The forecast is for thunderstorms EVERY DAY between the 17th and the 27th. I’m going to try to get a nice harvest in, either today or tomorrow, before all the rain starts.
Tag Archives: gardening
Garden Progress
Flowers Before the Storm
We’re due for possible severe storms this evening, so I went out to get some pictures, just in case, so I could share them with you.
This sweet bunch of flowers tries to bloom each year. Usually, we have a bad storm just at the time these need a bit of protection. I try to get a picture or two, because they don’t usually make it through the storm.
It raises my spirits to walk around the yard, seeing HOPE in the planters.
Filed under Gardening, Mother Nature, Seasons
Thoughts on a Monday 4-21-2021
I got some things accomplished over the weekend that make me feel like I’m starting the coming week well.
I caught up on the filing and bookkeeping that had been piling up for quite awhile. I gathered the things I brought home from the booth my friend and I were renting in a local shop. I’m not ready to go through them right now, but at least I’m not in danger of falling over them on my way to and from the computer.
Our credit card was frauded and we had to cancel the one we had and start over with a new one. We had to contact a bunch of places to get things updated. I’ll finish the list today with some phone calls.
I discovered the local weather people were warning of a frost and freezes the coming three days. I got my plants covered last night. They came through just fine. I’ll cover them again tonight and tomorrow night. I enjoyed gathering my first harvest of spinach and lettuce yesterday! :0)
I will start hanging things up on the porch today. We have decided to start researching putting a new floor cover out there, since the project to replace the ceiling, seal off where the squirrels were getting in, and hanging a new shutter are finished. As an added project, I paid the guys to repaint the rest of the woodwork out there, so things look fresh and clean. Ahhhh!
At the same time we replace the porch floor covering, we’re going to research replacing the carpeting in our living room, foyer and office. It’s beyond being able to look better with cleaning. Our records show we have had it since 2009.
Our list of things to repair or replace is getting a bit shorter, so it feels good.
I hope that your spirits are lifting, too.
Stay safe and well.
Storm
We had quite a storm last night – heavy rain, gusty winds, hail, flying hairballs…. I went out this morning to see what havoc had occurred.
Two of my three new azaleas were pretty battered, but I’m hoping they will perk up once they get a chance to catch their collective breaths.
I’m feeling very lucky that the hail storm didn’t decimate my garden, as they did one year in the recent past. I’m trying to ‘hold my mouth right’ so the good luck continues. :0)
Spring Garden Progress
Although the plants are a bit waterlogged from last night’s rains, all seems to be looking good. I still need to make markers for the plants, and we need to put the new sprinklers in when they are delivered; but otherwise, the spring garden is in. Whenever I feel down, all I need to do is walk out to the garden and my spirits lift.
“It was such a pleasure to sink one’s hands into the warm earth, to feel at one’s fingertips the possibilities of the new season.” ~ Kate Morton
“I love spring anywhere, but if I could choose I would always greet it in a garden.” ~ Ruth Stout
“There can be no other occupation like gardening in which, if you were to creep up behind someone at their work, you would find them smiling.” ~Mirabel Osler
“Gardening is about enjoying the smell of things growing in the soil, getting dirty without feeling guilty, and generally taking the time to soak up a little peace and serenity.” ~Lindley Karstens
“One of the most delightful things about a garden is the anticipation it provides”. ~W.E. Johns
Filed under Gardening, Square Foot Gardening - Raised Beds
Spring Anyone?
We actually have 7 Red Bud Trees blooming right now. Iris greenery is spearing out of the ground and in some of the planters around the yard. Today the sun is shining and the high is supposed to get to 70!
Much of the rest of the week will be rainy, bringing life to more and more.
I love this time of year.
Essentials
Spring officially starts tomorrow. I’m hoping to be able to get some veggie plants for my garden today, kicking off my season of being outside every possible day, kicking up my activity level, cutting DOWN on my comfort eating!
I will also look forward to eating fresh stuff from my garden. I always try to grow lots of spinach and lettuce, radishes, onions, and broccoli, and then whatever else looks interesting. In two other planters, I plant tomatoes. Availability varies, but I LOVE watching things grow, taking care of my plants, and then harvesting the results.
Some years I’m really successful and I can take fresh food to my friends. That is the BEST. :0)
Each year I feel renewed hope for the growing season – a new lease on life.
It’s especially welcome this year, and I look forward to sharing my efforts with you.
Window Shopping
It’s rainy here, making me glad I have a warm, dry house.
It also makes me want comfort food, and I have trouble staying away from ‘bad’ things.
