Fresh dirt in Kentucky 2022

If tomorrow is as nice as today was, I think I’ll go dig up a few more plants from daughter’s yard.

>1 2wonderY: what does she have growing there?

Stuff I gave her that might be poking through the dirt soon, strawberry plants, ferns.

Two more hellebores, a fern, a couple hollyhocks. Some items I couldn’t ID. A plastic snake.

Starting to engineer my front slope, placing 4x4s to level up the top boxed beds.
It’s another beautiful day.

>4 2wonderY: pictures!!!

Perhaps in a few days. It’s a torn up mess right now. And I got called to babysit the grandbaby, so drove down to the farm.

>6 2wonderY: grandbabies always come first!

We hiked up ‘Mystery Mountain’ yesterday and went Into the Woods looking for adventure. We found a young stand of bamboo, a very small variety no taller than me, with wand-y stems. We examined leaf buds on several trees and compared pine needles and eastern red cedar. We filled my pockets with moss and looked at some interesting lichens. T showed me her favorite boulder.

Oh, and we found a video of someone reading The Tale of Two Bad Mice to prove that her cup depicts Hunca-Munca.

Eastern bluebird.

I’m back home but T is here too while her parents do the almost last cleanup at their house. I told Rose I’ve been digging up plants, and she scolded me. But I think she’s secretly pleased.

Cloudy today, but temps in the low 70s. Put the last of the transplants in. Reassembled a long porch swing that Rose brought over and dumped months ago. (After I found the baggie of bolts). It’s longer than my wooden swing, so now I won’t have to compete for swing space. It’s now my second favorite spot in the world.
T did not want to leave last evening, but she will be back next weekend.

>10 2wonderY: what a blessing, I wish I could visit with my granddaughters more often.

Ack! I hate mouth breathing. My nasal passages are completely stuffed up. The antihistamine is doing nothing except drying my eyes.
Misery.

I have some antihistamine nose spray which really seems to help. Can you get something like that?

>12 2wonderY: I have been trying to avoid any medications, including my antihistamine prescription. I found a dap of Vick's Vapo-rub (generic variety) under my nostrils actually helped relieve stuffiness.

I napped through yesterday while my car was in the shop. I feel better today, though I think it’s either a head cold or spring allergies. Probably too early for allergies - the leaves are barely out of bud on the earliest varieties. The granddaddy elm tree across the street is beginning to shade green.
I put the last of the stolen plants in the ground this morning. It’s sunny, but cold enough to wear my winter hat. Heading to daughter’s house soon, as T doesn’t have preschool tomorrow.

>15 2wonderY: gotta listen to our bodies. Mine didn't want to get out of bed at 5:30 this morning, but I promised it I'll not have the alarm set tomorrow, as I'm off.

I so respect the Kentucky expectation of pausing when a funeral procession goes by. It is honored in all sorts of travel situations. Just now we all sat through two green lights while a procession came the opposite direction. Does that still happen in other areas of the world?

Most funerals here are held in cemetery chapels, so the only funerals that have processions on public roads are those of very important people. For them traffic is stopped by the police.

>17 2wonderY: most people here in eastern NC observe the tradition, though there are exceptions.

Daughter fell and possibly broke her ankle last evening. She was carrying T, and the pain was so intense she doesn’t recall how they landed. T is fine, but got onto the sympathy list by complaining that her butt ankle hurts.

There are turkey buzzards here. Dozens! They soar across the wood tops and over the meadow, perhaps doing a mating dance, as they seem to pair off. They are immense, and their wings glow white-golden underneath when the sun hits them at the right angle.

We’re expecting up to 6 inches of snow overnight, but it’s been so warm, it possibly won’t stick.

Invitation to a party

>21 2wonderY: lovely!

And yes, that is a dragon boat, as explained to me later.

We’ve got 3” of snow so children decided to delay coming till tomorrow. The task at hand is yard cleanup, after all. But they couldn’t notify my until I asked?

I found relief. Chicken noodle soup and Xyzal.

>24 2wonderY: how exciting, snow!

We got rain, a lot of it. Now it's blowing, and temps are dropping. I'm concerned about the frogs that made it through the winter, hoping they can survive 22F tonight.
🙁

The xyzal claims to provide 24 hours of relief, but it was 16 hours and 23 minutes. The congestion and coughing came back with a vengeance and also lower in the throat. It took me an hour or so to manage it again, and I was dizzy and numb and tingly in the wrong places. So that means I can expect the same swell reaction in the middle of the night, tonight. Fun stuff.

Oh, but I made a killer pot of chili and it is so soothing!

The xyzal clocked in at 23 hours this time. Yay. I can breathe through the night.
T and I examined our favorite peach tree, tromping through the left-over snow. We’ve got green buds and pink buds!
The tiny spireas I planted in the fall had begun their pretty leafing out, but were killed back by the snow and cold. Not to be discouraged, new leaves coming out closer to the ground.

Moved from turtlenecks and sweaters to long sleeves to sleeveless shirt today. It’s not very warm, but I’m wrestling with the front slope. Tracking mud into the house too. Ugh

I dashed to WV for just a couple of days. I plan to dig out my favorite rose tomorrow and see what else is coming along.

Hmmm. There is a fragrant lilac next to the rose (which is out of the ground now) that would be a wonderful transplant; if the roots are not too deep.

You can try taking cuttings to root.

Well, that was a huge job, but done. I will cut it way back and so will have cuttings to play with. Any specific advice? The shrub is beginning to leaf out.

Lots and lots of ephemerals scooped up as well. Not sure what some of them are, but they’ve been spreading happily.

I googled it, seems to like soil better than water.

>31 2wonderY: my eldest sister and I are the gardeners. Every time either of us moved we took a few of our evening primroses for the next homestead. One year mine fried in South Carolina and I got a package of small plants from my sister in Oregon, to be placed in a cooler spot. A couple years ago I sent some replacements to her when she misjudged how cold it would get at her new home in Minnesota and lost them all.

I mostly came to adjust the heat downward on the stoves and dig the rose. My car is full of plants now and I will take very little from inside this trip. Back to KY tomorrow; class on Monday.

My head cold seems to finally be in decline. I’m able to switch to my usual antihistamine after 9 days on the Xyzal.
Scouting around the yard to gather a few more plants before I head back.

Put two cherry trees in the front on the steeper slope. That just seems the best place for them. Split the rose bush into two, as that’s how the roots came out. They now flank the front porch. Gotta get two pots of bleeding hearts in the ground tonight before dark, as they are very sensitive. Lots of other stuff to plant in the next couple of days.

>39 2wonderY: looking forward to pictures!

I’ve put the two yellow roses out along the backyard fence, one east, the other west. It’s a busy day out here. One of the neighbors uphill has someone on their roof, leaf-blowing it entirely. Possibly having a roof put on over top? They are too far away to ask.
The neighbor to east is taking down their back patio roof. They will be putting their house on the market, as they need something bigger, with combining households with an older generation. I’ll be sad to see them go.
West neighbor is working on her vegetable beds. Gosh, her pond has grown!
I’m resting on the swing and eating a snack before I get back out there.

My peach tree is already blossoming. Way to early for pollinators, so I will poke each blossom. But I’m afraid it is way too early. If fruit does set, it’s likely to be hit with freeze in April.

The power company is replacing power poles on my block this week. Today I have time to watch them do the one across the street. They’ve located the stump of the old pole (the one before the current pole) and yanked it out of the ground with their super truck. I sat out with my first cup of tea, but I’m feeling occasional rain drops. So gotta get the second lilac in the ground. Fortunately, it goes in the front, at the west corner of the house.

I think I’ve got everything except cuttings in the ground, including Naked (or Nekkid) Ladies planted around the uppermost wall where the playhouse sits. It’s got to be decades since I even planted the first bulbs, as I don’t recall doing so. Hard to keep track of them as the leaves emerge along with daffodils, but are gone when the flowers stand proud in late summer. I will try to remember putting them in.

My car was in a parking lot rather than in the carport, so it got washed when it rained.😉

Okay, I took some pictures. First the ugly.
These are my front yard slope, east then west.



From the side, trying to make those frames equal, level and stable before adding soil and leaves.


West side. Too steep to mow and covered in carpet.

Two Cherry saplings added towards the top. One looks like it may live, the other probably not.


There are tiny spireas along the top “candy corn”. Can you see them?

>44 2wonderY: not ugly, just a work-in-progress!

Some of the pretties.

The lilac I dug up split into two pieces, so I’ve got one in back and another gracing the SW corner of the house.


In the backyard, I put most of the hellebores on a rock slope near the deck. I may have to reconsider their placements. The one that is happiest is nestled under the ancient maple tree.


In the middle of the back yard is a modern wall retaining where an old shed was. The playhouse is in process of being disassembled. All the plants at the base were added this season and last.


The moss covered mound is actually a tree stump. It was a disaster for maintenance. I’m in process of turning it into garden.


I dug emerging bleeding hearts from WV. This cluster appears eager to grow. I need to lay some leaf mulch down.

There are several “flats” in the backyard, separated by rows of rocks. There used to be three rows of rocks; but I’ve made them into two. Just below the retaining wall is the first. I’ve filled in the shallow trough in front of it with mulched leaves. This will be my main vegetable garden.


The row below that just helps to delineate the slope. I’ve planted it with irises and will add other plants as well. See the hump at the far end? That’s the stump I showed yesterday.


Before you get to the deck, there is a steep slope. I’ve covered it with carpets and I’m planting perennials a little bit at a time. My forsythia bloomed one stem this year. See how steep?


Further uphill are a couple more tree stumps. One is rotted enough that I was able to plant in the center. I don’t recall what this is; possibly something from daughter’s yard.

It’s the twiggy thing with large leaf buds.

Oh, good! I missed the first yard debris pick-up of the season yesterday. But the city has a crew on my block today trimming tree branches away from the power line. They agreed to take my barrel of weeds collected since last fall. I burn my branches, mulch my leaves; but I still accumulate a significant amount of stuff I want to avoid re-seeding.

>48 2wonderY: glad you are able to burn there. We just tackled our 3 year old plus brush pile, and about 80% of it was consumed in the first attempt.

Things grow so quickly here, it's crazy trying to keep up with all the saplings that spring up in a few weeks.

I have found a flooring contractor who would LOVE me to take some of the carpets off of his hands. We're going to cover the former vegetable garden that grew trees (all cut down) that need to be suppressed from regrowth.

>44 2wonderY: I have a honeysuckle issue on my front slope, may try the carpet method as well. I'm the last house on a dead end street, so few neighbors to complain about it.

>50 fuzzi: Just remember to be patient. When we moved in here, I think about 15 years ago, there was a wisteria that had grown up and was trying to get into the attic. I started just cutting down the top half of it, until the neighbour said how much she always dreaded the headaches the blossoms gave her. Of course something that size also has big roots, and I could only remove a little of them. By now I only have to remove two or three shoots a year when they come up. It's fun - they unwrap themselves suddenly, one day nothing, the next 20-30 cm tall if not more. I do my best to pull up as much underground stem as possible.

There was some mint I didn't like. That only took 2-3 years. I was quite pleased as mint can be quite persistent. I have several nice ones, but all caged in.

I’ve never been successful at caging my mint.

>51 MarthaJeanne: I managed to kill mint...

I remembered leaf mulch over those tender bleeding heart shoots last evening. I also laid sheets over the candy corn spirea. Glad I did. Even with the temperature registering 41F this morning, the sheets were still damp and stiff from dew frost.
Maybe I should fashion tiny greenhouses over them.

The sun is beckoning me outside, but the thermometer says it’s still below freezing. So I’ll just make another pot of tea and enjoy the view out the windows.

>53 fuzzi: Was it deliberate?

>56 MarthaJeanne: actually...no. I had it in a wheelbarrow planter, and it died.

I found a sliver of spearmint in my yard today. I put it in a container.
It stayed in the 30s all morning, but the sun is out. I finally bundled up and put my wool hat on and started placing plants. Late afternoon and it got up to 47F, and the hat is discarded somewhere.

I brought 3 cherry trees back, so there are now 3 in the front and two in the backyard. That one I mentioned has no visible buds, but may send a shoot up from the root. I put it next to the dead fig tree.
The huge hydrangea clump got split and also distributed around. Gobs of daffies along the fence out back. These are ruffly doubles.

I’m not done, but I’ve got all weekend. I wonder if the Potting Shed has opened for the season yet…
Marvelous day

Magenta spiderwort introduced into more corners. Yellow loosestrife added along the west fence. Just a couple of plugs, but I think it’s in the front gardens already.

When I came back with lilac and rose last time, I dumped the cuttings into the pond. I may deal with them today. The lilac ends appear to have the very beginnings of roots. I’m gonna go to the farmers market today and ask advice from my favorite local grower of perennials. (And see what she’s got.)

See?!!

I took a piece of blue-eyed grass for Connie, and bought a few plants. Ajuga ‘chocolate chip’ which is a deep blue purple, and mounds rather than just sprawling. Creeping phlox ‘scarlet flame’ I think I bought this last year and it is still there, but lost in the grass. Sedum ‘thundercloud’ which has interesting serrated leaves.
I also stopped at the college greenhouse for their plant sale. Their starts are expensive, but I couldn’t resist a few.
Sweet pea ‘old spice mix’
Snapdragon ‘rocket mix’
Monarda ‘panorama mix’
Blue flax
Poppy ‘black beauty’
Baby tears
String of pearls succulent ready to bloom
And a ‘brown turkey’ fig tree for only $25. I will harden it before I put it out along the back retaining wall.

Daughter is exploring her woods and found a hillside of yellow trout lilies.

I was out front down by the street digging dandelions. Sylvia Barnes stopped to ask about the neighbors who moved out across the street. Long black hair, nice dresser, she was headed out for an evening of dancing. She invited me to join her for exercise class weekdays. We exchanged personal data. I thought she was my age. Nope. 81.

Oh. First mowing today; the entire yard. I don’t want the weeds to go to seed. Gotta get those slopes planted more fully.

Itchy bumps on my left arm. They don’t look like typical poison ivy, but that must be what it is. I know I don’t have it in my yard. Perhaps contact at the greenhouse somehow.

>59 2wonderY: I have deep purple spiderwort here, it volunteers all over.

>61 2wonderY: so pretty!

>64 fuzzi: Yes, you’ve promise to bring me some when you come north on I-75. I’ve got some magentas with your name on it.

I’m spending a beautiful sunny day here clearing the deck. Junk just piled up over the winter months and leaves have accumulated in all the corners. I’ve even cleaned the glass tabletops and dusted off the chairs and swings. I’m ready for company now.

I had time just now to research a bird new to the feeder today. Mockingbird!

I’m trying to focus on finishing the paper due on Friday and it’s been raining, so all I’ve been doing is strolling around peering at my plants looking for leaf buds and root sprouts. And whispering encouragement and love to them.
It’s so exciting!

Ha! Paper not due till Monday now, and the sun just came out. Where are my boots?

The sun came out big time this morning, so I scampered into my clothes and started working in the yard. Till it clouded and rained. Then it cleared again. I went out to the ridgetop and dug up multiple items for transplanting, notably all my blueberries and a hunk of oak leaf hydrangea and a rose bush. The blueberries have never thrived out there. I will plant them on the highest slope out back and keep a better eye on them.
I took some frog eggs out of the pond to introduce them in town.
My apple and peach trees are flowering. First time for the apples, and they’ve been there the longest. Several cherries I planted out there are doing well.
Lots of debris and brambles and saplings to clear. I will have more time to do all this year. No T, no surgeries.

>67 2wonderY: sounds familiar. When I get home from work I grab my camera and head for the backyard. I wander around the gardens and ponds, taking photos. We have a lot of wildflowers blooming in the yard, which I try to identify.

The milkweed is up.

Lisianthus very slow to germinate and grow. Start seeds in December.

My new blueberry patch

It was wet and cold today. I dug out turtleneck and cords again; and besides going to class, I stayed inside. Now it looks like there is a chance of snow tonight and tomorrow.
The Potting Shed is setting up, but only the hardies; and plan a later than usual opening next week. They must have lost stock last year at about this same time.

>72 2wonderY: our blueberry bushes are slow to bloom this year, wondering what's up.

>74 fuzzi: I’ve never had a chance to keep eyes on the blueberries, so I don’t know what is usual for this area. But I’m glad they are still in tight leaf bud. It makes the transplant more likely to succeed. I’ve never actually harvested any fruit from these either.

Checking the backyard this morning from the window, I spied a bird with a red bonnet pecking away at one of the tree stumps. Binoculars show it’s a piliated woodpecker. Too far away to get a photo, unfortunately.

>76 2wonderY: oooh! I'm envious. I hear them from time to time, not as much recently...too many housing developments going in where woods used to be.

We saw the similar European black woodpecker once. We first heard it, and at first I thought it was noise from hikers on a higher trail, but then we saw it tearing up a stump about half way between the trails. It was quite a thrill.

https://www.jerrybarton.eu/Nature/Bird/i-S5fcPFx/A June, 2016.

>78 MarthaJeanne: Bless you for sharing again! I’m favoriting this post so I can return at will to admire and thrill. Wow! Has Jerry ever marketed his photos?

Daughter’s home is cedar sided, on the edge of the woods. Several areas attacked by woodpeckers. They’ve hung sparkly ribbons to discourage them.

Oldest granddaughter is a valedictorian this year. Second granddaughter was awarded student of the year and is getting straight As. That’s amazing. She has had several very bad years of school.
Bursting with pride.

>79 2wonderY: He used to have cards printed and we sold them at a few Christmas bazaars. Well, you've seen some of the Christmas ones.

If you ever come to Vienna, you can take a whole stack back with you. The set up was getting too much anyway even before Covid closed things down.

>82 MarthaJeanne: Would love to visit you.

The sun is brilliant today, and I did my walk-around to encourage everybody. The roses don’t like to transplanted and I’m having little luck there. But the lilac and cherry trees look happy.

I will be spending the bulk of my day plumping up the paper due tomorrow. It needs to be 8 pages. I’ve got 4.

From experience, it's easier to write too much, and then cut, than to plump up too little.

Of course, I can remember doing that and then being asked why I hadn't included A, B, and C, which had all been in the first version.

You’d think. Maybe I have less material than I thought I did or maybe I just tend to be brief anymore. I do have another angle that I stumbled on last evening.

>81 2wonderY: congratulations to both of them!

>78 MarthaJeanne: lovely!

Done with the paper. Whooooo! Missed a beautiful day. I think it's supposed to rain all week. But the Potting Shed should be open....

>81 2wonderY: That's wonderful, Ruth! Brains run in your family.

Yeah, they tend to run out the ear.

>90 2wonderY: bwahaha! I love it.

I was just gonna look today. But…..

I couldn’t chance someone else buying the best of the few flowering peach ‘Pink Cascade”’- it’s not a timid pink, very bold. It’s going in the front yard in front of the living room windows.

I also picked a few perennials
Guara ‘Siskiyou Pink,’which is a dainty arching thing
Scabiosa ‘Pink Mist’ - pincushion flower
And two for the spot sheltered by the second maple tree
Astilbe ‘Rheinland’
Heuchera ‘Firefly’ - Coral Bells

>90 2wonderY: Oh please! Smart people always downplay their brains. How do I know this? Because I'm a freaking genius!

>92 2wonderY: Are you sure you're talking about plants? Because I know drag queens named each of those things.

