Hornets, Whales and Bonsai Crepe Myrtles!

   It seems that 2020 has been a topsy-turvy sort of year and we are not finished with it yet.  What else is to come?   Any day now, I half expect to see Godzilla come sloshing up out of the Bayou.  Trust me...that would be no surprise after what this year has thrown at us.  In fact, I was reading a few oddities that have occurred and I am still astounded.  Have you heard about the whale in the rain forest?  Come now.  Does that seem normal?  Viruses, hornets...bah!  But a whale in the rain forest?  Seriously?  Yep, seriously.  It was all over the news about the dreaded Murder Hornets but I am more concerned about that whale!

  Now my oddity is nothing compared to the earth-shaking things the media is trying to shove down our throats but, when you have been confined to the Small Gardens for more than a month, things are exciting.  My garden "claim to fame" is...wait for it...a crepe myrtle tree!  Yay!!!  Oooh!  Ahhh!  Ok, enough of that.  But, indeed, I was totally engrossed by such a tree this morning and spent a good ten minutes weeding around it.  You see, I have never seen a baby crepe myrtle tree bloom!  Yep, THAT is something that should be news worthy!  "Breaking news!  Climate changes have started creating miniature versions of trees that are blooming all across the South!  We are thinking these trees are harbingers of bad times to come as the trees will spread like wildfire!  They will kill off all food supplies and, worse yet, will steal toilet tissue causing massive shortages!"  Sound about right?  Yeah, well, this is exactly why I do not have a TV in the house.  

  But I do have four inch tall crepe myrtle trees blooming in the front yard.They are like cute, little wild bonsai trees!   Obviously, I neglected to cut back the spent blooms of the large trees last year and the seeds were viable.  Tiny crepe myrtle trees are everywhere and all are blooming!  They are so adorable! 

  Well, that is my all important news flash for today.  Other than that, all is quiet on the Bayou.  We are at peace here.  I do, however, have so many questions about that whale.  Why?  How?  What on earth was it thinking to go there?? What was it seeking?  Did a bird drop it?  If so, I want to see that bird!  Which opens another can of worms!  

Teeny, Tiny Tree

  I have this weird sense of curiosity when it comes to my surroundings.  I want to see the "unseeable". I want to find out how things of nature "work".  I blame my granddad for this as he was always stressing the idea that I should observe everything around me.  "You never know just what might be under a rock or hiding on a leaf.  Make sure you actually see what you are looking at and make sure you look at what you see." Good advice since a lot of folks can go through an entire day without ever seeing what is under their own feet!  

  Michael and I were busy hauling plants into the greenhouse in preparation of the wintry weather.  One of the large pots held several small shoots of an Aloe plant that I was rooting.  Aloe is one of the plants that I deem as a necessary part of the herb garden so I made sure to protect each one.  This one, however, had a tiny addition to the pot.  Evidently a seed from a pine cone had fallen in beside the Aloe shoots.  In one corner a sprig of green was being bowed over by a winged seed.   The wee, little pine tree could not even support the very thing giving it life.  Aww, poor little tree!

  Now, I should have pulled the miniature tree from the pot.  I do not need more pine trees in the yard and it surely should not stay in the pot!  Looking at that tree fighting for a chance at life made me feel guilty about ripping it out by the roots.  How sad.  If we went around pulling out and discarding every  tiny sprout, soon there will be no trees.  Yep, a two inch tall wisp of a tree tugged at heartstrings.  The tree will be given a chance.  Tomorrow, the tiny tree will be transplanted into its very own pot and eventually will find a home in the woods near the creek.  I guess one more pine tree cannot hurt.  After all, we lost three to lightning strikes earlier this year.  Perhaps this one will be a fine replacement of one of those.  Just think.  If Granddad had not stressed the fact of being observant, I may not have ever noticed the little tree.  With that observation, a tree shall live.  Thanks, Granddad! At least some of the lessons you tried to teach me are still being used!