Just a quick post here, but one that I’m quite proud of – the final stage of my balcony garden!
It’s been going strong all summer, growing by leaps and bounds in the hot weather and drinking up a frankly impressive amount of water throughout the heat and sun. The hops have grown crazy, and I’ve frankly kind of given up on trellising them in any meaningful semblance of order – they grow wild now, searching and clawing around the beams and each other.
It’s beautiful, though, getting to see how big they’ve all grown. The spiderplants are huge and verdant, with gloriously deep green leaves. The hanging pot is already on its second stage of growth, and some of the flowers have already bloomed, died, and are now blooming again.
Saturday and Sunday – 07-July-2023 and 08-July-2023
It’s been a while since I’ve gotten to do volunteer work! When Jess asked if I’d be up for helping out with a fundraiser for a dog rescue group… well, even if I’d been doing tons of volunteering, I’d be jumping at the chance to work with dogs and photographers!
Now, to be clear – I wasn’t the photographer on this event. Nor was the event for the dogs at the shelter – instead, people brought their own dogs, and paid to have portraits taken of said pups by a professional photographer.
What did I do, you ask?
Well… I manned the main booth, helped keep arrivals placated and in order, and… yeah, that was it. I mean, I also got to play with a ton of dogs and watch a professional photographer at work. I probably should have led with those. They were absolutely awesome!
Both days (Saturday and Sunday) were at the same spot – a lavender farm a bit North of my apartment, who asked that they not be named as it’s a private farm that (supposedly) was once overrun by entitled Instagrammers who kept destroying the crops.
Kind of disappointing, but also kind of unsurprising, unfortunately.
Anyways, it was awesome. We hung out, photos got taken, and dogs were played with. It was awesome – and afterward, Jess and I had awesome meals!
Both days (Saturday and Sunday) were at the same spot – a lavender farm a bit North of my apartment, who asked that they not be named as it’s a private farm that (supposedly) was once overrun by entitled Instagrammers who kept destroying the crops.
Kind of disappointing, but also kind of unsurprising, unfortunately.
Anyways, it was awesome. We hung out, photos got taken, and dogs were played with. It was awesome – and afterward, Jess and I had awesome meals!
As a quick bonus – some similar flower photos from Jess’s new house! And pictures of her cats, Watson and Bennett!
From walks through Portland, to my own balcony, everything seems to be growing wild this year. It’s been sunny, it’s been hot, there’s been rain and cold days… the weather’s been all over the place, but the one constant is that the plants keep struggling upward to the sky.
My hops vines weren’t even sprouted when I went to Dublin, and on my return they’d shot up nearly 3ft. By May, I’d already had to re-layer them at least once… and now in June, they’ve created a thick wall between me and the rest of the world… exactly as planned.
Roses are crowning, the sky is staying bright later, and the sunsets are as glorious as ever.
