Tag Archives: gardening

August 10, 2020 · 3:57 pm

Today’s Harvest

 

This is what I found in the garden today. I had about given up on getting anything but green plants and blossoms, and the plants are looking stressed right now, but I had two zucchini and a mystery thing I GUESS is another type of zucchini. I planted zucchini and yellow crookneck squash, but this doesn’t seem to be either of those. It will be interesting to cut it open and see.

I went out to the garden at the end of my elliptical trainer practice, so I was already hot. I was all in by the time I walked out and back from the garden in the heat, so I didn’t check for tomatoes today. I do that tomorrow morning. Fingers crossed.

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July 19, 2020 · 9:55 am

Quiet, Hot Sunday

Oddetorium

We are truly into summer now, with heat indices in the 105-110 range, and hotter forecast. We are very grateful for good air conditioning and ceiling fans. One of the many perks of aging is that my personal comfort range on temperatures is becoming narrower.

I will get outside in a minute, mix up a container of KillzAll Weed Killer, and spray it around the garden area. That, and seeing if we have any ripe tomatoes will be it for being outside today.

My friends, Kay and Bud from Lunch Bunch have been making me feel like a slug lately. They are systematically going through a bunch of their stuff in their home and packing it up to get rid of it. I should be doing that, but the ‘lazies’ have me in their clutches right now, and it’s all I can do to do the bit of yard work I need to, plus exercise. That’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it.

Next on my personal list of things ‘when I get motivated,’ is to use the power washer. If I can get started, it’s addictive. This year I will try to start with out outside chairs. I also need to do the deck, sidewalks, front porch, and driveway pad. I’m not sure if I can clean up our stained brick in our planters or not, but I’ll give that a try, as well. Hopefully, I will get the urge soon. :0)

I hope that you have a healthy, happy Sunday.

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July 18, 2020 · 10:36 am

The Joy of Yard Work

Total Balance Chiropractic

I laughed when I found this picture. :0)

My husband used our riding mower to mow the spots that needed it yesterday. We haven’t had any rain, so there were only a few spots.

Before dark yesterday, I mixed up Eight Bug Spray and sprayed our tomato plants which are suddenly being eaten up by hornworms. I sprayed them, plus the garden plants, again this morning, hoping to get rid of all the bad stuff.

I then mixed a container (2 gallons) of KillzAll Weed Killer. I started in the back yard, using it along our back sidewalk, then around under the deck, then under the porch, etc. I ran out of spray and energy about the same time.

I am now drinking a bottle of cold water and relaxing before going out to mix another container. I would like to get this done before it gets lethally hot outside. This afternoon we’re supposed to have a heat index of around 110 – much too hot for this old broad.

I hope you have a fun Saturday.

 

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July 17, 2020 · 3:05 pm

Challenge

We have been stuffing our faces with glorious ripe tomatoes from our garden for lunches and dinners lately. I solved the problem of the ‘cherry tomatoes” I was getting, reading that they were probably ‘stressed’ while waiting for us to solve our irrigation problems. Now that they are getting water on a set schedule every day, we’re getting really nice ones.

Two days ago, though, we found another problem – hornworms.

Univ. of Florida

These lovely caterpillars eat tomato greenery. They are really difficult to find. We found a couple and killed them a couple of days ago, but we know there are more. You can stare and stare, moving the greenery around, and they just fade into the branches.

We talked about it during Lunch Bunch today. Kay reminded me that I could spray the plants with EIGHT bug killer. This spray kills bugs, but is safe for our animals and safe for the plants and the tomatoes. Her husband, Bud, suggested that we do it at dusk tonight and it would be more effective.

I will plan to go outside right after we feed the animals this evening. I’ll gather whatever tomatoes are ready to come in and then hose down the plants in the two planters. Hopefully, we can kill the hornworms.

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July 11, 2020 · 10:26 am

Tomato Harvest

Since we fixed our irrigation system, our tomatoes are getting watered each day, and we are starting to get some larger tomatoes. I read that getting the smaller ones indicated stress in the plants. I’m hoping our plants are happy now.

This is the ‘nook’ planter – beside the screened back porch and on the back of the house. (Amber is helping me harvest).

 

This is the other brick planter we converted to be a square foot garden planting area, filling it with Mel’s Mix.

We are really enjoying fresh tomatoes with lunch and dinner!

