A Dwarf #Magnolia Verdant: #Gardening #GreenThumb #Southerners #Nostalgia #Gifts #WeatherGeek #BFF

I have a Dwarf Magnolia tree in my yard. It came to me as a dream almost. Several years ago, a friend and neighbor who loves gardening like I do, gifted me a distressed Dwarf Magnolia sapling that he'd inherited. (He actually got two, potted in too small containers and having been neglected on a patio for some time, both seen better days.) As he and I have had numerous conversations about our shared love of fragrant Magnolia blossoms, he said that he immediately thought of me when the two strays landed on his doorstep. He laughingly delivered it in a wheelbarrow. And so I set out to rescue the one, while he worked on saving the other. Being inveterate green thumbs and fellow small town Southerners transplanted to the metro Atlanta area, we often share seeds & plants --- and their associated bounty. This ritual is part of how we bonded as neighbors and became friends.

On the day my neighbor turned up with this temporarily homeless little tree, he pulled it from the battered pot, dug a hole and planted it in my yard. It's yours now! I grinned in response. Over the years, I've tended to it near religiously: first tying it upright with a lance, pruning it, watering it and talking to it good naturedly. I dubbed the pitiful sapling "Ms. Magnolia Blossom 1999" or "Mags" for short --- monikers that just popped into my head. And our girl Mags has thrived! Turning from brown and withered to green and redolent. It took some time, nearly a full year to undo the withering damage alone. After she started to stretch out and unfurl, Mags began producing lovely fragrant puffy white blossoms in season. This process took roughly two years of nursing and coaxing, but 'twas well worth all the effort. Because now, at roughly the five-year mark, I get all the benefits of having a thriving Magnolia tree in my yard --- in a (comparatively) compact space.

In case you're unaware or curious, a fully grown Magnolia tree can easily top 30 feet in height and take up a full yard between its meandering roots and wide ranging branches, but the dwarf varieties generally only grow about 8-15 feet tall and can be kept "straight and narrow" through careful pruning and shaping. The sad sapling that I was graciously gifted was about 3 feet tall at the time, but is now a roughly 8.5 foot tall tree, having grown nearly a foot a year.

I had to take special care of her with the extreme drought the area has been experiencing over the last year or so. I took to hand watering Mags to insure she continued to thrive in a suddenly fragile ecosystem. She's doing well! However, I keep a vigilant eye on her, because the current yo-yo Winter to Spring weather pattern has many trees and plants blooming too early. Yet, the temperature still dips down to freezing or thereabouts as it did yesterday morning. (The rainstorms last weekend provided plenty of moisture, which was followed by a few days of strong sunlight before this returned shot of Winter. Having been thus bolstered, I think she'll do OK.) On Friday afternoon, in spite of the blustery conditions due to the incoming cold front, Mags looked resplendent in the bright sun, unbowed and verdant. Quite the beauty queen.

I plan to get out this afternoon and check on her, again, just to shoot the breeze. I can't wait for actual Spring! The smell of Magnolia blossoms instantly transports me to a better place, rather like those Calgon commercials of old. The Magnolia tree is quintessentially Southern, of course, and intrinsically tied to the warm and sunny memories of my childhood. (When you have a hardscrabble youth, you're willing to work to keep the bright spots close in adulthood. It's called perspective.) This little tree has proven a most wonderful gift 🎁. I cannot thank my gardening buddy BFF enough for providing carriage for my trips to bountiful.

#Bunny in the Back Forty: Oh #BeatrixPotter!

For the last several years, a family of rabbits have taken up residence in the back yard, up near the woodland. One day when out walking with pup, I spotted a good sized rabbit. The backyard trail we were following is along the edge of a wooded area, but also in the middle of a fairly developed neighborhood. I thought perhaps a child's pet had escaped back into the wild, as the bunny seemed only mildly curious at our presence.

Originally, it seems there was but a single rabbit, a pregnant mother that gave birth (or such was my assumption). But each Fall since this first encounter, whenever we're out walking around daybreak or dusk, we'll often spy several young rabbits of varying colors hopping about eating grass and seeds. (As it has been several years hence, these are presumably the children or grandchildren of the original rabbit.) I guess there's good eating in our woods, enough to sustain several generations of bunnies, at least.

They drive pup bonkers! I think she has dreams of coursing after hares (like those dogs do in Snatch, one of my favorite flicks), but luckily so far I have been able to prevent her undertaking of the sport. I have a fondness for Peter Rabbit, after all.

#Eurus, the East Wind: #WeatherGeek #LifeLessons #MoralityPlay

I must stop. I have devolved into someone who incessantly drones on about the weather. I can't help it, it's been so unsettling. Fascinating and annoying. And now, surprisingly... Cold. I'm going to ground.

I really do need a break, but not of the sort I received. A fool vandalized my home. Here, I am working so diligently to make something, to build something, to renovate --- and some idiot decides it would be good sport to tear it down, batter it down. 

Still I rise. I will prevail. I will have the last laugh. Because, as the hoodlum rots in jail or dies in the streets, I will succeed. The choices one makes defines him. Split second decisions. I have chosen, and sadly, so has he. A reckoning is coming, laddie! You heard it here first. News at eleven.

The #Weather Gods Are Haters. #WeatherGeek #Tornadoes #Thunderstorms

Boy howdy was it one heck of a weekend! In case you haven't heard, the Southeastern United States got pummeled on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. (There were a reported 15 tornadoes in the state of Georgia alone on Saturday. Fifteen!) Seems we're experiencing our normal Spring weather instabilities in January. We saw thunderstorms, wind, rain and flooding in the metro Atlanta area.

