Viola, you’re just laying around doing nothing. Will you help clean up a bit around here? We could really use your help with housework this weekend since Mom’s trying to get yardwork in order at the same time. C’mon, you can help a little, can’t you?
It looks like our Hoya (wax plant) might flower again sometime next month or so. This plant flowered for us last summer. We’ve always been under the impression Hoya’s didn’t flower often. Years ago, Mom had a different and much bigger Hoya plant and it never once flowered leading her to believe they are hard to get to flower. Then again, she’d also heard the flowers were very fragrant and this particular plant is not fragrant at all. Perhaps this plant hadn’t heard all that. Not everyone reads, you know.
Quint doesn’t care about silly houseplants, unless he can nom on the leaves. While we not going to say he can’t possibly get to the Hoya to chew on its thick leaves, it’s located in a relatively safe spot up and away from inquisitive boy cats. So far, so good!
Editor’s note: The Hoya won’t bloom after all. Perhaps, from the window it sits near, it sensed last week’s scant snowflakes and made the decision to drop its buds and wait for warmer weather. Can you blame it?
Water, water, water. We had a lot of rain last month and the beginning of this one. We had a few snow/rain mixed days here and there early on; nothing like the snow and ice back in January. Just soft steady rain. Six years ago, we had record rainfall for March, and though the month’s just a bit past half over, no records will be smashed this year.
Maybe it’s been the perfect amount of rain. These wild sweet violets are having the best year ever! Some eight or ten years ago, Mom found one plant struggling along the foundation of a nearby old, abandoned house and dug it out before the place was torched for fire department practice. She’s never regretted taking it. The plant’s been moved a few times, looking for the best place to thrive and she thinks it found its permanent spot.
And so is Lloyd, who looking for brushings and dried chicken treats. Lloyd, we can tell by your scratched up nose you’re still fighting with someone in the neighborhood. Could you stop that, please?
One late night last month, as Mom was on her way to pick up Dad from his job, she saw Lloyd walking up a long sidewalk toward a fancy neighborhood about a quarter mile from our house. She knew it was him because of his wide leg walk and that he stopped, turned, and looked at Mom’s headlights. It was him. This boy has range! Hopefully, he was on his way to even better food or his real home where Mom had never even thought to look or inquire.
Some perennials are slowly coming back. These are the yearly standard sprouts. Mom’s more interested in what comes back in that new flower bed she created last year when the big golden arborvitae had to be chopped down. Out of all the perennials she planted there, so far, nothing’s poking out.
Some mushrooms decided to take over an old, dead maple stump. Did you know mushrooms take up to two years to sprout out of old tree stumps? These aren’t edible mushrooms but are just on time.
Sadly, Mom’s cyclamen isn’t looking happy this year. The slugs are getting to it despite the hazelnut shells and the slug bait that just washes away in all the rain. Why can’t slugs go after ants instead of pretty plants and flowers? Mom might need to take more drastic action by way of placing copper flashing around the whole area. As you probably know, slugs hate copper flashing as well as dry cleaning and all forms of housework.
Mr. Stubbs seems a bit alarmed to hear about the slugs. “You mean I’m not getting my dry cleaning back??” he enquires.
Mom’s looking forward to spring clean up and every year, she hopes she won’t be working in mud. Every year starts off with her working in mud. You’d think she’d be used to it by now. Maybe Mr. G will help!
Pia is feeling much better since the Pre-Spring ant invasion fiasco. No ants for three solid weeks and Pia’s gaining weight thanks to her kibble-only choice of diet. It was a dry, warm weekend here and Mom wasted no time renewing ant bait around the under house vents.
Quint, Tessa, and Viola are doing well and so are we. Dad got a forty cent an hour raise that goes into effect next month and Mom survived a big layoff. We haven’t had to visit our local food bank since last November and our cupboards are looking good with enough food and cleaning supplies and cat food and litter to last us a while. We can’t complain.
Only sweet visitor Colby complains. This adorable, hunky, talky boy loves those dried chicken catnip treats! Oh, if only in another time, Mom would have scooped this boy up and made him an indoor cat regardless of who he’s supposed to belong to.