 

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June 28, 2020 · 4:36 pm

Persistence Pays – I HOPE

Gardening Know How

My friend Laufrain gave me TWO elephant ear plants last fall. I babied them through the winter in our dining area, since that was a place they would get good sun. I decided to put them on our front porch this spring because they would be out of the worst of the wind we have from time to time, and wouldn’t be in the direct sun on the north side of our house. They did fine there until it got hot.

Today I decided I would relocate them, planting them in one of the brick planters we rebuilt. I laboriously dug a hole and just was getting the first one into the planter when all of a sudden we had a HARD rain. By the time I made it into the garage, I was dripping. I toweled off, got a cup of coffee, and decided I would catch up on email. Like a faucet had been turned off, the rain stopped as suddenly as it started.

I have just come in from planting the second plant. I fertilized and gave them a bit of water. Tonight at 7:30 the irrigation system will water them for 10 minutes. Time will tell if they are happy in the new location. Fingers crossed.  Pictures later.

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June 21, 2020 · 11:46 am

Yippeeeee!

picturequotes.com

Things are quiet so far today, and for that I am truly thankful.

I’m planning to head out to my garden after lunch to catch up on the weeding in my veggie planter boxes. I’m going to TRY to transplant two celery plants I started in the kitchen recently. If I have time and energy, I’ll do more weed killer spraying. This is all dependent on our weather cooperating, though.

Our forecast is for 100% chance of rain this afternoon. We had a good shower yesterday, and more is forecast for tomorrow. I should have expected all this rain. We just finished repairing our irrigation system. :0)

Yesterday I vacuumed the first floor tiled areas (kitchen, pantry, utility room, dining area, and two half-baths.) I also did PART of the carpeted first floor area yesterday, finishing it up this morning. I’m always amazed and disgusted at how MUCH dog and cat hair, plus dirt, plus ‘whatever’ I get every time. I’m lucky to have good vacuums. I refuse to vacuum more than every other day, though, so animal hair reigns here.

I was really tired when it was time to fix dinner. My husband twisted my arm :0)  and we called in and picked up fried rice for each of us. The restaurant is still on take-out only, and has simplified to offer only the medium size, so we have plenty for dinner tonight, too. That said, I’m planning to make a loaf of keto bread this afternoon.

I hope you’re having a fine day today and doing something FUN.

 

 

 

 

 

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June 21, 2020 · 9:33 am

Ray of Hope

These are wave petunias.  They give me particular hope this year because I didn’t plant anything on the deck this year due to the pandemic.  These have come up from what was left behind after we cleaned out the planters last fall. They lived through the winter and are blooming on their own, despite everything that is going on in the world.

 

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June 19, 2020 · 10:29 am

Roses and Phlox

Even though things are not normal this year due to the pandemic,  I feel hopeful when I walk around the yard, seeing the things that are coming up on their own. Fuchsia Phlox here.

 

Deep Pink Phlox here

 

Red roses

 

Rio Samba roses

 

 

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June 18, 2020 · 11:06 am

Happy Weed Murderer

Gfycat

My husband has been griping about the north side of our shop. It has been overgrown with not only weeds taller than I am, but poison ivy, things with stickers, other things with burrs, etc. We don’t usually make a habit of walking on the north side of our shop, but it was bothering him, so I told him I would handle it.

The project was larger than I thought. I first sprayed thing with KillzAll, my champion weed killer, mixed in a 2-gallon container. That didn’t do much. I then took our weed eater – battery-powered – out there and worked for three days to finally get things cut down enough to make a difference. Then I sprayed it again two or three times with KillzAll.

This picture is taken from the end of the shop looking toward our house.

 

This one is taken from the opposite end of the shop, looking west.

Now that the job is done, the first thing I’m going to do is make my husband come out, look at things, and do the appropriate ‘oohing’ and ‘ahhing’ that we now have a good path on the north side of the shop,

and

second, I’ll make sure he actually USES the path at least once to make all the work more worth it.

 

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June 17, 2020 · 2:39 pm

Earning My Salt Today

Where did the phrase originate – The expression to be worth one’s salt, which means you’re competent and deserve what you’re earning, is most often said to have its roots in ancient Rome, where soldiers were sometimes paid in salt or given an allowance to purchase it.

I just came in from filling our 2-gallon container of KillzAll weed killer twice and spraying it around the civilized part of our yard. I’m making progress. I can tell where I have been, and that’s a good thing. My husband continued to work on repairs to our irrigation system for the yard while I did that. We’re both pooped now, having ‘earned our salt’ for the day, and will relax with lots of cold water and our comfortable recliners.