This, came right on the heels of a record nine straight days of 70+ degrees temperatures. We needed the rain, because of the ongoing drought, but the rest was overkill, and we didn't get the worse of it. Places to the south and east of us were really put through the ringer, on repeat, with the Georgia coast getting kicked in the gonads for good some measure. (My thoughts are with all those around the globe affected by the crazy storms and natural disasters of late; it's been a beast of a weather year already.)

Personally, I'm still out of sorts. Pup hates storms and as we had several roll through during the overnight hours, this meant little to no sleep for several nights in a row. (She comes to find me whenever a storm gets going and we sit curled up, riding it through together.) During lulls we'd venture out to canvas the neighborhood, checking on neighbors and inspecting for damages. We were pretty lucky around here (sadly, others were not).

There will be a Wind Advisory in effect until 7:00p, but today is predicted to be drier eventually --- after a few morning showers. (Mere rain doesn't usually rile pup, but the last three days of high water storms proved stressful for her, thus, when it suddenly started pouring down around 2:30a, pup hopped up and came down the hall to get me and we've been up ever since.) Hopefully, I'll be able to crank things up a notch once she heads back to bed --- the rain sounds as if its finally tapering off --- and get stuff done. At the moment, however, all I want to do is crawl back in bed and do crosswords until the sun rises.

No such luck for me though. No rest for the wicked er, weary. Guess, I'll make coffee... On the bright side, the Atlanta Falcons are headed to Super Bowl LI --- a legitimate excuse to throw a party --- and I made Overnight Oats for breakfast. Small steps, small steps....

#WeatherGeek Update: #WinterStorm #Ice #Snow #WindChill #BelowFreezing

We did have a Winter Storm hit overnight and North Georgia got socked with ice and snow. Colder air is now swooping in adding considerable wind chill. Not expected to get more than a degree above freezing today, and only for a few hours before plummeting overnight. More of the same expected tomorrow though it should top out a few degrees above freezing before dipping again overnight and then finally warming (comparatively) on Monday. Weather Alerts are advising folks not to go out unnecessarily, especially if driving (as roads are iced).

About four hours ago, pup and I bundled up --- she got Vaseline rubbed over her paw pads in a protective layer --- and walked around the neighborhood to do a welfare check on a few of our immediate neighbors. It was silent as the grave, a Winter Wonderland of clear ice and white snow. Luckily, everyone that we checked on is doing OK.

Walking back toward home, we encountered a lone Georgia Power truck creeping along, crews are out checking power lines. (Trees are completely iced over in our area and with this brisk wind outages from falling limbs are a definite concern.) Shout out to ALL the folks out there working, making certain everyone else stays safe! We see y'all.

We're home now, snug and eating a hearty chili. (Pup thinks she should get a full bowl though she had her own breakfast before 6:00a.) Hopefully, it'll be a nice quiet day and I can get some more work done. (I'm still Winterizing the house.) In accordance with our new weather "normal" in these parts, it's expected to be nearly 70 degrees again by this coming Friday. Like I've said, yo-yo weather.

Easy #GivingBack w/ @Kroger #CommunityRewards + #AmazonSmile

If you happen to shop at Kroger (or its family of stores) or online at Amazon.com, there's an easy way to donate to charity!

Kroger has a program called Community Rewards [kroger.com/communityrewards] which donates a percentage of your purchases to the designated charity of your choice (picked from a list of charities that have registered with the program). Purchases are tracked via your Kroger Plus card, so as long as you scan it with every transaction your purchases will be credited to your tally. Any funds for which you qualify are donated quarterly. It's free to join and makes for a simple way to send automatic donations to a cause you wish to support.

Amazon has a similar program called AmazonSmile [smile.amazon.com] which also donates a percentage of your qualifying purchases to the designated charity of your choice (picked from a list of charities that have registered with the program) as long as you start every shopping session at the AmazonSmile URL above. If you shop at Amazon a lot (and I do) you can easily generate tidy little sums for a favorite cause. It's free to join, too.

I have the same charity, a local Boxer Rescue, designated on both programs. If you know me, you know that I'm a dog person. I like dogs more than people generally and I specifically support rescuing Boxers in honor of my boy, the big brother of my current doggy, who's unfortunately no longer with us. (My girl was a stray pup on the streets who followed me and my boy home from one of our daily sojourns. My boy took her in and treated her like a little princess from day one.) 

My boy was generous to a fault --- a true Great Dog, whose memory deserves every honor I can bestow upon it. My neighbors still reminisce about him. They've all got hysterical stories featuring the big lug. He was a treasure of epic proportions, literally a big dog with a giant heart. I can't thank him enough for blazing a path of light through my life during the time I was lucky enough to share with him.

There's no excuse to prevent you from signing up and supporting a cause as dear to you. No excuse!

Salute to Veterans! My #VeteransDay Routine

As a National Holiday in the United States of America, Veterans Day is generally observed annually on the 11th of November and this year it falls on a Friday (today) marking the start of a long weekend for those who get the day off from work. While television adverts would have you believe that Veterans Days in nothing more than an excuse to launch a furniture sale, let's pause for a moment to recall the purpose of the holiday.

On this day, we as a nation commemorate those who have served in our armed forces and thank them for said service.

In addition to my soul mate, my "twin", who is both a Navy veteran and a police officer, my extended family includes a number of active duty military, military veterans and law enforcement officers (many of whom are also military vets); plus several of my neighbors are military veterans, too --- I am a native Southerner living in the deep South after all --- so this holiday has a great deal of personal meaning. I generally spend the day doing good deeds for all the veterans that I know, and while I try to do this any day of the year, sometimes life sidetracks you with white noise, so it's nice to have a special day to remind us to hug a vet and say...

Thank you for your service. Happy Veterans Day!