Precocious Flowers and Pumpkin Pie

Happy Thanksgiving! While the pie cools and the sweet potatoes (no photo, sorry) bake in the oven, I thought I'd post the photos of the blooming amarylli, downstairs and up.



This one is growing in a pot with four bulbs that I started from small bulblets a few years ago. There are two more stalks coming up that should bloom before Christmas, but for now, this is our Thanksgiving Amaryllis.

First to open this year in the sunny upstairs sewing room window was this one, a single bulb I transplanted right before moving the plants inside this year. It has several brothers and sisters in various spots around, and at least one of them is producing a bud that might bloom around Christmas. Of course, the upstairs windows are crowded with cuttings from various plants, as well as the geraniums that I saved at the last minute because I couldn't let them freeze to death, after all.

Today we count many blessings. Flowers. Sunshine. Warmth in the house. Food to prepare and share with good friends this afternoon. Health. Friends. Family members all far away but in touch through the miracles of cell phones and cyberspace. Freedom. Time to do what we want, when we have the energy to do it. Visits from a warm puppy now and then. Love. And above all, the never ending grace of God. May all of you have a wonderful day, a feast of taste and fullness, a toast to health and well-being, rejoicing in the warmth of friendship, basking in the light of hope. Have a blessed Thanksgiving, everyone!