A Late Mish Mash Monday!

It has been a busy couple of weeks here at Dragonfly Corner-as evidenced by my lack of posting! Hopefully things are slowing down some and I can get back to the important business of reading garden blogs. :)

My Dad had a kidney removed last week. He had a large cancerous tumor on it that had started to spread into the renal artery. The Doctors at the Veteran's Hospital in Indianapolis are confident that they got it all and that he will make a complete recovery. I can't say enough good things about the staff there. They were all extremely helpful, very dedicated and kind, caring people.

He is at home now recuperating with the help of an old friend. At the age of almost 85, he is doing remarkably well. I think his recovery has to do with his determination to not let this get him down and the fact that he is extremely stubborn. Way to go Dad!

Summer is coming to an end-the grandgirls all go back to school this week. The angle of the sun has changed and casts a different light, the days are getting shorter and the sun is just starting to rise as I leave for work. Sigh..... But this field of sunflowers close to work starts my day with a smile.

A new color of seashell cosmos is making me smile also. :)

This is the bud of my newest delight. I do not remember planting this -I have 2 plants in fact. I have no tags for them-they just appeared! Thanks be to the Gardening Gods. I am in love with ....

....Datura! Pardon the hand, but I wanted you to see just how big these blooms are. They only bloom at night and last just a short while after daybreak. So to see them, I resort to taking a flashlight out into the gardens at night. Or check them out as I am leaving for work.

Raindrops glisten like diamonds on their snow white blooms.

If you want a glorious-exotic-easy to grow plant, this is it. I am in LOVE!

The raindrops on these caladiums caught my attention as well as...

on the nasturtiums.

I seem to have a lot of blue in the gardens now. I didn't plan it this way(maybe I should say I did!), but the of sight blues in the garden provides a cooling effect in the hot days of August. This morning glory was supposed to have been Heavenly Blue-one I started from seed this spring. Oh well, a few surprises make life interesting. It does look good on the new arch we put in just off the patio.

This annual, salvia Victoria Blue, has been an outstanding addition to my garden. I have it planted in several places and in several containers. I will use this again next year and will not go back to the perennial salvia This never needs deadheading and seems to do well no matter where it is planted.

Bachelor Button is blooming again after a short rest. This was a pass along plant last year and has more than doubled in size this year. Another easy to grow addition to the garden.

The color seems to fade a bit in this photo of one of my containers, but I can assure you it is glorious in person. I call this my 'blue' pot and it has Victoria Blue salvia, Beth's Blue laurentia, and a 'blue' petunia from Walmart. Hey, I liked the color. :)


And now.... dragonflies seen at the small pond where I work. I often use my lunch hour to walk around with my camera. Yes, my co-workers think I'm a little odd. :)

Aren't they beautiful!?

Remember I said summer was coming to an end??? I know because a mum has started blooming in the garden.

Have a great gardening week and enjoy the last few days of summer!

Fall Has Arrived!

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A quick update.

I wanted to thank everyone who has wished me well. Your kindness and concern have meant so much to me.

Went back to the Dr. today and the blood work came back fine. No report yet on the biopsies but he is pretty sure they will be okay too. Right now it looks as though it is an allergic reaction to my fibromyalgia medicine Lyrica. Even though I have been on this for 9 months, he says it could be that I have built up a sensitivity to it. I am on Prednisone(steroid pills) and an antihistamine for the next few weeks. While I am devastated at having to go off my MIRACLE drug, I can't go on like this. So for now, I am taking it one day at a time.

Thank you all again, dear friends!



Fall has definitely come to Central Illinois. There are wonderful displays of pumpkins and gourds for sale.

The corn fields are standing dry and brown waiting for the picker to gather their bounty.

The rustling of corn stalks and leaves can be heard in even the gentlest of breezes.

Mums in glorious rich autumnal colors grace the fronts of many garden centers and grocery stores.

Spring and summer plants have been drastically reduced in price so they don't have to be over-wintered in the garden centers. I found this wonderful Boston Fern on sale for $5.00 and decided I could keep it over the winter in the front living room with the skylight.

Most of my flowers are winding down and going to seed. But I did find a surprise bloomer. This is the azalea that our daughter brought us as an Easter gift. I planted it in a small area between the house and the sidewalk and it is blooming again. Now this may be a natural occurrence, but I have never seen a fall blooming azalea.

