My Sweet Larix Kaempferi

Douglas William Jerrold, the English dramatist and writer, is reported to have said, "He was so benevolent, so merciful a man that, in his mistaken passion, he would have held an umbrella over a duck in a shower of rain."

I thought of this quote when I came across one of my favorite strips from Mutts, which I've posted above today's blog entry. As you may recall, dear reader, I am a Mutts fan, and if you want to refer to Blogger entries where I've referenced this fantastic strip, please click here, and you may also click here to "catch" my tumblr post which includes yet another Mutts strip.

My sensibility towards the 80+ things which I grow in my urban (NYC) terrace garden can be quite similar to Jerrold and Mutts; as there are moments when I want to hold an umbrella over some of the things I grow; especially when they are suffering from too much rain; as they did this past May. Too much rain, however, was hardly the issue this past week, as NYC was under a very oppressive heart wave for a number of days, and I wanted to stand in my garden with my umbrella, to give a few of the less heat tolerant things that I grow some shade, as there is nowhere to prop one up, and there is little, if any, shade in my garden.

Hip! Hip! HOORAY!

It is a verrrrrrrrrry noisy Sunday morning as the 80+ things I grow in my urban (NYC) terrace garden can hear many folks cheering. This is because the Triathlon is occurring near to where we live. The periwinkle-colored flowers from my "spent" salad greens and the crimson-colored leaves from my 'Tamukeyama' — both pictured here — have been practicing their own cheers since yesterday morning, as evidenced by the image posted above this entry.

I have written about my salad greens and my 'Tamukeyama' on a number of occasions on tumblr, as well as here on Blogger; including ones which you may refer to by clicking here and here respectively. 

Moreover, my salad greens and my 'Tamukeyama's' leaves are also excited as they anticipate their roles in my "giving voice to gardens" project, which you may view by clicking here.

Finches, they just wanna have fun!

VERRRRRRRY INTERESTING

Whad-cha sayin' to me?

WHEEE!

It's MY turn to nosh!

The are at it again! Their antics in my urban (NYC) garden are SO entertaining that I'm doing this other unscheduled post featuring some of their photo-ops. Additionally, you can find more entertaining images of them on tumblr, Pinterest and TLLG's Facebook Page. Moreover, I hope to be including these quirky birds in my indiegogo project where I am giving voice to gardens!

Finches Want to Catch a Glimpse of the Fireworks!

Some visiting finches who have recently come to my urban (NYC) garden (and were recently featured on TLLG's tumblr Pages) and I are now sneaking in this off-schedule blog post, dear reader, as we are taking the opportunity to wish you a meaningful July 4th. It is very hot where I live, and tonight's Macy's Fireworks are sure to be one of those hot-time-summer-in-the-city CROWDED events! 

As it was last year, the Macy's Fireworks will be on the Hudson River, near to where I live, and the river is the direction that the visiting finches are facing in the image at the top of this entry. Their "stance" leads me to believe they have the best seats in the house for this annual fireworks event. Moreover, the finches knew it was "protocol" to arrive early in the morning to guarantee seeing the fireworks — even though they don't start until sundown!

Happy 1/2 Year!

Well, dear reader, today is June the 30th 2012, which means that tonight is New Year's Eve for the half year! Six months down, and six months to go! And, as I promised in this past Monday's post, I am posting on a non-scheduled day in honor of the half-year.

Monday Morning Musings: Revisiting the Importance of Indoor Gardens

The "topic" of decorating an indoor succulent garden is something I have not addressed here on TLLG's Blogger, tumblr, or Facebook in quite some time; but even though it is the season when my outdoor (urban) garden calls for "overtime" attention, I have not neglected my wonderful indoor succulent garden, a garden of unusual succulents that, depending on the time of year, is "visited" by unique figurines. This is a fact you may recall from seeing my indoor succulent garden — here in cyber-space — when it has had very different "visitors" for Easter, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall as well as for "off season" celebrations such as Penguin Awareness Day.

And, once in a while, as you may recall, dear reader, figurines of fruits such as apples 'n oranges, as well as pears (that all visit my succulent garden), "weighed in" on their life experience in my succulent garden.

So today, on a stormy Monday morning, when it is impossible to be tending the garden I have on my terrace, I have been given the opportunity to share the 2012 summer look in my indoor succulent garden, as evidenced by a bathing beauty figurine who is new to my succulent garden. I was given this figurine (over the weekend) by a dear friend whose husband also has an indoor succulent garden, as I described in an entry here on TLLG, which you may refer to by clicking here.

In any event, the bathing beauty figurine was welcomed by my succulents and by a little frog — who jumped on a succulent container — to get a closer look at her (as you can see in the image posted at the top of today's entry)!

I am hoping that my other bathing beauty figurine, who also visits my succulent garden, and can be seen in the image below,

will enjoy having some company, even though, like yours truly she enjoys her time alone. (The aforementioned figurine was given to me last summer by the same friend.)

The "story" of the importance of indoor gardens will be included in the series of Virtual Stories (mini movies) which I will be producing for a campaign that I launched late last week on indiegogo, a campaign whose mission is to give voice to the garden, and in doing so remind folks that "The very old, they are miracles like the just born; close to the end is precious like close to the beginning."