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New Plants and My New Wheels

The rain came and quickly went this past Monday but it was lovely while it lasted. My oldest son enjoys the rain as much as I do. He sent me a text with a couple of rainy shots from his college campus quad. Isn’t that sweet?

college campus in the rain

A Rainy Day in Santa Clara

I’ve got my eye on the weather report and see that we have another system approaching by the weekend. It’s cold too, so that means snow which is even better for the drought.

The landscaper delivered all our plants yesterday and today they started planting. It is SO hard not being out there.

The final step is to fill in the area near the swing and the path with gravel and then mulch.

new plants

Native Plants to Replace the Lawn

I mentioned to a few readers that I was using a knee scooter to get around. This is what it looks like. Notice that in addition to practicing patience in sitting around all day long, I’m also letting my vanity go. I look as tired as I feel in this photo. These knee scooters are available to rent from a company called A Leg Up. Isn’t that clever?

knee scooter collage

This is helping me get around as I recover from foot surgery

The scooter has a narrow, nylon pouch that holds my phone and not much else, but serendipitously, a package arrived from Pauline with a box the *exact* size as the opening between the seat and the bar. Mike attached the box with a bungee cord and now I have room for a bottle of water, one slipper and the odd piece of mail.

Back to the weather, I’ve been hearing about unseasonably warm weather in Bavaria, late season and unwelcome rains in New Zealand and a predicted summer drought in Australia. What’s the weather up to in your neighborhood?

45 thoughts on “New Plants and My New Wheels”

  1. I have just caught up on the news of your operation. I am sending you healing thoughts! However, all those wonderful new plants going in will give you a boost too ~ even though you can’t be out there digging and planting. 🙂 It is going to look marvellous, and your Dad would be very proud of the landscaping you are doing. Hope you get a lot more rain to settle all those beauties in.

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    • Oh Anne, how sweet of you to mention my dad. I know he would be delighted that his daughter fell in love with gardening. .

      Thank you for your healing thoughts. Each day I’m getting better. The new garden is a wonderful boost. Everything is so fresh and new and healthy, not to mention well suited to the garden.

      We have a bit of rain forecast for later this week. Fingers crossed since I can’t do my rain dance. 😉 I hope you’re doing well.

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  2. There seems to be a fair amount of wetness on the ground of the campus – you two must have been longing to – at the very least – high five [as you can’t dance a jig]. Its steamy warm here this evening but more of the wet stuff forecast for tomorrow.

    How serendipitous was choosing THAT box! I dithered over boxes you know – one was a tad too big and the other a tad too small….. Had I known I’d have covered it in pretty paper for you 🙂

    You do look tired in the photo – but good heavens you’ve just had surgery, are on pain meds and on the back end of months of pain and immobilisation. At least you are dressed and upright! And that scooter is a hoot isn’t it – now if only you could get on the road with it and open her up. Scoot, scoot, beep, beep – wouldn’t that be fun! You need one of those clown horn thingamejigs.

    The garden is progressing nicely. Rest up dear Alys, do some colouring in [coloring] it is so restful and meditative…….. xoxo

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    • Pauline, I can’t believe it’s been ten days since you commented here. How can that be possible? It feels like I’m living in a time warp.

      Sadly, no rain since this day, but they’re teasing us with a possibility of showers by mid week.

      That box is perfect! Serendipitous indeed. I’m tickled!

      And…I’ve been coloring. I’ve colored a few postcards, one or two pages in a coloring book from a friend and I’ve even discovered a couple of phone apps. Colorfy allows me to color without worrying about getting marker all over the couch or bed covers. Today I used some colored pencils on an embossed card from my stash. Colouring is restful and meditative. xox

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    • Charlie, I so rarely think of Seattle and drought in the same sentence, but like many places, whatever used to be the norm is gone. I hope you are enjoying the rain coming down this fall, and that it’s not too cold or windy.

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  4. Look at that gorgeous campus! Brick pathways past beautiful palm trees. Looks like a resort ! Too bad there’s school work and studying involved, hehe
    I love the idea of someone coming round to get all the heavy work done in a garden. When we were younger and keeners, we did all that ourselves. Age and means has it’s privilege, that’s a bonus.
    Now, I don’t know that you look tired in this photo but I have no doubt that you are. You always look golden. I love the light in your home, it’s warm and inviting.
    Be careful on that Sca-doodle noodle, happy recovery my dearest.

