All prepped (I think) for surgery

My SO came over on Thanksgiving Day, to eat pot roast and to lend me his upper body strength. We transported the container plants to the garage for the winter (even though it has been in the 50's lately), cleared the gutters, and dumped the kitty litter boxes. There is one more container on the front porch, but since it is protected from the elements for the most part, I think it can stay there.

One mistake I made with my last shoulder replacement was to not have enough easy-to-prepare foods on hand. This time, the freezer is packed with homemade soup, some convenience foods like fish filets and tater tots and pizza, and individually wrapped servings of pork chops and hamburgers. Did you know you can freeze mashed potatoes? Rice, too. I feel like I am ready for armageddon (as long as I have electricity).

Today I mowed the leaves in the backyard one last time. The mower is scheduled to be picked up for servicing (after snowblower season), the dogs have reservations at the kennel, my helpers are lined up to assist me, etc. All systems are GO.

They're ba-a-ack

I saw the first starling of the season yesterday. They depart for parts unknown during the summer - they may be nearby but not interested in the birdfeeders - but during the winter, they are insatiable. Such gluttons! The bluebirds perform a similar disappearing act, but a few have shown up at the birdbath recently. And a flicker stopped by this week.

The landscaper is going to replace the dead Canadian hemlocks later this fall, so I asked him for an estimate to remove the arborvitae on the north side of the backyard that were damaged during a storm last July. Quite frankly, his estimate was WAY out of line. So I asked a neighbor for his help. Jack has a new "toy" - a battery-powered chainsaw on a pole - so he was happy for the opportunity to use it. We just left the mess where it fell. Once the needles fall off and the wood dries out a bit, I plan to use those long straight branches for craft projects.

The other day I found the head of an oppossum in the side yard. No other body parts, just the head. The dogs can't access that area, so I am left to wonder if it was the work of a large owl, maybe a great horned or barn owl. I'm *this close* to investing in a trail cam, to see what I can see at night. I let the dogs out after dark for a quick pee, and sometimes they get quite cranked up about something. Finn, the indoor/outdoor cat, is staying in at night, per my official decree.

Leaves are starting to turn and drop, the grass has slowed down, we may have had a light frost last night. Very little rain, though, so I am still periodically watering the new plants.

Bad news

The larger and one of the smaller Canadian hemlocks are not looking good. The needles are turning brown and dropping. When the landscape designer selected this evergreen for my yard, I questioned his choice. From my research (and I researched almost all his selections), it sounded like trouble. The plants are "guaranteed" for a year, so I sent him an email. No response yet.

Last week I mentioned abandoning my camera phone for my old Olympus. And yes, the latter takes much better photos. However, it doesn't want to talk to my laptop anymore. I had to dig out an older laptop, then "sneaker net" the photos between the two, using a thumb drive.

August didn't feel like August and now September doesn't feel like September. It's uncomfortably hot out. The pets sit by the patio door, but if I open it, they don't venture out. Apparently, watching the yard is all they want to do.

Have a seasonable week.

Tiny 'shrooms

After I trimmed the redbud trees, I left the branches on the ground while the leaves dried up. When I cut up the detritus the other day, I noticed these tiny mushroom. (I think I will go back to using my SLR camera - it does a better job than my phone camera of taking photos up close and personal.)

After my comment last week about a lone mourning dove, I saw four of them in the yard at the same time, but they acted like they didn't know each other. Maybe youngsters? I set out some mealworms to see if the bluebirds were interested. They weren't, but the sparrows were. I'll wait a while before I try again.

Otherwise, not a lot is going on in the yard. I'm falling behind in weed control, but it's not too terrible yet. Still watering, still mowing. Wash, rinse, repeat.

Doesn't feel like August

My memory of August is that it was hot and humid, but dry. The lawn would go dormant, which provided a welcome break from mowing. No more, I guess. The temperatures have been relatively moderate, as has the rainfall. And plants have started to turn.

