Tag Archives: brown eyed susans

Hate the Heat, Love the Flowers

And yet I am not becoming noticeably smaller.

I am not a fan of summer. Sun worshippers can feel free to hate on me but all I can do is shake my sweaty head, very slowly. Oh, just listen to me whine! I am starting to hate on me myself!

Please ignore the weeds.

One good thing about summer is flowers. We started out ten years ago with one humble Black-eyed Susan, purchased at a sale to benefit Herkimer County Humane Society. Just look at them now!

Another view.

The Brown-eyed Susan’s just magically grew. They have expanded as well. I just can’t bear to cut them back.

Please ignore the hideous deck.
I think they are pretty.

Our Rose of Sharon is not as bloom-filled, much to our disappointment.

I see one flower!

Other Roses of Sharon (Rose of Sharons?) In the neighborhood are more colorful. If it becomes cool enough for a comfortable walk, I will try to get a few pictures for a future post.

In the meantime, I have managed to make a post of, well, not quite 200 words (I keep clicking on the counter up top to check). And it was not too painful (at least for me to write; obviously I cannot speak for any possible readers). Ah, there is 200. Keep cool, everyone!

Would Svengoolie Like My Container Garden?

He is fine, yes!

So far the highlight of my day was watching a DVR’d episode of Svengoolie.  How I went so many years of my life without this show… Oh well, I can watch it now.

However, I do not mean to make my blog post about Svengoolie, nor yet Snapped, which I have also been enjoying this Sunday.  Still, I have mentioned them.  Will that qualify this as a Non-Sequitur Sunday Post?  I hope so.

Svengoolie, Snapped and Susan!

When I began to realize I had almost nothing to say on a blog post, I went outside to take a picture of my Brown-eyed Susans, which are still growing prolifically.  I put the bucket in front of them earlier to prop them up, as they had begun to droop.  I guess it is a little unsightly.  I’ll have to come up with something else .

Pretty!

Next I went put front for a shot of my Johnny Jump-ups.  Aren’t they doing well?  I took another picture while I was at it.

An unknown plant.

You can’t really see this one very well.  I have no idea what it is, but it started growing where my peonies were after I cut them down.  I decided to let it live.  I’ll let you know if it amounts to anything.

I can only eat so much pesto, after all.

Back on the deck, I got a shot of my put of control basil.  I have not made as good use of it as I may have.  I wonder if I can dry it and use it this winter.

Not the most visually appealing display.

I took a picture of a couple other plants that were doing well.  My container garden is not as beautiful as I would like.  If I swept the deck and rearranged the pots, it would help.  However, as it becomes increasingly obvious that I will host no gatherings in the foreseeable future, I have become discouraged.

However, one must not give in to discouragement.  On the brighter side, I made my Sunday Post on Sunday.  And it wasn’t a Wrist to Forehead Sunday.  I’m going to call that a win.

 

From Little Falls to my Yard and Back

Sometimes Tired Tuesday follows Monstrous Monday,  we all know that.  I won’t bother telling you why I’m tired; explanations are so tiresome.  I will attempt instead to share a few pictures and make a non-tiresome post.  No promises.

A depiction how I feel: old and fat.

This is one of the pictures I took last Friday at Showcare Antiques of CNY in Little Falls.  In case you can’t read the card, it is an historical ovoid jug.  Ovoid is a good word, which, unfortunately my autocorrect wants to change to “avoid.”

I never gave him a name. Any suggestions?

Making this more of a Non-Sequitur Tuesday, I put in my alligator (or crocodile; I don’t know whether I will see him later or in a while).  I need to find a better spot for him.  Perhaps he would like to lurk amid my Brown-eyed Susans.

A place for a reptile to lurk?

I have several overgrown spots he might like.  He previously resided under Frankentree in my front yard, but I got tired of moving him every time I mowed.

Regular readers will remember Frankentree.

So I went from antiques in Little Falls to my yard in Herkimer.  Can I find another shot from Little Falls to tie this post together or will it be hopelessly non sequitur?

A great place for coffee and a snack.

I think this is a shot of Little Falls which maintains this post’s non sequitur status:  The Cafe at Stone Mill.

And here we are, approaching 250 words.  Happy Tuesday, everyone!

 

Susans, Sharon, Johnny, and the Crocodile

Aren’t they pretty?

I went outside just now take a picture of the Brown-eyed Susans I previously mentioned as peeking over the edge of the deck.  Looking at my Media Library,  I wonder how different this shot is from others of these flowers.  However, I took several other shots before looking at my Media Library,  and I see no reason not to share them as well.

A wider shot to show volume.

The Brown-eyed Susans have really spread out since they magically appeared a year or two ago.

