Friday 11 February 2022

calm after the storm

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 Let's say the storm has settled and I am at peace. Enough people in the tatting community now know the 3 sides of the story and hopefully it will dissuade the person from spreading falsehoods. I have no desire to bring an excellent and fair administrator into the eye of that storm, hence have removed the entire post, not merely the screenshots. 

I want to take this opportunity to thank all my well-wishers and friends who either left comments or spoke with me privately, in full support. I am trying to respond to each. You have restored my temporarily faltering faith in the goodness of the tatting community 🧡💗🧡

Now, after many long weeks of extreme cold and no sun, we are basking in the warm sunshine these last few days (and forecast for the next 7 days is similar). These are a few pics I took this morning.

Ajwain ('bishop's weed'). When we bought it a couple of months back, the leaves were very tiny and clustered in the center. Now they are proliferating and enlarging at a rapid pace. And the aroma that wafts out by simply ruffling the leaves is something exotic and calming. 
All attempts to grow it over the years had failed. 
Ficus - the new leaves it sprouted a month back are already quite big, though still retaining some sap green colour.
Lemon tree - this was my hubby's ardent wish because of the aromatic leaves. Lo and behold, the flower buds are already in sight!
From a slightly different angle. This plant, too, has grown splendidly during the cold months, almost doubling in length. 
The reason is the glasshouse effect since we glassed over the entire balcony to avoid pollution and lizards.
Now is this a moth or a butterfly? It was absolutely static for the longest time (hence I veer toward moth). This is as close to the vibrant rust shade and scales as could be captured. 
The moth had landed a couple of days back and was resting on the lower shaded side of the window frame. It was barely 1 to 1.5 cms and the photos are heavily cropped.

At one time I used to be the 'gardener' of the house. It included watering, aerating, manuring, propagating, pruning. This time all watering duties are delegated to hubby. My role is to make sure the pots are rotated every week, 10 days to receive sunlight distributed to each side alternately. We are fortunate to find this excellent plant seller and have decided to call him every few months to manure and buy any new plant we might want. He's already made one such trip.
Now to see how these plants fair during the coming summer months. Hoping for the best...

21 comments:

  1. So glad your faith in the tatting community is restored. "Bushop's weed" made me giggle! Our lemons bloom year round.

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    1. Auto correct strikes again. Bishop is what I typed. What, pray tell, is a bushop???

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    2. Somebody who hops onto a bus, rather than step in, Mel? 😁🤪😃
      Isn't it fun to rub a leaf between our palms for the oils to seep through?! Such a refreshing aroma of lemon 🍋 ❤🥰

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  2. I am so very thankful it's over and I hope you have peace and joy in your tatting again!!! :)

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    1. Yes, I sneaked in some time to tat, Sue ❤🥰 I have limited my forays into cyberspace to twice a day in order to capitalize and focus on actual work.

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  3. I’d say moth. Wonderful to have aromatic plants on your balcony. Jack planted a lemon tree for me just outside the kitchen. Still waiting for my first lemon though.

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    1. Here's hoping you have plenty of lemons, Jane 🥰 We used to have almost 30 to 40 pots in this very balcony at one time, plants ranging from leafy veggies, herbs, flowers, climbers (including bitter gourd), etc. And regular visits to a nursery. Then the nurseries got shifted due to mega malls.

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  4. Gardening is wonderful and relaxing, but I should thanks my hubby too 🙃. Of course I love your visitor (moth) and you can find her name in a great site butterfly-conservation dot org, you tick criteria and find the pic that is closest to yours.

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    1. Yes it is, Nin, but it also requires physical stamina which is in short supply now 🤪 Hubby has always enjoyed plucking off yellowing leaves and dry twigs 😁 Thanks for the link, I will check it out 🥰

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  5. So glad your faith in tatters is restored and you can enjoy relaxing and tatting again.
    StephanieW

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    1. ((((((hugs, Stephanie)))))))
      Sorry, I seem to have missed this comment. 💕💕💕

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  6. I would say Moth, and i would not have let him stay he would have been out. I would not want my curtains or shades eaten.
    Like you I used to do the gardening expect the lawn mowing that was hubby's job, I did nearly get a sheep to eat the lawn as it was so long in between mowing. Now my health does not let do so much, I look at the garden and think what I would like to do, and have to force him out telling what needs fdoing, I am lucky to have a gardener come in the Autumn to trim my shrubs, a job that he would never do I am sorry you had a bad experience with a tatte, I had one a few years ago, it takes time to forget and put things behind you, I dont know why you were treated badly your tatting is wonderful and you give so much inspiration. I do wonder if it was the same person I had problems with.

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    1. Oh, good point, Margaret!
      I am happy you get to enjoy at least some of your erstwhile garden. After more than 20 years 3 of our plants died out on us and we had to sadly let them go. Then hubby took the initiative to stock our balcony with a few plants and luckily we found this person and he has a very good knowledge and excellent plants. He says himself that his plants are expensive but of superb quality. We agree 😁🥰

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  7. Husband is pretty sure it's a moth. We would get him out of the house immediately - I had a sweater badly eaten one year (they ate it during the summer months), husband had 2 suit jackets eaten - big holes in them - one year. No moths are allowed to stay in our house, even for a photo op. :)
    StephanieW

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    1. We'll be careful next time, Stephanie 😍 Don't know where this one disappeared.
      I tried the site Ninetta recommended as well as Google Images (geometermoths). Nothing came up that could be a perfect match. But, yes, it is a moth, not a butterfly. ⚘⚘⚘

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  8. Replies
    1. Aneta, in less than 10 days,they have grown even more, and the lemon flowers, too. Love watching them all 🌿🌸🌿

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  9. Oh dear, i had no idea there was a storm. I hope things are better now. You are such a nice person overall, it is hard to imagine what would get you that upset about the tatting community. I do send a big hug your way, belated as it is.
    Your plants are lovely and you take such good care of them. Mine all get water once a week and somehow they are still alive :)

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    1. Hugging right back, Lavi 💝🥰 Hubby has to take credit for watering these plants...I don't have enough breath to spread around 😃 Wow, you are the one with greenfingers and thumb!! 🌿🌿🌿 Yesterday the first lemon flower bloomed, yay!

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  10. I love the scent of the flowers from the lemon trees. Ohio is not an easy climate throw them in without a greenhouse
    I’ve never written before but I do certainly enjoy your materials and information. Blessings. Sarah

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    1. Welcome to my blog, Sarah, and thanks 💕 I think during the winter months, it was the greenhouse effect that led to the spate of blossoms on the lemon tree, though the conversion to fruit was abysmal. I have more expectations this time.

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