Coffee and...Part 17! :-D

Good morning! I brought some fresh strawberries for you. Yesterday didn't turn out as planned and I got nothing done in the vegie garden or yard. It all started when I called to see when the local car dealership could do a lube, oil and filter job on the truck I use to pull my trailer. The guy said today at 1, and since it was cold and windy out I said ok. I went in early and got some more antihistamine and other things, looked at plants and said later for those. I went to more places and still can't come up with a big bag of bone meal. Might have to resort to 10 pounds for $12.99 after all, a bit better than buying it in 3 or 4 pound boxes.

After I got a sandwich for lunch down the block from where the truck got serviced it started to rain so then I figured as long as I was in town I had better see what the 2nd hand stores had. I stopped at the Salvation Army thrift store and wouldn't you know it, they had an old birdcage, it would hold a bird but is going to be a planter. So then of course I had to go buy plants for it. Now I need a place to put it, can't hang it up since it is flimsy and would break so I thought maybe I could find a small cable spool for it to sit on. All the plants I got for it are the trailing kind that will stick out between the wires and look cute. When I get it set up I'll post a picture. When I got home it was still raining and the wind was cold, it was all of about 47 degrees.

The sun is out so out I go. See you later.

Phew, it is sooo hot here- first a cold, spring, then overnight HOT!! and windy and DRY!! Mary, I'll send some your way!! And since we have no water, I have been lugging green water out of the pool and over to the flower beds. I tell you that is some hard work.... I still need to do the veggie garden tonight. (you noticed what got watered first didn't ya?)

Today I cleaned my stroke cousins house, took another cousin out for a birthday lunch, my niece and kids out for ice cream and then rolled home and started the watering. I am bushed.

Wellman came today and it was NOT a good experience. He didn't know anything (and charged 119 per hour!!) Said, 'oh you have water' (we were hooked up to the neighbors with a hose that he was practically standing on) Then argued with DH saying again we had water (it was coming from the holding tanks) Then he said he would have to drill a new well (couldn't sink the one we have deeper) and he couldn't do it until sometime late next week. Grrrr I wish he just would have told us on the phone that he was too busy. I sure don't feel confident about the whole situation. DH says we will go with them anyhow - I would love to step in, but decided not to....biting my tongue instead. We are using the neighbors water and I feel so uneasy doing that....I told them we would not do laundry or any watering, but still feel guilty...

Hope all is well with everyone else!!!

That's the pits, Sarv. : (

Aren't there any others for a 'second opinion' ? Grand Rapids vicinity should have some. Sure hope it can be a quick fix. If he was an employee rather than owner maybe his boss would have something else to offer.

Sarv, wells are deepened all the time. Did he say why or just want more money? I would look him up wellman in the Better Business Bureau, they usually know about anybody who rips people off or just doesn't do a good job. You might be glad you did. If you find negative stuff have your husband read it, that carries more weight than you telling him. You might be walking a tightrope on this one if he decides to go with the original plan.

Sorry to interrupt, but has anyone seen patischell?

Haven't seen Julie either.

Everybody....check your plants.......maybe they've joined forces and a making a raid.LOLOL

That's right, neither were at the party on Monday.....right?

Correct!

Back to the well saga- (sorry if I am boring you all...)

Owner called tonight and said they would do it tomorrow. The well company is a well known local guy, so I know he is reputable - just got a green employee. Anywho, a different guy is coming tomorow to do the job. Tomorrow night (God willing - my mother always says that!!) we will have good old water again.

DIL just called and asked if I would go with our grandson on Monday to an all day class trip. Do you know how I HATE class trips!! I get bus sick and did 33 yrs of them. Our grandson asked me if I would please go with him. His mother and dad won't go - (now they both take time off for silly things, but not for this important thing!!) I will go with him as I remember the poor kids who didn't have anyone and they were so sad. How in the world do I get myself into these things??? Please think of me all day on Monday...I'm sure it will be fine, just dread it...

I was watering and there was a huge snake in the garden - I about died!! I hate those darn things. DH brought a shovel to chop it, but it scurried somewhere and we couldn't find it. Remind me to wear my shoe when I am gardening!!

Woodchuck we've been trying to trap, snapped the trap and dragged it quite a ways = but got loose. Darn

Time for ice cream!!

