Sunday Sundries on Monday

Good morning … Sunday Sundries on Monday? What’s that? Well, it boils down to some poor planning on my part. Oh, I could blame it on the fact that there was no internet, or that we were out of town visiting family, or that I felt downright deflated last night (and I still do).

But truthfully, if I had just been a little more organized, I could have had it posted. So for that, I apologize.

I debated whether to simply leave it until next week … but I decided that by counting my blessings today, perhaps I could salvage this beautiful August Monday morning … and perhaps the whole week would follow suit. After all, that’s what this is all about. So here goes …

This week I’m celebrating Globe Thistle (echinops) which is growing in abundance in my garden. What more could you ask of a plant than it grow in full sun/part shade with well-drained/light, dry, moist, sandy soil!

I’ve always loved the spiky, steel blue/grey balls that appear in August. Each spike produces a tiny blue flower at the tip, which is absolutely irresistible to bees. When in full bloom, the plant is humming with them. This will continue until dusk, at which time a few will curl themselves up, and literally stick to the flower overnight.

But of course I do pick a few blooms to play with …

Once the flowers have died, I harvest stems for winter flower arrangements.

Using gloves I snip a stem, strip the lower leaves, and pull the spent flowers out of the tip of the spikes. After tying into a bunch, they need to be hung upside down to dry, or some of the heads will droop.

What else am I celebrating from this past week?

• Still being “young enough” to accomplish some of my dreams.
• Finding a perfect new/old table to play with.
• Making salsa … an August ritual.
• Sitting down for a “moment” on the sofa, and drifting off while listening to the whispering of aspen leaves as a light breeze moves through them.
• Cooler temperatures in the evening, bringing relief from hot dry days.