I wanted to plant some easy maintenance roses in back of the house, but money is tight right now and I just can't afford it. Next year in Jerusalem!

College Ag Dept. sells gardening supplies:

https://growappalachia.berea.edu/growing-supplies/

Obviously, my specimen isn’t this big. It’s just taller than me, and just starting to throw out branches. But this is the color:

That woodpecker did a thorough job on the uphill side of the trunk, pecking it entirely gone and into the soil.



I’m surprised he hasn’t been back to work on the rest of it or the other stump nearby. This is the stump I planted something inside. I think it’s a hydrangea.

I snapped a picture of my neighbor’s redbud tree. They are beautiful, but weedy. Her holly tree is just beyond the redbud. That’s my deck on the right, with body-length porch swing. (Best spot in this universe.)



You can see the edge of the raised bed I just installed to try to protect my strawberries. Screen on top. That groundhog is probably eating them. Strange, daughter had no varmint issues in her yard, though it was more woody and wild. She had beavers in the stream at the back edge of her yard.

>93 SomeGuyInVirginia: the "easiest" roses I know are climbing types. You could have some of my canes, they're all over the north side of my house!

>95 2wonderY: ooh, pretty!

Last frost should be past here, but I’m not sure. Plants bought from greenhouse are still inside, but moving outside during days to get them used to fresh air. It’s nice enough this morning to swing on the back deck with my tea.

Oh, and the paper - part of my problem was my document setting was at 1.5 line spacing. When I re-read the syllabus, Prof. Smith specified 2.0. After more padding and format adjustment, it was 10 pages. Plus an impressive page and a half of bibliography.

Shoot. It’s still going down to the 40s at night and even 36F on Friday. So all the plants I carried up from the basement and out to the deck need to be brought back inside. And I am fatigued. I just want to go to bed.

It's cooler where you are than here in Lynchburg, although next Tuesday the projected low is supposed to be 37°. For whatever reason, the red bud has been particularly pretty this year.

Huh. Yesterday was National Gardening Day and I did nothing in my gardens. I spent the day running errands and laundromat. I did move the fig tree out and back in. Can’t wait till I can get it into the ground.

Beautiful day here. The woodpecker has a girlfriend. I see them flirting up in the maple tree. Lots of little tasks to clean up the yard. I can’t plant shrubs in some places because I haven’t cleared the wintercreeper yet. Bagging yard waste for next week’s pick-up. Mowed. Went to the Potting Shed briefly to see what’s new. Neighbor cut it short because I had promised to pick her up from the dentist. But I did see a new to me treasure - Hypericum x inodorum ‘Magical Universe‘ doesn’t look fascinating in the pot, but I googled it. It flowers and sets pretty berries from June through October. That will go in the center box on the front slope; when I get it stabilized.

>103 2wonderY: isn't it fun to imagine how it will turn out?

Yep. Even better when the work is done.

I’m sure glad I mowed yesterday, as it rained last night. The yard is crisp and neat looking in the morning sunshine.

I laid more cardboard to expand some of the beds out front.

Farmers market this morning. Connie is selling the magenta spiderwort I gave her last year. She says her husband was delighted with the blue-eyed grass. I need to meet them socially.
Bill Best was selling Tomato plants, so I got several. One even has fruit already!
Oh varieties: Big Dena, Sun Gold, Willard Wynn.

Spent a wad at the Potting Shed and got questions answered by Michelle. I bought :
another Holly “Winter Red” - I am worried that the companion gentleman is too far away. So I’m establishing a love triangle on the slope nearest the deck.
Hypericum “Magical Universe” for the front slope.
Spirea “Double Play Doozie, a deep colored re-bloomer.
And of course, a Rose, “Easy Does It” which I’m sure I’ve bought before, but not sure if here or the ridgetop. This will go in a backyard border.

>105 2wonderY: good ol' cardboard!

I finished my raised bed garden today, whew.

It looks like I can leave my plants outdoors starting Wednesday. Night temps in the 50s from there out.

I saved toilet paper cardboard for someone planning a craft project. Finally used some yesterday to plant zucchini seed. Watermelon seed has already been planted in little pots. Sweet peas seeded in a big pot out front.
I finally got lilac and rose cuttings into soil. I found the cutest galvanized pots at the Dollar Tree.

I’ve been reviewing this thread and the last one and putting notes on paper as to what I’ve brought in and where they’ve been put. Heck, I may even do a plat.

I was cleaning my garden cabinet on the deck yesterday and found more old flower seeds! I began raking the spot I used last year for random seeds and will repeat throwing seeds there and seeing what comes up.

Neighbor saw the raccoon again. I guess he’s staying. Gonna have to think about some serious varmint-proofing on fruits.

Oh, and the bee house that daughter gave me years ago is finally being tenanted. It sat on the deck on the ridgetop for half a dozen years maybe. I brought it into town last year and kept meaning to repair it. One side wall had detached and the bamboo shorts have partially fallen out. But it wasn’t on my priority list. Well, all kinds of solitary bees have suddenly found it and are moving in. I may have to just build an addition because I don’t want to disturb their peace with my carpentry.

I have to focus on the class group presentation, which is on Friday. There are five of us, and only one other member is pro-active. Everyone else says they haven’t gotten to it yet. People! We have to turn in a two page brief and bibliography Wednesday as well as create a PowerPoint slideshow. And I'm the one not worried about a grade. I’m learning PowerPoint on the fly.

Despite that, I took a couple of hours to tear down more of the playhouse. Grands may be coming this next weekend, and we need to talk blueprints. I couldn’t get all of the bolts out but a good twist usually shattered the wood at the connecting point. Or worse, sometimes it just crumbled. So the second floor walls are gone. We’ve got to remove the floorboards and then the monkey bar extension and the main structure.

>106 2wonderY: Forgot one. Bought a dwarf Solomon’s Seal from Connie. I’m gonna have me some woodland garden way back at the top of the yard.

>108 2wonderY: we're getting a (hopefully) last blast of cold weather, lows in the lower 40s tonight, and upper 30s tomorrow evening!

I have two water hyacinth I purchased sitting on the porch in a bucket. I'll be bringing them inside for a couple days.

>111 2wonderY: I learned Power Point and Excel when I started working here in 2008...and discovered that I liked both of them! Have fun.

I’ve managed to overwinter water lettuce inside. But just barely. I’m eager to get the plants back in the pond. The lady at the Potting Shed was impressed.

>114 2wonderY: I failed miserably with overwintering water hyacinth a few years ago.

Now that my aquarium has LED lights it might be bright enough...

I think the roots don’t like light from the side. Pottery and enamel containers did better than glass. And fresh water changes were needed, as the leaves started carrying a mold. Of course, I didn’t have a water circulation system.

I’ve never actually seen a dog bury a bone till this morning. I caught next door Carmen digging in my new seedbed. She had a bone in her mouth.

Something likes digging in my seedbeds if I don't shred horseradish leaves over them.

I had the best evening. Study group with no masks. Then we bumped into another group on our way out of the library and chatted some more.
It’s been a long time since I’ve been in the midst of such an interesting and lively group of people.

One more night! Tonight’s low is forecast at 36F, which is where the thermometer is hovering now. Sun is out, but the high is only supposed to be 52F.

I will take my stroll this morning, but spend the day cleaning house and buying groceries. Daughters and some grands will be coming this weekend.

I’ve got just one more task to do for the group project. What’s an annotated bibliography? I never heard of the need to explain the contents of your source. A whole paragraph? Seems ridiculous.

>118 2wonderY: unless it's expressly required or a person ask me to put a mask on, I've been going everywhere maskless for the last month or six weeks. Ruth, it's so very lovely! It's wonderful to act the way that I did two and a half years ago. Ugh, what a really terrible time it's lately been!

From your previous posts I understand that you're planting things. I wholy approve because it involves particular tools and a kind of grim determination (at least on my head). Beyond that I have no idea what you're talking about. But it doesn't matter because you're still one of my favorite people.

Whew! I have submitted all of the parts of our group project that were my responsibility. So I'm free to clean, grocery shop and garden for the next two days. I tackled the attic bedroom today, but it looks worse now. I am packing and tucking Christmas stuff away in the cubbys. But I've also unloaded several boxes and spread out across the floor. It'll get done. I want to impress my daughters with my reformed habits.

Very off-topic. Y’know the videos on TikTok and Instagram with the spoons and batteries and spinning coin? Well, I finally had to try it myself. I know, laugh. Well, it didn’t work. I finally did the research and found this entertaining explainer

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=besVGiD6CCk

>121 2wonderY: good luck on that!

>122 2wonderY: I disagree with his use of "magic trick" -- it's video editing. There's no magic trick to video editing.

>124 lesmel: You are precisely right. But it is an “illusory feat.”

Another plant followed me home today. I had no intention… I was just looking for future reference.
Rhododendron “Dandy Man Color Wheel”

It will go behind the two azaleas at the top of the yard, shaded by pine and maples.

I got the one mostly in tight bud. Only one clump has bloomed so far.

>126 2wonderY: I'm living vicariously through your posts.

I'd like to do azaleas around the backyard fence, the area that has afternoon shade, but it will be a big project...maybe in the autumn?

>127 fuzzi: There are new varieties of azaleas that bloom again in the fall. Odd, but true. They’re called Encore.

>126 2wonderY: I have this picture in my head of you driving home with three or four plants sending out tendrils to grab the back of your car so they can hitch a ride.

>129 MarthaJeanne: might not be nice plants, though...

https://youtu.be/QHWA_bk7a4Q?t=44

>130 fuzzi: The ones following Ruth would all be nice plants.

>131 MarthaJeanne: they better be! I've never imagined Ruth to be one to suffer fools or foolish plants gladly.

I do have a reputation with the weedy plants. They know me as RuthLess.

Theia: I was thinking about getting a little sister.

Her mom: Where are you going to get a little sister?

Theia: At the dog store, easy!

>133 2wonderY: bwahaha!

>134 2wonderY:. I despise autocorrect. Store, not story.

Anyway, today’s group presentation is at noon. I guess I’m nervous because I’ve had a dream about it being a disaster. We have a shared PowerPoint and checking just now, one of the group has yet to add even one slide. Two others have added just a few and yesterday said they weren’t finished. Ahem. Ten hours and counting down.

That's about par for the course, people seem to rely on magic, especially at last minute.

Good luck! Don't worry about it, it's never as bad as you think it will be.

You’re right. I just checked again and at T minus 4 hours, they are throwing it together. It will be wonderful.

Tufted titmice!

We are done with our presentation and it went well. Relaxing on the back deck, I had to chase the squirrels away from the strawberry bed. Squirrels!

>140 2wonderY: you need a dog for the squirrels.

Next door Carmen claims the immediate neighborhood. I’m supposed to call her when I need her to chase something. The cat was on my windowsill eyeing the bird feeder. Carmen saw, but refused to budge from her comfy spot on her front porch.

>139 2wonderY: I beg your pardon? Spoken in my best clutch the pearls voice.

Last year I had a guy tear out a fig tree that was growing within a couple of feet of my house. I was worried about roots destroying my basement wall. Apparently fig tree roots don't do that? Also, I didn't have the roots destroyed so the whole damn tree is back again this year. I hope to get at least one fig from it before the deer devour it like zombies on a chubby guy lost in the woods.

Also, my crepe myrtle has sent out green shoes and should be blooming soon. It's a gorgeous, enormous tree. At least as tall as the house and right by my back porch. I'm also really glad that when the blooms fall they don't stain. There was this terrible tree that was everywhere in Washington DC and it cast these blooms/berries down that people trot on and it completely stained the sidewalks a dark purple. I have no idea what kind of vegetation they were, but they are everywhere in Washington.

>143 SomeGuyInVirginia: Fortunate you, with an insistent fig tree. I’ve failed twice and am going for #3.

>143 SomeGuyInVirginia: crepe myrtle is pretty, handles heat and drought without forgetting to bloom.

We went to a mushroom festival, but saw nary a fresh mushroom. A cooking demonstration, from afar; lots of carved and painted depictions; a gymnasium full of local agates and other rocks from around the world; craft booths; food carts; music and dance.

Irvine is such a small town, parking was at the high school quite a ways out, and a shuttle bus brought everyone to town. But there was no meaningful signage or map of the activities. So we wandered around till we were too tired and caught the shuttle back out.
Pretty day. We got to hold a cuddly baby. Ezra’s dad couldn’t handily get him out of the backpack, while 2yo Violet was exploring the Nandina berries growing along the courthouse. We assisted and got to cuddle the baby for as long as we wanted.
T was sick, so she and Rose stayed home. Sad disappointment.

Mr. Piliated is back, working on another stump at the very top of the yard.

Time to get more plants in the ground today.

My yard guy wants to plant tulips along the front of the house. It's going to have to wait until next year ornamental anything is not in the budget right now. I do like tulips, though, And would like to grow roses along part of the south-facing wall.

Yay for holding the baby?! Ruth, you did give the kid back, didn't you?

>148 SomeGuyInVirginia: Well, we were standing right beside the courthouse. And the county jail was just behind. I did not want a personal tour.

On the Nandina berries, I stopped some teens from stripping and throwing them at each other and the young man tossed some in his mouth. I hope he spit them out whe I turned away. They contain cyanide. I knew they weren’t edible, but he wasn’t going to believe me.

Elly (14) has been taking down the playhouse this morning. She took a break to recharge the tool battery and lounged on the swing. She asked her mom to bring out the tool and battery (because I’m ready to go back to work when you get up and bring me my tools.). I had to laugh at her.

The maple trees are offering maple lace today. I posted pics on Instagram.

I dug holes in the steepest slope near the deck to plant more Winter Holly. It was too steep to stand or to rest the buckets upright. But standing on the old carpet made it doable. Another female toward the front and Southern Gentleman behind her.
I moved him from the far end of the yard. Want to make sure he performs his pollen function. (Is that a delicate enough euphemism, Larry?).
I filled his old hole with a Mountain Laurel that has been unhappy on the edge of the rock garden. Lordy, she immediately looked much happier up there, protected by the maple tree.
In her previous spot, I planted a new Rose, Easy Does It.
It’s like a game, but I don’t know the name of it.

Relax time on the swing.

Oh. I just walked back into the house. I had cut a stem of lilac blossom this morning. It has filled the house with its wonderful scent.

Vegetable chairs.

Yes! You knew where I was driving.

BTW, very off topic, but Cooperative Musical Chairs is a lot of fun.

It starts out like the regular version, but after a chair is removed and the music stops, someone shares part of their chair with the person who didn't find a seat. And so on. This obviously works fairly well until there are two or three people to a chair. But the real fun comes when you are down to one chair. Two adults sit back to back each side of the chair. An older child is on each knee, and they are trying hard to hold and balance the younger children. Hilarious!

>155 2wonderY: thank you!

I finally thought to use the flowers to narrow down the maple species. The tree to the east is Acer negundo, Boxelder. I will have to see if the other tree has any accessible branches. It’s a much more massive tree.

Well, no, that can’t be right. My leaves are not compound. Definitely one of the main maple species. But oh, the flower lace!

Okay, google images had me confused this morning. Sugar maples. Both of them. There is quite the variety of flowers in that genus.

My uphill neighbor had his yard service mow the last 4 feet of woodland along the fence line a few days ago. Must have been Saturday, as we were gone. So nice of him! The wintercreeper had already recovered that lost ground from my work last year. I jumped the fence today to rake along the fence and pull the remaining canes and sprouts hidden by the leaves. It took me 30 minutes instead of the two days last year. I must have planted pachysandra on his side last year. Just two sprigs, but they took. Let’s see if it can conquer the space.

I made the strawberry cage more generous today. And then threw all the annual seeds I still have into the open bed next to it.

I finally called 811 to request the gas company come and mark where their line is located. It crosses through our backyards here; which I’ve never seen before.

You do realize that the engaging matriarch who is so proud of her yard is, like, the premise of a dozen Alfred Hitchcock Presents TV shows?! Where are the bodies buried, Ruth!??!

Not here. Too steep, too rocky. Remember, there is slate just underneath. I’ve got a plat of isolated woods out in the country for that purpose.

I wish I’d mowed yesterday. It always seems that rampant lush growth corresponds with rain. Huh!

I tried to sort the wood piles from the playhouse. There is some wood that might still be useful. I should try stacking it underneath the trampoline.
At the same time, I was trying to tear out the landscape fabric on the terrace either side of the playhouse. Hate that stuff.

Remember last year I was hunting for bees? This year they are everywhere. The trick was establishing plants they love. The big bumbles particularly love the rhododendron blooms. It’s such a gorgeous specimen, I’ve decided it deserves a spot near the deck.

One of the azaleas is full of flower buds. The other azalea is browning and dropping leaves. Hmm.

I got lots done yesterday.

Neighbor offered me more bags of leaves and I declare, I took them and spread them as mulch.

I contacted a couple of professors, inquiring about fall classes. I’m meeting with one today. She’s the college Sustainability specialist. Valuable contact anyway. The course is Ecological Weed Management.

I moved one of my carpets, from steepest to merely very steep. Now I’ve got to get plants on that bare space.
I mowed the entire yard again. It looks so good.

Ha. The name of this professor finally dropped into place. Nancy Gift. I have one of her books.

>163 2wonderY: looks good, feels good!

How long did you have carpet on the space before it was bare ground?

The piece I moved has been there since fall of 2020. But just because I wasn’t ready to tackle it. I’d say six months should kill all plants. Though there are tulips that continue to come back on the front slope.

Thermometer says 38F at present, and was the low last night, but there is frost on my front lawn. I did bring the tenders inside last night and will again tonight. But I’ve already dug the hole for the fig tree. Come on, spring!

Consulted with Michelle yesterday on cheap,fast growing ground over for that slope. She suggested thyme, but I’ve never managed to keep it alive. But Stonecrops I can do. They are not my favorite, but they do naturalize quickly. I got ‘Blue Spruce’ and ‘Dragon’s Blood’ as well as a pot of eager Hen and Chicks. She also suggested Mexican Evening Primrose ‘Siskiyou’ the pink ones. I’ve tried them in WV and they grew there, but did not return. It’s time to try this so pretty plant again.

I also couldn’t resist a Jacob’s Ladder ‘Heavenly Habit’ for the leaf form. It will go in the rock garden or up in the back, under the maples.

I put specimens in the ground randomly last year, so have to renew my acquaintance as they bud and bloom. A Chokeberry ‘Brilliantisimo’ was put in last September. It looks like it has always been there. It’s in full bloom.

I’m headed to Cinci today. Daughter has tickets to see Leo Kotke tonight. Gotta get a few things in the ground first.

Hmm, stonecrops.

I've tried thyme, and also could not keep it alive.

It’s almost vertical gardening. Any hole dug just let the soil clods roll down to the bottom. I had to create pockets rather than holes. Nicely, there is still moss barely alive under the carpet, so that helps to firm up the surface.

>169 2wonderY: nice-looking soil.

I have two azaleas that have struggled to survive at the bottom of my slope. I'm thinking of moving them either to the top where it's level, or over on the north side of the house now that all the privets have been cut down to the ground and it gets a little sun.

>170 fuzzi: it’s mostly clay there.

The concert was great last evening. Lots of grey haired hippies. Kotke probably doesn’t have many more concert seasons in him. I saw him 3 decades ago when we were all middle aged.

Today, I’m leading a project in daughter’s front yard. The sidewalk up to the house is lined with lireope, which we both despise. So I’m digging it out and Anne put it out on Facebook for free. Lots of quick responses. I told her, tell them to bring shovels; I’m tired!

