Spring Round Up, Anyone?

I've got lots of tiles for mosaic work, and have a lot of junk/craft jewelry too. Doing mosiac tiles in the round is hard!
It might be better to do the decoupage on the Bowling Balls.
Cayte, I love that color of Sea Green, and yes, please I can use them, and will give them a good home. : - )
Can't tell the size, but think they are 4" x 4".
So much pretty glass. So kind of you to bring your tools. I have some, but probably not as much as you do. I'm having to rebuild my stainglass tool collection. So do you want to give us a decoupage demonstration? LOL! :-)
Having done it before, I know how it's done, but like tie dyed t-shirts, it's been a while. : - )
FYI, google glass tiles, and you can find several sites that sell glass.
Cayte, I may not be as good as you at tracking down things to recycle, but I'm sure good at finding ways to recycle what is here. So if you bring it, and no one takes it, don't worry, I'll either use it, or find it a good home. : - )
Those are pretty rose tiles. They'd look nice in some stepping stones. : - )
Did I forget to put anyone else on the list?
Sorry about that QG. My Bad. : - (
It's fixed now though!
I've got to go for now, but will check in again soon.
~WIB~
SW

Jules, the tiles are about 2x2". I put a quarter one in the picture so you could tell the size. The focals below are kiln fired so should stand up to traffic and the elements although I used them on my fireplace surround inside.

The tile on the top right (purple, green and silver shown) is called Van Gogh. The blue/silvery tiles on the bottom right ate just cut tiles. HTH

Heather

Thanks for the measurements, Heather. Aaackk, forgot to ask Sis about moving her plants to TX. Will do so right now before I forget again. : - )
WIB~
SW

Hi Samigal,
If you still have sweet pea seeds, I'd like to give them a try next fall, I did some research a they should grow nicely here in the desert. Would you like me to send an SASE to you?

Sweet peas in the Southwest are planted in October/November. They sprout, sit there and grow roots all winter and they when the heat hits they take off. Just a thought from Mother Winter.

I fell and really hurt my shoulder. Same shoulder as last year. I was going into a flower bed and I knew I was in a precarious position and I went anyway. Stubborn old broad.

We shall see when I see the doctor. He will probably put me in a mental hospital for the can not be helped stubborn old women. LOL. Later Sharon

Oh, Sharon, prayers for your shoulder. It took me stubbing my same toe and breaking it 3 years in a row before I moved the antiques near the front door that 'attacked' my foot! I commiserate (and could share a room with you at that mental hospital). When I see a hoe lying about in the yard, I mentally say 'that is trip material' but ignore it till I actually fall over it!

i think there are a lot of us "can not be helped stubborn old women" !!!

Hello all! This is my first post here, since I just found the website this weekend. I just bought my first house in Norwalk, CA. Up to this point, I have never had any kind of garden and have never been able to keep indoor plants as my cats find them fun things to eat and then regurgitate, which stops being fun quickly. So, this is my first experience with any kind of planting and growing anything at all.

Our front yard is mostly succulents, with some lilies and african daisies that popped up. I've added some other colors of lilies and african daisies to get more color, and spent a small fortune at the nursery yesterday to get succulents with more colors than green into the yard.

Our back yard was pretty much a blank canvass, with a large Schefflera, a small lemon tree, a tiny palm, one "stick" tree (no clue what it is - there are no branches all all, just a stick with leaves on it) and another medium sized tree that drops leaves everywhere that I can't figure out what it is either. I'm seriously tired of the leaves falling everywhere and am considering taking it down and putting up something else.

I've added a ton of things back there and things are looking great now. I got a bunch of annuals in Saturday before the rain got going, so everything is pretty well watered in now!

I'd love to come to the RU, but I don't think I'll have much to trade, if that would be ok. I'd like to learn how to maybe take cuttings from some of the plants I have (mostly the succulents & bush lillies) that are mature - they came with the house, but I'm not quite sure how to do that and transport them. If anyone has advise on doing that, I'd love to know. I've moved things around a bunch, but that's not quite the same.

I understand the date is April 9th, but I can't quite figure out where the RU is going to be held. Could I get an address or something?

I'm looking forward to getting a chance to talk to people about all the gardening stuff - I'm having a lot of fun with it so far.

