Daisy Fleabane sounds like the innocent heroine of an English murder mystery.
Daisy Fleabane is actually a member of the Aster family of plants. Erigeron strigosus or Erigeron annuus; look similar, grow under similar conditions. Like many plants that grow very well Daisy Fleabane is considered a weed. Me being kind of a casual gardener, when Daisy Fleabane showed up in one of my plantings I left her there to grow up and be pretty.
I've never tried using this plant for it's supposed 'flea-bane' properties. When it comes up in my plantings I'm inclined to leave it in place. Daisy fleabane attains the height of the taller asters,
2.5 - 3 feet, with the slender graceful stems of the taller asters, but without the least hint of clunkiness to the white blooms. I find it pleasant to see a plant whose blooms are in proportion to its leaves and stems.
About two years ago I had occasion to attend a funeral. There's not a lot of laughter at funerals generally, so I just smiled to myself and chuckled inside. In one of the flower arrangements the local florist had used daisy fleabane as filler instead of baby's-breath. I was amazed that there was someone else who appreciated the attributes of daisy fleabane besides myself. A bit of lightness in a dark day, as it were.
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Thursday, July 5, 2007
Something About Rain
I would like to talk about something besides the weather. Or, rather, not talk about it in every post.
But today it's the topic that concerns me. A great deal of business in Iowa is based in agriculture and agriculture worships the weather. MySpouse and I are the children of farmers; we follow the weather fairly closely via the Internet. At this time most of Iowa is doing all right for precipitation.
It's a bit on the dry side here, tho; lawns are beginning to brown, the soil is cracking in places. I'm watering daily; all of the plants that are in pots and some that are in the ground. I've watched on the radar as storms get near our area and then split and go around. Frustrating, but until I'm elected President of the Universe I'll have to live with it.
Watering plants daily, sometimes twice a day if I have time. Watching the water flowing from the hose and anticipating the amount of the water bill. Knowing from my experience with horticulture that watering will keep the plants alive but it's not the same as rain. Eating shredded wheat will keep a human alive (I think), but it's not the same as chili dogs.
We've had rain, of course. It has come at about two-week intervals. Often enough to keep the crops growing, but long enough between rains to incite people to pray. I know I have been.
Praying, leaving the car windows down, leaving clothing on the clothesline...doing my part to coax some precipitation to this area.
But today it's the topic that concerns me. A great deal of business in Iowa is based in agriculture and agriculture worships the weather. MySpouse and I are the children of farmers; we follow the weather fairly closely via the Internet. At this time most of Iowa is doing all right for precipitation.
It's a bit on the dry side here, tho; lawns are beginning to brown, the soil is cracking in places. I'm watering daily; all of the plants that are in pots and some that are in the ground. I've watched on the radar as storms get near our area and then split and go around. Frustrating, but until I'm elected President of the Universe I'll have to live with it.
Watering plants daily, sometimes twice a day if I have time. Watching the water flowing from the hose and anticipating the amount of the water bill. Knowing from my experience with horticulture that watering will keep the plants alive but it's not the same as rain. Eating shredded wheat will keep a human alive (I think), but it's not the same as chili dogs.
We've had rain, of course. It has come at about two-week intervals. Often enough to keep the crops growing, but long enough between rains to incite people to pray. I know I have been.
Praying, leaving the car windows down, leaving clothing on the clothesline...doing my part to coax some precipitation to this area.
Tuesday, July 3, 2007
Sad Songs, Mad Songs
I'm thinking of starting a different blog. I've written mostly humorous pieces for Spook Stuff. I've written about some things in my life that were painful. I haven't written about fear and anger. I thought perhaps I would start another blog to deal with those emotions.
Observation and experience tell me that very few human actions are motivated by love or altruism. Actions motivated by fear and anger are far more frequent than actions motivated by more 'positive' emotions. How many actions in a day are motivated by fear? By anger?
Food for thought; perhaps a whole days' worth.
I would like very much to lessen the amount of fear and anger in my life. Not that there is a huge amount of 'negative' emotions now, but rather, room for improvement.
Alcoholics Anonymous teaches its adherents that anger and resentment are luxuries that an alcoholic cannot afford to indulge in. I have found this to be true for myself. Resentments are particularly deadly for me; a tremendous amount of thought goes into them, using up precious resources like brain cells and friends. Sorry, but friends don't want to listen to ranting.
The truth is that I'm harboring a resentment. Have been for a couple of months. When I was younger I thought that killing a person was the most desirable form of punishment for people that were objects of resentment. I can't say that age has mellowed me any, but killing has been replaced by suffering. I came to realize that killing is quick, but suffering can last a lifetime.
Who should know that better than me?
Anyway, the topic of negative emotions is on my mind. I'm trying to improve my life, I'd like to move on and leave the negative crap behind without killing anyone. Acknowledging all the emotions is the best way to deal with them. Hiding them only leads to blow-ups later, usually at the worst time possible.
I realize that no one's life will be entirely free of negative emotions. I just want less negative stuff in my life and more positive stuff. This actually sounds hopeful, considering how pissed I was when I sat down to write.
Observation and experience tell me that very few human actions are motivated by love or altruism. Actions motivated by fear and anger are far more frequent than actions motivated by more 'positive' emotions. How many actions in a day are motivated by fear? By anger?
Food for thought; perhaps a whole days' worth.
I would like very much to lessen the amount of fear and anger in my life. Not that there is a huge amount of 'negative' emotions now, but rather, room for improvement.
Alcoholics Anonymous teaches its adherents that anger and resentment are luxuries that an alcoholic cannot afford to indulge in. I have found this to be true for myself. Resentments are particularly deadly for me; a tremendous amount of thought goes into them, using up precious resources like brain cells and friends. Sorry, but friends don't want to listen to ranting.
The truth is that I'm harboring a resentment. Have been for a couple of months. When I was younger I thought that killing a person was the most desirable form of punishment for people that were objects of resentment. I can't say that age has mellowed me any, but killing has been replaced by suffering. I came to realize that killing is quick, but suffering can last a lifetime.
Who should know that better than me?
Anyway, the topic of negative emotions is on my mind. I'm trying to improve my life, I'd like to move on and leave the negative crap behind without killing anyone. Acknowledging all the emotions is the best way to deal with them. Hiding them only leads to blow-ups later, usually at the worst time possible.
I realize that no one's life will be entirely free of negative emotions. I just want less negative stuff in my life and more positive stuff. This actually sounds hopeful, considering how pissed I was when I sat down to write.
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