
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I enjoyed seeing the garden plots and plants
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Glad you enjoyed seeing them Anne – I originally was going to call it “Before and After”.
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Thanks for sharing those garden photos, Linda. I don’t keep a vegetable garden anymore. I got tired of battling the groundhogs who were eating all my plants off right at ground level. All 3 of my boys have gardens. My Colorado son told me that many of his plants were killed by a July frost. Ugh!
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Glad you liked them Laurie. My parents had the same trouble with squirrels and birds pecking a hole in the tomatoes, then casting them aside.
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It all looks good, especially the salad bar! I lost most of my lettuce this year due to a nest of baby bunnies….it was bitter anyway, but the thought of them nibbling on it made me pull it all out!
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The first year we were here my father planted tomatoes in the backyard – my mother was anticipating lots of tomatoes and the squirrels and birds got into them … they would take one bite or peck them and toss them aside and they’d rot in the sun. That was the end of a veggie garden. I remember you harvested lots of lettuce when I first followed your blog – it must be two years now.
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I did – and I loved it, it was so fresh. But I never got around to going to the nurseries this spring due to Covid so I just bought a few pots at the grocery store – the bitter one I don’t even know what kind it was as it had no tag. I did have one that was a mixed salad type, and one Bibb plants, so I ate two salads from it. I do have one tomatoe plant, beefsteak, which has big ones on it, but last year they looked like they were full of wormholes. I just plant that one for mom, as I don’t really care for tomatoes. I intend to gmail you, either tonight or tomorrow, as I am saying home – as I wanted to reply to some of what you had written earlier.
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I have a high school pal who lives in North Carolina. She planted dozens of cherry tomato plants and the squirrels and birds plucked them off and threw them on the ground. So she read somewhere to paint Tabasco sauce on them, so can you imagine how painstaking that was? She did that and if it rained or they got wet from the sprinkler, they had to be redone. She finally left them there for the squirrels and birds and bought them at the store – that put an end to the garden. Really, it is not necessary as most of what I said was FYI stuff.
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Miss Linda……………………………………I enjoyed your blog about Heritage park this evening…………………………………I learn a lot through you……………………..your close up pictures of those berries made me want to eat some……………………………so many people pass up Heritage Park because they’re in a hurry to go to work and then in a hurry to run errands………………..and then in a hurry to get home to just relax…………………..lets not complain about our hot weather…………………………………………I heard its like this all the time in Florida……………………..
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Hi Ann Marie – It is funny you say that about Heritage Park, because the very first time I went there was just about three years ago – in fact, I just searched as I remembered the title of the post and it was August 26, 2017.
I did just as you said – I went by there every time I went to Southland Mall as I drove up Northline and turned left on Pardee Road – and, if I went up Northline to Telegraph, I’d pass the petting farm and the Botanical Gardens. I always said “one day I have to go there” but never did. Until 2017 anyway. I am glad I went as it is always a joy to visit there. I am always happy to share tidbits of info … the part about the eclipse phase for the Mallards I learned from one of the interpretive cruises at Lake Erie Metropark – I know you took a few of them as well. That cruise was in early August. You know how I feel about the Winter – I’m no fan of snow or ice, I don’t mind the cold, but I don’t like driving in the bad weather. At least, we can go out daily now with no snow or ice issues … we will be at Winter quickly enough I’m sorry to say. Just five more months … too soon Ann Marie.
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so envious. I have a little garden on my very small balcony but the tropical heat isn’t always kind. Love your pictures.
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Yes, that tropical heat not only zaps humans’ energy, but flowers too – we have had a very hot and humid Summer here and feeling more like a tropical climate than Michigan. Thank you for stopping by again Amorina Rose.
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The vegetables growing in the personal plots look so fresh and healthy!! I like how people show their personality through the decorations. This reminds me that my dad used to be part of a community garden. I was young and not interested. lol.
Now I have more appreciation for all things nature, as you know from my blog.
I hope you have a nice weekend!
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Yes, especially those raised beds with the lettuce – it was so dewy and fresh looking.
I like how people add doo dads and garden art to their spacetoo. I love garden art. Every Summer I go to a butterfly garden walk in a homeowner’s backyard. She asks for a small donation for local pet shelters to gain admittance. Her donation item may be dog or cat food, paper towels, paper plates … even toys. I don’t think she is doing it this year due to COVID-19 which is a shame – it is endless flowers in her backyard.
