Such pretty flowers Jodi! I would like to post some of mine but I just seem to still run out of energy too fast. I worked so hard in the garden yesterday...a good three hours of really hard work and felt great all evening but today I can hardly stay awake! Went to town this morning to run errands and have been semi-conscious ever since...crashing out asleep and freezing cold. IT is weird how the body heals itself and its own sweet time. These knee replacements were the first major surgeries I have had and I continually underestimate my recovery. Just glad for the time I can spend working now though and will have to be patient with the recovery.

Cindee, listen up to this, Darlin'! Our bodies have been so busy this year healing us from our repairs, and for you, the long hours of anxiety over your loved one's health....prepare to crash asleep at a moments notice for months afterwards in your healing process! I suspect we are going to need a lot of flowers blooming to get us through this winter! Wait a minute, you have sunshine to get you through the winter! But I am really going to need those flowers through our long grey time!

They say it takes a year to a year and a half to totally recover form a knee replacement...not sure about the hips but I read that they are quite a bit easier then the knees..(probably does not feel like it today!)Not sure how long it takes to heal from 2 new knees or hips in a year.

I thought I had a Sweet Lillian bulb budding out in the amaryllis summer house. Oh checking again it is labeled Jewel but the buds are so big and fat I think we have another mislabled amie! I can't wait to see what it really is!

Thanks, Lizalily! I figured that you and Cindee, above all, would probably enjoy seeing the fruits of garden labor... without having to DO the labor! The body is an amazing machine, but it does require time and rest to heal properly. It's not a good idea to jump in too soon and work too hard physically... it's better to ease into it slowly, and I know how frustrating and aggravating that can be! Gardens require a lot of work, and it's hard to sit back and let it go while convalescing!

I'm extremely glad that both of you came through your surgeries and physical therapies with good results! But the healing and rebuilding process will still go on for quite some time... when you're tired, rest! When your eyelids droop, sleep! The gardens will wait for you, and there's nothing so pressing that can't be done at a later date!

I rest every afternoon... I go out and put in a couple of hours of gardening in the morning... and then, when I feel like I'm beginning to push myself a bit, I take a break. I go in and have some lunch, maybe take a little nap... and then, I go back out and putter around for a couple more hours... or until the mosquitoes begin to nibble at me!

Yesterday, I planted a second flat of hippi seeds... I hope they sprout and get a bit of size to them before autumn rolls around. I unpacked an order of plants we just got in... some Walker's Low Nepata, and a few other perennials... I got several perennials planted in the corner bed that I've been working on. And then, the mosquitoes began to swarm and bite quite viciously, and I knew it would rain soon... so I finished up for the day and went in.

I can't wait to see what your hippi turns out to be, too! I hope it's Jewel! My Jewel never bloomed last winter as it should have... it just grew leaves. It will be interesting to see yours!

Well... I just finished uploading some new photos to my photo album... I need to find the appropriate spot to post them!

Have a glorious day, and don't work too hard!

Another beauties Jodik, as always... your green glad is magnificent...

Please let me share some July's beauty from my yard, especially for Cindee, wish she get well soon..

Lisa

Thank you, Lisa! The green Glads are wonderful, although, the blooms don't stay open for very long... the white glads stayed open for quite a bit longer... I wonder why that is?

I'm not sure why, but I'm having trouble viewing your Photobucket album... I'm sure the pictures are lovely, though.

My Valentine's Tulips with Toto in the Background.

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08/01/08

Beautiful tulips, Soultan! Lovely arrangement, too! And always... Toto is so cute! He steals the show!

This is a Humming Bird Chick I found in my Amaryllis bed. I would have left it out there for her mother to feed, but I had tumultuous construction around the house, which resulted in a concrete blanket on top of my herb garden, so I did not dare to let this poor soul stay out there. I fed him for three whole weeks with a pipette, hoping that he would learn how to feed from the flowers and feeder placed next to him, but my efforts bore no success. I lost it, unfortunately. He was lively and flying around one minute, then he just fell asleep and stayed that way. Weird. I tried. I still have the cage I created for it next to my amarylli. I guess, I am just lazy to dismantle it.
So here is a pic of this tiny one. If you ever find a chick out there on the ground and know that cats and other harm cannot get it, leave it out there. They are fun to deal with, but hard to keep alive.
The pic is a little out of focus. The bird was so small that I simply could not catch the right focus holding the camera in my right hand and showcasing the bird on the other. These chicks are extremely human-friendly. They sit on your palm or finger forever and talk to you when they want to be fed.