In general, I do pretty well, but then the gremlin inside my head tells me, “It’s been over a year since you had a ________. It wouldn’t hurt to have just one…” Yeah, right. And then we move on to President’s Day, and National Pickle Week, and the whole thing crashes.
Today I’m trying to distract myself by working in the yard, if Mother Nature will cooperate. It is not raining this very minute, so maybe I can get my elephant ear plants re-planted.
I noticed yesterday that in addition to my daffodils lifting my spirits, our tulip tree is blooming! Talk about signs of hope for the future!
So, I will finish my coffee, keep my mouth firmly shut otherwise, and stay busy.
Wishing myself luck….
Filed under Challenges, DIET!, Gardening
“When I grow up I want to be an old woman.”
The above is a quote from Michelle Shocked
I am 74 today – older than dirt – older but not wiser – still ornery and kickin’ .
I have started a petition – in my own mind at least – to obliterate the word, “Elderly.” Supposedly, this includes people 60 and above. Every time I hear the word, realizing that the people uttering it are referring to ME, I get hostile.
“I’ve enjoyed every age I’ve been and each has had its own individual merit. Every laugh line, every scar, is a badge I wear to show I’ve been present, the inner rings of my personal tree trunk that I display proudly for all to see. Nowadays, I don’t want a “perfect” face and body; I want to wear the life I’ve lived.”
— Pat Benatar
I’m just getting a good start now. Right at this moment, I’m feeling a bit older than usual, though. My husband and I got our first shot of the COVID vaccine yesterday. My arm is a bit achy, and I’m not feeling very energetic, but that is a TEMPORARY condition, and this one time I’m glad I’m ‘old enough’ to get something.
I am full of plans for spring. I want to re-plant the elephant ear plant bulbs I’ve been storing in the garage for the winter. I want to repair our irrigation system where the cold weather busted one of the pvc pipes we use to water our plants. I am eager to uncover my raised bed planters so I can get spring veggies started.
I have ideas rattling around in my head for things I can try in my art room. In fact, I’m planning to spend part of my birthday today up there. :0)
“There is a fountain of youth: it is your mind, your talents, the creativity you bring to your life and the lives of people you love. When you learn to tap this source, you will truly have defeated age.”~ Sophia Loren
It’s a nice day, so I’m going to spend time on my elliptical trainer in the garage, and then do a good, long session of yoga stretches this afternoon.
“You don’t stop laughing when you grow old, you grow old when you stop laughing.”
— George Bernard Shaw
I truly love finding things to post on this blog. There is so much to share that is hopeful!
“As long as I am breathing, in my eyes, I am just beginning.” — Criss Jami
Seeds Started 2-11-2021
This afternoon I have finally planted seeds that I HOPE will make transplants for my spring garden.
It was more involved than I thought it would be. I simplified it as much as I could, but it still took me two days. The biggest problem was trying to get the seed starter medium wet. That sounds like a dumb problem, but the medium is VERY light. If I had sneezed into the bag, the medium would have covered the whole kitchen – I kid you not. I added water VERY carefully and slowly. The spray in the kitchen sink was MUCH too strong. I finally used a turkey baster to ease water into each of the peat planter pods, making sure each didn’t overflow. I also didn’t want the peat pots to fall apart, so I stopped several times in the process. I did it last thing last night, hoping that things might settle in overnight.
This afternoon I found a spray bottle in the garage and used it to add more water. Then I used a pencil to make two planting holes in most of the pots, but only one hole in the ones for the broccoli. I planted two rows of spinach, two of broccoli, two of lettuce, and one row of green pepper. I split the last two rows, planting some yellow squash, zucchini, and two kinds of tomatoes.
I pushed the holes closed and tamped down the medium a bit in each peat pot, and then sprinkled some fertilizer pellets. Finally I sprayed everything carefully one more time and added the clear plastic seed starter tray top. I had to hold it down with some pill bottles because it didn’t want to close tightly.
Supposedly, things will start sprouting in 8 to 14 days, depending on the seed. When that happens, I’ll take the plastic top off and turn the tray around each day, hoping the sprouts will grow up reasonably straight.
I have little clue what I’m doing. Everything I have read is like the recipes for bread that say, “Knead it until it feels right.” :0(
It’s exciting to be TRYING to grow plants that I can move to my spring garden around the 5th of April.
Filed under Gardening, Square Foot Gardening - Raised Beds
Gardening Progress?
Hahahahahahahahaha! I love this!
So far, it’s mostly words and little action on my efforts to start some seeds for my spring garden.
