What's outside of your picture window today?

@ellerbracke Your yard looks beautiful! I wish I had such a green thumb.

I am so proud of my daughter. She lives in the city but has a small area in her courtyard with soil so has a vegetable garden there and it's thriving. Since neither I nor my husband has much success with plants I don't know where she got hers. She will be visiting later this week, I hope she still has tomatoes when she comes.
JK

Please tell me what that beautiful red flower in the first picture is. I see them around here too, but I don’t know what they are. I love your patio! How do you keep up all the work it requires I barely manage to keep a few roses pruned.

What @sueinmn said will work perfectly as long as you are not in the immunosuppressed category. Garden pine mulch is more of a bulk product and more likely to contain mold spores. My orchid guru told me that is perfect for orchids as they love this, but the doctors say not so much for hubby. He had fungal pneumonia once and 15 days on a ventilator, so I take that pretty seriously. He said it’s ok, he doesn’t remember a thing, but it is seared in my memory. Lol

There is also sterilized orchid potting mix available, it can take a little looking, but it has been treated to kill as many spores as possible. That was my go-to for orchids (I gave them to my best friend when we started spending whole winters down South, and it is what she uses, too.)
Sue

I did not know that, thanks for sharing that. Here is a pic of my favorite mounted orchid for you.

The plant is called Abelmoschus moschatus, or commonly musk mallow. It is a perennial that emerges toward the late summer months, and I like the flowers since this time of year many other flowers are giving up. Other than a nibble from a deer or a rabbit this plant has no problems, at least in my garden.

What is outside my window today is blessed rain! We have had a few heavy showers, and some nice drizzle, and a few periods of steady light rain. While there are several accidents up on the Interstate, we are cozy here at home. Cat asleep on her flannel on diningroom chair, I am cleaning a new-to-me old Kenmore sewing machine.
Ginger

Normally she is chomping at the bit to go outside but here it is almost 8 am and Fluffy is fast asleep -- that's what happens when you stay out late and don't come back until pops has already gone to bed and can't let you back inside. I checked at midnight to see if she was outside and then the wife found her sleeping on the wall outside the window at 3 am when she had to get up. She let her in and she's been there sleeping except for the few minutes when she came down to eat her morning chow.

Yep, the old girl is paying for her thrills! Can’t carouse the night away like she used to…. 😼

Little things discovered on my walk today. An old tree stump with a cool ‘hairdo’, Wintergreen berries, mushrooms that look like a brain, Doll’s eyes~sounds more fun than white baneberry, and a few leaves scattered. @artist01 @ess77 No ducks today @jakedduck1, sadly it’s duck hunting season so I hope they’re fly far away from here!!