Flower Friday. : : Smoke Tree

This tree is quite a survivor. We received it in the mail as a gift from friends who had stayed with us. It was basically three sticks with roots in a box. One of the sticks died after we planted it, perhaps as a result of rodent damage. It is in front of our white fence which was badly singed  in the fire and had to be rebuilt, but somehow the smoke tree survived. It is now taller than me and is putting out its lacy flowers which do look a bit smoky. They are deciduous but for some reason this one never lost it's beautiful wine colored leaves this year.

Gustavo arrived with a trailer full of plants this morning which he is planting now. Making a hole is a major undertaking in what passes for soil here. It's difficult to amend because so much of it is on a hill and also because mulch is very flammable and we don't like to use it.

We had a hilarious conversation over coffee this morning. Dan and Tobi regaled us with stories of how they create their compost.  Gail commented that there was some kind of kitchen countertop unit that is expensive but produces great compost. After Dan described his system of tubes and holes and layering and moving, my comment was , 'I don't have room on my counter and  You can buy compost in bags from the nursery'. We make compost too but have just had to start over since the three bin compost system that John built didn't survive the fire and it's just been rebuilt. 

I had an appointment with my doctor this morning, something I never look forward to because I'm always convinced she'll discover something I didn't even know I had. This is probably a bit paranoid, since I like her and she seems quite reasonable, but I've had enough bad experiences with other doctors over the years, including a couple in her own practice, that I still feel a bit adversarial about it. However, for the first time, my blood pressure was completely normal, something that never happens in a doctor's office. She recommended physical therapy to deal with back and leg pain that mostly only bothers me at night.  She said that they usually see one twice a week for six weeks so they can really track what is happening, and if she makes the referral, insurance will pay for it....I told her that I used to teach yoga for people with back issues but that somehow that doesn't seem to apply when it is happening to me....I walked out of there feeling like I had once again dodged a bullet. I

I really must get over my paranoia....