This house is on the route Olga and I walk most mornings. I've photographed it in past years but I couldn't resist doing it again, with that purple feather boa draped across its shoulders. Olga looks like she thinks it's hilarious, but I think she's actually giving me a frustrated "WHY ARE WE STOPPING?" yawn.
It's been cloudy and cold -- about 50º F (10º C) when I walked the dog yesterday morning. Still, I finally got all my seeds planted. I started sunflowers, a small tray of foxgloves and six daturas. (Yes, I know, I was on the fence about doing daturas again but I'd gathered the seeds so why not?) Oh, and cosmos, which I put in a large pot at the corner of the patio.
I'm glad to have all that done. Those seed packets were taunting me from the hall table and the sunflowers were definitely at least two years old -- and maybe the foxgloves too -- so I'm not even sure they're all viable. If not, no great loss.
I also weeded a bagful of dock from our flower beds. I'm pretty tolerant of most weeds but for some reason I can't abide dock, and it's very hard to pull. It has a taproot and you have to dig it out or the plant just comes back. I think I (and my trowel) did a pretty good job removing most of them. Then again, I've done this in previous years, and yet every spring there are a million dock plants.
Here's a bluebell that has chosen to grow right in the middle of our lawn. A vulnerable position but somehow it made it to maturity without getting bulldozed by the dog.
Dave and I took Olga to the cemetery yesterday afternoon, where a blooming tree is putting on quite a show right behind the posh grave of the Neresheimers.
Last night we went to a Eurovision party at the home of some co-workers. Yes, it's the gayest night on international television, and as usual we had a ball watching all of the fun and terrible acts. I enjoyed the campy fiery number from Poland, Albania (sort of a Balkan "Partridge Family" thing going on there) and the boy-band entry from Slovenia, and my genuine favorite was the Boy George-ish disco bit from Belgium. But unfortunately Sweden won yet again.
The two weirdest entries were Finland and Croatia, and they show how weird can sometimes work and other times go awry. Finland was a fan favorite and came close to winning; Croatia, on the other hand, was just weird. Why were they all in their underwear at the end?!
Your bluebell looks like a " native" one, rather than the spanish variety!
ReplyDeleteI watched those Eurovision clips, but not all the way through, apart from Slovenia which I liked, love the lead singer's shirt and he has great hair, and Belgium, which I really liked. The others were just too freaky for me. It certainly has come a long way from the days of ABBA.
ReplyDeleteI love that house with the wisteria "shawl"
I adore that house, but it might be simply because of the wisteria. I remember that gravestone. At the bottom, does it perhaps say “continued on back? I'll have to watch clips from Eurovision now that it's done.
ReplyDeleteSo much history spanned by the Neresheimers..and geography.
ReplyDeleteWe have seen passing clips from Eurovision..so won't be going back to it!
Pre COVID it used to happen at about the time of the Annual Rixon get-together...we used to stay with the musical bit of the family and it was a good fun evening watch together along with a barbie!!
That is an impressive wisteria , feather boa is the right description
I heard that the P of W performed, on the piano. Is this true or just made up?
ReplyDeleteI like the boa, though I like Olga's "laugh" better!
ReplyDeleteThat house in the top photo is beautiful.
ReplyDeleteI'll have to check out the Eurovision acts later. It has gotten a little more press this year over here.
I don't even pretend to understand Eurovision.
ReplyDeleteI certainly do love those flowers though. English flowers always look so wild and yet, completely refined to me. I'm sure that's just because of their surroundings.
Love that wisteria blooming there. Ours is just in the pre-bloom stage but full of promise.
ReplyDeleteI've never heard of Eurovision, so I'm going to have to do a little online research to see what I've been missing.
That wisteria is beautiful. Thanks for the links to the Eurovision and to be honest, glad I didn't watch it. I wish I understood the words to the Croatian entry, I'm guessing it's an antiwar song which seems appropriate at this time.
