Being watched

This morning I was out in the backyard trying to find Michael so I could serve him his breakfast. Cathy was easy to find, she had crawled into one of her favorite sleeping areas under the deck. But Michael???? I couldn't find him anywhere so I started lifting up groundcovers and such to see if he had buried himself somewhere. And yes, yes he had. And had a great view of me bending over and looking under practically everything in the backyard...twice... while he just sat there.

Once I found him, I went indoors to get his salad (I had just served Cathy) but when I came back outside, he was gone. Errrrgh. This time my search for him did not take too long. I found him in the area where I've been potting up all my plants, just sitting there, sort of pretending he couldn't see me and I know he was thinking I couldn't see him.

But I knew he was taking it all in.

Violet has seen this a million times and knows that she's going to have to witness this routine a million more times for months and months to come. For her, this is setting up to be one long summer.

Oh that Michael again...

Today I was busy potting up plants and while doing that, I kept running in and out of the house in search of everything I kept forgetting to bring outdoors...the pots, the bulbs, etc. Lots of back and forth. I finally had everything I needed and was sitting on the deck steps potting up something when I realized that Michael had appeared from somewhere and was giving me a look. A long look. And once he knew I had finally seen him, he stomped off.

I knew what that look meant. That was a late afternoon tomato request. So I went indoors to get him one...

...and here is an action shot of him racing back to get at it.

And in just a few seconds, complete satisfaction. Michael Ray loves his tomatoes.

And I love to watch turtles eat.

Turtles however, don't like it when I do that. But because Michael Ray had a really good tomato in front of him, there was too much enjoyment on his part to even think of hiding from me. I watched until he had enough of his tomato and then enough of me.

And then he was off...probably to find Cathy Jean so he could gloat.

Oh, I think it's going to be a difficult and trying summer...

I just have that feeling............and why?

One overturned pot (and not a small one, that pot is 14 inches wide at the top)...

Two overturned pots (a little smaller but definitely not a lightweight one)...

And a turtle-wide trail that goes right through the middle of some growing plants. The turtles could have walked on the grass just beside all those plants but no, those pots ready to be overturned in the immediate distance were too compelling.

Total...

Smugness.

Abutilon (Flowering Maple)

This is one of my favorite annuals which until now, I did not know just how easy they were to overwinter indoors. I guess I can't call them annuals anymore....I'm going to have to now refer to them as houseplants. I decided to bring them in last year to see if they could survive a winter and they did without any problems. And there should have been problems because I'll forget to water my houseplants for weeks or forget to open the blinds in the back room (where they were staying) for weeks....these guys got a workout but they survived. They're tough plants but you wouldn't know it from their  hibiscis-like crepe papery delicate flowers.

Abutilon is also called flowering maple because its leaves resemble a maple's. They are not related to a maple in any way though. They just look like them, sort of.

I've bought red ones before (not your usual screaming bright red, a very beautiful sophisticated red) and soft orange ones with variegated spotted leaves. They're kind of hard to find in garden centers but sometimes you luck out. If you get a chance, try them. They might come in a little three inch plastic pot and be just four inches tall but it doesn't take long for them to fill out and start blooming their little heads off... and apparently, for many as many years as you remember to bring them in before the first frost.