Pitiful

What a case of terrible timing.  I took a photo of that poor, pitiful rose, but it is too pathetic to show.  I wasn't kidding about the strength of the rain and hail.  Most of the leaves were stripped, leaving mostly bare stems, and so damaged the flowers they will have to be removed.  I truly don't know if the plant can be saved.  Sigh.

As if in apology, Nature cleared the sky, warmed up the sun, and pretended she hadn't had such a temper tantrum the night before.  Doing my own penance for mistreating the rose, I went out to do a bit of hand weeding in front of the porch.  It was just a drop in the bucket as far as what is out there, but it was a start, and I've learned to pace myself on this major project.  The lilac blossoms also took a beating from the rain, but rallied pretty well.  They draw a particular butterfly which, as near as I can figure, is a yellow and black swallowtail, and lots of bees.  It was pleasant working outside with fluttering and buzzing companions.

Remember all those apples I got from Camille?  After making all those apple cakes, I put the boxes in the round room and ignored them.  Apples are such forgiving fruit.  Yesterday I decided to bite the bullet and do something with them, fearing they might be good only for turkey treats.  I ended up with enough sliced apples for two big bags to put in the freezer for future pies, and any that had gone slightly soft went into a pot for applesauce.  The turkeys got shortchanged because only two apples got thrown out into the yard.

And all those tomatoes I spent days cutting up last summer?  I pulled out a bag from the freezer for an easy pasta sauce last night.  Yum.

After such a pitiful discovery in the morning, it turned out to be a rather productive day.