Turks cap (Malvaviscus arboreus var. drummondii) is at the top of my favorite wildflowers list. It grows under our cedar trees, in very dry shade. The red blossoms are like rubies, or like frosting roses on cakes. (Choose your metaphor.) The hummingbirds adore the nectar and will hover for long moments, sipping. The flowers, roots, and leaves are edible (you can make jelly from the blossoms) and the plant has some limited medicinal uses. It blooms all summer for me, and by early September, it may be the only thing blooming in the garden. I can't ask for more from a native plant.
Work In Progress. I finished "Calico Stars," the most recent needlework project--a charted needlepoint, with threads from my stash. Fun and interesting. To see what I'm doing with it, go here.
Book report. The General's Women is coming back from its beta readers, and I'm working through their suggestions. I've started the 2018 China Bayles mystery, Queen Anne's Lace. It's another duplex mystery (like Widow's Tears) with dual plots, contemporary and historical: China and Ruby in modern time, another plot set in Pecan Springs in the 1880s, with the two stories coming together at the end. That's the plan, anyway. We'll see how that works out.
Other doings. I enjoyed my visit at Landa Library in San Antonio--standing room only (honest!), an engaged and interested group. Fun for me to talk about the changes in the publishing world over my 30+ years of active writing/publishing. And the Girls produced so many extra eggs last week that I baked a quiche. With all the political sturm und drang, it feels good to retreat to the kitchen.
Reading note. I got the blues thinking about the future, so I left off and made some marmalade. It's amazing how it cheers one up to shred oranges and wash the floor.--D. H. Lawrence