Yes, We Have No Bananas

It is 25° at our house. I fear for our bananas, but have done all I can do with watering. Now time will tell if they survived. No trimming for a month to see any green shoots.

I am in California, visiting Mary for a week. Grant is home, managing plants. He moved the potted ones deemed cold-intolerant into the garage and put sheets over my bat plant. The vegetable beds are on their own. All of the native plants should be fine. 

This our third round of cold weather, but the previous 2 only got down to the mid-30’s. This is the coldest winter we have had since we’ve moved to Windermere. I wore the sweater I made years ago from yarn  Betsy brought me back from their scouting trip to Australia in 1985.

Grant is also caring for the turtles. Yes, plural. A couple of weeks ago, we got Robert, a 21yo box turtle from Matt, whose wife died 5 years ago. Matt decided time to re-home Robert and put a Free notice in our Nextdoor app. I fell for it. Robert is more red than William, so I don’t think he’s a Florida box turtle. More TBD when I have time.

When I put him in the turtle pen, William, of course, was aggressive, biting at Robert’s shell. I tried putting enough food to keep him busy, but he prefers attacking. For the time being, I’d put a board, dividing their pen into 2 sections, but with the cold weather, Grant took it out, and they both huddled under the warming mat in their hut. Maybe peace has arrived. 

Gracie had been luxuriating on the towel-wrapped heating pad I’d put on the ottoman for her in the previous cold snap. Yes, of course our house is heated, although I’d keep it at 70° rather than the 72° Grant keeps moving the thermostat to. In any case, she likes the extra warmth. Sometimes she curls up on it, other times she lies on her back and stretches out. A happy cat.

While they are coping with this craziness, I’m luxuriating on the West Coast. Mary and I have reorganized her garage, getting the final 2 storage bin racks built and installed. With the kids help, we took down the Christmas tree which Mary carried out back and leaned against the fence. Maybe a bird shelter there. Maybe tossed over the fence. Maybe taken out front for garbage pickup. At least out of the house. She set to packing Christmas storage bins. I labeled. With slots for 6 more bins, and those bins bought, she can take her time sorting, keeping or pitching the rest of the piles out there.

I paid for a 30 day watercolor boot camp, so I’ve brought my paints, etc. Each day, Bella and I work our way through that day’s project. She is doing very well. We start off with a warmup wash down a smaller piece of paper. This is my plan to become more proficient in that basic technique. I am getting slightly better.

Since Remi isn’t interested in joining us, I thought he and I could do some of the boxed school kits Mary had gotten last year. He already knows his letters and numbers (plus names of the gazillion Pokémon). He could work on the projects without much help while Bella and I painted. Nope, too much adult interaction needed like cutting out shapes and reading long directions. Mary is going to pass along the whole mass of projects. Three more storage cubicles 

Saturday, we joined a bird walk at the Buena Vista Nature Center. Not much bird action because of the wind, but now they know where this Audubon place is. Mary spotted a hummingbird pulling some fluff off tall grass. It was building a nest! We watched for a few minutes, of course silhouetted. Still, I marvel.

We also went to the free on-base concert (Gary Sinese and his Lt. Dan Band) where Mary, Bella, and Remi got temporary tattoos; we collected all the free swag (energy drinks, men’s underwear!, mesh bag to carry our bounty); the kids bounced, slid and played free games, winning trinkets; and we didn’t eat at the food trucks. A cheap night out for families on base.

I also had lunch with high school girlfriend Mickie when we drove down to San Diego Wednesday for the kids day of in-person classes.

A direct red-eye home which Alaska Air managed well considering ice and snow had closed Atlanta and other airports, so everyone was scrambling to rebook. I still had a row to myself and slept the whole way home. My luggage was as happy because my TSA approved lock got caught in something, breaking off 2 zipper slides and totaling the suitcase. I have a claim in.