Flowers from the Field

Between the tropical storm and couple of days of thunderstorms/rain there was a sunny day. It was my usual day to pick up the Community Supported Agriculture share…so I felt lucky in the dry weather. The share was highlighted by three melons (cantaloupe, medium sized yellow watermelon, and large red watermelon) and heirloom tomatoes. I appreciated the bunch of basil in the share as well. I walked around to the cutting garden to get some flowers. It was in the 80s which feels hot wearing a mask…but I persevered. I looked for the flowers that were fresh enough for the butterflies to like – waiting for them to move to the next flower before I cut it. Can you find the two tiger swallowtail butterflies in the picture below?

I had taken a jar with some water in it and the flowers survived the trip home well enough. I might switch to taking a wet paper towel to wrap around them next time. I trimmed off the lower leaves and put them in a vase….am enjoying them in my office this morning.

They last for at least a week with the cut-flower powder added to the water. I have enjoyed the cut flowers from the CSA occasionally in previous years but this year there are flowers I bring home every week. During this time of spending a lot more time at home – I have honed habits that make that a joyous experience. Finding joy is something that helps me be more resilient to those aspects of the current situation in our country that are not going well.

Unique Activities for Yesterday:

Thunderstorms. We are having two days of thunderstorms. It was rumbling one morning during the time I usually spend out on the covered deck; I stayed inside and listened to the rain hitting the skylights of our den; the rest of the roof is well enough insulated that the sound is not as obvious in other rooms. It’s not windy so the only warning/watch is for flash flooding. The area was already soggy from the rain associated with Tropical Storm Isaias. On the plus side there are lulls that offer time to plug in my laptop, phone, and iPad to keep them charged.

During one of the lulls in the early morning – the moisture around the forest was obvious from my office window. And the birds came to the feeder to get a later-than-usual breakfast; this male brought back his whole brood just after I took this picture…more house finches that there are roosts on the feeder and some of them were clearly just learning to fend for themselves.