Cheerful

With no answers and no improvements to the malady that was affecting me, I decided yesterday to forgo applying the steroid eyedrops I had been using for two weeks.

While they seemed an unlikely suspect, the use of those drops did coincide with the beginning of my slump.

This morning, I woke feeling perhaps not yet 100%, but significantly better. Perhaps I would have anyway. My doctor feels I had some sort of infection that was taking time to pass, but I have permission to stay off the steroid drops and my freshly-scrubbed eyelids are feeling improved from this morning’s treatment.

Dare I say things are looking up?

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One should not tempt fate.

The meadow surrounding the house is usually kept trimmed, to keep back invaders and insects, but just lately it has been let go a bit longer, which is why I have had a chance to notice plants that previously never reached maturity.

Plantains, for example. I’ve always been a little confused about them, as there appear in fact to be two vastly different kinds.

The above is plantain grass which is really a weed with medicinal properties. It is good for healing wounds and reportedly for reducing inflammation, Perhaps I ought to try it.

That was the sort I may have vaguely known about until I began visiting my parents in the West Indies where plantains are a fruit, used as a vegetable, a bland relative of the banana.

While I seem to remember tasting them, I can’t picture mum cooking them. I can recall her sautéing bananas in Barbados rum, quite a treat, even though I’m not fond of rum.

Mother’s rum punch was delightful. She served it up at the end of a warm day and it was deliciously refreshing, but it caused headaches and I found it killed my appetite. I still remember the recipe:

1 of sour – lime juice

2 of sweet – *falernum

3 of strong – rum

4 of weak – fruit juice, Mum grew passionfruit. The juice is divine.

*Falernum is a sweet, spiced liqueur or syrup from the Caribbean, traditionally from Barbados, known for its distinctive blend of ginger, lime, almond, and clove or allspice flavors, often with vanilla notes. It’s a staple in tropical and Tiki cocktails like the Zombie and Swizzle, adding sweetness, spice, and a creamy texture, and can be found in both alcoholic (around 15% ABV) and non-alcoholic syrup forms. 

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Grant’s vegetable patch was given over to flowers this year.

Seeds were randomly scattered from a variety of packets, but basically only two sorts grew.

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Both white.

A token pair of orange California poppies bloomed briefly and some late-starting sunflowers are giving it a go, though they have some catching up to do.

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Outside the enclosure, Upright Yellow Woodsorrel caught my eye.

A modest and unobtrusive flower deserves attention.

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One of my flower-identifiers also serves as a bug-identifier.

Which is how I know this is a Spotted Thyris Moth on Fleabane.

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And this diminutive chap is a Red-banded Leafhopper.

They favour the sunflowers, seemingly causing little damage.

It looks to me like something that escaped from a museum of Egyptology.

While not greatly enthused about insects in general, bar bees and butterflies, I believe they all have a place. Because we are very much larger, we entitle ourselves to ownership of the planet, but I am very happy to share as long as they do not sting me or suck my blood. I prefer to avoid those with 8 long hairy legs, although I am much more tolerant now of small spiders. Their tiny, troublesome smaller cousins, – ticks, I do my level best to stay clear of.

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And so, back to the Yucca, which I’ve decided is indeed a challenge to capture.

I’ve tried near, far, in all sorts of light without being happy with any of the results.

This final attempt, taken on July 5th must be the last as the blooms are now fully out and beginning to drop. They have had a very good year, the flowers catching the light interestingly all through the day.

Perhaps not classic beauties, but certainly attractive.

And cheerful.

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