Blooming

Last of the hollyhocks, Magdalena, NM, Oct. 2012

Two months without a post... the new job is awesome, but the schedule leaves little leisure time and I'm still working out that professional/personal balance so I can have more energy for stuff I love - photography, music, hiking... The gardening season is over, though, which is always sad (Maggie and I miss our daily grazing for cherry and yellow pear tomatoes) even if it does lighten my "workload" at home. This year, thanks to the new job, I might be able to buy a small, simple greenhouse to grow greens, herbs, and a few other goodies all winter.

Despite several hard freezes this past week (two weeks later than usual! which meant more tomatoes!) a few flowers have survived, including this single hollyhock in the back yard. I also still have some sprigs of pineapple sage left; its stunning red flowers burst out in late September, and its location on my south wall seems to help them weather at least a few frosts before succumbing. My morning glories are gone, though, which to me signals the end of my gardening season... for now. I'll post pics of those soon; I am almost two months behind in my Photoshopping and surely have a few gems in the backlog.

Hollyhock stamens - a bit like a bazillion-armed octopus