Who wouldn’t want an alligator in their backyard?

Full disclosure:  this could be a crocodile.  He has been in various parts of the yard.  Right now he is where he can get maximum sunlight.

Please ignore the weeds.

My Black-eyed Susans have a lot of blooms. I find them cheerful.

Also looking pretty good.

I grabbed an update on our Rose of Sharon while I was in the area.  Then I thought of our Johnny Jump-ups, which I had noticed are also looking well.

My favorites!

They have not jumped up elsewhere yet, but they have filled in the little area where I planted them.

I hope to plant more flowers next year.  Then I might have more variety in these blog posts.  In the meantime,  I feel this is a better post than my usual Wrist to Forehead Sunday.   Does anyone agree?  Discuss amongst yourselves.

 

Lame Lawn Work

Hello and welcome to Lame Post Friday, my day of random observations and half-baked philosophy.   My first random observation is that our Brown-eyed Susans have started peeking up over the edge of our deck. I did not take a picture of said Susans, but will post a previous picture of these delightful flowers.

They are supposed to be a favorite of honey bees.

It is the time of year when I wish I had taken more effort in my lawn and garden earlier in the year.  However, that ship has sailed, to use a cliche (sorry about using a cliche, by the way).   I can only appreciate what already exists.

I love these.

Speaking of what already exists,  here is an earlier shot of my Johnny Jump-ups.  They look equally as beautiful now.

Pesto… Mmmmm…..

To continue with what is glorious right now, here is my basil, which is even better as we speak.  I snipped some off for a salad recently.  Yum!

It looks better now, but here are some blooms.

My Black-eyed Susans are doing well too. It may have been a good idea to take a more recent picture,  but, you know, I can’t always do the right thing.

So here is my post:  random observations of flowers.  For Half-Baked Philosophy, I will offer: flowers are good,  gardening is good, sometimes they are not as good as we had hoped.  We must drive on.

Happy Friday,  everyone!

 

Maybe Not a Throwback, But Cheerful

I feel we must love what blooms we get.

Last Thursday I had a Theatre Throwback Thursday Post.  Today I thought I would do another kind of Throwback.  I found the above picture in July 2019.  I noticed earlier this afternoon that I have gotten more Black-eyed Susans.

A current view.

I walked outside just now for an updated shot.  The patch is quite overgrown, but I do not want to weed it extensively, because I think a bunny is living there.

Just to show you how overgrown it really is.

Then I thought I would get a couple of shots of the Brown-eyed Susans, which are also looking pretty good.

I personally will not mind if they eventually take over the whole yard.

I think I mentioned before that the Brown-eyed Susans just sort of magically appeared one year.  I love it when that happens.

Can’t have too many blooms!

Oh dear, this is hardly a Throwback Thursday,  with more pictures from right now.  Maybe I can find another older photo.

I would guess fewer weeds.

Here are the Black-eyed Susans in August 2019.  We are almost to August this year.  I saw a number of pictures of all the Susans, Black- and Brown-eyed.  I must admit there is not a great difference amongst them.

No matter.  Flower pictures are always cheerful, and these days I need all the cheer I can get.  I don’t know what kind of a Thursday to call this, but at least it is over 250 words.  I hope to see you all again tomorrow for Lame Post Friday.

 

Sharon and Susan Love Friday

This morning, when I still had high hopes of this being a good blog post, I took a couple of pictures of flowers in our yard.

I love my Rose of Sharon.

The picture I took of our Rose of Sharon earlier this week was rendered problematic by the placement of the sun.  Today I got out in the morning, when the sun was conveniently placed on the other side of the house.

A slightly better angle.

I took two views, although I see now that they are none too different.  No matter.  I feel they are different enough to include both.

I feel a little brave, showing my lack of attention to weeding.

I have a few more blooms in my Black-eyed Susans.  As I took the picture, I scolded myself about all the weeds.  As I have said before, I really must up my gardening game.  I did not take another picture of my Brown-eyed Susans,  because they did not look much different from the last picture I took.

This is the last picture I took.

I hope this is sufficient for a Floral Friday Post (is that a real category?  I guess it is now).  In any case, I guess it is enough for Lame Post Friday.  Let us move on to our weekend, shall we?

 

Planned or Not, I Got Flowers!

I thought I would do another Floral Photos Post.  For one reason, my Brown-eyed Susans started to bloom a few days ago, and I have been meaning to share a picture of them.  I noticed a few other blooms this morning, when I was trying to bring a little lawn order into my life (not very successfully,  but let us not worry about that now).  I went outside with my Tablet this evening to see what I could get.

Pretty!

