The doorknob fell off.
I know that sounds like a metaphor, but it's not. The little tab thing you press down on to open my front door popped off--thankfully after the door was open. I guess you call a locksmith for this kind of thing...? We have a couple of other lock issues that need to be taken care of, so I guess it's time. In the meanwhile, I'll rest comfortably knowing that no one can possibly expect me to leave my house while there's no good way to get back inside.
In other news, the garden is coming along nicely! Although I don't think I heeded Mary Witzl's advice in time to keep from flooding my garlic. I do know that the Peruvian Daffodils are getting close to pushing up over the top of the soil--I saw a hint of green in both pots! It's funny to think that all my life I've walked by people's incredible gardens and not been impressed, but I manage to get two plants to grow and I feel like the queen of all I survey.
One of the most charming things I've seen lately is a smattering of baby praying mantises around the yard. A couple of weeks ago, I followed one as it made its way down the railing of the deck. Head to tail (or whatever), it couldn't have been more than 7 or 8 millimeters. At one point, it stopped walking and turned its tiny head to look at me. Then it set about doing a series of Tai-Chi moves, leaning slowly forward and then backward, all the while watching me. (Maybe it had a crush!)
Lately we've seen one on the dwarf orange tree, over the course of a few days. Slightly bigger. They're just so darn cute. And when they're older, they'll eat all sorts of pesky pests.
The peaches are getting nice and rosy, too ("peach", I believe, is the technical term).
Last weekend, we had our first backyard get-together. It was great fun, although I'm really neurotic about improper "flow" at parties. Clumps of people make me nervous. So I took a few mental notes about what can be placed where to keep people scattered and moving.
So spring has sprung! Although it's cold and damp here--has our misty June gloom come early?
In other news, the garden is coming along nicely! Although I don't think I heeded Mary Witzl's advice in time to keep from flooding my garlic. I do know that the Peruvian Daffodils are getting close to pushing up over the top of the soil--I saw a hint of green in both pots! It's funny to think that all my life I've walked by people's incredible gardens and not been impressed, but I manage to get two plants to grow and I feel like the queen of all I survey.
One of the most charming things I've seen lately is a smattering of baby praying mantises around the yard. A couple of weeks ago, I followed one as it made its way down the railing of the deck. Head to tail (or whatever), it couldn't have been more than 7 or 8 millimeters. At one point, it stopped walking and turned its tiny head to look at me. Then it set about doing a series of Tai-Chi moves, leaning slowly forward and then backward, all the while watching me. (Maybe it had a crush!)Lately we've seen one on the dwarf orange tree, over the course of a few days. Slightly bigger. They're just so darn cute. And when they're older, they'll eat all sorts of pesky pests.
The peaches are getting nice and rosy, too ("peach", I believe, is the technical term).
Last weekend, we had our first backyard get-together. It was great fun, although I'm really neurotic about improper "flow" at parties. Clumps of people make me nervous. So I took a few mental notes about what can be placed where to keep people scattered and moving.
So spring has sprung! Although it's cold and damp here--has our misty June gloom come early?
Labels: gardening
posted by Katie Alender at
9:56 AM
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8 Comments:
I like to have some pots of things scattered on the periphery of my in-the-ground garden. I like to think it makes me look like I know what I'm doing . . .
We have all sorts of doorknob issues in this house: three of our doors cannot be shut firmly unless you want to get locked in, and another wobbles about so much I know it's getting ready to fall off. Doorknobs are a real pain to fix, too -- much more trouble than you'd imagine (or at least that is the case in Victorian houses, which this one is).
Yay -- you're growing things and you've got praying mantisses! Wish I had some in my garden: there are all sorts of insect vegetarians I wish they'd eat up.
So nice to hear the your garden is developing as you feel it should. I'm sure that there is a wonderful calming and soothing effect to having a vibrant, and colorful garden. Although I have grass in my backyard, my swim-in-pool takes up a significant amount of space. And, not to sound mean, I would hardly call praying mantises cute. I wouldn't kill the poor things, but "cute" is a word I would use to describe things you want to pet, like Winston. Not shoo away. LOL!
OMG. Clumps of people at parties freaks me out too!
(But our doorknobs are all OK right now.)
We don't have one normal door knob in our home(in other works, they fit right in!). Most of the inside ones are hanging by threads and the out door ones are starting to 'stick' on us. It would appear the previous owners spent a lot of time swinging on them. And I'm sorry but praying mantisses freak me out. Once when I was little and running through a neighbor's yard a 'swarm' of them came up off the ground like locusts and literally covered me! I still shudder! They have very sticky little legs.
I’m glad your garden is growing, and the praying mantises sound enchanting! Once time is being spent out there, it’s amazing how fascinating the critters become.
Tut-tut, it's amazing how much plants liven up a "dead" surface. The pots lining our deck are really refreshing to look at (in my humble opinion).
Mary (Witzl), if I could pack up some mantises and ship them, I would. And isn't there a rule of thumb somewhere...? the older the house is, the more obstinate the doorknobs are allowed to be.
Tom, it's a different kind of cute! ;-)
Laura, good heavens! I don't blame you for being squeamish about them. Yeek.
Stephanie, ahh! Someone who understands. I kept saying, "Look how all those people are just standing there at the table!" and the people I was talking to would be like, "It's no big deal," and I would be like, "Hmmph!"
Mary, I'm definitely more interested and less afraid, now that I'm getting up close and personal. The bees on the bottlebrush trees don't even freak me out, really. Mostly because I know I don't compare to a delicious bottlebrush.
You know my peaches always fall off the tree and I have to rack them up (ew) because they rot and get all natty and smelly, LOL. Can't wait to see if yours are tasty!!
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