HI, sure has been busy here. It is getting warmer, so will be indoors more.
Also, pulled muscle, while digging plants for a freecycle. post. Found homes for a lot of common perennials and met at least one avid gardener in the area.
Did the hot dogs and potato salad for the holiday. For you mustard lovers, we have a Mustard Museum in near-by Mount Horeb, that may have a website.
Hope that water issue gets fixed without so much $$$, we are having estimates for some other work that needs to be done and we cannot do it. Sure wished I had been making that kind of money when I was working (crab, crab).
Darius-any gumbo or crawfish creole coming up?
Hope the DH hives continue to go down-ouch.
Will catch up more later-hugs to all
Marcia

Marcia, no, I do NOT plan to catch those nasty "mid bugs" much less cook them, LOL!

Anyone heard from Julie? Patischell has surfaced, she was down with some kinda bug.

Just got home....haven't heard from anyone yet......Hi to all.

Here's something to make y'all smile...

Daruis, that's a hoot! I'm continuint to plant my garden today, discovered a red and black ant nest right next to the edge so I am heating water in my soup pot to pour on it. I will poison them only as a last resort. After watching them crawl around while I was putting up a couple of bean teepees and trying to be sure none of them crawled up my legs I feel crawly! Hope it is only mind over matter. I need an anteater, anybody know where I can rent one? If the shop vac would work down there I would use that but there is no electricity close enough even with extension cords.

It's windy and sunny here today and was 38 overnight. Showers (20% chance) are forecast for the next few days but I hope they don't come because most of the farmers around here are cutting hay now. Repeated drying, getting wet and drying again causes it to loose quality and if it goes on too long it just ruins it. We need sun and lots of it now.

Julie said in her last post (near the top of this thread) that she is gardening full tilt before her next eye surgery next week.

Water's boiling. I'll be back later.

We have had clouds/rain for 2 days now and it should continue tomorrow.. hope it will pass by Sat. for I have great plans.... It's gone down to 75 and it's 5:30pm here. That cool for us now. Very cool for me....I LIKE IT HOT>>>>>>>>]


LOL

Yep Nancy, I was sposed to paint a 2 story exterior this week. Caint do that in the rain.

But I can dig and plant and run to the post office in the rain. heehee

I need to get that Blue Ginger moved over to the shade garden before those leaves cook anymore. I figure rain water is the best medicine for transplant shock.

MaryE, how about one of the charged up dustbusters? Don't need a cord for that. Sucking a few ants up will get you over the heebiejeebies. LOL

Molly
:^)))

Just me again. Cooking my dinner and had a few minutes before starting the oysters frying. Anybody like oysters? I found that the kind we have out here on the west coast taste completely different from the east coast variety that I ate when we visited Virginia a few years ago. I roll them in cracker crumbs and fry them in a little oil, then put lemon on them. Ummmm, good.

Molly, the ant nest would have taken a huge vac and filled it. I have also discovered another one mostly buried in the weeds, will deal with that one tomorrow. Nest #1 is pretty quiet now.If I don't get them all I can at least get them down to manageable numbers. I gave them the 1-2 -3 punch, poured water on them, took the nest apart and applied the weed burner with the hose standing by so it didn't get away from me.

I got my pole beans and cabbage rows planted today, hauled more manure from the shed to make rows for brocolli and bush beans. I grow some for a friend and to share with neighbors. Every year I move things around to keep from getting diseases started or to keep them from spreading. My squash and cucumbers are planted in cell packs and will go into the garden as soon as they have a pair of true leaves, this gives me extra time to get the place ready to plant them while they get started since we have a short growing season. The rain this spring really put me behind. Corn is soaking for the first planting. I'll start them in toilet tissue tubes in the greenhouse and set them out tube and all in about 10 days. That also gives me a little time and gives the plants a head start.

Dinner time!

WE HAVE WATER!!! Young wellman came and did the job in 2.5 hrs. Ended up the 'end' of the well pipe broke off - phew, no new well needed, but still a hefty ticket price. Oh well, #$$^ happens I guess. He wasn't out of the drive and I had the hoses going, man do we have the water now. I was able to hookup two hoses and still had extra water...now nice.

I laughed when I read about those ants. I got tired of trying to pull weeds out of the cement cracks and resorted to DH small propane thingy. Burns them quickly... Love it. Tried the boiling water thing for the weeds, but it took forever and I was always spilling it on myself, so gave that one up.

Our garden is all in - finally and we gave things a nice watering. Strawberries will be ready next week - shortcake anyone??

Oysters- that is one thing I don't care for. We had them raw on the half shell and I found a small worm in one- that did it for me...but I do like clam chowder...

I need to give my impatients a shot of miracle grow-= they look mighty sad - yellow and sickly. I think they are suffering from no water etc. Took me forever to plants them around my beds, they better not die now!