Welcome JD! We would love to have you join us. We are meeting at Singing Wolf's (Jules) place where they farm Christmas trees and have a beekeeping business. It is in Menifee (close to Lake Elsinore), so you would come east on the 91, then south on the 15 to the Bundy Canyon exit. Jules will be D-mailing directions and address to all who want to come. Don't worry about not having any trades to bring, you will still go home with lots of stuff to grow. I know Jules has succulents to share and you just never know what, besides plants, might be there for the taking. Like a rooster, etc., lol. No kidding. There is also a food thread on the California Gardening Forum, so you can sign up to bring what you would like, we are not formal at all as far as what to bring and it all gets eaten and enjoyed.

Maybe you can take a picture of the trees that you don't know what they are and someone on DG might be able to identify them. Maybe more so when they get leaves....?

Welcome again!
Lynda

Hi Linda - Thanks for the welcome! I do have pics of the trees I want to ID. I attached one from the "stick" tree. It looks the same as it did 5 months ago. Weird.

I think I may pass on a rooster, LOL. My cats would call the poor thing dinner!

Sounds like this will be about an hour from my house, more or less - depends on traffic like everything else in CA!

I'm looking forward to getting to meet folks who are into plants - I live in a largely hispanic neighborhood, which is great, but there is a bit of a communication barrier with my neighbors as a result, so chatting up the neighbors about what they are planting is kind of out. People also seem to feel they can just help themselves to plants from my yard - people walking by will just snap off stems or leaves from my plants. Not too crazy about that, actually. But if I ask them not to (cause they'll do it right in front of me, without asking) they act as though they cannot understand me. I planted a couple of deterrent plants over the weekend. "Sticks of Fire" pencil cactus - if they break that off I bet it will cure them of snapping things off without asking.

Thanks again for the welcome!

i have some stinging nettle plants i could send you. they would also help. how about bunny ear cactus? i hate when people just help themselves, so rude.

Thoise leaves look familiar, but don't know why. Odd that there are no branches though, huh?

I have seen people make fences/barriers out of cactus, don't need wire or wood, but it does take some time to grow. The bunny ear cactus roots and grows pretty fast and roots easily. Of course, 'nopalitos' cactus chunks from those plants are popular to eat is Hispanic neighborhoods (I love them with scrambled eggs).

You know, Samigal (see posting further up) lives in Norwalk and has been to at least the same 3 Round Ups I have, she could give you an idea what to expect drive-wise.

Yeah, I don't love people just taking things without asking all that much, but there are twin 6 year olds next door that come through the yard sometimes. I'd hate for them to get hurt & I'm not sure if my homeowners insurance would cover attack plants...LOL! Thing is, if they asked I'd certainly tell them they could take something. I guess I'll just take it as a complement that they like all the hard work I've put into making it look nice and try to keep friendly with the neighbors!

I've been out to the outlets at Lake Elsinore, so I think it won't be too bad. I have GPS, cause I get lost going across the street anyway, so hopefully that will get me there!

I got a more close up view of the leaves on the stick tree, in case that helps anyone recognize it. It's such a weird thing! It's almost fuzzy, but not quite.

I figured out that a couple of things I thought were clumps of some kind of grass are actually little palm trees today. It's like an adventure in the yard some days. I planted some reeds and papyrus in the 2.5 foot wide strip between my garage wall and the concrete fence. The neighbors think I'm weird, in my rubber boots and yellow plastic overalls planting stuff in the rain and mud. Come to think of it, my wife thinks I'm weird for the same reason...LOL! But I want to get a little height in that spot and it's always shaded and is too narrow to be able to get in there and do too much else, so I thought that might do well there and give it some density once it takes. They are both supposed to be pretty aggressive, but there's nowhere else for them to go. So it will either look the way I hope, or I'll be in there with a flame thrower in a couple of years...

Hi JDTagish and welcome!

You better watch yourself on this CA forum. These guys here are enablers big time!! (Just FYI, they might try to blame me but don't believe 'em. I would never do that to a newbie! I just bring the chocolate milk. What they/you do with it is NOT my responsibility!!!)

They will not feel sorry for you if you receive more plants than you can carry home in your vehicle. In fact, they might even pack plants around you once you're in your car! Maybe even a rooster! So watch 'em! ^_^

Like QG said, don't fret too much over bringing plants. I'm moving to TX this summer and am planning on bringing a bunch of plants that won't be moving with me. Check some of my previous posts to get an idea of what I'm bringing. You ain'ta gonna go home empty handed.