We are lucky. Our temperatures are pretty warm, but the humidity isn’t lethal yet. Hopefully, we can get the irrigation system working the way it should before the really hot weather hits. We have one system that waters the front planters first, and then switches to the back on a timer so we don’t have to get out and hold hoses every day like we used to do.

One of my goals with the weed killer is to make it so that there isn’t so MUCH to weed whack every time we mow. I don’t mind doing SOME, but it takes me two DAYS or more to weed whack everything now, and it all has to be done again the very next week. We have a lot of poison ivy bordering the civilized part of the yard, so one of my missions is to get that killed off as much as possible, too.

As far as exercise today, the carrying the heavy container and spraying is one part. As soon as I cool off some, I’ll do some nice gentle yoga stretches.

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June 8, 2020 · 10:45 am

Another Sign of Hope

Because of the pandemic, I didn’t plant any annual flowers. Last year I planted wave petunias in four of our planters on the deck. I love the way they spill over the side of the pots in a riot of color and bloom. I just left the empty planters this year. I didn’t even prep them for planting.

Apparently there were seeds left in the pots from the plants I pulled out last fall. Aren’t they wonderful? What a nice surprise and message of hope.

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June 2, 2020 · 9:51 am

Hope Blooms

With the virus and rioting, it’s hard not to drown in despair for our country. Walking around the yard, seeing what is coming up and blooming its head off, helps me keep hope alive.

I hope these give YOU hope, too. Stay safe and strong.

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May 30, 2020 · 11:30 am

Thoughts on a Saturday 5-30-2020

“Zeus – Whose Eyes Contain Galaxies” – Micaela Rakos-Journalist via Penny Yaffe Krakow

I can’t say enough about this photo. I get lost in his eyes.

Mother Nature is smiling as us – giving us a perfect day today! The sun is shining and it is 72 degrees F. right now. Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!

I will go out soon and see what’s what in my garden.  My friends at Lunch Bunch, plus the 2 waitresses at The Pizza Barn, were pleased with the lettuce I gave them yesterday. We may already be at the end of the early spring garden, though. The lettuce and spinach are starting to bolt, signaling the end. (Lettuce and other greens are cool weather crops. When the warm temperatures come, lettuce moves from leaf production to flower and seed production. Very often the flavor of lettuce changes and it becomes bitter.)  I’m going to salvage what I can and pull out the rest of the plants.

Bolting Lettuce – Gardening Know How

I’m still dancing around, 3 inches off the ground, because I sold a vase on my SassyGlassByLinda shop on Etsy.  (I sold the daisies one in the middle.)

My customer should get her vase Monday. I’m enjoying nice mental pictures of her unwrapping it. It’s the highest compliment there is when someone likes what you do enough to want it for their own, or buy it to give it to someone who means a lot to them. :0)

It was GOOD to see our friends at Lunch Bunch yesterday. We have been having lunch every Friday for over 17 years now – only interrupted by the Pandemic. The Pizza Barn put out some picnic tables with benches and umbrellas in their parking lot so that they can offer not only carry-out, but also the ability for people to eat outside until the restrictions are fully lifted and we can eat inside again. It is priceless to be able to actually share a meal in person with people you care about, catch up on what has been happening, eat and laugh together once again. (Next time I’ll try to get pics so I can share them with you.)

I am hoping that the space launch will happen today. I have watched, glued to my seat, each time we attempt a launch. I still remember watching the grainy, incredible pictures of our astronauts actually walking around on the moon. (That happened in 1969 – the year my husband and I married.)  I’m hoping the weather in Florida will be cooperative today, giving us the chance to send our astronauts to the space station ourselves, rather then having to rely on others.

I hope that you have a beautiful Saturday, too.

 

 

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May 10, 2020 · 9:27 am

Battle with the Weeds

ABC Home & Commercial

We bought our land here in Arkansas in 1987. Actually, my husband put a deposit on it and then brought me out here to see it. We stopped on the road in what I thought was an arbitrary spot one really hot summer day. My husband proceeded to guide me up a hill, through heavy woods, thick brush, what I HOPED wasn’t poison ivy, and finally to the top, where I was stunned by a beautiful view of the valley below.  We dynamited some parts of the hill, cleared other parts, left most of it wooded, and built our home.  Ever since, the land and Mother Nature have conspired to take back the land.

