Where I've been

Blog? What blog? Oh, right, I have one, don't I?

I've been busy. Since I last wrote, I've been to Maine, Massachusetts and Rhode Island visiting family, then to libraries and camps in Arkansas City, Wichita (twice), Valley Center, Oskaloosa, Lawrence, Overland Park and Leavenworth, Kansas, as well as Ponca City, Oklahoma and Jefferson City, Missouri. Mostly I've been doing summer reading programs, which have gone over well. The baby puppet has been singing "Throw, throw, throw the goat in the lima bean, Slippily, loppily, lippily, loppily, on the trampoline." Just as we do with the Itsy Bitsy Tiger, we sing it the proper way for her. Will she ever learn?

This was a performance in my backyard last week.

In Valley Center, they decorate the library up to the rafters. That whale must have been a tough one to net.
Also in Valley Center, the library lends out fishing poles, courtesy of Kansas Wildlife and Parks. In the past I've mentioned libraries lending cake pans, but I'd never seen this. First-time fishing pole borrowers get a little tackle box to keep.
This kind of busy-ness is typical of summer. July is quieter than June by far. Maybe I should go fishing?

Orchids

And now for a post with nothing to do with storytelling...

Most of my plants are outside for the summer. I'm a bit neglectful of them. They don't seem to mind. I keep the orchids inside so I can have flowers in the house. Two are blooming now, a third has sent out a shoot. These three are phalaenopsis orchids, while the other plant is a dendrobium. They're not fancy, just the kind you can get at the grocery store.

My mother had cattleya orchids when I was growing up. When I got my first phalaeonopsis, I asked her for advice. She suggested I put them in shallow trays of pebbles, but on clothespins so they would be raised above the pebbles. By keeping the pebbles wet, each orchid has its own microclimate. Once a week, I take them to the sink and run water through them. Otherwise I don't mess with them. They appreciate this and bloom for months on end. I had one that bloomed for 14 months straight.