Of the Poison Garden of Alnwick Castle~~~~~

Hello Darklings,

I love gardening idea's, especially for Gothic Gardening with dark flowers accented by pure white flowers or those plantings that look like bizarre growths, and decorating it with unusual garden decorations, but if there is one thing I'm very careful about is plants that are extremely dangerous to human life.

However there is one garden in England that does take that chance and I've copied an article for your reading pleasure and information about "The Poison Garden Of Alnwick Castle".

Read on my Darklings~~~~

The Poison Garden of Alnwick Castle

 By Stacy Conradt

You can’t say the people behind the Poison Garden didn’t warn you. The only way into the noxious nursery is through gates emblazoned with skulls, crossbones, and a warning: “These plants can kill.”

It’s just a small portion of the 42-acre gardens at Alnwick Castle in Alnwick, Northumberland, England—but it packs a big punch. From ricin and strychnine to coca (used to make cocaine), the Poison Garden is full of things people shouldn’t even smell, let alone touch or eat. And they’re deadly serious about the warnings: Guests have fainted from inhaling fumes as they merely walked through the garden. Many of the plants, such as the ricin, are grown in cages, to keep curious guests from getting too close. Most of the flora grown inside the gates required special government permission to grow.

The Poison Garden is the brainchild of Jane Percy, the Duchess of Northumberland, whose husband encouraged her to renovate the gardens when they moved into the castle in 1996. (We assume he was probably a little surprised when his wife began enthusiastically planting poison hemlock and belladonna.) She was inspired, in part, by the Medici poison garden in Padua, Italy.

One of Percy’s goals is to educate kids about botany and science in a way that actually interests them. "Children don't care how a plant cures," she has said. "They think that's boring. They want to know how it kills—and how agonizing the death is! ... More seriously, it is a place for visitors to learn about the dangerous side of plants. Drugs are a major concern across the country and an emotive issue. Here we offer a new avenue to get people talking about the misuse of drugs—most of which grow in nature."

If the crazy plants at Alnwick Castle seem like something straight out of Harry Potter, well, you’re not the only one who thinks so. Alnwick has been used for both interior and exterior shots of Hogwarts in the Harry Potter movies. But even Professor Snape would hesitate before making any potions with plants picked from this garden.

~~~~~~~

Well My Darklings you have been warned even Agatha Christie knew her poisons and used them in her novels such as "Sparkling Cyanide" .  But to thing that Alnwick has been used in the Harry Potter films as  a location is very interesting.   

I hope to find other interesting tid-bits for your Gothicly Bizarre information.

Later Darklings  

Of Gardening ideas~~~~~

Hello Darklings!

Just a few Gardening ideas that you can do during the winter months,  The top picture is from the poison Garden in England, it is so dangerous that they have to keep it locked, and only a limited number of tours of it.

I'll try to find out more about it.  I'm not sure how they did the cement skulls, possibly a reusable mold like latex or something but it would make a wonderful border, don't you think Darklings?

Later!

Of "A Texas Chain Saw Massacare"~~~~

Alright Darklings,

I know----what do I mean by that....Well Doyle, Sis and I had been watching the news earlier this week and there was one story about trees that appear healthy but suddenly falling over or losing huge limbs without warning.

Part of it appears to be "stress" caused to the trees because of lack of water, part of it is because of soil conditions and the ground can no longer hold the tree, I could understand it if a tree gets too much water that can cause rot to form, and considering that last year with a lot of rain and then heavy windy conditions one of the largest trees near Lake Merritt fell over like a huge dinosaur, I can understand that.

I can also understand if there is too little rain trees either dropping limbs and in essence pruning itself because of lack of water.   And if the soil becomes too dry and roots die off for a whole tree to fall over, but we seem to be, according to the news broadcast losing a lot of trees espeically in the city.

Well that did set me to thinking,  I do have some trees in the back garden area that need to be trimmed and before they start leafing out too much, so I talked to my gardener and he agreed that it would be good to trim back unruly branches and shape the canopy a bit on them, do it right and the trimming could last for several years.

So I planned on having him over on Saturday, ........  well things took a sudden turn.

I have on one side of my property my Sisters house and she does not have any trees on her property, but on the other side is my neighbor who has a wonderful old Oak Tree, and I had been looking at that tree and thinking it might be a wise idea to talk to my neighbor who is elderly and baby sits Belladonna and Weiner Dog, for us to see about making arrangements to trim her Oak tree and I would pay for it, I knew she had limited income.

