Been pretty busy here too. Weather has been sunny but cold which I will take over endless drizzle. We had that last month and it was not fun driving in after dark.
THE COCONUT WIRELESS CHAT THREAD NO.5
Still keeping on.....Praise the Lord!
The weather here has been warm....80 here today, then chilly, back to warm.....crazy weather!
Hope everyone is doing well!
It's been back and forth here too. Yesterday was cold and cloudy, today warmer and sunny and tomorrow we won't get above freezing. How long til Spring?? lol
Sylvain. love your new photo!! :~)
The one where I am looking over my readers, or the one with the snake?
Sylvain.
The big ole snake that looks like it's keeping you warm. lol. Your avatar picture.
Oh, the plush toy picture. Lucy is afraid of the camera's flash, so I took that one instead. Plus, the avatar I had before was getting old. I had fun holding my T-shirt in the wind at Waimea canyon, but I wanted something new.
Take care, everyone.
Sylvain.
Mike and I and pretty much everyone we know, have been under the weather for over a week. Not flu, got a shot for that. whatever, coughing my head off and don't have enough energy to get out of bed.
This, too, shall pass.
I had the coughing virus for about 6-8 weeks at end of December and beginning of January. Hopefully you don't have that. Either way both of you get better quickly!!
Thanks, Pepper. At this point we would have to get better to die.
Hi Everyone! So good to hear from all of you!
We have had the crud here too.....Knocked us off of our feet, literally. I'm beginning to feel a little stronger, but still get dizzy upon standing. With being anemic on top of that it has not been pleasant whatsoever!
I have yellow jasmine in bloom. They smell so good.
It was supposed to freeze the other night. I did not cover my ferns out in front of the gazebo, so we will see what happens.
If they die they will come back. If I die, I won't. LOL! That was
the determining factor in deciding not to attempt it.
Alot of times we are about three degrees warmer than other areas of Houston, so I am hoping it did not get us.....only time will tell. I'm with you Pepper.....when will Spring be here???
Usually our last freeze is about March 17th, but we have had freezes as late as the first week of April. I am probably not going to take the plumerias and ferns etc out of the gazebo / makeshift greenhouse until the end of April, just to be safe. Besides that, it may take that long for me to recooperate from this "crud" we just had.
Hope everyone gets to feeling better! Great picture Sylvain!
I posted over on the prayer forum.....Please keep praying for me!
Jeanne
Hi, everyone.
Prayers on the way for everyone who needs them.
I am well. Gail is not so hot. Every day is touch-and-go and the good days are beginning to lose the tally against the not so good days. It's not always easy to watch a loved one suffer. I wish I could take her pain out of her and endure it for her sometimes, but that won't happen. But I would if I only could.
We have a cool, very windy winter. The wind chimes have been tied up since mid-November to silence them. They make an awful racket when there's too much wind: clanging rather than ringing. It's 74 degrees F this morning, slight breeze, blazing sun. It's going to be an all-right day. There was even a cold spell where I brought a couple prized philodendrons inside the house because I could not bear to lose them to the cold. Imagine the joy of carrying a 150-lb philodendron that stands 5 feet tall and 6 feet wide with leaves 24 inches long and 18 inches wide on petioles 3 feet long. We only lost 3 leaves in the process, but the plant was spared. Everything that was left outside did not suffer any damages. Better safe than sorry.
Take care, everyone.
Pu'ole, aka Sylvain.
Love your photo too Sylvain. Jeanne just got over flu last week. Was caring for 3 different friends that had it the week before. Washed hands every 3 mins, still got whacked.
We entertained visitors 10 days ago. One of them said she was just over a flu episode. It seems the whole development over there got it. So, true to form, Gail was desperately trying to cough up a lung the next morning, sniffling, sneezing, complaining of post-nasal drip. I am placing this house under quarantine rule. I'll ask:
Have you experienced symptoms of a cold or a flu recently?
Have you been in contact with someone afflicted by the flu in the last 3 weeks?
Do you know someone who was afflicted with the flu in the last 6 weeks?
Do you know of someone who was afflicted with the flu in the last 6 weeks?
Only if you can answer No, No, No and No can you enter the house. Otherwise, none shall pass. Medieval cloistered monks survived the black plague because they were totally isolated from the nearby village. Nobody entered the monasteries and nobody left it. When you can't vaccinate, isolate. Often, the monks had no idea of the drama happening outside their walls. They went about their chores, prayed and slept. That punches a hole in the idea that the black plague was propagated by fleas carried by rats. Monasteries had rats. Who didn't in those days? But the bubonic plague left the monks alone. I go out in crowds, but I have a rum & coke with the juice of a lime in there every day and I think that protects me rather well. At any rate, it's at least enjoyable. Maybe the smoke from my cigar kills the little virus. Hey, a cigar a day keeps the doctor away. I don't know, but whatever it is, I'll keep doing it. I'd rather have a cigar than a shot of Lysol spray up each nostril every day.
