I can’t believe how fast summer flew by. It’s weird because while I was recovering from surgery, it felt like time was taking forever, but now in a blink it’s September! The garden is getting a little ragged now, but still lots going on.

Zinnias:

I’m going to try my hand at saving some zinnia seeds this year.

Another burst of blooms from Fair Bianca rose:

If we have some warm days this month and no early frost, there will probably be one more flush from this rose bush. I hope so!

It’s time to start moving things around in the garden beds. I removed the calycanthus bush that had died in the middle. It came in two pieces, so I put one out back. The second piece didn’t have much root, so I stuck it in the ground near the fence (kind of hidden from view) and see what happens. If I get a bush, great. If not – no loss since I have the other one.

Anyway, I replaced it with a Clethra:

I gave it lots of space to grow. It’s hard not to put things in that bare area, but this bush will have a 5 foot spread when fully grown.

I’ve replaced the tired petunias with mums in the big planters, obviously not open yet:

Plus the tippy pots:

And a few other mums are peeking out with flowers:

One sure sign fall is coming is the sedum changing color:

These will eventually turn a rusty red. The bees love this plant, too.

Cooler, but nice weather this weekend. I’m hoping to be able to bike to the lake. I’m getting distance down and working on doing hills. Putting the two together has been really hard. It’s taking forever to get my strength back. Probably just about the time to put the bikes away for the season is when I’ll be back in form 😀

We took a short day trip to see Howe Caverns this weekend. This was what John wanted to do for his birthday in early August, but that date was too early in my surgery recovery to go traipsing in a cave 😀

Howe Caverns is about 1.5 hours from us. You can’t explore on your own, but must go in groups. It’s really a good thing so you don’t get lost and to prevent people from ruining the caves, because you know they would.

The caves were discovered in the 1840s by Lester Howe, who explored and created a tour system for the caves.

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Stalactites from the ceiling:

This is Godzilla’s head:

His head is pointed to the left. You can see the mouth slit with a fang at the end and the eye up above.

The Pagoda:

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We took a short boat ride on the deep part of the water way. I didn’t take many pictures there because I was worried about hitting my head on a rock as they were really close to our heads!

The water over eons really creates neat patterns with the calcite.

This area is called the pipe organ:

This was the narrowest part called the Winding Way, which was the last part of the tour. You had to go single file. I took a bit of video going through it:

Very cool! I can’t imagine what it would be like to be lost in a cave. I’ll stick to tours, that’s for sure!

I’m late with the blooming post this week. Sorry about that! We have had some great weather this weekend. The nights are getting pretty cool, though. upper 40s to low 50s!

I’ve been biking for 4 days in a row. It’s going well. My abs ache, though. That is very strange because you usually don’t feel it like that. Slow and steady progress. That’s the goal.

I changed the tires on my bike. It’s been a few years and I got a flat prior to my surgery, so while i was recuperating, I ordered new tires. My old ones were past time to replace. Here is the difference in the tires:

The old tire looks smaller, but it’s just the new tire hasn’t been sitting in the rim for a couple of years yet. There are a few thousand miles on that tire. PSA – don’t let your tires get to this stage before replacing. 😀 I’m lucky I didn’t have a blow out.

Anyway, the garden is humming along. Not much new in terms of blooms, but lots of them!

This is Russian sage, fallen over, but pretty:

Petunias in a pot:

Butterfly weed:

There have been a good amount of butterflies visiting, monarch, black and yellow swallowtails and painted ladies.

Lots of bees, too. The Joe Pye weed is always full of them:

The big tree hydrangea is blooming now. It has drooped from the heavy blooms.

I cut this down to the trunk each spring and it grows this much in a season. The saucer under it has sandy soil in it for a dry bird bath. Now that most of my mulch is gone, they don’t use it as much.

Mandevilla vine getting taller:

And a bazillion coneflowers:

I started editing the garden beds this weekend. Plants will be coming out and I replaced a shrub in the front. Iris divisions come next, which I will be sharing with our new neighbors. It feels good to be able to really get in and dig around in the garden again. 😀

Six weeks postop and I had my final visit with the doctor. Everything is looking great and I was cleared for activity. Of course, to start slow and expect to be tired, but finally!

I do still have some incisional pain, which the doctor said could last up to 6 months and may never go away completely. It’s not when I press on it, just super sensitive if I brush it or wear pants with zippers still. When I herniated my disk years ago, I had nerve damage which resulted in slight numbness on the inside of my knee and into my calf. That still exists today, so I wouldn’t be surprised if my surgery incision ended up the same because it’s me. 😀

In retrospect, I was a little surprised at how long it took me to feel a lot better. Most people were saying a couple weeks and even my doctor said after 3 it would be better, but really it was a good month and even then there was a ways to go. In speaking with my doctor about it, she wasn’t all that surprised since I had an open surgery and the fact that what they took out was quite large. She kept saying “Your uterus was huge”. Go big or go home, right?

