Am I a Blooming Idiot?

Hmm . . . maybe I don't want your opinion on that, LOL!

If you follow me on Facebook, you know a couple of things about this post already. If you don't follow me there and you'd like to, here's the link: https://www.facebook.com/carol.kilgore1

In early October, our bougainvillea burst into bloom. The first photo is the one I posted on Facebook. The second photo is one I took last week. It's been awesome seeing this beautiful sight all month.



In the middle of the month, our bird of paradise surprised us. We've had this plant about ten years. It's bloomed once, about six years ago. Now we have this one.


A couple of weeks later, a second flower joined it.



Now, two more buds are forming.


To top it off, our lemons are almost ready for picking.



When I went out to photograph the lemons, I noticed something else. Our elephant ears are now officially taller than our six-foot fence. A baby elephant could be hiding under there somewhere, and we'd never know.


You'd think that would be enough for one month, right?

Not exactly.

We also went on vacation. We traveled to Jacksonville for a meetup with some old friends. Lots of fun, laughter, and wine all around. On the way home, we waited out the rain in Biloxi.

I didn't plan it, but I totally unplugged for the full week. No email. No internet. No computer. No television. No Kindle. No camera. I didn't think I would ever be able to do that. But I did. And what a difference! I truly had a real vacation.

Next month, a special guest will join me at the Tiki Hut. Here's a hint: My guest isn't Santa Claus :)

See y'all on Monday, December 7.

Comments

That's some serious plant growth! Keep an eye out for Dumbo.
While I've never completely unplugged from electronic devices, I have stepped away from the Internet for a stretch of time. And it was awesome.
Love the bougainvillea and the birds of paradise!

Unplugging is so hard! Glad you were able to have a good vacation.
Bish Denham said…
Unplugging is a good thing. The bougie is lovely. Of course where I grew up in the Caribbean they are often used as hedges, can cover buildings. The hotter it gets, the more sun they get, the more blooms they have. I wish I could paste in a picture. I'll have to do it in your comments on FB. :)

L. Diane Wolfe said…
How pretty! Okay, it's good to know I'm not the only one who posts pictures of my plants growing on Facebook. I've always killed plants so it's exciting to see something actually thrive.
H. R. Sinclair said…
Gorgeous blooms! I've taken one vacation that was completely away from technology. It was awesome. I'm glad you did it!
Jan Christensen said…
Beautiful pictures--I especially love the birds of paradise. And good for you "unplugging." I haven't really done that since I got a laptop. I came pretty close, only checking email, during the same time you were gone. Can't wait to see who your special guest is in December!
I think our electrical connections take away from more important ones. Yay for an unplugged holiday. Benison for the soul.
Love your garden and am looking forward to your special guest.
VR Barkowski said…
Beautiful! Bougainvillea is one of my favorites. Don’t see much (none) of it here in New England. I’ve never had an unplugged vacation. I’m not sure how to even go about it. I didn’t take a computer on my last trip, but I had my cell and the darn thing insisted on telling me when I had email and texts.

VR Barkowski
Cherie Reich said…
Such beautiful plants! It seems like they're having a bloomin' good time. :)
Carol Kilgore said…
Alex - Try unplugging. It takes a couple of days to get the hang of it.

Elizabeth - It was the best vacation in a long time.

Karen - Interacting with people face-to-face is different. We were around different people almost every day. I thoroughly enjoyed myself, but I did need a little me time after a while.

Bish - I haven't been to FB yet today. Many errands this morning. We had one at the coast that was as tall as our house. It got shade from a big tree, though, and only ever had spotty blooms.

Diane - These are thriving because Live-In Handyman is their caretaker. I ogle and admire only. They tolerate that, as long as I don't get too close.

Southpaw - I'm glad I did it, too.

Jan - They're one of my favorite flowers. Probably because I rarely get to see them.

EC - Maybe the reason I enjoyed the vacation so much is because my soul got a vacation, too :)

VR - I took everything, just never turned any of it on. I did turn on my phone, but I don't have any of my real email accounts tied to it. My phone email is just for my phone because I'd go bonkers if all those notifications came there.

Cherie - They look like they're dressed for a party :)

Helena said…
The plants are beautiful! Here in Colorado we have autumn and plants dying for the winter. Everything goes brown.

I'm impressed that you completely unplugged--I'm kinda addicted to email, but that's not healthy. No wonder you relaxed so much!
Your thumbs are really green, kiddo. Impressive blooms!

Very cool on unplugging during your vacation. I always do the same when we're visiting friends or the grandchildren. Not that the grandchildren unplug...
Rula Sinara said…
Oooh love the photos! I've always loved Bird of Paradise. And I totally agree about needing to have a real, unplugged vacation...even if it's a short one!
Jennifer Shirk said…
I'm SO jealous that you have a lemon tree!!!

