Another hoverfly, this one picking through the pollen on one of our dahlia blossoms. It was very intent on its task and didn't move at all even when I came in close for a picture.
More garden projects yesterday. I've started moving my datura (aka jimsonweed) seedlings to their own pots. I started two seedlings in each compartment of a seed tray -- never dreaming that both would germinate -- and for some reason I have it in my mind that daturas don't like to be disturbed. So in some cases I'm transplanting both seedlings to a single pot.
And yes, they are close together. But I'm thinking if they have that whole pot to occupy with their roots they should be fine and will probably just lean away from each other as they grow. Time will tell!
I repotted five of them, which leaves me with seven or eight more to deal with. Datura overload!
As I was out in the garden working on this project, Mrs. Kravitz called to me from her balcony. I thought she was going to take me to task over something in the garden, but to my complete surprise, she invited me and Dave over for a glass of wine. We were bowled over and of course we said yes. We sat beneath her pergola and talked gardening as the dogs romped. Could it be that I have been wrongly complaining about Mrs. K for all these years? Is the tide turning in our neighborly relations?
Funny thing -- Olga ran immediately to the back corner of her garden and began barking. She had her nose in a narrow space beside Mrs. K's summer house. (Yes, she has a summer house.) I peered back there and saw a black Kong toy! I retrieved it and gave it to Olga, which made her day. Mrs. K didn't even know what it was, so I'm certain it was Olga's to begin with -- one of those Kongs that mysteriously disappeared overnight from our garden, probably carried away by foxes. I'm sure it's been missing for years but now Olga has it back.
I'm posting this picture just for blogger Andrew because I know he loves it when I talk about our teasels. But yes! Look! They're beginning to bloom! Doesn't it look like a hippie in a headband? Peter Fonda, maybe?
This one is purple, so it's one of the wild-type teasels I brought as a seed from Wormwood Scrubs. We also have giant teasels that are much bigger, but they bloom white and aren't flowering yet.
Finally, we had our friend Warren over last night for dinner. Dave cooked (of course) and we dined al fresco in the garden. Dave served a charcuterie plate followed by braised pork belly and a poached-pear dessrt. I'm not such a fan of pork belly but everything was good.
And then, a complete surprise -- I was sick as a dog last night. I got very little sleep and was up and down between about midnight and 4 a.m. It seems like food poisoning but Dave ate the exact same things I did and he was fine. (No word from Warren yet!) So we're a bit mystified.
Of course my mind immediately went to Mrs. K but that's just mean. (And she only served Doritos, cheese and olives, and again, Dave ate pretty much the same things I did there.)
We're supposed to go to a christening for a co-worker's baby tomorrow in Norfolk but I'm going to see how I feel. I'm not sure I'm past this thing yet and I sure don't want to transport Norovirus or something like that. I was scheduled to see the dentist again today for a cleaning but I'll reschedule. You just never know what curve balls life will throw, do you?
23 comments:
The story about the kong reminded me of the time years ago that a previous neighbour came to our door with one of my then dog's toys in her hand and accused him of being in her garden and asked that we made sure it didn't happen again......it was obviously a fox that had moved it!
Olga must have been so pleased to get her toy back.
Hope that you feel OK soon. I am just getting over a heavy " cold" but pleased to be feeling almost human this morning!
Perhaps you could gently twine the datura stems as they grow to make a feature plant? And now I know what teasels look like. Sorry to hear about the food poisoning though. Did you wash your hands after picking up the old kong toy?
River makes a good point... plus, Datura is poisonous... although they are still small.
That is a nice development with Mrs. K...long may good neighbourly relations continue!!
Cue - call from balcony. Mrs Kravitz has a voice like Hyacinth Bucket...
MRS K. Cooeee! Oh Stephen! Stephen! Are you there? Would you and your musical partner like to come over for nibbles and a little vino?
MR REED Eh? You mean me and Dave?
MRS K. Of course I do and why not bring Vulgar as well?
MR REED You mean Olga? We'll be round in a jiffy Ivanka!
VOICE IN MRS K's HEAD Now where are those olives I injected with e-coli? I will wipe the smile off Cleverdick's mouth! Hee-hee-hee!
U notice you didn't dwell on Wormwood Scrubs! Just visiting then..narrator: it's a prison.
Around here squirrels are in charge of moving things. My neighbor looked at me very suspiciously when his collection of miniature gourds showed up all over my deck.
Maybe your tummy just couldn't deal with pork belly. But whatever- how miserable!
The idea of you and Dave politely chatting with Mrs. K. over a glass of wine has me giggling.
The teasel is adorable.
Oof - sorry for the ailment! I don't know what's worse - missing sleep, or not feeling well. Hope you're much better today!
I love that Olga found her kong. And it's just fascinating that Mrs. K invited you over. Things are looking chummier in your neighborhood!
Mrs. K sounds kind of delightful for a moment!
Hope you feel better today and got a good nap in to make up for the sleep you lost last night.