The other evening that was taken out of my hands when both Doyle and I woke up to the sound of a loud crack---crash!!!  Doyle got up grabbed his robe and flashlight and went out into the back yard where we heard the sounds----I quickly followed but made sure the dogs stayed put, Sis joined me as she decided to spend the night at my place since her bedroom was being painted at her place.

And what did our eyes see????  A huge branch of the old Oak Tree had come crashing down into the garden breaking the fence and crushing the plants----Oh dear!  Thought I,  We do have a problem, our neighbor came out on to her back porch and started crying out "My God!!!"  Well that did cause another neighbor to call 911 thinking that she was hurt.

So admist the flurry of police officers, a fire truck, ourselves calming our neighbor down and other neighbors coming over to see what was the excitment, and poor Brian holding the fort with the dogs, we were able to ascertain that no one was hurt, a fence was seriously broken, an Old Oak Tree had shedded one of it's large branches, some rose bushes were pruned in an extreme way and smaller plants crushed.  

I was very glad that one of the police officers was my "cute" friend, he was one of the first on scene and pretty much took charge until his sargent showed up and saw that things were under control.

The EMT's checked our elderly neighbors blood pressure and although elevated, not dangerously so, the police put up caution tape, and I persuaded our neighbor to come and stay the night at my house so she wouldn't feel frightened and alone and assured her that things will look much better in the morning.  The EMT's took her blood pressure again and it had come down to a more resonable level and she declined going to the ER. 

I said that if she didn't feel any better in the morning we would take her to the ER.   Morning had dawned and all of us with coffee cups in hand went to look at the damaged and although there was damaged, it was not insurmountable.  My gardener showed up ready to trim trees and instead found a fallen giant of a tree limb, his first remark to me was "I'm gonna need a bigger truck".  For some reason that scene in "Jaws" flashed through my mind of that sheriff saying to the 2 sailors "We're gonna need a bigger boat"  and I started laughing. 

So sitting in the patio drinking coffee, we formed a plan of action, my Gardner called his son who brought the bigger truck, and said that once the tree limb was removed could acertain what damage was done to the plants underneath,  I thought to myself "well this is the right time to buy new rose bushes", but my poor neighbor said that she didn't have the funds to cover any repairs or replacements, and I knew her financial situation pretty well, she received enough to cover general maintance and if she was pro-active could take care of things in advance  without it being too much and on any long term projects could save up for it, but this was not planned and it was a question of the health of the tree, was it rotted?  Would it have to be completely removed?  This she didn't have the funds for, and of course the fence.

So I decided to deal with it, and assured her to not worry about the fence, I would pay for replacing the broken section and see about the limb removal and my Gardener knew of a arborist who could check on the tree, I said I'd pay for it and if it needed removal I would attend to it.  After all she does baby sit our dogs even on a moment's notice.  And has been helpful in many other ways.

Once we were sure that my neighbor's health was in good shape, and with cotton balls for ear plugs for us and Doyle taking the dogs to the doggie day care so the sound of chain saws would not frighten them, the chain saws began their massacare on the Oak tree limb being careful in regards to the plants underneath.

Those saws chewed and chewed and even found a couple of spikes that the Oak tree had grown around, the good thing is that the saws were not damaged,  I was watching how they were working on it, for some reason why is it that things like chain saws, jack hammer and big heavy duty trucks see to attract little boys, the reason why I say this is that some of my neighbors came by with their little sons who wanted to see the chain saws do "their thing"and they watched from my porch "the show". 

I did have to turn on "Kitty Kat" incase one of the little darlings wandered away and one did and came running back talking frantically about the BIG KITTY that scared him, of course I showed his mother what he was talking about, she liked the idea and wondered if there was away to do something like that when those door-to-door solisitors showed up.  I thought that might be a good idea, that or a "fog horn" for  a door bell. 

Sis could not stay around for the show and Brian had to go to the City, so with Doyle recruited to watch the children on the porch, I took the mother's on an improtu tour of my home, one of the mother's remarked about how I decorate the house for Halloween and I smiled at her and said "It's always Halloween in my home".   I finished the tour in the formal parlour where the portrait of my Great Aunt looked down upon them, one of the ladies remembered her but only as an old lady I was asked if I had plans for the house after I died, I said I was thinking of a few things but that I didn't plan on dying any time soon.   

