Sunshine Challenge #7
Jul. 25th, 2021 10:40 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
pensnestPrompt 7: Zephyrus
The child of Dawn (Eos) and the Titan Astraeus, Zephyrus represents the West wind. Zephyrus was considered to be the gentlest of the Anemoi (wind gods representing the cardinal points of the compass), and the beneficial bringer of Spring. The gentle springtime winds of the West indicated an end to Winter and the new growth of plants and flowers.
We get quite a lot of wind here in flat, flat Norfolk (tho' I do live on a hill, *the* hill, possibly), and most of it is from the west, more or less, but the noticeable winds are the ones which come from the north instead, or the east, bringing snow. Never mind about them.
The beneficial bringer of Spring and new growth, though, that's nice. I like Spring. When I was a teenager Autumn was my favourite season, but nowadays, although I still love the brilliant colours of the leaves, I think Spring has overtaken it. There's something so heart-warming about seeing the first snowdrops poke their heads up, and then crocuses and daffodils, and the new green on the trees.
I planted a load of bulbs last year, and so there were hyacinths in blue and cream, and grape hyacinths in pink and blue, followed by tulips in pink or purple/white, and annoyingly also in red and yellow, which I swear I did not plant on purpose! The aliums grew, too, one of them was at least as big as my head, in time. And my clematis burgeoned into pink floweriness all over the fence, to my great delight. The verbena bonarienses, grown from seed, is just about ready to start flowering now, but it has been very satisfying to see it grow.
The apple trees were covered in blossom this year, all seven of them. Not sure how enthusiastic the various plums were, and they are still stubbornly barren, but the apples are absolutely laden. I dare say we shall have fierce and terrible rain very soon and all the baby apples will fall off. Oh, and we are in for a fantastic blackberry crop, too. Not by choice, unless not doing anything about the brambles counts as a choice, which I suppose it does, really.
I have moaned about the vegetables already. The sweetcorn are getting sturdy now, in what used to be FIL's potato patch (I have removed most of the rogue potato plants), and the tomato plants all seem very happy. I keep eyeing them suspiciously, because I feel there is something I ought to do to them, and I don't know what it is. But the gigantic one with oddly un-feathery leaves has three respectable (green) tomatoes near the top, so something is okay. I think that one is one of FIL's seeds, unexpectedly doing well, and it's some kind of heirloom breed. I do hope something produces Gardener's Delight, though, because those are so delicious straight from the vine.
I am hopeful about the courgette plants, at last: three (recent acquisitions, as small but cheerful plants) have been planted among the sweetcorn, and one of the ones that got maltreated in transition has decided to flourish. With luck there may be quite a few yellow courgettes this summer, but I am not counting on anything! A squash of some kind finally decided to grow in one of the ludicrously raised beds, and somewhat to my surprise, a sister plant is growing there too. I did, I think, make various attempts to plant courgette seeds, so this newcomer might be one of those. We'll see. Maybe.
Meanwhile, the raspberries are fruiting, and the blackcurrants are probably overripe, so I shall have to tackle the terrifying jungle that is the fruit cage and see if I can harvest some. Raspberries ought to make it worth while, but argh. I shall need armour.
I wonder if the walnut tree will produce nuts this year? It must have been planted about six years ago, as a slender little thing, but it is doing quite well above the beehives.
Some fics, loosely related to Spring and/or New Beginnings:
A Tale of Dreams and Asses which is about a reunion, aka a new beginning.
Free Range Utter crack... in which AJ has an allergy, and whenever he sneezes, he lays an egg. JC (his boyfriend) is sceptical.
Out of the Habit in which someone isn't altogether suited to life as a monk.
Trials is part of the Chronicles series, and is set at the springtime Elite Trials.
The Things that Juliana Didn't Say A TNG story about Data's childhood.
By Invitation Only another TNG story, in which Data nearly gets married and has a baby.
