This year I'm going to grow more flowers than I usually do. I've been trying to find something within my scope of living that I could do for people who I know are in the hospital, nursing home or who are just lonely. In the Winter I bake bread but in the summer there's not a whole lot that I can think of to do. I don't have a lot of time and I'm truly, though I know it's hard to believe, not a big talker so just sitting and visiting is really tough on me. I thought if I could grow flowers then perhaps I could take a small arrangement to those I know who need a little lift. I don't know, maybe it's futile on my part but I don't have any family around me and I sometimes wonder who there will be to make me smile one day. Whether or not there is anyone - I still feel like if that's what I'm thinking about - I should be giving that little bit of grace to someone else who needs it while I can. Anyway, that's what I'm attempting to do. I may fail miserably but I'm going to try.
I'm buying larkspur seed which is actually considered an herb, believe it or not, and calendula is an herb that makes a very pretty flower. I also have a few packets of poppies which are herbs and will be beautiful in the garden but not-so-much in a flower arrangement. I'm buying some State Fair Zinnias, Coxcomb, Coleus, and Bells of Ireland, which I adore. Of course, I always purchase marigolds and bachelor buttons but the bachelor buttons won't be too good in an arrangement. I just like them. If any of you have any suggestions on cut flowers that are easy to grow let me know.
As a side note - yesterday morning when I was driving to work this bird flew from one side of the road to the other and swooped right in front of me. It looked like it might have been coming from the red barn on my left and it landed in the trees on my right. It was large but not mega huge and was a darker colored bird. I thought it was a hawk because its wings were kind of sharp pointed at the end but when it turned its head you could see that it was an owl. I'm assuming it was a Barred Owl from its face but before it settled I thought I saw ears and then they sort of laid back, but I was driving (and not paying a great deal of attention to the road, I might add) and had to get my focus back on driving. It's ears weren't close together, that much I remember . . . but I've been looking in my bird book just crazy trying to figure out what kind of an owl it was. I surely do hope I see it again. I will pay closer attention the next time and now have a better idea what to look for. Maybe it was an Eastern Screech-Owl. It kind of looked like the picture of the Gray adult, but maybe a Great Horned Owl. Yikes!! This is way out of my area of expertise!!!