I’ve found and printed a “starting seeds guide,” gone through the seeds I have on hand, listed 3 kinds of seed I need to buy, found my seed starter tray, a calendar, a note pad, and a pencil. Not much, huh.
The next step is to research when to try to start each type of seed. Instructions are based on the last frost date in your area. Then you count backwards from there to figure out when each type of seed should be planted.
I’ll make a list of those,
Fill my seed starter with Mel’s Mix,
Cross my fingers and see what happens!
I’m going to TRY to start seeds for: head lettuce, spinach, tomatoes, broccoli, green pepper, crookneck squash, and zucchini. At the proper time, I’ll look for sweet onion sets. I’ll plant radishes directly into the garden around the 1st of April.
If the seeds don’t make, I will HOPE that I can find starter plants at the local stores in Greenwood. It would do my heart good, though, to be able to do this on my own this year.
Filed under Gardening, Square Foot Gardening - Raised Beds
Hope = Planning for the Garden
I’m starting to plan my spring garden.
I’m HOPING to be able to start and grow some plants this time, rather than hoping our local resources will have what I want when I’m reading to plant.
A lot of people do this routinely. Part of my hope is that THIS TIME I’ll be successful, having some good, healthy plants that I can transfer to my garden when the time for the last spring frost for my area is past – April 5th. I will try to plant seeds in my seed starter in tranches, so if one group doesn’t make, another may. It would also be good not to have all of my plants needing to be harvested or eaten at one time. Talk about hope!
So far, I’ve found that the last spring frost date is April 5th, and the first fall frost date is October 31st. I found my seed starter tray and brought it in. It has a cardboard covering that gives directions for use. I have a bunch of seed packets, also with instructions.
LOTS of reading and research to do before actual planting, but my excitement is growing as I type.
I have a raised bed, square foot garden into which I would like to transfer these plants. Before winter started, I weeded the six 4′ square chest-high planters we built. I mixed barrels of Mel’s Mix (vermiculite, peat moss, and at least 3 different types of compost) and filled up the planters to the top. Then I covered the planters with tarps to try to keep the weeds to a minimum over the winter to make less work when I start my spring garden.
I will try to take pics of each step in the process – success or fail – in case you’re interested in following the process with me.
Hope springs eternal that I will have success this time!
Filed under Gardening, Square Foot Gardening - Raised Beds
Welcome, December!
I bought this calendar to contribute to the fundraising efforts of the firefighters of Australia. Getting to enjoy handsome men with bulging muscles and cute animals is a great way to welcome each month with a smile on your face, as well. :0)
If you would like to get one for 2021, you can order one here.
Yesterday I cut off the leaves of my two wonderful elephant ear plants, and then dug up the bulbs to store them in peat moss and potting soil in our garage for the winter. I’m HOPING they will do well, being ready for me to replant them next spring, when all chance of frost has passed.
Today I plan to pull out my tomato plants.
Judging from my sore muscles from all the digging, shoveling and hauling I did yesterday, I will try to do a LOT more yoga today than the 30 minutes or so I did yesterday…
End Result
I have now finished hacking down the frozen, wilted leaves on my elephant ear plants. I have dug up the two humongous bulbs and stored them in the garage in trash bins filled with peat moss and potting soil. They will stay there during the winter and then I’m HOPING to be able to replant them in the spring when the chance of freezes is gone.
Winter Approaches
Mother Nature is bringing winter closer in Arkansas in the coming days. I’m not ready.
I’ve really been enjoying the fall. I’m not a hot-weather person. I’m not really a cold-weather person, either. The temperature range at which I feel comfortable has lowered and then narrowed as I age.
Right now it’s around 42 degrees F. and very cloudy, wet, and raw outside. A good day to express thanks for a warm, dry house.
We got our irrigation system turned off, hoses unhooked and drained, vents closed, and outside faucets covered this past week. We’re supposed to have freezing temperatures each morning for at least the next 10 days, starting tomorrow morning.
We have had a wonderful season of veggie garden, flowers, and elephant ear plants, so I’m trying very hard to be thankful for that without being too greedy for more. I love to see things thriving and blooming all over the yard and in the garden, so it’s hard to see that come to an end.
I’m setting up in the garage to have a small place where I can try to get seeds started for my spring garden. If I’m successful, I can get an early start to good veggies for the spring!
I hope you are somewhere warm and dry this morning where you can dream of veggies and flowers in the future.
Filed under Gardening, Mother Nature, Square Foot Gardening - Raised Beds
It’s COOL Outside!