I saw on the weather forecast that ALL of next week – every day with the exception of Thursday – has at least a 50% chance or better of rain. I have devoted this weekend to working outside, trying to get things in reasonable shape before the monsoon starts.

Yesterday I spent all day in our veggie garden – weeding, harvesting, weed whacking, and finally spraying weed killer. My husband got the yard mowed. Today I will spend the day in sessions of weed whacking over the rest of the yard. Since I’m older than dirt, a little bit of weed whacking goes a LONG way, so I do it for awhile until my back starts talking to me, and then come in and rest, drinking a big mug of water, and then going out for another session. This allows me to get a reasonable amount done outside by the end of the afternoon without killing myself. :0)

Murdering weeds doesn’t sound like a very SWEET thing to do on Mother’s Day, but it works for me.

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May 8, 2020 · 11:43 am

Friendship

Last fall my friend, Laufrain, dug up her elephant ear plants to winter over until the spring. She gave me TWO of them! I put them in our dining area on the floor and held my breath that I could keep them alive until I could give them a home on our front porch in the spring.

Two days ago I moved them to the front porch. I left them in their original pots because I want to be able to bring them in again – assuming they live – when it’s time for them to winter over. We are not planting our usual impatiens this year, unless things change on the pandemic, so I thought the elephant ear would look nice, be at least a little protected from wind and possible hail here, and hopefully be healthy, happy plants.

 

 

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May 6, 2020 · 3:37 pm

Wednesday in the Garden

Yesterday I spent a lot of time weeding, staking, and tying up tomato plants to make them as secure as possible with all the waves of severe weather we’ve been having. So far, they seem to be doing fine.  I have six plants in this planter.

 

And four more here.  I actually have some blossoming on a couple of the plants now!

And in the raised bed garden –

My spinach is doing well. My plants aren’t as pretty as they sometimes are because we have had so much heavy rain that the boxes fill up faster than they drain and the soil alternative settles on the plants. These seem healthy, though.

 

 

 

Red onions and head lettuce.

 

Head lettuce.  You can see that the center leaves are starting to curl up, forming the ‘head.’

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May 3, 2020 · 12:18 pm

Rich in Roses

I love this time of year when things are blooming and making my spirits soar. Right now the roses are putting on a nice display. I will go out later today and prune them so they will put on another nice show later on.

 

 

The coral shade fades and then it is time to prune it off. My husband got me some really long suede gloves I use so I don’t get scratched the way I used to. A lady at a nursery in Fort Smith taught me how to prune the roses so they will bloom again. I will never be able to thank her enough.

 

Knock Out Rose bush

Rio Samba

Have a happy day!

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May 2, 2020 · 5:07 pm

Keeping Moving

Albert Einstein-life quotes-sayingimages.com

Today instead of formal exercising, I put on my ‘Weed Murderer” cap and went out to the garden. I’m doing a combination of pulling the weeds I can, weed whacking others, and then spraying weed killer to try to at least slow new growth.  A little of this activity goes a long way.   I do a bit at a time, then come in, rest, drink a bunch of water, and then go out again. My body is well aware that I have been moving by the end of the afternoon.

One thing that helps a lot is my “Gentle Yoga” stretches. I learned this from a DVD I ordered from Sixty and Me. The instructor’s name is Kat Kabira. She emphasizes taking things slowly, listening to your body, breathing into the poses. She doesn’t ask you to fold yourself into a paper airplane. She is very encouraging about whatever you can do. I can’t say enough about her.

Keep moving!

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April 17, 2020 · 2:52 pm

Hope in the Little Things

I can’t think that this awful situation will last forever as I walk around in my yard.  I don’t remember what these sweet little flowers are called, but they are perennial and they are blooming their little hearts out.

 

Rio Samba roses

 

Yellow Iris

Fancier yellow iris

 

 

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April 10, 2020 · 4:22 pm

Tomatoes!

Several years ago we converted two brick planters to be square foot gardening planters especially to grow the tomatoes we both love. Nothing says luxury to my husband and me than sliced tomatoes right off the vine.

We took all the soil out of the planters and replace it with Mel’s Mix (a combination of peat moss, vermiculite, and as many different kinds of compost as you can gather).  This is the bright idea of Mel Bartholomew, the author of Square Foot Gardening.

 

We have the six foot planter you see above and then the one below, the one we call a ‘nook’ planter, since it fits in the area beside our screened in back porch and the back of the house. It is about 4 feet wide by 2 feet.

