How Does My Garden Grow?

Well, I planned to get some gardening done this week outside... 

empty some whiskey barrels, move them, and replant them 

with better dirt.  I bought some perennials at 

Grasspad... on sale for 2.00!  I checked to make sure they were 

coming up... I'll show you tomorrow, and each is going to

get a place in a barrel. 

We are expecting rain now, for multiple days. 

This is one of three mums I brought home at the end of the season from the National Agriculture Center and Hall of Fame .  I watered them during the fall, then stuck them in the garage up 

close to the skinny door windows during the winter.  I MIGHT have watered them 

3 times.  

Look! 

One had even fallen over and the shoots were growing sideways. 

After trimming yesterday. 

They went downstairs to the basement, to be put by the big picture window. 

The sideways one was standing up straight today. 

This is a hanging plant that my son gave me last year. 

I had a petunia in it that grew all winter, and then 

died about two weeks ago.  It was actually outside. 

Do you see what's growing in it? 

3 little tomatoes! 

I guess I'm planting tomatoes again. 

 Look out.... 

sunflowers are coming up all over the birdseed.  It's just about time to clean all this up, 

but I will continue feeding for another month. 

These sweet little guys are in the spare bedroom window. 

I found those planters at a thrift store. 

I made sure I got plants that can go without a lot of water, because 

they have no drain holes.  So far, they are doing great. 

Jes just wants me to get off the computer and get back in the recliner! 

A Few Shots of the New House

No, not inside yet, sorry!  

Here are some scenes from outside, so you know I have my work cut out for me. 

Here I am looking at the front door.  Can you see the damaged hedge???

The ones on the right have been dying for a while, and it has spread to the first one on the left. 

A better view. 

I think these are coming out.  I am not even sure how to do it, to make sure we get all the roots. 

Hostas are going in in their stead, as a memorial to Brandon and Joel, Keith's sons, and 

to my brother and sister. 

I'm going to get some advice at the nursery. 

I do subscribe to the advice that you are best to wait a year before doing 

anything in your new "garden"... but gosh... these hedges that must be manicured 

don't do it for me. 

This damage is in the front yard, just in front of the porch.  I am not sure if it was from the two big dogs that lived here (one was a mastiff, one a weim) who ran free. 

It almost looks as if water lines were dug up at one time. 

I'll be filling in these slight holes and re-seeding. 

This is the west side of the house... there is a drainage hose snaking through there that is 

not connected to anything... I think it blew in, and I'm going to take it out.  Where the yellow flag is laying there is a gas line.  

So you see, I don't have much space to work with here.  

I like the grass... and we'll see how the mounded over grass looks this year... but the barberry bushes are out of control.  Their trunks are pretty big, so I am going to take a better picture, and take it to the nursery and see what they say.  I envision phlox and other flowers growing in here. 

And look what I found away down on the very end, at the corner of the house!  Tulips, that someone planted long ago.  I was so glad to see them! 

I'll take some pictures of the back of the house, where I am VERY limited because of the septic tank and it's mound.  

Here, however, I'm looking out at the front yard.... there are four small trees in it, and I am dying to see what they are.  They are just budding out. 

And here I've turned back towards the front of the house again... and you can see that we have a problem area where the side retaining wall meets the fence.  Yesterday, a Big Black Dog appeared in our fenced portion of the yard suddenly.  He is very elderly... and we think he must have jumped down from the wall onto an additional retaining wall you can JUST see on the left, where the fence starts, and down into the yard.  We are not sure that Lilly can jump UP... but we are going to put a section of picket there so that no dogs can get in, in the future... and no little grandchildren can fall over the wall, which is quite deep at it's highest, by the house.  

I wanted to apologize today for something I said the other day, and I think Sandy from Oklahoma Transient called me out on it... 

I mentioned that I had always considered my animals as "pets" and not "livestock" and that I always treated them as such and really took care of them.  Well... a good farmer...even a good "hobby" farmer... takes care of his livestock the right way, if he wants them to be productive for him.  I didn't mean to demean anyone, and I think I was just trying to say that to me, they were never a means to make money or produce meat., etc., but were my hobby.  A hobby that I broke my neck over keeping well over a series of very hard winters!   I know all of you have gone through the same thing, and are still going through it... as I saw Michaele's picture of snow in Nebraska again this week!  

Kudos to all of you! 

I'm working up to pictures of the house, don't worry... and I'll throw in some pictures of the inside of the OLD house as well. 

Here's the sturdy, beautiful deck Keith built at the old house... and where I had so many planters last year. 

He mentioned in passing one day that I needed to "get rid of " the planters.  HAHAHAHAHA.  