Oh, and just so you have at least one familiar face, here's me at the Spring 2010 RU. That's QG's DH sitting across from me. ^_^

Heather

Thanks Heather! It's really nice to hear friendly conversation online. Half the time if you join a forum you're pretty well ignored or lost in a shuffle of people, so this is a great pleasure.

I posted some pictures in the ID forum and apparently everything I thought was a palm was wrong & the stick tree is a Loquat, which I had never even heard of before. It's great to get so much help so quickly!

I'm almost afraid to ask what chocolate milk is in this context tho, but whatever it is, people seem to want it a lot, so it must be cool.

Looking forward to meeting everyone!

Oh that Heather, what a card. No wonder DH is winking at 'her'. Will have to go to TX RU's next year to be entertained by her.

Lake Elsinore has a Dairy, DeJongs, that makes the bestest chocolate milk and Heather brought some last year to RU and got some people 'hooked'.

Hey, I may have some dogs that need adopting at the RU. The family staying here temporarily have a Shaggy Dog and a tiny terrier, both males, that will need to be re-homed if they follow through and move back to Mexico. Quickly, as they are adorable and we cannot afford to fall in love with more than our 11 animals!

are the dogs neutered?

I doubt it. We do not know for sure, yet, if they will need adopting as the family is looking at where they will go, but they will need to go somewhere soon. They are cute dogs and do not like to make potty inside the kennel, so must be house broken. The shaggy dog will need some serious trimming as he is matted. Probably shave him down in warmer weather and start fresh, lol. The tiny guy loves to cuddle and looks cute in the "Russian fur coat" DD put on him from our stash of dog clothes.

JDTagish, about your loquat. I thought it might be one cuz I have one too. If you ever get a chance to go to De Luz (just west of Temecula) there is a nursery called Hall's., run by Roslyn Hall. They have a huge, I mean HUGE!!! loquat tree in the ground there. We went up there hmmm, sometime last April or May when the fruit was just getting ripe. WOW! It was the best fruit I have ever tasted! (DeJong's is to chocolate milk what loquat is to fruit) The fruit is about 3" long and sorta pear shaped and, depending on when it's picked, can have a citrus-ey to sweet flavor. Yummy!! So I bought one. ^_^

Also, ditto what QG said. DeJong's Daries chocolate milk is 4% milk fat. To die for!

QG to tell if the dogs are neutered just look in their nether region. Their little testicles will not be there. If you see fuzz/hair covered marbles just below their butt then they're not neutered. Unfortunately that doesn't keep them from humping everything in sight. Yuck!

Heather

JDTagish one more thing. You should consider moving that loquat to a different location. The one at Hall's Nursery has a trunk about 10" in diameter. Yours will be crowding yiur fence eventually. Plus all of the fruit hanging in their yard will be fair game.

Okay, one more, more thing. Filling your grow boxes? There is a place near me that sells good planter mix and compost by the yard. It is not "certified" organic but one of their customers had it tested it and it tested organic. It runs about $15 per cubic yard. Way cheaper than by the bagful at Lowe's or HD. They deliver (for a fee) or you can bring a truck and they will fill it for you. Maybe you could source a place like that close to you? HTH