The berries on the winterberry holly will be red in winter, but are now turning from green to yellow to orange.


The 'Limelight' hydrangea blossoms are beginning to pink up, too. I'm glad I kept this shrub, as it gets more sun now and should grow less spindly.

Birdwise, my feeders are populated mostly by multiple families of sparrows, but I have seen a few "newcomers" like a lone mourning dove (where's your mate?!?) and a downy woodpecker. The hummingbirds appear to have left the area, despite the natural offerings in my yard.


I'm loving that honeysuckle vine and plan to add a couple more along the back fence. I just have to remember to keep it under control, now that its growing conditions have improved.

I'm a little worried about the pagoda dogwood. All the leaves have dried up. I confess that I don't keep a close eye on it - maybe it has done this before? I know it is not from lack of water; could it be its feet are too wet? Google has been no help at all.


Like yardeners everywhere, I am constantly considering what to plant next year. Of course, I don't want to interfere with the newly planted natives, but I am missing the splendor of giant sunflowers and butterfly attracting zinnias.

Have a contemplative week.

New mulch means new fungi

I was a bit worried I would not be able to keep ahead of the weeds in my newly landscaped beds, but so far, it's been relatively easy. Some are hand-pulled, some are sprayed. The yucca is proving to be rather recalcitrant, though. I hope it succumbs.

With three inches of mulch and a fair amount of rain, some new mushrooms have sprouted in the yard. Fun(gi) stuff.

Since we had some rain and the temperatures have moderated, I have backed off on all the watering. (Plus, sometimes at the end of the day, I am just too tired to drag a hose around.) Everything looks great, so I'm not too worried.

There is so much that goes on in one's yard that goes unnoticed. Like spiders and insects. On more than one occasion, my entire front yard has been covered with webs like the one below, visible only in the dewy morning light.

I can tell I am tired of summer, as I find myself looking forward to snow. Have a cool week.

IMHO part 2

I've been a (mostly) organic gardener for (most of) my adult life. Managing weeds organically requires a variety of methods and tools, and a lot of diligence. Between my hip replacement and shoulder replacement, I just could not keep up with the mechanical and manual efforts of weed control, so am now resorting to herbicides, to protect my investment in the new landscaping. I've made my peace with this change.

To save money, I have resorted to concentrates. These require a sprayer of some sort, and every time I want to use an herbicide, I have to mix some up. When I have just a bit to treat, though, I am not above applying the concentrate directly from the bottle, using a small brush. This method is actually recommended when treating something like grape vine or mulberry: cut back the plant and apply the concentrate directly to the cut stem.

Now I have a lot of areas to treat, to keep ahead of the weeds. For convenience sake, I have been purchasing ready-to-use Roundup, which comes with a variety of application methods. The first one I tried required pumping air into the container to create enough pressure to spray the herbicide. This is how my sprayer works, so I'm not unfamiliar with this kind of operation, but for some reason, I could not get much pressure built up inside the container. The second bottle of Roundup I purchased came with a battery operated sprayer. Using this one was much easier and effective. This is going to be my go-to method unless I find something even better to use.

I was hoping the sweet potato vine I planted on the front porch would climb the trellis there, but it only went so far, despite my efforts to direct it upward. My neighbor across the street reported similar frustrations with her sweet potato vine not vining very much. Next year I'll try something else in this location, but may still use some sweet potato vine in hanging baskets.

The black eyed Susan along the fence on the south side of the house is trying to choke out everything else growing there. I hope to rescue the few surviving coneflower plants; I think the ironweed can hold its own for a while, not sure about the aster. Susan is such a thug, something gardening catalogs don't usually point out. To be fair, ironweed can spread aggressively as well.

Lately, I've been experimenting with what I call Bento dishes - bento box meals served on a plate. Sometimes all I need for a particular recipe is a small handful of, say, green beans, but finding a place that sells loose green beans is a challenge. Farmers markets are also a challenge when it comes to timing and parking and crowds. So, after years of not growing vegetables, I have the urge to return to growing some of my own food. But in much smaller amounts. In containers. This will require some research and experimenting, two things I love to do.

