Garden Tour mid-June 2026

Since this is the most effort we have put into gardening in a long time, I feel it's worth an update.  Especially since I wrecked my sciatic nerve working on it.  The garden beds have not been weeded, because of said sciatica.

The Mailbox Garden

The mailbox garden: 

snapdragons (finished blooming)

marigolds (yellow)

and balloon flowers - just starting to bloom.

Five of the six marigolds I planted have survived.

The balloon flowers are just starting to bloom!

Directly in front of the house (facing north, shady)

These impatiens (salmon-colored and white)
are planted right in front of my office.
And in the pot are supposedly
some black-eye susan vines
that I started from seed.

Geranium - a gift from the
church music director

The burnt-sienna colored coleus leaves
are being eaten by something.  And 
I think I made a mistake and planted too
much in this one pot.  

Astilbe.  Recommended for shade, and 
deer resistant.  I was only able to
plant one before being chastised by
that nerve in my leg.
I am underimpressed by this one plant.

Bleeding heart, one of two plants.
This will lose all its foliage before too long.
And then, God willing, will surge forth
in the spring and produce
those delicate hanging gems of flowers.

The "hillside" nearest the neighbor (visible from the street)

Lamb's ears (perennials, planted by me)
Verbena and Lantana (annuals, planted by
the Common Household Husband)

Verbena

Lantana

The west side - just planted this year with perennials.  

It has been hard to grow things here.

The west side, from the top.
This is on a slope.
That day lily has zero blooms.
When it does get blooms, the
creatures eat them, so maybe 
it gave up.

Bee balm - getting close to the end
of blooming.  This was gorgeous and
very satisfying to see.  I don't know
if they will bloom again this season.

Snow-in-summer.  This was done blooming
a month ago.  I love the delicate tiny
whiter-than-white flowers.

This spirea bush is almost done blooming. 

It's very bushy.  In the process of putting

together this blog post, I discovered it is

considered invasive in PA.

Blackeyed Susans.  The one in the back
is from the garden store; the others are 
a gift from the neighbor. No blooms (yet?).
That plant on the right is a mystery plant that
miraculously came back from last year.

Yarrow (tall, red) and coreopsis (yellow-orange).

Sedum.  These put forth a few little yellow flowers
which were delightful. But I  guess they are done.

This same garden bed, from below.

The east side of the house  

This is managed by the Common Household Husband, and has

practically no weeds. The plants are healthy and thick.  

That green foliage blooms bright yellow

 flowers earlier  in the spring.  

I have no idea what it is called.

The more purply plants are a large 

variety of sedum.  

The gardens are going to have to do the rest of the growing and blooming by themselves because I am currently incapable of doing any maintenance.  The blooms we are seeing give me hope.

Explosions

Holden Arboretum, Kirtland, OH

Congratulations to all you folks who had “meteor fireball” on your 2026 bingo card.  Exploding meteor over Massachusetts!  Younger Daughter says she heard it, but thought it was thunder.  

“It was definitely bigger than a normal fireball, about a yard wide,” [American Meteor Society program monitor Robert Lunsford] said.   

Are fireballs ever normal?  

I experienced my own sort of explosion this week, due to aggressive shower scrubbing on Monday and then, stupidly, excessive gardening on Wed. and Thurs.  

The dark lines in the shower floor
are not dirt but emptiness.

I had to scrub the shower because the guy was coming on Thursday to regrout the shower floor.   The only thing good about this was that I had abandoned the idea of doing the regrouting myself.  The scrubbing of the shower brought on mild sciatica. 

Gardening on a steep slope like this
is difficult.  But of course, you can't
tell from this photo that it is a steep slope.
Lamb's ear, lantana, and verbena.

Outside, we have been planting perennials and annuals galore, as our horticultural statement that we believe there will be a future with beauty in it, despite all current evidence to the contrary.  Perennials from the garden store come in DEEP buckets.   We bought a spade to dig deep holes.  And our neighbor saw me planting stuff, and gave me gobs more perennials (for free!) from her very successful garden.

