Flowers operate on Flower Time

Grandpa Ott, Morning Glory

White Rose of Sharon

Enjoying success requires the ability to adapt. Only by being open to change will you have a true opportunity to get the most from your talent.
Nolan Ryan  

One of the things I love about flowers and plants is that they don't give a hoot about anyones idea of time. They do what they need to do, when the time is right for them to do it. They are in touch with the rhythms of nature, The do their best all the time. They don't let what they other plants or flowers are doing phase them.  But they do adapt to what the weather is doing, and slowly they change to survive. But they continue to make seeds, send out roots, and find places to thrive. this year in response to the weather every plant is about a month ahead. I however am a week late with this post. Sometimes I live on flower time. 

Both of these flowers make seeds. Grandpa Ott is a prolific, purple Morning Glory. I save these every year, and I buy a new packet every other year to keep some diversity in the seed banks.  I plant them near the vegetables to bring in the bees.  The Morning Glory just does its thing and flowers all summer long. They don't seem to mix with the wild morning glory at all. I have also planted Moonflower again this year. Fussy! Out of a packet of seeds I will get two or three that make it to producing seeds. But they are the most fun, you can watch them open at night, literally watch them unfurl. I have one that came up out by the old cottonwood we cut down  and I am hoping it climbs up that dead tree. The Moon Flower grows slowly, in a more deliberate manner than a regular morning glory. I planted the two together and hope that the Moon Flower will use Grandpa Ott for support. 

The white flower is a white Rose of Sharon. I got seedlings from my friend Karrie Jo in Modesto. She as a few different colors, I took three and got three white. They are really lovely in a full moon. Prolific in the seed department. They can be pruned to be either a tree or a bush. They are a relative of the hibiscus. 

Next week I will be back on a timely schedule. ;-)

Sigh ...

Mary C. Ferris

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Always remain strong, no matter what. Your strength and your ability to keep going is what defines you.

-Unknown Author. 

I have days when it is almost impossible to get out of bed and do what needs to be done. Not for any other reason than I am being worn down by the struggle to stay afloat in this economy.  This is not an easy time to be marginally employed and over 50. We all know that. I wonder constantly if the job I was just turned down for turned me down because I am a little too old. It doesn't matter that I will work harder, be more reliable, will want to do a good job, be willing to work weekends, have reliable transportation. None of that seems to matter. Or does the person who comes in after me have more experience because they have just been laid off after 20 years doing the same job and now they are willing to work for $9 an hour because they have house payments, car payments and children in college. Compared to any of the millions of people who have lost their jobs, I have the equivalent of no skills or too many different skills. Jack of all trades, master of none?

Today I made a long, hot drive to another city to apply for a freelance job. I can tell they weren't impressed. I can do what they need but don't have all the collateral product to prove it. The other side of being marginally employed. There has never been the nice leave behind, there is no new work to put in the portfolio because I cannot afford to freelance if it requires driving anywhere. I have never felt so stranded and isolated by my financial situation. So the quote is about that and how it is making me stronger. It is defining me. Everything that is not important is falling away. To quote my favorite Marketing blogger, Seth Godin. "This is a dip." This is what I have to push through because what I want is on the other side. I want to do creative work, my images and ideas have merit and deserve to be seen. I am good at what I do and can do. I want to have steady income, I want to participate in life. Today I felt hopeful stepping into the river of life and realized part way through that I was slogging through mud.  And because of todays experience, I am stronger, and more clear about what I want, what I need to be doing, and the paths to take to get there are more visible than yesterday. I have not lost sight of the mountain top.