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08/03/08

Aww... how sweet! I'm so sorry that the poor little guy didn't make it... in spite of our best efforts, it's not often that we humans can raise wild babies successfully.

When we were kids, we would bring home the occasional baby animal that was motherless... not very many were able to be raised and successfully released back into nature... we were always taught that was best to leave nature alone, even if it meant certain death for the babies... it's sad, but it's nature's culling system.

I would have done the same thing... tried to help the little guy along, hoping for the best...

That's a great picture, though! The feather colors are so pretty! He's actually quite large when compared to your hand! I'm surprised at his size!

I actually thought it was tiny...

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Charisma
08/06/08

Beautiful Charisma!

Some of the hummingbirds here are really small... with eggs the size of tic-tacs! There are larger ones, too... I'm not sure how many types there are here, but I've seen a few different sizes and feather colors! They're beautiful birds!

This must have been Anna's Hummingbird.

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Mont Blanc
08/08/08

Beautiful green eye! And all that pristine white! Wonderful!

How 'bout some pansies?

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08/10/08

Nice! Too hot here right now to grow those... they prefer the cooler spring weather. I like the color combination!

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My Night Blooming Cactus' Flower
08/12/08

Those are so beautiful... my cutting is too small to produce flowers, but one day it will!

This one is 6 feet tall or so. The front of the house is planted full of cacti.

No more flower pictures from me at the moment. I have one of My Fuzzy Little Fella though enjoying being outside gardening.

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08/14/08

He's so adorable! I'm not a big fan of small dogs, but I'd take Toto in a heartbeat! He's a very handsome boy!

You can't have Toto, Jodi, I have already put in a special request to abopt him...I just wish Soultan would get bored with him so I could spoil him Rotten!!

I've got a phal for Cindee. Hope it's not too late to brighten her days!

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Xuan

Jodi, what is the plant in the 9th and 10th photos of your first post? Looks like a tulip and vine combined. ~JoAnn :)

Hi, JoAnn... it's a Clematis, although I'm not sure of the name. I believe it's a Chinese type. We bought it locally, at a garden center. I really like the bloom shape, and the color is bright and cheery!

Cindee - That's ok... I have a feeling that with the 2 house dogs I already have, the competition would be too much! Toto is a real looker, though!

Xuan - Lovely orchid flowers! I'm not a big fan of Phals ever since I killed the one I had, but they do have nice blooms! The colors offered now are so gorgeous!

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I'm running out of pictures. I will have to grab the machine again and start shooting random. Here is one from the other night when I took some pictures of the cactus' flower. I wanted Toto to sniff the flower, but he was more interested in the smaller cactus instead.
08/17/08

It's still a cute photo! Toto is very photogenic! It's a nice size comparison for the flower, which is quite large! Nice photo!

Here is another cute pic of him snapped by a family member a few years ago. He is so innocent here.

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08/18/08

He does take a nice photo! I wish Maia would hold still long enough to be photographed! I hardly have any pictures of her to date because she won't stay in one spot long enough to snap a picture! Every one I try to take is blurry!

Ohhhh...Toto is so adorable!

It is so hard to take pics of Maya nowadays too. She is just so full of energy. Well, at least before she had an eye surgery. The vet said she has "Cherry Eye". After the surgery she has been quiet, don't play much anymore and always taking a nap. Post surgery depression???

Anyway, here's my share for this post to hopefully cheer up my "girlfriend" in FL. These pics were just sitting there in my camera till I found them while I was working on my photobucket.

Flowers from last spring. Even weeds were appreciated then after those winter months.
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Soultan, does this last flower look familiar?

Maria, you have a gift with the camera... you make dandelions look like works of art! Beautiful photos, every single one! I'm so glad we have this forum and our photo albums to share with each other!

I'm sorry to hear that Maya needed surgery... but now that it is corrected, she should be fine. Cherry eye affects many breeds, unfortunately. The good thing is that surgery can correct the problem.

Yes. This last flower looks familiar.
It has stopped flowering though after a few weeks. Is that normal? Do you know any name for this plant? Maybe I'd look around, try to buy another potfull and plant them in two identical glazed pots...
Does anyone have any good advice how to kill gophers? They are slowly but surely eat up all of my pepper plants, and it drives me crazy. I did not bring the seeds from Hungary then tended for these plants to end up feeding it to these stupid rodents.
The Yellow Pear tomatoes start getting yellow after months of greenness as well, and I went crazy over buying up all kinds of tomato seeds... Sometimes, it is fun to have OCD. I am so glad that a pack of seed costs just over a dollar. The other night, I even saved a tomato seed I found in a restaurant. It will be fun to see what kind of tomato it will turn out if I can successfully germinate it.

