My hypothesis that my Thanksgiving cactus blooms due to drops in window temperature that triggers the leaves touching the window was blown away this month. The cactus has bloomed and we haven’t seen any temperatures below 68. Hm.
The cactus mysteries continue.
I was surprised to see a large splash of purple outside, and even more surprised that it was a couple of passion flowers blooming from a vine I thought was dead.
While guiding the questing vines in a direction I wanted them to go, I also saw a Gulf Fritillary caterpillar.
Passion vines are host plants for butterflies, and my vines don’t usually grow faster than they are eaten.
I found a different patch of four-leaf clover in the yard!
And that’s what I have for today. We are rolling into summer which for me means a massive schedule change. There might be more plant and pet posts, or I might actually finish some projects and have something crafty to say. Hm.
My husband built a beautiful rustic style curved stone staircase off our back porch. Our challenge has been getting a handrail to match the curve without throwing a lump of money at it. The first attempt involved cedar sapling trunks, but we didn’t have one long enough, and splicing two together was tricky. When I was wandering our woods looking for hand rail candidates, I saw a grape vine that I’ve been meaning to trim because fungus has started into the side of the bark.
I cut off the vine above the fungal damage, and since that vine was a nice diameter for a hand rail, freed it from the canopy. I then cut away the diseased tissue from the main vine and sealed it with pruning spray.
It took three of us to wrestle the vine into place as a hand rail, but because the vine is supple and we waited until the rain gave it a good soak, it was possible.
We secured the vine with screws. The next step is to strip off the bark and seal the vine core so it lasts a little longer in the Texas weather.
I’ve seen where people have french braided long grasses, so when I wandered through our meadow and saw the waving Spring grass I thought I would give it a try. (Yes, I was completely in the middle of another project for this side quest.)
I did more of a Dutch braid, where the braid lays on top of the joined strands, but it didn’t have as much definition as I hoped. I was also struggling to have enough grass to join in the braid and still get the curve I wanted. So in a few weeks, when the grass is higher, and I need a break from a task that takes me through the meadow again, I’ll give it another go.
Critters and Craft 