Robert (gurdonark) wrote,
Robert
gurdonark

myrtle tales

The weather forecasts call for a cold front.  This front promises no cooling in any real sense--just a degree or two cooler. This Summer turned out to be mild, even though in this context mild feels a bit hot anyway.

In 2005, we planted two crape myrtle trees in our front yard. The tree our builder planted a few years before that proved unsuitable, and an experiment with Eve Necklace and Mexican Plum--two native understory trees--turned out to sunny to succeed.

Our theory revolved around the idea that large trees fit poorly in small yards. So we planted trees that worked better. We followed a similar strategy in our back yard. A storm took out a fine live oak tree. We planted a saucer magnolia in its place. Years later, that tree remains small, but grows larger every year.

Our front yard crape myrtles all bloom at once now.  This rarely happens, because they work on different sequences. The sequences all align now, like stop lights that synchronize by turning red at slightly different times.  The two side-of-the-house trees join in the display. I like the sign of crape myrtles in bloom. Our across-the-street-catty-corner neighbors Myra and John use crape myrtles to particular advantage in a more densely gardened yard than ours.

I am reading the novella "The Undefeated" by Una McCormack. I downloaded it last night after buying it from the publisher's website (or, more precisely, a website to which the publisher directed me).  I read the first 47 pages, a bit over a quarter of the novella. My idea of buying a low-price Dell netbook as an ereader worked out very well. I like that Twitter lets one easily acknowledge a good book by an author. Eleanor Anstruther retweeted my capsule appreciation tweet for "A Perfect Explanation". I doubt that this helps her expand her readership, but perhaps it is good to confirm at least one Texas reader for a rather English novel.

I heard a good podcast interview on the Planetary Society podcast  with Poppy Northcutt, the Apollo-era engineer who worked at the Johnson Space Center, then became an attorney and an activist for equal rights for people and in particular for women. She has had quite an active life.

Today I walked in Timbers Nature Preserve in Murphy and in our local Glendover Park.  A woman walked by with her German police dog. That dog was as happy as a Welsh dog.







from Dreamwidth, because two posts of the same text are twice as nice
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