Now that all is said and done, I rode my bike for the first time and wow – what a difference! Instead of feeling my fibroids with every pedal stroke and the feeling of having to pee from the pressure – I felt…. nothing. The fibroids grew gradually, so I noticed my symptoms increase gradually, but now that they are suddenly gone, it is a huge difference.

Of course, I’m tired from riding because not only are my muscles deconditioned from not doing anything for 6 weeks, but my abs were cut open and there is that dimension of healing on top of it. I feel a little sore after the ride, but I figured that would be the case. I just need to take it slow and not do a lake ride for a bit. At least I will get to enjoy the wonderful fall weather on my bike – minus my fibroids 😀

I can’t believe another Friday rolled around before I posted again. I keep meaning to do more, but then it’s late and another day goes by. Oh well 😀

Today was fairly rainy with a couple periods of sun, so I ran out and got what photos I could.

The front bed. Getting a little tired now – and our lawn is a little dormant since we don’t water it.

I’m already making plans for moving plants around and adding new ones 😀

The tall lily keeps going. I planted a couple of other bulbs like it, but the have not reached the heights of this one yet.

Fair Bianca rose is blooming again:

Zinnias are popping out all over. Even though I’m disappointed in the yield from my seeds this year, I do like the colors.

Mini petunias:

Those are all dirty from the rain splashing soil onto them.

Black knight butterfly bush:

Baby Joe Pye Weed, which is not a baby at 6 feet tall again.

Complete with bee! There were a lot of bees on this plant today.

More petunias:

And here is a new plant. Not just new to me, but new to the plant world. Meet Echibeckia!

This is a cross between echinacea and rudbeckia. I had to have this plant. There are a couple kinds at the nursery and I might get the other one as well. These aren’t planted yet. I need to move a couple plants for these, but it’s a little early to be moving stuff around. Plus I still have my surgery restrictions until this Tuesday and digging would be out.

This should be my last no biking weekend as I should get my restrictions lifted next week. I hope so! But, that gives me one last weekend to garden up a storm 😀

The garden has been very happy this year. The weather has been pretty steady this summer and no really long dry spells. I’ve been spraying neem oil on my peonies every week or two and so far (fingers crossed) no signs of powdery mildew.

This week’s pictures will be mostly closeup blooms. Hibiscus pot:

The calycanthus shrub:

It looks like there was a stray hair or something on my phone lens. Sorry about that 🙂 Since this shrub died in the middle, I’m going to take it out, chop off a good part and put it in the back to see what happens. It will be replaced with a beautyberry, I think. Still mulling that over.

Tall heirloom lily:

This plant blooms for quite a while. Several weeks. It is tied to the pole to keep it upright.

Closeup!

My zinnia crop is kind of lame this year. I don’t think I got the right seed because this is not one I would have chosen on purpose:

This one I like, which is called Cupcake:

It’s on the shorter side. Again, not a lot of these actually grew.

Yarrow:

The yarrow definitely need a cage support for next year. These are in the bird feeder bed and the squirrels run amok through it, which knocks them over.

Lantana:

I don’t usually have much luck with lantana as an annual, so it’s nice to see this one doing something 😀

Potted geranium:

Geraniums are so easy to grow and they flower all season, so I always get some.

More gladiolus:

These are blooming later than the others, probably because the bed gets sun later in the day. So pretty.

The shade bed is looking nice and full this year, thanks to my plethora of violets and my giant hosta:

I am now really feeling the itch to get in and start moving things around in the garden. I am feeling pretty much back to normal now and ready to go! I have a garden notebook and this weekend I will be taking notes for what I want to do with different areas. Then popping over to the nurseries to see what’s on sale!

I’m now a month postop and doing well. I’m mostly pain free unless I overdo it, which is easier to do than I would expect and always involves walking too far/too long. You would think I would learn, right? Nope. My incision area is still hypersensitive, but not quite as much before. That is the thing that bothers me the most and certain clothing can irritate it, like zippered shorts/pants.

I’m now walking 2 miles in a day with no issues. John says I get a little slower as the walk goes on, but I just make sure I slow down if I feel any hint of pulling inside. I’ve got 2 more weeks of restrictions and should be cleared by my doctor for normal stuff at my next appointment. I have to be careful mostly with the 10 pound lifting restriction. Things you don’t think about like picking up the box of cat litter or getting a package delivery and it’s 15 pounds. Or even full grocery bags.

On my last riding day before surgery, I got a flat tire. In checking the actual tire (not the tube), it is worn out. After several thousand miles, it’s time for replacement. So, new shoes arrived for my bike to get ready for riding again:

On my first full walk to downtown and back, John and I went to the vegan festival. It was his birthday and instead of the caverns trip we were going to do (pre surgery scheduling), we did this. The trip to the caverns will happen at the end of the month, btw. We aren’t vegan, but good food is good food, right?

I had some spicy peanut noodles:

Yum! John had a chana masala bread bowl with vegan bread:

There was a fun glamping tent set up there as well. This was one of the ones that holds a bunch of people, but they have different sizes.

I guess it comes set up like this so you just show up. That bed was quite comfy, too. Not like camping when I was younger where you had to set up your own tent and just tried to find a spot with no rocks under your sleeping bag LOL!