Take care.
Sylvain.
sorry to hear of so much illness. Couple of months ago Mike and I both had about a week of constant coughing. I had the flu shot and he didn't....about the same reaction. As we pile on the birthdays every little thing becomes A BIG THING.
Hi!
Sylvain, sorry to hear that Gail has been sick. I agree with your questioning! After what we had.....I feel the same way! However, I am sorry to tell you, it is probably not the cigar, as I know someone who smokes them, and he still got the crud....might be the rum! Glad you did not get it. It was BAD!
Spring has finally arrived.....Praise the Lord! We finally have had several beautiful days.......The ferns outside the gazebo made it! Several of the flowers are blooming......
So far I have made it! That is quite an accomplishment on the Lord's part....for sure.
I posted over on the Prayer Forum.....still got issues! Still don't know where the bleeding is coming from. I see the Baylor Dr. on 4/21. We will see what the plan of action is.
There is a weed taking over my daylily bed. It looks like a poison Ivy, has thorns, roots to china. Any suggestions on what it is and how to get rid of it? I need help.
My aunt suggested vinegar. I want to kill the weed but not my daylilies......I only have a few left.......
Good to hear from ALL of YOU!
Jeanne
I have experienced great success eradicating a weed from a monarda bed by "painting" one side the lowest 2 inches of each weed's stem with a Q-tip soaked in RoundUp. It is finicky work, but it works beautifully.
Sylvain.
If you only have a few day lilies left, why not pull them out and then spray the area?
Just a thought.
I won this miltoniopsis orchid at the Delray Beach Orchid Society last night. Isn't it pretty?
Sylvain.
Hi guys. A plant question. Is it common for Jacaranda leaves to turn yellow and shed some of the lower branches this time of year. The tops are putting out new growth.
Gorgeous orchid Sylvain!
I've been busy with work now that the season is here. Running around non-stop. lol. Even have to find room in my apron to carry my drink so that I stay hydrated since everytime I try to stop and get my drink I get a call or a customer stops me.
Been slowly working on my garden also. Burned one bed down because the dead foliage was bad enough I wasn't cutting it all by hand. lol. Still have weeding to do and am working on redoing a shade bed with good soil and plants that actually like indirect light. Veggie bed will get started here pretty soon too.
Now let's hope it's a rainy season, not a dry season for everyone. :~)
Wow Pepper, you've really been busy! Good for you! Can't wait to see your garden as it matures!
So far we've had good rains, and it is supposed to rain most of next week....Not sure where we are on the scale for the year.....
It sure was beautiful today!
I have so much to do that I need a gardening buddy who lives close enough to just come over when I call. lol. I have a friend who loves to do everything I need done but she lives 30 min away so can't get away usually.
Just a note, Jacarandas are deciduous (at least here in Southern California), so they usually drop last year's leaves in spring or early summer just as they are blooming and putting out new leaves. Hope this helps.
Good morning,
After 2 weeks I am finally finished dividing and repoting my potted hostas. i have over 600 cultivar and I counted 878 pots. What a chore!! Normally i hire help but she was very busy!!
Jaracandas?? What are they?
Golf season started and my scores are horendous !!!
Will tackle the veggie garden next. I bought all mty seedlings.
Happy gardening!!!
Belle
Based on jacarandas I've seen in San Diego and LA that it normal. Has it strted putting out new growth?
Miss you all.
Come back. Come back. (A movie quote. Puzzle of the day.)
hugs, katie
Thanks!
Oh my word. Where have I been? Quite a bit of serious illness in the extended family and I have been busy....doing what, I really don't know. Mike is still having trouble recovering from surgery in early December, 2014. Keeps me pretty well occupied.
We have been in a monsoon now for weeks. Officially came out of the drought. Many of the lakes that were totally dry are now back to flood level. Thank you, God, for your endless mercies. The rains precluded doing much of anything in the garden. Apparently, I have some wiser choices by going North Central Texas native. Everything reseeded itself and now it is blooming the best ever.
Hope all is well with everyone. Through with treatments,Katie? Belle, I had spinal fusion for sciatica and regularly have bouts of bursitis in one of the other shoulder.
Jeanne, one or more of your doctors is probably preparing an article for the Journal of Medicine about your ongoing case.
I will check back everyday. I truly miss this group.
Princess Kilikina
Been busy with work and gardening here. I'm trying to get my veggies going but waiting on either new cages for tomatoes or am gonna have t-posts put in and wrap in twine to support the tomatoes. Still need to plant squash seeds too.
I'm getting ready to take my tropical plants outside for the season and will quit being lazy with them and give them new soil. lol. I have a desert rose that hasn't bloomed in a couple years due to lousy soil.
Same here Princess, I'd forgotten how the garden is when the rains are back. Spent all day trimming chopping and thinning
I'll be thinning and pulling when all the maple spinners start sprouting. That won't be fun at all. It's a banner year for them this year.
