“Whats in Your Stocking?”

ESPatch Jan 2, 2015 5 comments

We had once again survived Christmas.

A set of styrene guns kept him busy,

she got the doll she had coveted for the last 6 months,

and we got a bunch more stuffed characters for Kumo to terrorize and pull the eyes off well into next year.

We hunkered down with blankets on the couch, drank Bailey’s Irish Cream and watched all of the Harry Potter movies…once again, one a night for eight nights.

We indulged in fine Christmas fare straight out of the garden,

and exercised regularly in the recycling bin.

Even the Largus bugs were in a festive spirit, staggering around on the dance floor, spilling their champagne and telling bad jokes.

I am about as tough on watches as I am with work boots,

so I was very happy to open this on Christmas morning.

My previous Swiss Army watch had an extremely rare and distressing appointment down the u-bend of our toilet last fall, one of those “I couldn’t repeat that again if I tried” accidents. It was not a fitting end for a timepiece that had survived huge pieces of flagstone rolling and scraping across it, with never a hint of a scratch.

Moving along:

I did say I watched ALL the Harry Potter movies.

Purple heart is still hanging in there, it will be a big heaping pile of festering sludge in no time at all,

but for now:

Purple heart to wild purple mold,

just because I can.

I always crave a full English breakfast after looking at the flowers on Fatsia Japonica,

straight out of a fantasy book.

Loquats are also flowering prolifically at the moment,

along with some shrimps,

and the copper canyon daisies.

Habaneros and satsuma also providing some winter color. Only three satsumas on the tree this year and they were huge, larger than oranges. They were ripe and it was time for the annual tasting ceremony.

Well,

what do you think?

“Tastes like orangery-water and peel, want some?”

“Nope, I get it.”

She proceeded to devour it all.

Thanks to all who have read, commented or just lurked in the east side shadows this past year.

Stay Tuned For:

“The Appendage”

All material © 2015 for eastsidepatch. Unauthorized
intergalactic reproduction strictly prohibited, and
punishable by late (and extremely unpleasant)
14th century planet Earth techniques.

“Up In Flames”

ESPatch Dec 7, 2013 2 comments

Mist flowers did not bloom as long as usual this year but they still had their fair share of visitors, like this

American Lady,

Vanessa virginienis

Note: The small white dot in the orange of the forewing distinguishes American Lady from the Painted Lady.

Another frequent visitor to the mist flowers are these little iridescent metallic bees or

Agapostemon texanus

or is it angelicus?

I don’t know.

Loquats also have an abundance of flowers this year,

flowers

I think they liked our wetter than usual Autumn.

flowers

Our recent freezing temperatures have ushered in some strange activities in the Patch.

faces

When faced with prolonged periods of time indoors we usually resort to Monopoly and arguing, but the latest trend is the cutting-out of magazine mouths to while away the dark and cold hours.

I took advantage of the latest cold snap to put our Christmas tree up, with plenty of help, naturally.

This is an activity that traditionally has me coated in an 80-degree sweat as I fight to a) get the tree into the house and b) wrestle it into its stupid base, tightening those irritating metal prongs that I am convinced are too small to even reach the trunk of the tree.

As promised here is a slow air fitting for the cold, dark weather we have been experiencing of late.

Grab yourself a glass, adjust your volume and put in some earplugs for “The Dark Island” and the reel “Miss Girdle”.

It got so cold the other day,

I burnt my own strobilus!

http://www.eastsidepatch.com/2013/07/trouble-with-the-old-strobilus/

Well it has been looking a bit peeky for a while now,

then I noticed this oozing out of the center of it:

Enough was enough.

It was onto the pyre with the old strobilus.

Moving very quickly along…

Cigar plant is heating up in the cold,

as are the celosia, and up until this week so were the canna lilies.

The bold color,

its foliage looking like flames,

what a difference a week can make.

Drum roll and…

and as for my Hoja Santa…

…well, lets just say that they now look decidedly unwell.

In contrast my satsumas look about perfect, it was time I gave one a go, and by I,

I mean him.

There was some trepidation going into the annual tasting ceremony but the satsumas were apparently off to a good start. There was a nervous thumbs up in the middle but the end notes were an obvious let down – a bland blend of unsweetened chewy fruit with a distinct hint of grossness.

Ah the disappointment.

Oh well,

there is always next year.

Stay Tuned for:

“He’s Checking it twice”

All material © 2013 for eastsidepatch. Unauthorized
intergalactic reproduction strictly prohibited, and
punishable by late (and extremely unpleasant)
14th century planet Earth techniques.

Bees