Projects 16

True!

I'm also looking into other income streams for the stream, ha ha.

Yay! Today I made it through the first hurdles for a contract that might produce work for a few evenings or weekends, maybe leading to other work. It's something I really really want to do to expand horizons. When I went to Washington recently, I had a hunch there would be some job leads there. I think I'm eligible because my state job had nothing to do with finding this opportunity. I won't mind if most of the money goes to Oberlin College, either.

Trusting hunches is something gardening teaches me. I have no idea how I know if soil was disturbed three years ago to plant tulips, but I must see enough to not dig into an old bulb.

Good luck with the job search, Rosemary.....having 3 kids in college cannot be fun......

Thanks. This is not an urgent problem but when I retire from my job which requires a ton of energy, it would be nice to have a second worklife ready to go. I'm really excited about this new project because so far noone else has ever done this work, so it means starting at the beginning of a new specialty.

Oooh....that does sound interesting.....after 34 years of teaching, I retired....stayed home a year & hated it....went to work for the post office as a parttime rural route driver......did that for 5 years before my energy gave out!

I think I'd go after the post office job in your shoes, too.

There are days like today when i've had enough of the rat race. It would be nice to be able to be thoughtful and not in a hurry at work but that doesn't happen easily.

The salary helps!

Today is Friday! The eagle flies!

My imagination is placing three or four Ilex opacas by our back fence. Then by the time the historic group home in back gets to take out the trees there, we'll be prepared. More shade tolerant vines, too. If anyone is an actic kiwi expert please let me know-- there is room for several cultivars, especially for shade.

Also over winter I want to try to achieve a 3-D drawing of our water project. The arbor bench and stone patio at the top of the waterfalls are firmly visualized to include space for a coleus tower on the front poles and vines that fit onto an overhead lattice, attached to our garden shed. Doesn't have to happen all at once, but I like thinking of the big picture which will be necessary to fit it all in. Naturally I married a guy who likes to build things up from the details. Once we hash it out, experience tells me we get something original.

Make sure that your trees are marked in some way so they don't remove your trees as well. That sort of thing has been known to happen.

Oh, yes, I've seen it. Fortunately the back yard is surrounded by a wire horse fence for our horsey sized dog. People who really know me call him my pony because I always wanted a horse.

I like the idea of 3-D, then I can visualize it......

In my case, since it's all situated on a rolling hill, the 3-D part is important. Maybe DS will help us when he's on a break. He rendered our deck in 3-D a few years ago before we built it and it's really cool to see.

veggie garden is put to bed

I dug three large holes yesterday, thowing some compost into them for the hollies. Still don't have the male since most of them are sold out and I want to insure getting one with shiny leaves. Rarefind sale was still on, waiting for Ilex opaca Maryland Dwarf, Satyr Hill and Winter Sun.

Sun coming up give a chance to start cleanup, but mulch needs replacing in the dry areas too. That part was easier with kids.

transplanted a couple shrubs and began working on the wall up by the rodies I trimmed - got about 4' done and the base layer of the rest

Spent the day at the farm celebrating Anni's 7th birthday...came home, walked the dog, & that's it! Need to protect my camellia from windburn ......where does one find burlap?

I get burlap from my local garden center. A few also sell polypropylene rolls or sheets which are very good, but I discovered that they weren't sufficient last winter, even after I added burlap.

The one that fared best lives on the north side of my house in a protected region, and wintered under one of those pre-made shrub covers with mulch around the bottom. This year I have mostly pots, and a totally new plan--under the deck stairway with glass panes, a heater pad for the coldest days and then the burlap and poly to fill up the gaps, and some pans of water in there too this year for humidity. Also, I think Christmas lights will help in there. And the three most tender ones will become basement or garage plants (not normally with temp above 60 degrees) , with a humidity tray underneath.

Do you have buds, Marilyn? I am eager to see what my newest camellias will look like in flower, and to keep learning about busting the zone barrier.

Yes, I do have buds, but I'm not sure if they're flower or leaf buds......time will tell! I'll try Blue Seal for the burlap....I've mulched the shrub heavily, so it shouldn't heave......

Marilyn, good luck with your buds! Bet you get some pretty flowers in the spring!

Bill, you are a Phenom! Take a break, Pal....watching the sox.....nervously, right now.

I love the suspense of a bud. Winter and early spring flowers like camellias pack enormous drama. My biggest obstacle is not to let the plants dry out or the buds all fall off.

I agree completely, Rosemary. Camellias are such lovely flowers, and spring is such an upbeat time.

This is actually a fall blooming camellia, supposed to start in Sept. Can't wait to see the blooms, & paint them!

Oooooooooh, that's even better! Down here they don't come into bloom at Bok Tower until February into march. Be sure to post photos!

Fall blooming camellias are more reliable in the northeast too. Who knows what will be hanging onto its buds by late winter or spring? Maybe someday I can keep some plant in bloom during the months from September to April, but better to have a greenhouse conservatory then. It may be my condition for not moving South in a few years.

Too hot in summer in the south for my taste.

You're right, Lucy.....I love the south from Dec. to March, but that's it.......

Amen, Lucy and Marilyn. Winter's lovely, but summer heat and humidity.....give me a new England summer any day!

Thought I'd share my newest plant babies that went into ground this week: Ilex opaca Satyr Hill, Winter Sun and Maryland Dwarf. They're all females so they'll get a consort come spring when I find them a suitable mate.

And lastly, the red color on the scarlet oak is my selfish reason for clearing out the old wood mulch pile, so I can plant one there. My Brilliantissima chokeberry nearby has been holding onto its leaves. For a new plant, it has justified tearing out the old burning bush.

The hollies look nice with their berries! My Dad loved hollies, the 2 in the backyard must be 8' tall......we are getting ready to clean out the house & put it up for sale......hope someone will love those hollies.......

nice additions rosemary.

what is not to like about hollies :)

Your Dad's house?

Surely someone will love the berries after the home is sold. People
AND birds and butterflies will love the trees.

Yes, right now it's my house along with my brother & sister....my Mom had lifetime use of it, but she cannot leave the nursing home, so we have to sell the house.....my parents had moved into it in 1954, so you can imagine all the stuff......We need to hire someone to clean it out, as we are not able to do it .........

yep - that is always the issue - my in-laws are very conscious of not keeping too much stuff in their condo just for that reason - they have had to clean out several relatives homes.

at some point I will have to think of that here as there is just a bunch of stuff we do not need packed away in the attic and basement - will get back to doing something about that in 20 years :)

The history records of both families resides here. Will have to get it together so it is separated from other things.

My parents were very conscientious about not leaving too much stuff, so I think they went the other way and got rid of great stuff. But there was no knowing the future. It was still hard to clear out the last bit of their stuff last year after an uncle with lifetime privileges passed. Never an easy job. Easy solution is not to have much attic space :)

One solution is to find a buyer or renter with an option to buy who will work in exchange for a break in costs. There may be code violations, etc. as well, in an older house.

Yes, Rosemary, I agree. A 1763 house has code violations everywhere you look. Eek!

Bill, the problem with the small print because of all the wasted, blank space is eye strain. You are too young to worry about that. I can't spend much time on this site anymore, even though I want to.

I honestly do not see any problems with the print - it must be a font size 16 of larger.

My print is quite large....

Oh, thinking of you, dar RD and that job. Whew!!! I still have some things that I would like to clear here, but don't want to give away.

Those hollies look wonderful! rosemary