Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Lady Bug, Leaves and Other Things






I hope everyone is well, I have not been around much. My Dad has been diagnosed with congestive heart failure and has been in and out of the hospital for the past 3 weeks, that is the bad news, the good news is he is home now and seems to be doing well and mostly just worried about ending up in a nursing home and cost there of. My parents live an hour away from me, that makes it even more difficult. My son, daughter-in-law and grandsons were here for two weekends, that was fun and a good thing :). Plus I have been going to training in Des Moines for some new software we are getting and that is a 12 hour day with the traveling time, so it has been crazy around here, thank goodness my hubby is retired and can take care of things around here.


Sunday after we got home from seeing my Dad in the hospital, I puttered around outside, putting away pots, lawn furniture, pulling dead annuals, I worked outside until dark, it was just what I needed to clear my head. The weather has been unbelievably warm.


I took this picture of a lady bug a couple of weeks ago, not sure if is one of the nasty ones or good ones. The other pictures are just some pictures I took of what I thought was interesting leaves.


11 comments:

Connie said...

Beautiful greens! Flowers get all the glory....but foliage can be beautiful, as well.
So glad that your Dad is doing better.

Gardenmomma Chris said...

I don't know if I ever saw green look SO good! Great job! Chris

Ki said...

Glad to hear your Dad is feeling a bit better. It can be very hard on the caregivers so take care of yourself. We have been caring for my mother who has Alzheimer's but it got to be too much and we finally realized that we needed help. She's in a nursing home now so it's much easier but the worry and now the guilt does not diminish.

Plants to offer a solace from everyday worries. Your photos of foliage are wonderful. Flowers usually hog the show so it's nice to see how varied leaves can be. The leaves in the second photo look familiar but I don't seem to be able to recall what they are?

Dirty Fingernails said...

Lovely herbs and you know I love the ladybug!!!! I hope your dad is on his way to being mended!

kate said...

I was sorry to hear about your dad, although glad that he is back at home. It is hard when you live away from them.

Gardening does help soothe the spirits and bring calming thoughts to us.

Your photographs turned out really well... I'm so used to seeing browns and yellows these days, that your green was a delightful treat!

Whyite said...

I am sorry to hear about your Dad. Good to hear he is doing better. Gardening can soothe some worries and calm us down.

Shady Gardener said...

I'm sure your dad is relieved to be home from the hospital. Often everyday tasks can become a welcome distraction and being involved with what you love to do makes it so much nicer... very friendly somehow. Take care of yourself, too.

Iowa Gardening Woman said...

Thanks so much for the kind words, they have brightened up my week.

Ki, I am not sure what the leaves in the second photo are, last year I purchased some round balls that had seeds glued to them, I had them in a bowl all last winter, this spring when I planted my garden for the senses, I put them in the bed just for decorative purposes and some of the seeds grew! This was some kind of purple bean, the plant ended up with long purple pods with the purple veining in the leaves.

Green thumb said...

Ladybug looks interesting!
It is heartening that your dad is better now, CHF changes the lifestyle drastically, i hope he copes up with all that spiritedly and is soon back to his normal life.

Tira said...

Sorry to hear about you dad's illness but great that he's back home, I know how all consuming these things then become in your life. Yes, the garden is a great respite and really helps soothe the mind.

kris said...

Glad your dad is doing better. Sounds like you have been very busy. I loved seeing these green leaves!