A.W.O.L.

For the Butterflies

The butterfly dipped,

and circled to smell

His floriferous dinner,

Which suits him quite well.

But, wait just a minute,

My story's not through,

His feet have more talents––

He tastes with them, too!

From Hollyhock Days

Dear Friends,

If absence makes the heart grow fonder, well, you must adore me by now.  Thank you for the sweet cards, letters, and e-mails. They make my heart happier. Many of you know that I was hacked and off the computer for awhile. It took a few weeks to get back on line and then, Whap!, we were hacked again. Thousands and thousands of spams and more.

This morning when I sat down we were again having problems. Jeff sat on the phone and awaited some tech help for a long, long time. Who would ever believe that we have become so dependent on our computers for so much?

My garden is bursting with life and my windows are flung open. Scents of Verbena de la mina (it is so fragrant), roses, and jasmine fill my little house with spring. I love it.

So much has happened that I can't include it all in this posting. Each posting takes many, many hours of concentrated time, which I don't have right now. So please, if you love the beauty of butterflies, just stay with me for this to the end. Also, look for the winner of the beautiful Josie Iselin Beach book and the possibility of winning this glorious little teak side table sent to me by Teak Closeouts.

The little table has a slatted top and a bottom shelf. It is so handy and useful. It does come unassembled, but it took Jeff only about 10 minutes to put it together. Sorry, the supplier cannot ship outside of the continental U.S. A.

I hosted a meeting of The Questers at our home last month. The organizer (trouble-maker), Kit Long, is a fabulous woman with many interests. Look what she brought as a hostess gift! A pot with a twiggy tree branch. On each twig was tied the jade-like chrysalis of a Monarch butterfly. What a gift, maybe the best one I've ever received. Glad this isn't a video or a might break your eardrums with my screams of joy!

Can you see them dangling from the branches?

Close up. The gold spots are entry points for oxygen.

You can see the miracle going on inside the chrysalis. I took this photo about an hour before the butterfly emerged from it.

I spent hours next to the chrysalis tree and recorded everything, but I NEVER got the actual emergence. I literally turned my head for a split second, and wham, the butterfly was out of the chrysalis and all crumpled up like a slightly used prom dress. See how fat the abdomen is? As I watched the newborn, the abdomen elongated and thinned.

Starting to pump fluid and unfurl.

Look at this beauty shot!

I spent hours watching them and became intrigued by the shadows of their legs. You can clearly see how they are able to hold onto flowers even in high winds. This shot sends me into the stratosphere. I love how mysterious it looks.

This male fell to the ground, and I quickly rescued it. You know it is a male by the dark spot on each hindwing. He stayed on my hand for about 15 minutes until his wings were rigid and he was able to beat them.

My garden dances with butterflies now and sways with the slow moving (and always hungry) caterpillars.

If you want to have the awe-inspiring presence of caterpillars and butterflies in your own garden, just do some simple things to suit them.

1. Plant a diverse array of flowers (native wildflowers, bushes and trees are most important) that will feed both the caterpillar and the butterflies. Monarch caterpillars feed ONLY on Asclepias species. Go for the natives if possible. See Monarchwatch.org or visit the Xerces Society for guidelines.

2. Provide a tray or saucer of soil that can be kept moist. Butterflies will puddle on the mud and sip nutrients.

3. Lay out a few flat basking rocks. They'll sun bathe on them.

4. NEVER use toxic sprays; insecticides, herbicides, fungicides. NEVER.

Fruits ripen, flowers burst into bloom...and the adventures and joy continue.

Thanks for the visit. I post daily photographs, quotes, and ideas on my Facebook page. I also have a business page Sharon Lovejoy: Home Gardens Books with upcoming events and public appearances. Both reach a broad audience. I enjoy interacting with readers. Like the blog, I have made some wonderful friends through this medium. 

If you are a blog follower, you will get an alert whenever I write a new blog. Blogs take hours and hours, which is time I sometimes don't have to spare. I continue to write infrequently for those dear friends who do not use Facebook– Lori, Julie Marie, Darla, and others.

I am happy to let you know that my little book Trowel and Error by Workman Publishing, has just gone into its 13th printing! Hurrah.

and...

my beloved old book A Blessing of Toads is now in its fifth printing with Down East Books!

This iteration has a new cover with black and white illustrations inside. The same information is still packed in the pages.

Thanks dear Aline for sharing this photo with us! I treasure seeing the two of you reading my book, The Little Green Island with a Little Red House.

This little book explores the world of colors and critters and is a fun read aloud with children. Jeff and I designed the text to reflect the words.

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Now, some reader letters:

I want to share with you one of the most special young people I have ever heard from. Move over writers, we have a new one on the way! I love this! 