Hi, everyone.
My desert roses were attacked by caterpillars last fall. When caterpillars strike, time is not on your side here. Those can defoliate a whole plant in less than 2 days; ravenous eating machines. So, I sprayed with BT immediately and physically removed them from my adeniums. But the damage was done and chewed leaves do not repair themselves. So it was touch and go there for a while, but I saved the plants.
We had a dry winter, so that was not a problem. I worry about my desert roses during the summer when we get a downpour just about every day. I don't worry about soil that much, but they do enjoy being fertilized weekly and weakly. I gave them orchid bloom booster and waited. After a few weeks, new leaves began appearing everywhere and now they're all in bloom again.
Oh sure, gulf fritillary butterflies everywhere are a pretty sight, but I want them OFF my adeniums. There's plenty of passionflowers growing nearby for them to nectar from and lay their eggs. I have sacrificial passiflora foetida (an invasive) growing en masse to save the desert roses. Those passionflowers get chewed down to nothing 3 or 4 times/year and it's fine. I just want my adeniums left alone. Is that too much to ask? Apparently so.
I'm going to Homestead today, on a plant finding expedition with my friend Marc-André. It's about 90 milles from here but the nurseries we find there are much better than anything we find here. I have to restrain my purchases because I officially ran out of space 2 years ago. Marc-André usually fills the minivan with all kinds of exotics, some of them up to 8 feet tall. We should be back in time for dinner. We usually are.
Take care, everyone.
Sylvain.
Gee, Sylvin.....90miles is a snap.....if I was stil there I would have gone with you guys.....LOL
Looks like all your stuff is doing more than well. Next week I'm going to go and get plants for my TWO small planters on my terrace. Some change from,Sunrise!!!! They are my Mother's Day present from my kids. The plants are so expensive here even at HD.
I will have to retrain my mind for the northern plants for I have not dealt with them for 30 years But they don't change.
Enjoy and Hugs to all.
Kisses to Gail
Nancy, having you tag along with us would have been nice. We had a grand day. I found two beautiful bonsai pots and I was thrilled. Can you tell I don't go out often?
We had alligator nuggets by Robert is Here in Homestead and topped that off with a pineapple and mango smoothie at Robert is Here. It's always fun to go to Homestead: the drive, food, smoothies, friends, amazing nurseries... what's there not to like?
Anyhow, I'll be repotting a little Santa Claus (red blooms fringed with white) blooming desert rose in one of those pots. That plant just screams bonsai pot. And I have a pachypodium saundersii that will look mahvelous in the other bonsai pot. And I bought 6 bare root orchids that I will mount on wood today, too. Yesterday was a lovely day. You would have all enjoyed it tremendously. Marc-André spent a wad of cash at the palm tree specialist, but he found the rare palms he was looking for, in the right size and at the right price. Meanwhile, I walked by the lychee bushes and ate fresh-off-the-tree lychees. They were SO good and still warm from the Florida sun. Glorious day, glorious day.
Take care, everyone.
Sylvain.
guess you have heard by now, Texas and surrounding states are officially out the drought. I have no idea what the total rainfall has been because our gauge cracked in the cold weather. They are even letting water out of one of the lakes as it is 7 feet above flood level and it is still raining. You wouldn't believe my flower garden. Switching to Texas natives was a wise, wise move.They bloom like crazy, reseed with no help, survive our summers from Hell and winters from Anartica. Presently, in just midMay, they are 3-5 feet tall and blooming 2-3 per stalk. Last fall I threw out more seed and I never mark it. More fun to see what comes up and blooms and then I identify it. Right now, EVERYTHING is blooming.
RJ need you here when it stops raining to help me clear out the underbrush.
Love to all, Christi
Glad you are out of the drought!! I've been adding a lot of natives to my gardens also. Love them!!
Hi!
We too got lots of rain. Our neighborhood did not flood! The plants really loved it.
I am good. I wrote in my thread on the prayer request forum. My blood is holding at 8.1.
It will be three years in August. Praise the Lord for the "extention". Everyday is a blessing. I
just need more energy to do things.
Good to hear from all of you!
I'm getting slower at stuff! Sorry Christi, just reading the thread. It's been a constant battle keeping the garden trimmed.
Also the house next door was torn down and building a new one, though the owners desire to have a wine cellar has become problematic. The construction is two feet from my portico pillar, and the giant hole that was dug and subsequent deluge resulted in my driveway and portico shifting towards the hole. Fortunately the builders are great to work with and earnest about making it right.
You should build a bomb shelter right next to their wine cellar. With a carefully hidden tunnel and door from the bomb shelter to the wine cellar, you could have an ample supply of good wine to enjoy while you're hunkering down. Just remember to have a corkscrew handy in case you need it.
Sylvain.
I think so, though thought of a more obvious escalator from drive to cellar!