Well, it it 4am = no sleep in me. Would you believe I still haven't picked any rhubarb. I really need to do that today, I will be mad at myself if I let it go all to waste.

Glad to see everyone's doing fine...Take care.

sarv, it's 5 am now....are you getting up or on the way to bed.....LOL I am getting up...Way too early and I certainly need a nap this afternoon. Hope I get home from work early so that I can. Otherwise my afternoon naps runs in the nights sleep....and sometimes I have done just that...Pulled those wonderful covers over my head about 5:30pm and turned off the world. Believe it or not, I sleep all night, so I must have needed the sleep.

Now that I'm up and had some java....I might as well tackle some of my paperwork, can't garden in the dark

Have a great day everyone...see ya'll later.

Hap

I'm up too. Good morning, or, depending on which way you are headed, Good Night! Must have sprinkled here last night, sidewalk and road are wet. Have golf this morning, but have a flat of petunias that need to get in this afternoon. Weatherman says rain from Sat. through next week. Maybe that will force me to stay inside and dust ...... I said MAYBE. I have a pile of books that I haven't been able to dig into, so it's possible that I'll get distracted and the dust will just continue to accumulate. Like I care.

Guys coming to put siding on the new garage today. DH and his buddy put in three windows this week, next will be the big door. Siding will be that new cement composite board, which one of the homeowners here used on his house. It looks pretty good and the color should match the house. I hope they don't squash all the new grass that's coming up. DH was anxious to get it growing before the weather gets too hot. We'll see.

Still no Julie? Must be up to her elbows in potting soil. We're getting such a late start here in Wisconisin, everything has to go in right now. Usually I have bedding plants in by mid May (tempting Jack Frost to give them a kiss) but it was just too miserable here to get anything in early. All my iris are blooming, and my baby lilac bushes too. They look pretty good for only being three years old. The pic is the front of the house, and the climber is just going like crazy, last year it send one branch (the one that's curled over at the top of the trellis) across the top of the garage doors. I pruned it back pretty good, and it doesn't look as though it will be as full this year. Can you see the can of wasp spray on the porch ? Little devils are buzzing around already and like to build nests right over the front door. I show no mercy. They are horrid.

Off to the shower. Have a sunny day!

Good Morning!

Mary, you always sound so industrious! Don't know where you get the energy. (I love fried oysters, wish I could get west coast oysters.)

Sarv, WATER!!!!!!!! Yea!

The rain let up for the afternoon yesterday and I played in the dirt a little. I had several small hostas in the ground from trades planted last fall and they were looking very ragged. I think because they are so small and close to the creek they were an easy feed for the slugs. I dug and potted them, and separated a big planter full of epi cuttings I got in trade last summer. I only took out the named ones to pot separately, leaving the remainder to grow large enough to bloom so I have some kind of ID.

Got my clippers and pruned all the many sucker sprouts from some of the trees my landlord cut down last year. Each small stump must have had about 20+ each! I wanted to finish the weedeating/mowing but it was too wet, and it looks like it will remain wet for another week at least. My tomatoes won't have a fighting chance if this keeps up. They are crying for sun!

However. all the wild hydrangeas are thriving in this weather.

Hi everyone...(thanks for the nudge, M5...I read it this morning at 2:00 *before* I went to bed).

Can anyone say "What *day* is it?" I just realized it's Friday, again! I started the "Full Steam Ahead" a week ago today. DS took that day off so I didn't have to babysit. I can't even remember exactly what I've done each day but the gardens are getting fuller. LOL It got SO bad that I loaded up half of everything I had left in the GH's, packed it all in 'box bottoms', labeled each pot, wrote plant descriptions for each type and literally FILLED my DIL's back seat with transplants. (Did it make a dent in what I had to plant? Are you kidding??? LOL...I went SHOPPING and bought MORE!)

I'm really sorry I missed 'the party'...from what I was able to skim through after day's end, you guys blast! Maybe next year I'll be in a position to join you. (I said *maybe* LOL)

The hospital just called to make the appointment for the second cataract procedure. I have to be there at 7:00a.m...and I'll be in surgery about 9:00. That means that I'll be pretty much out of commission (read that *sleeping*) for most of the day. At least this time I know what to expect and I'm not nearly as apprehensive going into it. If all goes as well this time as it did with last one, in about 6 weeks I'll be able to SEE clearly again! (YIPPPPEEEEEE!)

...AND *if* I get my behind off this computer and out into the yard, I *won't* have to be concerned about the plants DIE-ING before I can get back to them. hehehe

It's obviously time for a new thread session.

HERE'S THE LINK
http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/517132/

Talk to you over there...

~julie~