Happy New Year! - Thoughts

Happy 2008!

I'm getting a bit concerned because usually around now, I am excited and can't wait to try something new but that feeling hasn't come yet.

I've noticed from the past twelve years of living here that the summers have gotten increasingly hotter and the humidity is unbearable. I used to be able to go out at any time during summer and be okay but that's not the case for quite a few years now. The humidity is always above 50%.

I guess this means possibly trying to find plants that do not depend on me. The succulents normally tend to do fine but it was a real struggle last summer because of the lack of rain in my area. It was between 18 to 36" below normal. My poor pitcher plant died because I couldn't keep water in its bowl.

Every year I tend to try something new. For a few years I grew pineapple plants! It was pretty exciting to see it bloom .. but then I lost interest. The plants suffered after coming out of the greenhouse so I just threw them away.

I've been unsuccessful with avocado. A friend suggested growing them for me and mailing the plants to me - but the thrill isn't the same because *I* want to experience it.

One year I grew apple trees. They got big enough but the roots were incredibly invasive. Wherever the pots sat, you can bet it was quite funny to try to relocate them because by then the roots grew out of the pots and went deep into the ground. I finally threw them away. I also had luck with tangerine seeds. I believe I gave them away for free after they got big enough.

I used to grow pumpkins but I live in an area where there's 6 billion versions of pumpkin-loving insects that attack the vines and the pumpkins themselves. I finally gave up on growing pumpkins.

I have a couple gourd seeds and pumpkin seeds that I may try and grow. I used to grow pumpkins before the summers became unbearable. I think I'll try to grow pumpkins this year and see if the types of insects have changed. I expect to lose the pumpkins but still have gourds.

I imagine I'll be growing birdhouse gourds this summer. Luckily, there hasn't been a type of bug that goes after them so they tend to grow with no problems. I just hate how they don't seem to grow very big.