Then the show was over, the mother's gathered up their little ones who wanted to play in the garden but the mother's wisely thought that was going a little too far on imposing on me.

After the bits and pieces of the limbs and broken fence were removed, I could look at what was left of the carnage,  3 rose bushes would have to be replaced, but I thought to move the seriously damged ones over to the cemetery and plant them there if they revived, they revived, if they didn't well compost is always good.

Much of the smaller plants were crushed, so once the fence is replaced I'll get some annuals to fill in the spaces so there'd be some dark color, my neighbor was so sorry about it but I told her it was only Mother Nature doing what she does best---wreaking havoc where ever she goes. 

I put in a call to my contractor and he'll come by on Tuesday afternoon, my gardener will come by on monday to do what was orginally planned,  I think we'll have to wait until the following week to do any fence replacement, so that means the dynamic duo will have to do their 1's and 2's in the patio section of the yard.

And I invited my neighbor over for dinner that evening, I told her to not worry about cooking we'll have dinner, a little wine, a little laughter over what happened and all will be well, and it was.

Now if I can get the sound of chain saws out of my ears and mind.

Later Darklings

Of dogs, gardens, unions and moving~~~~~

Good Morning Darklings,

A chilly nippy morning it is, even though the sun has come out to dry off the very wet dew.  Both Wiener Dog and Belladonna are wearing sweaters,  yes Sis has bought for Wiener a complement of sweaters, coats, rain coats and a t-shirt for the little guy.  No one has claimed him or asked for him, we've checked back with the Cemetery office, various shelters, the Vet and nothing. 

Sis took Wiener in for anothe check up and he's fit as a fiddle and he's about 6 months old, no microchip either, so Sis went the whole route, microchipping, other shots, nails trimmed, bought the right stuff for flea treatment, but he's fine right now, more food, and his own toys but he seems to like his blue wiener dog toy, he even takes it away from Belladonna if she should get too close,  I've seen them sleep together under the throw blanket.

With two dogs in the house we've had to purchase throws for the chairs and couches, then they can be whisked off for guests and parties.  But it will help preserve the fabric,  I was concerned about Wiener's chewing habits but he seems to be very good about that,  and with Belladonna's encouragment, he understands the signals to go out and do his duty.

My Gardener has finished re-enforceing the fence and it would be very hard for him to dig out and it prevents any run off of soil.  My contractor has put in the cement paths where the garden gates would be but has suggested that since my garden is so deep and the dogs are so small to install fencing with gates to separate the garden into sections, this way I can keep the dogs in my sight and prevent them from getting into an area where I can't see them.  His suggestion makes sense, currently Doyle has set up moveable metal fencing around the area that I refer to as a patio and it's very easy for anyone to clean up, so I think I'll select some period looking fencing with a gate and I think an archway to separate it from the rest of the garden.  I could even plant a climbing rose bush like "Cicel Brunner" to cover it.

And it's strange the other night when I mentioned it to Sis she became excited and showed me a photograph taken many years ago of the back of the house and it shows a wooden fence and a wooden covered gateway between the main garden and the patio area  from the 1920's, some how over the years it must have deteriorated and was removed, but this time it will be metal.  I showed this to Doyle and he said that we should check out Urban Ore and Omega Salvage, we could find what we're looking for there. 

More planning, more design.

Last night on the news we heard that the BART Strike problem is not over, although the BART trains are running, it seems that there is a problem in one of the area's of negotiations and management may want to go back to the bargaining table, the union has said if they do, they will strike.   Oh Wonderful!!!  Right at the beginning of the holiday shopping season! 

I've come to the conclusion that I really do hope that a law passes where transit unions cannot strike, because this is stupid, and economically harmful.  The Union will lose if this goes to the state capital.

At one time Unions were good in protecting workers rights, but now they've become greedy, one Union forced a situation where a large baking corperation had to close down and sell off its assests because the Union would not be reasonable, this put 2 thousand people out of work, Hostess cup cakes and Twinkies disappeared, as well as Home Pride Bread.  Well another company bought the cup cake and twinkie francise, and another is making Home Pride but that new bread does not taste the same, and even Twinkies (which I really can't stand) is not around like it use to be.

It appears this is what Unions are doing, taking everything to the brink to see if the owners or managers will blink, but what happens, the owners close up shop, sell everything and everyone is out of work.  Everyone loses,  if my Father was alive and he was a Union man, he would have been horrified at what the Unions are doing now, and they are NOT for the workers.

