Garden, midpoint

The whole garden is on the balcony. It's a large balcony. The whole thing is lined with pots except for the part with the sliding glass door. All the pots are large. No small pots allowed.

The whole thing was started from seeds. But many more seeds were started than planted. It was a gigantic waste because I didn't know what I was doing, and still don't.

All seeds except the ones started from rhizomes, and those things are kind of like seeds. Caladiums and oxalis triangularis.

The patio gets seven hours of sunlight maximum. The rest of the time it's in shade. So things cannot be expected to finish such as melons and cucumbers and tomatoes and such things as beans. But we'll see how far they go.

Surprisingly, the things that are doing the best are various chile peppers. You'd think peppers are full sun needing plants.

We got no bees around here.

Is that pathetic, or what? 

Who ever heard of no bees?

So I diddled these purple eggplant flowers with my finger. 

Then went around and diddled other purple eggplant flowers. 

Like my finger is a diddling bee.

And it worked!

I think.

I went out there today futzing around with unwinding bean vines and wrapping them around sticks when a boy's voice called out cutting through the tranquility.

"Hey! I really like your plants." 

What a penetrating voice for a little bitty lad. His parents failed to teach him to not yell in public.

I waved.

He waved back. 

Then within ten minutes the impending clouds converged overhead and dumped their contents of water in waves between hail and pounding rain. 

I comforted an imaginary dog. 

*flash* 

"Here it comes, kaboom"

KA-BOOM

"See. I told you, Imaginary Little Dog." 

Finally. Another pounding rainstorm.

It's been weeks. 

I dragged out the hose connected to the kitchen water filter and used it to hose down the patio. 

Now the brewery downstairs below me with their protruding glass oriel won't know it's me dumping dirty water onto their glass.

For I prefer to cover my actions under the darkness of very wet storms.

I love hail.

What an amazing thing.

I never experienced hail until we moved here and I was all, "Oh my God, now my life is complete." 

Hail and tornadoes. What more is there to ask of extreme weather? 

Although I'm glad my truck is safe in the garage. 

And the plants can do better without it.