Hysterical laughter here.  The green one is going somewhere in the front of this house... and I'm finding homes here for the others, I'll show you my plan tomorrow.  

Now I'm going to go read a few blogs!  Tonight Keith will lock up the birds for me, and I'm going to go watch Grandson Jax in his play at school!  

Shine On, Harvest Moon

Just at dusk, tonight.  It's dark now and the moon is a huge orange orb.  

It's nights like these that I wish my little sister were still with us to see how beautiful it is. 

I guess she is looking at it from the other side, though... and has beauty surrounding her. 

Today, I really overdid it in the henspa. 

This. Ticked. Me. Off. 

See that egg in the middle?  See the one by his tail?  

I GOT THEM. 

He already had one in his mouth. 

Uh huh. You're not getting that egg in the middle! 

Vanquished!

I went in there a half hour later, and he was gone.  He did get one egg, so won't starve tonight.  He needs to eat some of the mice! 

Wanna know how I did it?  

I went in and got two ladles from the kitchen.. held him back with one and scooped the eggs up with the other!  

This kept me busy in the heat this afternoon.  This is the bed Chris trimmed for me a week or so ago, and I got the landscape paper down on it, some dirt... and the straw.  I need about 60 more bags of dirt to cover that straw and paper... but there is dirt holding the paper down right now strategically.  We'll get dirt as we are able through the fall. 

The mums you see in front of you are the castoffs stepdaughter Andrea gave me... they are doing so well and by next year will be almost as big as the huge red one you see on the left. 

She did not know the colors... one is the most delicate pink... you can't see the flowers, but I hope it gets HUGE. 

My assistants were helping me and snacking, too. 

But I have to give them credit... they were holding the paper down for me. 

We were originally going to plant small fruits in this bed... raspberries and blackberries. 

But you know what, folks?  We don't eat that many. 

Rather than do all that work, I am going to put more flowers in it.  

(Not that that isn't work). 

When I got ready to come in and fix some dinner, I put the little ones back in their pen.  Kelly went in at dusk and jumped right up on his "bed".  He and Kody always went right in at dusk. 

I took the opportunity to lock the little girls up, and took the mower in and cut the grass in their pen. 

They had to come out and check out what I had done when I finished.  However... I kept an eye on them, and by the time I finished taking the picture of the moon at dusk, they had gone back in. 

The ladies of the henspa lucked out because I had so much straw.. I took half a bale over to them and they tore right into it.  I always put it in two or three piles, so the little birds and pullets can join in. 

Notice who is directing the show now? 

Ferdy, aka Ferdinand.  

He appears to have taken over. 

I put the game camera out in the pasture tonight... I noticed both big dogs picked up on something this morning as they trekked around the pasture.  We'll see in the morning what it is, I hope. 

Also... we had a warm day today, up to 93.  Tomorrow is supposed to be hot and sultry, before a cool down. 

I caught on the news just a minute as I came in that severe storms may be in order, tomorrow night into Friday morning.  

I'm scared to be alone during storms, I admit it.  So are the dogs! 

Can't wait 'til Keith gets home! 

Tuesday Tidbits

I didn't get too far towards planting more seeds today, but I'll get to that in the morning.  I used to get worried when I had a lot to do, about how I could fit it all in, etc.... I don't do that anymore, and that's one of the luxuries of being retired. 

This picture cracks me up.  Moe, this little rooster, is protecting Fluffernut, the little brown bantam from the little henhouse born last summer.  Moe came from the little flock in the pasture pen, the one that we had to move so quickly in November, before we were really finished with the new henhouse.  I never meant for those three little roosters to move.  Now they are all settled in, and this little guy has turned out to be a nice little rooster. 

He let everyone know that they had better not bother him. 

It's nice, because the old bantam roosters in the old henhouse all have one little hen who is their companion, too.  

Today, I started a new blog for someone.  Please go HERE to see it.  We follow many pug blogs, and I had intended long before Christmas for Abby and Gertie to have their own, so now, Abs has her own. 

I love Pinterest, there, I've said it.  I LOVE IT.  I love history, and I have spent hours looking at wonderful old pictures recently... I found a site last night that has such good ones... and I've found lots of good recipes. I usually check each of them out before pinning, too... and here's one I tested today. 

Here is the caption under it: 

"For anyone that may not know, the BEST way to make hard-boiled eggs is in the OVEN! Place the eggs in a muffin tray so they do not move around, turn the oven to 325 degrees, pop in for about 25-30 minutes and remove! Not only are they tastier, but they also are much easier to peel!" Mind blowing.

Sorry, it pasted like that.  

The point is, I have never, or rarely ever, made hard-boiled eggs right.  Keith usually has to do it for me. 

These were RIGHT.  

