Kimberly A. Cook

Military Romance Author

Kimberly A Cook

Quest For The Perfect Garden Pot?

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by Kimberly A. Cook                       (Twitter@  WarriorTales)

My roses are blooming in April. Sweet sea biscuits! While we had hail, rain, sun and thunder over the weekend, I went on a quest last Friday to find the perfect large ceramic teal garden pot for the fairy rock garden. So far I feel like Goldilocks; close but not quite.

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Perfect color. Great shape. Too big. Rats!

Then I got sidetracked by the plants and flowers. Luckily I had an appointment or I could have wandered for hours.

 

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Look at these fun purple flowers.

Then I found this fabulous pink azalea in full bloom. Yummy!

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So, so pretty in pink.

Then a foxglove caught my eye and I had to take a very up close and personal picture.

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Fairies paint the insides of these blooms, I’m sure.

And then I came across this fabulous selection of water fountains I love but are way out of my price range. But maybe if I save my pennies over the winter…. What was I shopping for anyway?

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The big or the small blue one, either one will work. But I need electricity. Always something.

Taken a ramble in the garden center recently? Maybe I need to use spray paint on the current big pot. Another quest begins!

Got garden style?

The Cat, You Idiot!

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by Kimberly A. Cook              (Twitter@  WarriorTales)

If you’re one of the three people on the planet who haven’t seen this video about brothers who pranked their little sister after her wisdom teeth were extracted, you’re in for a treat. I laughed so hard I cried when I saw it. It also made me incredibly grateful I grew up without brothers and YouTube. Thank you Lord!

Since she had cotton stuffed in her mouth, they even put subtitles for our viewing pleasure.

The prank went viral and caught Ellen’s attention as you can see from the second video. What makes me a proud woman veteran is to see how this young woman under the effects of anesthesia had the wits and gumption to keep it together to make decisions to protect her family from the zombie apocalypse. Then of course the whole cat thing. Spec Ops Cat approves!

Happy Quirky Friday and have a great weekend!

 

Time To Dig In The Dirt?

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by Kimberly A. Cook              (Twitter@  WarriorTales)

Surveying my backyard this past weekend I knew it was time to downsize my pot garden. Wait one. Before folks get the wrong impression, I mean my garden in pots. Just to be clear.  Since my soil is clay mixed with concrete when I try to dig it, all my plants except for two are in pots. (The camellia and the Fairy rose are in the ground. I do not know how they survive.)

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Farmer Bunny watching over the new mint plants. Ignore the weeds behind the pots.

 

In the interest of simplifying my garden, it’s time to not plant things I don’t eat or enjoy. So the carrots, strawberries (alias slug bait), and the dill are history. But I did use big pots to plant new peppermint and sweet mint plants on Sunday.

While I don’t really use the mint, I LOVE their smell when I water them during the summer. Same goes for the basil, rosemary and the carnations. The sniff test passes as using the plants in my book.

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Can you smell the peppermint? You’ve got to plant some. Even just to sniff it or make tea.

 

Of course before I could plant the mint plants I had to buy more potting soil. Little did I know the bags of potting soil were wet until I tried hefting them into my grocery cart last Friday. Seriously? Then they peed in the back of the Subaru while I was driving home. Luckily I have a plastic liner back there. Note to self, only dry potting soil goes in the car.

On the upside, didn’t have to do much watering since the potting soil was drenched. Filled up the pots with a gravel base, potting soil, then the mint plants. My favorite part is sticking the little plant sign in the dirt as the final touch. Ready to go.

The rest of the backyard is in complete disarray with weeds and grass growing around the pots, dried plants from  last year and the perpetual weeds. The pot downsizing has not started in earnest either.

I’ll get to that next weekend. Maybe. I hope so…. Got potting soil? Get mint!

 

 

Juliet Gazelle Is A Track Star!

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by Kimberly A. Cook                (Twitter@  WarriorTales)

The sun is out, it’s going to be maybe 86 degrees on Monday and Oregon Zoo baby gazelle Juliet is burning rubber! The wacky wet winter here in Oregon now seems like Spring is racing into summer.

Can’t blame Juliet for enjoying her speed and the sun. She almost didn’t make it as a baby, so now five months later she’s a healthy girl getting her groove on. The camera can’t even keep up with her at times. Juliet could go out for the Oregon Ducks track team no problem.

Have a great Quirky Weekend and run like Juliet!

How About A Private Camellia Show?

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When I motored over to my writer friend’s house April 2nd for writer support group, I arrived a little early and got to wander in her yard. It was a week before the “official” camellia show and I had a private viewing.

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How fabulous is this? He told me the name but I forgot, stunned by its beauty. 

 

These gorgeous flowers are award winners on many levels and they grow them all around their home. With the warm Spring weather and hot days, my friend’s husband was concerned they might not have the best buds for the show. Lucky for me I always have my camera.

Looking at some of the beauties in their yard, he told me about how much work went into making the different varieties and how he had been sought out by growers for plant starts. Seems camellia fanatics check out the winners of these shows and then hunt down the growers for stock, nationally and internationally. Who knew?

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This reminds me of candy. Maybe peppermint circles?

 

All too soon it was time to head off in our carpool to the writer’s group and leave the lovely blooms behind. The amazing symmetry, beauty and jaw dropping designs of these camellias are simply stunning.

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The petals on this camellia take my breath away. Certainly a show stopper!

 

In the backyard of my parent’s house is a gorgeous fuchsia pink camellia with a bright yellow center. I’ve grown up with that bush and it’s still there, blooming away. My friend and her husband have the same one in their yard besides all the other amazing varieties. I had no idea there were so many types. Their camellias are all truly award winners, official and unofficial.

Got camellias? It’s show time!

 

Twiggy Rides Again!

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by Kimberly A. Cook                (Twitter@  WarriorTales)

One of the most popular videos I’ve posted featured Twiggy the water skiing squirrel. So when I checked in on Twiggy today, seems they are making the rounds in Canada at the boat shows, complete with water safety gear. There have been several Twiggys it turns out.

Given we just had two days of 80 degree weather here in Oregon, water safety for squirrels and humans is a must. Hope you’re having a great weekend!