The Garden in Mid-January

Double Colored Rose

It rained all last night.  It stopped around 10:00 a.m. and there was short break.  I was thinking I probably shouldn't have rescheduled my medical appointment, but then, wondered if it might rain in the afternoon.  I went out to collect my mail from the mailbox around noon and there was a misty fine drizzle.  Cousin P called after that, and we chatted a bit.  Then, I went out to the back garden to take some photos of the garden, after the rain, and it was starting to drizzle more heavily.  It started raining, again, shortly after that!  I guess I did the right thing, rescheduling today's appointment.  At the time of typing this post (1:20 p.m.), it is not raining heavily, but, afternoon storms are in the forecast.

The garden is looking a bit sodden, but, the plants are enjoying all the rain.

This is the new peach tree that was planted last week:

New Peach Tree

It is a bigger plant than what I planted last time; hopefully, with all the rain we've been getting, it will get a good start, so that it can survive the summer heat!  It is a free-stone, orange fleshed, self-pollinating peach, known as Eva's Pride Peach.  It has some buds on it; I am hoping they will result in some fruit, this summer!  I need to go out and weed that planting circle, maybe this weekend, when the rain is supposed to stop.

Label on the tree

Through the bare branches of the new peach tree, one can see the orange tree:

Orange Tree

Looks a bit water logged, doesn't it?  If it was summer, and the leaves drooped like that, that would be an indication it needs more water!

Under the orange tree, the really, really old (way past Best Planted By dates) vegetable seeds friend M and I planted (well, he did all the work; I just looked on and chatted to him!) are starting to sprout!

Seedlings!

At least, these ones, are!  I can't remember where we planted, what!  But, I think, these are the beet seeds that are growing.  Eventually, I'll thin them out, but, not right now.  I will need to make something with micro-greens when I do thin them out, won't I?  Ha, ha.

Finally, near the orange tree, this clump of crocosmia is starting to flower!

Crocosmia

The twig behind it is the trunk of a tree that refuses to be removed!  I didn't plant it. I don't really know what it is.  It showed up, one day, and we pulled it out.  It showed up, in the same spot, the next year.  Again, we dug it up.  It came back the next year and the year after that.  Finally, I decided to let it grow, since it seems so determined to grow in my garden!  Whatever it is, it has had no flowers or fruit, so far, in the 15 years or so it has been growing!  One of these days, I shall try to take a sprig of its leaves to a nursery and ask if they can identify it.  The closest I can guess is, it is a type of walnut tree!  If it is a California Black Walnut, then, it is considered a protected tree, and removal requires permits and replacements!

This is a photo I took when I came home after grocery shopping, yesterday:

Sheltering from the Rain

I had thrown out an empty bag of cat food, earlier, intending to take it to the recycling bin, later.  Some of the garden cats decided it made a nice, dry bed for them, in that corner, where the rain didn't reach.  There were, actually, three of them, sleeping, there, but the white cat is easily spooked and she ran away.  Later, when I looked out, I saw that she had come back, so I opened the door to take another photo.  She started to run away when she heard the door open, but the other two just looked at me, as if to ask: "Are you going to give us some food?"

Ginger, Snowball, and Tigra (their mother)

My pressure, this morning, was slightly elevated, so I took the morning medication.  My sugar was very low, well below the low number on the recommended guidelines for fasting, so, I drank 4 oz. orange juice and a cup of tea.  The next time I go to the clinic, I will take my blood sugar meter with me to see if it is accurate.  I was going to have a banana for breakfast, but then, I wasn't hungry and I thought it might be too much with the orange juice.

Lunch, eaten a bit later than planned, was a salad with canned tuna for protein (Dancer had some tuna, too!)

Lunch Salad

Yes, I went ahead and added some of the croutons, too (6 pieces, which I thought would be the equivalent of a slice of bread).  I was told to reduce my carbs but wasn't told to go without it, entirely.

Dinner will probably be some of the beef steak with carrots and green beans that I will cook, later in the evening.

Today, I am grateful for:
- The rain for the garden
- Roses in mid-January
- The promise of a new peach tree
- Oranges on the orange tree
- Little seedlings

It is almost 3:00 p.m., now and so far, I haven't done anything, other than take photos of the garden and confirm Dancer's appointment with the vet for tomorrow evening!  The house feels cold because I opened the bathroom window to air out the place.  I am wearing sweatpants, socks, a short sleeved blouse, a sweater, and a cardigan over that!  I hope that I can get to my To Do List, later this evening!

Maybe I'll post an update, later.

How is your day going?  How is your garden in mid-January?