Well I'm done with that rant,  Louise is ready and we're going back to her new place to see how things are going, her friend says its ready to be moved in and will give Louise two weeks free rent, and start it on Dec. 1st for her, because she knows she'll be a good tennant.   So to read and sign the contract, take a measurement of the floor spaces and then to go and buy some things, first thing is a bed and matteress, I'll be loaning her a card table and chairs so she'll have a place to sit and eat,  I'm using Doyles van, he's using my car so that way we'll have plenty of space to carry things.  And we'll go to the storage unit that has the funrniture that neither I nor Sis want to see if there is anything Louise can use.  So much to do, so little Daylight to do it in and we still need to get some serious coffee in us.

Later Darklings



As I said, we do take our coffee SERIOUSLY.



Of relaxing, taking care of things and updates~~~

Oh Darklings,

Today is such a lazy day,  I'm glad that we are finally having what passes for normal weather here in the Bay Area.   I was up early out of my "coffin" and enjoying my morning coffee and listening to the waking bird song as the sun creeped over the rise.   

Belladonna was being a lazy thing and didn't want to leave her warm snuggles,  so she settled next to Doyle and curled up warmly, she finally came down to do her bathroom duties with that grumpy look that dogs have when they just don't want to get up and do something.

Doyle unfortunately has to go to a meeting with several clients, many are becoming so security minded that he has been filling in to help with the over load. 

Sis decided to make something fattening---banana pancakes, I asked for only two as I know it will hold me to well past lunch time, and her caretaker houseguest, Brian came over to help out,  as I put another pot of coffee on and set the breakfast table.

Brian is happy he got a job and it pays very well, so he'll be talking with his ex-wife to make arrangements to start paying the child support again, I've met the lady, she is very nice, and in her own way very supportive of her ex-husband, she said that people have enough stress in their lives and when two people can be civilized and work together it makes things much easier.  Brian will continue to stay in Sis's house while the work is being done.

And progress has been made, the kitchen is finished, as well as the down stairs bathroom,  the foundation is sound and does not need work and thank goodess the re-wiring was done so no "ghostly feelings" in the place.   Sis is looking at the basement room and it it quiet large so part will be partioned for laundry, she sighed saying she'll have to buy a new washer and dryer.  So she's been making her list (and checking it twice).  Her contractor said it would be good to work on the roof and gutters right now before any more inside work is done, it has a third roof and needs replacing, so that is next.

I miss Coralline but she has been going to Summer School and then to an afternoon science camp, so has her brothers, but I'll be seeing her in August which I'm looking forward to.

My garden is coming along nicely, my gardener has cleared away all the brambles and such from the back part of the property and I can see the old pet cemetery quiet clearly now, the gardener even found old iron fence railings which I intend to put around the little cemetery and allow for some extra space for just in case,
more work is going to be done to the Greenhouse to finish it up.   I've fallen in love with the dark purple phalesopes(sp) orchids, but Sis thinks I should intersperse white ones as well, the little indoor stream has been completely found and my friends are finishing it up for me,  they said they'd like to hold their tarot  meetings at the Greenhouse, they feel the atmospher is becoming very magical.     Frankly I don't mind, I just need to know when, so I'm not surprised by a sudden influx of people well it's not many only 6 or so.

I've walked around the property today, checking the house and grounds and the small outer buildings making notes on what needs to be taken care of.  Like I said such a lazy day.

But it won't be for long,  Sis wants to go to several places to look for outdoor furniture for her place, I was puzzled but she said that now is a good time to buy things at sale prices, so we are going to Cost Plus and one other place, and several nurseries, she wants to see what would be good tropical type plants that would do well in our location besides "Birds of Paradise"  and my gardener will become her gardener as well, he doesn't mind---it's more business for him.

But still such a lazy day.

Oh and I found an amusing cartoon that sort of celebrates the event that happen 66 years ago in Rosewell, frankly I like the sentiment.

Later Darklings

Of we're having a heat wave and more thoughts on the Boston Bombers~~~

Dear Darklings,

We are having a very serious heat wave here in the Bay Area, it even broke records,  87 degrees where I live.

I have a sprinkler system set on timers, the areas that always have a lot of shade get watered in the early  morning, those that have full sun are watered late at night at it's coolest, but I make sure that the water is not wasted, I discovered that my Great Aunt had devised a capture system for any run off, with drains here and there, to collect in a cistern located in the back of the property away from any buildings.