I was pleased to see more blooms.  I only saw one little tiny one a few days ago.  The Brown-eyed Susans kind of magically appeared a couple of years ago.  This year, they are growing great guns.  When the other ones start to bloom,  I will take more pictures.

There were fewer Black-eyed Susans, but I am happy to get any at all.

I planted the Black-eyed Susans on purpose, having purchased the plant some nine years ago at a sale to benefit, I believe, Herkimer County Humane Society.  They have expanded as well, but their area is becoming overgrown with other things.  I must clean it out but fear it is too late in the year to do much good.

These are new.

The Queen Anne’s Lace magically appeared this year.  When I was younger, I used to pick it and put it in food coloring to dye it.

Another uninvited guest.

The purple flowers previously appeared (with no effort on my part) elsewhere in the yard.  These blooms were amongst the chives that share the bed with the Black-eyed Susans.

I was very happy to see these blooms.

I had a hard time getting a good picture of the Rose of Sharon because of where the sun was; I could not see what I was photographing.  This shows the flowers, but does not do the whole bush justice.  I will have to try again one morning.

I am happy to see more blossoms appearing as the summer wears on.  One year I may actually plan my garden to be sure of it happening.  At least, I can hope!  Happy Monday, everyone!

 

Thank God It’s… Something

I thought I would make a Throwback Thursday Post,  but I am worried about sharing things too recently or too often shared.  Obviously I am too lazy to look at previous Throwback Thursday Posts to be sure.  Judge me if you are so inclined.  I don’t suppose it matters much.  If I repeat myself, my readers can enjoy a frisson of virtue, because they never do so, or experience the relief of not being the only one.

I know I only shared this once.

This is apropos (so I can’t have a Non-Sequitur Thursday Post).  Thank God It’s Friday And Pay Day was the saying of my husband and our friend Ron, when they worked together at a radio station up North.  Every other Friday was payday.  Thursday is my payday, and today is my Friday, because I have tomorrow off.  Won’t that be nice?

 

They are said to be a favorite of bees.

Here is a picture from August of 2019.  These Brown-eyed Susans just grew in our yard with no effort on our part, other than not mowing them down when I began to suspect what they were.  We have Black-eyed Susans which we purchased and planted on purpose further back in the yard.  Neither plant has bloomed this year as yet, but I’m seeing a lot of greenery.

Oh, I will be so happy to see this view again!

Here is another shot from last summer which I am looking forward to seeing again.  I am not able to paint my own toenails with any competency or accuracy (I have tried many times), so I go to the Hot Spot Salon and Spa in Herkimer.  They have only recently been able to offer the service again.  I have an appointment for one week from today.  Yay!

I said this was not  Non-Sequitur Thursday Post,  but I have gone from Fridays to flowers to toenails.  Additionally,  this has been a Throwback Thursday AND a Preview of Coming Attractions.  Has it been a good blog post?  Well you can’t have everything after all!

 

Welcome, December!

The view from the deck.

I think I mentioned yesterday that winter has arrived in the Mohawk Valley (too lazy to look at yesterday’s post and remind myself; what do you want from me on a Monday?).  We woke up to a winter wonderland this morning.  Mostly I wondered why I was out shoveling my driveway at 5 a.m. instead of hiring some guy with a snowplow attachment or owning a snowblower.  Full disclosure: we have my father’s old snowblower, but we have never been able to get it started.

I don’t mind the shoveling so much, really.  Most of the time it is a mere matter of pushing fluffy stuff around.  This morning things were a little heavier, especially where the street plow had filled us in. Steven helped then spent a great deal more time shoveling while I was at work.

Further disclosure: after I went to bed early, as I like to do on a Sunday, I heard a neighbor snowblowing.  I wondered if I shouldn’t get up and take a layer off my own driveway.  Of course I was too comfortable.  This morning I questioned my choice, but obviously it was to late.  What do I always say about not indulging in regrets?  I kept shoveling.

When I got home after work, I grabbed my Tablet to get a few pictures of the snow, to dress up my blog post.  First I took the above shot.  Then I wanted to get one of the remains of the Brown-Eyed Susans.  I love the look of dried plants against the snow.  Unfortunately  I was not able to zoom in (I am SO unhandy at these things!).

I couldn’t make myself walk into the snow for a close-up.

I like to have three pictures and at last decided on one of Frankentree.

He’s all decorated for Christmas!

By this time it was snowing on my Tablet.  I know it is not good to get devices wet, so I retreated back to the house.  So, three pictures,  over 300 words.  I call that an OK post for a Monday.  Tune in tomorrow, to see if I manage to go running in the snow.  After all, it won’t be that long till this blog goes All Reindeer Run All The Time.