And then I wanted to put in some bleeding hearts, and on Thursday the garden store finally had them in stock. This meant digging more very deep holes in rocky soil and cutting some thick roots, in a hurry because we would be away for the weekend.   This was the last straw for my sciatic nerve, which has obviously heard that it is the year 2026.  Stinging, burning pain from my butt all the way to my heel.  It became extremely painful to sit, or move to standing, and eventually even when lying down and not moving.   The pain is as intense as labor contractions, but with no prize after. 

From inside the hole for the
bleeding heart

On Friday we drove to Ohio for a planned visit to Older Daughter.  The Common Household Husband said I should go, because if not, I would regret missing the family visit.  I achieved my lifelong goal of getting my husband to stop at every rest stop, so I could stand up for a few blessed minutes.  I went on a regime of max dosages of ibuprofen and acetaminophen, which made the pain barely tolerable instead of excruciating, but had unpleasant effects on my digestion.  

I tried to distract myself from the pain by calling Younger Daughter, who has recently studied anatomy.

Me: “Please explain to me the sciatic nerve, and why it hurts so expletive-deleted much, and why I even need this nerve.”

Younger Daughter, in teacher mode:  “Are you familiar with your spine?”

Me: “That’s a political question. There are many people these days who are not familiar with their spines.”

YD basically said that the sciatic nerve is a big honking nerve (connected to the spine) which I do actually want to have because it enables walking.

Saturday we drove 40 perturbing minutes to the Holden Arboretum. Once I got out of the car I was actually able to enjoy the arboretum, as long as I kept walking and never sat down.  We saw some Quaking Aspens, which are one connected organism! The Bald Cypress is a tree that has knees.  We saw lots of gorgeous flowers too, including some of the same species that we have planted in our own garden.  

Quaking Aspen

Bald Cypress

We probably walked more than two miles, for several hours.  Quite a hike for me!

Instead of staying in Ohio another night we drove home and got to the urgent care an hour before they closed.  Confirmed that it is sciatica. The doc said, “You shouldn’t just lie in bed because that will create other more serious problems.  But don’t go on a hike or anything like that.”    2026 strikes again - I just spent hours walking around the arboretum.

With prednisone, the pain has gone from constant agony down to a dull pain when sitting, and only excruciating when getting to standing, or putting on my socks and shoes.  I have to go up and down the stairs like a toddler.  I can’t drive.

On the plus side, the shower is regrouted, the garden beds are planted, we obtained an Emergency Heating Pad, we got to visit the folks in Ohio, if briefly.  And steroids exist, at least for two more days.

And we have an explosion of flora surrounding the house. That's pretty good, for 2026.

Yellow peonies, Holden Arboretum

Yarrow, Holden Arboretum.
I wonder if ours will look like this, ever.

Star of Persia allium, and two-toned peonies,
Holden Arboretum

Slumber Soft Moon Blanket

Moon oversees the football field
October 2015

The astronauts on the Integrity spacecraft are full of wisdom.  More than once they have recognized the fragility of Earth and of human life.  I feel gratitude for the technology that makes it possible for us to see a fraction of what they have seen, and to hear their thoughts as they pilot past the moon.  There have been several mentions of joy.  And togetherness.  And common purpose.

My understanding is that this type of spacecraft is named “Orion” and this particular spacecraft is named “Integrity”. And “Artemis II” is the name of the entire mission.  That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.  

I need there to be some integrity in the universe.

By far the most stunning and emotional photo of the mission is this one.

Saturday April 4th.

CBS News journalist asks:  Do you have a message you'd like to share from space about Easter Sunday?

