Hurricane Hiatus

Once again I've let too much time elapse between posts, but this hiatus comes courtesy of Hurricane Irene.  We went 6 days without power, cable, or internet, as did most of the surrounding county.  And though we do have a generator that runs essentials such as our water pump and boiler so we have hot water and can flush the toilets, nearly a week of being totally disconnected did get rather old.

Happily, everything came back on line late yesterday and there's much to catch up on, so let's begin.

My last post was about a very unwelcome visitor who was snacking on our tomatoes. This past week, we had a far more benevolent guest -- one who appeared to be praying for the safe ripening of our beleaguered fruit.

Praying Mantis visiting the garden

We do appreciate his vigilance because our other more rapacious intruder seems to have survived both our best efforts and Irene's and has continued to make occasional forays to snatch unripe tomatoes untimely from their vines.  Grrr.

In happier news, the hibiscus that we planted last year have returned.  We planted them despite the firm belief that they were too tropical to survive our winters.  And then we had the winter of all winters last year which we fully expected to seal their fate.  But to our surprise and wonderment they have returned -- lushly -- to create a long-lasting display of dinner plate-sized hot pink firepower at the top of our hill.

Hibicus erupting at the top of the hill

The blossoms just keep coming

These are easily 12" across -- you could eat dinner off them!

Not to be outdone by this flamboyant display, the standard hydrangea and giant phlox that surround the hibiscus have also gone crazy.  Nothing like a little plant peer pressure to encourage excessive showiness!

Standard Hydrangea showing off

 

A flock of giant purple Phlox

Put this all together, and it makes climbing the stairs up the hill worthwhile -- each switchback of the steps reveals another surprising burst of color.  And once you get to the top, it's a lovely spot to relax with a cocktail and admire the view!

 

The climb up

The seating area at mid-point -- our favorite spot for a pre-dinner drink

The view from the seating area, including our favorite dinner spot on the patio

Thankfully, all of this survived the hurricane unscathed, for which we're all extremely grateful.  In fact, we're so grateful that we're off to crack some Prosecco so we can climb the hill and toast our good fortune.  I'm sure it's cocktail time somewhere.

Cheers!