Heather

JDTaglish,
Welcome! May I call you JD for short? Of course you are allowed to come to the Round Up, we are hosting. Please let me know how many people you will be bringing with you. (It helps us figure out the food thing). And I'll post it up above. You don't have to bring plants or even seeds, but do bring yourself and a smile, okay?
I'm sure someone can show you how to take cuttings. I've an elderberry right by Gma Oak that we can practice on. : - )
They weren't joking about the rooster. Last year Desert Pirate, took home a half blind rooster that he named Fred. Fred is very happy now, and has at least 3 hens all to himself. : - )
BTW, my hens are laying again, so if anyone wants some fresh eggs let me know, and I'll save you some.
Don't be shy, JD, or you won't have much fun at DG. However, if you run into a TROLL, Do Not Feed! LOL! Trolls, are what my kids call unpleasant people who are mean to you on line. Seems like they thrive on the attention they get by picking fights. So ignore the trolls. Most folks are decent people and I've really enjoyed meeting them on-line and in person. I've only run into 3 trolls in the 2+ years I've been a member of DG. : - )
Speaking of which, Sharon, are you trying to jinx our long awaited visit? I'm hoping that you didn't injure your shoulder too badly, and want to remind you (and everyone else with balance problems), you have to maintain three points of contact with the ground the wall, your DH, or whatever else is nearby and stable. Hope nothing is too painful, and that you'll heal quickly, Sharon, but mostly I pray that you'll quit doing that! : - |
I was thinking kumquat tree, JD, but no matter what it is, it really does need to be transplanted further away from that fence.
Oh Heather, what are we going to do without your sense of humor? I loved the way you photo shopped that photo from last year. LOL! : - D
QG, you always have my back when I can't be on-line. Thanks Sweetie!
Took the weekend off to say good bye to a friend who passed away just over a week ago. Caught cold, standing out in the rain during her Memorial Service. So you know what I'm doing. LOL!
Wrong again! LOL!
This time I've been trying to catch up on laundry. Finally got Mom's done, and just have one more load today before mine is done.
So I thought I'd better check in and see if anyone has been minding the store. So glad that I didn't even have to ask, and between QG and Heather you were made to feel welcome, JD. : - )
QG, what's the word on the dogs?
JD, cactus or any other plant with thorns is a good deterrent to people stealing your plants. Honestly, I almost always ask before I pluck a seed pod. Never pick flowers unless I need to. Living where you do, you'll find that people are used to strolling around and nibbling. Flyboy in FL. actually caught his gardener eating his Pride of Barbados seed pods (which are poisonous), but his gardener says he did at home all the time. Beats me. Will be posting seeds on the RU Plant/Seed Trade.
Cactus is considered food, or at least some types are. I remember roasting the cactus apples, yummy!
And the Mexican Chow Chow (not sure of spelling), was pretty good, and cactus and peppers were the main ingredients. Can you plant a hedge? How about some beautiful thorny bougainvillea? Some people just don't get it, and don't understand how much of ourselves we put into our gardens.
It's really a shame when people take, when if they'd asked it would have been given freely with glad feelings all the way around.
JD, I'll be sending out a group "BLAST", with the address and info you'll need to find us. It's kind of like falling off a log, and we aren't that hard to find. : - )
Good line, JD, can I borrow it? "Cause I get lost just going across the street, anyway."
GPS will get you here. : - )
I hope I didn't forget anyone or anything I was supposed to remember. If I did, I hope someone does remind me? If not, well, good!
Check in with you soon. : - )
Walk In Beauty~
SingingWolf

Heather,

I love it that there is one more, more thing! It's such the way that I think as well - always something else I meant to add.

You have a point about moving the loquat. It's just looked like a stick with leaves for the 5 months we've lived here. I'll have to give that some thought. I don't really have a good place for it. Maybe I can do what I did with my apple tree, and if and when it ever grows branches, I can tie them to a wood frame to keep it flat against the fence. Of course, the apple tree is in a large pot, so that gives me more control to move it when it gets too big to keep doing that.

I will point out again my woeful inexperience here and have to ask what a grow box is. Seriously - until I moved into my house I have never planted a thing. I never had houseplants even because of my cats wanting to eat them. The ones the cats didn't get, died promptly. My grandmother, aunt and mom have all loved gardening and planting and things like that. I think they thought the desire must have skipped a generation, but I've never had a yard of my own before to even try. My mom had to fly in from GA to help me get things started, because I had no idea where to even begin.

I have no lawn. There is a large planting area in the front divided by a sidewalk, with about 25 different things in it. The back is mostly concrete patio, but has about 3 feet of planting area on 2 sides of the fence. Kind of hard to picture, I'm sure. I'll bring pictures with me so you can see what I'm talking about. Also some before and after pictures, so you can see what I've done so far.

So, now I kinda have the "bug" in my about gardening. There is something very "zen" about it for me, and looking at things growing and looking pretty just makes me happy. I walk around my house every day just to look at the things I've planted and it always makes me smile.

So, keeping that in mind, what exactly is a grow box, and what would you do with it? Planter mix is like potting soil you'd purchase by the bag? How much is in a cubic yard compared to the "typical" bag of miracle grow you'd buy at Lowes? And, why would it matter if it's organic, certified or not?

