At present, the only way to maintain my sanity is to shut out some of the daily news barrage and concentrate on what's right in front of me. Here are the bright spots that boosted my spirits over the past week:
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| This is Iris germanica 'Autumn Circus'. A friend gave it to me in late May and it produced its first bloom in the middle of our heatwave. It's a reblooming variety. |
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I rarely see dragonflies in my garden, probably as it's a relatively dry place but I caught sight of this one over the weekend and it was kind enough to pose atop Cordyline 'Renegade'. My best guess is this is a female or immature male variegated meadowlark (Sympetrum corruptum). I read that the Native Americans believe that a red dragonfly foretells a period of rejuvenation following a period of trials and hardship. I'm hoping that's true!
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The third bright spot was another neighbor giveaway, not of plants or citrus this time but rather cut flowers. My cutting garden reached its zenith during our heatwave. While I cut a lot of the blooms to decorate our house and passed others along to friends, I thought it'd also be a good time to leave some for neighbors to find. I cut them yesterday morning and left them on the curb late yesterday afternoon.
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I put the flowers, mostly dahlias and zinnias, in glass ice tea bottles and packed them in a beverage carryall supplied by the market on a recent visit
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They were a little too tightly packed so I dug out another carryall to give each a chance to shine
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Here they are on the curb. All but one were gone this morning.
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The fourth pick-me-up was giving to the
Los Angeles Regional Food Bank, my fifth donation this year, this one prompted by yet another story on the food insecurity plaguing this, the richest nation in the world. The situation was already bad before the pandemic but it's worse now and the man who calls himself President and the Senate he controls haven't been willing to come up with the additional coronavirus relief assistance so many people badly need. Instead he's promising to provide this
after the election.
House Speaker Pelosi's assessment of the situation seems right on point to me. If you're in a position to give, consider a donation to your local food bank. It may do your heart good too.
All material © 2012-2020 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