We had rain and a cool front come through overnight. It’s 44 degrees F. outside right now with a bit of a wind, so it feels pretty chilly.
The wonderful fiber optic people came through recently hanging wire for the future. They had to cut branches out of a couple of trees in our side yard that were encroaching on the lines. When they finished, it looked like the trees had exploded or had been hit by lightning, with broken branches hanging down. They said they would neaten things up. I don’t think they decide where they go or what they do each day, so they haven’t been back.
My husband disappeared, and I went to find him. He was coming back from the shop with the chain saw – just the thing I had been trying to avoid. We are a bit long-in-the-tooth now for activities such as chain sawing and hauling big branches around. Since he was determined to handle it, I dropped what I was doing and helped him.
We worked about an hour, but made some headway. At least it looks now as if someone might have had a plan. I’m still hoping that the guys will come back and cut both of the trees down, but I won’t hold my breath.
The other thing we did recently was to prepare our raised bed, square foot planters for the winter.
(We built six 4’x4’x8″ wooden planters and put them on metal supports, kind of like tables, at about my chest level.)
I harvested the remaining onions very carefully, since the fire ants had taken up residence in the planters. It amazes me that they wanted a home so high up off the ground. Unfortunately, they were aggressive about defending what they considered their home. I had to keep hosing the planters down with bug killer, then harvesting as much as I could or weeding until they started to swarm again, over and over until the job was done.
We then re-filled the planters with Mel’s Mix – a combination of peat moss, vermiculite, and as many different kinds of compost as you can find or make. The level of this had really gone down, so it was quite a job to mix up the mix needed to top them off.
We have made this alternative soil process as seamless as possible, with big trash cans holding the ingredients of the mix, and then a used cement mixer to combine things.
We strung some wires across the remaining two planters not used this year to create the ‘squares’ we use for spacing the plants. We decided to wait until spring to replace the wooden strips that we put along the middle of each trio of planters that hold the sprinkler for the middle of each box and connect the irrigation hoses.
We put a pail in the middle of each of the boxes and then covered each box with a tarp. We are hoping this will cut way down on the weeds in the planters for when we uncover things and get ready for spring planting.
Filed under Gardening, Square Foot Gardening - Raised Beds
Hope Comes Through Flowers
Even though it’s 44 degrees F. with a slight wind, it was really wonderful to wander around the yard this morning, seeing what is still healthy and blooming.
As you can see from the pics on the blog this morning, I delighted in the elephant ear plants, our Rio Samba roses, and our Twice-Blooming Purple Iris.
Filed under Gardening, Mother Nature
Elephant Ear Plants
Soon we will have freezes forecast and we will have to turn off our irrigation system. I’m trying really hard not to be TOO greedy. I’m more than grateful to have found a place that the elephant ear plants my friend Laufrain gave me are happy and thriving.
Soon the leaves will freeze. I will cut them down and dig up the big bulbs to store them in a combination of peat moss and potting soil for the winter. Then I will plant them in the planter again in the spring and keep my fingers crossed they are again happy and healthy.
Meanwhile, what a gift!
Filed under Friendship, Gardening
Flowers
Filed under Favorite Quotes, Favorite Things, Friendship, Gardening
Tomato Harvest 10-18-2020
I keep putting it on my list to clean out the tomato planters, but then I find lots of little bitty tomatoes! This happened again yesterday, so I will enjoy each and every one as long as I can. :0)
Filed under Gardening, Square Foot Gardening - Raised Beds
Mixing Dirt
This is my raised bed square foot garden. I am in the process of mixing the soil alternative called Mel’s Mix, filling up the six planter boxes before I cover each with a tarp to hold over the winter.
These are the trash cans that hold the ingredients for Mel’s Mix: (from left to right) mushroom compost, cotton burr compost, vermiculite, peat moss, and barnyard compost.
To the right of the trash cans is the used concrete mixer we bought several years ago. We used to dump the ingredients into our wheelbarrow, then use a hoe to mix things up the best way we could, and then barrow it over to the garden and use plastic pails to scoop it up and pour it into the planters.
Now we can mix double loads, dumping the ingredients into the mixer, then running it for about 3 minutes, and then dumping it half at a time into a big tupperware style garden basket. We then haul the basket over to a planter and dump it in.
It’s still rather laborious, but we’ve made things about as easy for an old lady as we can – without having someone ELSE do it. :0) Since I get no prizes for finishing it today rather than tomorrow, and if I want to take a day off from the project, I can; I have absolutely no complaints.
