My Plants Are Regressing

 

A few weeks ago I bought a couple of dahlia plants to cheer myself up as the garden was so barren and void of colour.  I bought a beautiful deep velvety pink one and one that was red and white variegated - a bit like a raspberry ripple effect. The one above was the first I had my eye on.  Out in the garden its leaves quickly became ravaged with snails and slugs so I thought it would be best to bring it in at night.  I have watered and fed and tended it.  It stays in the garden during the day and comes in at night.

  

I recently noticed that one of the blooms had become two tone - or rather a few of the petals seemed washed out of colour.  Most strange.

The second dahlia I bought was the one shown above.  Beautiful quilled shaped petals that opened out into bi-colour.  I noticed that very quickly the flowers began to turn brown around the edges and die before they fully came out.  I deadheaded them hoping for a quick recovery.

Now look at what has happened.  Very strange salmon coloured flowers with a few red ones.  I wonder why just buying two random plants has resulted in some bizarre happening.  I wonder if some sort of cross pollination has gone on.  Any thoughts?

The Alien on the Lawn

I've not been sleeping well recently.  My mind has been overactive thinking about why coffee isn't sold in bags like instant tea (since found out that it is) and why jigsaw puzzle pieces have the shape they do.  I know that my brain is looking for stimulation and filling it with all kinds of nonsense.

On Sunday morning after another fitful night, I woke up blurry eyed.  I opened up the bathroom window and looked out onto the grass in the back garden.   I was so shaken up to see something lying there.  My first thought was that an alien was curled up sleeping, I then thought that maybe something untoward had fell from an aircraft or that it was a mummified creature.

Camera in hand, feeling apprehensive I made my way down the stairs and out into the garden to confront whatever 'it' was.  I clicked the camera with trepidation thinking that I may startle 'the thing'.

I will leave you to figure out what it was.  Sweet dreams..........................!!!

*Edited 15/9/2015   It is about 12 inches (30cms) across!

* Oh dear.  I hope I haven't scared you all off with my nonsense talk!  Anyway, the 'mystery object' turned out to be an hanging basket liner.  Presumably brought in by a fox.

Something Fishy Going On

It was early Thursday evening and Gizmo (my cat for those not in the know) was still out. I like him to be in before dark otherwise he will stay out all night. My husband was going out but went to look for Gizmo once more before locking up the back door.

He came in a few minutes later with Gizmo. Gizmo had been found with a fish on the pathway. The fish was still alive. My husband put the fish into the nearest container which contained rainwater, informed me about what had happened and then went out. By this time it was quite dark outside.

The next morning I prepared myself to find a dead fish floating on the water. To my surprise the fish was very much alive. I put some water into a bucket and poured the fish along with the rainwater into it. Later that day my son and I went out in search of fish food.

I have no idea where the fish came from. We do not have a pond and neither do our closest neighbours. If Gizmo had taken the fish from a pond (which is probably the case) how did he get it back to our garden without harming it? How could the fish have survived so long out of water? Why didn't it die of shock?

I have had such a dilemma. Do I knock on the doors in the neighbourhood asking if any one has lost a fish?!!! What if they accuse Gizmo of stealing more than one? What if they think I am a crazy woman?!!! I decided against this cause of action.

So it seems the fish is here to stay. I will have to find a permanent solution for its habitat as it cannot stay in a tin bucket. So there it is. I have gained a fish. It is as though it fell from the sky. I feel an overwhelming sense of responsibility for its welfare. My son has named it Albert. Albert the fish. The name makes as much sense as the method in which it arrived.

Strange Sightings

I apologise in advance for these very uninspiring images.

I had to record what I saw as a visual diary.

Saturday 8th August 2009 at around 10.00pm. Three orange lights/globes appeared in the sky in my back garden. By the time I got my camera only one was left. They made no noise. They were not planes. They were below cloud level. They moved purposefully and were not just floating. They all went off in different directions. They moved at about the speed of a small aircraft.

Have you ever seen anything like this? Have you an idea what they might be? If you click on the above photo you will also see two faint moon like shapes either side of the light.

It was a fascinating and yet eerie sight. It was dead quiet.

On a lighter note, another strange sighting was to see my Hibiscus in bloom. Not flowers 'the size of dinner plates' as promised by a TV gardening guru but quite pleasing none-the-less.