The child of Dawn (Eos) and the Titan Astraeus, Zephyrus represents the West wind. Zephyrus was considered to be the gentlest of the Anemoi (wind gods representing the cardinal points of the compass), and the beneficial bringer of Spring. The gentle springtime winds of the West indicated an end to Winter and the new growth of plants and flowers.
We get quite a lot of wind here in flat, flat Norfolk (tho' I do live on a hill, *the* hill, possibly), and most of it is from the west, more or less, but the noticeable winds are the ones which come from the north instead, or the east, bringing snow. Never mind about them.
The beneficial bringer of Spring and new growth, though, that's nice. I like Spring. When I was a teenager Autumn was my favourite season, but nowadays, although I still love the brilliant colours of the leaves, I think Spring has overtaken it. There's something so heart-warming about seeing the first snowdrops poke their heads up, and then crocuses and daffodils, and the new green on the trees.
I planted a load of bulbs last year, and so there were hyacinths in blue and cream, and grape hyacinths in pink and blue, followed by tulips in pink or purple/white, and annoyingly also in red and yellow, which I swear I did not plant on purpose! The aliums grew, too, one of them was at least as big as my head, in time. And my clematis burgeoned into pink floweriness all over the fence, to my great delight. The verbena bonarienses, grown from seed, is just about ready to start flowering now, but it has been very satisfying to see it grow.
The apple trees were covered in blossom this year, all seven of them. Not sure how enthusiastic the various plums were, and they are still stubbornly barren, but the apples are absolutely laden. I dare say we shall have fierce and terrible rain very soon and all the baby apples will fall off. Oh, and we are in for a fantastic blackberry crop, too. Not by choice, unless not doing anything about the brambles counts as a choice, which I suppose it does, really.
I have moaned about the vegetables already. The sweetcorn are getting sturdy now, in what used to be FIL's potato patch (I have removed most of the rogue potato plants), and the tomato plants all seem very happy. I keep eyeing them suspiciously, because I feel there is something I ought to do to them, and I don't know what it is. But the gigantic one with oddly un-feathery leaves has three respectable (green) tomatoes near the top, so something is okay. I think that one is one of FIL's seeds, unexpectedly doing well, and it's some kind of heirloom breed. I do hope something produces Gardener's Delight, though, because those are so delicious straight from the vine.
I am hopeful about the courgette plants, at last: three (recent acquisitions, as small but cheerful plants) have been planted among the sweetcorn, and one of the ones that got maltreated in transition has decided to flourish. With luck there may be quite a few yellow courgettes this summer, but I am not counting on anything! A squash of some kind finally decided to grow in one of the ludicrously raised beds, and somewhat to my surprise, a sister plant is growing there too. I did, I think, make various attempts to plant courgette seeds, so this newcomer might be one of those. We'll see. Maybe.
Meanwhile, the raspberries are fruiting, and the blackcurrants are probably overripe, so I shall have to tackle the terrifying jungle that is the fruit cage and see if I can harvest some. Raspberries ought to make it worth while, but argh. I shall need armour.
I wonder if the walnut tree will produce nuts this year? It must have been planted about six years ago, as a slender little thing, but it is doing quite well above the beehives.
Some fics, loosely related to Spring and/or New Beginnings:
A Tale of Dreams and Asses which is about a reunion, aka a new beginning.
Free Range Utter crack... in which AJ has an allergy, and whenever he sneezes, he lays an egg. JC (his boyfriend) is sceptical.
Out of the Habit in which someone isn't altogether suited to life as a monk.
Trials is part of the Chronicles series, and is set at the springtime Elite Trials.
The Things that Juliana Didn't Say A TNG story about Data's childhood.
By Invitation Only another TNG story, in which Data nearly gets married and has a baby.
no subject
Date: 2021-08-06 09:23 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2021-08-06 09:29 pm (UTC)Either that or the owners of the place threw some peelings in the compost... .