Using a motor pump to pump up that water, the water is reused again to water plants using a hose, especially for those plants that are thirsty drinkers or are in hanging pots or boxes.  However I have to make sure that screens are on to keep animals out and I do have to throw down into it a chemical to kill mosquito larvae,  I had thought of using mosquito fish but that seemed impractical.

And now they are offering hoses that can shrink and expand when it's filled with water or drained, takes up less space, doesn't kink, easy to use and very reasonably priced. 

The house does not have air conditioning, since we are in an area that has only moderate heat during the Summer months, thanks to the natural air conditioning from the Ocean currents and the Bay Fog.

But when it gets hot, out come the fans,  we have box fans in the kitchen area, but bit by bit I've been purchasing these Victorian or Edwardian fans that are offered by the Victorian Trading company, they go much better with the style of the house and look period correct.   Yes my Darklings, when electricity was put into houses and buildings way back when, electric fans were invented.

On Antiques Roadshow, they even showed a fan that worked on lamp oil, they lit the lamp and the heat went up and rotated the blades, very clever but very dangerous.

I am still following the events on the investigation of the Boston Bombing.

The good news is that the remaining victims still in hospitals will survive, badly damaged and injured by the bombing but they will survive.   The wife of the dead bomber is helping the investigation, the 2nd bomber it looks like he will survive as well and has been writing his responses.

And it appears they worked alone, but had been planning more targets.  Of course the big question is why.

From what I've been able to understand it appears it was mostly the elder brother's idea and the younger influenced by his brother went along with it.  An article appeared in the Christian Science Monitor and the writer said one has to look at the ethic background of where the brothers came from, and how the eldest was influenced when he went back to visit his father for 6 months.

Everyone says they can't believe the brothers did this, there were no signs, but good sociopaths can be very clever to hide their intentions and lead others to their doom.  Especially when emotionally and spiritually vunerable.

Look at Jim Jones, the leaders of the Heaven's Gate Group and the Branch Davidians, and look at Hitler when Germany and its people were at its emotional weakest, look at leaders of the KKK, or the Neo-Nazi's.  And now Look at Al-Quida, the leaders of the Taliban who create suicide bombers instead of working to educate the young people, find ways of creating a better economy, of bringing jobs and employment to their countries, of finding ways to grow more food, using solar power for energy.

The gifts for creation of a better life, of spiritual progress are all there, but fundamentalists put blinders on and instead destroy.   I'm also including fundamentalist christian groups as well, that refuse to understand the changes in the 21st century and the need for complete equality and freedom for men and especially for women.

My sister and brother and I were very lucky to have parents to instill into us those protections to question people and their motives, and to instill into us our sense of self preservation and free will.  My sister and brother have  passed and are passing those same qualities into their children for only then can we be free of tyranny be it government or religious fanaticism.

And that is something all Goths should work to protect, otherwise you will lose your choice of lifestyle and creativity and expression.

But I also have said, if you have that freedom, you are also responsible to recognize the sensibilities of others, and do not do it for just the shock value but for raising awareness.

Example:  there are those that want to practice nudity all the time in public areas, in front of children, because they feel it is their right.   I say up to a point---if it is in violation of public health and public exposure laws or offends parents with children, then put your clothes on.  But if you are at an event such as a nude beach, or nudist colony that is your right, but at the Gay Pride parade or in a general public area, no one wants to see a flabby "personal appendage"  with a lot of old grey hair, or even an erect one.  And some ladies no one want to see your chest if it goes down to your knees,  even I at my age prefer to keep some mystery about my body.

But there should be art and expression that will make one's mind think, question and say "I wasn't aware of that."  That should always be preserved, be it a painting, writing, sculpture, film, photography.

And now my Darklings,  it is time for my walk with Ella and little Belladonna, the exercise helps build up my leg muscles and endurance.

Later Darklings,

Of healthy gains and a hot house mystery~~~

Hello My Darklings,

Today was a day to cheer.  I was able to bathe myself with no help at all, but I did need a little help getting in and out of the tub, yes I wanted to use the tub, just soaking in the hot water was such a pleasure. 

Ella even put in one of my favorite bubble baths Gregorio's Beverly Hills',  the fragrance was heavenly, and Ella teased me with a little rubber ducky that looks like a vampire.   Where she found that I do not know but he's going to be the mascot for the bathroom.