 

I weeded the planters, then planted and staked the new plants, then put a bit of miracle gro pellets as fertilizer and watered.

It looks like the lowest temperature in the next ten days will be 36 degrees. I’ll keep an eye on the forecast, though, in case I need to cover the tomatoes, plus my garden veggies, for protection.

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March 29, 2020 · 9:48 am

Happy Wisteria

We have been working to get our wisteria to grow from its base in the planter on the right of the photo to a tree off the edge of this picture on the left.

 

A closer view. Things are looking more lush each day.

 

This fills me with hope for the future. It makes my heart sing.

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March 27, 2020 · 5:45 pm

Thoughts on a Friday 2-27-2020

Patrick van Bakkum Photography via Penny Yaffe Krakow

My heart simply melted when I saw this wonderful photo, so I had to share it.

I FINALLY finished the initial yard work for the season this afternoon!  We have been battling true champion weeds – and LOTS of them, even though we spread weed killer in the yard. I finally finished pulling all the weeds out of the rock bed that goes around the base of our house. When things get back to normal in the world, we’ll get more bags of rocks and spread them. In the meantime, my husband did what HE calls spraying for weeds in the bed today. We’re due for rain tonight into tomorrow, but once we have a dry day, I plan to hose down the rocks with weed killer in a more serious fashion. I also trimmed the edges of the grass, weed whacked around the back yard, and then used the leaf blower to clean things up before our rain this evening.

I’m going to do a long, slow session of yoga stretches and then take a long, hot shower to try to get my body to quit yelling at me. I’m tired, but the main thing is that the back of my legs didn’t like all the getting down on my hands and knees to pull the weeds out of the rocks.

We called in for lunch, and my husband did the curbside pick up, and got our mail while he was out. I got a roast in the crock pot and we’ll have that, plus the leftovers from the squash casserole recipe I tried yesterday. It was really good.  If you’d like to try it, the name is, “Low Carb Yellow Squash Casserole” from  allrecipes.com.  My husband was kind of expecting the casserole his mom made years ago, even though he knows we are trying to eat low carb, low sugar, etc. He asked what the ‘crunchy stuff’ was. When I explained that this recipe substituted almonds for crackers, he decided he liked it a lot. :0)

I hope you had a good day and that you and your loved ones are staying safe.

 

 

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March 26, 2020 · 3:01 pm

I MAY Be Too Old for This…

Letters From the Loft

The sun came out today to brightly shine on my while I’m trying to rid the rocks in the bed around the house of weeds. I lasted about 40 minutes, then came in and drank a really large glass of ice water, and then a lot of rest. I’m making progress, but this spring has been the best encouragement for champion weeds we’ve had in my memory of living here for almost 33 years now.  So far today, I’ve cleared an area from the garage door out to where the bed turns and goes around the back of the house.

I’m going to give it one more session today. Then I’ll drink water until my eyeballs float and then do a LOOOOONNNNNG session of yoga stretches before dinner this evening.

I have some nice pads to put under my knees, and a roll-around seat, so I’m about as well set up as one could be for the task, but it is still a LOT of work.

Guess who will NOT forget to hose down the WHOLE rock area thoroughly with weed killer once the weeds are out!

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March 26, 2020 · 11:59 am

Thoughts on a Thursday 3-26-2020

Since it finally quit raining for a bit here, we are scrambling to get our yard under what passes for control around here.

My husband used the riding mower a couple of days ago to cut the grass (mostly weeds) for the first time this season. We had spread weed killer earlier, but this spring has been a perfect one for all the weeds that have ever been in our yard, encouraging them to burst forth as never before. Some of the weeds were over a foot high! It took my husband twice as long as usual to mow, but he got it done, leaving huge amounts of cut grass everywhere. The next day he used the push-around weed whacker to get big places he couldn’t reach with the mower.

That left it to me to wield the hand-held weed whacker to get what is left, trim and edge the sidewalks, around the planters, under the deck, etc.. This spring has also encouraged the weeds to come up in the rocks we have around the house. Usually we can simply spray weed killer on them, but this year they are so prolific we actually have to pull what is there first. I did the front yard yesterday. My body is complaining pretty loudly today, but I’m going to try to get the back yard done today.

laughtard

When I finish, I’ll schedule a half hour to 45 minutes of gentle yoga stretching to get these old muscles stretched out again. I’ll schedule the elliptical trainer for days when I’m not doing so much in the yard.