Every bit that I dug up is gone. The second side of the walk is barely started. The ground is a lot tougher on that side and the strip is wider and thicker. But the last guy picked up a shovel and took the yucca out of the ground when I invited him to.

Daughter asked when I plan to go home. She’s worn out from my “projects” yesterday.

We had a bit of rain this morning, though I see blue skies now. It might make digging up the rest of the liriope easier. It did wash the heavy layer of pollen off my car.

Our car is covered every time we use it now, but it's mostly not pollen. We're getting a lot of Sahara dust this year.

>175 MarthaJeanne: That’s not good!

It doesn't hurt anything, if anything it brings new minerals to the garden. The sky is somewhat hazy, even a bit orange. It's associated with sunny, warm dry weather. We're getting a lot of it this year, more than normal. In Geneva we used to get it more often than here.

The ground has dried rapidly. The surface is cracked in places in the lawn. I gave my transplants a shower and some encouragement.

There’s a new neighbor catty-corner up the street. Too far for a long distance wave, so I ambled over to introduce myself. Her name is Melanie. She sounds like a veteran gardener, with a firm vision of what she wants to do. Her yard is flat and overgrown. She is creating flower beds and she’s the one who got 6 raised beds delivered a few weeks ago. She moved here from an apartment, and is so eager to have her gardens established.

>174 2wonderY: sounds familiar. I puttered around the yard most of the day, pacing myself and getting a lot done while the weather was mild (70F). Neither my son or dh has the ability to "slow and steady" with me! 😁

I did get some more of the liriope dug, but there is still more. It’s heavy going. I will bring my shovel and the right shoes when I return for Liv’s graduation. There is also an ugly regrowth Juneberry shrub that needs to come out. I may bring a functioning comealong and try yanking it out. It’s been covered in deadly nightshade and wintercreeper, and those roots are thick and tenacious too.

Now I know what a Comealong is, thanks Google!

We had a strong thunderstorm last night and I worried about that bare slope. It held, but mostly from inertia. The succulents do look happy with the moisture and I’m sure are sending out more roots underground already. One of the pink primroses burst into bloom.

The landscape fabric I’m pulling up (from beneath 2 inches of soil and weeds) is heavy duty. I think I might use it again temporarily underneath the slides and climbing wall on the top slope next to the trampoline. That will all be garden eventually.

I found a buttercup that has smuggled its way here from West Virginia. It’s not a particularly desirable plant as it invades beds at the expense of other species. I’ll let it stay for now.
It was heavily in our lawn in WV, and Anne once dramatically threw herself in front of the lawnmower to save them from beheading.

On second thought, I will pot this specimen and see how it likes that life.

Bleh. I was awake from 3:30am. When the sun came out I dragged outside and planted tomatoes, watermelon and zucchini seedlings. The cardboard toilet roll worked excellently as containers. Gave those seedlings a nice height to grow roots.

Then I drove to WV. Shaggy front yard. But I’m so tired.

I will go back to Berea in a few days, but then report for Theia duty. The irises and roses are on the brink of blooming. The back yard is really shaping up to a paradise.

Well, damn. I hate changes. I was gonna show you a picture of my yard, and I can’t find where to add a picture to my gallery.

>185 2wonderY: https://www.librarything.com/gallery/member/2wonderY Right side top. Blue button.

>186 lesmel: I’ll try later on my laptop. No right column on my phone, no matter what I try.

Torrential rains last night. I’m glad I got some things into the ground last evening.
The azalea, ‘Hershey’s Red’ turns out to be a very similar color to the ‘Gerard Crimson.’ Slightly more brilliant color.

Took some transplants over to the farmers market for Connie. She gave me an orange yarrow as thanks. I bought a few more tomato plants too. Will record varieties later.

Daughter found four hazelnut plants for me. At $15/each! Great price.

The tomatoes I put in today are Sunrise Bumble Bee, Tommy Toes, Brandywine, Sunny Goliath. The first two are cherry tomatoes, which produce willingly and abundantly here. The other two are old hybrid varieties, I think.
Brandywine is an heirloom. Goliath is a hybrid.

There was a particularly vivid blue bugleweed growing in my WV lawn. I brought them back here to try to liven up the dull ones that overrun the yard here.

I’m also incorporating old feather pillow stuffings into my gardens; laying them under the cardboard, carpet and leaves.

Hurrah! My 18 volt battery for power tools has been dying. So I borrowed daughters. Still not working well, especially the reciprocating saw. Replacement battery not easily obtained, so I moved up to 20 volt lithium, which I already had for the drill. Bought the whole tool box all over again, with charger and two new batteries.
I can return daughter’s battery, give her my old set, and a new 20 volt drill, battery and charger. Happy Mothers’ Day to both of us!

>187 2wonderY: I noticed that & posted about it in the main topic about the galleries. Several others confirmed the behavior. Urk!

Happy Mother's Day, Ruth!

Thanks! Had to pop in to report on this morning’s phone call. Rose and Theia called to wish me HMD and find when I would be there. T reminded me to bring snacks (chocolate), and when Rose ended with the traditional “Drive safe” T added “Don’t fall out of the car!”

>190 2wonderY: I like your idea of a Mother's Day present!

Using playdoh, T added a doorbell to the front entrance. Pics on Instagram.

After a trip to the restroom, T gets offered chocolate. She turned me down for an Oreo. A MEGA STUFFED Oreo! Who knew?

Labored yesterday to remove the volunteer saplings growing in the beds near the house and along the foundation. Rose and Nathan haven’t noticed them and never considered the problem once they get too big to pull by hand. N wants organic, so no pesticides allowed. He will end up pulling them with his truck.

Meanwhile, I’m trying to avoid the poison ivy that is growing amidst everything. Middle of the night, I could feel patches of that tingly feeling on my face and neck. I went down to the edge of their property early this morning to pick some jewelweed and make a lotion with it. Hoping that stops the process. The plant is easy to pull, roots and all, and I’m transplanting clumps of it to the gardens and edge of the woods nearer the house. What I put in a day or so earlier wilted, but is recovering already. It’s a prolific seeder.

>197 2wonderY: I use antihistamine when I break out in poison ivy. It keeps it from getting worse and reduces the itch.

Daughter Anne is coming down today. I should remind here to bring those hazelnut plants. Gonna let Rose have two, and put two in my yard.

Video of care:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=dRi0iQNMrlw&pp=QAFIAQ%3D%3D

>197 2wonderY: I love jewelweed! It used to grow along the creek behind my childhood home. A family friend who taught at the Special Forces SERE school (Survival, Evasion, Resistance, Escape) showed it to me, along with some other useful plants in the woods behind our house.

Jewelweed saved my week. I made a purée with water that gently dried the beginning patches and then mixed some with lotion for later applications.

I repotted their 70million tomato seedlings and got them growing big enough to put out in the garden. I moved some older plants out from under the growing forest shade and back into the sunshine. I helped Rose establish her new woodland garden near the house. She has been exploring her spring woods and finding lots of great spring ephemerals. Bloodroot! Allegheny spurge. Trilliums. Jack in the pulpit!

I got home to a lawn gone to seed and roses beginning to burst with color. Gotta catch up!

Glad I did the bulk of the mowing yesterday as it showered last night. Sunshine today and lots is blooming. Ate my first strawberry. I could eat cherry tomatoes, but waiting to see if they get brighter red.

I may go do some work on the ridgetop.

It’s been in the 80sF here; and I thought about stripping the bed of all but a cover sheet. But I’m also experimenting with this house’s passive cooling possibilities. Opening windows and running ceiling fans is drawing in almost cold night air. So, light quilt stays. The silence without the hvac fan running is so nice.
I finished the mowing yesterday and spent some time pulling clumps of grass along edges where it isn’t welcome. This is yard waste pickup week, so good timing.

I’ve got a particularly painful plantars wart on the edge of my foot. Daily soaks in cider vinegar will whittle it away.

Looks like lots of rain forecast for the week. Not sure what projects to take on just yet.

I’ve finally persuaded Cinci daughter to post her gardening notes in this group:

https://www.librarything.com/topic/341721

Her name is Anne. She showed me plats of her garden beds that look eerily like those I drew of my Parkersburg yard.

The clumps of large lavender irises that I planted last year are disappointing me. Though they have expanded vegetatively, blooms are almost non-existent. They will have one year to perform before removal. I gave them “the talk.”
The magenta spiderwort, on the other hand, is performing up to expectations. Splashes of lovely color wherever introduced.

A neighborhood email went out yesterday offering black eyed susans. Not my preferred color range, but I ambled by and picked up a bag. Now to consider where to plant them…

Azaleas are at the top of the yard. Two are brilliantly colored. The third might need moved closer to the house. I bought it to try out the new Encore feature, but could only afford the pink and white candy stripe version. You have to stand nearby to appreciate it. It’s in full bloom now, weeks after the height of color of the others.

I found a solution for the black eyed Susans. They are planted along the bottom of the west front slope. There is a flat bit perhaps 18” deep before the sidewalk starts. Plan to plant it with whatevers so I don’t have to drag the lawn mower down there. So I hitched the drooping carpet up just a bit and planted a row of them. Hmm. I wonder if there are any bags left in front of the donor’s house.

There were. And I asked the gardening lady across from donor’s house if she thought it’d be okay for me to take the last two bags. She said an emphatic yes; otherwise she would feel a need to rescue them. She has the most luscious gardens in the neighborhood and was thinning. From her (Cait) I got orange daylily and several clumps of pink anemone - the ones I took seeds from last fall. She also gave me some unripe seed pods from purple columbine. A good haul.

Caught up, whew!

Did you ever get to the ridgetop?

Not yet. It will have to be a mild day, because I intend to work very hard. Supplies are being stashed in the car.

I stopped at a Batteries Unlimited, thinking I might get a replacement 18volt battery. They offered to repair mine. Huh. It cost less than a new one and has a 6 month warranty.
I put the bulk of the acquired plants in the ground this morning, again at the bottom of the front slope. The soil there seems remarkably rich. Neighbor says it was topsoil scraped from the backyards; which is why the back slopes are pure clay. I don’t know if she is referencing original construction or later landscaping.

I nestled the anemones into the first line of rocks on the backyard slope, where the line is mostly royal purple irises just now.

Had a handful of strawberries this morning. Small, but tastier than store bought.

BTW, there seem to be an abundance of basic wire patio occasional tables in the stores. I grabbed two short ones at $3 each, but will keep my eyes open for clearance prices. I’ve pulled these type of three or four legged wire tables out of peoples trash; they work particularly well in holding up floppy seasonal plants like peonies. I see that my alliums would have benefited from growing up through such a structure, as they are already leaning with the weight of their flower heads.

Adding 2 small pots of Lantana to the list, bought at Lowes. The yellow and deep pink mix, of course.

Most of the spring transplanted roses are recovering. Meaning leafing out. My favorite though, is already performing magic. This will flower into the fall.

Daughter just sent me a video of a rotating compost barrel she made. It is slick! I want to market them for her locally.

>212 2wonderY: let us know when it's available...

I posted her video on Instagram

Moved the fig tree to make sure it gets more sun.

Put those Lantanas in the ground by the front steps. They look identical, but they have different name tags. Subtle difference in the small photo on the tags. Bandana (tm) Mango is slightly less vibrant than the Bandana (tm) Cherry Sunrise, which is what I think these are. Doesn’t matter. I choose by sight, not by the name, with this plant.

I did go work on the ridgetop. The meadow is a horrid mess. Neighbor cut down a flowering plum tree he understood I was going to remove. Only he just left the large pieces in a pile there. With the Covid shutdown, I didn’t get there to clean it up. Now there is a forest of flowering plum saplings sprouting everywhere from the root system.
In addition, he threw all the ice storm debris into big messy piles next to that. So the meadow hasn’t been mowed in several years and other volunteers have sprouted up - mostly sumac and locust.

I cut and dragged one big section and freed an apple tree. It actually has a few puny apples on it this year.

I will let the fresh wood dry a bit before burning it.
Treated each stump with herbicide to discourage resprouting.

>216 2wonderY: I love lantanas, and pentas. They're both magnets for hummingbirds AND butterflies.

I understand that the flower bed at the bottom of my yard is spectacularly gorgeous this year. I haven't been to see it but I have seen a picture of it and it is pretty. I had no idea I had such a green thumb!

>219 SomeGuyInVirginia: You’re on the Lynchburg Garden Tour this year, yes? I can’t wait to see it. And I expect special VIP treatment.

>217 2wonderY: Boy did I sleep well last night!

I’m so excited!! Both daughters and some grands are coming here tomorrow and we are going to do the local garden tour Saturday.

https://www.bereaartscouncil.org/gardentour

I’ve always wanted to BE on a garden tour. I think I’ll ask.
Oh, and we will celebrate my 68th birthday on Sunday. Hmm. Does that sound right? 1954. I thought I was that old already.

Gasp! That’s tomorrow they’ll be here. Meal planning! Bedroom clearing!

To celebrate, I picked a handful of Sunorita roses.

>222 2wonderY: So, did I do any of those things? No. I spent the afternoon spring cleaning the deck; shifting everything, sweeping up the leaves, cleaning all the glass tabletops and rearranging the plants.
Organized the carport as well. Gonna finally add some shelves and hooks for tools and equipment rather than piling everything in a corner.

The bulk of the company will be coming down on Saturday morning; so I do have time tomorrow.

The table on the west end of the deck is already covered in more holly pollen.

I went to the Potting Shed yesterday only (I swear) to buy tickets for the garden tour. Well, honestly, I had fallen in lust with a Ninebark, and had gone comparison shopping at Lowes. PS has the better variety. I bought ‘Ginger Wine’ which is technically ‘SMNPOBLR.’ It has a deep bronze foliage, which I’ve never played with. Now where to place it? Fence border or specimen in the yard? It gets 5-6 feet tall.
I also couldn’t walk past Goatsbeard ‘Chantilly Lace.’ I have a huge bare corner of the back yard that needs planted with shade plants. It will be a destination walk.
Also had to try an herb, which might survive through winters. Rungid klossli, Mushroom Plant. The leaf is mild and pleasant tasting. I’m gonna try to propagate it for regular harvest.

I promise. I’m done.

For today.

>222 2wonderY: I hope you have a wonderful visit AND birthday!

>226 MarthaJeanne: HAHAHAHA!!!!!

Well, I discovered there is a plant sale associated with the garden tour.

Instead of doing get ready for guest tasks, I’ve been carpentering in the carport. Now I need a nap.

I worked sweaty hard putting up tool and lumber storage on a carport wall. It’s not done, but well begun. I found a significant pile of fresh sawdust in one corner and couldn’t find the source, look as I might. Will have to keep a close eye there.

I did have to run to the hardware store for a part. And, oh, they have a rack of vegetables out front. I decided to try planting asparagus here. Came home with two young plants. I missed the season on the ridgetop and that asparagus is now 7 feet tall.

I did throw a couple of dishes together for today’s meal. Possibly the best macaroni salad I’ve ever made, and ambrosia. Anne got here with two grands very late last evening and Rose and T are coming this morning. Happy World Bee Day, a day late!

Confession. Stopped by the farmers market with grandkids this morning, just to say hi to Connie and get some local beefsteak tomatoes for our sandwiches.

I was taken with the ladies. Rosemary. Veronica, both White Wand and First Love (which I’m pretty sure I bought last year.)
And she had butterflyweed!

>230 2wonderY: fresh sawdust could be the sign of a carpenter bee, drilling a hole for her nest. They've been very active here this year.

>232 fuzzi: Yep. I looked. No fresh holes. And it was ALOT of sawdust.

Great day. Rose got here later than planned, so we didn’t get to all of the stops on the tour. We didn’t even try to get to the three out in the country.

Very nice gardeners throughout. Our first stop was to a house Rose had rented a decade ago. Another stop was being led by a volunteer who was an old friend of Rose’s. Another volunteer was a lady just down my street. The best yard was owned by the parents of still another friend. Small town. We could have stayed forever at that last place. The woody and flowered paths wound around forever, punctuated by stunning garden art and structures. The covered deck was to die for. Inspirational. There appears to be no traditional garden club, though there is a sustainability group that operates an urban farm.

My dazzled eyes came back here and my yard looks so empty in comparison.

But we had a festive evening with good food and conversation. Olivia volunteered to do the first two steps making Oreo truffles for tomorrow. She was by herself in the kitchen and mistook my old blender for a food processor. First you crush the Oreos. Second, you blend in a block of cream cheese. Fail. She went off in tears and Rose scooped it out and finished by hand. We called Liv back and we all volunteered our own kitchen disasters and laughter restored the mood.

>234 2wonderY: your yard is an empty canvas for you to paint.

Best day ever! Lazy morning hanging together on the deck. And then I nudged for us to follow through with our plan to go out to the ridgetop and dig up plants.

Both my girls caught the gardening bug finally about three years ago. They seem to do their passions in sync.
So they had been less than enthusiastic with my gardening work on the ridgetop and were never interested to help in WV.

But they are both creating gardens now and eager for more plants. We didn’t make it to the tour plant sale yesterday. Rose said this was so much better. It was a litany of discovery for them.
“Mom, what’s this plant? Can I take it?”
“Sure. Here’s the shovel.”

We managed to dig out the entire huge clump of oak leaf hydrangea and split it three ways. The thing is 8 feet tall. So besides all the 5 gallon buckets of other stuff, each vehicle has a slice of green down the center going home.

We had Oreo truffles and they sang HB to me. Livy painted a floral picture for me. Anne found a sweet book I’d never seen - The Mouse Mansion. And she also found a gardening weeding tool, that turned out to be definitely right handed (I’m left handed) so she got to keep it.
T’s gift to me was that she wanted to stay here “forever” though that may have more to do with the presence of adoring and indulgent older cousins than the regular attractions I can offer.

They left a bit ago, rushing home to get their treasures in the ground before the end of the day.

I have my couch back and the quiet is a lovely contrast. I doubt I’ve felt more love from this bunch of mine ever before.

Oh, and one of my gardening neighbors was power walking by today and yelled up to me that my yard was looking great.

Okay 10 feet or taller, after digging a hole for it and standing it up. Picture later.

Further adventures. Wanted to start planting the hazelnuts. There seemed to be a space where I transplanted daughter’s young fig tree. It appeared dead. But when I unearthed the roots, they were still pliable. Knocked all the soil away and found 3” sprouts still curled close to the root ball. Still white, pre-emergent. I guess it was being cautious. I put it back in the ground with a “Well done, little feller.”

The weather has switched back to cool. 62F is today’s high and the rest of the week will be wet and in the 70s. I will be planting other materials around the oak leaf hydrangea and consider chopping that clump back to 6 feet. I don’t know the repercussions of that action. I need to read more on that.
Rose left her hazelnuts here - there was just no room in her car. So I will put hers in the ground here too for now.
I’ve got stuff to fill in the west fence bed, but need to clear it a bit of creeping Charlie to find the ground.

Oh, yesterday on the ridgetop, Rose noticed the emerging flower stem of a yucca and mistook it for a monster asparagus!

>236 2wonderY: so happy for you.

I’ve declared today too cold for outside activities. I’ve scrubbed kitchen and bath and move a few piles from here to there. Now I think a nap is in order. After all, I’m so old!

Brown-headed Cowbird seen in the backyard this morning. Compact and black except for a rusty head. That’s the male.

Got some plants to put in the ground today.

