Judy and I toured the garden this afternoon. As we went, we each grabbed a pair of clippers and cleared the deadwood off the fortnight lilies. The leaves are fibrous and will only respond to clippers.
My great joy are all the camellia buds. One of Judy’s transplants is a five foot Japonica in a large container. The trimming, supplemental water and feeding appear to have paid off. We found multiple buds that may bloom in a few months. The Japonica in the triangle garden is even more spectacular. More and fuller buds, probably because of additional shade and shelter. I remember quite the show last year. The third camellia in the strip along the house suffers from too much sun and has no buds as yet. I applied the same treatment to all three camellias.
The Wine Group met for dinner at the Lone Wolf tonight. The great sensation was the bottle of 2008 Lyman Barbera that I found in our stock. Del had served a bottle at lunch on working day, his last bottle it turns out. He claims that 2008 was the best in all his winemaking years, and the Barbera bears out his claim. Rich and mellow, just the kind of robust red wine I have come to savor. Del’s jaw dropped when I told him we had another two cases of this wine in the house.
The moon is at half full now. I had plenty of moonlight to open the mailbox at the end of the road, with more to spare for my bedroom.
A Year at the Snake 