Astronaut Victor Glover: “You know, I don't have anything prepared. I'm glad you brought that up, though. I think these observances are important, as we are so far from earth and looking back at the beauty of creation. And I think for me one of the really important personal perspectives that I have up here is I can really see earth as one thing. And, you know, when I read the Bible and I look at all of the amazing things that were done for us who were created, you have this amazing place –  this spaceship – you guys are talking to us because we're in a spaceship really far from Earth.  But you're on a spaceship called Earth that was created to give us a place to live in the universe, in the cosmos. I think maybe the distance we are from you makes you think what we're doing is special, but we're the same distance from you.  And I'm trying to tell you, just trust me, you are special.  In all of this emptiness –  this is a whole bunch of nothing this thing we call the universe – you have this oasis, this beautiful place that we get to exist together. I think as we go into Easter Sunday thinking about all the cultures all around the world, whether you celebrate it or not, whether you believe in God or not, this is an opportunity for us to remember where we are, who we are, and that we are the same thing. And that we got to get through this together." 

Imagine that!  Victor Glover is one of only four humans making this extraordinary trip, further than any humans have traveled from our home planet, and he turns it around and says we earthbound humans are special.  

Wednesday April 8th

Astronaut Jeremy Hansen:  “The perspective I launched with was that we live on a fragile planet in the vacuum, in the void of space. We know this from science. We're very fortunate to live on planet Earth. And the other perspective that I've sort of learned from others through life is that our purpose on the planet as humans is to find joy, to find the joy, and lifting each other up, by creating solutions together instead of destroying, and when you see it from out here, it doesn't change it. It just absolutely reaffirms that. It's almost like seeing living proof of it.”

WE KNOW THIS FROM SCIENCE.  That was my awed thought when I saw the solar eclipse on Apr 8, 2024.  The scientists predicted this and it happened exactly as they said it would.  And we were all strangers together experiencing it.  Many types of scientists have worked so that all of us on Earth, strangers together, can see and hear these astronauts.

Cleveland, Ohio, April 8, 2024
pano, before the moment of totality.
Common Household family members at left

Cleveland, Ohio at the moment of totality.
Happened just like science said it would.

The Wall Street Journal reporter asked: How has this trip contributed to the broader Artemis program?

Astronaut Christina Koch:   “... part of our ethos as a crew and our values from the very beginning were that this is a relay race. In fact, we have batons that we bought to symbolize physically that we plan to hand them to the next crew, and every single thing that we do is with them in mind. …. We're always thinking from the perspective as:  what is the next crew going to think about this, how will this help them to succeed?  So, manual piloting the vehicle, making sure that the procedures and the processes for making everything work are all as they should be. Then there's the human side of it. How are our provisions? How are our food? How is the human system working in here?   ….. So both in the vehicle and all in the last three years, we've really just worked to make sure that they are set up for success. And that's all of the teams, not just the crew, but the flight control teams, the mission engineering rooms, the launch teams, everyone. …”

They trained for three years for this mission, which was not the end but the beginning.  They are thinking always of the future.  That's both wisdom and hope.

A journalist asked what it felt like for the 40 minutes when the spacecraft had no communication with earth.  On the far side of the moon.  

Astronaut Reid Wiseman: “... It is amazing to watch your home planet disappear behind the moon.   You could see the atmosphere. You could actually see the terrain in the moon projected across the earth as the earth was eclipsing behind the moon. It was really just an unbelievable sight and then it was gone. It was out of sight and we took a moment here. We had a lot of scientific work to do right there. That was probably the most critical lunar observation for our geology team. But the four of us took a moment. We shared maple cookies that Jeremy had brought and we took about three or four minutes just as a crew to really reflect on where we were and then it was right back into the science.”

Maple cookies on the far side of the moon!

I hope I will always remember the immense privilege I had, on April 8, 2024, to witness with my whole being the total eclipse of the sun, in Cleveland, Ohio.  Now I have seen, via the cameras on Integrity, a total solar eclipse FROM THE FAR SIDE OF THE MOON.  And Youngest Daughter pointed out that I have been alive for two moon missions – Apollo in 1969-1972.  

Thank you, Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, Mission Specialist Christina Koch, and  Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen (Canadian), for bringing to us the sheer beauty of our Earth and our Moon, and the incomprehensibleness of space. 

Edited to add: In my view this mission is a triumph of DEI. Victor Glover is a Black man. Christina Koch is a white woman. Reid Wiseman is a single parent. I don't know if Jeremy Hansen belongs to an indigenous tribe but the internet tells me: "He commissioned an Indigenous-designed patch for his mission to honor Canadian Indigenous peoples." And every unique individual working on the mission on Earth. All of them capable human beings. Go stand in the corner, DEI haters.

