Peep Eye

Humor me.  Penny Lane turned three this weekend and she is playing peep eye with Carson.  Such precious babes.

Thank you all for caring to comment on surgeries.  Ollie is great and got a rad hard cast yesterday.  He was raring to go back to school.  Mine turned out great too - all benign.  

With spring temps tomorrow, I'll be out in the garden.  Life is good.

I Got Nothin'

Except for this.  It is a magazine I've purchased from time to time.  Thick, nice paper and once in awhile, it occasionally speaks to me: I think I'm a little old for it actually.

I have always had an affinity for windows.  Bought and sold many antique ones and painted them on canvas.  I love the crackled paint, but could never live with it.  I think heebie jeebies; hold my nose kind of thing.  Love to buy and sell primitives, but don't usually put them in my house.  

This really spoke to me though.  I think is was written for me (though I'm old enough to know I'm not going to change the world.) But, there is hope for the problem child.  And, like Candide, I'm off to tend my garden.

Have a wonderful, magical weekend.

Just Thinking

This is my standard picture when I am become ruminative (hopefully like Rodin, not a cow.)  Taken at the rear of the Rodin Museum in Paris, six or so springs ago - a wonderful trip with a few friends and my sister.

It is hard to post when much is going on (though I've read all my favorite blogs in the meantime.)

 Best of times, worst of times things.

My daughter's sudden blindness took its toll - living from hour to hour; worrying far too much, which is just me.  She is seeing again, though still has problems, but hopes to be back with perfect vision in a few weeks. Truly a blessing.

I looked at a blog today and saw that the author died in April.  Such a shock.  Another has been injured and yet another lost her beloved husband recently.

Such is life I guess.  I did find out yesterday that my son and his wife will have a new baby to love by Christmas.  Hope big Sis, Penny Lane, won't conk it with her toys.  Enjoyed loving on Penny this weekend.  

Oh well, enough of this.  Finally have a sunny day after so much rain and cool weather.  Off to tend the garden.

The Winter That Wasn't

Though it might not be over yet, I think the end of winter is nigh.  Yay!  Spring is my favorite season. Only a few daffodils are open, but I'll take them.  Today I am planting more seeds in peat pots, though I haven't had good results with that.  They either have a damping off or aren't warm enough or something.  Going to try again anyway.  I found these teeny tomato seeds about the size of pearls that I had a few years ago. They are a bite bursting with flavor.  I hope some of them grow.  

I bought two raised beds for the city house.  They are waist high and I put them on either side of the house to see which one gets more sun.  Vegetables need at least 6 hours of sun per day.  There isn't anywhere else here for vegetables, so I'm giving it a shot.

This weekend I bought the weenies a pup stroller and we used it this morning.  They were too nervous to enjoy it, but hopefully will as we do it more often.  At least it got me out for a walk.  I've spent the winter being a slug and I hope to change that.  

Hope this week finds you out in the garden with lots of sunshine.

Autumn

Though it is officially fall, it doesn't feel like it yet, but there are signs.  This cottonwood leaf floated by on the lake this morning.

Before I took all of your advice last year, not to pull up plants I couldn't identify, I plucked all of these umbrella like plants in the patio bed, certain they were weeds.  Well, look what they turned out to be.  Every shade of flower from fuchsia to coral and pink.  I have no clue what they are, but will remember them next year.

One last clematis blossom for the year.

Okay, my distaste for large blossomed flowers has been swayed.  I now like the cannas and the other ones are growing on me.  I'm still trying to smile at the hibiscus.

These have popped up all around this last week of summer.  Spider lilies or fairy lilies perhaps? A nice surprise nonetheless.

Mrs. Mantis, in prayer and laden with eggs, will lay them soon; I wish she could over-winter under bark, but I guess that is the way things happen.

We have had the city house for nearly a year now - have seen the gardens throughout the year. Though the garden has peaked, it has been a good year of growing.  

I planted potato vines that cascaded over the eight foot drop from the patio to the bottom yard.  The chartreuse was spectacular.   I learned that some of the coleus I planted grew too tall for this bed as it shaded out other plants and somewhat obscured the lake view. I really had nowhere to plant new things and will fit in some small bulbs and seed the beds in the spring. 

 All in all, it was a good year in the garden. I am not looking forward to that first freeze and will miss all the color, but will try to find interesting things in the winter garden.

Sometimes You're The Windshield, Sometimes You're The Bug

Here is a great singer/songwriter to go with this post.

I came home to the farm this week and what did I find?  In preparation of re-doing the deck, my husband decided to 'trim the hedge', a job I have always done.  I planted these boxwoods more than twenty years ago and they were huge.  Imagine my shock at seeing this and it looks so much worse than this picture. 

