Four weeks, I mean, since this post, where I gave you an update about my cat's health, the plants on my window sill and other such fascinating stuff :-)
The basil on my window sill now has tiny white flowers, and the forgetmenots are much taller:
Me not being a gardener at all, I have no idea whether it is good or bad that the basil is in bloom. Does that have any influence on its edibility?
Pukky is as well as one can expect from an elderly cat; she has settled comfortably into both her new mealtime schedule (three meals instead of seven or eight...!) and her new fur, which I make sure to treat with a grooming glove every day. In fact, we have been to the vet's today, and she has been so well-behaved that the vet commented on what a pleasant patient she is. They have taken a blood sample to determin whether her thyroid medication should stay the same or a smaller dosage can be given now.
And while I know that some of you have hundreds or at least several dozens of regular readers, I was well chuffed to see that the number of my blog followers has recently reached 20 - ok, really that should be 19, since I appear to be my own follower, strangely enough :-)
Thank you - each and everyone of you continue to make me keep going with this blog, and I very much enjoy reading your own blogs, as you can tell from the comments I more or less regularly leave on your posts.
Yes, please keep going with your blog. It is not the quantity but the quality of your audience!
ReplyDeleteThank you for the encouragement, Mark! I guess as long as I find topics as banal as my window sill worth mentioning, I will keep blogging :-)
ReplyDeleteKeep going with the basil! Making it grow at all is a feat I have never managed, and the flowers look quite nice. Have you tasted them?
ReplyDeleteLibrarian please know that I check your blog every morning, without fail! I seldom post, but I always read. Please continue. I really like having a tall,slim, cat-loving, basil-growing, business woman working from home, friend in a lovely town in Germany.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoy your blog, I find it interesting, intelligent, thoughtful, and retrospective.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like your kitty is doing better, I hope she continues to improve!
What will you make with all that basil? Thinking of pesto?
Frances, no, I have not tasted the flowers, never thought of it, but will do so and report on my experiment! The window faces East, and there is plenty of sun until noon without it getting scorched by afternoon sun, maybe that is why it is growing so well.
ReplyDeleteJill, I always appreciate your comments and you know I keep telling you you should write your own blog - you'd have your German friend as your first follower :-)
Mary, thank you for your kind comment! The basil usually gets eaten as part of a Caprese (tomato, mozzarella and basil arranged on a plate like a salad) which my boyfriend and I usually have for starters when he spends the weekend here with me.
As for pesto - my mum makes very good pesto! In fact, I have a small jar in my fridge, just waiting for me to use it...
You know how I enjoy my visits both here, and in your comments on mine!
ReplyDeleteAs far as the basil goes, you pinch off the flowers to keep the basil bushy so it doesn't get leggy. This also extends its life.
Hello!
ReplyDeleteAnd you have followers that are not really counted (like myself.) And just as Nan says, pinch off the flowers. You see, if you leave the flowers on there, the plant is using the energy to make those flowers rather than making more leaves. I think that is what my gardening husband has told me before... Oh, and you know I like the view even BEYOND your lovely windowsill! Hope you are having a lovely summer.
Kay
Nan and Kay, thank you for telling me about the basil flowers, and for reading & commenting on here! You both know that I equally enjoy reading your blog (or, in Kay's case, messages).
ReplyDeleteI better get those flowers off the basil right away; it has already started to turn more "leggy" and less bushy.
I really enjoy reading your blog! You should be proud of it, and of giving pleasure to 20 people. The world needs more happiness! (I need fewer exclamation points.)
ReplyDeleteBasil will start to slowly die once it has achieved its purpose of making seeds to keep the species going, so pinching back blossoms will keep it going longer. But it doesn't last forever. I have basil on my deck which is trying hard to bloom and will probably eventually defeat my efforts!
Thank you, Kristi! I know what you mean about exclamation points... sometimes, when I get particularly emotional about a certain topic, I add too many of them and edit at least half of them out before sending the email or post.
ReplyDeleteMy basil is now flowerless, and I'll see how it takes the loss of those pretty white blossoms. Trying to think now when I put it in the terracotta pot with the forgetmenots, I guess it won't last for many more weeks.
As a recent addition to your followers I would echo their comments. So far as my blogging is concerned I keep going for the reason Mark mentioned: quality not quantity of my followers!
ReplyDeleteHappy to have discovered this blog. Enjoyed the
ReplyDeletebook review and the photo. of your flowers.
I just tried my hand rearing Sunflowers and
I am so pleased.
Hello Cynthia, thank you for stopping by - I hope you like what you have discovered here and will continue to do so!
ReplyDeleteJust outside my front door, there are sunflowers gathered around the cherry tree. I think I shall take a picture of them; no idea how they got there, I think they found this place by accident (or bird droppings).
That post reminds me to join your blog, thank you! And yes,you can eat basil when it is flowring I am sure, although my basil has never lasted for long enough to flower, you must be doing something very right there. Poor cat - I'm glad she's a good patient. Our cats wouldn't ever let us do anything to help them and it was upsetting.
ReplyDeleteJenny, thank you!
ReplyDeleteIf the basil is going to suffer now, I will simply blame the weather, as it is way too chilly and wet these days for July.