Friday, April 19, at home in Arizona
Three hummingbird feeders in the three arches of the front porch
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A sparrow comes into the house and bedlam arrives with it.
In a panic to escape, the sparrow repeatedly crashes into the dining room window, into the skylight, and into the little bay window in front of the kitchen sink.
Reggie and Roger go ballistic.
Roger leaps at the window sill in the dining room, upsetting pots of dirt holding seeds and a few seedlings.
The pots of dirt Roger knocked over are in the background (above). I buy tiny figurines at the thrift store for 25-50 cents and put them in with my plants.
“Roger, NO!”
I holler as I push him away from the sill. The sparrow is tiring. I know that Roger, given the chance, would nab that bird faster than a hungry kid grabbing a Twinkie.
Again the sparrow crashes against glass. I find him in one of the potted plants in the kitchen bay window.
He’s resting on his belly on the dirt.
Poor thing, he’s breathing hard . . .
“Come on, little one. Let me take you outside.”
He fixes an eye on me as I carry him in the pot to the front porch.
An Easter bunny with the frightened sparrow
A few seconds after this photo, he flies off to the security of the pine tree.
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I’ve decided to take up rose husbandry.
This property has ten rose bushes and they need care. A couple of them are spindly and sad. None of them are in optimum condition.
An early spring pruning helped them somewhat.
They’re leafed out now and their buds are opening. I fertilized with rose food and followed the instructions to “water in” the fertilizer. The blooms are abundant.
However, they’re imperfect. The petals are crinkled and/or have black edges.
I research online for help.
The condition of the blooms may be due to my over-watering.
I also learn the reason why the leaves turn yellow and drop off. One bush was completely denuded last year. Amazingly it didn’t die.
“Aha! Black spot. That’s what it is. A fungus.”
See the black spot on the leaf? And the darkened edges on the bloom’s petals?
This morning I spend a pleasant half-hour or so picking off the leaves that have spots, as advised by rose experts.
Rather than immediately go full military with commercial fungicide, first I’ll try a more natural solution of 1 teaspoon baking soda and 1 teaspoon dish detergent (non-bleach) in a quart of water. I’ll spray the solution on both sides of the leaves.
“Out, damn spot!”
If the natural solution doesn’t work, I’ll up my game.
I’m determined to learn how to grow healthy roses. I can do this!
Imagine —
Roses climbing on the privacy fence. Wouldn’t that be glorious? My plan is to set up trellises on the fence and prepare the ground. I’ll order the roses for fall planting.
When we moved here, I was surprised to learn that roses grow very well in southeastern Arizona.
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More griddling
The previous post generated interest in the Blackstone griddle (Link to griddle available at Amazon at bottom of post.).
For those of you who ordered one or are thinking about ordering one, you might want to watch a couple videos. Youtube has several showing how to season the griddle surface before using and also how to cook up some delicious meals and side dishes.
I got a hankering for a burger.
Not an eater of red meat, I buy turkey patties instead. When they’re made on the griddle with cheese melted on top and embellished with lettuce, raw onion slices, hamburger pickles and ketchup, all tucked in a bun, well, we ain’t talkin’ turkey anymore. Tastes like regular hamburger.
Next time I make a burger, I’ll griddle some onions to put on top. That should be good, too.
That’s it for now! Be well, be safe, be happy!
rvsue
“We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorns have roses.” ― Alphonse Karr, A Tour Round My Garden
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RVSUE RECOMMENDS THE BLACKSTONE GRIDDLE
The link below will take you to Amazon. Scroll down if interested in seeing griddles with a larger cooking surface or to shop for Blackstone accessories.
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THANK YOU FOR VISITING MY BLOG!
RVSue and her canine crew is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
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