lifting

If my heart were a garden, it would be ablaze with gumdrop colored zinnias and azure hydrangeas and lots and LOTS of castor bean plants.  That's right, castor bean.

I love this plant, adore everything about it - from its statuesque height to its furry crimson berry sacks.  I noticed that my solitary plant was sending out new leaves today.

So crisp and shiny - almost artificial in appearance, but truly spectacular.  In years past my gardens boasted hundreds of these goliath plants.  But this year - I am down to one, which I treasure.  It shades my tiny pond, providing late afternoon relief from the sun. We had a particularly treacherous late July in the northeast, and shade plants are paramount to the health of the pond.


 Scott is working and staying in Soho, so my load is considerably lightened.  These days Harley and Bella and I eat on the fly. . . multigrain toast with sauted swiss chard, topped with fried eggs and parmesan. . . crisp cucumbers picked, peeled and covered with salt, pepper and balsamic vinegar . . . steamed squash and boiled beets drizzled with butter and ground pepper - all of these goodies picked and dug from the garden and carried into the kitchen.  


And I have been working hard to finish projects -

Pretty Monkey socks in a Cascade yarn - a project that has been languishing long enough in the knitting basket!

Do you give yourself permission to start a new knitting project just as soon as you complete one?  I do.  My sock drawer is not nearly as lonely as it has been in the past. 


Wandering out to the garden I find that the sugar baby melons are beginning to peep out from their protective coverings -

Watermelon is, hands down, my favorite summer treat. I keep a vat of it in the cooler, cut and ready to go.  There is absolutely nothing on God's green earth that comes closer to pure refreshment than that of cold sliced watermelon.  And my MD tells me that it has benefits for lowering blood pressure.  That's enough for me!

The leeks have gone to seed, but Scott likes the look of them, so I weed and mow around them (cursing and sputtering) until fall.  They are attractive to all manner of bees, which elevates them in my estimation!  I am not seeing or hearing so much the comforting sounds and sights of the honey bee as I have in years past.  This worries me more than I can say.  It should worry ALL of us.


But back in the sewing room, things are moving right along - bees, or no bees.

My plans include a plethora of place mats.

Such a fun way to use those batik scraps that have been hanging around!  I also finished a duet of face cloths for my daughter.  I went for her favorite motifs - flamingos and palm trees!

Gifts from the heart - satisfying AND practical!