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I love that lady’s idea of collecting donation money or resources for the pet shelter! It empowers those involved. This COVID has wreaked havoc on plans this year. Hoping it makes a turn for the good soon.
A San Jose guy plants thousands of tulips in his backyard for people to visit. I’m sure he was bummed out that the quarantine started just when he opens up his backyard for the public. I wrote a post about him…He’s known as the Bulb Guy and he drives the funniest green car.
I like the word you used: “dewy” to describe the lettuce bed.
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The butterfly garden is an annual event and in 2019 she decided to have two events, one dedicated to Monarchs only as they pass through enroute to their Mexico destination. It is a a very good idea. I have written about it twice. The first time she had a shih tzu who had been abused and it was there as a special guest, with its legs bandaged up as she recovered from her horrible ordeal. She was being fostered at the time of the event.
I think someone had watered the lettuce, maybe while I was at the Conservatory – it looked so fresh, like when the misters come on and spritz the produce at the grocery store .
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Interesting events! I hope to see Monarchs this winter in Santa Cruz. Kid’s science teacher told us that monarchs hang around there because of all the milkweed. We will go crazy seeing them!
I’m sure the shih tuh got a lot of love and attention that day! I don’t understand how people can abuse animals…if you don’t like them, give them away or so something more responsible than abuse them.
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I’ve seen photos on the internet of Monarchs arriving in Mexico and all congregating at one tree and so many Monarchs, you could not see the tree trunk, but the caption identified that there was a tree behind them. Very beautiful. I don’t understand people either … just no respect for living things.
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It’ll be a sight to see the Monarchs. Unbelievable that they migrate to certain areas for the winter.
I’m learning all these things too with my kids. I’m surprised at how little I inquired about these things before kids. As I mentioned earlier, we’re planning on going to a beach in NorCal where they feed on the Milkweed trees.
Ditto your last sentiment. There’s so much potential for goodness. Lots of anger, feelings of powerlessness, fear; these kinds of emotions turn into ugly behavior.
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Hi Esther – I got a little behind here and left some posts unread and went back to find them and they were gone … it said “The End” … I was a little mortified – so I just went through the Comments section and found two separate comments and will go later to your site, last few posts. That doesn’t usually happen. We are having intense rain which will morph into a storm shortly … crazy weather. Then I’ll be back later. There is so much that is fascinating about Nature and it helps me focus on good stuff in the world, not the bad stuff of which there is too much.
I am on Twitter and follow some weather sites and the photographer who likes birds and goes to one of the Metroparks daily to feed them from her palm. This is Jocelyn’s site: https://twitter.com/JocAPhotography
I also enjoy “The Dodo”: https://twitter.com/dodo
Also this nature site which has feel-good stories: https://twitter.com/AnimalsWorId
Your kids could view these videos too – some are heartwarming stories and I always learn new things.
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Hey Linda, isn’t it easy to get behind on all the WP stuff?! When I scroll through my feed, I want to read all the posts and leave comments. But it just gets to be too much.
Whenever you write back is fine! I know you have lots to do.
I’ve seem some Dodo stuff before. The others are new to me; will check them out.
And the Michigan weather…how is it so fickle?! Hope you were in the comfort of your home when it rained that much. Nothing like being out in the middle of heavy rain. When I first moved to NYC, I had no idea that rain would just come and go. So when it started to rain, I’d get drenched trying to get home via public transportation rather than waiting it out in a shop or something. I soon learned but the rain would pour sideways.
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Well, I don’t know where they disappeared to … I guess WP only keeps them in the notifications queue a few days (even in the “All” category). I had tried to get to bed early on Friday night as I wanted to get to those two parks and one was brand new for me … then the weather alarm made me re-think that idea. Yes, one night away from Reader and it seems impossible to catch up sometimes. Plus, I did four posts in five days which was not smart on my part, but I usually give a walking miles total and was way behind. I went through my photos over the weekend – I have a lot of photos and I like the “Wordless Wednesday” feature so will keep doing it – I am sure some of the photos are evergreen so I can use them in Winter, so will put them aside.
