Almost a newbie

Hi everyone,

My name's Kristy and I live in the Chicago suburbs. I graduated from college (Magna Cum Laude woo-hoo!) this May (English major, art minor), but I'm going to take another semester of computer classes before looking for a job. I was born in September of 1979, so I'm 26 now (soon to be 27). But, I'm more like a big kid. And a tomboy. Anyway, Iris are my favorite flower, but I've encountered iris borers for the first time ever, this year, and came on here to see what to do about them. I've gotten a lot of useful advice in the forums, thank you very much!

I've been gardening since 2001 or so, but my mom has been for several years more. I'm proud to say that I went from having the "black thumb of death," as in, everything I planted died, to having nearly all my plants survive and thrive now. The second year I gardened, about half made it and half didn't. But nearly all survive now, so I think I've learned a lot. But, I still wouldn't say I have a green thumb.

My dad tried gardening for a few years, but all his plants died, so he gave up, lol. He does call our pink rose bush "his," and has bought a few other plants, but we take care of them for him. He basically destroys things in the garden when he's trying to help! He's "clipper happy" and prunes things to death! We also call him "bigfoot" because he steps on our plants and kills them without even realizing it! He's been banned from the garden some years, after stepping on new shoots, LOL!

I also have 2 parrots and a turtle. MJ is my baby, he's a Congo African Grey parrot. He's a sweetheart and I love him dearly. He's very smart and says sooooooo many things. He calls to me when I'm in the garden, saying, "Where are you?" LOL! Nosey is also a parrot, one of the smallest kinds. She's a black-masked Lovebird and she's SO MEAN! About 10% of the time she's very sweet and cuddles, but the other 90% of the time she wants HUMAN BLOOD! LOL! Speedy is our Slider turtle and I guess he's more Dad's pet than mine, lol. But I take him in the garden and let him run around (and he runs, doesn't walk!), and he seems to enjoy it. He basks in the sun, too. Nosey goes outside with us (in her cage) pretty often. I only took MJ outside (in his cage) once and it kinda freaked him out (he was terrified by a butterfly, lol), so I don't think he'll be going outside again, for awhile, lol.

So, that's my family. Nice to meet you all. We've received so much joy from our garden over the years. And I love it here. ;D

~Kristy

This message was edited Aug 15, 2006 12:45 PM

This message was edited Aug 15, 2006 1:13 PM

Here's some pictures of my critters, lol. This is my baby, MJ, giving me a kiss. His nickname is FatBoy, lol!

And here's a picture of him by himself. You can tell he's very friendly, can't you?

And here's the mean, little, Nosey bird, lol. See where I got the name?

Here she is trying to bite my camera. This is how she looks most of the time, LOL!

And here's Speedy, enjoying himself in the garden.

kristy - i'm happy to be the first one to welcome yhou to daves garden. the people here are both friendly and knowledgeable when it comes to anything having to do with everything.

congratulations on your for your acedemic achievements.

loves the pictures. have a great time.

Kristy,Welcome aboard!! Love your birds and turtle.I myself have 2 tiels ( Emmit and Skeeter) and 3 keets (Willy, Paulie, and Moe) Its a real zoo around here.Each has their very own personality.Emmit is my talker and he is always talking to me out the window when I am outside.The neighbors probably think I am weird because it always looks like I am talking to myself!Fat Boy looks like a real sweetie and Nosy Bird is just tooo cute.That closeup pic is adorable! She looks like she is all nose!Speedy is really cute too.looks like hes a big help in your garden.You should put your pics over in the pets forum.I am sure everyone would love them! Your dad sounds like my hubby.Whenever he says hes going to use the weed eater I shudder and scramble outside because no flower is safe with that in his hand! Congrats on your graduation.May your Green Thumb get only greener!! Welcome Again! Cedar

Hi Herbie and Cedar!

Thanks for the welcome! And for the congrats. I didn't want to toot my own horn, but... oh, wait, yes I did, LOL! ;P Hey, I worked incredibly hard, so I can brag a little, right? Thanks for the compliments on my pix. My pets are like my children, lol. FatBoy is a sweetie pie. Nosey is only sweet for very short periods of time and then is super mean. Only problem with her big, pink nose? It's also a big beak that bites all the time! But, when she looks at me with those Cheerio eyes, I have to forgive her. Then I stupidly get bitten again, LOL! Speedy's funny. He can run fast for a turtle, hence the name "Speedy," heh. Cedar, I know what you mean about your neighbors thinking you're nuts. MJ (FatBoy) is right by a window and can see a lot of the garden. When we're out there, he calls to us. I talk back to him and whistle and say goofy things. My neighbors are afraid of me. Oh well, LOL! Yes, when my dad goes outside, my mom runs after him saying, "Now don't step on anything! What are you cutting?! ACK, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" LOL! We try to put little sticks in the ground or a fence around tiny, new plants, but he still manages to trample many! Thanks again for the welcome. I'm addicted to this place. And MJ says thanks, too.

~Kristy

Hi Irislover, I especially like your turtle (trying to escape?). And congratulations on your graduation honors. A long time ago I was also an English major, but I have forgotten almost everything. I am learning new things all the time, so there is no room for the old stuff in my poor brain. Good luck with everything. I am sure we'll run into each other in DG again.

Hi Clementine,

Thanks for the compliments. Yeah, Speedy usually does try to escape when I take him outside. He'll be a "rock" for about a half hour, but when that head comes out of that shell, he makes a bee-line for freedom, LOL! I actually named him George, when I first got him, LOL! But, his name was changed to Speedy after the first time I took him outside. I set him down and forgot something inside the house. Well, my dad was outside, just sitting there, so I told him to watch the turtle. I was just inside for a minute and when I came back he was gone! My dad was like, "I took my eyes off of him for a second and he was gone!" LOL! After a frantic, 10 minute search, I found him HIDING under one of my lavender plants, pretty far away from where I put him down! I don't leave him unattended in the yard anymore. Even if someone is *supposed* to be watching him, LOL! ;P

I know what you mean about the new things you learn pushing the old out of your brain. I didn't know my brain had a limit! But I'm forgetting things left and right now! NOOOOO!!!! LOL! Guess I'll just have to brush up on things from time to time. And let my useless knowledge die, lol! I'll see you around, Clementine!

~Kristy

P.S. - Here's a Speedy smile for you.