I see the occasional splash as one of the trio of frogs who still live in the pond dive under, but with the cooler weather it is rare to spot them at all, and I have had no chance to actually get a photo. So I went back to my archives to admire Brave Frog again. Such a charmer!
Another of the hardy bog plants we added to the pond this year. As the name implies, this should also attract butterflies – but again it bloomed rather late so we didn’t see many (I did see a few though). With all the blooms on top it gets a bit heavy and bends over, but perhaps next year it will grow up a bit stronger?
It’s October (okay, it has been for a few days, yes, I know) and the temperatures are dipping low at night so it officially feels like autumn. This is the signal to get out the bins full of orange things!
Most of the orange things…
We have 8 jack o’lanterns for the windows across the front of the house, pumpkin candle holders, interesting frog witches… And so I made my moments.
And then, finally, I added the last decoration to General Principle. He took it stoically, as he does everything.
Yes, that’s right. I’m done. In fact, I have been for quite a while. I realize it’s only October. I’ve been done since sometime in June. Even more, things are already wrapped. Want to know how? Or why?
We all get catalogs in the mail (at least, everyone I know does) – and we also get ads via email. Usually I delete the latter and recycle the former and ignore it all. But sometime in April or May I decided I would start going through the catalogs and marking items that might be good gifts.
today’s haul of catalogs…
Then one weekend I sat with all the catalogs and made some decisions. To keep it all organized, I created a spreadsheet – I’ve been doing this for several years so I have a decent system of color coding on the spreadsheet that works for me:
You see that I can easily keep track of how much I’ve spent, where thing are coming from (I keep all the email related to order confirmations and shipping notices in a single folder) and what the status is. When items arrive, I go ahead and wrap them (I have a bin of wrapping paper in a closet where it’s easy to get to). Then into a closet everything goes:
this year’s loot for my family
Now, I am not known for my lovely giftwrapping – in fact it’s quite the opposite. Also, I don’t do bows so that everything can stack for storage. And nametags can fall off, so I don’t use those either. Instead, I write on the tape who the package is for (and any instructions like “1 of 2” in case there are related packages that should be opened in a particular order).
seeing this will drive my mother nuts.
I used a label maker in the past, but realized this year a Sharpie on the tape was faster and simpler.
Now after Thanksgiving when I put up the tree I just pull out the packages and put them under the tree and I’m all set. The beauty is I have no stress, I don’t over-spend because I’m keeping track, and by the time things are being opened I have forgotten what’s in them so it’s just as much a surprise for me!
I also go ahead and buy birthday presents at the same time if I see something and I’m done with Christmas presents. I realize this isn’t for everyone, but it works for me and it makes the vacation I take during the holiday season much more relaxing. Hopefully something in this will work for you and take some holiday stress out of your life. Enjoy!
In the mix of “hardy bog plants” was a short stocky thing. It grew slowly most of the summer and was referred to as “the thick-stalk-plant” when we needed a point of reference for a frog sighting because we didn’t know which plant was which until they started blooming.
The thick-stalk-plant suddenly started shooting up in height and is now over 3 feet tall. The upper half has been covered in blooms, and as it grows taller more blooms appear on top. Even though the days (and nights, especially) are getting cooler it is blooming continuously. Butterflies and hummingbirds are supposed to be attracted, but since it started blooming late that hasn’t happened. We are hoping for earlier blooms next year and some excellent hummingbird action. (okay, right now we’re just hoping the plants all survive the winter to be honest).
This photo is blurred, but I really like it because it seems like there is fairy dust involved. So I’m sharing it, too.
![[insert "theme music from Jaws"]](https://kellyosullivan.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/2012-october-4.jpg "2012-October-4")
[insert “theme music from Jaws“]
Eyeballs is lurking in the lilypads. The days are cooler, and the nights are dipping close to freezing now. Soon the frogs will burrow into the mud and I may have a few photos stored (certainly of Brave Frog) for some additional posts, but then you have to wait for spring until we find out if they stayed in the pond and survived the winter. *fingers crossed*
This year I got a variety of “hardy bog plants” to add to the pond. Once we added the water lilies the barrier was broken. Despite being completely novice in this, I was empowered by the internet. What pond plants were perennial and could handle our growing zone?
Google knew the answer. Google is amazing that way.
So I got a variety pack of “hardy bog plants” and “hardy bog iris” – the iris have grown but not flowered. So, they are the first round losers. However, the real test comes next spring when we find out if “hardy” was true. The gauntlet is down, because I’m not rescuing any plants.
This is the “obedient plant” of the hardy bog plants variety pack. If any plant survives, it had damn well be this one. I Order It to come back. (for the record, this was taken with my phone – that’s how awesome this plant is.)
Flowers are more cooperative than frogs, in that they do not dive under the water when I set up the camera. This lily has such lovely variation in color, so I had to share it.
Come closer, scrumptious morsel!
I admit it – I do not think I can keep up daily postings much longer at all, so I’ve renamed this to “Periodic Frog” because (1) it’s going to be accurate and (2) I’m a chemist who enjoys the play on words.
Nonetheless, I was delighted to spot Eyeballs in the lilypads – he was well hidden. I didn’t see him actually go for the little insect (perhaps it’s too small to bother with – what do I know? Do frogs do tapas?) but I like to think he was watching it. Those little bugs are annoying, so I’d be more than happy to have them be a frog’s appetizer.
I am one with the lily pads.
I was certain I had missed my opportunity to take a photo of Cave Frog on this evening – which would have been a shame as the light was interesting on the water. While I was moving in, he hopped off the lily pad where he had been sitting – but thankfully they are so thick there he just ended up on another, with one over his back. He must have felt reasonably camouflaged, because he was then very still while I did the photo shoot.
@KellyOSullivan 