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    • We must tour the campus on your next visit. I’ll warn him ahead of time so we don’t embarrass him. Or…who knows, a year from now he may be happy to lead the tour. Or you could pop in next week….just saying. 😉

      The entire campus is irrigated with reclaimed water. Virtually everything at the orientation lunch was either recyclable or compostable. They have water bottle stations all over campus and are encouraged to bring and refill their own bottle throughout the day. One of the oldest California Missions is in the middle of campus, with newer and newer buildings spiraling outward. I want to go to school there.

      You’re right about doing it all ourselves when we were young. I spent hours upon hours in our garden when we first bought this house. I tore out a huge patch of ivy, then together we dug a little faux brook, lined it with stones we picked out ourselves and added a little garden bridge. We planted all the plants, and Mike configured the irrigation and electricity. We lived in this house for a year before I was pregnant, then had many months after that to garden while gestating. 😉

      The boys liked to garden when small, and M stayed with it tell he was ten. So, there is a lot of letting go in having someone else design and plant everything for you. Once I’m on my feet again, I will take great pleasure in grooming, pruning and even cutting blooms. And if we can get the rain barrel installed and have a decent year of rain, I’ll plant tomatoes and basil and sunflowers next summer, and will enjoy the fruits of that “labor” as well.

      You always say just the right thing.

      And I promise to be careful on the sca-doodle. My doctor even warned me against the longer dress, so I’m wearing exercise clothes today instead. The trips to the bathroom need better planning, but better that then a tangled fall.

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      • I’d love to tour C’s campus together. I just met an elderly lady at the store that came to by some paper and things about Italy. She was there for four years, going to school and traveling !! Isn’t that awesome? It’s never to late to expand our horizons. I’m sure C would want you to wait until after he graduates though 😉 to become an adult student. wok

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    • I was very taken with the Santa Clara campus, too. How far is it from where you live?

      Great that your son still thinks to send you messages, though of course it is not the same as him being at home with you.

      How long will you need to be bandaged up (sorry if you’ve answered this elsewhere!)?

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      • Helen, the campus is about 7 miles from here, just a 15 minute drive. Though my son could live at home, this was a great step in independent living so while I miss him terribly, I’m happy and proud that he could make this step.

        As for the bandages, it’s still a bit iffy. I return to my doctor on Monday, almost two week’s post surgery and she will remove the bandages and brace for the first time and then hopefully remove the stitches. It almost feels too soon for the pain I’m in, but she said it’s a look-see. When the bandages and brace come off I’ll then be wearing a surgical “boot” , the one I wore leading up to the surgery. The boot is hard plastic on the bottom, back and sides, opening in the front. It has a soft, inflatable lining. So your foot slides back into the lining and the boot, then you compress a button to fill it with air. The entire contraption closes with velcro. It’s clunky and hideous, but a great structural invention.

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  6. It must be a relief to be mobile again, however limited it may be. Enjoy watching the landscapers doing all the hard work for a change – that the planting is underway already is great news!

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    • It is a relief to be mobile as you say, even though limited. I did a lot more today than yesterday, so that tells me I’m getting stronger.

      It is exciting seeing all the plants in. The sun is shining today, too, though we had a cold, crisp night. Rain again on Sunday. Can’t wait!

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  7. Alys, I am so happy to see your photos this morning! You are in my mind so often. I have no doubt that Pauline was making good use of her finely-tuned sixth sense when she chose that particular box for you. Alas, I have nothing in the mail headed your way just now, but you can put some virtual good wishes in that box, and as a bonus, they will not take up any room at all! Sending you lots of love and warm thoughts as you recover. Thanks for sharing your beautiful world with us, even while you are recovering from surgery.

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      • Well, there are verbose politicians here,but it is indeed windy, and the wind off the lake can be cutting. I’m here for a conference. Have an amazing view of the river flowing out to the lake!

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        • My Google search turned up this: “If you had always assumed that Chicago earned its nickname as the Windy City from the chilly gusts coming off Lake Michigan, you would be wrong. The city is windy, according to most local legends, because of the hot air bellowing from politicians.”
          Huffington Post. Ha!

