Fresh Pot of Coffee

Dave...you are so talented!!! Thank goodness we have you!

I want a pond..does that count?

I am soooooo tired this morning and to top that, I think I'm getting a cold!!! So when is my request for standard 3 day weekends go in? Al, can't you take care of that?

Dave,
yes it's hockey - they have a good program, but haven't been that far in a while.

no pond here

Ponds are really pretty easy maintenance (no weeding, no watering) but it does take some work in the spring to clean them out.
When we moved 4 years ago, I had to leave my gardens behind. But I did move into a house with a homemade pond. I love it.

What a day!
I had the day off and planned to set up a new strawberry bed.
The first thing to do was dig up all the yearling perennials in the 'nursery' because that was the only available spot.
8 Butterfly bushes, 1 Hardy Hibiscus, 7 Daylilies and some ground cover Sedum.
Then prep the soil, screen 3 wheelbarrows of compost and plant the strawberries.
A full afternoon worth of work for me.
Then the builder who is putting up the houses next door shows up and wants me to move my fence so he can remove my dead Birch trees and 3 nice Cedars that I planted outside my property line.
There is nothing like a backhoe for digging up stumps or planting new trees.
He made short work of it all. We pulled up the fence posts, moved 2 Cedar trees to better locations and planted 4 lovely 15 foot multi stemmed Paper Birch trees along the 'new' property line.
I gave him the 3rd Cedar tree (8 feet tall) and all the perennials I had dug up to make the Strawberry bed.
Then I had to set up the fence again.
Everything was done just before sunset, even watering the new trees.
I am bushed.
Hey, I'm not a kid of 40 or 50 any more.
Andy P

Good job Andy!

Does that mean Anita's still a kid?

Glad you had a productive day Andy.

Work for me is odd as we'll be changing owners and name at the end of the week.

Will you have to change your name too Al??

No I can keep my own name for a lesser wage - sounds good.

Here's a lake with a nice Indian name Anita can appreciate - Lake Winnebago.

Hey everyone!
I miss you guys WICKED bad!
How are you all?
I'm nutty as always so that much is the same.
Hi Andy! Sounds like you had a great day!
I just finished cleaning the dirt out from under my fingernails, I cleaned up two (front yard) gardens that don't have much action going on yet as its shaded by the house all day. I have Sedum coming out my ears, and the Red Beauty Yarrow it going to be impressive this year, looks like it has come back twice as big as the newly planted clump was last year. To think I took Yarrow for granted all this time...for shame!
I have a question...what does the spur on a Wisteria look like? I have one that I got from my mom last year and it had already done its thing and I have never gotten close enough to a Wisteria to see what the buds (spurs) look like before they bloom...I wanted to cut it back, it needs it but was told not to cut it past a certain number of said spurs...I don't want to kill it cuz that would mean my mom got poison ivy for nothing. LOL!

Well done Andy - it's a good tired at the end of the day..isn't it?

Speaking of Indian names - -isn't amazing how many there are? Most of Long Island's towns are Indian, rather Native American, based. Now Al - why would they name a lake after an automobile??? If you go fishing, will you catch parts from one?

I have to admit that this wonderful weather has me nuts!! How much you wanna bet that come Saturday it will rain or not be good gardening weather for some reason! It's always nice when I have to work.

Hello Dena!!
I don't know anything about Wisteria, but wanted to say "Hi". Isn't it fun to finally get outside again?

Things have been pretty quiet.I almost never posted until last fall. Is it normal for DG to slow down in spring, while everyone's busy or does spring raise more questions and therefore,more posts?

Anita, What is truly remarkable is that it took me 2 guesses even after you had posted!!

Dave

Hey Dena - I had no luck with my wisteria. I gave it almost 10 years and finally ripped it out. It never bloomed no matter what I did!

Such hysteria about wisteria!

Good morning,
I don't care what the weather is doing this weekend, I'll be outside...I have tons to do and I will be doing it no matter what, so it may as well be nice out.
Watch, it'll hail.

Dave(all wet), I was thinking of putting in a little pond/water feature this year, I may have questions for you once I have it up and running. Thats if I get that far on my list of things to do...
I would like to see a picture of yours if you could, I know your not big on loading pictures on to the puter but I thought maybe now that you know how... : )

Hey Anita, I was thinking about you when I drove by a choice pile of trash on the side of the road, I was fixen to stop and get a better look when I eyeballed a big ol doggie and decided I didn't see anything in the pile worth having my leg chewed off for. But I was thinking I had to tell you about it so you could laugh at me... see I have my limits!

hmmmm Trash = Anita.....hmmmmm

Just kiddin' - any windows in the pile? I have to order myself the pop-up cold frame.