About the only birds I see at the feeders these days are sparrows. There is the occasional housefinch, goldfinch, cardinal, blue jay, etc. but otherwise, not much diversity. I think I saw a northern mockingbird one day, and one of the landscape guys swore he heard cedar waxwing. Papa wren scolds me and Finn whenever we exit the front door, as there is a wren family in the house hanging in the maple tree. I'm looking forward to migration season, which may be closer than one thinks: a flock of geese flew overhead today, presumably heading south.

It rained and rained and rained some more

I must have jinxed the area by saying the D word (drought) in my last post. Too bad I had taken in my rain gauge in anticipation of the landscape work, but I do know areas north of me received 9" while farther south it was more like 4". That is a lot of rain, but since it has been dry, little flooding. Instead, the near hurricane force winds (60 mph) caused tree damage. My yard was relatively unscathed except for one of the redbud trees, which lost the limb holding the wren house. Fortunately, no one had chosen it for a second brood. Unfortunately, some baby bluejays met their demise from a nest in the elm tree. Oh, and the basketball hoop in the driveway fell over.

The landscapers removed the limb. From what I read online, it is best to let the tree heal itself rather than cover the wound with tar or some other substance. Hopefully, it will recover.

As you may have gathered from the previous paragraph, YES, the landscapers are here. So far, they have been removing what amounts to a jungle of growth. I didn't realize how much grapevine had invaded the arborvitae, leaving a big gap of bare branches. They are not dead, though, so I am hoping with some exposure to light and air, the shrubs will fill in, much like the gold mop did when I cut out the burning bush that was crowding it.


Something I had not counted on was how unobtrusive the workers are. Most of the work is being done by hand - shovels, picks, rakes - and what power tools they do have - chain saws, weeders - are electric. No Bobcats, no dump trucks, no lawn getting torn up. The root balls on some of the trees are large enough that they will use an auger to dig the holes, but otherwise, very quiet and peaceful, not like my usual experience with contractors.

Between storms, I cleaned out gutters. The last time I did that, my SO wrangled the ladders and spotted me. He was out of town this past week, though, and I could tell several downspouts were plugged. I had to put on my big girl panties and do it by myself, wondering how much longer I can keep that up. I'll be 70 this fall.

I have been taking pictures as the landscaping progresses; I'll post those once everything is done.

Still waiting

My landscaping has been penciled in for this week. I sure hope it happens as I have been holding off several other things to make sure I am free when they come. Fingers crossed.


Even though the rain has slowed down and the temperatures have soared, the grass keeps growing but it's not as dense. This weekend was mild, so I tried to dig up some rudbeckia, but I twisted my ankle a week or so ago, and just could not manage the shovel with one bum leg. I also questioned the wisdom of transplanting weeds along with the plants, as that bed is full of creeping Charlie and thistle. I have other plants in less weedy locations I can move if I so desire.

My daughter has taken just about every plant there was to take from the front yard, or at least as much as she had room for in her yard. I haven't been over there yet, to see the results of her labor, but given her eye for design, I'm sure it looks great, or will, once the plants establish themselves. Yesterday she "shopped" my garage, for lumber and other odds and ends. There are a lot of leftovers from various remodeling projects that I am happy to part with.

Today is Father's Day. I have been transcribing some of my old journals, currently from eight years ago, when I was planning what turned out to be my last trip to visit my dad. Needless to say, I miss him.

Mowing and trimming

That's about all I do regarding yardwork, mow a couple of times a week, trim when I feel like it. I ventured into no-man's land - the area behind my privacy fence and in front of the neighbor's privet (which smells absolutely lovely right now, like lilacs or milkweed) - to see what it looks like. Thankfully, the neighbors have been keeping it mowed; I trimmed along my fence.