Sorry to be so uninformed! :-(

Bring a truck and you can have your fill of horse manure at any number of places around here. Even though we have horses, I use our neighbor's well aged manure as we put ours into the 'green' trashcans each week. Fly gestation is 8 days, trash is picked up every 7.....

Wow, SingingWolf, we must have been typing at the same time!

My name is actually Deni, but JD is fine too. I get called that alot by people I meet online, so I'm used to it.

There will be 2 of us attending. Should we bring food to share?

Feel free to use any "line" you'd like, LOL. It would be funnier if it wasn't actually true, however. :-)

I may actually have a few things to share. My Aristea seed pods were dry enough to collect today, so I have those if anyone would be interested. I also get African Daisies popping up all over in the front yard. I've been mostly pulling them up like weeds, or else they'd take over. I put a bunch of them into little planters today to see if they'll stay alive. I did the same with the Belgian Hybrid Orange Bush Lilies. If they survive being uprooted and moved to pots, I'll be able to bring them, if anyone would want them.

I'll do my best not to be shy, although I normally am a bit. I attached a pic of my wife and I so you'll be able to recognize me when I get there. I'm the one with the short spiky hair.

No lawn is a good thing. More environmentally 'green'. You could plant veggies, but with your history of 'snatchers', maybe they would need to be closer to the house.

Now it IS possible to use a smaller city lot to grow all your veggies, but do not know if you are by yourself or just by yourself in the garden (I am an orphan gardener). Here is a website to blow your socks off. Now, they have a whole family of adults tending to all this, as well as a long history of gardening. But I do think this is interesting. I have seen some on DG here who grow veggies with flowers and such in their front yard. Just looks 'cottagey'. Food for thought, lol.

http://urbanhomestead.org/

I am guessing that pix is not in front of your house.

We, here tend to share our foibles and infirmities here and, in fact, I think the Clean and Clutter Free Forum could be called the 'Psychiatrist's Couch' for all that comes out there..... So, no big deal about getting lost or being a klutz.

No word yet on the dogs. And yes, I know how to 'check'. DD says the Terrier has marbles, lol, but the Shaggy guy, not so easy.

JD,
First question was to Heather, the answer is a "Grow Box" is a large box usually made of wood that is normally used to plant trees in before transplanting. You may be able to find one at a Nursery that they will sell to you. Although, I'd just plant your loquat in a hole in the ground.
Lawns are over rated, use way too much water, and I'm allergic to grass. On my side of the yard, (Heh, heh, heh!) I'm using mulch to cover the dirt. Serves a couple of purposes, our soil is mostly dg here, so I'm amending the soil by putting the mulch on it.
DH put in a drip system for watering since I don't like wasting it, especially when I have to pay for it. Since we got the auto timers (battery operated), we usually water at night in the hot months, and turn it off during the rainy winter months. So the mulch keeps the water from evaporating in the summer heat, and protects the roots of the plants from freezing during the few nights each winter that we get a hard freeze here.
It makes it easy to pull out the real weeds, and when you dead head you can throw it on the ground and no one will even notice.
The last reason I made my side of the yard mulch, was because the last time DH had to have the leech line (we're on septic tanks out here), he dug right through my yard, which caused the Australian Poplar trees to send up shoots.
I love the sound of the poplars, but hate the way they will follow the water and suck it all up. The original sticks were starts from my Gma's tree in her backyard. Even still, I'm probably going to take most of the trees out, because of their tendency to send up new trees in the middle of your (DH's) lawn. They sprout on my side of the yard too, but I take my hand trimmers and go below the dirt under the mulch to take out the shoot. Just waiting for that volunteer Oak to get a bit bigger and I'll take out the fence and the trees.
Last reason. I live on a very dusty farm. The wind blows in the summer every afternoon. I am tired of breathing dust, and the mulch keeps the dust down.
Have you thought of raised planters with water features? They cover the area, and can be quite attractive. You'll see one that I built in my front yard.
Usually we try to bring a dish of food to the RU that we share. There is always enough food and then some, but it's kind of hard trying to figure out how much to make so a good rule of thumb for any pot luck type meal is to bring enough to feed 10 people. I'm not sure what's up there on the food thread yet, but if you aren't into cooking you can always buy a veggie or fruit tray at the store. It's not so much what you bring, but the act of "breaking bread" and sharing a meal that matters. You would be welcomed even if you came with just a smile. BTW, Spiky hair works for you! : - )
Wait til you see mine. LOL!
QG, I'm going to have to check out the clean and clutter free forum. I'm getting there, sloooowly. LOL!
Bring 4 leggeds to RU, so Spirit will have someone to play with. I'll sex the shaggy dog for you, if you make sure it doesn't bite me. : - )
JD, if you haven't already checked out "Thought for the Day" on the CA forum, you might want to. I think you'd enjoy it. : - )
Yes, we did cross post earlier. It happens in cyberspace a lot. No worries. : - )
WIB~
SW