Your photo of the teasel reminds me that we haven't seen any teasel blooming in our neighborhood yet. That surprise me, but hopefully we'll see some soon.
It's also a nice surprise that your neighbors invited you over. How very neighborly of them.
Hope you are feeling better now, Steve. Take care there.
Wow, so she's human after all.
Reacting badly in the middle of the night happens to me too now and then. Marc and I will eat the same dinner but sometimes my intestines just reject it while he is fine. And I'm always fine the next morning. You can thank me for not being more specific.
You have solved a mystery for me! I posted a photo a couple of weeks ago with an insect on a flower and didn't know what it was (other than I knew it wasn't a honeybee). Now I know it's a hover fly!!
Yay for the Kong! I hope you're feeling better now....
Surprise about Mrs Kravitz. I wonder if she's buttering you up for something else.
I do hate the middle of the night events. It has been awhile, which is good. Jim and I always eat the same thing, cooked in the same pot, so why is it that only one of us gets it? It's a mystery to me.
Sorry to hear about the mysterious illness. I hope it passes quickly. These days, any ailment seems scary. I had brunch at my friends David and Riley's house last weekend and David texted me yesterday that he and Riley are experiencing COVID symptoms again. They had it right after I did but were good last weekend. It seems like the dreaded virus is not done with us yet.
I hope you're feeling better today and that Dave doesn't get whatever it was. Wise move to miss other events for a day or two to avoid possibly passing on the misery! Smart Olga, finding her Kong so easily :) And, like Red, it crossed my mind to wonder what Mrs. K might be thinking ...
I just watched a clip of a video about the poison garden in
England.
A worthy visit- who knew that our usual garden plants could be so toxic,
working the soil , brushing up against leaves and pollen can create all sorts of Physical maladies.
Maybe there is something in your garden that does not suit you.
Sounds like a great time until the food poisoning. Different people's systems can react differently. I'm reminded of all my daughter's Senegalese friends who drank the water there with no ill effects. Eventually she did too although not as much. While I was visiting, I used bottled water for everything including brushing my teeth. My intestinal tract wasn't set up for that particular bacteria.
Golly, I hope you feel better soon, Steve. That sounds miserable! And that's the thing about neighbors -- just when you think you have them pegged, they blow your mind! I'm glad Olga found her Kong.
Thanks for coming over and for the nice words. Healing and feeling much better now that the tooth has a temporary on it!
Did you inhale some spores or something from that kong toy sitting in the wild for ages? I hope you feel better soon, Steve. I'd definitely wager it wasn't Dave's fine cuisine that got you.
Also that first photo is just stunning.
Frances: How did she think Alexi got into her garden?! People are so crazy.
River: I was indeed playing with the dogs and eating finger-food almost simultaneously, so it's entirely possible that's what got me.
GZ: Yes, they're poisonous, but I didn't even really handle the plants themselves. I can't imagine that would have made me sick.
YP: Exactly! The paranoid parts of my brain went through basically that exact scenario!
Boud: Wormwood Scrubs IS a prison but it's also a big park. There are recreation grounds, football fields and some wilderness areas, right behind the prison itself. I used to walk Olga there pretty regularly.
Ms Moon: I would blame the pork belly too, except that I also had a fever. So it wasn't just the food disagreeing with me.
Bug: It was so surprising! I suppose now we have to have HER over. There are rules, you know. :)
Bob: She was very hospitable but I can't shake the feeling that she's trying to befriend us because she wants something.
Ellen D: I did indeed sleep a lot the next day!
Robin: We only have this one blooming so far. Our others are still just in bud. I think it may be a bit early overall.
Ellen: Or she's PRETENDING to be human. I definitely got some kind of bug because I had a fever as well. (You can also thank me for not being specific!)
Kelly: I don't remember ever seeing hoverflies in the USA, but I suppose we might have them there. I only learned about them here.
Red: Yeah, you gotta wonder. She might want something.
Allison: It's so strange how one person will get sick and another not.
Sharon: I didn't take a Covid test but this doesn't seem like Covid. I think at least in my case it's just a gastrointestinal thing. Yeah, I think Covid will be making the rounds for the foreseeable future.
Jenny-O: It's terrible that she was probably just being nice and we're all looking for an ulterior motive! LOL
Linda Sue: We do have a bunch of poisonous plants in our garden -- datura, foxgloves, corncockle. But I don't think any of those would have made me ill. I didn't eat them!
Margaret: Yeah, I had a similar experience in Africa. I used bottled water for everything, but the Africans were fine with whatever was at hand. (Of course, they do get water-borne illnesses from time to time, too.)
Jeanie: Glad the tooth is better!
37P: Ha! I think the old Kong wasn't any danger. Probably the recently used dog toys had a lot more germs on them!
Hope you feel better soon. I wouldn’t reevaluate your history with Mrs. K based on this pleasant visit. She was what she was, but maybe she’s mellowing. (Or do you suppose she’s got something up her sleeve?)
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