“Candy Apples”

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Candy Apples, 2009 oil on canvas by Margaret Morrison.

Is there anything more Texan than the Rodeo?

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The lassos were spinning,

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as were some other people.

Some even braver souls had the nerve to be flung around and upside-down by this monster:

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But I was not one of them.  Oh no, in fact I got vertigo just observing this rotating monstrosity of a ride and judging from some rather unpleasant “unmentionables” deposited around a nearby seat that I was staggering toward, so had some of this rides earlier occupants.

Brrr, but enough of that.

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That’s more like it.

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I could use these.

I have not had a candy apple (or toffee apple if you are in the UK) for years and I thought it time that my kids try them…(not one of my better decisions).

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“Don’t get the truck sticky…Don’t put that wrapper on the seat…DON’T GET THE TRUCK STic…

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“Aw come on!”

Flypaper

By the time we arrived home the seat belts were like fly-paper.

Back in the Patch:

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After the rodeo, Gypsy Rose had apparently got a new head for heights…

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“Get down from there and come smell the roses.”

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This one was given to me by Loree over there at:  http://dangergarden.blogspot.com/

I have no idea what variety it is…Loree? Anyone?

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 The petite Ipheion, ‘Rolf Fiedler’ is always a sure sign of spring.

Tristagma peregrinans

 

 

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It may be short but it sure packs a cool aesthetic with its overlapping perianth segments…snort, adjusts taped-up glasses.

A great companion for early yellow Daffodils, it has been a dependable bulb in my garden for years now…I need more, lots more.

Yeti and 4 nerve daisy

Remember the yeti paw?

Well surprisingly (and considering our recent 90 degree temperatures) it turned out not to be a yeti at all but

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an emerging four-nerve daisy, imagine that.

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The first poppies are blooming in my hell-strip.

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Bamboo Muhly grasses catching some afternoon sun. The background opuntia tree is also ready for some paddle-pruning to further promote vertical growth. It always wants to grow sideways and not up, but I don’t let it.

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These grasses were getting a little long in the tooth so I cut them back to the ground after taking this image.

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This Pyracantha ranks up there with mist flowers as an insect attractant when in bloom.

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These eight-spotted forester moths

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are particularly fond of this plant. I counted six milling moths on it the other day.

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Damianita have also been pulling in these colorful and aptly named Bordered Patch butterflies, sometimes called the Sunflower Patch.

Chlosyne lacinia

 

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Stay Tuned for:

“The Small Patch of Land that Time Forgot”

 

the land that time forgot

All material © 2013 for eastsidepatch. Unauthorized
intergalactic reproduction strictly prohibited, and
punishable by late (and extremely unpleasant)
14th century planet Earth techniques.

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Meet the Author

A Central Texas Garden Blog. Zone: 8b. Welcome to the East Side Patch. This site tracks the inhabitants of a house and garden on the east side of Austin. All material © 2021 for eastsidepatch. Unauthorized intergalactic reproduction strictly prohibited, and punishable by late (and extremely unpleasant) 14th century planet Earth techniques.

Comments on this entry are closed.

  • Gail Mar 21, 2013, 8:06 pm

    Cute Gypsy Rose must be happy to have a real rose (flower) in the patch. Love the pictures of the kids.

  • ESP Mar 21, 2013, 9:51 pm

    Hi Gail.
    Her expression is funny.
    Now if her fortune telling skills could only locate the money she mislaid we would all be laughing all the way to D&B.

  • Desert Dweller/David C. Mar 22, 2013, 5:15 pm

    Nice mega-post of mega spring, the shot of the young patchmeisters in front of that drop ride (power?) is so vintage. But I never though of that daisy’s buds looking like a yeti paw…like you, no yetis nearby to confirm, though…..

    Hi David. That ride was insane, it didn’t drop you but rather flung you around in a circular motion at a rather alarming speed. The daisy looks exactly like a yeti paw, a five inch high one that is. Writing this post I began to get confused between the Yeti, Abominable Snowman, Bigfoot and the Sasquatch!

  • Bob Pool Mar 23, 2013, 10:32 pm

    You must be about the best Dad in the world.

    Every time I see that Vitex in your front yard, I think of some poor tree growing in a wind swept and rocky mountain range or beach. The poor thing is just so twisted.

    You haven’t seen me on a bad day :-)
    The tree in this post was actually a desert willow, though I agree my vitex (in the background) also ranks up there on the twisted scale. They both have that wild, wind-blasted – Gothic look to them.

  • Casa Mariposa Mar 24, 2013, 4:39 pm

    You gave your kids candy apples? You are a brave, brave man! LOVE the metal arch – ultra cool!

  • ESP Mar 25, 2013, 4:33 pm

    I did indeed and the seat belts still adhere to me every time I go near them. A welder and friend of mine made the gate, I like the ground to ground arch look…very:

  • Charlie@Seattle Trekker Mar 25, 2013, 10:25 pm

    I absolutely love your flower photos…Thank you for sharing.

  • ESP Mar 26, 2013, 6:33 pm

    Thanks Charlie.