I shared an Instagram photo of a rose to die for, and younger daughter tracked it down and is sending a specimen to me from Heirloom Roses. “Pierre de Ronsard” or Eden Rose 85.

>242 2wonderY: our son is at home, keeping watch over his dad, so he's also keeping house, wow. My dishes are done when I get home from work, and my bathtub has never looked whiter!

>243 2wonderY: I know many consider them pests, but I've always liked the look of cowbirds.

I don't have Instagram, can you share your rose picture here?

Instagram doesn’t allow picture sharing off its site.

But here’s a google search result
https://www.nature-and-garden.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2018/08/pierre-de-r...

Inspired by the garden tour, I made great progress on the eastern front slope raised beds. I stabilized the horizontal 4x4s, using metal fence posts in front. Then I dug out the back line where the wooden frames rest, so they approximate level as they rest at the front on the 4x4s. I weeded as I went, mostly violets and creeping Charlie. I have had multiple plastic yard bags full of mouldering leaves collected last fall. Some had reduced to soil, and were heavy to haul over there.

>246 2wonderY: mouldering leaves and grass clippings are the best! I filled my raised bed with them except for the top 6-8".

I see the violets lining the front of your beds, they should help keep the soil from washing away.

Nice irises, too.

I’m beginning to agree with my neighbor about these violets though. They are extremely muscular and crowd out and shade things I’m planting. They have knarly roots too, and are not easy to just remove.

Yes, those irises do look grand, only those are the ones who didn’t flower.

I’m up bright and early for work. The spot for the Spirea Double Play Doozie is finally ready, after I removed stones added by my neighbor. She still has a block retaining wall at the sidewalk, and it extends 2 feet or so past the property line. It is slowly failing and leaning out. So she has filled the gap with rubble and stone. A terrible weeding situation, as the grass and other stuff is deep rooted and impossible to pull out.

>248 2wonderY: the irises might need to be thinned out? My mother's used to stop blooming once they got crowded.

Mine didn't bloom until I moved them into a sunnier spot.

Violets are the host plant for fritillary butterflies.

>249 fuzzi: Those irises grow in a huge 8x4 bed on the ridgetop, which is solid, packed and fully blooming. Nope, that’s not the issue.

The weather forecast shows cloudy and rain for today. It must be coming later this evening. Just now it’s sunny and hot. I had to drag myself back out to water the transplants. I’m glad I did. I caught my back fence neighbor at the back fence. That happens once a year. He was pulling volunteer saplings and thinking of mowing some of his wilderness. We chatted some, about plants mostly, but ventured through the entire east coast telling tales. I promised him a bottle of cordial and some irises. He said he’d come knock on my door middle of the night when he remembered the name of a public garden in New Jersey.

Oh, and Sunday Anne recovered one of my roses in the overgrown ridgetop garden and dug it up for me. It’s scraggly and leggy, but still producing blooms that smell of essential rose. This is the one that got middle grand, Ellie, interested in scents. We considered the distillation process, but discovered we would need many more roses. Still, a great memory. It’s now in one of my front gardens.

I just didn't have the cash to plant roses this year, but I do have plans for the wall and back of the house. It faces south so it'll get lots of sun.

It's been pleasantly cool here during the day for the last three days, and kind of chilly at night. After that blister and heat wave we had it's nice. Plus we got so much rain yesterday and the day before.

>252 SomeGuyInVirginia: Priorities! Art is essential to you. And food. And kitty kibble.

I did start planting those front beds with a few specimen plants. The mulch is going to need to pack down and decompose before I can add much in the way of smaller items. I added sweet pea starts to the front, hoping they drape over, but ran out of solid soil half way across.

I’m still not decided where to plant the ninebark. I’m considering moving the mundane peach tree to the backyard, on the theory that it gets too much early spring sun where it is. Remember it bloomed in March. It’s just barely still of a size to move.

It did rain early morning and I got caught in a shower. So I retreated to the carport and worked tidying there. I still have 10 bags of mulched leaves, so one pile, rather than two.

Torrential rain with a tornado warning last evening, and more rain early morning. But it might clear off. I’ve been torn where to place that Ninebark. But I finally realized I could try propagating it with cuttings.
As I researched, the list of easily rooted cuttings includes Smoketree. Ah. I admired a Royal Purple Smoketree on the tour. I will stop by and beg a few cuttings.

Noticed that the gutter drain at the NE corner of the house is not operating. Sigh. Drag that ladder too.

Identified a plant I brought from WV - bedstraw.

The slope I planted to sedum varieties is doing well. Adequate growth of the patches. The wild sedum at the bottom is of course doing the best, taking over that horizon and flowering yellow.

The first slope in the backyard



Let’s call them five panels, the size of a room carpet.
Panel 1 at the left was the earliest. After killing the grass, I planted pachysandra and a forsythia. Pretty overgrown with violets and creeping Charlie.
Second panel still under carpet, though I recently removed the piece above it and started planting this week. Lavender and hazelnut and misc.

Panel three is the sedum panel. Holly shrubs to the right edge.
Fourth panel recently placed. I was still mowing that slope around the shrubs I’ve placed there. Beautyberry between this and the last panel.

Just dragged this carpet over. I smile to see how the carpets have naturalized. Nature makes beauty.

That is another female holly at the far right. Ah, no longer visible; cut off in the upload.

There is a drainage bed running along the bottom of that slope, covered with awful round boulders instead of fine gravel. I really would like to build a short block wall along there, but it will be a struggle to level it adequately.
I salvaged a patterned carpet from someone’s curb pile last week and laid it out. But my neighbor admired it, so I gave it to her for inside.

There is a community plant sale in mid-June. Good! I can donate/unload a bunch of spider plants and snake plants. Perhaps the large tropicals my neighbor gave me last year.

Note to self: There are two ways to prune Ninebark and I want the second method, cutting the weak stems and allowing a few of the thicker ones form a trunk. I saw specimens on my walk this morning that had been left to their own devices. They were gross and roughly the shape of Jabba the Hut.
Also saw a couple of mature hazelnut shrubs. Good to know what they will eventually look like too.

FINALLY the Potting Shed has Pineapple Sage! I got three for good measure. One on either side of the steps up from the sidewalk, and another for the middle of the backyard. I had to cruise the aisles and found Lady’s Mantle. An all time favorite in other peoples’ yards, but I’ve never owned any. Maybe I thought it was too expensive? Anyway, I finally have a specimen, ‘Thriller.’ Will probably put it in the front west rose garden.
A quirky striped mound caught my eye in the shade garden corner. Recall, I have need of interesting shade plants. Polemonium “Brise d’Anjou” is another Jacob’s Ladder. And it likes part shade or open shade. We can do that.
Okay, I’m done. No, really.

Neighbor gave me a dozen strawberry plants from her overgrown bed.
I’m building a slightly raised bed for the two asparagus babies.

I may also begin construction of a raised bed at the NW corner of the house.

>255 2wonderY: I like seeing your work, woo!

My carpet guy has forgotten me. One third of the front slope is smothered nicely, the other two thirds is knee-deep, or worse. Guess I'll have to try the lively lad and grass whip out there before it gets totally out of hand...

Okay, I wasn’t done. There was no reason for me to stop at the Farmers Market except to chat with Connie and see if she had anything most interesting.

A larger Mini Mauvette Hydrangea.
A large lavender colored Astilbe - to replace the little one that died.🥲
A Japanese Aster which is mounding with pale blue flowers. Probably “Blue Star”
Basil. Because I needed a basil plant.

Crape myrtle. The specimen on the ridgetop is tall and established. But I dug up a small volunteer from underneath. This will need to eventually find a spot somewhere in the backyard. But for now, it’s in one of the raised beds out front.

Also threadleaf tickseed, coreopsis, from the WV yard.

I found a variety tag within one of the crowns of the strawberries from Rose’s yard. “Quinault” because it was developed at Washington State. They are everbearing, producing fruit spring and fall. They need rich soil and water through the summer, but leave the crowns exposed.

>259 2wonderY: I loved my astilbe, it died. 😢

Everyone needs a basil plant.

>261 fuzzi: I had basil plants. The slugs got them. They ignored the parsley.

>262 MarthaJeanne: I dashed out to see if rescue was needed. My basil is still potted and sitting in a dish tub of water. I will consider putting it in a big pot this season.

A young robin just thunked into my living room window. I found it thrashing in the undergrowth; but I think it suffered a broken neck. Will give it a few minutes before burying it.

Way back in >60 2wonderY: I made some purchases at the college greenhouse. Reporting that some have languished while others seem to prosper. The fig, with only 3 ft of height and 10 leaves, is forming figs! The monarda seems okay, but the flax and poppy haven’t done anything yet. I’ve been rooting snapdragon cutting, but I forget where I planted the original. The sweet pea kept being disturbed, probably by the groundhog. I think I planted it right where he comes through the fence. I moved it. The string of pearls disintegrated - I don’t have the right touch. And I’m struggling to keep the baby tears from going the same route.

My random seeds have produced lots of nasturtiums but nothing else identifiable yet. The salvia and anemone seeds I started are growing, and I think I have them sorted. The entire leaf seedlings must be salvia. The ferny leaf must be anemone, though the adult anemone leaf is jagged but nut ferny.

I’ve got a willow start from last year. I stole it from a yard surrounded by them. It’s got roots and fresh leaves. I cut half the roots off and planted it in a bonsai style pot.
I’ve also got a cutting of bamboo in water and a stem of pineapple sage that broke off.

BTW, when I buy a pot of basil it usually is not one plant, but a multitude. They do much better if they are carefully separated and given space to grow.

Daughter bought a variety of specialty ice creams when she was here and they were sampled, but not finished. So now it’s up to me to eat them all.
Van Leeuwen is the brand, made in Brooklyn, NY.

Planet Earth is blue, with chunks of cookie mixed in. At least, that’s what I guess. The ingredients include wheat flour. The blue color is from Blue Raspberry extract. There was just a taste left. What else is in there?….

Okay, I tried this one during the taste party, and didn’t care for it particularly. But I ate the rest just now. (Small sample tubs; 14 oz/414 ml). Royal Wedding Cake, with elderflower & lemon. Cookie chunks in ice cream are fine. Don’t put cake chunks in. No lemon ingredient listed. Elderberry extract, geranium water and orange blossom water.

The other flavor by that company is Hot Honey. Come back later for a review.

Two other tubs, bargain brands. One is Homemade (tm) Vanilla. The other, I’m saving for last, is Bourbon Brown Butter Caramel.

>265 2wonderY: You have to eat all these specialty ice creams? What a great sacrifice!

>266 MarthaJeanne: Well the house is empty of any other somebodys. And I hate an overcrowded freezer, don’t you?

It’s hot and sunny here today and for the rest of the week. I’m putzying in the yard for a bit, then coming inside for cool and rest. I still have a few plants to put in the ground. This morning, I rearranged the west front rose garden. Things got way too crowded on the left side, and too empty on the right. My “At Last” rose needed more elbow room and sun. It has remained the size it started last year. My prize rose from WV is happy, but crowded with other species. I cleared some of that traffic out. I might have to dig in there and remove the yellow loosestrife entirely, but it looks so picturesque at the moment.

Daughter Anne has been reporting in from Cinci. She has made great progress on her property, and I wish she would add to her thread here. Nudge, nudge.

I love this neighborhood. The group email regularly offers plants. I missed those for milkweed and veggie seedlings; but caught the one for hostas yesterday. I took all that was left and I’m inserting them along the fence at the steepest point in the yard, the one I carpeted earliest and then planted. My planting of pachysandra was overtaken by violets and other nuisances. I planted three hosts clumps further up last year, and they are doing an admirable job of smothering the space.
I’ve got some leftovers that I can distribute elsewhere.
When I emailed the donor, she said she would let me know when she has more extras.

I scrambled eggs this morning for breakfast. I had no milk, so I substituted yogurt. It gave an interesting extra texture. Threw in chunks of Bill Best tomato. At $3/lb I won’t waste them. Yum! Ice cream for dessert?

I moved one of the yellow roses I brought this spring from WV. It was on that steep slope. They both survived the transfer, and I noticed this one even has rosebuds. I hope I didn’t make a fatal move.

According to James Wong's Homegrown Revolution the Spring shoots of hosta are considered to be a delicacy in Japan.

>269 MarthaJeanne: Yes, and the flowers are edible too. I hope to experiment along those lines in a year or two. Which reminds me to go harvest some yucca flowers for salad.

I’ve never been keen on hostas. I think they are bland looking, and when I planted them decades ago, the slugs chomped them to the ground. I did have a serious slug problem.
But there is a purple variegated one I’d like to see.

I did all my outside chores early, because it’s already too hot to be in the sun. I’m packing to go to WV, so check on the other thread for the next few days. I plan to bring the last washing machine tub this trip. Did I say I’ve picked a mauve paint for them?

The Homemade (tm) Vanilla ice cream is made by Blue Bell. It was nothing special, and I’d like to sue them for false advertising. No homemade ice cream contains HFCS or guar gum, carrageenan or cellulose gum.

Here’s hoping my new transplants survive the heat without coddling. The anemones shock me. The curl up and die every afternoon but are pushing up healthy new leaves every morning. Strong root life.

Sug! My crepe myrtle is really pissing me off. When is that sucker going to bloom already?!

>272 SomeGuyInVirginia: mine hasn't bloomed yet, either.

It likes hot weather, give it some time.

Yes, it’s a mid-summer bloomer.

And the butterfly bushes appear to start from scratch each spring? My two finally are leafing out. The one I planted last spring has a few leaves on last year’s branches. But the one I put in in the fall is sending leaves up from the root only.

I’m home. The usual specimens were dying of thirst. Hoping I watered them in time.

My inside system of open windows and ceiling fans has kept the house comfortable without the AC kicking on, though I did leave the portable unit running upstairs. The temperature gradient is quite remarkable as you walk up or down the stairs. I flipped the mask up off the thermostat to see the actual temperature, and it was 67F, which kicked the heater on. No, no, no.

I will find room to plant the ancient lilac and the beautyberry bush; both awkward sized. The lilacs aren’t even a favorite and grow too high, but they are from my childhood. What can I say?

I haven’t had any success with cuttings from bushes, but I will try again, with the peegee hydrangea. It is a lovely specimen in my WV yard.

The herbs I’ve potted are enthusiastic about their new homes. I think I will have to create a particular corner for them.

I did plant the lilac in three locations. I may remove one or two at a later time. The beautyberry is in next to the retaining wall, and so is a hunk of perennial peas. I’ve posted a picture of this variety years ago. It has no odor, but it will supply handful of blossoms all summer. They are pretty enough to use for cake decorating.

Most of today's sweating came from cutting back foliage that spills over the fence from the neighbor. Pest plants that grow in an ugly unkempt area, with no management. An upright honeysuckle bush/tree, that lacks even odor as redemption, a privet of some sort that just grows through the tangle of everything else, and volunteer maples and walnuts. She pays no attention to these volunteers until they get large and obnoxious. She recently bought a chain saw to remove stuff from the other side of her house.
I will be in discussion with her soon concerning the elm tree that is encroaching on my upper story and roof. I see that I need to clean my gutters again of the spring mess her holly tree dumps.

The ice cream of the day is the bourbon brown butter caramel. I thought I could taste the smokey oak from the barrel.

Time for a tub soak!

>275 2wonderY: lucky you. It's just too humid and muggy here to utilize the windows, even at night when the summer temps often remain in the 80s.

I am thankful for my central air and ceiling fans. Without them we'd probably just sit around and perspire.

>277 2wonderY: they are pretty, too bad they don't have a pleasant smell.

I’ve got sweet peas started from seed, but they were advertised as annuals. They are doing well in a large pot, but haven’t begun flowering yet. It will be interesting to compare them.

I am fortunate that night air is cooler here. I remember childhood days and nights that were just sweat sessions, especially that we slept in a muggy third floor attic.

Today will be hot and humid. It may rain tomorrow and Wednesday, so I may try to mow today. I’ve still got a few things to plant out. Another peony from WV and a clump of cranesbill.

I may try to begin action on the front slope under that very large carpet. I’m going to have to cut the carpet, so I can work on sections rather than expose the entire slope.

I may work on a couple of rose bush positions out front. A scrap of unknown rose from WV gardens has performed surprisingly well here. It needs to be moved out of the future raised bed area and closer to other roses. It’s a clear red.
I’m disenchanted with my Cinco de Mayo rose. It’s growth is entirely leggy and is being eaten by leaf eaters, while other varieties next to it are fine. I think I’ll take advantage of its break in blooming and cut it way way back.

I had borrowed a gardening book from my younger daughter and a receipt slipped out, giving me the variety names of the hellebores she bought and that I stole/rescued from her yard. ‘Dark and Handsome’ and ‘Wedding Bells.’ I’m going with those designations, until proven otherwise. She may have bought others too.

>280 2wonderY: what a lucky find!

>279 2wonderY: I remember the summer sweat sessions from my childhood, sleeping on the floor on an old sleeping bag and just drenching it.

Ruth,
Thanks for your advice on fencing the butterfly garden to stop rabbit damage. Apparently, the mother cannot get through the two-inch gaps. I've only seen the baby inside the fence once. It hasn't returned since I chased it away. I'm still putting out rabbit food for them but I'm not sure who's eating it.
I really enjoy reading about your work in WV and at your new home. You are outworking me but my excuse is that I'm about 5 years older.
My beebalm is beautiful this year but there is not a bee in sight. Way too much land is being cleared here. Also, no hummingbirds and few pollinators.

>282 June: Have you read Nature’s Best Hope? Your butterfly garden is a good start. Keep adding diversity and the bugs and the bees do return. I’ve seen that starkly in just the two years I’ve been working this plot.
Invest in a bee hotel too. Not especially for its intended purpose, but for you to be able to see progress. And what I found is it won’t be used if it faces the sun. It can be in the sun, but the front should face away. That was the only difference I could figure.

Thanks for checking back.

Oh! A thunder crack ! We might get rain this evening!

>282 June: my beebalm have buds, no blooms yet, but I'm north of you.

Older daughter is vacationing with her family in the DC area this week. We lived in Rockville, MD for 5 years in the 1980s, so she is sharing lots of memories with her own kids.
She just shared this photo, which echoes one I took with her, her sister, and friends back then:



(Hand on your favorite animal)

>285 2wonderY: what's the animal the lady on the left has chosen?

I think it’s a leopard.

I might be able to locate the photos from the 1980s….

It’s 80F and 70% humidity. The clouds pass through, so I’m doing small pieces of tasks and alternating with rest and cold drinks inside. I’m cutting and moving carpets preparatory to filling in slopes or doing excavation work. Just no heavy digging today. Though I may mow the back slopes later.

I stopped at the Potting Shed when I was out earlier. I had a hankering for something more for the shade gardens. But I didn’t buy anything. I’ve earned a pile of Blooming Bucks, which can be redeemed at the end of the season.

It is remarkable how a mowing will smarten up the landscape. My “lawn” is a collection of all sorts of volunteer plants, and very little actual lawn grass species. Lots of nasty bunch grasses and no actual turf. And , as I say, I’m whittling down the mowing areas.
But once it’s cut (and I cut it low) none of that is noticeable, and the plantings stand out better.

I’ve been keeping a close eye on my holly triangle. They are flowering now, with the male slightly ahead of the females. Most of the insects are spending time on the male, with almost complete quiet on the females. These girls are being proactive, at least. They are forming the green fruit in the center of their blooms. Not sure if I missed something? The insects are solitary bees and tiny flies. Ants as well; though I can’t imagine they would be helping with pollination.

