December 8, 2023 (Friday)
Cold and clear this morning. Friday is soup pickup day from Mother Hubbard’s Ladle (The Soup Caboose). I picked out some frozen soup varieties for the coming week; Mulligatawny (Curried Chicken, Rice and Apple), Acorn Squash with Sausage and Black Beans and my favorite: Haddock and Corn Chowder.
Choring Around
It may seem like a trivial chore to water houseplants, but not when you have as many as I do, I’ve taken to watering the Phalaenopsis orchids with ice cubes. Since the planting medium is so porous, the melting ice releases water gradually. The cold does not seem to bother the plants.
I have a large thirsty coffee tree which dropped a lot of leaves after I moved it inside for the winter. While I removed the dead leaves I noticed two coffee “beans” on a branch. Probably not enough for a thimble of coffee. I’m thinking of decorating the tree (which is quite tall) for Christmas. I also needed to water the Camellia, Boston Fern and a bunch of Christmas cactus. I have two Clivia Miniata plants which I’m allowing to dry out. I’m curious if stressing them a bit might induce flowering. I still have Christmas Cactus, Rosemary, Peace Lily and a Cycad which will be watered tomorrow. It is a big chore.
Happy Birthday John Rosenfelder
Daily Picture Theme is  #Courage
I participate in a daily picture challenge on the social media site Spoutible. Everyday there is a different subject announced as a Daily Picture Theme. I select an appropriate  photo from my collection to share. I have been sharing these exclusively on Improves With Age, my Substack newsletter. However since I have untaken the task of writing daily entries, I decided to introduce a daily picture theme photo to this website.
I’ve decided to use photos of firefighters for this theme, These photos were taken at a firefighting exercise in New Ipswich in July of 2021. There are some photos of the ambulance team. It takes courage to approach danger with the mission of protecting life and property. We are lucky to have such individuals.
