In just a day or two we went from slow old tortoise plodding along in the garden to high speed hare racing to the finish.  But of course the proverbial tortoise, doing all the boring, methodical things behind the scenes, wins the race.  I guess that award should go to E, who has been planning, arranging, and laboring for months.  I get the booby prize.  Kudos to Misu, who supervised the whole project.

We now have signed and paid the lease ahead for the Ohio house, starting Aug.1, not to mention signing up for utilities, booking rental vehicles ahead for the move, and all the other things too numerous to name.  That is, while still paying our mortgage/expenses here until we sell this house, hopefully some time in the next couple of months.  That’s how tight and scarce things are due to the pandemic–you’re fortunate if you can secure any  affordable rentals ahead, on top of current obligations.

E is finishing off the interior/exterior repairs and refurbishing, while I’m expediting my sorting, packing, and garden cleanup, in preparation for staging and showing.  I guess you could say we’ve started the countdown.

Needless to say, the transition to high-speed train is a bit hair-raising and stress-inducing, and is taking its toll, but we’re keeping focused on the end goal and the whole point of this exercise.  As Seven of Nine and Tuvok would sum it up, TN is no longer relevant or logical for us.  Paradoxically, moving back to Ohio is moving forward.  Better to cut our losses sooner than later, and reprioritize while we still can.

On that hairball note, here are the latest garden findings, including Mexican red hat (Ratibida), some butterfly milkweed seedpods, an unripe passionfruit, lots of wildflowers with pollinators, and the usual zinnia/etc. suspects.

You could say I had a good excuse for not posting yesterday–we signed a lease online for a house in Ohio.  The process was stressful, but the worst is over.  We’ve secured a decent place to move to.

It will cost almost twice as much as our mortgage payments, but we were fortunate to even find a rental right now, the way real estate is so hard to come by, so we grabbed it.

As soon as we finish the final repairs, gutter installation, and cleanup, we’ll put this house on the market, and watch the vultures swoop in, as all indications predict they will in this current market.  Meanwhile, we’ll be commuting between TN and OH to finalize everything and schlep belongings to our new place.

Needless to say, I have very mixed feelings about this expedited move, but it’s necessary and logical, and will give us an adequate base of operations while we take care of business in Ohio for the next couple of years.

Aptly, new flowers, including blazing red Tithonia (Mexican sunflower), and assorted delicate pastels of Delphinium/larkspur, are putting on more of a show each day for us, and hopefully for the future owners.  It’s a fitting grand finale to our time in TN.  The veggies are following suit, coming to fruition in a big way.  This is just the tip of the harvest.

Here is your daily dose of color.  They look happier, because it was about to rain.

Speaking of doses, please get vaccinated if you haven’t already.  Continue to take precautions.  People are still getting the virus and dying, especially with the latest variants.  This is not over yet.  I know, because I live in one of the worst denial states.  Thank you.

E is busily installing shelving, blinds, and other home improvements, while I’ve been tweaking the landscape for staging.  It’s a big job, which is all the more reason to downsize and simplify.  Although I almost envy the next owners!  I hope they can see the potential.

Here’s what’s happening around the gardens.  Photos don’t even do it justice, it’s so brilliant and always surprising.  Note the bees and butterflies.  Also–the first ripe tomatoes of the season are here!

Welp I spoke too soon about it being relatively quiet here.  Starting yesterday evening and lasting well into the night, we were literally surrounded on all sides by deafening fireworks explosions, bombs, artillery, and thick noxious smoke filling the air.  We went outside to watch for a while, and it was pretty spectacular, but soon we were choking on the smoke and going deaf, so we went inside to watch much quieter shooting on tv.

Maybe it’s my age, but I felt a bit nervous.  I’m sure it’s nothing compared to a real war zone, but it has to be stressful and triggering for military survivors, not to mention dogs, who were out there howling in distress.  Even Misu, safe inside, looked a little on edge.

I’d much rather celebrate the day after the fourth, my son’s birthday, though sadly I can’t be with him.  New flowers blooming are more my speed, and to me much more exciting and vibrant.  Some common standbys like zinnias (one with a small butterfly) and gladioli (a lovely lavender one is blooming now) are spectacular bursts of color.

Others are much more subtle but just as striking.  Just today, as if on cue, some newcomers were blooming for the first time in the cutting garden, including a lacy white Love-in-a-Mist (Nigella), deep red cockscomb (Celosia), a pale yellow okra flower, and delicate blue borage.  Others are getting ready to show.

Even lowly pole beans and zucchini are exploding.  And more green passionfruit keep appearing.  Maybe I’ll even get to see them ripen.

Since I can’t give my son flowers in person, here is Avdi’s virtual Birthday Bouquet!  I wish him a very happy, healthy, and hopefully relaxing day with his St. Louis family.  I love you!  Cheers!

Happy 4th from flower cracker central.  So far it’s been fairly quiet except for some loud explosions last night, but there’s still time.  I feel for all the PTSD-ers and pets out there.  I’ll stick with flowers.  And zucchinis, which are booming.

E finished the “undeck”, for the most part, and it’s looking good.  She still has to pressure-wash the vinyl siding, and have gutters installed, etc., but we’re making progress.

Here is your daily dose of flowers, in lieu of fireworks.

Lots of home improvements are getting done by E.  As one closet gets emptied, repaired and painted, and filled back up with packed boxes, another is emptied and repeat.  Empty and full boxes are piled everywhere, to Misu’s bafflement and delight.  She’s wondering what all the commotion is about.  To my knowledge she’s never moved before.

So far so quiet.  Hopefully it won’t be like a war zone out there tonight or tomorrow the fourth, with bombs bursting in air and assault rifles.

Here is your daily dose, even better after all the rain.  Half of these are natives.  Notice all the bee action.  The last one is an eggplant flower.  I’ll take flowerworks over fireworks any day.  So much quieter while still spectacular.

It seems more rain is on the way, yay!  While waiting, I took these scenes, including a rabbit mowing the California garden.  The veg garden is a serious micro-wildflower meadow now, with a few veggies here and there!  The yard is one big flower cutting garden.  I love all the natives taking over.  My evil plan at work.