Bloomin'

First thing I noticed this morning when I was able to stumble out of doors was that the roses were bein' munched on by aphids.

So I mixed up a batch of neem oil, 1 teaspoon to a quart of warm water, and went to sprayin'. First, I give the buds a flick o' the finger to knock the little buggers out of their revelry, reduce their numbers, and then let 'em have it with the wonder drug. Neem oil is the product of the neem tree, also known as the village pharmacy in places where they still know about these things, like India. Neem has so many wonderful virtues that I'll have to leave it to the reader to ascertain them all.

While I was at it, I noticed many other flowers had a spring in their step, including the artichoke;

this one had a ladybug doing my job for me:

the windflower,

and the California poppy.

What a blessing flowers are, and not just to the aphids.