I baked John’s birthday cake – a request of the best chocolate cake ever.

I changed it up a little by splitting the layers into four and spreading a little orange marmalade in between each layer. It truly is a delicious cake!

I’m so proud at how even I got the layers LOL.

Lots of lovely blooms in the garden. I do have to say that my gardens have never been so weed free. When you can’t do other things, that leaves more time to weed 😀 Who knew?

Time for zinnias to start to open. I think this one is called cupcake?

I am actually not terribly impressed with my zinnia selection this year. A whole lot of them never even sprouted. Boo. Or maybe something ate the seeds.

A new bird bath that arrived this week. Ordered on sale and with a $10 coupon and it was $16 including shipping.

Excuse my bug eaten rose bush. I’m not sure what is doing that because I haven’t found the culprits yet. I started spraying these with some neem oil.

Hibiscus. I’m going to bring this pot indoors again and see if I can get it to go another winter inside.

My hydrangea (Strawberry Sundae) with Black-eyed Susan.

This was kind of an accidental combo, but it really goes well together.

My reblooming lilac has rebloomed!

It’s a little weird smelling lilac in August, but it’s fun. The blooms on this bush are much smaller than a regular lilac. Maybe that is why it reblooms if it isn’t putting all its energy into gigantic flowers.

Sale Mandevilla plant. I love shopping the clearance sections because many times those flowers are there because the blooms are gone, even though the plant is fine.

I know they will bloom again give some time, so bargain for me!

This plant climbs up a shepherd’s hook, from which I have hung my new spinner:

I got this on Amazon (my link). I looked in Handmade first, but couldn’t find one that fit my style. Since my activity is limited, not only is my garden weed free, but I go online shopping. 😀

Here is a closeup of those coneflowers:

I’ve been seeing a lot of monarchs and swallowtails lately. There are plenty of flowers for them to feast on.

This must be an old butterfly judging by the shape it’s in.

Lots of birds and their babies, too. Here is a downy woodpecker. I think this is a juvie, but not totally sure.

I got some seed cylinder stackers and the birds really love them.

Looks to be a nice weather weekend. John’s birthday is Sunday, so I know my plans include baking a chocolate cake for him 😀

Three weeks out and I’m halfway through my recovery period now. It seems like since Sunday I turned a corner as far as progress goes. My insides don’t really hurt anymore unless I overdo it, which is quite a relief. Sneezing, coughing and laughing don’t hurt. My incision still feels painful and hypersensitive, which is annoying. My doc says that is likely to persist for a while, boo.

I’m walking some for exercise. I’ve gotten up to a little over a mile. I put on Strava to record my walk yesterday and see how fast I am. 2.5 miles per hour, which is about twice as fast as last week LOL! It’s pretty tiring walking. It still is weird how easily I get tired. My body tells me when I push too much because my insides will start to ache and I need to stop. And I’m listening to it – go me!

Now that things are getting better, I need to check my eating a bit. I wasn’t being careful at all the last few weeks since I was healing – and feeling a little sorry for myself, to be honest. I haven’t gained any weight, which I attribute to my body using everything up to heal, but now getting back to balanced eating is probably a good idea instead of whatever comes across my path.

I don’t have any desire to bike. That’s a good thing because I can’t for a while yet. I feel a little bad when John goes out for a ride and I wish I was going with him, but I don’t really want to – if that makes sense. 😀

I’ve been working a lot. It’s approaching the busy season and I’m stocking up my jewelry inventory. Lucky for me that I can rest when I need or move to different positions – or even go take a nap when I want. I’m pretty fortunate in that regard.

And where did July go anyway? I can’t believe it’s August already!

I spent a good chunk of the morning doing weeding that has been neglected because of surgery. It feels good to neaten all that up.

I have a couple of new flowers. In the spring I purchased some BOGO bags of mixed gladiolus bulbs on a whim because – sale ?.

They came up and actually bloomed!

I’ve never had these before and now I want more.

They are tall and floppy, so I brought in the broken stems to put in a vase and they are so pretty! I’ve read mixed results on the hardiness of these in our area, so we’ll have to wait and see if they overwinter.

My oldest flower, which has to be around 15 years old. I’ve lost track.

The back corner garden:

My Baby Joe Pye Weed, which I had planned to shear down in early summer, but lost my nerve ?

Those are my neighbor’s coneflowers, btw.

Since the fence came down, coneflower babies have come into my garden, which I left alone:

I might remove these since I have other plants in this area that need room, like roses and peonies.

Pretty impatiens:

I had planted the same type spilling out of a bucket. This is maybe 6 feet from the above flowers:

They disappeared! So strange. Good need is there is a $2 annual sale at the garden center this weekend so I can fill that in.

Hydrangea and black-eyed Susan combo:

My transplanted bee balm in the front garden

Pollinator on the coneflowers:

Our nice refreshing weather is taking leave now and it’s going to be hot and humid again. The garden doesn’t seem to mind much as long as it gets water (thank you, John!)

Have a great weekend!