The 'Blue Muffin' viburnum is done blooming, and it looks like another fruitless year. I thought maybe the sparrows had been eating the blossoms - I've had that kind of problem with them before - and that was why I seldom saw any fruit on the shrub. I've been offering the birds millet, which they love, but that doesn't seem to make a difference with the viburnum. It's cousin, 'Chicago Lustre', is starting to come on now. I'm not sure either will survive the landscape update.

The climbing rose on the south side of the house, in an area to be updated later, is blooming its little heart out. Once I learned that it blooms better on horizontal branches, I made an attempt to make the branches horizontal. I was rewarded for my efforts.


I purchased some more sweet potato vine and a few geraniums for containers on the deck. By this time of spring, the pickings are slim at the local nurseries unless you want petunias or begonias. One pot contained some volunteer zinnias, which is what I favor when it comes to annuals. Next year, I'll have to start some inside.

While waiting on the landscaper, my SO helped me cut down mulberries - they were getting completely out of control and I'm allergic to them - and I treated the stumps with herbicide. They were starting to form berries. The serviceberry is absolutely loaded this year, but I've seen only a few robins and catbirds back there instead of the usual feeding frenzy. There is even uneaten fruit on the wild strawberries. I guess if my yard has an abundance of fruit, there must be an abundance everywhere.

Possum on the half shell

Apparently, armadillos are now a thing in Illinois; read about it here. I have to admit I would be rather excited to see one in my backyard (as would the dogs), but I also hope I never do.

I was getting a little concerned that the landscaper had not responded to any of my recent emails. Turns out his last email went into my spam folder. Right now we are on schedule for an early June installation. That gives my daughter more time to dig up plants. It also means I need to clean up at least the front yard a bit while we wait. The mulberries are out of control, along with thistle. A bit unsightly.

Baby sparrows left the nest this past week. Once I figure out how, I'll post a video of mom feeding the babies right under my window. There was another baby bird of some kind, but it didn't make it. By the time I noticed it, the parents had abandoned it. :-(

The Clematis Paniculata is halfway up the pergola. I tried rooting some Virginia creeper cuttings in water, but Beau the Feline Destroyer of All Things Nice kept messing with them. I'll try planting the cuttings directly into the container instead.

Usually I avoid politics and religion in this blog, but in the wake of the recent tragedy in Texas, I feel compelled to put in my two cents worth. I am wondering if firearms could be treated like tobacco: sales of firearms and ammo highly taxed (and the proceeds could be used to fund mental health services), elimination of all advertising on all media, "gun-free" zones like we have "smoke-free" zones, age limits on purchases, etc. This action would sidestep second amendment issues while addressing some of the contributing factors of this senseless violence. I've contacted all my legislators, both state and federal, but frankly, I feel very hopeless and helpless.

Suburban wildlife

Most of the time, the only wildlife in my backyard are birds. In the past, woodchucks were the bane of my existance along with rabbits. Between the privacy fence and the dogs, most critters keep away except for one bunny and a few squirrels. So imagine my surprise when I found this opossum in the backyard.

At first, I thought the dogs had killed it, but no, opossums are very good at "playing dead". There was at least one baby on board; opossums are marsupials with a pouch, which this little guy was trying frantically to find. Mom was not helping in the least.

There were a couple more close encounters between the opossum and the dogs, so I thought she would leave. But the other night, I saw Baby wandering around on the deck after dark. They seem to have taken up residence in the dog house.

On top of the opossum, this black squirrel made an appearance. I've seen squirrels with this mutation in the neighborhood, just never in my own backyard. The squirrels (and presumably the opossum) clean up under the bird feeders.


And, not to be oudone, a bunny got everyone excited by making an appearance by the front walk.

