Nearly a champion

We have had another interesting weekend- a bit more restful than many we have had lately.
Saturday was the annual second hand book sale on behalf of the Heart Foundation, so we all – Jill, and I and our son, who was home for the weekend – spent an hour or two looking through, and picking up, a few books. And talking to people we only see there!
Then on to the flower show, where I had staged a few exhibits of my Pacific Coast Iris seedlings, winning first, second and third in the class, and according to the judge, just missing out on the ‘Best in Show’ award for all irises Needless to say, a Tall Bearded won!
The iris is an interesting seedling, a cross of a Sea Magic seedling, pictured in a recent post, and a much smaller flowered ‘Valley Banner’ seedling, with the usual VB markings. The resultant seedlings have been very interesting, with none throwing strongly to either parent, although there are some lovely light blues among them. This is the one that took the judges eye. It is strong growing, flowering on 70 cm stems, and having a delightful ‘watercolour’ look as he described it.
Sunday was also relaxing after a long bike ride through the countryside. I mainly gardened, and worked on finalizing the last remaining bits of text for my book, including the index. Mid afternoon, my adopted granddaughter (9) showed up at our house, with her cousin (11). They had biked around to see whether I wanted to go for a bike ride with them. Of course I did! We went up and down the pathways in a nearby reserve, looking for ‘dragonflies’ (actually damsel flies, but…) and ducklings. It was great fun.
I am in the throes of a reading binge - I have read five novels in the past week. Sure beats watching the crap on the TV!