ReplyDeleteI have a FB friend who was watching Eurovision & she kept posting random reviews of each act, and without any context it just sounded bizarre. Which I suppose is just par for the course for Eurovision. Ha!
ReplyDeleteYou could move that bluebell to a better spot, right?
ReplyDeleteI watched clips from Eurovision and thought there were several groups that were very good. I remember that funny movie about it a while back with Will Ferrell. That's all I know about it.
OK, OK! You motivated me. Today is sunny, maybe mid-60s. I'm getting those seed packets off the counter and getting them in the ground or in pots or whatever I can find. I even bought some dirt yesterday. No excuses.
ReplyDeleteAnd thanks for showing the wisteria again. I can't get enough of it!
It's time here to get seeding the garden and will soon be time to plants things out doors.
ReplyDeleteYour floral displays today are gorgeous! (including the brave little bluebell)
ReplyDeleteOlga should be use to your camera antics by now. 😉
I'm getting the "not available in your country" message on all of your links. Which is unfortunate, I really wanted to see some of those. Quelle Domage.
ReplyDeleteShe’s looking her age Steve x
ReplyDeleteI didn't see the contest but read about Sweden winning it (again) so I went to YouTube and found a video of her winning number. Guess I'm getting too old for this but I found it pretty boring.
ReplyDeleteOne of these days I'd love to watch Eurovision but have no idea how to do so. Is it on TV? Currently we've got you by about 40 degrees. Not happy about the heat this early. At least I have a heat pump.
ReplyDeleteI have a distant memory of rubbing dock leaves on nettle stings - or is that something else?
ReplyDeleteYes, Dock leaves for nettle stings. We have always done that. Not sure it worked really, just felt better knowing that there was a helpful plant that named Doc.
ReplyDeleteFrances: I really think most of ours are natives, or perhaps hybrids of the two.
ReplyDeleteRiver: I liked the Slovenian lead singer's shirt too! I'd wear that!
Mitchell: LOL -- yeah, there is a lot going on with that gravestone.
GZ: If you've seen clips, you've probably seen all the good parts!
Boud: Yes! If by P of W you mean Princess of Wales -- it was Kate Middleton on piano.
Bob: She really looks like she's about to bust a gut!
Sharon: Well, this year they allowed votes from all over the world including the United States -- and that's a new thing.
Ms Moon: I know what you mean about the wild but refined combo. Nothing here is as big or jungly or dangerous as it is in Florida!
Robin: We watch it every year. It's a pop music competition among all the countries of Europe (and some farther afield, like Israel and Australia). It's famous for launching the career of ABBA in 1974.
Pixie: Yes, it's antiwar and makes allusions to Lukashenko buying Putin a "tractor," among other things. I still don't get the underwear, though.
Bug: I can't even imagine trying to be on social media while watching Eurovision. Camp overload!
Ellen D: There's a Eurovision movie with Will Ferrell? Somehow I missed that one. Yeah, I probably could move the bluebell, but it seems happy where it is as long as we don't step on it. :)
Jeanie: Excellent! It feels really good to get them off the table and into some dirt, trust me. :)
Red: Yeah, I would think May would be about the right time, even in the frigid north where you are! :)
Kelly: She's used to them, but she still doesn't LIKE them.
Allison: Oh no! I didn't even think about that. I posted the official Eurovision links, but I bet you could find them doing your own search. (Or if you have a VPN you can log in via a web address in the UK.)
John: Yeah, she's bonier than she used to be, for sure. But don't tell her that!
Catalyst: I found it boring too. I don't get the appeal, honestly.
Margaret: Yeah, I heard you all were having a "heat dome" at the moment! I'm sure you can get Eurovision somehow on some channel, but I have no idea where.
Caro: I don't know! Maybe? Fortunately I don't get stung by nettles very often.
Linda Sue: It sounds like an old folk remedy of dubious value, but who knows? Going to Doc Dock!