"Work life balance?" Opinions. Bike to work again. More.

 

Now and then I think about the concept of "Work / Life Balance". There must be a more accurate term. I expect for work to be hard. I expect for the hours to be long. But what I still haven't learned is how to draw the line. NOt only that, but instead of getting easier, it's getting harder.

OK, enough whining. Resolution: back into the bike-to-work mode. Last week I biked one day. This week, maybe back to 3 days. It is harder this year - hours are longer, more has to be done in those hours, I'm tireder and more stressed. Be that as it may, there will be days when I bike. Not every day (those cursed days when there are meetings on the other side of town), but when I can.

Today I tuned up both bikes, cleaned the chains, replaced a flat tire's inner tube. Lunch in the fridge - check. "Homework" packed to take back to work - check. Clothes laid out - check. Thermos by the coffee pot - check. Light charged - check.

Summer Ornamentals.

Ning's lilies, with lavender in the foreground, and a lupine in the background.Triteleia "Queen fabiola". These grow from little bulbs. Last year I thought that the grass-like leaves were weeds and cut them all off. They bloomed anyway. This year I was more careful.
Farfugium japonicum "Crested Leopard". What a great name - "farfugium". I'd want it even if the plant wasnt very cool. It likes the northern exposure. slugs love it too, but the "garden safe" slug bait (ferrous phosphate) is a nice organic way to handle the little pests.

State of the kitchen garden.

Aprium - sweeter and more 'apricoty' than a 'normal' apricot. Just now ripening. This is the first crop ever from this tree.
"Puget gold" apriocot - this tree was about 12 feet tall, full and luck, then the entire top died last summer. Never had a fruit. This shot started from what APPEARS to be above the graft. It's now about 5 feet tall. I pinched the top to make it branch. Will it grow big and luch gain, the die off again?
"Hardy Chicago" fig. Now at the "embryo" phase.
Tomatoes. All are in bloom. I've been pinching off side branches.

cacti

The new growth on the opuntias is a bit strange. Maybe they'll look better by the end of summer.

Roses in bloom

Backyard rose bed. The pink one is Gene Boerner.

Below, Fair Bianca

Below that, an unknown fragrant purple floribunda-type rose. This was an abandoned rose growing against a telephone pole on a Portland street. The last time that I was there, it was gone.
Unknown, rustled from a bouquet at work, yellow hybrid tea.

Overwintered geraniums.

They took a while to fill in, but her eis the overwintered geranium pot. They turned out very nice. The small green-leaf is 'pine scented' and it is very strongly scented. The little white blossoms in the 'Vancouver Centennial' geranium are sweet allysum that self seeded in the container.

Tomatos, first blossoms.

This one is lemon boy. They were all 'just sitting there' and suddenly they are blooming.

Brugmansia First blossoms this year.

The first brugmansia flowers of the year. Today is a day of firsts.

Opuntia buds

I'm excited. This opuntia has been growing here for 5 years. These are the first flower buds.

Organic Roses

"Billy Graham" hybrid tea, fragrant.
"Playboy" not fragrant but quite vigorous, own root.
"Scentimental" very fragrant
Unknown red Hybrid Tea, very fragrant.

This is the best year so far. They have only been "fed" with a mulch of leaf compost. I pruned them back to about 18 inches this spring. They were sprayed wtih neem oil about once weekly for the past couple of months. Currently it's cool and rainy - I hope they dont wind up covered wtih black spot before friday when I can spray them again.

Nings Pond