These are either 'clouded sulphur' clear yellow or 'alfalfa' butterflies. Both are found in open areas along roadsides and in fields. (Identified using my new butterfly book given to me by Rose)

They are feasting on the wildflower, 'heath aster' Aster Ericoides.

I didn't seem to bother them much as they went about the business of sipping nectar.

Yes, it's another picture of 'heavenly blue'! Still growing, still blooming and now taking over the verbena and wave petunias in my barrel planter.

I have debated with myself for days now whether to tell you or not. Finally, I have decided to share this with you. Several weeks ago, I started getting a rash. Very small at first, it was on my upper body. Just a couple of spots no more than an inch in diameter. When it started to spread and itch like crazy, I went to the Dr. He thought itwas Pityriasis Rosea. Something one can get that is not contagious and does no real harm other than being uncomfortable. He recommended using Selsin Blue as a body wash for a while. Two weeks later, I went back and because it was worse and spreading rapidly, the Dr. had me see a dermatologist. He too thought it was the Pityriasis and prescribed a steroid cream. To make this story move along-3 visits later and having the rash from my hair to my toes front and back, he was stumped and decided to do a couple of biopsies and blood work. I am now waiting for the results and should hear today or tomorrow. My face looks like I have been sunburned with big patches of red scaly peeling skin, the rest of my body looks pretty much the same and there are still spots coming out.

While, I am sure this is not life-threatening, it makes a vain person like me cringe to be seen in public. I even hate to have my family see me like this. I know I am whining here and that there are people out there who have real problems, but I needed to vent a little. So bear with me as I scratch and try to hide my face. I am sure the Dr. will be able to help and one day soon, I will be back to normal. Well, normal for me anyway!

Hope you all have a great gardening week!

Fall Is In The Air!

This will be a note sort of post-not a lot new here at Dragonfly Corner. But I am getting tired of looking at my last post, so I am sure you are! I have worked some extra days this week, had a couple of doctor appointments, (more on that another time) and have been trying to get a little fall cleaning done. In other words, time has been in short supply for enjoying the garden, taking pictures or writing posts. I did want to share a few things with you and writing gives me a good excuse to sit for a while. I did manage to finally put a picture in my header. Wendy suggested I use the moonflower-aka 'heavenly blue' morning glory. It is still blooming and I see no end to the buds.

Fall is here. Or at least these butterscotch mums think so. The temperature dropped to 48 degrees last night so it is on it's way. This is one of my favorite colors for this time of year. Makes you think of football and pumpkins doesn't it?

There are very few cone flowers left. This one is still attracting moths and butterflies. I'm not sure, and this is not a great picture, but I think this is called a wolf moth. Most have gone to seed like the one on the right. I had thought about cutting the heads off to save the seed and cleaning up some of the stalks, but one of the bloggers(can't remember who-sorry) has suggested leaving them for the finches and other birds to enjoy. Sounds like a great idea to me!

The 'teddy bear' sunflowers, courtesy of Cheryl, are still blooming. These have been a delightful flower. They have bloomed all summer long, the blooms last for weeks at a time and the butterflies and bees have loved them. I am going to save some of these seeds for myself.

Speaking of butterflies-the zinnias are still blooming and attracting more than their share of butterflies. The 'painted ladies' have been thicker in the gardens this year than I can ever remember. It could be because of the zinnias. I have really enjoyed them this year and plan on planting more next year. Maybe I will even use some for cut flowers. This year, I couldn't bring myself to cut any of them.

I was a little disappointed at this picture. The caladium leaves are a much deeper red than shows. I have the container sitting in front of the morning glory and the contrast is striking. In the past, I have neglected to dig my bulbs up for the winter thinking it was just as easy to buy new the next spring. This year, I plan on at least trying to save them. (and still buying more next year!)

You may have seen a spider like this on Gail's blog a while back. It's a Argiope aurantia-female. In the comments, several different names were mentioned. It seems this species covers a wide area and there were lots of local names for it. My grandmother always called it and 'educated' spider I think because of the z's it makes in the middle of it's web. What ever you call it, I call it yucky! There are several of them around the house and in the gardens. Now, having been converted by some of you bloggers, I let them stay and do their thing as long as they do it outside. Now if they try to come into the house....

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Fall will be a busy time for all. The gardener has much to do to get the garden ready for it's long winters nap. Have I started yet-no. Have you?

Enjoy your gardens!