Such a wonderful pleasure soaking in such a lovely scented environment, I felt so pampered and enjoying the feeling of luxury.  Every Elderly Goth should indulge in that at least once a week.  

My Therapist came by this morning and we worked on the muscles and range of motion and she was very, very pleased, I've been doing my exercises, painful as they are, I've been forcing myself to do them.   And the massage therapist was here this afternoon, she felt that some of the back muscles are beginning to loosen up and I have to agree, between the heat, exercises and the massage as well as the medication my spasms have been less, and I've been able to sleep these last 3 night all through the night without a spasm waking me up.

Such a relief!

But not until the Doctor pronounces me able to go back to work will I be able to cheer.  I've been walking around the main floor of the house and the garden to build up my leg muscles and endurance, but I still tire, Louise says it will get better it just takes time.   I have to remember I'm 60 something, not 20 something.

Marie has left to visit her children this weekend, she won't be back until Monday evening, but Doyle will be home with me.  Since he's had a few days off he took Belladonna to her pet groomer's to be pretty for Easter.

I know Darklings that sounds so spoiled and such but except for nieces and nephews I do not have children of my own, and considering the situation how I found her, I think spoiling her is worth it.   Doyle had a chance to call his children long distance, they are back East visiting family and they said that next time they'll plan on visiting during the 4th of July instead of Easter week, they are still having snow problems in some areas.

We only see Doyles' children occasionally because they live so far South out of town, like well down in San Diego and Los Angeles, but they have to go where the jobs are, which is sad, so getting a call from them is such a joy.  And we are glad they are doing well.

I managed to walk in the garden and hot house this morning and such a warm morning it is, but the heat felt good.

I sat on the bench in the hot house, enjoying the pond and the Koi and admiring the Orchids,  my gardener came by and said that he found what appears to be an old pond path and foundations for something within the hothouse,  so I slowly followed him and it appears that the old pond stream path meets where the current pond is but then it winds back again, he found what appeared to be small bridges that cross the stream path and going back further there was covered by dirt, foundations to something that went up and in the back of it an old cement bench that looks like rock.  He said that the bridges had to be strong enough to hold a person's weight or it would not make sense to have them where they are, he's going to remove more of the dirt from this bench area and such because he thinks it might hold a clue as to the full interior design of the Hot House.   He thinks that it was not to encourage seedlings because another section of the hot house is more set up like a green house for that, but that the area with the pond is was for displaying plants, but the big question is what was it like.

I pondered on that and then remembered that my Great Aunt was very big on photographing everything in and around her home,  I said that I would have Doyle help me go through the photo albums; we may find a clue in them.  My Gardener was very excited about that, seems he loves mysteries.

So when Doyle returns with Belladonna we'll look into that.  Frankly I love the idea of finding out more of what the house and grounds contain and are hiding. 

But for now it's time for my nap, Louise is saying it's time to rest, and she is right I do feel tired.  As I find out more information on the hot house I will let you know.

Later Darklings

Of Gardens and Cars and Orchids~~~~~

Hello My Darklings,

The car has turned out to be just wonderful!

I can easily get in and out and there is plenty of room in the back for Coralline and Miranda should we need to go somewhere.  The trunk space is just right as well.

I found myself getting a bit tired but fortunately Doyle brought the wheelchair for just in case.

Today we'll go back and finalize the deal, but we are traveling in  Louise's car so she can drive me home and Doyle can drive the new car. 

Doyle, and rightly so, is concerned that I am not up to par to drive yet as I still have to take medication.  

My bruises are fading away finally but with some it will take longer,  I can go up and down the stairs at least once a day now, but if I want to take a nap I'll still be using the spare room on the ground floor.  I'll be seeing the Doctor again tomorrow, he is concerned about my weakness although it could be a complication from having that horrible virus.   But the therapist insists that I do walking at least around the house and garden to keep the muscles in tone and to slowly build up strength.

The weather here has turned cloudy and they are predicting rain for the Easter weekend, personally I hope it holds off, but Doyle says we will take our drive.

I'm hoping the Doctor will allow me to at least go to my work one day next week just so I can see how things are progressing,  I still will not be able to go back to work full time for a while, but some of my staff are concerned with a few things.

