I first discovered what a crepe myrtle was on a family trip to Virginia. These trees were all over, in varying colors. My favorite was the deep rose variety. I kept admiring them throughout the vacation, wondering if they would grow in New Jersey.
A few years later, a new garden center had them for five dollars as part of a grand opening sale. How could I resist that? Rushing over, I found the color I wanted and home it came with me. Now granted, it was a small sapling, but I was excited.
I assumed one day it would look like the beautiful tree you see above. That didn’t happen.
Continue reading The Crepe Myrtle
“It’s not the heat, it’s the humidity.” How many times have you heard that lately? Usually, I’d agree. But this week in New Jersey is just plain HOT. Heat, humidity, whatever. HOT!
Oh, why can’t anything in life just stay the same?
The first time we met Missy was at the breeder’s house in 2004. She was the runt of the litter, but a spunky little thing. We had only intended to get one male kitten, but when we were offered her at half price, what could we do? Two kittens are always more fun than one, and so she came home with us.
Sadly, she developed chronic sinusitis and often had upper respiratory infections. Occasional rounds of antibiotics would get her back to normal for a time. We were told her life expectancy was shortened because of this, but when she made it past ten, it seemed she’d keep going forever.