>289 2wonderY: the hover flies will pollinate as well as bees. I'm not sure about ants.

My yard looks better once mowed, too. It's probably much like yours, green growth that isn't Bermuda or Bluegrass.

It's low maintenance, and handles hot dry summers so I'm good with it.

A poison ivy vine grew through the carpet I laid down on my slope, it made a HOLE in the carpet! I yanked it up and laid the carpet down again. The nerve... ;)

I took the pruners to the Cinco de Mayo rose. I may have left one branch that still had leaves because it still has a bud. She’ll have to come back from the stem or not at all.

>288 2wonderY:. No one patted me on the back for refraining bringing more plants home. Y’all must be closet enablers.

I started cleaning my living room yesterday, but didn’t get far enough. I got serious this morning, moving ALL the clutter out, even washing the windows. I have empty shelves in the oak cabinet behind the couch. What can I put there before I move the couch back into place?
You will have noticed I’m sorting a few books too. I have a pile of books on Roses, and another on building sheds. I’ve got them both front and center, though the sheds pile is useful. The roses books are just for the lovely pictures.

>292 2wonderY: put the rose and shed books on the shelves behind the couch?

I'm assuming the books would be hidden by the couch. More like extra bedding that would only be used if someone were to sleep on the couch or floor. In that case, having the bedding on hand would outweigh the hassle of getting it out.

>294 MarthaJeanne: Right! Those books need to be right at hand. Behind the couch AND glass doors makes that a no go.

Although…. maybe I should try a rearrangement today…

Okay. That was an interesting two hours. Rearranged and found even more dust.
This doesn’t feel right, but I will try it for a while. The chairs don’t harmonize. They look lost. So I will be jiggering this and that. The oak cabinet is now free and available. I had removed the door knobs so they wouldn’t poke the couch fabric; now where did I stash them?

Pictures posted on Instagram

Hot honey ice cream is the final entry in the freezer taste party. I’m surprised I like it! It has a tiny afterbite with chili pepper, but it’s not irritating. Reading the ingredient list, I won’t seek it out again. Genetically modified honey?!

My collection of rose books



Along with that, tags from years ago purchases remind me of roses that didn’t last. Joseph’s Coat was one that I couldn’t raise. Fourth of July lived for a good amount of time, but in an awkward spot.

I found a couple more rose books, but I won’t re-shoot. You get the idea.
Here are the shed books:



I think I can safely return the library book top right and not miss much.

Oh my! It is hot and muggy outside already. I’ve been focusing on paperwork inside as well as finishing up my living room clean and rearrangement. So only went outside for a few gardening tasks. I think I’ll stay in today. Thankfully, my ceiling fans and strategic open windows has been adequate for inside comfort. I even still have a light quilt at night. I am keeping the attic AC going on low. I have to check on it once in a while because the vent connection that directs the hot air out the window is poorly connected. Bad design.
When a neighbor dug some anemones for me last month, she gave me some that had no root. I kept them in water for a few weeks and then potted them. The leaves crisped up and died. But I kept watering the pot, and was rewarded with new leaves emerging today. Yay!

>300 2wonderY: it's hot and muggy here, too. Tomorrow it's supposed to top 100F, index about 115. Where I live AC is a must unless one wants to sit on the porch and sweat.

Woke to a clatter outside. Looks like some critter went swimming in the little pond next to the deck and got tangled in a plant stand on the way out. Dirt and plants and planters everywhere. Ah well.

Ruth,
I haven't read Nature's Best Hope but I did read Tallamy's other books Bringing Nature Home and The Nature of Oaks. When I first retired, I took some courses at the SC Botanical Gardens on the campus of Clemson University. They were taught by a disciple of Doug Tallamy. Most of the plants I have put out since are natives. The Nature of Oaks spurred me to plant acorns. I have 4 small oaks in pots which I will plant in the fall.

Yesterday morning I had a follow up visit with the eye surgeon. He agreed with my reluctance for a vitrectomy.
I shouldn’t look at flowers when my eyes are dilated. But I did stop in at Home Depot for a shelf board to install above the kitchen windows. Had to stroll through the garden area. I came home with two vivid colors, and I have to admit they are just as vibrant today.

The purple Delosperma cooperi will be added to the sedum slope. It’s establishing nicely, but I was just thinking it needs more color variation.
The coneflower ‘Sombrero’ is a lovely shade of sunset orange and will go out front for a complimentary slash of color near the coreopsis.

The climbing heirloom Eden rose arrived in good shape yesterday. It’s too hot to put it out yet. And when I do, I will build a temporary sun screen for it. The forecast shows possible rain this weekend, but it’s not for sure.

Got those two plants put in this morning and weeded the succulent slope and watered where needed.

I’m keeping an eye on all the pollywogs in my bigger pond. It looks like I have two species, and Alida has a third specie in her pond. Mine are small and tiny. Hers are bigger. You’d think the smalls would eat the tinies, but I saw a tiny lunge at a small this morning, chasing it away. Tails are beginning to shorten, but no limbs yet. The smalls are beginning to poke heads above the water.

I had called 811 back in April , to schedule the gas company to come and mark where their line goes through the back yard. I know! Stupid plan to run supply lines through peoples back yards.
After some follow up, they finally came today. I first had to argue with them. They were sure the line was now at the street. I explained what happened last year when the rest of the street got new service line. They finally double checked their own information and came out back and waved their wand around. Is it straightforward? No! Is it a straight line? Of course not.

The supply line goes diagonally across the middle, pretty much where the planned vegetable garden is. And the spots at the fence lines were where I had hoped to put trees.
The service line from that main line to the house meter swoops all over the place. I’m not sure how to permanently mark that. One of the workers said he saw a homeowner had placed garden gnomes along the route.

I had never thought to feed the tadpoles, but Alida brought some greens and some dry food, a mix of minute rice, fish flakes and turtle food. They loved it. It was late afternoon and they were at the bottom of the pond. I will feed them this morning again when they are all at the surface.
The next few days will be comparatively mild, but next week promises days with temps approaching 100F. Nights will drop into 60s and 70s. But weighing whether to move the peach tree and plant the rose.

There is a plant sale tomorrow at the local Arts Council.

Clouds blew in and even if it doesn’t rain, it was comfortable enough to do the heavy digging with the peach tree. For the amount of top growth, the roots hadn’t grown as much as you’d think. Though I did inadvertently snap a major lateral root. Oh well. I chopped the height down a couple of feet. And I found a peach!

I rounded up all the plants I no longer want to care for - mostly snake plants and extra spider plants. And that tree yucca my neighbor gave me last year. They seemed glad to get them at the plant sale. Not much stock when I was there.

My patio area is looking much less cluttered.

It was chilly outside the door this morning! How nice! A couple of moderate days this weekend. I might consider doing some heavy work on the ridgetop. But first, plant sales!

Well, these will keep me busy today and tomorrow.

Stopped to see what Connie had, and her booth was a riot of color. Purple Loosestrife, which she assures me is a non-invasive variety. Chastetree in blue. It grows up to 6ft. and has a woody frame. ‘Blue Diddley’? Phlox ‘Tequila’ and Monarda ‘Violet Queen.’
I also decided to try more of her herbs, as I’ve been very happy with the couple I’ve tried. Sage, purple basil and thyme. I’ve never had any success with thyme.

At the Potting Shed, the blooming bucks can be redeemed for half the bill. I got some purple sedums for my slope, ‘Pacific Blue Ice’ hen and chicks and Wildfire Stonecrop. A floppy green something with no tag, and a ‘Bonfire’ spurge. The one without a tag is Angelina sedum, a prolific and easy grow variety.
And a ‘Mystic Merlin’ mallow, because I’m a sucker.

At the Arts Council sale, I got a bag of dahlia tubers otherwise unidentified, a Blue Mist flower which is unknown to me, and a cockscomb start guaranteed to seed freely.

>306 2wonderY: you would think that men laying gas line would make a straight line...

>307 2wonderY: I read "plant sale", not realizing you were getting rid of plants! Good that some of the excess were offered to new homes.

>311 fuzzi: You did notice my haul for today, yes?

Plants are sort of like books. There comes a time when you have to remove a few if you want to add more. Except it gets more complicated because the plants reproduce sometimes, die out sometimes, move around by themselves sometimes.

Wait a minute, are you sure the books don't do the same?

Re moving around. When we moved into the house we built back in the 80s, I wanted berries. Specifically raspberries and blueberries. I knew that blueberries wanted acid soil, so I dug a really big hole, lined the sides with planks and filled it with special earth and then planted my blueberries. The raspberries went into the normal soil behind them. We had plants growing the first year, a small, but noticeable harvest off the blueberries the second year, by the third year they were dead - the choices were let them die of drought or water them with our really hard water, and kill them that way. The raspberries hadn't done anything particular so far. However in another year or two we had plenty of raspberries, at least for snacking on every day in the garden, but they were growing in the blueberry bed. They had moved into the soil that suited them better.

What I gave to the sale was house plants; a lot of what my neighbor gave me last year, especially that monster yucca tree her son carried into my basement. I had to disassemble it to get it back outside this spring and decided to use the huge pot - larger than a half-barrel for something else.
Also all the spider plant babies, and one lambs ears still alive on the front slope.

The sedum slope is looking very good now. Considering whether to place a specimen plant in there or just leave it be.

Smartweed is beginning to be my weed of the month. It’s harder to pull up by the roots than other of my weeds. And I left a pile of them and I think it’s developed into super weed status.

A couple of notes:
- never buy nasturtium plants. They grow very happily from seed. I doubt they like transplantation.
- my love-in-a-mist (from seed) is forming blooms, but they are barely 4” tall! I hope I can manage them to establish in the front gardens.

Toilet troubles. Have been having to open the back tank and jiggle and nudge it to finish its cycle and then stop flowing. Bought a float valve kit yesterday…

I made a pretty fine pork roast in the crock pot yesterday from very cheap meats. Daughters are stocking up on food staples. I’m thinking again of investing in a small freezer for the basement.

Granddaughter returned from college orientation with a case of Covid. She’s isolating in her attic bedroom and family is leaving food and relief supplies on the steps.

>312 2wonderY: yep. I drooled.

>315 2wonderY: we bought a small chest freezer, used, about ten years ago. I've been buying marked down meat and putting it away in the freezer for later. Aldi's had pork butt on sale a couple months ago, half price! They were about seven pounds each, so bought three, cut them into approximate thirds, and froze them. I have one in the crock pot this morning, cooking on a bed of sauerkraut/pickled red cabbage with caraway seeds and dijon mustard stirred in. It was my father's request in lieu of going out to a restaurant for Father's Day.

Sorry to hear your granddaughter got sick.

>313 MarthaJeanne: words of wisdom. Don't try to plant something that will require extra work to survive. For example, I have three freshwater aquariums, all stocked with tropical fish. Our house water has a low pH, and is very soft. I don't buy fish that prefer hard water or alkaline pH, it would be a constant struggle to keep the water tolerable. I keep species that like acid water, and just use some calcium additives so I can keep snails.

I had fish in Deutsch Wagram, and loved them, but they are a fair amount of work. Back then there were a lot of mosquitoes around, and I would check my rain water barrel regularly, catching the larvae for the fish. That was always a big hit.

Note: yes I had a rain water barrel, but if it doesn't rain for several weeks, you can't keep watering out of it.

We were in Monaco once and my husband had a meeting. I sat out in the waiting room which had a marine aquarium as the coffee table. The people from the office apologized profusely that our visit matched the weekly visit from the company that maintained the aquarium. I so enjoyed watching them work! Much better than just sitting reading something I could read later. But I think that's how to do it if you want something fancy.

I finally did get out to ridgetop and mowed the waist high lawn. (It’s never been thick, and it’s mostly weeds anyway.) it looks much better! And I don’t even feel particularly fatigued. Just my weak back complaining.
I cut down a dozen or more locust trees in the yard and garden. Many more to go yet. The good thing is the herbicide I apply to the stump does a good job. The bad thing is the seeds are already set. Will burn them when weather permits.
Now for the edges and for work in the meadow next.

There is a for sale sign on the rest of the farm. Joe drove by but didn’t stop.

>318 MarthaJeanne: I love watching marine/salt water aquariums but am content with my freshwater tanks, as they're easier to maintain.

>319 2wonderY: I have some small trees that we've cut down, but they keep resprouting. Do you drill holes in the stump before you apply herbicide? I'm ready to try.

>320 fuzzi: I have done that. Depends on the size and species. If it sprouts again, a fresh cut is always a good idea.

>321 2wonderY: good to hear.

My son and I will be working on this, since sawing them down doesn't do the job. Several are privet (I hate privet) and others are some sort of invasive trees that I don't recognize.

I saw gladioli barbs coming up through the dirt this morning.
I dug the hole for the chastetree; but the root ball is a solid pot chaps. Soaking it in water without the pot and going to have to attack it with hammer and blade tomorrow.
I did laundry today which means driving to the next town nowadays. Argued with a vaccine denier at the laundromat but we departed amicably.
Visited the main county seat library for the first time ever. Berea library is a tiny branch in comparison.

Ollie’s has a 100 foot stretching hose for less than $30. I added it to my set up in the back yard, and so far, I love it. It’s got a shut off valve at the end and I added a quick release as well. With my other heavy hoses not having to be dragged around, I can reach everything.

And I will need it this week to keep things alive.

I finally ventured into the toilet tank. The directions for replacing the fill valve were surprisingly technical. But I think I got it in one.

>324 2wonderY: I've replaced a toilet fill valve in the past, but I was younger and more flexible then.

Nice idea about the hose. I started leaving my 100' on the ground across the back yard. If someone gets ambitious and wants to mow, I'll coil it up.

I actually went to Ollie’s to shop flower pots. I’ve got all the herbs in pots this year. I can’t visualize where they might do well in the ground, so deck and patio it is. The “patio” is just the end of the driveway that is beyond the carport. If it’s not junked up, I can pull through the carport if I need to. It’s adjacent to the deck and has a privacy fence on the property line that changes to a picket fence when the slope begins. I think I’m going to paint the privacy fence. Aged blue and green is the look I have in mind. I will hang strawberry planters there. At present those rectangular planters are perched on top of scavenged stone that should get moved to surround the pond. I’ve got a carpentry project laid out across the paving. My potting station is there too, but needs a table once the scrap wood is corralled better.

I went thrifting earlier this week. Found the pillow of my dreams. And my head never rests on it. It’s extra long and narrow. It lives behind the bed pillows and prevents the bed from swallowing my pillows at night. Finally! And I almost passed it by because of the price. Best $15 spent this month.

Gonna be another hot one today, and then another break. Rain possible this weekend.

Have you ever put a plant in the ground and then immediately realized it should have been installed 12 inches over?

>327 2wonderY: sure. And then I moved it.

I went to a drama evening yesterday that promised more than it delivered. It’s focus was allowing over-65s the chance to read lines written for youngsters and reinterpreting them. Mostly Shakespeare. Only one participant acted his part. The rest merely read from scripts. Juliet pulled a hair from her chin as she responded archly to Romeo’s passion; which was gross, not funny.
I left quickly at the end so I would not have to false praise the production.

I’m going to Cinci today to help with a moving furniture puzzle.

Well, we concluded that it wasn’t physically possible for the massive king-sized headboard to be maneuvered up the three bend antique staircase (with huge stained glass window on the landing). Sigh of relief.

Rose and T decided to come up today for the weekend too. Pride events.

We’ve been gardening out front yesterday. Gonna focus on the back patio today, probably build a raised bed.

Burdock.

Their quietly unpleasant neighbor to the south died a few weeks ago. An apparently healthy man in his 50s dropped dead of heart failure. He’d suffered twice with Covid infections though. He was a meticulous yard keeper, except the property line joining Anne’s. He let an amazing variety of noxious plants grow up along the back fence and the narrow strip between the driveways, and always told Anne to leave them alone.

We got permission from the caretaker today to chop it down. Mulberry, thistle, gigantic plantain, hundreds of maple seedlings, wild grape, noxious grasses, and burdock. The spiny seeds have been everywhere. We chopped them down before the plants flowered. Some specimens as tall as me.
Now we are chopping and mowing through the jungle at the end of the yard. Wintercreeper is the least of the problems back there, if you can believe it.

Early morning walk with Elly, T, and the dog. We didn’t get far because T decided she’d had enough and turned around and started home. The dog is finally being trained to the leash and does a good job sitting when Elly stops. Still a problem with her straining on the leash.
E noticed a nest in one of the small trees in the mowing strip, and Oh! There’s a mama bird placidly sitting on eggs. I thought mourning dove, except she seemed more petite.

Elly promises to help destroy the remaining burdock, as it’s her dog who needs the burrs groomed out of her fur in the fall and winter months.

We seem to have gotten a rain shower in the night. I got home yesterday and didn’t even check on my gardens. Just a glance at the newest rose (seems fine) and noticing that the transplanted peach tree is in severe distress. I’m fine if it dies; I’m still mad at it.

The tadpoles in the bigger pond are growing nicely. Those in the galvanized tub have disappeared.
I thought I saw one of the larger tadpoles with hind legs yesterday. I gazed long enough today to confirm that. No others show limbs yet, not even nubs. Tails are still long. They arch back and gulp air at the surface. Cute. So glad I’ve got a front seat this year. Hoping T comes for a visit soon enough to see too.

I remembered there were dahlia tubers to plant. Three clusters with a dark purple stem coming out. I put them in a couple of empty spots among the roses in the front eastern garden. Gosh! It’s humid out there! Had to quit when the sweat blinded me.
Guess I’m not going to the ridgetop to work today.

Japanese beetles on just one of the rose bushes. I think it’s the Sunorita, and it’s the only larger bush still producing bloom. But I only collected four beetles when I went hunting, so I’m not bothered.

I bought two blue hydrangeas first thing last year. The one that gets morning sun is full of the most intense blue poms I’ve ever seen. The one that gets afternoon sun is still thinking about the matter.

Oh, and the cheap tiny gladiolus bulbs I bought at Dollar Tree are coming up nicely. I may go back and see if they have more.

85°

Ha! I learned a new trick on Instagram.

>336 2wonderY: I've bought seeds at a dollar store, they were fine.

Morning tea in the garden with T. Though she insists on hot chocolate and whipped cream.

>339 2wonderY: Try getting her to pick her own tea if you have herbs. Mint, lemon balm, thyme, scented geraniums all make good teas, alone or combined. Sage also goes well in the mix, and pot marigolds and borage flowers are nice just floating in the cup. (Not all flowers are edible, so if you don't know, don't use them.) Dried fruit or apple peels add deeper notes and sweetness.

Not, of course, that I don't get the appeal of hot chocolate, and if Grandma won't spoil you, who will?

Minor rain shower here today. Everyone is praying the clouds stay and drop more. The soil is still bone dry, but the temperatures have moderated nicely.

I am going to have to find a permanent place for the rhododendron and it must have partial shade. The leaves are beginning to burn and I managed to move the ceramic tub to the other end of the patio where the carport will give it some shade. Now is not the time to transplant.
The glads from Dollar Tree came up so perky, I went back and got a few more. Decided to take a dollar chance on freesias and anemone bulbs too. Tiny things they are.

>341 2wonderY: I moved my potted day lilies next to the shed, and left them there for over a month. They started blooming profusely so I figured it was a good location! Yesterday I planted them.