Several of my friends came by yesterday late afternoon with orchids for the hot house, the cybideiums as they are more hardy than the Catalaya's.  And although the Hot house is not completely ready they will do well in there as it currently stands.   They placed them around the indoor pond giving it a strange Gothic exotic look to it, as a matter of fact it has given me idea's for that area.  And they chose cybideiums that have a deep purple colors to them,one is almost a deep brown.  

My regular gardener who trims the trees, has been removing the invasive weeds and mows the lawn was just in awe of their exotic beauty, we talked about their care and he is very familiar with them as he has cared for the same type with his other customers, but he asked if it would be alright for his wife to assist as this was going to be more work and I said it would be fine.

My accountant and I have been going over the finances for the trust for the house and grounds as well as my income, but I insisted that my sister sit in as sometimes my head gets a little fuzzy, but the bottom line is that the income for the care of the house and grounds is more than enough to cover everything.  Which relieves my mind.   It is my intention to bring the house and grounds back up to it's glory but with a few interesting twists to it.

I know that if anything happens to me it will go to my sister who feels the same way as I do about it.

Strangely last night Marie and I started reminesing about family and events, and with so many years to look back on things and considering how our own life experiences have molded our outlooks, we were able to view a number of things without the extreme pain that we use to feel.   And also how they formed us.

I'll talke about this more later, my Darklings.  Right now Ella has my lunch prepared and the Therapist will be coming early so we can take care of the car deal later.

Later.

Elder Goth Gardening~~~

Well Darklings,

My friend who loves to garden has completed her design for me, it will include roses of the dark bloom variety, as well as bulb plants, but I told her I wanted the dark blooms, but she is insisting that I also include white blooms as well to help balance it out. 

Since she is following what was originally planted by my Great Aunt we are really recreating her garden but not so tangled and weedy,  we noticed that a lot of planting beds were raised and would tier down and we discovered that it saves a lot of back breaking problems, we also uncovered a pond with a waterfall that was over grown with bougainvillea and hidden from view,  the pond and waterfall are going to have to wait, but she could see that it was set up so that fish could swim in most of it but with a barrier to prevent them from going into where the pump for the waterfall would be, also behind it was a "ballcock" mechanism hooked up to a faucet, when the faucet is turned on the ballcock would work to allow more water when a certain amount had evaporated and it would bring it up to a certain level, much like the system in a toilet, simple, mechanical and practical.  The waterfall would aerate the water as well  but since chemicals are added to our drinking water it's hard to introduce goldfish to the water as it comes out of the faucet, she believes there is a way to avoid that and she's going to look into that further.

One type of fish she feels we should have is the mosquito fish that we can get free from out water company to avoid "west Nile" virus.  So we'll think on this for next year.

If an Elder Goth is lucky enough to have a garden what would one plant in it?  

Well it depends upon your theme, a garden should have a theme---there is a theme for plants from the Bible, plants from one's favoirte gothic novels, herbs from certain countries, a butterfly garden, a white garden, a grey garden, a dark garden, a witchy garden, a cemetery garden, a fantasy garden.

From what my friend and I can see, it appears that my Great Aunt was going for a Cemetery Garden,  she managed to find fencing from old cemeteries, even a few tombstones, which we think may have come from the "Wave Organ" in San Francisco many years ago, a few religious themes, even some fantastical bizarre statues,  and it seems that as we walk towards the pond, we step into a slighly different theme, so we'll keep that in our focus.

By having raised beds one can use either bricks, river rock, or jagged stones or carefully marbled stones, it depends upon what one can afford,  salvage is always good and my friend is big on salvage.

So first take into account what you can handle espeically if you have a difficult time getting around, 2nd decide on a theme, 3rd take into account water rates/costs and the best way to water your garden, 4th the layout of your property, 5th to what purpose do you want your garden to give back to you, 6th and of course your pocket book.

Now if you are in an apartment, then hopefully you'll have a balcony or small patio (if on the ground floor) and with that then it would have to be planters, but again decide on theme.   If your apartment building cannot provide you with any garden space, then at least every two weeks indulge in fresh flowers or set up a fake garden in one corner of your place with fake flowers and create your own indoor garden that will never wilt or need water, you can have a small waterfall to plug in just make sure it's on a space where it will not splash water or do water damage.  You can have indoors african violets in a variety of colors which will give a sense of freshness to your home, and caring for them can instill a sense of tranquility that one would find in a cemetery or meditation garden.

Avoid marijuana, it's too costly and it seems to cause fires and bring the police, something any Goth would prefere to avoid.

Later Darklings