I made deviled eggs, which I love! 

I would add to the instructions that I DID put mine in cold water after they came out. 

I also pinned this... go ahead and laugh

I WORE THIS STUFF. 

Right now, we are under threat of rain or snow, which is bizarre.  It is VERY windy again, and sunny, with big clouds moving around. 

Crazy. Weather. 

I did get quite a bit done in the garden, trimming plants, and tomorrow I'll trim the three buddleias. (Thanks for the tips!) 

I got the new henhouse half-cleaned out, too, the bit under the roosts, and all that is on the pea bed, and will be covered with good new dirt for this weekend's planting of peas.  

I have a BUNCH of seeds to go through tomorrow morning, and decide what seeds are going to go onto the light table next. 

That's it for a blustery day at Calamity Acres! 

Sunday Spots

Well, some of them are Saturday evening spots. 

 

Like this one:

 

Though Jackson and Annabelle are not as friendly as Clarabelle as far as approaching you, he likes to follow me around and watch what I'm doing.  He's snoozing here while I filled the water bin in the pasture last night.

 

I don't know why I'm still filling it, no one is using it hardly.

 

 

Here he is a minute later, listening to something with his eyes closed still.  He cracks me up.

 

 

Ranger LOOKS scary, but Lilly Ann is the one to be careful if you are up to no good at Calamity Acres.

 

Her abrasion on her side is healing up nicely.

 

 

I made this one extra large on purpose, because it cracks me up, too.  I planted this butterfly bush in the spring, and it took off like a jet.  All summer I watered it from behind... daily, almost.  I was so proud of it.  I was standing there a little while ago this afternoon and realized there is a HUGE WEED in the middle of it... look at the top.

 

I pulled it out and it will take a whole bag of Miracle Gro soil to fill in the hole.

 

Here is the bush without the weed, still looks good.  As you see, I have pulled out all the sunflowers, so summer is OFFICIALLY OVER here.  They are going down to the brush heap in the pasture in the back of the truck tomorrow while Keith is at work.  I spent the afternoon putting in perennials, and I will have to go get Max Mix tomorrow to fill in all the holes where I pulled the HUGE sunflower roots out.

 

 

I put a late hummingbird feeder out because I have seen hummers twice in the last week.  Kathy says they are visiting her feeders a lot here in the last few weeks, so we think they are getting ready for their trip south.  Keith came in from the golf course yesterday to say he had seen a lot of Canadians overhead.  I planted mums of several different varieties... blanket flowers, physostegia, and have some more things to put in tomorrow.  As you see, it was a gorgeous early fall day.

 

And finally, Keith is progressing:

 

 

The wooden framework is for the netting that will go over the pen, which I will call to order tomorrow.  It takes a week to ten days to get here, as it is cut and grommeted according to what dimension we order.  Once it's ordered, Keith will finish the two decks, make the stairs, and we'll do the inside work (flooring, nest and roosts) and then move the flock over.  We intended to move girls only, but now again are considering moving everyone from the big henhouse for a few weeks, so that we can clean it out, clean it up, make repairs, and get it winterized.  Then we'll move the old birds and non-producing hens back over.

 

At least that's the plan as it currently stands!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Reiman Gardens

On Saturday, my mother in law, Trudy, and I went to Reiman Gardens, where she and Ralph are members. 

Reiman Gardens, part of Iowa State University, is a wonderful public garden.  I had last been there about five years ago, so there was much to see.

 This summer's attraction is a group of sculptures made with.... Legos!

Here is a butterfly, outside the butterly house, made entirely of Legos!

This beautiful garden on 14 acres adjacent to the Iowa State Campus is full of great gardening ideas.

This is part of the herb garden, which was in four beds bordered by box, with an armillary in the middle, and long beds on the sides.  I got lots of ideas from this garden. 

This was supposed to be a knot garden, with the smaller flowers snaking along under this huge cup-leaved plant, which I think is Colclasia.  I love it.  The stems were dark, dark brown, and the leaves bright green, and there HAS to be a way to use it in our garden beds.

Here is a hummingbird, made entirely of Legos.  It cracks me up that not one but FIVE people make their livings doing this.

One of the themes for the summer is planting in heights... and here is a great idea... culverts, cut into different heights.  There was a actually a third, shorter one... we believe they are full of gravel halfway up, or buried in the ground, and then the top halfs full of dirt.  Yes, Keith and I like this whole idea and are thinking of doing this next season.

Here is another example of growing upwards... these succulents are all placed into a grid, in their pots.   I love the use of the black millet for framing on either side.

Reiman also has beds of trial plants for the All American Selections held every year.  I fell in love with the Pink Pussy Tails, too!

Lego Goldfinches eating ... Lego blocks in the tube!