The orioles and catbirds have abandoned their feeder for now, so I took it down. I also removed the mealworm feeder, as the only birds using it were sparrows and the occasional bluejay. The local paper printed a photo of a hummingbird at a nearby nature preserve; I hung out my hummingbird feeder, but so far, no takers. I think the robins in the front yard and the wrens in the back are nesting; in another week or so, I may hear some hungry peeps.

The pagoda dogwood has been blooming its little heart out this year. I can't find many photos of this tree on my blog, but I don't know if that is because it doesn't usually bloom so well or if I just neglected to document it.

The hawthorn in the front yard is blooming as well. I can't miss that as I see it every time I open or close the drapes over the picture window.

It seems like it is either raining or I am mowing. Everything seems HUGE this year, even the (doomed) rhubarb.

While the Clematis Paniculata is putting out some new growth, it looks like the 'Jackmanii' clematis did not survive the winter in a container despite my precautions. Now I'm back to the idea of trying to raise Virginia creeper, which covers a section of the privacy fence, in a container. All I want is something to grow on the pergola.

Finally

This past week the painters and the carpenter FINALLY all showed up and finished the work on the house. Nice improvements, plus now the landscape installers can do their thing. I'm so glad this stage is complete.


Above, is the side door to the garage. I cleaned the mildew/alga off it. Now I just need to finish cleaning the siding.

Below are the shutters and the front porch. I've planted a couple of ornamental sweet potato vines in the container, 'Margarita', which hopefully will climb the trellis.
And the wrens FINALLY returned from their winter digs. A male started building a nest in the wren house right outside the den window, to be joined the next day by a female. The nest appears to be complete now.


My SO helped me continue to prep the yard for the landscapers. There were a lot of bits and bobs of poultry netting and hardware cloth that I used to protect shrubs; I want to keep them just in case, but need them to be out of the way. It was a bigger job than we anticipated, resulting in sore and stiff muscles, but we got it done.

Otherwise, I have been mowing, three times this week. It was supposed to storm all this weekend, but the weather warning turned out to be a false alarm. Instead it is hot and sunny, very summerlike, although the next week is supposed to be cooler. And I just saw the first grackle of the year.

Promises, promises

I was beginning to wonder if it was ever going to stop raining, but this week promises to be dry and sunny, with high's around 80. The painters were a no-show last week, but I've been *promised* that they will be here on Tuesday, the carpenter on Thursday. We'll see.

Bird observations continue. Robins built a nest under the eaves by the dining room window, behind the Japanese maple. This is a great location for them, as when the fledglings leave the nest, they can perch in the tree, hopefully safe from my indoor/outdoor cat. Finn is getting arthritic, but I bet he would overcome the pain if a baby bird were easily in reach. I saw the robins mating yesterday.

Besides orioles, catbirds like grape jelly. A white-crowned sparrow visited the safflower feeder, probably on his way north. I *think* I've heard wrens - my birdsong identification skills are horrible - but still no takers on the wren houses. Redwing blackbirds visit the feeders occasionally.

The 'Perfect Purple' flowering crab looks wonderful this year. It lost its leader last summer, but it looks like there is a likely candidate poised to replace it.

Two (?) years ago, the Japanese maple did not leaf out very well, which I discovered was due to sparrows eating the leaf buds. Last year it looked better. This year it looks great. I credit my feeding the sparrows millet in the backyard. Now I'm wondering if the viburnum will fruit better.

Still no date on the landscape installation. My daughter has been digging up plants that are destined to go, for her yard, for her neighbor, for her mother-in-law. My son visited last week and planned to take some, too, but it rained, rained, rained.

Many years ago, I converted part of the garage into a laundry room, but I had the plumbers leave the old faucets which are in what I now refer to as the mudroom. The outside faucets are still on the well and spew orange-ish water; if I want non-well water for something outside, I figure I could run a hose from the old laundry faucets. I never tried it, until last week, and it worked perfectly. Now I'm thinking I need a power washer so I can clean the siding.

Just for the record, my SO *loves* his new EGO self-propelled lawn mower.