I've wanted to put in a water feature too....with a waterfall!!

Nothing to add as usual

I had an unexpected day off.
The floor guys wanted us to stay out an extra day. Weather was good, so among other things I dug up the Dahlias I left out last Fall.
They are the tall 'Bushops Children' that I hate to have to stake. The darn things are OK! ! !
The combination of the mild winter and being planted near the south facing foundation most have saved them. Geez, now I have to find a place for them this Summer.

I'm not as sore as I expected to be after yesterdays 'hard labors', lol.

My second wave of Crocus is starting. Here are the "Queen of Blue" next to those tiny butter colored ones I've been posting. (Which are lasting a long time this year.)
Andy P

Queen of the Blue is very pretty! Boy, I wish the floor guys sent me home.
Amazing about your dahlias. Go figure.

Hey Al, I was driving by a choice sewage treatment facillity and I thought of....
Very rough Dena!

Dave(nd) If you want a lovely fragrance, try driving by the stock yards in Omaha...
Andy P

Good morning!

I've made cofee. Going to need it today.

hmmm..this is enjoyable over my morning coffee.....[smile]

well..my yard is waking up more and more everyday! I can't help walking around and seeing what's happening every morning with my coffee in hand!!!

You beat me to it Dave!

Very nice! There is something I don't know in a couple of those. Are they crocosimia (sp?)?

Still nice out here, need some rain for things to get moving though.

Grecian Windflowers are the small purple ones on the top right pic that haven't opened yet. Glory of the snow in the middle left. Dwarf Iris in top left/right and middle right.....ohhhh I'm so excited!! All the green growth. My Monkshood is getting huge! The irises and daylillies are gettng taller.

It's such a nice day here and I so wish I had thought to take off. I could be doing yard work until I dropped!

Anita, You are a bit ahead of me for flowers. My Glory in the Snow are just starting to show color. This nice weather will bring them in soon.
Nice Collage.
Andy P

Just read this in the local paper.
Region is expecting the worst outbreak of Gypsy Moth, Forest Tent caterpillar and Winter moth in 20 years.
Check your trees for the egg mass of the Gypsy, soon.
Andy P

Morning everyone! I love listening to the birds being so busy in the morning. Can you believe it's Thursday already!!!

Good morning!
Anita, I couldn't figure out what those little iris looking things were. Turns out they were dwarf iris. Go figure! They are adorable.

Andy, by region, do you mean the whole NE?

Dave, That report was for Southeastern MA. Sorry I didn't make that clear.
Late last summer there were a lot of Gypsy moths. I destroyed all the egg masses I found on my thees but that's hardly a drop in the bucket.
Andy P

Oh. Sorry for you but relieved for me. CT better set up a border patrol.

ditto from across the pond!!!

Fascinating hummingbird link.
6 pages from eggs to empty nest.
http://community-2.webtv.net/Velpics/HUM/
Andy P

Way cool..I've seen that before, but I couldn't find it again. This was another that I was shocked to see. [not for faint of heart] http://www.birdwatchersdigest.com/site/backyardbirds/hummingbirds/mantis-hummer.aspx

I had seen Andy's before too. Amazing!

Anita that is awesome! I find it very ironic that at the bottom of the page there is an ad for their booklet: "Enjoy Hummingbird's More".
You were up early today. Relief from your solar alarm clock is only 2 days away!

Got to pull some of my old friends out of the attic today and play with them.

Al, Is that a pretty version of what I dug up last week end?
Here they are rinsed and dry in the wheelbarrow.
Andy P

Those are something else Al!

Dave, I really don't mind the early roll call too much. It's funny, but if I sleep too late, I feel like I lost half my day! I have big plans for the yard this weekend if the weather cooperates. Of course they call for rain...it was nice all week when I had to work!!!

I put mine under lights in the basement hoping to get a jump start on the season

Andy,
glad yours made it through the winter in the ground - I wouldn't recommend it though.

BTW - Meg did you leave yours in also?

You guys are ahead of me weatherwise - mine go out on the porch until 5/15 (which is pushing it).

I tried storing some in saran wrap and loose bags and totally bombed out - the peat handles the temp. fluctuations better I think.