a side effect of procrastination

Despite my good intentions, I never got around to putting the daffodil bulbs I purchased last autumn into the ground. Finally realizing I had waited too long,  I potted them up in an old bulb pot and stowed them away in a dark corner on the basement floor.

In her amazing way, Mother Nature prevailed. Here they are today bringing a much enjoyed bit of spring to Jerome's office and maybe teasing the birds at the feeders just outside the sliders.

And my small but mighty Meyer Lemon tree that produced the bowlful of lemons in late November is now tucked into a new pot  and  telling me in the way of a happy plant, thank you.

I played bee this morning, wielding my sable brush with glee.

oranges to the rescue

When I was a child, I had to wear a life vest that was orange. I guess that memory awakes the feeling of rescue. And so, today orange seems to be coming to my aid…

a tangy tasty miracle you can carry in your pocket

and recently completed projects...

and flowers that bloom when you least expect but most need them to

orange.

of hearts and flowers

A week into February.  In case you missed it, Wisconsin made the news this week on groundhog day.  It began as any other Feb 2 for the mayor of Sun Prairie, birthplace of Georgia O'Keeffe (and a great little town for quilters. ) Sunny and really cold, news cameras rolling. I guess Jimmy, the local groundhog, was peeved for being disturbed and took it out on the mayor by biting his left ear lobe. And you thought winter was making you cranky! Alas, whatever the prediction, we know winter isn't finished with us yet here in America's midwest.
Indoor garden projects are helping.

a home brew of cat grass ready to serve

onion seeds sprouting in their individual cell packs

leeks bursting forth in their mini mesh peat pots

And there have been surprises among the houseplants. All the Thanksgiving cactus are setting new buds, a byproduct of residing in a rather cool old farmhouse. My clivia, nearly a quarter century old (dare I say I've had it that long???) decided to send up a flower stalk. This plant was given to me as a tiny yearling from a dear friend, who had the most enormous, amazing plant I had ever seen anywhere. Her plant was in a pot that needed a truck to move it. In bloom it was nearly impossible to count the blossoms. My plant, which lived in my school library all the years I taught there, bloomed every summer vacation and spent that time in the principal's office. It has not bloomed since I left teaching. And here for the first time since, is a lovely little stalk of lilies about to open.

Other things are cheering us on to the winter finish line...
A while back  I hinted that Anne would be sharing some good news soon.  Well, take a look at her most recent post and you'll see what we were celebrating. I am over the moon proud of her. Isn't that painting amazing?? I am so glad she included a peak into her journal, where she recorded every step of her process. She shared her journal with Jerome and me, each of us looking on in amazement, and it is absolutely amazing. In fact, it was seeing her journal that convinced me that I could /should be keeping one of my own. (And I have been ever since. Now there's a first.)

And before the month gets even farther along, I urge you to please take some time during America's  Heart Health Month to do something for your own heart. You're important to me.