My God, I told him.  Did you use a chainsaw?  No he said, the hedge trimmer, though our trimmer wouldn't cut through a twig larger than a 1/4inch and some of these are two inches in diameter.  I didn't know whether to laugh or cry.  

You can see through them and I doubt they will ever grow back on the house side.  He said they were all dead inside and I told him they always are; they grow from the outside.

In thirty years, I would have had a beautiful landscape of plants and gardens - that is if it were not for the husband's weed eater, herbicides and burning.  At the city house he is not to touch anything as I have hired a garden and lawn crew.  I still haven't figured out the watering system, but will, somehow.

The refrigerator is on the fritz too.  The new ones now are expensive and computerized.  The ice maker and filtered water system has gone out and I don't know who I'll find to fix it at the farm.  

My husband catches raccoons and opossums in a cage as they eat all the animals' feed.  I've asked him not to do it in the garage or patio as it makes such a mess when they try to get out.  He caught a skunk.  My patio still stinks whenever I walk out the door.

Me, I'm heading back to the city soon.  It is not fun keeping up two houses.

Smokebush Tree

I was driving in the city the other day and saw this smokebush tree.  I have never seen this color before.  It is called Royal Purple.  

It is lovely and I'd love to have one, but alas, no room.

Weed Or Not

I listened to many of you and abstained from pulling up plants I did not know about.  It is hard when they are small and not identifiable. This beauty is a moon flower and has a lovely scent, but even better, it blooms throughout the summer and early fall.  Nearly the size of a plate, the large plant is covered in these flowers that only open at night.  I took this shot on a cloudy, early morn.  It is also called Angel's Trumpet.

I don't know what this shrub is, but there are several in the gardens and it is very pretty.

This little garden is off the patio next  to my bedroom on the upper level of the back yard.  There is about an 8 foot drop down to the lower level of yard and gardens that slopes down to the lake.  I have to be careful not to roll down the slope.

Remember those teeny goslings a couple of months ago?

What big babies they have become.  Nearly as large as their parents though they still have downy patches. Eat like little goats.  Quite friendly and unafraid, though I'd prefer they stay in the lake and not on my lawn.

These small doves come to eat seed on my windowsills and are very friendly.  All the wildlife seem to be used to humans, unlike their country counterparts. Many kinds of birds.

And here are my new pretties.  The garden center said they were chimes.  What?  Glass balls?  I only bought one, but had to go back the next day for two more.  Rule of threes?  Odd numbers more pleasing or the symmetry?  Can't remember.

Off the subject, but since I always tell you I never learn, well, I passed on this large zeppelin though it pained me to do so.  It is only the second one I have ever seen and I have always wanted one.  They would only come down 10% and I choked at the price.  So, maybe I shouldn't pat myself on the back.  I would have bought it for the right price.  Sigh.

Porch Sitting

You might like to hear this song whilst imagining me sitting on the porch.  And no, it isn't me playing my ukulele just a good porch sitting song.



I have had porches these last decades, but none were covered.  This one is covered and has a ceiling fan and I can tell you, I spend much of my time at the city house communing with nature and watching the lake and garden happenings from my back porch.  Just my favorite spot.  The house was  intentionally situated closer
 to the lake so the neighbors aren't easily visible.

Whereas front porches were mandatory in the past, it seems back porches are used more often now.

I went out the other morning early, with just shorts and a tee shirt, no bra as who would be around this early.  With my trusty spade and plants, I began digging holes.  HELLO!
Yes, a neighbor caught me outside unawares.  I have met them once and hadn't even brushed my hair. That never happens in the country where one can walk around naked if so inclined.

Some time later in the day, I still hadn't showered as I wanted to finish dirty work in the garage and outside, so I crept out front around the side of the house to dig up two tomato plants I decided to re-locate.  Bent over and looking like hell, HELLO!  Out in the open and nowhere to run and nowhere to hide.  I tried to cover up the front of my bust with dirt and plants in hand.  Sigh.



Guess this will be me in a few years.  Not much privacy in the city, but I sure do love my porch.

City Doings

I've been at the city house.  Planting and pulling weeds.  Many flowers blooming.  

The goslings are growing.  Seven remain and their parents are diligent.  They even chased Emmy, the weenie, but Sister, brave weenie, chased them back into the water.  Many different water fowl are trying to find nesting places in our backyard, but weenies keeping after them.  I fear several might start laying when we leave.  Anyway...

There are many large clumps of iris; both bearded and these single ones.  I have never seen these or planted this kind before.  The greenery is much more plentiful and they are covered in blooms.  Peonies, roses, freesia, iris and geraniums - too many to name, are bursting forth.  It is gorgeous.

After losing her eggs to varmints, the little mallard had a clutch of 12 babies hatch.  She is rearing them alone and not as diligent as the geese with her offspring.  Seven remain.  