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Guess whose using the pillow to rest his head on? I love characters, and he loves to be spoiled... Aaahhh. Sleepy.

Another nice picture of Toto! He does photograph well!

We don't have many gophers... the barn cats take care of them fairly well. We do have moles and shrews, though... and they do damage by disturbing root systems with their tunneling!

You guys, I had to pop over here and see what is going on outside the world of Trop Storm Fay! Sheesh, will this storm ever stop? We are still under flood warnings with rains every day. Our backyard is more than 1/2 under water. Toto and everyones flowers.mmmm love the orchid Xuan and Maria your garden flowers are always beautiful. Just seeing Toto, though makes me want to curl up with him and go to sleep!! Be well all, I'll be back when life gets a little dryer!

I hope your gardens survive the storms, Cindee, but more importantly, I hope you guys are ok!!

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I found this old photo of the Living Room of my old house with Clown in the middle.
08/27/08

Beautiful photo, Soultan! Clown, of course, looks great... but it's the decor around the room that catches my attention! Very nicely done! Gorgeous home! And Clown... standing there so stately and tall! It's a wonderful photo, very colorful!

I love my Clown!! Unfortunately, none of the seeds took. I think it was just too hot and the pods just shriveled and died. Soultan your decor is fab! I love the art on the wall it's so vibrant and happy feeling.

I love how the artwork and the vase match, both so colorful!

I have Clown on my "must get" list this year! I have to split my savings between hippis and orchids, so I have to be really particular about which bulbs I get. Clown is a must!

Speaking of bulbs for this year... I recently saw South African Miniatures listed on Ebay! It was only a few varieties... I've bought bulbs from this particular seller in the past, and I've been very happy. If I didn't already have most of the varieties he's offering, I might bid.

WOW, wonderful flowers!!! and gardens!!! and pets!!! I just hope someday mines (flowers and gardens) would look somewhat like those. (pets... I have to convinced my husband to get one, for the sake of my kid, coming soon...)
By the way Jodi (and everybody else interested), I also saw the ebay offers but you could be interest in the link below, I think its a great price and if you buy $50 or more shipping is free

Here is a link that might be useful: Amaryllis

I think I've bought from them before, through Ebay... thanks for the link!

I will place an order with Edensblooms, and it will be over $50, so is there anyone who would like me to put some bulbs in for him/her, then ship it out later maybe with additional bulbs in one single USPS package, saving on multiple shipping charges?

So here it is: My betta's aquarium. This is not the best picture. It does not even showcase my fish well enough, but my goal was when I took this picture is to show the vase. I want to find another identical one to put next to this and buy another male Betta to put in it, so they could parade in front of each other harmlessly, not killing each other. But Ikea stopped selling these vases a while ago, so I was trying to find someone on craig's list who might have one and wouldn't want it anymore... Not much success.

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09/19/08

Soultan...If I remember right, I think I saw that vase in TJ Maxx. (Did I spell that right?) Please check your hotmail.

Nice to see Little Buddha again...

I like the shape of the vase... and I like the fish! I miss having my aquarium set up... I have a 20 gallon high with all the equipment, just sitting out in the garage... I got it as a Christmas present a few years ago, and since we moved, haven't had the chance to set it up and fill it with fish. Our next move should be our last, and I plan to set it up and enjoy it's peaceful bubbling and swimming fish, once again. Watching an aquarium is very relaxing... the sound of the water bubbling through the filters, and the little schools of fish darting back and forth... I always loved having an aquarium.

I love that little Buddha! He always looks so cute sitting with your bulbs!

I'm very interested in being a part of the Edensbulbs order, Soultan... I've just sent you an email!

I would be surprised if this vase had had been sold at TJ Maxx, since it is an Ikea item. I believe you cannot get items sold by Ikea anywhere else. It is called Floor Vase Parodii. It has been recalled, and ever since, I cannot find a matching pair for this one. I tried to find another one all over the place and even placed some craig's list ads, but no success so far.

Little Buddha stayed in there when my last blooming amaryllis was showcased. Now that I have my green house, I keep my flowers up there, even when they are in bloom. Now people climb up the stairs to check out my flowers. I have Samba in bloom right now. I will try to set up a photo op for it tomorrow and play around to take some pics.

Okay. It was a long wait, and even though I took the Samba photos, I still have to get them on my computer somehow. So here is another photo of Toto playing with his new toy from Cindee.

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12/02/08

Always so handsome, and so huggable! Great photo, Soultan!