A Story - "Water Play" - Sunset Coloured Flowers -( Marigolds, Rudbeckia, Coreopsis, Miniature Rose), and Dianthus -(Perennial, Carnation), and Ostrich Farm

 A Story

Water Play

"One of those perfect summer days. The sun's penetrating blaze mellowed by a cool breeze off the water. It had been a long time since she had been to a beach. She felt like a stranger as she walked along the pebbly shore.

Nearby a family arrived. Two children, maybe eight and ten years old, ran towards the water.  The young girl shrieked as the cold water hit her stomach. The young boy gave a whoop as he plunged in.  They splashed each other and laughed, loud and shrill.

She watched the children and her body remembered the feel of the cold water, the urge to dive into the refreshing coolness,  the smoothness of the water as her arms and legs swept through it.

She hadn't brought a bathing suit but the water was beguiling. Best to lock her purse and phone in the car. She pushed her keys under the car beside the inside of the front wheel and hoped they would be there when she got back.

Back at the water's edge, she stepped out of her sandals and slowly walked into the water. How familiar it felt. Once her shorts were wet, she bent down and pushed forward gliding through the silky lake.  Stroke, stroke, kick, kick. Her body knew how. She flipped over on to her back and savoured the gentle rocking of the waves. She closed her eyes and was once again a child, playing in the water."

I like this rudbeckia nestled between the marigolds in sunset colours. The marigolds I direct sowed in May and the rudbeckia I bought from a neighbour this spring.  The marigold seeds were ones that I had harvested from my plants last summer.

I planted this Early Sunrise coreopsis inside in March and transplanted it into the garden in May.  It is a perennial, that in ideal conditions can be hardy to zone 3, but it needs soil that drains well. A cold, damp fall can ruin it. It's a lovely golden yellow and blooms for weeks.

A miniature rose, in another sunset colour, that was bought in the winter in a little pot with 3 other roses. They transplant well to an outdoor garden and are hardy with no mulching to zone 4.  They like to be well fertilized and need at least an inch of water a week.

This little sweetie is a perennial dianthus.  They like well-drained alkaline soil and are hardy to zone 4 . This is the first year so I will see if they make it through the damp months of fall and early spring. They may get eaten by rabbits.

This year I wanted to grow real carnations.  These red ones are Chabaud carnations.  I started them in late February.  They are slow to get going.  They are only starting to bloom now. The colour is very vibrant and the scent is rich cinnamon.  Worth the wait in my estimation.  They make good cut flowers but I think I will just leave them in the half-barrel planter outside.  When I am out to water or weed, I stop by and give them a good sniff. Full sun and even moisture is good for them as well as regular fertilizing. I use a slow release granular fertilizer.

A couple of kilometers from our house is an ostrich farm.  They are the funniest birds with necks that are like large bendy  toys.  The farm sells pellets that you can feed to them but you have to use a pole with a sieve fastened to the end because they could give you a nasty bite if you tried to hand feed them.

This one was sitting down as were some others. So strange. The birds were a bit shabby looking because they are molting.

Two young ones watching some adults in the next enclosure.

They clack their beaks together even when they aren't eating. 

Their feet have serious claws. I have no idea how the farm owners handle the birds.  They look like they could be dangerous.  They remind me of dinosaurs. Fascinating but not cuddly.

The farm sells ostrich meat which looks a lot like beef and apparently tastes a lot like beef. Very healthy.

Ostrich leather is very nice. Supple and soft .  They had some bags made out of it in their shop and they were very attractive.