My wife really really wants a fountain for the backyard, but we have 2 drawbacks with it. One is that every one we have looked at costs and arm and a leg. The second is that we don't have any convenient electricity where we can hook up a pump. We've looked at a couple of solar fountains, but the reviews are iffy on how well they actually work. Perhaps sometime down the road we can look more into that.

I did plant some veggies already actually. They aren't in the sunniest of spots, because my yard is more shaded than not. It's presented with some challenges, but mostly we are going on trial and error at the moment, to see what likes what areas. The people who owned the house before us must have put some effort into the front, because there are lots of things there that are pretty mature, but there was nothing at all in the back except for a couple of odd trees. By odd, I mean that they seem mostly to be volunteers. There is a lemon tree that probably came from the house behind us, the loquat, a dying cherimoya and another one that matches one in the neighbors yard, but that I still don't know what it is yet. Anyway, I've put a lot into the back yard, and it's coming along nicely. I think I'm getting to the point where I have to just let things grow and see what happens, rather than keep putting things in, otherwise nothing will have room to mature.

And, no the picture is not near my house, it's in Solvang. Much prettier there than Norwalk, for sure!

It's nice to put a picture to the names. Looking forward to meeting the newbies! SW, if you need anything, I'm right here.
Don't forget the food thread, post there what you can bring to share. One thing about the RU's, we never go hungry!

Sorry everyone, I didn't mean to disappear, but when my RSD decides to take control of the body, my wants get put in the back seat and my daily needs are about all I can do. The good news is that I've seen my doctor and although work comp is slower than molasses, I have been referred back to my surgeon for a dual carpal tunnel release, I'm not holding my breath; but if it's expedited maybe we'll get it done before paralysis sets into the arms again like it did 9 years ago. It's a good thing I get to speak with all of you using voice recognition!

On the brighter side, to my delight I was able to get into my rose garden yesterday with the help of my son and daughter. I'm terribly sore BUT so rejuvenated by getting my hands dirty that I don't care and I'll do it again! :) I don't use the gardening tools - I have my kids do that for me - I do the small stuff; it is such a joy and helps me to refocus my demeanor and perspective. What a plus to being in the garden every day! They helped me to pull a few weeds that had gotten started, and prep 10 of my roses for the warmer months with some garden amendment and larger water rings; only 3 more left to go, I'll try to finish by tomorrow. I'm just hoping I can see some blooms before the heat kicks in so I can take photos to share with all of you. Funny, the cheaper roses from the home improvement stores have always done better for me than the J & P, have any you had results like this?


SingingWolf - I've figured out a way for my family to come up to the round up on Saturday! Hooray! :) Mom has offered to help me drive if my husband can't get the day off. I'm really looking forward to meeting all of you, if you could send me the directions - that would be great and I'll get together some ideas for the pot luck.

Also, I have some elephant's food I can take cuttings from if anyone would like me to? I just need some direction on how to bring them to the round up for distribution as it will be my first time participating in something like this. Thanks.

Have a beautiful Wednesday.
Ldblond

I'm kinda out of it. Where is the list for plants, etc we will bring???

Here's the link for plants/seeds.

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1160917/

Food thread here:

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1160918/

I saw a question from a DG member and noticed her location in Oceanside. I sent her a D-mail inviting her to the RU. She cannot make it, here is her response:

"Unfortunately I hadn't heard about this and I'm sorry because I'd have liked to have been able to go but my oldest son & his sweet wife are coming in from Massachusetts for a visit and I haven't seen them in about 3 years. Sorry."

LDSBets
Oceanside, CA

And her family will only be in O'side the day of the RU? Shoot! Have her bring her family along. Don't you take your family to see the sights when you visit CA? Seeing Gma oak tree would be a fun activity. A memory builder in fact. Oh, a Kodak moment even! ^_^

Have her bring the family. They don't have to spend the whole day (but maybe they would once they realized the great company they'd be in :-).

