Bloomin' Moon

We moved a little late in the season, so I didn't want to start a garden. But I did want to grow something fun. So I chose the Moonvine, because of the name and also because of its rapid growth rate.

Below: 24 hours later after sitting between layers of wet napkin. Fast!

 I put the sprouts in cups and covered them like mini greenhouses. They took just a week to get this big.

This is two weeks later. Transplanted and already climbing. Quick!

 And then the trouble started. I noticed more and more of my leaves were beginning to look like this. So I started examining the plants carefully and found...

at least NINE of these, commonly called the tomato hornworm. (Er, excuse me sir, you have the wrong address. The tomato plant is five feet due west.) Had I left them for another day, I'll bet ALL my leaves would have been gone. Click here for other cool images of the adults online. (They get huge!)

But alas. That was not all of this Moonvine's woe's. You've heard we had some record breaking heat streaks here. Well, it's true. I couldn't keep the plant's roots cool enough so ALL the leaves were growing deformed and puckered. In the photo on the right, you can see exactly how it behaved and grew while it was hot--and also when the weather started cooling off.

And now, my pretties...this is what it looks like. And at last, I have buds!

It is called a Moonvine because the flowers bloom when the sun goes down. They are bright white, and soft. The scent is wonderfully strong. Each blossom lasts only ONE night. So look quick! Oh and the flowers open within minutes. I haven't been lucky enough to catch one, so click here for someone else's video (scroll to about 30 seconds in.)

What do you think? Fun enough...for a plant?

The Charm: The Final Chapter

The family decided to spend time up at Lake Tawakoni for Mom and Leilani's birthday. We were all a little hesitant because our first two trips to the lake had been rather unpleasant. Adam and I went up the night before to scout out a spot for the family.

 The next morning turned out to be perfect. We had breakfast burritos, lounged around...

 photographed huge grasshoppers that eat so loudly you can hear them from your chair...

And then the others started to arrive. Poor little Ava did NOT like getting her shoes dirty. She would either stand in one place and whimper till someone picked her up, or walk on only her heals. Kinda funny to watch.

 We took a walk along the shore and pried open a few muscles to see what was inside. Sand. No pearls. Bummer.

Leilani saw me taking pictures of things and insisted I hurry back with her to take a picture of yellow flowers she found.

 Cooking by committee...

chicken pot pie, first over the camp stove and then to bake inside Dayne's Volcano. (Fires prohibited due to the drought we've been having. Everything is so dry and part dead.)

Later that night we listened to some of Dad Moon's stories while eating GIANT marshmallow smores. Leilani at her ENTIRE sandwich. She worked at it for quite a while. Adam's was gone in a few seconds.

The next morning Leilani couldn't wait to see the "ocean". So Ava drove us there as quickly as she could. Although, someone must talk to her about keeping her eyes on the road; she tends to swerve a bit.

 And this is one of my favorite things to do. Why sit on the shore when you could have your feet in the water? (You should try it in the ocean for reals. It's hilarious. Especially when the waves practically knock you backward.) Adam and I sat like this for hours while he read to me. And then later the whole family had a good time sitting in the water chatting as well.

 It was a fabulous, calm weekend. Third time is the charm. Who ever wrote that was right.