Primary Colors

Felder Rushing and his bottle tree

After Bo's comment I decided bottle trees needed to be shown. Felder's is small, above. They can be huge.

Google Bottle tree images and you'll be amazed!

Primary Colors

My mom has a bottle tree in her front yard. Beautiful, as it catches the light and turns it into rainbows when the sun is "just right." Dangerous, when the winds come off the lake like a tornado. Wintery and stormy times she carefully removes each bottle and lines them up on the porch in their safe place. I love her bottle tree as much as the neighbors detest it. She's a free spirit and simply laughs. We are both considering the use of bottles as edging for our landscape beds. Felder Rushing does it. I also just read an article in Alabama Gardener magazine about it. According to the article, this method of edging was used on southern plantations long ago. Therefore, we're simply keeping this charming southern custom alive.

This is another random, big yawn blog. Fair warning.

Oh, and speaking of blogging I found a magazine devoted to blogging called Artful Blogging while the Hubs and I were sipping coffee at Barnes & Noble yesterday. Flipping through I delighted in the creativity of the bloggers out there. Wish I had an ounce of their creativity. Artists of all kinds, gardeners, chefs, etc. I would have purchased the magazine for grins but it was $15! Holy schmoly! I carefully placed it back on the rack and backed away.

The current Project Du Jour at the GHT household is Simplification. You know those boxes one carts from place to place, year after year? Dust covers each surface and the bottom is saggy from moisture? Brittle packing tape wrapped and re-wrapped, breaking away at the seams? Seems we have a whole bunch of these boxes. Inside are old crinkled newspaper pages wrapped around various "treasures." Some things are indeed treasures thought lost, and some were various levels of trash. Each box is a project all its own. The dust has been so thick and filled with Lord knows what that the project made me sick the first day until realizing I needed to wear a mask. I never want this kind of project again.

Another project is journaling. Staying OFF the computer and physically writing down various assignments from my therapist. Handwriting is hard. I can type on the computer as fast as I think. Besides, handwriting is just tedious. However, I've been convinced that it is necessary because my brain works differently when I put pen to paper.

Yesterday I bought walking poles and vow to begin walking again. I've been told these help take the shock off knees and hips with the added benefit of increasing your cardiac workout and whatever by 45%. That's what the box says anyway. Well, except for the word "whatever."

That's enough for today. Enjoy the bottle pic from my mom's sunny beach porch. Just wanted to come back and post something - keep this blog alive until I can find out who I am again!