We have 3 of the 6 planter boxes filled with Mel’s Mix right now. I’m about to head out to the garden to do a couple of double loads. If everything works well, I should be finished with the refilling of the boxes by the end of the week and can get the boxes covered with tarps tied down with bungie cords.
Then, one of the parts I like best – I can start dreaming about what I will plant in the spring, sketching out planting plans based on what I planted this year. I can rotate my crops and try to make sure everything I plant has the best chance to thrive without pests or disease.
Filed under Uncategorized
Half Way There!
I mixed and distributed 2 double loads of Mel’s Mix in my garden boxes today. I came in, drank a glass of water, and then went back out. This time my husband joined me. We mixed and distributed ANOTHER 2 double loads.
We are now half way finished with the filling up of the six planter boxes. Each one is 4 feet x 4 feet x 8″, and we’re just topping off the boxes. It takes a LOT of Mel’s Mix to do this. Once we are finished, I’ll take some pics of the finished boxes and then with the tarps over them for the winter.
Also when we finish, I’ll order one more group of ingredients so that the trash cans are in good shape for the coming spring.
When I came in from working in the garden, I had black stuff from head to toe – even in my NOSE from standing on my head in the trash cans. I feel much better now after a nice, hot shower.
Filed under Uncategorized
Happy Fall, Y’all
It’s a beautiful Monday here. Lots of sunshine and cool temperatures. I hope that you are having a nice, fall day, as well.
I plan to spend some time in the yard, mixing more Mel’s Mix for the garden if our ingredients can be picked up at the co-op, or mixing up and spraying weed killer, otherwise.
I was thinking about pulling out our tomato plants yesterday, but found tomatoes! They are mostly the size of cherry tomatoes, but they taste good, so I gathered them and will leave the plants alone for now. :0)
I just sent this picture to Laufrain, my friend who gave me the two elephant ear plants last fall. I have never had such great luck with elephant ears before. They are definitely happy in this planter beside our garage. They are HUGE!
Have a wonderful day.
Filed under Uncategorized
Garden Progress
My husband joined me in the garden while I was mixing up a double load of Mel’s Mix. We dumped that and then were able to mix up one more double load before we ran out of most of the ingredients, with the exception of vermiculite.
We filled up one of the six planter boxes. It took 3 double loads of Mel’s Mix to fill the one planter, so we have a lot of work ahead of us to fill up all six planter boxes.
I ordered ingredients and the co-op will have our order Monday or Tuesday. We have decided that we will cover the boxes with tarps and wait until spring to replace the wooden strips that hold up the hoses and sprinklers. My husband thinks we should let it rain on the filled box at least once before we cover it up to help the new mix ‘settle’ a bit.
The picture above gives you an idea of what we’re working on. We are now using wire instead of the string you see in this picture to demarcate the ‘squares’ for planting. The string deteriorated way too fast, and the wire lasted the whole season.
I ordered one big bag of vermiculite, 2 ‘rectangles’ of peat moss, and 2 bags each of mushroom compost, cotton burr compost, and barnyard compost. It will be interesting to see how far the ingredients go in filling up the planter boxes.
We got a lot of good exercise, feel that we got a good start on the project, and are glad to have a day of rest from it tomorrow.
Filed under Uncategorized
Working in the Garden
Animal Wallpapers-Desktop Nexus
Earlier today my husband came out to help in the garden. I turned off the water to the irrigation system. We removed the hoses and sprinkler heads from the narrow wooden strips that went down the middle of each group of three planter boxes. We then removed the broken wooden strips. We stretched wire in two directions on the last planter, making the planting ‘squares’ we inadvertently forgot to do this year.
(This is a pic from the beginning of the season.)
I went back out about an hour ago to start the process of mixing Mel’s Mix and filling up the planters.
Mel’s Mix is a soil alternative made from
- 2 parts peat moss
- 2 parts vermiculite
- 1 part of as many different types of compost as you can buy or make. (I use cotton burr, mushroom, and barnyard, plus I add the one I try to make from yard and kitchen waste.
I keep the ingredients in large lidded trash cans we keep along the back of our shop. We also have a used cement mixer. I measure out the ingredients into the cement mixer. I usually mix a double load each time. I mix the ingredients for about 3 minutes, and then empty the mixer into a big plastic yard bucket with handles. I then carry the bucket to one of the garden planter boxes and dump it.
This is kind of a laborious process, but I only have to do this once every few years. Usually, when you pull out a plant and plant something else during the seasons, you add a bit of mix. (I usually keep a small trash can of pre-mixed Mel’s Mix so this is quick and easy.)