A fellow blogger was living in Qatar – I think she/husband moved there around 2010. He is a gastroenterologist. She had a medical degree but wanted to further the degree and was recommended to take advanced courses abroad in the U.S. She applied and was accepted to Harvard and arrived there in September 2019. I had told her to buy some Winter-type clothing/footwear as she had never experienced Winter and New England was snowy, cold, etc. She was excited to start school, visit the U.S. and also anticipated Winter. On my advice, she bought some Winter items and also bought a space heater when she got her dorm room. They had snow only one time there and she went back to Qatar at Thanksgiving/Christmas break and then returned to school in mid-January. They had semester break and she went back to Qatar in early March and the school closed down and she went home and finished school online. They packed up her personal items and mailed them. The COVID-19 virus is rampant there and she/husband returned to India where they are originally from. It was a little funny that she anticipated seeing snow and walking in it and it turned out to be raining many of the days that she was living there and/or taking the shuttle bus from school to the dorm.
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Your blogger friend got prepared for the cold winter in the east coast. I’m sure your suggestions were helpful. My main concern was the shoes.
What a roller coaster experience for her. Ahhhh, it would’ve been such a great experience to finish her studies with full immersion in the dorm and classes. I feel bad for students who missed out and are about to miss out on the campus living experience. She only got one snow experience and all rain?! I hope she finished her program well and learned a lot from her studies. So interesting!
Linda, you make lots of blogging friends online! That’s what makes you personable, but it’s probably time consuming for you to keep up with everyone. Hope you know I appreciate it!!
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Yes, I felt badly for this blogging friend. She was excited to be a foreign exchange student and be immersed here in the U.S. for this one year of school. She asked if I would go to Massachusetts to visit her? I have always wanted to go to the East Coast in the Fall to see the Fall colors, but I did not go. But one of the other bloggers and her husband are retired and have family in New York (they now live in North Carolina) so they went to visit her and they each did a blog post about the experience. Thank you for the compliment Esther – I am chatty so it is difficult keeping up; I’ll agree with you about that. I appreciate knowing you too Esther – we always have something to chat about!
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Yes, what bad timing to be an exchange student. But this is not normal times. We will each have interesting stories to share!
That is nice she wanted you to visit her. It could’ve been really nice to meet and to experience the East Coast fall foliage. How nice that your other blogging friends went to visit her though. The blog posts they each did sounds wonderful and heartwarming that blogging is not impersonal but you’re building friendships.
We are a chatty bunch aren’t we?!
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Yes we are a chatty bunch aren’t we? 🙂
They got together at the end of the day after Susie’s classes, they had dinner and spent the evening together. Anne, the blogger, has met two other bloggers since I started following her two years ago. This was really special as she may not be returning the U.S. again. Her and her husband have now returned to India. This meeting was just about three weeks before our world changed forever with COVID-19 – this was Anne’s post: https://amehrling.com/2020/02/23/bloggers-delightful-day-installment-two/
This was Susie’s post:
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That’s a wonderful and heartwarming story! I will check out their posts. Thanks for sharing these stories and links to other bloggers.
When I first started blogging, I wasn’t aware it was a community. But you realize there are people and their stories on the other side of the computer. I used to follow this blog Moneysavingmom.com and in one post she wrote about the time she met other bloggers at a conference. That was before I considered blogging. But Crystal Paine’s homeschooling her 3 kids, that blogger, normalized that experience for me before I even considered it. You should check out here website. Her business has grown considerably over the years and she gives back to the community!
Have a wonderful weekend and enjoy the first weekend of this month! HUgs…
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I was not aware it was a community either Esther and when I was in the Patch.com group where we had a Facebook group for all us bloggers, I enjoyed that – then four years after beginning the blog, a blogger followed me from within WP and things took off after that.
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I like your story of how when you started blogging you only had 2 followers and you started to write for your frail friend. It’s motivational and it shows you the influence of one person/s can make your blog thrive.
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Yes, Marge kept encouraging me and saying “you tell me what you see – tell the world” … yes, you are right about that Esther. She passed away before I was part of the WordPress blogosphere – that didn’t happen for another three months after she passed away.
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Marge would’ve been proud of you joining WordPress and having a community of readers!! People’s legacy lasts through their influence and the people they make a difference in. There are other Marge’s out there that you can share your garden walks with.
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Yes, very true – I do think of her every time I am doing something associated with the hummingbirds – she loved her hummers that were enjoying the feeders all around her house.
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She must’ve been a lovely person!!
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It’s funny that we had this discussion Esther. In recently discovering “my” hummingbird was a female, I have written a post about it and included two pictures my neighbor Marge sent me of one of her female hummers. The post will publish this Friday and that is the third anniversary of Marge’s death. I didn’t plan it that way, but decided to note that fact after I used her photos, which I attributed to her. Yes, she was a lovely person. You would have liked her.
