It does alleviate some of the sting of that defeat

The Stromanthe Triostar, planted on May 19th, watered with only distilled water, and misted (with the same) a few times a week , is doing better than I imagined it would be 6 weeks in. I just threw salt over my left shoulder, spit on the ground twice, and lit a candle so as not to jinx myself by mentioning it.

I am most excited by the new leaves sprouting. Meanwhile the caladium, neon pothos, and tradescantia zebrina are taking off like gangbusters.

I just clipped some of the trailing tradescantia and popped it in a jar of water. What I learned last year, is that they will start to root in the ground outside of the pot if they get too long. I will start a new pot with the clippings when they root in a week or so. Sister and I discussed today how fun it is to start a new plant from an old plant. Angie always did that.

We have had some lovely sunrises here lately. June and early July seems to be the time they coincide perfectly with when I am commuting to work. Every day should begin with something beautiful to look.

I finally cleaned, filled, and turned on the fountain this week. Later than usual but since I am the boss of the fountain around here I get to do what I want with it. The sound of splashing water while I sit on the porch morning, noon, and early evening is a treat.

After brother recently stole my certain victory in a words with friends game, he felt bad and sent me a bottle of lemon drop mixer. From this little bottle of lemon deliciousness you can whip up a lemon drop martini or a lemon drop spritzer in about 20 seconds flat. They are both delightful and most enjoyable to sip on the front porch. It does alleviate some of the sting of that defeat as well. In case you beat someone real bad at something, and feel guilty about it, you can get on line and order them a bottle from Stonewall Kitchen. Oh, one last thing, it goes very nicely with the Mediterranean Feta spread which is great on a crostini or a plain old saltine cracker.

I saw all the flowers above at a nursery on a recent trip and did not buy any of them but thought they were all lovely. That buttery colored coneflower is so PRETTY. But what I have learned about the "fancy" coneflowers, is they don't always come back from year to year and they don't spread like the regular old pink variety.