Happy Holidays from my Thansgiving cactus.

P.S. I did break down and buy fresh eggs for the holiday baking. Powdered eggs are great for pancakes and quick breads, not as nice for pie crust or pie filling. Shh, don’t tell the hens.

I hope you all have a lovely day with family and friends and enjoy some wonderful food. There are plenty of photos of holiday crafts and recipes out there, so instead, today I present to you a new bud on my Thansgiving cactus. I have done none of the things I’m supposed to do to get blooms. I’m am thankful that it is happy where it is and is thriving on my watering schedule.

Another melon ripened on the Aspire vines. An itty bitty melon. It tasted alright, all one bite of it, but it was mostly seed. I gave the rind to the dogs because it was soft and still had some flesh on it. Missy was not impressed, so Griffin ate both halves.

I thought this was the last of the melons, but walking by I spotted another on a live vine amongst the dead leaves. Yes, in November from a plant I seeded in spring, that was supposed to set fruit all at once. I put a sling around the developing melon. We’ll see what happens.

I planted paperwhite in September in the hopes of holiday blooms. Some have decided to bloom now, while others are holding on. Maybe I wasn’t consistent with planting depth. Hm. Still, it is nice to see the delicate white flowers in the front garden.

The Japanese Honeysuckle is putting out an occasional burst of blooms.

The Shasta daisy also has a handful of flowers to show off.

The cold weather is coming to Texas, albeit briefly. My basil plants turn black if it dips below 40 degrees, so this year I harvested it all before it could turn. There isn’t that much, but enough to make Thai Chicken Basil (I made it a couple weeks ago and so the basil reserves were low anyway).

I enjoy the coloration of the red basil, the purple and green are pretty in the garden. Basil is one of the few things I can actually grow!