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This Friday is probably a special day to remember. Isn’t it funny how things coincide and makes the experience stand out in our memories?! I will check out your post. It’s so good that you have posts lined up to publish…great preparation. Go, Linda!
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Yes, I was mindful in advance that Marge’s anniversary date was coming up but didn’t actually register with my brain til I scheduled the publish date. So, yes … it worked out perfectly. Sometimes I do plan around a date … serendipity. The date is a sad anniversary for me to begin with. For many years, my mom and I celebrated August 14th as a “second birthday” that year. This was because my mom’s birthday was Valentine’s Day. If her birthday happened to happen on weekend, we’d go out for lunch, otherwise celebrate at Olive Gardens usually, the weekend before or after. Valentine’s Day is a popular going-out-for dinner occasion as you might guess And, my mom had mobility issues and if it snowed or was icy, we didn’t go out … so it was not a sure bet we went out for her birthday. My birthday is April 14th and there were a few times we did not go out as we had snow then. I’m no fan of driving in ice/snow so what we did was picked a day six months after my mom’s birthday. I took it as a personal or vacation day and we had a nice day, maybe shopping, or a movie and dinner. So, August 14th was our special birthday date. So, it was bittersweet to have Marge pass away on this special day.
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Happy special birthday date day!! It sounds like you and your mom shared a special day together, and how creative to come up with a different celebration time. It is a strange and sad coincidence that Marge passed on that date. I realized today is the anniversary of her passing. sigh…memories, harder when they’re good, are hard to process.
When dates line up like this, it makes you think more deeply about God and how He orchestrates events way in advance.
Two very special ladies…birthday and a passing. Extra hugs for you Linda!!!
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Thanks Esther … yes, I had been thinking about the August 14th date and then learned of Marge’s passing when I went outside and saw her son. She had been in the hospital for one week, having gone in on the prior Monday the 7th (she passed away on a Monday morning). The doctor was to release her to her son to go home on Friday, but she felt very weak so he kept her at the hospital for more tests. She sent a Facebook message to me Sunday morning she’d be home later that day. I wrote and said “are you home” when I returned home from walking and was online later. No answer. I figured she was sitting on her back deck. She had long air tubes so could walk around the house and still be plugged in and walk out onto the deck, but she stayed in the living room most of the time. It was really hot that day so I couldn’t picture her out on the deck though. She never answered me back – she was not in good shape on Sunday afternoon/evening which I didn’t know until the next day when her son told me.
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My heart dropped when you wrote “she never answered me back.” Heartbreaking when conversations and relationships are forever interrupted by this life cycle. I had a tutor whom I emailed a few years back and the same happened. I had no idea until I started searching for him online. If I didn’t search, I still wouldn’t have found his memorial page. That shook me to the core.
In my last email I wondered why he hadn’t responded to my other emails.
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The day before she passed away, I did a post on Queen Anne’s lace wildflowers/weeds (depends on your perspective about them). I took some photos of the Queen Anne’s Lace and some pics of doilies in my living room which were tatted by my great grandmother – they are very old. Marge used to like stories about my family since I really have no family, but I did the story and sent it to her to read on her phone. The last few years she stopped getting the blog posts at her e-mail (Yahoo) because Yahoo was hacked multiple times, she changed passwords and one of them worked and Yahoo was not helpful, so I just sent the post to her in a blog post message. I thought it odd she didn’t respond to that message, nor blog post. Sigh. Yes, it is disheartening when you don’t hear back and know that it not right. But I knew she had breathing treatments at the hospital several times a day and I thought it was a weekend and maybe people were visiting, but she was supposed to go home that weekend.
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hmmmmm, when something tragic happens, all those little moments become magnified and you keep wondering. It’s so nice that you had a friend to share stories about your family. I didn’t miss siblings growing up, but now that I’m older, I think it would’ve been lovely to have a bond and a familial support. It’s one of the things being an only child.
Queen Anne’s lace is so dainty. Forgive my ignorance, but what do those flowers symbolize?
I hope you are staying cool in this sweltering heat. Read that bay area may get up to 110. Eeek, and potential rolling blackouts with high energy usage.
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Yes, having a sibling to share things in adulthood would be easy sometimes … of all my friends and also my co-workers, I was the only one that was an only child.
