Deirdre's Garden Diary: 2006 October-November

:: October-November 2006 ::
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:: 11.21.06 ::

Forney-Cate-ing

Brian and I had a date this weekend to "forney-cate" ...our slang for spending the day bargain shopping at the second hand stores and antique shops in Forney, Texas.

It had been a while since we had been there, so we went to De Ridder first. De Ridder mostly has a large collection of wooden furniture and really large armoires, hutches, shelves, curio cabinets and old church pews. Tucked in amongst all this are a lot of strange mannequins, toys and carnival sculptures.

It is always fun to browse the selection of oddities and nostalgic items that most other antique stores don't usually have...like life size statues of dinosaurs, sharks, and gorillas, as well as huge cartoon characters from old carnivals, eateries and stores. I spotted a couple of these giant daffodil sculptures, about 6 feet high, for the garden!
And Brian found this...

Yep...we were stunned too...a garden water hose end table with glass top and water-faucet-sprinkler-nozzle legs. There were two of them. At first I was both horrified and amused by the hideous kitschy quality of it...but then...the more I looked at it and thought about it...the more I loved it in an odd "contemporary art sculpture" kind of way. I even thought of getting it until seeing the price tag. Instead I spent a lot less money on some smaller stuff.

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:: 11.17.06 ::

Who REALLY Runs This Place?

Hard to believe it's already mid November. Where is the time going? The kitties are enjoying the cooler days. They are beginning to plump up with winter fur. Miss Moon has decide the old metal storm windows stacked beside the shed are her new favorite spot for basking in the late afternoon sun. Uneven metal edges layered together at different heights...that wouldn't be my first choice to lay on, but what do I know. Maybe it has a good view?

Mr. Pringle got himself into a kitty scuffle while protecting the yard from evil intruding trespassers. He has been hobbling around on three legs for a week. I couldn't find any injury to his front right paw but he wouldn't let me look at it for very long. I let it go a few days to see if it would get better but after five days of worry and watching him limp around on three legs I finally broke down and took him to the vet.

Diagnosis: No break. No sprain. No fever. No swelling. No infection. No ear mites, not even any fleas. We did find a small puncture wound on the side, so the source of the pain was at least identified. The vet said it was healing fine, just give it time and as far as the he could tell my lovely furball was just sore from the brawl. Oh well, kiss that $35 goodby. Better safe than sorry right?

These cats really know how to work it. As the vet said, "He's got you trained pretty good". Great. I paid the vet to tell me I'm a sucker for bright shiny eyes, purring ankle rubs, and the occasional furry bed warmer.

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:: 10.07.06 ::

Wild & Pink

We had some rain finally, and I got a surprise gift from mother nature...these little pink flowers popped up out of nowhere and started blooming.

I never planted them and I don't remember them growing in the last couple of years, but here they are in the flowerbed next to where the crinums bloom in the spring. I have been trying to identify them and with some help from the garden forums on the net, I think the conclusion is that they are "4-o'clocks" or more specifically, Mirabilis jalapa. So I am going to stick with that assumption until someone tells me otherwise.

They open up early in the morning and then again in the late evening when the temperatures are cooler. Even though this kind of pink color is not my usual garden choice, I will take what I can get!

I don't have anything else blooming in the yard except a pot of Begonias and some Lantana that is starting to thin out and loose its spark. Well, and maybe a few Turks Caps are still blooming too now that I think about it...but everything is so spread out around the yard that nothing really makes an impact. I have not been successful in making a scenic "spot" in the flower gardens yet...budget constraints just aren't going to let that happen anytime soon. I haven't been to a garden center for any new plants all year.

Still, I am thankful for the few plants that have somehow miraculously survived despite the harsh weather we have had. We still need a good rain, we did get some but it was pretty sparse. The temperatures are finally going down and hovering around the mid to high 80's, low 90's now that it is October. I am actually looking forward to some wet winter weather.

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