I have a mystery this week in my own front flower garden. The mystery of the multiplying cobalt blue wine bottles.

I planted some boxwood bushes a few years ago separated by river rock and pots of flowers. I thought it would be easy to keep weeded and take care of itself. I was wrong. Weeds still come up in between the rocks and around the bushes no matter what I do and in this weather it needs nightly watering. But it’s pretty!

Cobalt blue is my favorite color. My house has gray-blue trim and I love a Riesling wine. And they bottle it in blue bottles. I had read that you could fill a bottle with water and stick it in the soil for self-watering. If it doesn’t just all run out at once, or clog the bottle neck with mud, it is a sound idea. It seldom works as it should. But they’re a beautiful cobalt blue!

People often ask, “Did you drink all that yourself? All at once?” No, I collected them and asked a few friends to do the same for me. I stuck them in the pots and dirt so the blue would shine in the sun. It works as a decoration and conversation piece.

I water each night in this 100-plus-degree heat and last night I noticed the bottles were multiplying! I know nothing about the mating habits of blue wine bottles, but they are replicating! There are several more bottles in my flower bed tonight than last night.

I asked the contractor who is doing some work for us. He had mentioned them. But he said he knew nothing about the mystery of the multiplying cobalt blue bottles.

Recently a neighbor I didn’t know came by with her granddaughter selling candy bars for a school project. Of course I bought them, they were chocolate and had something to do with books for a library. I was hooked. We talked about the wine bottles as we stood on the porch. I need to ask her if she was so kind as to add to my collection. But that is Another Story for another Time.

What are you reading/writing/creating this week?