Today was hard because the trash cans are getting empty, so I was kind of having to stand on my head to reach in and fill up the measuring bucket in each trash can. I also found a humongous ant hill that was in my way as I was going back and forth. I had to go back to the garage to get the EIGHT bug killer spray so I could hose them down before I got bitten or stung. I decided after mixing and distributing the one double load, that was it for the day. I think I can do one more double load tomorrow, but then I’ll have to replenish supplies.
I just finished calling the Greenwood Co-Op, the wonderful outfit that provides my ingredients. Sometimes they have everything I need. This time they had to order some of it, so it should be ready for us to pick up Monday or Tuesday of next week. (After mixing up another double load tomorrow, it’ll probably take this old lady that long to rest up… :0) )
When the planter boxes are all full of Mel’s Mix, my husband and I will replace the wooden strips, tying the hoses and sprinkler heads onto them. Then I’ll take some pics before we cover the planter boxes with tarps for the winter.
Thoughts on a Tuesday 9-29-2020
dogspotting-Bored Panda
Today is cool, sunny, and beautiful.
Today is a two-outing day for us.
We’re leaving in a couple of minutes to take out our trash in the truck, get our mail, then run errands. Later today I’ll go out again for a hair cut. Exciting life we lead!
Actually, I can use a BUNCH of ‘ordinary,’ ‘quiet,’ ‘normal,’ and ‘peaceful.’ All really beautiful words and much appreciated. I plan to do a bunch of relaxing between outings.
Last night we tried our first frozen dinner from Stu’s Clean Cookin’ in Greenwood. 1435 West Center St., Greenwood, AR 72936. 479.597.3242. the meal was “Chicken, Brown Rice, and BBQ Sauce.” The chicken was excellent. The rice, not so much for me. I got one mouthful of really HOT (to me – a real wuss) BBQ sauce. My husband loved the dinner and said it was one of his favorites since we’ve been eaten food from the two new places in Greenwood. He didn’t have anything hot. He said he could have easily eaten twice as much of the chicken – but that has been our problem – reasonable portions for a human. We were both satisfied, so that was good. I’ll make sure we order this again for my husband next time. Tonight we will try “Pork, Black Beans, Brown Rice and BBQ Sauce.” Their store was clean. There were two really friendly guys who greeted us, had our order ready, and we were out the door in under 3 minutes flat. Impressive. I also like the fact that they print the nutrition information on their website, on the packages, etc. so you know what you’re ordering and eating. I am feeling SUPER lucky that we have TWO new places that BOTH offer good, convenient frozen foods for us to plan our dieting around. :0)
I seem to be in an ‘advertising-frame-of-mind’ today. I have awful hair – thin, fine, yucky. I’m lucky to have a wonderful hair stylist, Michael Remillard in Greenwood at Tangles, 40 Town Square, Greenwood AR 72936. 479-996-6636 who understands this. I’m going for a haircut today. He knows that my hair doesn’t do anything good on its own. The best thing I can do for it is keep it clean and go to Michael for good hair cuts. I wash it every morning and blow it dry. He cuts it so that it looks like there is a PLAN. Mine is very short now, kind of like a pixie cut. It’s easy to take care of.
I have found a shampoo that I REALLY like. It’s called “Herbal Essences Bio:renew, Blue Ginger & Micellar Water Refresh.” Quite a mouthful, isn’t it! I like it because
- it smells good
- it makes a truly wonderful amount of lather
- it rinses out really well, without my feeling I have any kind of residue
I looked for it at Walgreens today. They had Herbal Essences, but not this flavor. I just ordered it online. It comes in a nice twin-pack. :0)
I harvested these sweet little bitty tomatoes yesterday. This may be the last of the year. I’m continuing to work in my raised bed, square foot garden. I’ll show you pics when things get a bit farther along. The tomatoes come from two brick planters on the opposite side of our house from the garden. We converted them from regular planters, filling them up with Mel’s Mix. Even with the weird growing season we have had this year, we had a nice crop.
While we were out doing errands, we saw our plumber, Travis Hawkins. 479-461-8347. He helped us recently with a water pressure problem, and then with a follow-up problem with our master bedroom shower. He told us that when we called about the shower, he tried to get to us himself, but got covered up in work, so sent his co-worker, Josh. He said he MEANT to just stop by and not charge us. Since Josh DID, he said he ‘owed us a service call and won’t charge us for the call the next time he comes.’ To say we feel lucky to have found him is a HUGE understatement. He is a really first-class person.
I hope that your Tuesday is a fun one.