Good for you for totally unplugging. I have a hard time doing that on vacation because of my IPhone. :(
Carol Kilgore said…
Helena - It will be cold here soon enough. I like winter for a short time, so I'm a huge fan of early springs :)

Jo-Anne - Thank you! You're so sweet :)

Susan - Those thumbs belong to Live-In Handyman. Mine are as black as night.

Rula - I hope my next vacation can be unplugged, too.

Dolorah - LOL! Yeah, don't know and don't care :)

Jennifer - I wish it produced all year instead of all of them ripening at once. I don't have any notifications coming to my phone - they all go to my home computer. Otherwise it wouldn't have been possible for me either.
TBM said…
Ah, reminds me of my childhood in California. Don't see those plants in the UK. Glad you were able to unplug. I need to work on that when on holiday.
Melissa said…
Lovely!
Now you just need a night blooming cereus. ;)

I love bougainvillea, but I hate the thorns!
Loni Townsend said…
Those are some amazing plants! Sadly, I always end up killing my plants. :(
Those are some beautiful and gigantic plants! And I'm jealous of your lemons. I have raspberries and strawberries but no lemons. Oh, and disconnecting here and there is great. Sure, there are withdrawals (like any good drug addiction), but totally worth it in the end. Glad it all turned out well!
Carol Kilgore said…
TBM - I may never get the opportunity to unplug again, but I highly recommend it if you can swing it.

Melissa - I hate those thorns, too! I had to look up the night blooming cereus. It's pretty.

Loni - I have a black thumb, too. I just look. Live-In Handyman takes care of them.

Beer - We don't have raspberries or strawberries :(
Wow, do you want to come on over to my place and see if you can make my plants bloom?

And I must admit I love unplugging completely. So restful!
Carol Kilgore said…
Lynda - I couldn't believe the difference unplugging made. I was starting to feel like a real live human :) Live-In Handyman gets all the credit for the plants.
Anonymous said…
I love seeing things in bloom. I adore bougainvillea. They're a beautiful sight, although I'm careful around them because of those huge thorns.
Murees Dupè said…
Wow, that is some awesome plant growth. Our garden is just sand. However, my mom has allocated a small area for her flowers and they do grow. The only thing I can grow is weeds. Enjoy all that beauty around you:) Unplugging sounds good to me right now. Have a lovely weekend.
Carol Kilgore said…
Medeia - I love the blooms, too. Not the thorns :)

Murees - Live-In Handyman gets all the credit for growing these beauties. My thumb is every color except green. Love your photo!
Carol, I'm terrible with plants. Really useless.
I once killed a cactus.
How difficult is that?
Very difficult.
Exactly.
Need I say more?
Carol Kilgore said…
LOL, Michelle! Live-In Handyman cares for all ours. I'm as bad as you :)
Unknown said…
I've never known anyone who has a real growing bird-of-paradise plant. And that elephant plant and the azaleas are huge! Congrats on the green thumb and the wonderful vacay you had visiting friends and being off-line. (The only time I go off-line is when my computer crashes. LOL!)
Carol Kilgore said…
Lexa - Now you do! Not me, but Live-In Handyman. Unplugged was awesome. I hope to be able to do it again one day, but for it to happen, all the stars need to align :)
Christine Rains said…
Beautiful flowers! And I love those big leafs. Let me know if you do find a baby elephant! Happy to hear you had a wonderful vacation. :)
Arlee Bird said…
I wish I had that kind of a green thumb. I do have an out of control rubber tree that I should probably execute before the roots start breaking up my patio and a crazy monster of a plant that I have no idea what it is.

Arlee Bird
Tossing It Out
Misha Gerrick said…
I love when a garden comes alive like that, but alas, I'm a black thumb.

I have to say I suspect the time is coming for me to completely unplug for a few days.
Carol Kilgore said…
Christine - No baby elephant yet. I think I'm still halfway on vacation :)

Arlee - Me, too. We have a small rubber tree that gets a few new leaves every year.

Misha - So am I. Enjoy your unplugged time.
Crystal Collier said…
Sweet! There's nothing like really getting away from it all. Yesterday I left my cell phone downstairs, on silent. Guess what? I WROTE 5000 WORDS. And they were awesome. Distraction is sometimes just that, eh?
Carol Kilgore said…
Crystal - I'm totally envious of your word count. Unplugging is totally awesome :)
DMS said…
Love that your plants are blooming and doing so well! Beautiful pictures. Awesome that you were able to truly get away and relax. :)
~Jess
Carol Kilgore said…
DMS - I think I'm not fully back yet :)
Mark said…
Looks like a productive garden...must be your Pilgrim heritage showing through;)
Carol Kilgore said…
Mark - I wish I could take credit. Live-In Handyman is the gardener in our family. I just enjoy the fruits of his labor :)
Tara Tyler said…
it's always so colorful over here! beautiful and healthy - wish I could have such a green thumb!
and unplugging on vacation is awesome - a stress reliever even!
Carol Kilgore said…
Tara - Unplugging was the smartest thing I've done in a long time. Husband is the one with the awesome green thumb :)

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