Anyway, my two cents.

Heather

Just came back from my sister's in Fallbrook for 6 days so I'm way behind in my reading. My older sister from Minnesota came for a visit so definitely time for the 4 of us kids to get together.

Welcome to the new Norwalk couple, nice to meet someone from "home". Looking forward to visiting with everyone. Oh, and Jules, you can put me down for some of your fresh eggs. I enjoyed my first time eating a fresh egg when you gave me some at the last RU.

Hi Pegi! I'm excited to meet someone from Norwalk! We just moved in in December. We're at Pioneer and Alondra more or less. Hope you'll be close, perhaps you could come and give me some perspective on the garden here. I'm pretty sure I'm seeing all the trees and not the forest anymore...LOL!

The gardening thing is an awful lot like WORK! My arms are killing me right now! We have some terrible drainage issues here with a bad slope to our driveway, and we get our own moat (up to 3-4 inches of standing water) close to our garage with heavy rain. (An "unadvertised" feature when we bought the house!) So, I dug down an area near it where I can sweep water into it, to keep from flooding. But, it looked terrible, so we filled it with white marble rocks and put a Majesty Palm in a pot on the top. I'm hoping that it will still hold enough water so I can sweep the moat into it when I have to, but not look like a disgusting hole in the ground.

But, that required the purchase of 15 bags of rocks, which I loaded onto the cart at the store, then loaded into my car, then unloaded at home and then moved where we needed them. There were also 5 bags of small river rocks, to fill in another area near our crawl space. That means I moved each bag 4 times. UGH!!!

I also cut down the ailing tree in the backyard. I stripped and saved a lot of the tall branches and trunk to reuse somewhere later. Not sure what to do with them exactly, but I'd like to find something to do with them. The larger trunk pieces will be used to outline something eventually. I was thinking of trying to make a trellis with the rest of the pieces. Not sure quite yet how that would work or look tho.

Losing the tree also lost us a bit of a height element in the back, so we got some 5 foot tall jasmine to put along the cinder block wall, (and hopefully hide the neighbor's storage shed, eventually!) but aren't quite sure if we want to use a tall trellis, or an arch to put there. We decided to give it a couple of days to think about it before we decide. I'm leaning towards an arch myself, with something also behind it (lattice?) to encourage the jasmine to fill it all in, and hide the neighbor. I guess we'll see eventually.

Hope everyone has a good weekend!

Sami,
Glad you are back.
QG, don't worry about it. Maybe next year she'll come.
I'll start saving the eggs. Chickens started laying a bit late this year, but they are making up for the late start, and I've got lots of empty cartons to put them in. : - )
Thanks for posting the links, weegy. If we start a new page I'll be sure to put them in on the first post.
I really do appreciate the help and support of you all. : - )
Are we getting excited yet? Only 2 weeks until the RU! : - )
I'm so not ready yet! LOL! Good thing no one expects everything to be perfect. : - )
JD, get a hand truck or dolly, it will save your back a lot of pain. I've been known to open up the bag, pour some into a bucket and take more, but smaller loads. It takes longer, but I'm still able to get the job done. Sometimes I can only move a rock a few feet a day, but eventually I get it where I want it. No one said it would be easy, just that it would be worth it. : - )
Have a great weekend everyone!
WIB~
SW

Morning Jules,

I have a nifty wagon and a cart to haul things from one place to the other. What I don't have is someone else to get stuff in and out of the car...LOL! It's a lot of fun to think about what you want to do, and shop for things. It's also great to be able to see the "finished" (if you can ever actually be finished!) product. It's the in-between time of getting things actually done that's hard. But, it has kept me busy, gotten me outside in the fresh air, and taught me a lot about things that I had never done before. It's all good in the end, for sure! It's the part where I can hardly lift my arms at the end of the day that I don't enjoy quite as much, but I believe that's where the expression, "no pain, no gain" comes from. :-)

Hi Deni, you are a ways from me, I live right near City Hall. Norwalk Blvd. and Imperial Highway. I'm not all that great on gardening, but at least I try. Since I got acquainted with DG I've learned a lot, trying to put all of that together. LOL Soil here is terrible, as you have found out.