I did hear about those rolling blackouts, first ones since 2011 – good thing you have a back-up generator or things would be very uncomfortable, not to mention costly. To get to 110 degrees – that’s horrid.
As to the Queen Anne’s lace, I remember Googling it before to find out the reason for the name. Here it is:
Queen Anne’s lace is said to have been named after Queen Anne of England, who was an expert lace maker. Legend has it that when pricked with a needle, a single drop of blood fell from her finger onto the lace, leaving the dark purple floret found in the flower’s center.
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Thanks for thinking of us. I have never heard and seen a lightning thunder storm like this as we had early this morning. OMG!! It was like a light show and the deep rumbling sounds. It seemed like a dream and the world on the verge of ending.
A bolt of lightning was so loud that it jolted Elliot out of his sound sleep. There’s supposed to be another one tonight. Scary.
You must be familiar with these sounds often in your state. No a fun time…power outage for some and fires from the lightening. We, Californians, freak out with anything other than hot weather. Linda, hope you don’t have more storms coming through your neighborhood.
Thanks for the Queen Anne’s Lace info! It’s a beautiful name…sounds elegant.
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I’m sorry I wasn’t on here last night – I was up really early as I had to take my car in – it needed a recharge for the A/C system. They only take appointments for large repair jobs, and the rest is on a first-come basis … they are very honest and always busy. So I got there really early to drop it off. Picked it up last night – they had adjusted the seats and steering wheel … I have not adjusted all that stuff since I got it 11 years ago … was flummoxed and though we nice weather through next Sunday, a sudden storm threatened and I wanted to get home. It was starting to rain a little when I walked from home last night to get the car. So by the time I figured out the car, got home and actually sat down, it was late. I answered a few comments and was nodding off … straying from the ordinary. Glad it is working again … I didn’t go anywhere last Saturday as it was too hot in the car and we had hot weather and the torrential rain on Sunday. The Queen Anne’s Lace is very pretty and delicate – to me it is like a wildflower – you are welcome Esther.
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The name Queen Anne’s Lace makes it sound so elegant and regal; I agree that they are like wildflowers that show its beauty in unexpected places.
Car repairs can be irritating to deal with and the waiting involved with it. Glad you have an honest company to take care of your car repairs. That makes a huge difference in your experiences!
We had strange weather too last weekend. Lightening in the early hours and loud rumbling sounds like I’ve never heard before. Downpour. The lightening has started some wildfires so right now, it’s really smoky outside and air looking orange. What a weird weather pattern for us. Praying we all stay well and healthy!!
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I will keep your family in my prayers Esther – I have been hearing about your strange weather … alot. The tornadoes that are part of the heat and are spawning wildfires. I hope you do not lose power as I understand the rolling blackouts are still happening. I know you want to stay put right now, not only for COVID reasons, and being with your house, but for the sake of your kids. I hope they are extinguished soon.
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Thanks Linda!! We are not far from other evacuation places, so I’m feeling nervous. Bags are packed in case. Just feels unreal. Kids are just watching me as I do this and that. Thanks for your prayers!! COVID and wildfires… too much
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Yes, I thought so when I heard the location this morning … yikes. And with COVID makes it worse, and you trying extra hard to keep germs at bay. We had extensive flooding in Michigan (not near me) when a huge dam broke on May 21st. Catastrophic flooding and people needed to be evacuated and this was early in the pandemic … lots of unknowns at that time … I think we’ve learned a little more since May but yes, I feel your pain here. I have just heard it was a little cooler today … not cool per se, just not so hot.
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I don’t even know how people handle flooding. But people’s resilience to build from disasters amazes me. I wish we didn’t have these issues to start with but you realize how awesome and powerful nature is.
Take care and hope all is well in your neck of the woods!!
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Yes, Mother Nature has been pretty vindictive right now … all around the U.S. it seems there is a story about the weather. You stay safe too Esther. I hope the end of these wildfires and erratic weather is over soon.
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Agree!! Too much going on…our resilience is getting tested big time these days.
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Yes, that is it … we are worn down and our coping mechanisms are stretched to the limit from the last nearly six months with COVID.
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Linda, the fire situation is getting better, The skies have improved from yesterday and I found out the fire is not coming down to our area. We hope it stays that way. It’s been a panicky morning but I’m calmer now.
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Thank goodness Esther – wow, a stressful situation. Glad to hear that the fire situation has abated somewhat … I hope there are no more issues for you. What a year for weather worries everywhere.
