Wednesday, May 20, 2020

A Little of Everything

Hello friends,

I hope you are all doing well.

I am basically fine and have been keeping myself busy.  I've been gainfully occupied with homely things like cooking, cleaning, gardening, a bit of knitting and reading.  I'm sure most of you are all doing much the same.  Some people are probably exercising of which I am only doing a bit of indoor exercise.  Unless you count a little bit of outdoor gardening though most of the strenuous work is finished.


Fern on May 19/20. I'm really pleased with how lush it looks after how it looked at the beginning of May.
Same fern on May 1/20.  After the winter I removed most leaves which were dead.  It has really come back to life and more fronds are unfurling (the round knobs you see near the soil).

Cosmos. I wish I had some dirt in the ground to plant these in rather than in the container.

Catmint. This plant has several medicinal benefits and is easy to grow.

Hostas. I am going to transplant some of these are they are too crowded in the cedar box.

Red petunias. I need some new terracotta planters but it will have to wait for another time.
Red petunias. I love how petunias spread out and take up space with their luscious blossoms.

I recently started knitting some cloths again. I'm using up my yarn stash and replenishing the cloths I made in the Fall to give as gifts
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I haven't been using the time of quarantine for much reading except for Bible reading.
It's mainly because I enjoy reading paper books and our library is closed except for digital books.
Recently I took the plunge to borrow some digital books and read Sapiens and The Colour Purple.
 It started well but I ended up only giving it 3/5 stars.

I gave this classic 4/5 stars.

This will be my next read.

I still enjoy taking photos of the sky, especially if there is colour in it when I am still up at dawn. It's been raining for going on 3 of the past 4 weeks but there are dry periods in each day and I believe the photos below were taken in our dry week.
Early morning, May 11, 2020

Early morning May 11, 2020

Early morning May 8, 2020

Joining in with Skywatch Friday.
Have a wonderful and safe weekend ahead.

25 comments:

eileeninmd said...

Hello, Penny
Gardening is hard work, it may as well be included as exercise. Your plants and flowers are lovely, The Cosmos is my favorite. Beautiful sky captures. I saw on facebook it is your Birthday, I wish you a very Happy Birthday. Take care and enjoy your day!

Joyful said...

You are very sweet Eileen. I like the Cosmos too. It's the first year I am growing some. Thank you for the birthday wishes. Have an awesome day.

Susan said...

What?????Your birthday today? Oh my goodness. You should shout it out and announce it to the world! May your day be super blessed and filled with many good blessings! Your plants look quite lovely. Good job! Take care and have a lovely birthday and a wonderful new year of life. Susan

Red said...

You have no end of activities to keep you occupied.

Annie said...

Lovely garden plants. I have enjoyed seeing your little garden in photos you have posted.
I see from the comment above you are a birthday girl.. Happiest of birthdays to you and many more to come. Loving the skies you are showing. God is very good to us.

Mari said...

Oooh - pretty skies!
Your plants are looking good. We have quite a few ferns and lots of hosta because we have so much shade. Love them both!

Joanne Noragon said...

I pretty much agree on Sapiens. It gets pretty hurried and crushed at the end. I'm looking forward to Homo Deues.

Jeanie said...

You are far ahead of me in your garden. I love the cosmos. Mine are about an inch and a half tall and it will be at least another couple of inches before I can transplant them out of their starting pan. but soon!

shayndel said...

Your sky pictures are exquisite Joyful!! As are the colors of your garden!! Looks like you are really going deeper into gardening during this time, I hope it will be a time of lots blooming in your garden and in your life both spiritually and growing all the things you love!!! Great that you could do more Bible reading during this time, wonderful to always have a Bible on hand what a treasure!! No matter what closes down isnt it amazing that we can always can open up the Bible and find the treasures that are in store in God's word!! Makes me think though that there are some that don't have a copy of the precious word of God on hand, praying that more of His word will reach all people in whatever form that they can access it!! Blessings and much love abundant in your days!xoxohugs!♡💙

Joyful said...

Thank you so much Shayndel. I do love the vibrant colours of flowers though this year there wasn't much selection I decided to try and limit to reds and pinks. The Solomon's Seal always blooms early and has white bell shaped flowers. The Black Eyed Susan blooms later and has yellow flowers. I also have planted numerous bulbs in years gone by. So far they have not bloomed but they come up a bit each year. Maybe they will bloom this year :-) You are right about the fact that many people do not own the Bible. In years gone by I've provided Bibles in Russia and in several places in Africa. These days if people own a smart phone they can access the Bible on their phones. That's neat too. Blessings and much love to you. xx

Joyful said...

I may have planted the Cosmos into such a big pot before they are ready. They seem to be blooming anyway :-)

Joyful said...

I believe I have Homo Deus on my to read list :-) Enjoy

Joyful said...

Hostas and ferns are so lovely. We have a lot of wild ferns here in the rain forest.

Joyful said...

Thank you Annie. I get a thrill out of seeing something bloom or sprout no matter how small. Yes it's my birthday. Thank you for the good wishes. God is indeed very good to us with all his many blessings.

Joyful said...

Yes Red. I like to have many activities I can do. I never have all the time or energy to do them but I enjoy when I can.

Joyful said...

Thank you Susan. Yes it is my birthday and I'm grateful for another day and another year. Thank you for the lovely words on my garden. I do enjoy looking at the blooms. Have a lovely week. xx

Pamela M. Steiner said...

In reading your comments above I noted that yesterday was your birthday! Wow! I want to wish you a belated Happy Birthday! I love that you were enjoying your flowers and that beautiful fern on your birthday, and seeing its growth back to good health. That encourages all of us to see that we can still blossom out after a long winter. Your sunrise pictures are beautiful. I love to watch the sky...it is never the same is it? Our God is the Master Designer of everything, and He makes all things beautiful for us to enjoy! Praise the Lord. God bless you today, and may your birthday weekend be filled with some pleasant surprises.

~Lavender Dreamer~ said...

I check all of my books out from the library as ebooks now and I love reading them on my IPAD. You never have to worry about the light or a lamp being just right to see your book. And there's so much to choose from. I love your pretty flowers. I wanted a pot of petunias this year but haven't been to a store to find any. Have a good day!

Rhodesia said...

Wow your cosmos have flowers already, ours are only just seedlings!! One of my favourites. As for the ferns they just grow wild here I do not think anything kills them. They die down over winter but I noticed on my walk the other day they are looking fantastic in the woods. Belated Happy Birthday if I did not mention it before. My memory is not that good these days!!!! Take care and keep safe, Diane

diane b said...

The Petunias are lovely. Well done keeping busy.

Saucy Siciliana said...

I am absolutely hopeless at gardening and plants. Such beautiful plants, you sure have the green thumb. Have a nice Sunday Joyful!

R's Rue said...

Beautiful photos

shayndel said...

Happy Birthday Joyful!!!
Happy Joy-filled birthday!!:)

Kenneth Cole Schneider said...

Your flowers are progressing well.Love the sunrise photos.Happy Birthday and stay safe!

Susan said...

Hello my dear blogging sister. Thanks for your visit to Writing Straight from the Heart. Always love to see that you stopped by to visit. Loved all your flower shots. I think I might get petunias for my windowboxes. Yeah. That'd be great. Stay safe and healthy. Susan

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