Besides gardening and tending to my booth, Nonna has been tending to her grand babies.  Penny Lane is drawing on the patio with chalk and very proud of  it.

Bella and Ollie stayed the night and are washing all the dirt off in Nonna's bath.  Bubbles everywhere.  They loved it.

But, here comes trouble.  Dangerous series of weather events setting up this evening for a large tornado outbreak and baseball sized hail.  My flowers will be decimated.  My truck and husband's car can't both fit in the garage (don't ask), so as his car is smaller and newer,  it will go in the garage.  

Schools have closed in the event of a large tornado supercell. They don't want everyone out driving which is dangerous when the traffic backs up (aka sitting ducks).  All conditions are ripe for a bad day.  I have seen some storm chaser trucks with radar, etc. out driving or parked, waiting to go.  I just hope it happens before dark if it is coming.  Keeping fingers crossed for everyone and every thing in its path.  I have never known anyone whose house has been hit by a tornado, but have known those with damage to their roof from hail.

Season Of Change

As you can see from the above pictures and my newest header photo, I am quite the gardener.  I try to do it all and have gardened for the past thirty or so years.  

This summer has been different.  The weather was awful.  I lost many fruit trees and the blackberry vines died back. I really don't know what happened to them.  The garden struggled along and many of the crops failed (even the re-plantings.)  That, and with my husband being too sick to help, I got little to nothing from the garden.  

It is such hard work to then get nothing in return.  I can no longer crawl around nor bend down for long periods; the most I can do is scoot along on my bottom.  I think the time has come.  If it isn't in a raised bed, it won't get planted.  The weeding alone is nearly an insurmountable task.  Everything does taste better from your own garden though and isn't covered in chemicals.  

My new house has very little room for vegetable gardening.  Maybe a few pots here and there.  I've been calling it a cottage, but I looked up that definition and it really isn't.  My style of decorating is cottage style, or in reality, eclectic I'd say.  

It is funny about buying a new home.  I had to have a large lot (no neighbors too close) with privacy, no carpeting, no garage doors taking up the front part of the house, and on and on.  So, all that went out the window when I saw the new house.  You can't get everything you want unless you build your own house and I am way past that stage of life.  So, changeability seems to be the catchphrase for me.   Think I will have to have a vegetable garden at my daughter's house.  Seems I'll have to hold on for the ride in this new phase of life where plans change just as soon as they are made.

World Naked Gardening Day

  Yes, it is that time again.  A favorite holiday it would seem since I seem to get so many views of this post.  So, what the heck.  Here it comes around again, for old times sake.

The first Saturday in May is World Naked Gardening Day. No kidding. Yes, yours truly used to often garden in the buff in her younger days.  That free spirit Edna St. Vincent Millay also used to garden and weed in the nude at her beloved Steepletop estate in New York.  Known for her wild ways, she famously wrote, "My candle burns at both ends."  I just love her.

Alas, after a bout with skin cancer and my aging skin and body, I no longer garden without clothing and a hat.  It is much cooler without them though.  Oh, and yes, I got caught several times gardening nude. I either ran like a linebacker back to the house or grabbed a workshirt hanging on the tomato cages nearby.  Oddly, I wasn't mortified nor embarrassed. I was pissed - usually confronted the interlopers to let them know that I knew they saw me.  Mind you, I live on a farm and do not abide those who show up unannounced.  Nevertheless, happy Naked Gardening Day this weekend.

Garden Walkabout

Back home from the city to the farm.  I awoke to a cold, windy morning so I won't be doing much outside (there is really so much to do I don't know where to start).  I took one look at the fish pond, but I won't be climbing in it today.  I did finish the turkey and her poults topiary boxwoods.  But, while gawking, I saw that my old weeping Japanese maple in the foreground has, I think, died.  It had some new leaves come out on it this spring, but they have died.  I thought maybe a frost had gotten them, but nothing is returning.  It just up and died.  I can't believe it.

Noticed my clematis is starting to bloom on the patio garden fence.  Spring is moving right along without me.  I've tried to teach my husband that gardening doesn't wait for anyone, and now, I am going to have to remind myself of that.  But, it's going to have to wait till tomorrow.

Merry May

How has the merry month of May passed so quickly?  Perhaps it was all the chores outside preparing the garden beds, planting and cleaning up.  So much to do that there is little time to enjoy anything else.  Don't know the answer for that or maybe I do.  Hire a couple of gardeners or let it grow wild.  I know that answer to that.  I'll be crawling about the gardens before it's over.

"I found a strawberry blossom in a rock.  I uprooted it rashly and felt as if I had been committing an outrage, so I planted it again."   Dorothy Wordsworth

So me.