I’m finding it difficult during this time to stick with my keto eating plan. I love the basics of it, but find I’m craving comfort type food during this stay-at-home time. I realize it’s probably just another excuse, but I ate some Blue Bunny New Freedom No-Sugar-Added Ice Cream with my husband last night.  It’s better for my husband, but it’s bad for me, as far as carbs go. It also has maltitol, which we should both be avoiding. “Being good” is difficult. Being good when my husband keeps bringing things I need to avoid into the house makes it more challenging. Being good during a pandemic is an even larger challenge.

Today I found a Low Carb Yellow Squash Casserole that sounds yummy. I’ll make that to serve with our leftover hamburger patties for our dinner tonight.  I will also make a loaf of bread from a favorite keto recipe so I can have some tonight.

It’s funny what each of us considers something that is ‘necessary’ to do in times when you are encouraged to stay home and avoid unnecessary contact with other humans. Apparently washing his car at the local car wash is a necessary thing for my husband, since he has just left to do it. I’m not even sure it’s open, though it is designed to be a place where no humans are needed. We will see if he comes back with a clean car or not.  Mostly, he has complied with staying home, so I’m trying not to fuss at him TOO much…

I am grateful that we are still healthy; have a warm, dry home; have food and water; and have Internet, books, TV, music, DVDs, art, pets, AND to-do lists to get us through this crisis. May we come out the other side as soon as possible and get people back to work.

Stay safe.

 

 

 

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March 23, 2020 · 11:47 am

Smiling Veggies

My plants are truly loving this cool, wet weather!

Spinach

“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

 

Head Lettuce

“My green thumb came only as a result of the mistakes I made while learning to see things from the plant’s point of view.” ~H. Fred Dale

 

Lettuce and Red Onions

“In every gardener there is a child who believes in The Seed Fairy.” ~Robert Brault

 

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March 21, 2020 · 11:15 am

Sending Spring Your Way

I took a walk around our yard this morning and felt instantly cheered by signs of spring.  We have several Redbud trees in the yard. Each year we try to cut down things around them, giving them the best chance we can of living and giving us a nice display.

 

This is our tulip tree. We just love it. It only blooms for a little while each spring, and is usually battered by storms – making the pretty blooms fall – but we love it.

I hope these trees lift your spirits as they did mine.

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February 27, 2020 · 12:24 pm

Early Spring Garden Progress 2-27-2020

This is the main part of my raised bed square foot garden. There are six wooden 4’x4′ boxes filled with Mel’s Mix on metal ‘tables’ chest high so that I can simply open the door, walk up, and either plant, weed, or harvest without having to bend over double or get up and down off my knees. The fence around the boxes keeps deer and other critters away, and the chicken wire around the bottom takes care of smaller critters, such as rabbits. We built in an irrigation system that is hooked up to an outside agricultural type faucet with a timer control on it so that I can set it to water for a certain amount every day, or whatever is needed.  I haven’t set that up yet because we’re still having freezes.

I tried to get some close-up pics so you can see what’s going on so far. The pic above is spinach. Mel Bartholomew of Square Foot Gardening, says you can plant 4 plants in each square. I’ve decided to spread things way out this year and see what happens. I have one plant in the middle of each square, giving them lots of room. I’m hoping I have plenty for salads, plus I’ll freeze what we can’t eat fast enough.

This is head lettuce.  Last year, we had a great harvest. We had plenty for us, and I was able to give heads of lettuce to lots of friends.

 

Head lettuce and sweet red onion sets.

It LOOKS like I may be able to skip covering things up at night for a couple of nights!  I’m SO ready for spring!

And then I can plant tomatoes and summer squash!

 

 

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February 21, 2020 · 3:45 pm

A Spoiled Lady’s Garden

This is the veggie garden of an extremely happy, spoiled woman.

We live on top of a ridge line and had to have some soil trucked up here in order to have grass around the house. You cannot dig a hole anywhere without immediately hitting rock. We made 14 brick planters around the house in order to be able to plant flowers and bushes. Several years ago, I found the book Square Foot Gardening by Mel Batholomew.  We cleared a spot, used some lumber to make two rectangles on the ground which was covered by black weed resisting plastic and filled the plot with Mel’s Mix. (peat moss, vermiculite, and 3 kinds of compost). This got around the fact that we had no soil, but it was still hard on me because, other than being older than dirt, I don’t enjoy bending over double for long periods of time or getting up and down from the ground.