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What a year of erratic weather! You got storms left and right with power outages and we now have wildfires wreaking havoc in our dry state. Making me dizzy just thinking about it all…
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I know – we had the minor earthquake last Friday (3.4 then reclassified as a 3.2) … not as bad as the 2018 earthquake … I felt that one more. We have very hot weather all this week and stormy as well – severe weather tomorrow and maybe Friday into Saturday as well. Mother Nature has a bee in her bonnet.
.
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You had an earthquake there?! Does Michigan usually get earthquakes? My goodness, nature is having a fit this year. I hope we can coexist peacefully soon.
They can be frightening when the walls are shaking back and forth and the windows rattle. Stay well!! Let’s just make it safely through this year and worry about the other stuff later.
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Our earthquake didn’t pack a big punch like your earthquakes do … originally at 3.4 magnitude and later downgraded to 3.2, but it shook the screen door and I felt a slight vibration – last time I felt a bigger rumble right under my feet. Scary with the weather – you stay well too. Hopefully no evacuations – not in this COVID year.
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It’s a compound fear: COVID and evacuation.
The earthquake rumbles are distinct. We have frequent ones here, but not really big ones that cause damage to property. A major one was in the 80s.
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I remember that big one. A radio host I listen to (Mitch Albom) was at Candlestick Park covering the World Series during the 1989 earthquake and he has often described how the earth moved and the fear as panic set in with all the people in the stands and I think he said the lights went out on top of it – can you imagine?
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That’s frightening! Panic and fear of being stuck…yikes. I know your question is rhetorical, but I don’t want to imagine. Eeeek!
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I think any large locale and the lights would go out, let alone an earthquake, would lead to pandemonium. I would not want to be part of that mass panic – Eeek indeed!
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A perfect word “pandemonium” to describe the chaotic scene.
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Thank you for venturing out in the heat and for fighting off of mosquitos while you’re at it. Our deer flies and gnats are just as ferocious as the mosquitos. The gardens look very healthy. Makes me wonder if our local garden like that is growing that well too? We haven’t been to the park since the shutdown. I hope this fall you’ll capture harvest time at the gardens to share with us.
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I will have to go in late Fall and see if they have an abundance of various squash – the colors might be fun to take pictures of. Our City’s Farmer’s Market is only going to be there three days this Summer/Fall. The first day is August 9th. That’s a shame as they always have good deals on local produce all Summer long.
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Yes, that would be fun. Our Farmer’s Markets opened up in early May. They’ve instituted strict rules, and seem to be doing well. I feel for them, many of the farmers rely on that as their summer’s source of income.
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Our City’s farmer’s market is small and only takes up one busy corner – it is a Painter’s Supply parking lot and they are closed on Sundays. But there is a larger farmer’s market near Heritage Park and they get lots of produce and treats too.
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Sounds like a great place to shop!
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Yes, when they first opened about 20 years ago, just for about 5-6 hours every Sunday (on a regular schedule – they’re only open 3 Sundays for 2020), I went there for their beautiful beefsteak tomatoes mostly. I’ve gone since then just to take photos of the farmer’s market.
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Fresh garden tomatoes are the BEST! I hope you’re able to get some more this year.
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Yes, sliced onto crispy toast – yum!
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Such a wonderful way to spend $50.00 Linda. I wish our raised beds were that high. Great post!
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Glad you liked it Diane – I knew you’d identify with it for sure. I like that high raised bed too. Just reach over and grab your salad fixings.
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I wish I had enough sun to plant my own garden, Linda, but alas, it was not meant to be.
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I have the sun Pam, but the critters are a deterrent. Many years ago, the squirrels and birds took every tomato and bit and pecked them respectively. The squirrels got the tulip bulbs – dug them up and we found them in the Spring during yard clean up. The bunnies ate the Bleeding Heart plants. So the critters are quite the mischief makers.
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I love community gardens. We are lucky to have room for a garden in our yard but not everyone has that luxury. I love the chair and “side table” bird bath… so clever.
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I like that chair too Janis – I wonder if they made it themselves. Very charming and homey. I think the community gardens are a good idea. Lots of people live in apartments or don’t have the space for a garden, so they can sift the dirt through their hands and enjoy themselves while being productive.
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How wonderful… what a great place to spend time
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Yes, so beautiful Michael and on Wednesday evenings they have live music at the Conservatory which is a big draw. I hope to get back a few more times as not everything had bloomed yet.
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