Fleurs, Fins, & Furries
at The Surgeon’s House
Passion & More Popping at TSH
Mother Nature always wins out on Her terms and never more evident than with our hit-and-miss success or lack thereof with our passionflower vines and our attempts to transplant wild penstemon. This season in the mural patio the passionflower blossoms RULE.
Praise BEE!!!!!
You may remember that the 3 honeybee colonies we received last year with such hopeful promise were all lost to us – one colony abruptly swarmed and left while the other two perished over the winter . . . ‘bee-grettably’ beekeepers across the country, and likely the world, are reporting this as an all-too-frequent occurrence.
Pies, peppers & pipes – what more could there be?
What more could there be you ask? How about sweet peas, daffies & narcissus regaling the dining room, volunteer kale, peppers, The Youngster as always 4-6 weeks ahead of the Grand Old Gramma, and a breakfast offering of a homemade deep dish chicken potpie . . .
Ahhhhhhh . . . We’re Just Kidding Around!
Will wonders never cease? Well, I certainly hope not! A once-in-MY-lifetime opportunity presented itself recently when we were picking up our weekly goat cheese and yoghurt/sour cream order from our friends Camille and Brian who own a ranchette down in Clarkdale.
Into Skyscapes & Food
Everyone here at The Surgeon’s House seems to be into something.
Ducky Dopamine & More
As we cruise through February, Mother Nature is barely beginning to awaken so on particularly sunny days, our finned babies in the lower pond are vaguely navigating about while our Miss Fiona Papillon is ever-vigilant on the ‘birdies watch’ and trying to keep our feral Jasper from getting to his good eats.
Just Passing Through
With the insane proliferation and year-round breeding habits of the javalinas, this recent January passerby is a welcomed addition.
Solstice Magic
The Capt. and I celebrated our Samhain ‘bone fire’ a bit belatedly this year so we conjured up a combo meal deal of Solstice AND Samhain ending and beginning – yay! Many bones of 2025 to set aside and leave behind as we move into longer, brighter days and a spurt of outgrowth.
Frisky Is As Frisky Does
The cooler overnight temps have everyone at the night eatery (aka the Honey Shack) feeling their oats. Jasper is looking pretty stinking comfy in the late afternoon sun as he stands watch on what began as his safe haven.
Fall has fallen
As we near the end of October, it feels like one moment it was summer and the next, fall had fallen! Inside and out, everyone - finned, 4-legged, and green - is beginning to hunker down into the upcoming season when we all celebrate the rest and introspection resulting from the harvest and bounty of spring and summer.
Caught Peach-Handed
As we near the full moon and the fall equinox, I am thinking that the term ‘lunatic’ is an apt commentary. Our raccoon family of mama and three babies recently found three over-ripe peaches outside the backdoor and tried to sneak away from the scene of the crime undetected.
We MISS YOU!!!!
The days and nights are breezy and nearly balmy. Brightness and luminosity abound . . . We miss you INSIDE AND OUT so how about checking us out again this fall?
Fall must be coming – school is back in session
We have been scratching our heads to account for not having seen any raccoon-ettes (babies) then lo and behold here came mama with her entourage!
Andrea Appleseed says ‘Del Monte Stand Aside!’
Johnny Appleseed and Del Monte have nothing on TSH this year as the apples, grapes, pears, and peaches are coming on like gangbusters. We are hypervigilant on the lookout for skeletonizers and the dreaded ‘snot wads’ otherwise known as spittlebugs.
Will the REAL ARTISTS please stand up?
At this time of the ‘frenzied chaos of summer’ as we call it, there is nearly no distinguishing between the subjects and objects of beauty presented by the Earth Mother. We were recently graced with a visit from long-standing painters MarySue and Bill Schwab
May offerings
Everything green seems to be calling to us all at once with a rich, lush, and overflowing fullness.
Take the PLUNGE!
The gods were surely smiling on us when Joshua captured these images of the finned folks literally getting into the swim of May.
May Day! May Day!
What better way to ring in the Celtic season of Beltane than with the arrival of new finned folks? Former guests Shelley and Dave down in Cottonwood found themselves needing to rehome their two koi and one Plecostomus and were gracious enough to think of us – yay! Dave had the perfect net and set about wrestling the three of our charges into our transporting cooler.
May WONDERS never cease?
In all of my well over 60 years of actively being a dirt-digging girl, I have never succeeded in having a violet root from a leaf in water . . . very frustrating. Until NOW when just on a lark I placed 6 broken leaves in a small glass of water and hoped for the best.
Abounding Blooms
Everyone is getting into the spring swing!
April Happenings
Our fervent expectations notwithstanding, the Youngster over the upper pond again wasn’t in the mood to bloom prolifically this year although against the backdrop of the resplendent Lady Banks and her arbor, the cherry tree, the colors painted a complimentary juxtaposition of colors against a cornflower blue sky.
Walk With Me In The Garden
With no regard for our recent cold snap, the raised veggie beds, critters, divas, sprites, 4-leggeds, and little green youngsters are everywhere to be found right now.
Floating with Happiness!
Even the Buddha says the gifts of spring are ‘making him float with happiness!’ and Jasper is chowing down in prep for another March surprise.
We’ve Gone Nutsy — CUCKOO
In the last 4-5 days spring has simply exploded on our Coconut Island in The Sky and it seems to have begun with Joshua replanting the raised beds that, as you know, are devoted to veggies.
March-ing Right Along
While it seems impossible that we are celebrating the month of March 2025 already, clearly the Earth Mother is awakening all the green folks who have been hibernating all winter. Joshua happened to capture a few of our offerings that were dotted with rain.