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My first tomato!! I named it Tom A. To
Thirty-six days left until Peter is back at home!! I am so excited for him to get back. The number of days left is the first thing I am able to think about in the mornings, the very first thought I have every day. And I think about him all day long, wherever I am, no matter what I do.
I also have tomatoes sprouting…I am very proud of them. There are five that I have noticed at this time. I don’t know how big they get because I can’t remember what kind of tomato I bought to begin with. It isn’t Roma because those are more oval shaped and mine are round little guys.
The plants are doing extremely well throughout the house, except the chamomile- I moved it twice trying to find a better spot for it but it still isn’t happy. I am going to have to research it online to see what recommendations I can find.
Chapstick is doing well, I think. I couldn’t find him this morning in the cage when I checked on him, but there is evidence that he was there, partially eaten food and little mouse poops and whatnot. But he was nowhere to be found. Come to think of it, the cats were completely uninterested in his cage yesterday. Could it be that they know something I don’t? Can they sense he is gone? I don’t know where he would have gone, let alone how he could have escaped unless he is part opossum and his climbing skills kicked in… I am going to rip that cage to pieces to find Chapstick later, I don’t know what I’ll do if he is gone!
This is a new opossum who has come into the refuge: I named her Patent. Name inspired by her big, black, shiny patent leather eyes. She is quite a cutie though I used to dislike opossums before I started volunteering. I thought they were ugy, odd creatures. Turns out they are pretty cute when you give them a chance. They have to be on a very strict diet so they don’t develop metabolic bone disease. Her tail and ears are hairless and soft and she has a long, pointed snout with a little nose on the end. They are also prone to develop Crispy Ear (which sounds fun but is not at all for anyone involved, particularly the opossum.) Their bare skin parts, ears and tail, turn crispy, like potato chips. This leads to a lot of obvious problems for them.
It’s sad to see these little orphans come in sometimes, especially when they’re new because they’re so scared and fearful. They warm up once they have been around a few days and get used to the routine and learn that we aren’t there to eat them. Something I never thought about before is seeing myself as a predator which is what the little animals see. I think i approach them with love in my heart and a smile on my face but they see a shining set of giant teeth and a mouth big enough to fit small animals inside. SO I keep my teeth to myself and move slowly.
In other news: I went to a yoga class last night at a new studio down in north beach. The instructor was great and I had a really difficult time at some points of the workout last night. Today I am sore and not in places typically sore from my usual workouts. These are my core strength muscles and deep thigh muscles, my back is sore but not from stress or straining; it hurts from working out those muscles. I don’t know that I have ever worked those back muscles out enough to make them hurt like this so it is a first for me. My shoulders are killing me, they’re the worst now and I am surprised because I noticed shaking in my thighs or back, the shoulders must have been silently worked out. Wow, like a secret workout. I plan to go back often for this Foundations class and eventually work up to Hot Yoga or another more advanced class.
Calla Lillies, Patent Leather Opossum, Los Tomatos.
And He shall be called Chapstick II. (Or She, I haven’t checked. Even if I had checked I am not sure I could identify a mouse’s genitals as male or female anyway.) The name is inspired by a previous field mouse found by Katie, a friend of Krisann’s. Katie had a cat named Mascara and upon finding a field mouse named it Chapstick.
Chapstick II loves his heating pad- it is his favorite thing. He gets fresh fruit, cereal, cat food and water every day. I even cut it all up in tiny mouse-bite sizes for his eating enjoyment. He also enjoys teasing the cats by running across the cage when they are sitting nearby so they get excited only to hide when they try to pounce. I left my successful orchid in the cage as well so he gets fresh air continuously.
I’m including pictures of both for your viewing pleasure!
It’s looking pretty green these days…My green thumb is really kicking in and I love tending all the plants. The hibiscus and dipladenia are chock full of blooms. The tomatoes are as high as my waist, one of the orchids is thriving, and thought the blooms have fallen off the other one, I think it is now stable. The wandering jew was not liking the sun and it does not enjoy shade either which I found out when I moved it upstairs. I bought 2 crotons, which are beautiful plants without flowers but their large leaves are tropical colors.
I am back working full time at the insurance company as a temporary receptionist. My hours and lunch break are exactly the same every day of the week, so I now have a schedule to follow which keeps me organized and happy. Krisann says I am of the Vata constitution (ayurveda) and do best when I stick to a schedule.
I spent last week in Charleston with my sister and mom. I am always happy with family. Had a major development there & will post more info later on that.
I spent an hour this morning at the office organizing the office supply closets which is endlessly pleasing to me. I dont know what it is about organizing things but I just love it, it makes me feel peaceful.
The tomato plants are over a foot tall and look very healthy. The hibiscus, digitalis and dipladenia are blooming daily. One of the orchids is thriving and most of my other plants are doing fantastically well.
Peter has been emailling more often and he let me know there is about two months left to the deployment so I started a countdown. I made a countdown calendar at work and as of today, 59 days remain!!! I also bought him a really cute present for when he gets home: a monster towel. It’s meant for kids (although it is super-sized) and has a hood with big eyes and fangs. I think he’ll enjoy it- I know how much he misses long hot showers when he is on that boat. I can’t wait until he gets it, he loves that stuff.
Plus, it’s summer! Its sunny and warm and who doesn’t love that??
I went shopping today for some new hibiscus plants for the balcony. I found them at the third place I looked. Unfortunately, on my trip to other stores, I found two Orchids, a Wandering Jew, Tomato and Chamomile seeds as well as a plethora of accessories.
As many of you may know, I have a history with plants. Me and plants have not always gotten along like, say, Mom and plants. Mom has a green thumb, passed along from Grammy. I remember Grammy had the biggest Christmas Cactus known to man, until Uncle Steve killed it a few years back while she was in Florida for the winter. So Grammy was a great plant caretaker but obviously a poor judge of that characteristic in others.
Mom was great with all plants, these days she lives in an appropriate climate to grow a large amount of plants outdoors. Amarillys, hibiscus and the fern out back where Pod people sprout from.
So with an ancestry like that what was the matter with me? Apparently it just takes a few decades to kick in! Sure I’ve got a bad track record. But what I’ve done recently is great! I have had plants last for over a year. I have brought plants back from the brink of death. I am growing on Plants. Plants can’t help but admit they like me. Sure, the Hibiscus died over the winter but only because they could not come in over the winter due to being infested with bugs. Other than them, all the others are faring very well.
So I repotted all the aloe I have into a long window box and housed them along with the new orchids in a greenhouse in the living room. I took an empty pot and tossed some chamomile seeds in which should germinate in a week or so. The tomato seeds are in a special little greenhouse until they are big enough to go into a container on the balcony.
The Wandering Jew is a beautiful deep purple on the back of its thick leaves. I set it away from any other plants because I understand it tends to take over when given the opportunity. I also found something new for outside, it grows up a trellis and it is full of flowers already. I forget what its called.
What I need is a few plant stands because Nico loves to chew plants. I love her but she will chew just about anything. So I will update when plants start showing progress.
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