DollsArtCats

 It's black in overhead inside light, and a deep, deep purple in sunlight: So very fancy! I regret that I had to cut it from it's parent plant, but the rest of my iris are still sprawled from the storm, though blooming still: These are the ones my friend Andy brought up in a suitcase from Kansas, and I am so pleased and delighted they manage to survive here! Some of the are just so elaborate: I love all the colors! The black iris name is supposed to be "All Night Long" and is from (I think) a breeder in Oregon. It came in a small box as basically a small root, and I was worried for it, but I planted it in a sheltered spot last fall and it made it ok under a pile of peat moss. Now it's looking quite healthy and, fingers crossed, will put out more blooms next Spring.

  This is such a tease--it was outside, but then we got a tornado watch, a severe thunderstorm warning, and a chance of hail, and I said the heck with it and snipped the entire bud stem and brought it in. It's a good thing I did, most of the other iris were blown over since we had gusts up to 45 mph (but no tornado). Because it's in a vase, it will bloom, but so much slower than it would outside, and it does look like it will be a very very dark purple. I'm excited to see it fully open! I love iris and they are so expensive to buy at the nursery, especially if you want the more unusual ones. My friend Eden in New York develops her own varieties for fun, and they are so exotic and gorgeous! This is one of hers: And this is one my friend Andy brought from Kansas in a suitcase (she brought me SO MANY) Andy's are super hardy and the white ones actually bloom twice, once in spring and once in fall, which makes me so happy :)   So once Cat's is fully open I will take anot...

 When we moved here from New Jersey, the only thing that got broken in the 11,000 pounds of household goods that we shipped-- were the toes on this plaster caterpillar. Just the front toes, even. This was in 2012, and I said that I would fix the caterpillar in a month or so, once the other stuff was unpacked. Thirteen years later, I finally got around to fixing his toes with Apoxie Sculpt and touching up the paint to match his back toes. It was Caterpillar Spa Day. Cat's iris is still teasing me--it's added more buds, but not opening yet! (It's also slightly out of focus, to add to the mystery.) You can see I need to touch up the paint on my siding. Maybe in a month or so... The rest of the yard is looking a little more put together--the dish is water for chipmunks and bees, the upturned stock pot is over an outdoor outlet that powers the bubbler for the water trough for the birds. There is a still a lot to do. (I love the chipmunks, but they do complicate gardening).