Your words keep my words flowing. Thank you for your many kindnesses!

The lucky winner of the Josie Iselin book, Beach: a book of treasures is: A Facebook follower, Paulette.

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Enter the new drawing for the little teak end table, a $99 value from Teak Closeouts, which would be perfect in your garden, on your porch, deck, or?

To enter, simply send an email to Sharon's Give Away at sharonsgiveaway@icloud.com.

Happy Spring to you all!

Love across the miles,

Sharon

"She Done What She Could"

I am thrilled and honored that the International Reading Association chose my new Running Out of Night as one of their "2014 Best Chapter Books."

Dear Friends,

I am overwhelmed by your many kindnesses. You're the best (as is my husband). I couldn't keep limping along without your support.

Are you wondering about the bad English in my title? I love to visit old graveyards and read the tombstones. I conjure up images of families of olden times, lives lived on the sea, or in the case of my title, a mother's life raising nine children.

Jeff and I were traveling through Maine and stopped at a graveyard on Deer Isle, Maine. One tombstone spoke to me; it was as if I were reading my own headstone. I remember that her last name was Eaton and that she'd somehow managed to birth and raise nine kids. The tombstone had her name and then those words, "She Done What She Could." Isn't that all that most of us can aspire to, doing what we can do in the best way we know how? That's what I do. I know that there are always so many more talented people, but I keep going.

For my birthday the year we stumbled on Mrs. Eaton's telling tombstone, Jeff ordered a headstone cake from Linn's in Cambria, California. They were flummoxed, but they made the cake in the shape of the stone and inscribed it with the words I so loved. "She done what she could." I am still working and still trying to approach life half as steadfastly as Mrs. Eaton and all the other unnamed and forgotten women before me. Salute!

My First Book Club

This is a trial run of what is an upcoming SKYPE book club interview. If you have a book club in my area I will be happy to participate, but if you're far away, SKYPE works beautifully.

January has been a month of scheduling and work. Jeff is accepting requests for talks, for Skype hook-ups with book clubs, with school visits, and so much more. I will let you know all that is going on as soon as I have an updated schedule. I am looking forward to an upcoming Skype interview with a book club for children in Washington, D.C. that chose Running Out of Night as their book for January.

The girls and their mothers will speak to me via Skype and ask pertinent questions about the book and about writing books. They'll be serving food too that goes along with my book. Beef Jerky, apple slices, just the foods I mention. It will be so much fun.

The Dave Congalton Show on KVEC 920 AM

Dave Congalton welcomed me to his lively local radio show last Friday. (Link is to the podcast. Sharon's segment starts at 36:33) He did an incredible job of making me feel welcome and at ease. We talked for an hour on live radio (daunting), answered two calls that came in, and had a great time. Thank you, Dave, for what you do for our central coast.

Into the Garden AGAIN!

Can you believe that my dwarf peach is already blooming?

Then again, can you believe that this dwarf 'Pink Lady' apple is still on the tree?

Join Me on a Garden Walk

Hurrah! I can walk, bend, and work again and I am loving every second on my feet. 

Join me for a quick walk through the garden and glean a bit of wisdom about gardening in your nightgown!

Who Won the Double Give-Away?

This is a short, short posting, but I did want to catch up with you and also let you know that having a separate e-mail address for our give-aways is working well, especially for people who are not bloggers and can't leave a comment, or don't want to sign up with Google, etc..We had over 100 entries in the give away of my old book A Blessing of Toads, which was purchased by Down East Books and was just released. FYI, they updated the cover, but now the interior illustrations are in black and white. Still the same words though.

We also offered this wonderful, solid copper rain chain from Rain Chains Direct (valued at $129.95). The LUCKY winner is one of my Facebook friends, Kris Lech in Nebraska. Maybe this should be an ice chain? 

Congratulations, Kris, lucky girl!

Signing off now, but hoping to hear from you on Facebook, my new Sharon Lovejoy Home, Gardens, Books Facebook page, by e-mail, or on this blog posting.

This month I am offering another copy of A Blessing of Toads and the fabulous Beach: A Book of Treasures by Josie Iselin.

This is a magnificent book. Good luck! Please leave a comment on this posting (I love them), but to enter the drawing, send an email to sharonsgiveaway@icloud.com (sharonsgiveaway@icloud.com).

Sending love across the miles,

Sharon

New Year's Resolution: Don't Procrastinate!

The Last Rainbow of 2014

Well friends,

Procrastinate is exactly what I've been doing. I have promised readers and myself every day that I would post a new blog entry, but other life matters got into the way. Thank you so much for the gifts and cards.