Tadpole pics and video here:

https://www.instagram.com/twowondery/

I got several phone calls over the weekend from someone in California interested in purchasing the ridgetop property. I finally called her back to chat.
Her daughter and SIL just bought the farm on the other side of the ridge. His parents may buy Rick and Joe’s farm parcels. Did I mention there is a realtor’s sign at the driveway entrance?
Anyway, I guess the woman’s mother also wants to live nearby.
What was that old Texas show with extended family on the same spread?

Anyway, if they want to pay my asking price, I might let them have it. The SIL arranged to meet me there this morning. I got there early and worked both inside and outside and picked some blackberries as well.
I’m remembering the charms of the place. If I had good neighbors? I might get re-motivated.

I think I will plan to spend a night or two out there and clean and mow and pick berries too.

>344 2wonderY: how did it go?

I have no idea. We chatted a lot, exchanging chunks of life stories. He took a video walk through to send to his MIL, said he could see the potential of the place.

I have no concern either way.

Oh, and he admired my carpeted parking area, but didn’t register it was carpet till he stepped on it.

I’ve lined up a couple of neighbor women to go pick blackberries with me this week.

Well, taking Alida out to pick blackberries was a dud. She didn’t like anything about the property I think, and we came home way earlier than I thought we would because she went and sat in the car.

>348 2wonderY: didn't like the heat, or the job?

I’m not sure. It wasn’t very hot yet. And she’s a gardener and has had land herself. I continued to clear the side yard of trees and brambles and pointed her to the easy spots and told her there would be more if she walked down into the brambles.
I won’t be inviting her again. I’ve asked another lady to go tomorrow. I think it will be more successful.

We had a brief rain shower today, but the ground is still dry and cracked.

I heard from my oldest grandchild after a long absence. He seems to be getting his head in the right place. He can’t keep a job and hasn’t paid back a loan from last year. He was embarrassed. I’m so glad he found the courage to write to me.
He said that his ridgetop memories may be the best of his childhood.

>350 2wonderY: "He said that his ridgetop memories may be the best of his childhood"

😊😊😊

I was right. Today's guest was much more appreciative of the place and when she was done picking berries, she found a quiet spot to do her stretching and meditation.

Ripe berries are not particularly abundant, and we’ve had NO rain of consequence since May. (The pond is nearly all dry. Might be a good time to do some maintenance and repairs.) We did mosey down the logging road and saw a great looking patch. But we had to leave it, as Joan had a morning appointment to go to. I may go back out this evening.

All of a sudden, it’s overcast without an obvious weather system moving in. Praying it really rains!!

Finally! A good soaking rain! I wish I could take what is running down the street gutter and pour it over my yard too. But the streams are getting replenished a bit. Please don’t stop.

I walked down the lower road this morning and worked my way uphill picking berries. Got a gallon in 90 minutes.
Grandgirls want to come down from Cinci to help pick berries.

I should have kept quiet. The rain lasted about 30 minutes. Maybe more will come through tonight.

It did rain more. This morning all I hear is sighs of relief out in the gardens. Clear skies today though.

Yesterday we got more rain. Now that’s sweet! Today is overcast, but nothing yet. Hoping, because next week is supposed to be all clear again.

Grandgirls are coming down from Cincinnati tomorrow to pick berries. So I went grocery shopping and stopped at the farmers market.
Connie always has something too tempting to pass up. Today I bought a nice pot of blackberry lilies, a Phlox ‘Red Flame’ (which smells amazing) and a Black Pearl pepper.

Odd. I went out to put my new plants in the ground. I’ve been grouping the phloxes in one area along the west fence. The first variety I planted last year looks like it’s been struck by lightning. I put the new phlox elsewhere in case it’s catching.

It’s actually cool out today!

Lordie! What a difference a good work helper makes. Olivia came down by herself and we spent the day on the ridgetop.
After picking three quarts of blackberries, we hauled more wood debris out of the mess that used to be a meadow and burned a huge pile of debris. Liv’s eyesight is keen and she caught the movement of the tiniest turtle removing itself from the conflagration. We named him Blaze and sent him on his way after taking a few pictures.

Picture of Blaze?

On Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/twowondery/

We picked more blackberries early on Monday and then cut and hauled a bunch of the dead trees and limbs that Joe had deposited there. I was shocked at the amount. I’m glad he’s selling. Confirmed that the properties are indeed under contract.

Liv helped me drop off book donations at several libraries. The college library director seemed pleased with a box of materials I thought they’d like to add to their collection.
Liv’s muffler was too loud for my likes, so we dropped her car (my old Mazda) at my mechanics shop. He gave us a very reasonable quote for repairs.

We will stay in town today and process the berries.

Neighbor to my east closed on their sale and the new owner has already moved in, right after closing.

I offered my carport for short term storage for Sam and her family. She did take me up on it and filled my carport with that last bit of necessary junk that has to come with you. She’d already filled one storage rental and distributed stuff to other family members and it was a last minute rush for them. It looks awful, but I’m glad I’m able to help them in some real way. They’ve been good neighbors. Hoping this new lady will be nearly as nice.

Oh, and we paid $3.99 for gas out in the country. It’s still $4.57 in town.

I'm not signing up to instagram even to see your turtle.

You don’t have to sign up. Just click the “not now” option and you should be able to see it.

I don't get a not now button.

Heh! Liv went back to Cincinnati this afternoon with some gifts for everybody. All of a sudden the other two are all lovey and wanting to come visit me. They were invited for this last trip but couldn’t be bothered. They’re too young to drive themselves so any visit from them will discommode the rest of us. I’m flattered and annoyed at the same time.

We ducked into the woods to find the ground pine patch. It’s a club moss, variously named ground cedar, trailing pine and some others.

We did find it, though the woods seemed more dense around us and the patch seems smaller. The sporting bodies were present.

Here’s a picture from the web

Well, drat! I think I have a predaceous diving beetle in my little yard pond. It was feeding tadpole time, and I saw a small dark disk rise to the surface, flip, and descend. Saw it a few times. I’m sad because it will consume my tadpoles!

Only a few tadpoles have rear legs yet, and it seems to make them sluggish.

On the other hand, have you considered the noise levels if the tadpoles all grow up to be frogs? We have a few garden pools with frogs in the neighbourhood. A friend of ours had complaints about the frog noise from her pool. Her neighbours even went to the police to try to force her to do something about the frog noise. Luckily, the police informed the neighbour that frogs are protected animals and she is not allowed to harm them.

>365 2wonderY: I have a bullfrog that keeps my frog populations in check.

I need someone to eat the bullfrogs, though...maybe the black racers? I saw one cross the driveway yesterday.

>361 2wonderY: I don't get a "not now" option, either, but I can see your thumbnails.

Is that a composting barrel I see?

Yes, the one daughter made. I’ve asked her to price one out for me too, but she hasn’t yet.

I’ve been watching the tadpoles just after putting food in the pond. Today I happened to come back 5 minutes later. That’s when the crowd of bigger tads are swarming the surface. D’ya think there is a courtesy code? Let the little’uns eat first. Though these all are brown with a bit of patterning, I’m hoping some change to the tiny jade frogs that I had last year, all through the yard.

Did I tell you about the poison ivy blister between my toes on the right foot? What a strange place, as my feet are always shod in boots out there.
Well, in exactly the same spot on the left foot, I pulled a tick. The tiniest tick I’ve ever seen. And the spot has blistered. The pressure is painful when I stand on that foot. So I’m hobbling today.
It didn’t stop me from mowing the front yard, though. I waited till it was the hottest part of the day and lowered the mower deck so it dragged on the rough spots. Not much grass to mow, but the weeds were going to seed.

I hope the blister reduces quickly. I have more berries to pick.
And don’t worry, it’s not Lynne’s disease.

I cut and dragged some small trees this morning making progress on the meadow. So when I went down slope picking berries, I faded at half a gallon. Many berries left behind, but I needed to lie down. Perhaps I’ll go out again this evening.

That blister broke this morning while I was working in the garden. Relief!

>370 2wonderY: if it was a poison ivy blister, it could have popped out some place that was covered by your boot. As it was explained to me by a PA, PI is an allergic reaction, and once the allergens are in your body, the blisters can pop out anywhere. I wear gloves but brushing against the PI leaves with my leg or arm can cause blisters on my hands.

I'm thinking the blister was from the bite.

Still feeling slightly fatigued, so I settled for mowing the back yard in town and pulling the most noxious weeds. I’ll wait to finish the two uppermost levels till the evening now.

Gathered a gallon of berries this morning without getting to half of the field. Peak season. The canes were dripping with ripe berries. Fat ones too, which is amazing for how dry it’s been. I came back to town looking for volunteer pickers. No takers. I will do my solo picking again tomorrow. Sigh.

I ran out of wide mason jar lids and realized I still had 7 jars from last year, and 7 left from 2020 as well. Time to decant and process those babies.

We had a sweet heavy thunderstorm move through this afternoon. It might repeat tomorrow. Here’s hoping so.

>374 2wonderY: wow. Wish I lived closer.

>375 fuzzi: Yep!

It did rain again last night and is continuing on and off today. Bring it!

>376 2wonderY: I saw those massive green radar images last night when I checked our weather. It rained daily the week we were gone on vacation, so we probably don't need any more right now.

We need our groundwater replenished.

Turtle
https://www.instagram.com/p/Cf4RcPXOIb_/

Blackberries
https://www.instagram.com/p/CgHt3w6OLU0/

>379 2wonderY: thanks!

I'm overrun with tomatoes, so last night I took the ripest 5-6 and dropped them, whole, in the boiling water after I'd blanched beans. After putting them in ice water they peeled easily. I put them in the freezer, whole.

Put up six quarts of berries today. I think yields will quickly diminish from now on, even though there are plenty of red berries developing. They are ruled more by the calendar than any other factor.

19 quarts of cordial so far, and plenty of baked goods. I wish I had freezer space for some berries. They’ve been beautiful thumb sized monsters.

It got down to 66°F last night, so I felt good about going out to the ridgetop and clearing more saplings from the meadow. Still fighting the pile of junk wood and limbs that Joe left me. I will soon be able to set a brush fire there.

And then I went berry picking. Still some luscious berries. A hornet or bee sting on a finger decided me to hike back to the cabin. It was fortunate timing; as I didn’t realize I’d hit my limit. Dragged myself through the door fumbling to discard anything with weight and collapsed on the couch with water and chocolate chips. It didn’t take long to feel better, but I am done for the day. I may even take a nap. Yeah, good idea.

>382 2wonderY: it's so easy to go over one's limit in the heat. It's been too hot/humid here to even mow the yard. I can't get hubby to help, so I have to do it myself in small increments of ten minutes or less. The rear wheel drive really helps.

Read books on the couch yesterday with only watering and crabgrass pulling late evening. Well, I’m also sorting boxes of stuff carried down from the ridgetop cabin and dropping off stuff at Goodwill.

Today, I picked 2 quarts of berries. Maybe one or two more picks out there. I thought about doing yard work or cutting saplings. Nah.

Oh, and I broke a tooth yesterday. It’s a molar, and my old dentist told me it had a cavity below the gum line that couldn’t be treated. So I knew I would lose it eventually. Thankfully, there is no pain. The on call emergency dentist said I will be fine till regular clinic hours. I’m gonna miss that tooth.

There is a high probability of thunderstorms this coming week. It would be a perfect chance to run to West Virginia for a visit. If I can get my tooth taken care of.

I paid $3.79 for gasoline today, at an independent station out in the country. Stations in town are still charging $4.39. What a scam!

I left messages at three dental practices. I got in this morning at 9:30 and left an hour later with the rest of that tooth in my pocket. Very different practice. An Indian mother and her son. She’s the generalist and still has a heavy accent. He is the surgeon and was raised in the US.
I got a tour of the building, a welcoming letter and a gift, free snacks in the waiting room, an interview that sought to meet me as a person, not just a patient, and a discount on my bill for being uninsured.

She has wonderful tapestries on the walls.

>386 2wonderY: wish she were closer. I have dentist-phobia, so she sounds wonderful.

>385 2wonderY: I think I paid $3.69 at Shell, same price as Sheetz, but some stations are still $3.99, nope.

The thunderstorms keep parting as they get to us, no rain in two weeks. I've been watering every other day or as needed, poor plants. The temps are too high for blossoms, so no more tomatoes or squash for a while.

The other thing this dentist did was tell me the price of the procedure up front! “You okay with that?” It was a very fair price, I thought. And I heard the receptionist offer another patient a payment plan.

No pain, and I can tell the hole is already closing as the dentist promised. I did have to deal with blood on my pillowcase this morning, but no big deal.

We had light rain late yesterday and it’s very overcast today with thunder rumblings. Ah! Here it comes.
Making myself another pot of tea.

It didn’t surprise me that the dentist called just after 24 hours to check on me. Not the office, not a nurse, the surgeon. I really like this family’s philosophy of patient care.

We had some great rains today. I have two large gutter/downspout issues that still need addressed. I think I fixed one of them just by propping a sagging end up with a 2x4.

This is the first night I’ve heard a frog chorus after dark. I love it. It’s not my frogs though… they are still wiggling around on their tails. Some of them are beginning to change size a bit. Maybe I wasn’t feeding them enough. I’m experimenting with a variety of meals. They do seem to like anything I put in there.

>392 2wonderY: I enjoy the frog choruses, especially tree frogs, but haven't heard them much this year. I think having a resident bullfrog (can't catch him!) may have something to do with it.

Can’t complain about the weather here. It rained all night. Everything is rehydrated and greening up. The lawn will soon need mowed.

>394 2wonderY:. Well, that was before I heard the news. Some parts east of here got a foot of rain, with severe flash flooding.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=PFSizOheU_k

Other sources say it was 3-4 inches. See how narrow the valleys are.

It also matters how dry it was and how fast the rain comes. Dry earth can't absorb a lot at once, and it just pours off.

More accounts of the flooding: https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/heavy-rains-flooding-power-outages-appalachi...

A LOT more rain last night. I don’t see any updated news reports yet.

I spent yesterday afternoon with T and her mom. We met halfway between at an ice cream parlor and had a little birthday celebration. T is 4!

In the evening, I attended a wonderful one-man performance by Hasan Davis. He has researched the lives of neglected black heroes and developed monologues that are beautifully done. After the performance he talked to the audience and gave us a glimpse of new projects.

I’m going to make a call or two today to see whether I can volunteer on flood relief work.

It’s a mild sunny day. I finally got around to checking on my rear gutters. The ones I covered with leaf guards last year. There was a slight accumulation on top with holly leaves and the dread caking holly pollen. It was a matter of minutes to scoop that into a bucket; instead of the endless hours scooping it out of the gutters themselves. I then pried up the last panel to check inside. As I thought, the pollen had accumulated and was clogging the wire baffle covering the downspout opening. Not entirely, but halfway. I think I will eliminate the baffle, as it’s more for leaves. The water should be enough to move the pollen through the system.

Picking up a grandchild tomorrow and heading to West Virginia. It’s been a couple of months.

I ran out of the original mix I was feeding the tadpoles, so I went and bought more rice and tortoise pellets. Wrong choice. The pellets don’t float well and they also released an oil that coated the water surface and a brown substance that coated the aquatic plants. I took some light gauzy fabric and laid it out briefly on the surface and that soaked up most of the oil.

It continues to rain torrentially in the area.

Several neighbors are collecting tools and goods to take over to the flooded counties. I’m itching to go work there myself, and Katie will ask around for more contacts on that.

I’ve met Katie on walks and through gardening. I’ve got some of her plants now from earlier this year. Her momma is in one of the effected counties, though momma is not flooded herself. So she’s taking supplies to the little community church where water and electricity are functioning and gonna go up the hollers to assist those who don’t have those at the moment.
I went shopping at the secondhand mall today and bought a bundle of shovels and rakes and several bales of towels. The sweet linens booth proprietor (Betty) almost just gave them to me, and said come back for more.

We’re brainstorming items that would be valuable. Solar garden lights, plastic bins, coolers.

I went through the 1985 WV flood, so I have some experience.

Don't forget things like 'feminine hygiene supplies' if people had to get out in a hurry. That's the sort of thing that women can be shy about asking for, but if they are available in the women's toilets will be used.

Taking a soggy walk around my yard, I can report

The candy corn spirea is finally growing nicely.
One of the four hazelnut saplings appears very happy, throwing out new leaves and root sprouts.
The fig sapling is finally having a growth spurt, throwing out nice sized leaves. Still three branches dormant. I cut the terminal bud off one to see what would happen.
The winterberry Hollie’s are full of green berries.
The beautyberry is setting fruit.
The perennial pea has revived.
The annual sweet peas are blooming dark purple.

Smartweed and dock are the weeds to reckon with. My neighbor let’s dock go to seed. Grrr.

>401 MarthaJeanne: That’s an excellent thought!!

I got a ride for tomorrow. Another neighbor is planning to load up his truck and head over there in the morning. He has no contacts or specific destination; which I’m not happy about. But it will at least get me over there at least briefly.

Gotta go get more supplies.

Good grief! It’s supposed to rain for the entire next week.

Okay, the man is a ditz. I hope we can be productive today.

>404 2wonderY: send it here, we need it.

We were near the most rural parts of the flooded area. We helped an elderly brother and sister (late 70s, early 80s) salvage bits of their lives today. He lived in the old family 1 story home that was immersed in 5 feet of water, which was about 2.5 feet inside. Margaret lived in a trailer next door. The trailer lifted and moseyed down the creek and thankfully rested on the edge of the bank behind Ted’s house. She managed to get to the house and they both rode out the night there. I can’t imagine the terror. All the furniture and heavy appliances floated and jumbled into a horrible tangle.

And yet they’ve been working valiantly every day salvaging bits and pieces.
I was able to hand Margaret a pair of earrings she thought were lost as well as a mother of pearl penknife that was a gift from her uncle.
The church community has been providing food and water. FEMA finally showed up today to discuss a trailer for them. The national guard hasn’t reach this tiny community yet.
At the church, we dropped off supplies for distribution and I met the minister's wife, Martha. She has recently suffered a stroke and was in a hospital bed in the gathering space. We were looking for Katie, our Berea neighbor. Martha knew who I meant, having met her just last evening, and she knew where Katie was working today - at Ted and Margaret's place.

Amazing people!!! An awesome day.
Okay, now I’m gonna go have a small cry.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cg9ayPVOrLd/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

Sorry about the oddly cropped pictures. I don’t know how to correct that.
The sun is out this morning. The fig sapling is finally growing, and so is the weeping peach. Everybody looks happier, especially the weeds.

The tadpoles are finally getting a bit bigger; though still long tailed and only a few still with rear limbs.

I need to go back several months to remember when I planted ginger. I bought a bag from the produce department at Aldis and put them in a couple of pots, just as an experiment. One sprouted a month or more ago and I gave it to daughter. I’ve got four more today.😊

Best I can tell, I planted them 9 or 10 weeks ago.

A neighbor across the street has a couple of carpenters nailing stringers across their roof today. I’m guessing there will be a new metal roof put over top of that. The older guy is making me smile. He’s wearing both a belt and suspenders; a style my husband adopted. Jeans tend to sag with bending, unlike more fitted pants.