A Beautiful Day for Murdering Fire Ants
Orkin
I just hosed down our raised bed square foot garden with EIGHT, a wonderful spray that kills ants and other bugs, but is safe for our animals and plants. I will do it over and over again before finishing my harvest of our onions, since the minute I pull out a weed or onion, they swarm all over the place. :0(
The clean up of the garden will be a many-step-many-day enterprise.
- I will harvest the onions first, armed with more EIGHT spray, if needed.
- Then I’ll pull the dead plants and weeds.
- I will mix a BUNCH of fresh Mel’s Mix and keep making and distributing more until all six planter boxes are full to the brim.
- I will replace broken boards that hold the hoses and sprinklers, plus run wire criss-cross fashion to delineate square feet in one box that needs it.
- Finally, I will cover each planter with a tarp, probably holding them with bungie cords.
Hopefully, this will result in nice, fresh, happy planter boxes without a lot of weed growth to welcome my spring efforts to get my garden planted.
My 2-gallon sprayer seems to be giving out, though, so we have it on Monday’s list to get a replacement at our local hardware store.
It’s a really lovely day to be murdering fire ants!. :0)
Filed under Gardening, Square Foot Gardening - Raised Beds
Thoughts in the Rain on a Thursday 9-10-2020
“Singin’ in the Rain” – Pinterest
It’s very cloudy, 73 degrees F., and raining quietly here. We have our doors open so that we can ENJOY every minute of the rain and cooler temperatures!
I was unable to find any lettuce plants, so I won’t be planting in the brick planter near the house for the fall. :0( We still have a few tomatoes, so I’ll just enjoy whatever we can harvest from that and the ‘nook’ planter as long as they are producing. Yesterday I got caught up pruning rose bushes, and then overgrown stuff from more planters, so I didn’t get out to murder the fire ants in the main garden. That will have to wait another day.
I DID get up and play a bit in my art room yesterday! (I converted a bedroom to be my art room.) It’s been forever, since other priorities have eaten up our days, so it was really nice to spend some time up there.
Thomas Merton – Healing with Art via Cathy Ruggiero
I decided I would make some bookmarks to sell at Rags & Roses, the wonderful local shop in Greenwood where I share a booth with my good friend, Carla.
I played with my Unicorn Spit paint that my sister-in-law, MaryLou, sent to me as a nice, ‘just-because’ gift I guess about a year ago now. I have SO enjoyed experimenting with what I can do with it, and have barely scratched the surface. I also used some rubber stamps. I let things dry overnight and will go up and spray the sealer on them next. When that is dry, I’ll do the finishing touches to make them into bookmarks! I love choosing the ribbons, strings, beads, and stuff to add to them. :0)
“Caught Red-Pawed” – Audrius P. – Bored Panda
We have about a day and a half’s worth of BistroMD meals to finish. My husband and I got online last night and ordered some meals from the new local place in Greenwood called Real Food. We can pick up our order Monday afternoon. In the meantime, my husband has asked me to make “Keto Chili,” Saturday, one of our favorite recipes from Suzanne Ryan, Simply Keto.
I’m truly delighted that I was finally able to find a place that the elephant ear plants my friend, Laufrain, gave me back in September last year would be happy. I wintered them over on the floor in our dining area by the window, and then put them out on the front porch when it was warm enough in the spring. They were very UNhappy there and almost croaked! I decided to TRY them in the planter we rebuilt along the front of the house, thinking they would get more sun, but would be more protected from wind here. As you can see, they are smiling! (As you can also see, I will spray the ‘greenery’ in the rocks with KillsALL weed killer on the next dry day we have…)
Today I will work on the bookmarks. I’m not sure what area of the house I will attack on my decluttering project, but I’m leaning toward the shelves in our bathroom. We have a set over the toilet, and two floor-to-ceiling sets in the main part of the bathroom.
Amazon Handmade
I will also see if I can make any progress registering my shop on Amazon Handmade. We are still fighting over whether my Google Chrome is ‘acceptable’ or not at this point. I have upgraded to the newest version. My husband checked my computer and confirmed that. I’m still getting the screen that says I need to upgrade my browser to meet their requirements. ARRRRRGGGGGHHHHHH!
I hope you have a glorious Thursday.
Happy Tuesday!
Reader’s Digest
We have several errands this morning, and more this afternoon, so I might not get ANYTHING else done today.
In about an hour, we’ll leave 4 leaf bags of trash at the bottom of our driveway for pickup. (I made my goal of finding 2 extra bags of things that SHOULD have been thrown away a long time ago. I’m hoping to continue this each week.) We will also get our mail.