My friends are now referring to me as The Happy Hobbler, and I am happy. I am up and using a crutch sometimes, but mostly walking slowly and surely as much as possible. I am grateful to my friends for meals, help, and love, but no words can express my gratitude to my husband Jeff. He was there for me every step of the way as I will always be for him.

Stay tuned for the fabulous give-aways at the bottom of this post.

RUNNING OUT OF NIGHT

In a million years I could've never dreamed of the friendships and journey this book has provided. THANK YOU for your letters and e-mails. I have tried to quickly answer you whenever you write, but sometimes things stack up on me. 

This January I am participating in my first book club interview (east coast) via SKYPE. I'll be interacting with five young girls and their moms. This should be a wonderful experience. I can't wait to hear their questions.

Jeff recently made a book trailer to publicize Running. 

Making a trailer is a costly project, one which a new author normally can't afford to do. When we realized that it would be up to us to do it, Jeff said, "I'll just learn how to do it." That is sort of the way we handle everything that needs doing...just do it ourselves. Anyhow, it took half a day or so to read, edit, record, and add the pages of reviews. The best part of the trailer is at the end when my son and his close friend play their music. Noah on banjo and John on mandolin. So, this is a family, affair and I am proud of my family for doing it!

Your letters keep me going on my new book, which should be finished soon! Thank you!

Nancy Heraud, your glorious jellies and pot pourri make me so happy. The kids adore them, but they're so beautiful I never want to open them.

(Nancy is Lemon Verbena Lady) The jar of summer's scents (her famous potpourri) is sitting inside my quilt cupboard. Whenever I take out a quilt and catch the sweet drift of roses, I will think of her.

It smells divine!

My friend Patsy Lee Anderson knows how much I love anything fox. This is a wonderful new talisman sent by Patsy. Her name is Flannery Kitt Fox; she sits beside me as I work (and cousin Julie Marie, my little chip chip does too). A heart full of thanks dear Patsy. Every package was perfectly wrapped. I didn't want to disturb them, but curiosity got the best of me. I love George Ella Lyon's book Poetry, the fabulous fox stationery, I love it all.

This year's Christmas tree was teensy. I just wasn't up to decorating a huge one, but I adored this and enjoyed it every minute.

I save egg cartons for my ornament storage. Jumbo works best! My friend Consuelo Macedo saves those double plastic boxes that some fruit is packed in. 

No Christmas at our house is complete without my flock of old friends on the mantel. These are German stick sheep (their legs are like wooden matchsticks) and we have had them for decades. During the big San Simeon earthquake in 2003, they were thrown off our Cambria mantel and hurled across the room. Many ears and legs were broken, but they are treasured nonetheless.

But the best part of the holidays this year was this simple place setting. My grandson Luke, who was born two years ago weighing only one pound eight ounces, finally got a seat at the Christmas Eve table. He sat up with us and saluted the new year to come. He is a little miracle boy and the greatest gift we could ever hope for.

Now all vestiges of Christmas are being stored away until next year. For the New Year, I always set my table with olive branches, the symbol of peace. I also tuck them into napkin rings and weave them through the old chandelier so that anyone sitting beneath them will have peace in their hearts. It works!

A DOUBLE-DOOZIE GIVE-AWAY

The first wonderful part of the give-away is a solid copper rain chain, donated by Rain Chains Direct. They sent one to us to try before I endorsed it. This has a retail value of $129.95 (we all know how expensive copper is now). Not only is it beautiful, but it is functional and fun. I love the way the rain cascades down the chain and into our big crock. I use the rainwater for my potted plants.

Jeff prepares the down-spout and sets out the chain and gutter installer. They look like mini-buckets.

Love these! You will too. 

Send me an email to sharonsgiveaway@icloud.com with "Give-Away" in the subject line to enter. Facebook visitors to Sharon Lovejoy: Home, Gardens, Books or on Sharon Lovejoy are invited too. The drawing will be on January 15th. Please, limited to the United States due to customs and high postage rates. So sorry!

I still welcome blog comments, but this new system will enable others without a Google or Facebook account or a blog to enter a free give-away drawing.

The second part of the give-away is a copy of my newly reissued book A Blessing of Toads: A Guide to Living with Nature (Down East Books, December 2014). This book is filled with all sorts of tips for how to invite nature into your yard and it explains how nature helps you have a healthy, well-rounded garden. This has an updated cover and shortened title and subtitle from the 2005 version. The interior illustrations are in black and white only.

I will end this, my final post from the not-always-so-great 2014 (though it ended with a soft rainbow). I send a prayer that your 2015 will be bright, healthy, and joyful.

Happy New Year to you all.

Sending love across the miles,

Sharon