Well, the sales on the ridgetop have been finalized and Joe is gone. The California buyers won’t move in yet, but Curtis, the son, has already installed a gate across the driveway. He called me last evening to give me the code. He said random people were still coming up to remove stuff that Joe hadn’t moved himself. Curtis asked if I’d mind if he mowed some of my property. Not at all!
And he’s got goats, and offered them to me to battle the poison ivy!!

>410 2wonderY: sounds like the beginning of a beautiful friendship!

I hope so. His mother in law bought Jody’s one acre and cabin. His parents plan to build at the end of the road.

I’ve been putsying in the yard. Finally put the rhododendron in a place of honor, visible from the deck, but in afternoon shade. The big pottery pot it was in has developed a serious crack, so I will just upend it on the patio and use it to platform another potted plant.

The last two glaring gutter problems were handled this morning, clearing debris that made them overflow instead of drain. It’s just a maintenance issue.
While I was on the ladder, I washed a couple windows and experimented with washing the outside of the gutter and the siding. That’s gonna be a big job; maybe next spring. I’d like to paint the exterior. White on white is boring. And it allows all the dirt and mold to show so much more. TSP!

The tadpoles are bulking up and more are growing legs; but they are much more shy. T’s little swimming pool has a new batch of tiny tadpoles in it. Darn! I wanted to tip it over and clean it.

I’ve been clipping the basils and drying some leaves, but also letting stems root. I’m planting them in various spots around the yard. The purple basil is especially pretty mixed in with iris leaves.

Daughter was up for a visit. T was at her other grands house. I miss her! But it was also nice to have a visit with Rose uninterrupted by T’s demands.

It’s cloudy today. The metal roof installation across the street is going forward rapidly. It’s amazing how little material is required for this type of roof, and it’s forever!

I decided my bedroom needs decluttered. The piles of miscellaneous (but always interesting) stuff are appalling. Thankfully, I have space for bins under this bed and the one in the other bedroom. In fact, I’d been looking for my summer tshirts in the basement, but they were handily under the bed all along.

My neighbor in town, up around the bend, Katie (see >407 2wonderY:) invited me to visit this morning and get the nickel tour of her gardens. She’s the lady I got the hostas from at the end of May. She has an acre (!) that rolls down the other side of the hill, facing south. It’s the edge of town, so it’s solid green beyond.

She’s been gardening this spot for 20 years. It’s obvious she’s not afraid of work. She’s got a lot of garden to weed. We talked about methods, which ones we despise most, etc. she’s got lots of volunteers to share when it gets rainy again.

She’s a good networker. She’s introducing me to neighbors with similar interests.

Katie had bought some plants at Walmart on clearance. That might be the only thing (besides a Sunday flat tire) that would get me there. Of course, being a Saturday, the yard & garden area was not staffed, and I had to argue at checkout to get the correct prices.
I got two lovely purple Coral Bells ‘Carnival,’ possibly ‘Carnival Watermelon.’ Also a dwarf mondo grass, and two species of succulents that lacked any nomenclature. I think I’ve identified one as Kalanchoe tomentosa. Still researching the other.

Kalanchoe blossfeldiana 'Maroon Krinkle’

Hmmm. Neither of the Kalanchoes is winter hardy. I was going to add them to my succulent slope. I will have to pot them and site them that way. I’m planning to set stone steps in that slope so that I can access it in all weather. I will add some random shelves within the beds as well.

Trying to coordinate a day with Rose and T.

Apparently, college class starts tomorrow, rather than Thursday, according to the professor. I’m scratching my head, but I will show up.
Just managed the new parking permit online process, with some email exchanges with the office that manages it. They are not doing in person, because Covid is still a meaningful threat in Kentucky. Still averaging 60 to 80 deaths per week. Masks required in the classroom. But we will be out in the field most of the time.

We hiked Hazeldell Meadow Nature Preserve today. It is Kentucky's only highland rim wet barrens biome, which is essentially a grassland where the soil is continually damp. It is surrounded by woodland. We saw plenty of new to us species.
Orange-fringed orchid and American climbing fern. Both fascinating.
Next time need to bring wheels for T; a wagon perhaps. And snacks.

American climbing fern. I think I got better explanatory photos than I can find online.

Here you can see the vining up another plant. The leaf is 6 lobed palmate shaped.


Further up the stem, the leaves become lacy and delicate:


Correction. A close up from CarolinaNature shows that the lacy bits are where the spores are borne:

>418 2wonderY: fascinating!

>417 2wonderY: I will have to look up that trail.

>419 fuzzi: Google got us there, but the roadside sign is tiny. It’s about 10-15 miles NE of Somerset, KY.

I love that my girls have grown into this passion.

>416 2wonderY: Yeah, no. No class. I’m sitting here in an empty classroom. When I emailed the prof yesterday to ask the room number, she replied and said “See you tomorrow!” When I questioned that she replied:
“Classes do start on Wednesday. However this is a Tuesday Thursday class.”
No correction last night when I checked; so here I am.

>421 2wonderY: I think some people just don't pay attention..."Tuesday?" "Yes!" Oops.

Well, at least I got the lay of the land. This building doesn’t have card reader scanning at the doors. (I thought it did when I visited in the spring.) And the handicapped buttons were turned off. So I went around back and scooted under the part open garage door.
Signs all over reminding people to stomp their boots to remove loose mud/dirt/manure before going into the more civilized parts of the building.
I had a boot fail on my way around the building. The sole started flapping. Grrr. This is happening too often, mostly with tennis shoes. So I removed the boots and walked back to my car in sock feet.

I think I saw a Cloudless Sulphur butterfly in the backyard. Pure yellow, moves fast. A joy to the eye.

>424 2wonderY: I love the sulfur butterflies. We get many Sleepy orange types here as well.

Class really did begin this morning. The card scanner at the front door still isn’t working for students, but there was more company waiting for someone to come let us in. From the syllabus, there will be plenty of reading work and some couple assignments. But the knowledge level of the students is all over the place. We spent an hour or so around the grounds of the ag building, with prof Gift teaching us how to use all of our senses and noting the botanical features of each sample.
She’s kinda slapdash and sometimes inaccurate. For instance never using the term ‘alternate’ to distinguish leaf placement as compared to ‘opposite.’ And also never using the word ‘leaflet’ for a compound leaf.

But I did learn some things!

Daughter told me bags of soil were on clearance at Walmart so I went over. There is one person in charge of prices at the lawn&garden department. Luckily she was just coming back from lunch break. She had no soils to sell me (yet) but all the perennials are $1. Big ones. I filled a cart and will go back for more.
Got
3 rhododendron “Yaku Princess”
Abelia “Kaleidoscope”
Indian Hawthorn “Snow White”
Gardenia “Radicans”
Distylium “Cinnamon Girl”
Dwarf Weeping Loropetalum “Purple Pixie”
And a pot of Coxcomb “Dragon’s Breath,” an annual.

I’m going to research these, place them where I think they should go, and go back for more.

Except for the rhododendrons, I’m not familiar with the rest. I chose based on foliage on the others, and I forgot to put a Nandina in the cart.

Tina (first name basis is important) also mentioned the furniture in the yard was half price. There was a Gorilla cart marked $109. She sold it to me for $35. We are ready for our next hike with T!

Instead of going back for more plants yesterday, I did get some of my new purchases in the ground and spent the afternoon and evening mowing. It’s always shocking how much of a visual difference it makes.

I had to rake mounds of loose dirt before mowing several places. I viewed a YouTube that explained the differences among gophers, moles and voles. I think mine are moles. They are rummaging inside some of my plant beds too, but won’t be eating plants or chewing roots, I hope.

Oh, and I noticed some insect holes chewed in fence stringers. Gotta address that before it gets worse.

Filled two shopping carts and spent $14.

I bought the last three Abelia “Kaleidoscope” one more for me, and two for daughter Anne. I hadn’t noticed yesterday have lovely fragrant they are. They love sun, so they will go in the middle of the front yard where the peach tree used to stand.

I bought the last two coxcombs, and they will just flank my front steps this fall. Much nicer than pots of asters, I think.

I got two more Indian Hawthorn “Snow White” because I love their glossy evergreen leaves. I think I will use them massed along the bottom of the first slope in the back. May go back for more.

I did bring home a Nandina ‘Obsession.’

There are three varieties of Loropetalum for sale. The ‘Purple Pixie’ is the small leaf. I may put that is a planter. I bought ‘Ruby’ this morning, and May return for a ‘Red Chocolate.’

I bought a big pot of Strobilanthes, even though it’s an annual. Let’s see if I can overwinter it.

I hadn’t realized there were choices of Rhododendrons yesterday. I bought three ‘Crete’ variety in smallish pots and a larger ‘Catawbiense Album’ for the back of the yard.

I think that’s it, for now.

Another digger seen - a cicada wasp was busy carrying its prey back to its tunnel. Sigh. Not a particularly welcome addition to my ecology.

Last trip to Walmart, I think; choices are narrowing down.
I wanted another Ruby Loropetalum, but they were gone. I settled for three smaller Red Chocolates, though I think the flower color won’t please me as much. And another ‘Purple Pixie.’ I have several big planters to site and fill yet.

Got another two Indian Hawthorns and another two Cinnamon Girl Distylium for the heck of it.
I’ve planted the Gardenia ‘Radicans’ in a pot I can move around or even bring inside. No more of those left, so I got a ‘Frost Proof.’

Second “stupid squirrel” sighting.
Yesterday as I drove down my street, I thought there was a dead squirrel ahead of me. But no, he popped up and moved to the other side of the street.
This morning he’s playing dead squirrel in front of my house.
A neighbor says she’s seen him playing this game too.

Since I was going out this morning I did one more sweep of Walmart and bought two more Red Chocolate Loropetalum. I think I’m going to put them along the short wall that borders the driveway.
Also 4 more of the copper bronze colored Coral Bells. Daughter gets some of these, but I’ve got hillside space out back in the shade.

I stopped at the Farmers market to visit Connie. I haven’t seen her in a bit.
She had a beautiful specimen of Begonia Escargot that came home with me.
And a few more perennial flowers
Gaillardia, blanket flower
Asclepias tuberosa, butterflyweed, which doesn’t like my yard, or doesn’t like to be transplanted. Will try again.
And two Veronicas - the pink ‘First Love’ again, for adding to the long fence row in back, and ‘Sunny Border Blue’ for just because. The Veronicas have been successful at the top of the first slope in the backyard. I’m guessing they will like more spaces.

Okay, it’s hotter than it looks like out there. And the mosquitos are vicious. I’m treating my ponds, but obviously, my neighbor is not. I will be gifting her with Bt dunks this Christmas.

So it will be get some few plants in the ground, recover inside, and repeat.

>428 2wonderY: moles are insectivores. I discovered a lot of mole tunnels in the yard this year, we also have a lot of fire ant hills. I'm happy to ignore the moles if they're eating fire ants!

Hmmm. I’ve got three varieties of Loropetalum. The ‘Purple Pixie’ is dense, small leaved and cascading; just as it is advertised. I’ve got two.

The ‘Ruby’ is large and loose, but also appears to want to cascade. I’ve planted it on the low side of the final slope in the back yard. So if it wants to grow 4-6 feet tall and wide, there’s room. I managed to buy only one, and wish I’d gotten more.

It’s the ‘Red Chocolate’ that confuses me. It’s advertised as an upright, roundish habit. But my four specimens definitely speak to me saying low growing, nearly prostrate. I’ll post a picture.

My theory is they are incorrectly labeled. I think I’m gonna plant them where my guts tell me they will fit best, not giving full weight to the nursery instructions. In fact, I’ve already planted two near the top of said slope.

I decided to show them side by side. The ‘Purple Pixie’ is on the left, and is a nicely sized specimen. The ‘Ruby’ is in the center and could grow tall and loose, I’m thinking. The ‘Red Chocolate’ was only available in smaller pots, but you can see it’s low and spreading habit already. In fact, except for the more chocolate leaves, it looks a lot like the ‘Ruby.’

These are related to Witch hazel, and their pink fringe flowers will be early spring features.

>436 2wonderY: never heard of those before. I learn so much reading threads here.

I was out early, weeding my front slopes.
A neighbor walked by with his dog. He stopped to ask about the Black Pearl pepper, and whether I had tasted it yet. I hadn’t even thought to do so, but I took a ripe red marble inside and sliced and nibbled. Oh!! It’s a hot pepper!
Milk and sugar took care of the tongue burn. Still dealing with lips burning. Honey helps, but not much. Nasal lining also setting up a burn.
I will save seeds and try to grow them next year. They are gorgeous, and I know people who like hot.

Banana and yoghurt work well to counteract chillis.

>439 MarthaJeanne: Thanks. That makes sense. Excellent reason to make a smoothie this morning.

According to Wikipedia :

the flavor has a citrus undertone with a slow burn between 4 and 12 times hotter than a jalapeño on the Scoville Scale

Banana - coconut raita was always a favourite with my boys if I made a curry for supper.

Oh good! It’s raining. I hate watering new plants and never give them their due.

Soil is wet enough to dig easily. I’ve been wanting to move the chastetree ever since I put it in, but it’s been too dry. Moved it two feet to give it the elbow room it will need. It’s pouting now.

Also playing with my sedum slope. Some clumps can be divided and spread around. One clump was disappearing under a flowing neighbor, so I moved it. I’m installing stone shelves for annuals in pots. I’ll get a picture later.
Lots of wildlife. Smelled skunk (first time in this neighborhood) saw a small toad, a lizard and dragonflies. Come on ecology!
My crapemyrtle is finally blooming. It’s really in the wrong place for it’s eventual height, but a neighbor says her mother chops hers down regularly and it keeps coming back.
The guara and cornflowers are finally blooming too.
The berries on the Hollie’s are beginning to redden. I’m such a color junkie.

Oh, and I ate a stalk of asparagus. I should break the clumps and re-plant, I think. They are very dense.

See >169 2wonderY: for the first set-up photo

Here’s today:

I’m at the point in summer that I hate wearing shoes, or even sandals. So while I can do chores like pulling crabgrass and washing the planters that need painted; I can’t use a shovel or move heavy rocks. About a dozen plants still waiting to get put in the ground.

>444 2wonderY: lovely!

Can you imagine, these slopes were grass! Previous owner must have used a weedwacker, but I don’t own such a thing. I did use the mower on the slopes just briefly until I laid carpets.
You can see a strip of carpet to the left which I use to actually navigate. I’m planning on securing a few stone steps there; maybe driving in rebar to hold them in place.

Nearly all of the larger (relatively speaking) tadpoles have developed both a chunkier profile, brown patterning and hind legs. They are still less than an inch and a half including tails. The smaller tads are black and still not developed.
Instead of coming up to eat what I throw in promptly now, they are sheltering in groups under the water lettuce. And the sun hasn’t hit the pond yet today.

General housekeeping today. The dust that collects!

I finally found the snowmelt salt I bought the first winter. I stashed it on the front porch, inside the milk box that held a large decorative birdhouse on top. It made sense then….

https://www.instagram.com/p/CiCm1IwO9x-/?igshid=ZDg1NjBiNjg=

Tadpole pictures

Huh. I just noticed that something is trying to dig underneath my pond. The pond is an old steel mortar/concrete mixing tub.
I was hoping the tadpole would mature this year soon so I could empty it and start again. It’s terminally muddy and has a heavy load of muck in the bottom. I’ve got a circulating pump now, but there is no point using it.
But I read today that some frogs take two years to mature from the tadpole stage!

There are two PawPaw trees behind the Ag building, and they are dropping fruit like mad. Appears no one bothers to clean up, because there are multiple saplings in the planting bed along with lots of weeds.
I got permission to dig some up. I intended to plant them on the ridgetop. But I started the day’s work cutting weed trees and then mowing. The bucket of saplings was just set aside for a while.

Well, the resident goats meandered up to see what I was doing. They seem like nice, placid goats; but I’m not sure I like them free range. They were attracted to the bucket and would have eaten all if I hadn’t stopped them.
Then they went after my irises.
I sent a note to Curtis asking for strategy suggestions.
I’ve got woven wire fencing , but not many posts. The deer never challenged my makeshift barriers, but I think these girls might.

Oh! I forgot to mention I harvested a zucchini.
The seedlings I put out languished for the most part. Only one plant at the front flourished. I’d forgotten to check until today. It’s big, but not overly so.

>452 2wonderY: who do the "resident" goats belong to?

Curtis bought the property on the other side of the ridge. His parents just bought the farm surrounding me, but they won’t be moving from California till next year. Curtis brought the goats in to eat the brush.
He says one was supposed to be tethered and the other doesn’t stray. Moe and Larry are their names.
Curtis says he moved them back to the other side last evening.

Oh, and I have a ground bee infestation in the side yard. Can’t mow through that until I eliminate them. But that needs done after dark or early morning, when they are all inside. May go spend the night.

>455 2wonderY: I'd love some goats to eat my brush.

I think I'd rather deal with fire ants than ground bees.

>456 fuzzi: Yes! Three dimensional attacks are not fun. But I didn’t stir them up much. I poured a bit of gasoline down the holes and lit it, which took care of those at home. But the others who shortly returned were certainly puzzled.

There’s more than one colony, and I won’t know the extent till I can clear the brambles.

I wore myself out in the front yard and gardens today. I might not get out to the ridgetop till tomorrow or Friday.

Winter holly

>459 2wonderY: do the birds eat the fruit?

I don’t know yet. We shall see.

Misty out this morning. It’s sweater weather.

I’m dreaming in color. Considering what color to paint the house. Next year. Medium coral, sky blue, denim blue, or a green? I’m a color junkie. I have a satchel full of color chips.

>461 2wonderY: what kind of siding do you have?

We replaced the original junky siding (1970) about 3 years ago, got vinyl siding with insulation underneath, and have been very happy with the energy savings.

It’s mostly the original aluminum siding. It’s much heavier than what they sell now, and in excellent shape. I have no intention to replace it. There is some insulation inside walls, but I wouldn’t swear it’s all around.

>459 2wonderY:. I was told I needed to buy a male holly that would cross with this female. If you will remember, I kept a close eye this spring. The females were setting fruit before the male flowers were being visited by pollinators.
Today I noticed that the male seems aroused by this show - he is flowering.

>464 2wonderY: naughty naughty ;)

Daughter Anne is coming down from Cinci sometime today and we will drive to Milwaukee tomorrow for a family reunion on Sunday and drive back Monday, as we both have classes on Tuesday.

Rose texted me last evening that she’s coming to Berea tomorrow, bringing T. Rats!! I will miss seeing them. But they will stay here, so I’m cleaning a bit better than I’d intended. Also putting up categories of items T isn’t allowed to mess with. Rose won’t know the difference.
I’m particularly clearing the floor in the second bedroom. It has become a quick depository for items going to other places, like discarded books. Also, hardware and tools from outdoor projects (I really need a bigger shed!) and now plants laid out for my herbarium project.

It’s going well, but I unearthed some really nice books to fondle. No! Stop! Focus!

There has recently been a wad of white something hanging from the side of the utility pole across the street. I went over to investigate.
It’s a notice of foreclosure sale on the house directly across from me. It’s been empty almost a year now. Until recently, there was a property management company mowing regularly. But that seems to have been discontinued. And the lawn is in full flower of all the weeds I’ve been working so hard to eliminate in mine.😣

>467 2wonderY: I feel your pain. We have a vacant house across the street. It's owned by a developer and will eventually be knocked down and replaced by a duplex or a couple of skinny houses, but until then it's being neglected and the yard is LOADED with creeping bellflower, which is a prohibited noxious weed around here. I finally reported it to the city, and about 2 months later I saw an inspector, and then a couple of weeks after that, a crew came and mowed/weed wacked the mess. Which is nice, except in the mean time, all the CBF went to seed, plus it also spreads by roots, so it's just a cosmetic improvement. Ah, well.