Then we read about RAISED BED square foot gardens.  My husband can figure out how to do most anything, so we decided we would build some for ourselves. We ended up welding 6 ‘table-like’ structures where the wooden boxes could ‘sit.’  The boxes are 4 feet square and 8 inches high with bottoms that have plastic on them. We included drain holes so that excess water can get out. We made it so they aren’t just ‘raised,’ they are my chest height so I can just walk up to a box and weed, plant, harvest, add more soil, whatever.

 

You can see the wire we strung to demarcate the ‘squares.’ I am spreading things WAY out this year because the plants seem to grow together too closely if I don’t.

We built an irrigation system that is on a timer so I don’t have to remember to water or get out there with a hose.

 

We put a fence around the garden to keep critters out, such as deer. I will add some glow in the dark tape around so that the deer don’t run into the fence. We also put chicken wire around the bottom for smaller critters.

 

I have a wonderful set-up on trying to grow veggies. I am truly spoiled. I hope I can keep the sweet plants alive during the nights where we get down to freezing!

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November 16, 2019 · 3:22 pm

A Lot of Worx

 

This is my wonderful Worx Leaf Mulcher. (This one is MUCH cleaner than mine. Picture this with a leaf bag between the orange part and the top ring of the legs, and a cord attached to it and you have a great picture of what I’m doing in the yard this afternoon. I also have two plastic yellow leaf-gathering ‘hands’ that allow me to pick up a bunch of leaves at once to put in the top of the mulcher. Once the leaves are pushed down into the top, I pull the power button out and the mulcher grinds up the leaves. When the bag is full, I pick it up and distribute the mulch in my flower planters.

I told you recently, when I was trying to prune and weed after the freezing temperatures essentially killed all of my blooms, that I have 12 brick planters in the front yard, plus two concrete pots. Ao far, I have finished an hour out there, first using our leaf blower to amass a large pile, then processing the pile and distributing the mulch. I have filled two-and-two-thirds planters. At this rate, I’ll probably croak before I finish, but I’m giving it my best shot today. It’s a bit after 3pm now, so I have a good two hours of light left. I’ll see how much more I can accomplish, and then take it up tomorrow, hoping I don’t get rained out.

I’m certainly not a stickler for a perfect looking yard. That was one of the reasons we built our home in the sticks in Arkansas over 30 years ago. Neighborhoods are nice, but we really don’t want to have to go around with the manicure scissors making sure that no blades of grass are any taller than the others or that we don’t have any weeds or yellow spots in the yard. We have moles, voles, and other oles here, plus fire ants, plus grubs, plus all kinds of other stuff. Our ridge line is woodsy. If we weren’t pretty good about hacking things down around here, I think the woods would simple cover the house and it would look like it did before we came in a short amount of time.

I DO like the idea of ‘free mulch,’ and I DO want to protect my flowers and the good potting soil in our planters, so I’m going to mulch as many leaves as it takes to fill up my planters and then leave whatever remains.

I’ll tell you – even with my leaf blower, my Worx leaf mulcher, my plastic ‘hands,’ etc., this is a really good amount of exercise today for this old broad…

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November 16, 2019 · 10:15 am

Thoughts on a Saturday 11-16-2019

Jeff Jett

I think one of the most important paths to happiness is REALIZING all you have. Today my main feeling is thankfulness.

I have a beef roast in the crock pot for tonight. I have a cup of coffee. Molly is resting comfortably at my feet as I type.

 

My husband is almost completely recovered from his stroke. (He still gets words garbled occasionally, but we smile at each other when that happens. He has to really work to use his keyboard on his computer. He still has bursts of anger, saying hurtful things, but the episodes are father apart. I’m avoiding triggers I know about, and talking to him calmly about the ones that do happen, making it clear that I don’t deserve it. Things are improving.

Our son is happy in Thailand. We are talking to him on the chat program almost daily, so it’s ALMOST like he is still here with us.  If a person figures out to send HUGS through a chat program, he or she will be a gazillionaire. :0)

Our weather is good, with a nice, sunny day. I’m hopeful it will warm up enough this afternoon that I can get outside. I want to rake and shred leaves, putting the mulch in our flower planters.

I have ideas rattling around in my brain on what I would like to do next in my art room. I’m even DREAMING about them! SO many fun things to play with!

 

 

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