I end with two poems by Older Daughter, written when she was around 4 to 6 years old.  

Slumber soft moon blanket

By Older Daughter

Slumber soft moon blanket!

Slumber soft moon blanket.

If I were to catch you

I would sing you my song.

Music is your night.

When I will hold you,

You will be my slumber.

Slumber soft moon blanket!

Slumber soft moon blanket.

The moon is a spy

By Older Daughter

The moon is a spy

With only one eye.

She peeks down at the world

To make sure it’s asleep

Then she dances around like a ballerina.

All night long

The moon sings a song.

When it’s time for the morning,

The sun says, “My turn!”

The spacecraft Integrity has brought us the comfort of our soft moon blanket. Our dancing, singing moon.

The Common Household Son, ~age 2,
photoshopped onto the moon.

To Do List or Not To Do List, That is the Congestion

 January and February are months of True Drudgery for me. My duties and tasks are overwhelming.  Is it this way for everyone, specifically in Jan-Feb?  

In 2024 I wrote myself a Jan-Feb To Do list, I guess so I wouldn’t be surprised by anything, such as:

• It’s January 15th!  Have you paid your quarterly estimated taxes? Due today!

• Church stats (this is actually 9 separate tasks). Forget the Feb GA deadline, YOUR deadline is January 26th!

• People are clamoring for retreat info.  Better send that email soon!

• Learn the music for the retreat!  Better practice some more!  And get that song lyric sheet done and printed.

• Why are the Christmas decorations not in the attic?  Eh?!

• Where is your email inviting voters in your precinct to the fundraiser for which the deadline is in 10 days?  Better get on that!

And so on.  

I completed these tasks.

There are 55 individual items on my list for these two months.  So far I have completed 24 of them.  That’s just the regular stuff.  I have also had a $#!t-ton of stuff to do in the grassroots category, all rushed and desperate-feeling, and not part of the 55 tasks.

I feel competent to do each task individually, but not competent to complete all of them during this short time period.  I even would enjoy doing some of them, if they weren’t bunched together.  

Most of these are not yet finished.  The deadline looms.

The Common Household Husband is facing huge stresses, real and equally overwhelming.

Add to this the anxiety of just living in these times.  

And the challenges that come naturally with aging.  

And the tasks that come with our paid jobs.  

And winter storms.  

And prolonged cold.  

And the grocery store always being out of raw-fresh-not-frozen turkey breast to roast at home.

Another 2 inches of snow overnight.
Windchill in the negatives.

Had to shovel a carveout to reach
the mailbox.

These are things that even an abundant supply of tea and dark chocolate cannot cure.

Sooner or later something in the Common Household was bound to explode.  Two nights ago it did.  Both members of this household uttered harsh words.  Used nasty tones to each other.  A door was slammed.  Both members of this household went to bed angry with each other.

The next morning, thanks to both members of this household being thinking and feeling human beings, we said our apologies to each other, and acknowledged that the unbearable stress is getting to us.  

This is all while we are adequately fed, clothed, and sheltered.  I cannot imagine the trauma of those being beaten down by our own government, literally beaten, shackled, threatened, tossed around, separated from family, racially profiled, subjected to illness, disappeared.  And murdered. All that is brought to us by several unfeeling, greedy, racist human beings, and moreover by their enablers who hope to profit.   Never forget that human beings are capable of what they are doing.  

All this is to say, please take care of yourselves and each other.  The Common Household Husband and I said out loud that we must recognize when the stresses are getting overwhelming for each of us, and take extra precautions not to act or react harshly.  

Please do gather in groups of people who will care for and look out for each other.  

Please do art.  

Please do music and singing.  Keep a song in your pocket. Here is mine for this year.

Find beauty.  Encourage each other.  As the scripture I heard today says:

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.  - Philippians 4:8

Pie should be on that list in Philippians 4:8.