Friday, February 17, 2017

Bonsai Beginnings

I've finally taken the leap. Today 9 sakura seeds went into the fridge to begin a journey to bonsai.

Backstory time! When I was a teen I took up the hobby of caring for bonsai. Both of the plants I cared for were cedar and store bought. I kept them for years until one unfortunate day I returned from a month long education trip to find out my mother hadn't been watering them.

This happened during the dog days of summer and temperatures reached above 100 degrees in my room where the poor bonsai trees had been left. Long story short years of loving trimming and care crashed when I found my bonsai dried up to brown flaky sticks.

No amount of tender loving care was able to bring them back and I swore off ever having another bonsai again. And I meant it!

That was fifteen years ago and during that time I've planted gardens, trees, houseplants and honestly loved it all. I just never could get up the courage to try to keep a bonsai again. Then I started freelancing writing and low and behold one of my first articles was on bonsai care. I started thinking about keeping a bonsai again. That was 7 years ago and today I took that step.

I'm not going to buy a bonsai plant. Instead I'm going to start at the beginning. I purchased a pouch of sakura seeds because I love the way the blossoms look. They're just so beautiful. The seeds can be started in the soil but I don't know how old the seeds are so I'm starting with stratification. You might have done this in school. The seeds are put on wet paper towels in a plastic baggy and put into the fridge to sprout.
Image result for sakura bonsai

The seeds should start to sprout in 2 to 8 weeks depending. I'll keep them up to 3 months before giving up hope. Then the seeds will be transplanted to soil and begin to grow. It's going to take years before they grow into saplings that I can turn into bonsai, but I'm looking forward to the adventure.

If I'm lucky more than one will survive and I can have a full size sakura tree in the yard!

Peace and Love!

Friday, February 10, 2017

Full Moon New Releases (Feb 2017)



Tis the Season of Love and what better way to treat yourself than with a great romance novel?



Wolf Moon by Lisa Kessler

Wolf MoonAs the last Pack member without a mate, Luke Reynolds has become an outsider. When he takes a job as the head horse trainer in Sedona, Arizona, he’s looking forward to starting a new life. But everything changes the night he finds a beautiful woman stranded on the side of the highway.

Feisty and headstrong Raven Wood has been bitten and turned against her will. Luckily, her spirit is stronger than most, and she has every intention of escaping the Sedona Pack. Somehow. The sexy lone wolf who rescues her might be just the answer she’s looking for.

But the Sedona Pack Alpha has a mission, and unless Luke and Raven can survive him, they’ll lose everything.

 Released Feb 2nd from Entangled Publishing, LLC


 
     

Hard to Handle: A Beauty and Beast Novel by Christine Warren

Hard to Handle: A Beauty and Beast NovelThe only male among four sisters, Michael Drummond is no stranger to women’s strength and formidable will. But when a fierce woman warrior from another realm bursts into his life, bringing with her a battle between good and evil, Michael is overcome by an explosive dose of desire that only this stunningly beautiful woman can inspire.

The first and only of her kind, Ash is a lone female gargoyle, a creature destined to protect mankind from Demons determined to unleash their darkest forces.

But her bone-deep instinct to do battle is turned off-kilter by her untamed attraction to the dangerously handsome human she can’t stay away from. If they manage to keep the world safe, can they turn the passion crackling between them into a love that will withstand the test of time?

 Released Feb 7th from St. Martin's Press


Into the Fire: A Night Prince Novel by Jeaniene Frost

Into the Fire: A Night Prince NovelIn the explosive finale to New York Times bestselling author Jeaniene Frost’s Night Prince series, Vlad is in danger of losing his bride to an enemy whose powers might prove greater than the Prince of Vampires’ . . .In the wrong hands,  love can be a deadly weapon
For nearly six hundred years, Vlad Tepesh cared for nothing, so he had nothing to lose. His brutal reputation ensured that all but the most foolhardy stayed away. Now, falling in love with Leila has put him at the mercy of his passions. And one adversary has found a devastating way to use Vlad’s new bride against him.

A powerful spell links Leila to the necromancer Mircea. If he suffers or dies, so does she. Magic is forbidden to vampires, so Vlad and Leila enlist an unlikely guide as they search for a way to break the spell. But an ancient enemy lies in wait, capable of turning Vlad and Leila’s closest friends against them . . . and finally tearing the lovers apart forever.

Coming Feb 28th form HarperCollings Publishers


That's it for this Full Moon. See you next month!

Peace and Love!