More Reiman Gardens tomorrow night, as this post is getting long on pictures... I still have a few things to show you... remarkable things.

Keith and I admit we were worn out by our trip, short as it was.  It involved lots of driving and LOTS of walking for two days, and wore us down.

That's the Ball Big Blue Book next to me, but as you see... the pugs and I were just too tuckered out to read it. 

More pictures tomorrow night of wonderful planting ideas!

A Stormy Sunday

Oh, my, Sunday morning started out wonderfully.  I was able to sleep a little later than normal, and lo and behold, Hannah, who has had to go out three times a night recently, slept the entire night!  Since I have to carry her back and forth, I was very appreciative!  Then, I heard the dogs all barking, alerting us to someone at the gate.  It was my son and his friend, coming to pick up the Craftsman lawnmower that we used when we first bought the place.  Since we upgraded to the John Deere last summer, we hadn't used the Craftsman much, and Jim has a great big yard now.  He has been using his best friend's mower to cut it, but it will be better for him to have his own.  I leapt out of bed (yes, really leaped) and got dressed quickly and went out to meet them.  Nathan had spent the night with his dad, so he was with them, and bypassed me going in the door, he was worn out from staying up late, and went straight to bed in the spare bedroom.

So Jim and Robert got the mower loaded, and a subsequent phone call told us that it started right up after emptying out the old gas, changing the spark plug, and cranking' er up.... but needed a new belt.  We reminded Jim to be sure to sharpen the blade as well.  I'm so glad he'll get some good use out of it for a few years, and it was good to see his best friend Robert, who has been his friend since grade school.  Robert was one of those who lost his job of 23 years in the downturn, when his company closed.  We heard good news this morning, he is now back at work at a job he really likes, in a small city closeby, so does not have to drive far.  It was good news, indeed.

Robert facing camera, Jim, derriere view!

Then, as long as I was up and at'em, and Nathan was asleep, I started working on this:

This was an ill-conceived bed in the middle of the yard, directly in front of the deck, which faces south.  As you can see, we used untreated wood.... it was deteriorating badly, and we were afraid would hurt the pugs or the grandkids.  On the four corners were beautiful sedums, and in the middle, a mature pink peony.  I took this picture to show the wonderful dirt of this bed, it was compost and chicken house cleanings that I did NOT compost, as an experiement.  They broke down and as you can see, the dirt was black and loose.  The green at the top is a mess of weeds, that went to the compost pile.  The peony in the middle had such deep roots that Keith had to come break the ground around it gently with the spade, and lift it for me.  We trundled it over to the new bed, where all the sedum and the peony were transplanted.  I am praying that because the crown was intact, it will bloom this year. 

Abby helped.

Yesterday on my way to church, I saw a man cutting his grass.  His yard is always perfectly maintained, and I have often wanted to ask him if I could have some of his grass, or his leaves in the fall.  Yesterday, I stopped and asked.  He told me to take as much as I wanted!  I went back after church and got four bags.  They were very heavy, or I would have gone to get the rest today. 

Normally we would compost it first, but we put it on, and then covered it with dirt.  We found last year that this will work fine.

The dirt from the former bed in the middle of the yard was moved over by me in my little yard cart, and you see the sedum in it.

As the day wore on, it got hotter and hotter... it actually went to 91 degrees, breaking a record by 10 degrees set in 2005. 

Pretty soon, Keith asked me to stop, I guess I was pretty red (so was he!) ... and I went up to sit on the porch with the dogs.

The pugs suffer in this weather terribly, so they were not out long during the times they were out.

Gertie absolutely LOVES being outside, and here she is on the deck, almost asleep in the sun. She is the bravest little dog ever!

I put the dogs in, all of them, where the air was running on APRIL 3rd, then took some treats out to the chickens.  Who knew chickens liked sauerkraut???

When I came out of the chicken yard, it was to this:

Which rapidly progressed to this:

As I type this at 9:39, it has been storming for over an hour, including hail, and the high winds we had all day.

The temperature literally dropped 20 degrees in about ten minutes, and Keith and I ran for the house, battening down all the hatches.  He is already in bed, having made two additional garden beds, poured the first two footings for the new henhouse, gotten and unloaded a big load of cement, and another big load of dirt for the new beds, and sundry other things I had to have help with.  He was worn out tonight, but, as he said, a "good kind of wornout".  I am, too, and I am about to hit the hay with the little girls and Keith.

Tuesday is our anniversary, and since I had to have some medical tests early in the morning, I decided to take a vacation day.  I am going to clean the porch off - trust enough to put away the snow shovels, and tidy up some more, before we go to dinner in the late afternoon.  Olive Garden, YUM!