We have been experiencing serial failures of our fluorescent light fixtures this year. We have changed out the ballast transformers on many of them. Now we are replacing the switches that control them. We will pick up those at Yeagers. We will stop at our co-op to see if they have lettuce plants. (I’m hoping to pull out the spent tomato plants in the long brick planter by the house and put in lettuce plants.) Then we will stop and check the new Real Food store on the way home, hoping to find some frozen meals to buy and try.) Later, we’ll go back for my husband’s hair cut and a quick trip to the clinic for a shot for him.
I got lazy yesterday and didn’t do anything outside. This afternoon I’m planning to mix up EIGHT bug killer and will hose down my raised bed, square foot garden planters before I even THINK about trying to harvest the rest of our onions. I am finally healed up from the attack of the fire ants that I discovered living among my onions, so I’m ready to wage war. If I’m successful on getting the lettuce plants, I’ll take some pics for you.
I finally got an email from Amazon Handmade, confirming that I have been accepted to list my work there, and giving me some directions on how to get to a place I can register. When I have a calm space of time, I’ll try to follow them. Fingers crossed!
I hope you had an enjoyable Labor Day and that you make today a great day, too.
Happy Labor Day 2020
LoveThisPic
“Labor Day 2020 will occur on Monday, September 7. Labor Day pays tribute to the contributions and achievements of American workers and is traditionally observed on the first Monday in September. It was created by the labor movement in the late 19th century and became a federal holiday in 1894.” ~ http://www.history.com
In 1918, my dad was born on Labor Day, September 6th that year. He always said he thought it was ‘appropriate.’ :0)
This Labor Day is a bit sad because so many good people are still out of work due to the pandemic. In addition, we have people who have lost homes, businesses, and jobs due to Mother Nature and the hurricanes and flooding. Hopefully, all this will improve soon. It seems we have already started, though more rapidly would, of course, be better.
We continue to eat our way through our BistroMD eating plan. Last night we both ate a chicken, rice and cheddar casserole with broccoli. It was the best thing we’ve had so far, but neither of us was impressed. We have to accept an order for next week, but we have cancelled the program.
Our yard is looking pretty good now! (for us). My husband got the grass mowed a couple of days ago. The day before yesterday I weed whacked what he couldn’t mow, and yesterday I used the leaf blower to clean up. One would actually think we might be civilized around here! Today I will mix up 2 gallons of EIGHT bug killer and hose down the garden before I try to harvest the rest of the onions. I’ll also spray the trio of brick planters between our driveway area and our yard in preparation for weeding and pruning things there. I do NOT want to get stung/bitten by ants again!
I’m also thinking of checking the co-op in town to see if they have lettuce plants. If they do, I’ll take the tomato plants down in the planter close to the house and plant lettuce there. One year we were lucky, having fresh lettuce into early February!
I will call to find out if the new place in Greenwood called Real Food is open today. I interested in seeing the place, plus possible getting a couple of frozen dinners to try.
I hope that you make this a happy day.
The Greenhouse is Almost Empty
I’ve been cleaning out our ruined greenhouse for over a week now, gathering a wheel barrow full of salvageable stuff, plus a leaf bag full of ruined things each day.
On our way to town today, we noticed we have several broken or downed trees to the left of the driveway as we drive down. Thankfully, they are off to the side, and we THINK (hope) we can simply ignore them.
Today I gathered the last of the ruined stuff (6 leaf bags of ‘stuff,’) and they are safely in the garage now, awaiting trash day next week. I brought two more wheel barrows full of salvageable stuff, and that is in the garage, too, awaiting more energy from me to figure out where it needs to go.
We are left with a light that needs to be taken down and thrown away, plus the tables and saw horses. We need to take the tables apart for transport. We hope we can salvage the wood. It will take both of us to move the wood, but I can put the saw horses in the wheel barrow, I think.
It’s impressive what wind and rain can do. The ‘floor’ was was covered with really think black plastic weed barrier. Then I had put down used welcome mats in high traffic areas. When I was trying to pick up pails filled with supplies, they simply shattered into a gazillion pieces in my hands. I ended up scooping them up – kind of like they were pizzas in a professional oven with a wooden spatula – then either dumping them directly into a trash bag or trying to salvage the contents first.
It will probably take us a couple of days to get all the screws out of the front pieces of the wooden tables and transport them to the shop. We will let Tropical storm Laura barrel through here this afternoon, evening, and tomorrow, and then reassess.
If you are in her path, or you’re in California, worrying about the wildfires, I wish you the best.
Filed under Gardening, greenhouse, Mother Nature
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