Why I never listen to conventional wisdom

I can grow a lot of things. I have hibiscus flowers that are 12" across, angel trumpets that are outstanding, and bird of paradise that Louisiana Nursery told me would never survive in the ground. I have grown heirloom tomatoes and even babied them through record snowfall! But I cannot grow zucchini.

Everybody and their far-distant-uncle can grow zucchini. I know this because everyone tells me how easy it is and how they have so much zucchini that their neighbors hide when they start harvesting. It's the recommended plant for beginning gardeners, even, because it is so darn easy to grow!

For everyone, that is, but me.

This year is my third attempt at zucchini. The first year, I tried to grow them in pots, but one must be a diligent waterer to grow veggies in pots in Louisiana, and I traveled far too much for success. The second year, they grew, but were quickly afflicted with yellow mosaic virus or something ... the fruit was nice and colorful, but this is a terminal virus. Again, no neighbors hiding from me.

So this is my third attempt. These attempts have not been in consecutive years, mind you, because I find my failure at growing the easiest and most prolific vegetable too discouraging. This year, I got a new variety - Raven Zucchini. It's a space-saver, allegedly delicious, and indeed spineless.

I dutifully planted my seeds, watched them sprout and grow, eventually making flowers with baby zucchini. Yes! I was going to have success!! ME! I was growing zucchini!!

And yes, I watched the first one mature into a nice vegetable, as I watched the second wither away. I eagerly awaited more flowers, but saw only roly poly bugs. And spiders. And eventually, I discovered that squash borers had taken over the plants.

That was it: I could take care of the harmful insects with *gasp* chemicals. And I did! I sprinkled some granules that are supposed to be left on the surface for a day to kill the top-dwelling insect, and then soaked so that it kills the insects beneath the ground. It was a hard decision, but since these plants are far away from all other edibles in my yard, it was worth it.

And I succeeded! New growth, new flowers ... I was on my way.

Until I remembered that these zukes were space-savers and didn't really need that trellis support I'd placed. And my tomatoes (Big Rainbows) needed a little something extra, right? So I removed the support, and in the process, I ripped out both of my then-happily growing zucchini plants by the roots.

I love working in my yard. I really do. But I am eternally grateful that nobody relies on me for food production. One zucchini may be all the success I will ever have.

Alligators, Egrets, and Asininity

So there I was, minding my own business and watching the birds.

Yes, it's nesting season at Lake Martin again, and the wading birds are out in full force. Great egrets, snowy egrets, and all those other birds that we like to pretend we can identify, but really we just know that they're big and feathery.

Yes, they were all out today.

Nearby, these two were getting along famously, till an egocentric great egret decided that *he* wanted that branch!

Poor little other bird flew off to some other branch, where he may or may not have found better company.

Of course, there was an alligator floating just near the foray, ever hopeful that one of the birds would fall in the water, terribly injured but making a tasty snack!

Or perhaps he was trying to steal the fish from this hungry, hard-working fisher bird?

Whatever he was doing, he was nothing ... NOTHING! ... compared to what was waiting for me by my car. When I arrived at my car, it was absolutely terrifying ... horrifying, really! I didn't know if I could get by the beast, the fattest and craziest-looking alligator I'd ever seen.

But I lived to tell the tale so that you, too, may bear witness to my nightmares:

Spring is so nice!

I had heard that spring was nice, but living in south Louisiana, I haven't had much experience with it. This year, all that has changed. What a glorious season! The green onion seeds were so pretty, and the calendula bloomed long enough that the Victoria Blue salvia regenerated next to it.

Next came the amaryllis and the irises ... I can't ever remember which arrives first, but the eye-popping irises are spent while I still have a couple of showy amaryllis blooms gracing my yard. The irises have gotten so thick that they are choking an Old Blush rose bush ... I am hoping that it's not too late to save the rose, but I couldn't resist letting the irises run their magnificent purple course this fantastic spring.

Now it's back to the voodoo gardening ... 11 p.m. and time to water the flowers!

Back to Blogging, or how I am stealing time from facebook

Apparently there is a time limit on blogs.  I hadn't posted to my old blog in about a year and, well, now it's gone.  I had good intentions, mind you, but I just couldn't ever seem to find the time ... I'm afraid that facebook had hidden it away!

Don't get me wrong: I still love facebook.  I can see what my friends around the country (and the world!) are up to.  I can see photos of my friends' kids growing up, rather than seeing them once as babies and then discovering that somehow seven years have passed and that they no longer wear a size 2T.  I can play Scrabble with people who quite frequently beat me.

But I don't do the Farmville thing or the Mafia Wars thing or the Bejeweled Blitz thing.  I have no idea what my friends are talking about when they refer to people on t.v. shows like Glee or American Idol.  I admit that I've never seen either.   Will my friends still be my friends tomorrow?

I don't mind when my friends post Bible verses, or articles supporting gay, lesbian, and/or transgender marriage, or how much they hate this political idea or think that one is the bees' knees.  But seriously, now ... do my friends really think they will change even one mind because of a facebook post?  Or even a series of facebook posts?

The good news for me is that I can generally entertain a thought without accepting it, and so can most of my friends.  Aristotle would be proud.  Any little extra piece of information that I (or my friends) can garner makes for a more well-rounded mind, and I love reading news or other info that might have otherwise escaped me.  In fact, without facebook, I wouldn't have nearly so many thoughts to entertain!    

So thank you, Jenniffer and Nae, for kindly explaining who modern figures like Miranda Lambert and Madame Sonya are.  Thank you, Adam, for your snarky comments and making me *think* about my grammar all of the time.  Thank you, thank you, all my facebook friends, for entertaining and educating me on a daily basis.

And thank you, facebook, for allowing me to continually expand my horizons, even if you do steal time away from things like washing dishes and sweeping the floors.  I mean, really, who needs a clean house when there are random thoughts to be entertained?