u/happy-rosemary

David Austin has a remarkable touch when it comes to the colors of his roses. The rose Pat Austin is a perfect example.

David Austin has a remarkable touch when it comes to the colors of his roses. The rose Pat Austin is a perfect example.

It's a climbing rose called "Santana" - bright Red color with a shine like velvet.

My giant rosemary plant is 3.2 meters tall (about 10.5 feet). It’s blooming right now, and the buzzing sounds like a beehive.

My hibiscus spends half the year outside on the terrace. When I bring it indoors in November, it loses about 80 percent of its leaves, and I use that moment to prune it so it develops a nice crown. It always responds to the pruning with a strong flush of new, vigorous shoots—these are the ones that produce the flowers. And those flowers brighten my living room, while it’s cold and gray outside, with their wonderfully sunny, exotic blooms.

Now it would be time to move it back out onto the terrace. But this year it has grown much more in the living room than in previous years. It no longer fits through the terrace door, even when I bend the branches quite a bit. So, with a heavy heart, I’ll probably have to cut it back and hope it forgives me.

I flew back from Lukla to Kathmandu this morning and just enjoyed a few of those little comforts we all take for granted in everyday life.

The Everest Base Camp trek isn’t just a journey to one of the most beautiful places on Earth. It’s also a reminder to appreciate what we already have.

This list is, of course, completely subjective—yours might look very different. The order doesn’t mean anything; it’s just how things came to mind (probably in the exact order my body demanded them):

Hot water, 24/7

A clean shower I don’t have to share

Fresh, clean underwear

A bed with sheets no one else has slept in

A room temperature I can actually control

Power outlets that just work

Fast, reliable Wi-Fi

A flush toilet where you can also flush the toilet paper

Clean towels, ready when I need them

Socks that are both clean and odor-free

The monsoon hasn’t arrived yet, so above 3,500 meters only very few plants are in bloom. I’ve found just three different species: a narcissus, a primula, and a third one I don’t recognize—maybe someone can help identify it. I also noticed that all the flowers are blue. That made me ask ChatGPT whether this is just a coincidence or an evolutionary adaptation to the environmental conditions:

The dominance of blue flowers is likely not a coincidence.

Bees and bumblebees are especially attracted to blue and UV-reflecting flowers, while they barely perceive red.

At high altitude, UV radiation is very strong; blue/violet pigments (anthocyanins) help protect the plant.

There are fewer pollinators and a short flowering season, so plants rely on highly visible, reliable colors like blue.

Darker colors (blue/violet) may also absorb slightly more heat, which is beneficial in cold environments.

So if you want to know, whether flights are landing departing, have a look: https://www.youtube.com/live/am9KDRSZQ-0?si=ftLs0mHWHgODTYVC