We drove through a wind farm on the plains of Indiana, and there was no motion.
And the secondary crop underneath has been crewcut, tassels gone. We looked it up. They do that for growing seed corn, with only a few rows of the variety unshorn that they want to breed true. Huh.

Tomorrow we hope to find the cemetery where my grandparents are. I recall it as a wonderful old fashioned place, from Nana’s funeral 30 odd years ago.

Bleh. It’s raining here and supposed to continue through tomorrow. Not a good day to wander in a cemetery.

A very nice get together. These cousins are all younger than me, so I missed knowing them as children. By the time they came along, I was in college and no longer participating in the once a year trek from Pittsburgh to Milwaukee. So I wouldn’t necessarily recognize them some of them on the street.
But I am getting to know a couple and Mary and Annie and I had still lots to yack about after the rest went home. Gardening and family stories primarily. Some have kids, but no grandkids yet. My daughter got to connect with her second cousins once removed.

Anne and I found Calvary Cemetery this morning. It is old fashioned scenic, with stones and monuments placed in various orientations, and only a vague indication of where the sections are, and you are on your own finding a particular grave.
So we wandered and finally found my grandparents’ stone. He died in 1953 and Nana died in 1991.

We also visited their house and took pictures from the street. Love that old home!

>472 2wonderY: years ago when I drove through Cincinnati I went by the house that my parents owned when I was born. I took some pictures.

No one came out to challenge me (I was just standing in the street) which was good.

Once in Connecticut I had a partly irate homeowner come out to ask WTH I was doing photographing her house. She calmed down after I explained that I'd been raised there, 30 years before.

Besides, that one is a historical structure, built circa 1811. The price you pay for living in a house like that is people will take photos.

>471 2wonderY: all my first cousins are WAY older than me, I don't know them at all. The closest in age is about five years older, most were born in the 1940s and 1950s.

Playing in the dirt today. The area just off the deck is a fairly narrow flat space before it rises upslope steeply.
It is where the pond and the fire ring have been located. The fire ring is a leftover from the previous owners. Though I do like campfires, it doesn’t happen here often enough to dedicate this large messiness.

Yesterday, I burned all of the scrap branches I’ve piled up there. Today, I scraped all of the ashes into buckets to amend the soil in the big planters. Then I pulled all of the block and stone out of the way. It’s just a bunch of random sized blocks.

Just behind is the rock garden. I need to reassert some order and substitute plants for too many rocks.

I’m also beginning a low retaining wall at the base of this slope from the east side fence to about midway, where the path slopes more easily up to the next flat level.

This may be a slow, long term project.

The college greenhouse was having a clearance sale of their succulents today. Of course I went. I was hoping to add more specimens to my succulent slope. One of the students helped me ID them at checkout and all but one needs taken inside in the winter. Grrr.
But I did get a few good pots from the deal as well.
And the plants are all quite interesting.

Finally decided on a spot for the Ninebark. Data says it should do fine in full sun; and maybe it didn’t thrive because it was potted. I put it in the front yard where the first peach tree was. Good soil in that spot now! Watering it should be no problem till it develops better roots. It is growing new shoots from the center of the plant. They are beautiful, while the old leaves are looking quite worn out.

Waiting for cooler weather before seeding the lawn with a more desirable grass. Lots of bare spots where I’ve pulled out crabgrass.

Enjoying vicariously!

Appears a neighbor down the street had a yard sale and I missed it. But there was a chair and ottoman at the curb this morning with a $25 sign on it. It’s not top of the line, and light enough for me to maneuver into the house myself. But it is so comfy!



I left the money with the cat on the front porch.

>479 2wonderY: that's a lovely looking chair!

I knew squirrels live in the bigger maple tree out back; but they’ve always stayed quietly in the upper canopy of trees there and beyond. Today, as I sat on the deck, a squirrel got very vocal for a bit. I think he was yelling at a tiny bird flitting along the trunk. Later, he was down in the yard, apparently burying nuts. Again, not seen before. I’m glad they’re there, but really don’t want to interface. And I’ve had a pet squirrel; but I know also how destructive (and persistent) they can be to a house. Keep your distance Squeaky.

Commercial Ginger - Zingiber officinale

It is hardy only in USDA Zones 8 – 12 but can be grown in containers and moved indoors for the winter in colder climates where the season is too short for the rhizomes to mature.

https://hort.extension.wisc.edu/articles/ginger-zingiber-officinale/

Planning for the winter garden in the basement. It seems the thing to do, though today’s high temperature will be in the 90sF.

Neighbor shared her abundance of tomatoes, sweet peppers and figs, so today is kitchen day.

Question of farm etiquette, asking for my daughter.

If a young, but pregnant pig wanders out of your woods, are you obligated to find its owner?

Old dog, Flynn, is smitten by her.

>483 2wonderY: well...it would be kind to at least make an effort to find the owner...but, a BIG but...they need to prove it's their pig!

Activity at the bird feeder was nil for most of the summer. The cardinals are back today.

I have a whole bunch of stuff to put in the ground from my WV gardens and my sister’s gardens in Pittsburgh.

>485 2wonderY: but where to put the stuff?

That's part of the fun of it.

Do the animals know it’s going to be a hard winter?
There’s a cardinal already raiding the holly bush. I may fence off the one near the house until mid-winter, so I can enjoy the colors till then and still feed them later.

Squirrels ventured onto the deck and rummaged on the shelves of the garden cabinet. They tore a bag of rose fertilizer apart and scattered the smelly contents everywhere.

Our nights are dipping into the 40s and the days are sunny 70s. The tree leaves are beginning to turn, starting on the east sides.

I’m writing about the Weed Management class here:
https://www.librarything.com/topic/343931#

I brought my last pair of work boots back from WV this weekend past and was glad to have them yesterday for class where we went on a hike. Major fail between the leather uppers and the soles. The threads did not break; but there was a strip of the soles that failed. A good pair, still attached at toe and heel, so I didn’t flap. I think there is a shoe repair shop still in town. It’s probably a lost cause. I may need to shop Goodwill. Did I mention I found a pair of excellent barn boots for granddaughter there?

Well, dang!!
Recall that I got bags and bags of mulched leaves last fall from a meticulous homeowner a few streets over.
I went over today to try to speak with him about formalizing an arrangement to carry it all away without having to worry about others poaching it.
There was no one home, but my survey of the front yard indicated there may have been a change. It was subtle, but there were a few sow thistles gone to seed, as well as a volunteer sapling in the foundation beds.
Sure enough, the property changed hands last December.
I will still try to inquire, but likely the new owner will not continue the practice of vacuuming the lawn and mulching the huge volume of leaves.

>489 2wonderY: too bad.

We have a bag for our mower, so when the leaves get thick on the ground I just mow them. It's easier than raking/blowing, plus they get chopped up some.

I fought with a possum the other day when I found it nestling in my foundation. I finally got it to mosey on. My neighbor informed me the next day that her old dog, Carmen, took care of the issue on her own cognizance leaving a dead possum in a bucket on her back porch.

Stopped at Goodwill this morning to hunt for boots for class. I did find a light pair of rubber boots that will do the trick.
Also, someone had cleared out mom or grandma’s sewing room and donated threads and fabrics. I got two big bags of serger cones for very little and lots of embroidery thread as well. Both intended to be passed on to daughters who are more serious seamstresses than me.

Ridgetop afternoon. Perfect weather for hard labor. Got both mowers going. The expensive newer one resists me; but I want to use it for the lawn. The ancient Simplicity never fails me; and I used it today to take down heavy brambles and saplings in the side yard.

Also gathered up some weeds for identification.

Oh, and the “lawn” grass was mature enough to identify it as broom grass. I might should harvest some and make an old-fashioned whisk broom.

I was stiff and a bit sore last night; but fine again this morning. So I took this ‘nother beautiful day to get the last of those $1 perennials in the ground. I put four on the steepest slope; which means trying not to fall over while attempting to dig a decent hole in the gravel and clay and keep that soil from rolling down the slope too.
Then watered everything. It is very very dry.
I’m sore again.

>494 2wonderY: hot bath?

>495 fuzzi: Excellent thought.

It’s only October, birds!! Go find other food! Leave the pretty red berries for winter! You robins, especially - there are still plenty of earthworms to eat.

Plotting how to protect the hollys. I might not succeed.
Also working to clean up the deck and tuck it in for the season.

Went to the ridgetop to get chicken wire and wire trellising. Harvested chestnuts from my tree. Neighbor cut down the other chestnut that I know of, so I didn’t expect any nuts. (They need to cross fertilize.) Most are tiny shriveled things, but there are a few full-sized healthy nuts. And I haven’t opened many of the husks, just threw them into a bucket.

Collected a few more weeds and cut down several locust saplings.

Fashioned cages for my holly girls that don’t look terrible. That bright red is something I was looking forward to enjoying for a season.

Light frost in the low areas this morning, including the front yard. Time to bring all tenders in.

The fall color in town doesn’t come close to the glorious show up to the ridgetop.

>498 2wonderY: people don't always think before they cut down trees. What a shame.

New neighbor in the lot behind my yard has been cutting a LOT of trees in his yard (1/3 acre), which was overgrown, neglected. I talked with him over the back fence on a chance meeting. I gently suggested that he leave the barrier of sorts between our yard and his, which is currently a mix of cedar trees and large hollies. If he goes chainsaw-happy I might have to invest in a section of tall privacy fence to supplement the four foot chainlink already there.

My house is comfortably full again. Two daughters and two grands. My girls’ birthdays were both last weekend, and they had small family trips planned. So I feel very fortunate they could both come and see me.

I managed to clean and food shop and the girls glanced in my fridge and made quesadillas. Anne brought veggies from her garden too.

Theia got all her old favorite toys out and enjoyed herself and me until Callum arrived. Callum is 13 and they are well matched temperamentally. I think I can call them best friends.
Tomorrow I am enlisting their help doing Halloween decorating.

Another impromptu feast this morning, opening boxes and eating pumpkin roll cake. Anne had to leave to help Elly get ready for a semi formal dance at school.
But Theia begged to spend another night and Rose agreed. We went for a walk to test out the Gorilla Garden Cart, ferrying T. Her mom says we won’t need it next year because T will be big enough to want to walk when we go nature walking. Uh-huh.
Smoothie and sandwich snack in the afternoon sunshine.

We finally identified purpletop vervain, apparently a volunteer in my gardens. That area of the yard has multiple shades of purple at this season, with purple New England Asters, a butterfly bush, beautyberry bush and purple loosestrife recently finished. It wasn’t planned, but serendipitous.

And Rose got to sleep in this morning and now taking a couch nap - events that are too rare in her life.

“You get what you get, you don’t throw a fit.”

Words of wisdom from T’s preschool teacher, and parroted by T when it suits her agenda. Writing it down here so I can remember to turn about and use it on T.

The highest compliment from T this morning: “You’re too silly to be a grownup.”

In an anonymous plant exchange in June, I picked up dahlia tubers. Planted in one of my front rose gardens, they took over a large area with vegetation. They finally bloomed in the past couple of weeks, but the flowers ducked back into the greenery, not standing tall. We picked what we could find and made up a vase with aster branches to help support the blooms. That whole process gave a dozen flowers. I don’t find them particularly attractive, though the color is good.



I will pull them out and pass them on.

The house across the street sold at foreclosure sale last month. I don’t know who bought it, and hope it wasn’t a corporate investment company. There has been workman activity there since yesterday. Carpenters, and today a heating and cooling contractor.

It’s leaf collection season and I can’t locate my black plastic bags. I’ve put them away too well.*

*found them

>506 2wonderY: I do that so often, put things away in "a safe place where I'll remember where I put them"...and then...?

I stopped and spoke to the carpenters working on the house across the street. The new owner is a local investor. He owns one of the car dealerships in the next county over, but lives in Berea. This crew is very familiar with his acquisitions, as they always do the renovations. They say he will typically rent them out and sometimes flip the properties. At least it’s not a corporate investment group. I think the granddaddy elm in the back yard is safe for now.

I stopped at Aldis hoping to find pumpkin roll cake. The clerk assured me there would be some tomorrow.
On the end cap at checkout, spring bulbs were boxed and priced at $6 for 30 bulbs.
10 each Van Eijk tulips (red), daffodils Replete (pink and coral double swirl), and Allium Sphaerocephalon (purple, midsized, common name - drumstick allium).
So I bought two cartons.

>509 2wonderY: Aldi's has some great "special buys". I got a compost tumbler after the price went from $50 to about $15.

>510 fuzzi: I bought one of those as well, but returned it because it had an assembly problem.

It was beautiful out today, warm enough to change into a sleeveless shirt.
I putzed around the yard, never finishing any job, but making progress raking, sweeping the deck, clipping the asters (done flowering but still fragrant) and digging up the dahlias. I forgot about putting the bulbs in the ground, but tomorrow should be good for that too.

It’s not usual for the maple leaves to drop straight down. Typically, it’s much windier this time of year. There are as many seed racemes on the ground as leaves, and plenty more still on the branches, though most of the leaves are down.

I got the bulbs in the ground and did some incidental weeding. I took a closer look at the roses whose leaves are being decimated. I wasn’t concerned because it’s so late in the season. Turns out those webs I thought were dense spider webs are actually a webworm. They are inch long green caterpillars. Must look them up and pay more attention next year. But I also found a friend on the rose branch and he was looking for lunch.



I left him to it.

>513 2wonderY: Frog or lizard? He's got such great camouflage!

Gray tree frog. It might have come from my pond.

It’s leaf pickin’ time! The man down the street has several piles. I went to one of the dollar stores to buy some Halloween candy and a new rake. Stopped and filled 6 mega-bags on the way back. It’s easier to just scoop the leaves in by the armful, but I use the rake to tidy up at the end.
At the store, the rake sparked a discussion with one of the clerks. I got her address and a pick-up date for Saturday.

>512 2wonderY: I refer to it as "puttering" around the yard, same concept.

Probable identity of the caterpillars on my roses is Curled ( or curly) Rose Sawfly.

https://bugoftheweek.com/blog/2018/5/21/rosie-defoliators-roseslug-sawfly-iendel...

>518 2wonderY: I've noticed that my roses are defoliated, too, but have been distracted with other issues.

Thanks for the info, could be a banner year for these little green worms ;)

Went to the Post Office this morning. There was an old woman in a pink babushka lurking in the outer hall. When I came out, she approached me saying the Spirit had moved her to pray for me. I asked if she could pray for my sister instead. Apparently not. She has to touch the person; praying for my sister would be “a waste of time.” She wandered off muttering.

>520 2wonderY: perhaps she was thinking of the "laying on of hands"?

I pray for people I've never met, and I believe that my prayers are not a waste of time.

Note to self: Plant fennel to encourage beneficial insects.

I wonder what is so special about the berries on my tiny holly shrubs. The robins are again massing in my yard trying to reach the berries behind the chicken wire. There are a few they can reach. I walked next door to see if they are eating from the gigantic female English holly next to Alida’s house. (The neighborhood is called Holly Hills, after all; and many yards have these grand-sized specimens, especially at the top of the hill.). No action there at all! What’s with that?

I found another trove of leaves yesterday after class. The homeowner cautioned there are walnut leaves in the mix, but it’s mostly ash, maple and catalpa. I will go back for more today.

It’s raining! Finally! Just a drizzle, but I was waiting for any moisture so I could throw out some grass seed across the many bare spots where I’ve removed noxious weedy stuff or filled in holes in the front yard.
There were lots of birds in the trees. I’m hoping they don’t come and eat all the seed. It’s evening - perhaps they will have forgotten by morning.

There was a whole flock of little birds at the pond yesterday trying to get drinks, but the water level had dropped so they couldn’t reach from the edge of the tub. I filled a couple of smaller containers for them.

My family has been so loving these past few days. I got a particularly lovely text from my adult step grandson. Just a piece:

“Every time I thrift shop, or stick my hands in dirt to grow something, I think of you & all the positive memories you’ve brought me.”

Both daughters are helping me wrestle with a problem among my siblings. And Rose is reveling in the season on her farm and sending pictures of her house and family. Anne and her family also sent me lovely pictures from the Renaissance Faire she attended with her crew.

The siblings call was scheduled at 3 today, the same time I was supposed to meet with a few people starting a Climate Action group. I put together a written report complete with references and submitted it this morning. I don’t think I’ve ever been so responsible and organized.
I’m spending some time finishing my weed specimen mounting and labeling as well, as it’s due Tuesday morning.

Not quite finished, but here is my display for the evening :

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CkZAbiGDZrK/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

Halloween isn’t one of my holiday favorites, but the kids love it and it has plenty of space for fun displays.

Here’s one I erected las year


Town and a church had events scheduled elsewhere at the same time as neighborhood trick or treat. So foot traffic took some time to pick up. Next year, I may set up down by the public sidewalk. I was worried some little ones would fall on my sloping sidewalk or steps. Thankfully, no spills. A good number of children also paused to appreciate my decorations and comment on them. I ended up holding the rat on my lap and encouraging the kids to pet him. I had plenty of candy to give out 3 items to each, having added peppermint puffs to the basket. That item, though not Halloweeny, made a few kids smile broadly.

The whole house needs a pick up. Taking Halloween decorations down and packing them away neatly. I want to get a few items, made by my children, laminated at the library.
There are still fall leaf and colored baubles that can remain out until it’s time to switch to Christmas colors.
My kitchen looks better already, but I need to make a pot of something and also process the green tomatoes. I’ve lost track of the chow-chow recipe I’ve used before.

Time to put away all the pressed plant materials and stations. Well, perhaps I will collect a few fern leaves first. But the mounting station in the living room can be folded up.

And I’ve left the bedroom go to my old practices. Nu-uh. I’m not back stepping that far.
But Terminal Peace is waiting next to the bed…

>524 2wonderY: it's nice when siblings/family can talk. I hope your call went well.

My eldest sister has arranged FaceTimes for the three of us, which is incredible because our middle sister doesn't feel like talking much. She has a number of immunological issues, and is in constant pain.

My dh's side of the family is incommunicado 364 days a year. Last year his sisters sent their brother a tin of cookies, knowing full well that he's a diabetic. :sigh: I've been trying to send little notes to them about the progression of his dementia, but I don't get responses for the most part.

Count your blessings, everyone.

>526 2wonderY: I like this.

I never did get a tax bill for the ridgetop this year. The rural deliverer does not care which box he throws mail into. So I drove down to the county seat to pay in person.
Then I spent the afternoon taking down volunteer trees in yard and garden. It was so peaceful and sunny out there - 70s.
The new neighbor has developed the lower access road; scraping it wide and laying huge, ankle breaking gravel. At least I won’t have to mow it anymore. But it’s less a quiet corner of the universe.
I walked to the back of their property too. Lots of brush clearing and smoothing and a woodland pond developed. Can’t tell yet where they intend to build their house.

Hey! Clouds moved sneakily in and it’s raining! A real shower! Hurrah! That changes my plans a bit. One load of leaves will have to suffice today.

Well, that didn’t last as long as I’d like. But it did remind me I still have some gutter details to attend to.

Aldis stop and stocked up on seasonal goodies. Pumpkin roll cake and Pfeffernüsse.