          Sounds cold but beautiful. I’ve only been once and coincidentally it was around this time of year too.

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  9. Hi Alys! Your scooter looks like an ingenious invention – much better than crutches. Your garden project is coming on well, and the rain was timed perfectly too. We have got fog and mist this morning, so I think our period of warm sunny weather is drawing to a close for a while at least.

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      • We have suddenly had a cold snap and a tiny bit of snow this morning, so the fog has gone for now. 🙂 It often gets misty when it is mild in winter as we are in a narrow valley with the river/canal about 200 yards down the hill from us.

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        • It sounds beautiful, Cathy. We too are in a cold snap, though it’s never cold enough hear to snow. We had a week of above-average temps, then quickly dipped into several days of below-average. It’s been completely unpredictable. We had a trace of rain, also quite lovely, but it only lasted for about an hour.

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  10. I had to come back to leave a comment. Yesterday just got away from me as will today. Time doesn’t just march on, it races. 🙂 I’ve seen those little knee scooters all over and in the grocery store. Of course you’d need someone pushing your cart for you. Quite handy dandy. As for letting a landscaper put in the basics of the new yard; I had a neighbor who always said you can’t beat a man at his own game. Another words let the person that does that for a living and it really good at it with the tools and resources do the job. It actually saves you in the end. Put your energy where you get the highest value for your output. I had the landscape architect where I worked draw up ours and hired the best gardener in the world to do the work and maintain the yard. But I did the fun stuff after work. I so wanted to take the gardener with me when we sold the house but I think the new owners kept him on. I loved that man for his talent and patience. It was worth my peace of mind. You will feel stronger each day. Don’t let it fool you into doing too much and not resting enough. It happens. Sending giant squishy healing hugs.

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    • Marlene, you make several excellent points. The design and installation were top notch and far above my pay grade. I couldn’t have begun to do this on my own. I now have my work cut out for me, learning all the specifics of the new plants. Some are familiar to me but many are new. That’s exciting, too.

      You always leave me feeling happy. What a gift. Squishy hugs to you, too, my dear.

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  12. YAY!! I’m actually visiting Gardening Nirvana!
    And those photos of the rain just make me smile big time.
    I got your text this morning and finally entered your number into my contacts list. I spent the day de-campaigning / de-cluttering my house. Soon I will hang my gorgeous light catcher on something else besides the paperclip chain you made back in April 🙂

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    • Yay! So nice to see you hear, Laurie!

      De-cluttering is a great, cleansing activity, isn’t it? I did a lot of that leading up to my surgery.

      Regarding the light catcher, as Christmas approaches, you might be able to find a pretty hanger meant for ornaments that you can use to hang your treasure. I still can’t get over that motorcycle charm. That Pauline!

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  13. So so glad you got rain and I hope you keep getting more. Veggies that didn’t produce all summer are flourishing in this cooler wet weather. Glad to see you came out of surgery well and that you have a way to scoot around. Fast healing and big hugs from Texas!

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    • Thank you, Leilani. We’re dry for another week, but by early December we should start seeing some storms (fingers crossed).

      Isn’t it amazing the way a plant will remain on standby until the conditions are right for growth? That’s one of the things I love about gardening.

      Thanks for those big, Texas hugs. Right back ‘atcha.

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    • No worries on the wheelie-popping. The thought of falling down and needing another surgery is enough to keep me on the straight and narrow.

      I’ve seen two knee scooters recently myself. I don’t know if they are newly catching on or if I’m just suddenly more aware of them. Mine has been a lifesaver.

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  15. Yay for the rain! And I’m very familiar with the scooter – my daughter used one for a bit. She actually borrowed it from my son’s girlfriend, who put a bicycle basket on the front handlebars to hold her goodies. So with Pauline’s box, you’d have two storage cubbies 🙂

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    • A front basket would have been nice, but a cardboard box all the way from New Zealand in the exact size is hard to beat.

      I hope your daughter didn’t need the scooter for long, but how handy that she could borrow one. My original rental is for four weeks, so I’m optimistically hoping that on day 28 I will no longer have any use for it and can happily return it. Meanwhile, it’s been invaluable.

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