Sydney so sorry to hear of your loss
Carol, Bailey, Fancy , Chelsea and Jazz and Angel the foster too
What's happening in your neighborhood today...pt3
Sydney, Sorry about your lost too. I too. lost a pet 2yrs ago, her name was Precious. Our little dog stayed with us for 15 yrs, it was hard. But with time, the pain will cease.
Walk around the garden today, to look at what was coming up, quite a few things have appeared,daffodils are coming along really well, and the tulips out front are coming up, where there was still snow 2 days ago. Crocus are in bloom. Was still another beautiful day today, mix of sun and cloud, but still nice. Not so good for tomorrow, freezing rain for us.
Everything still all covered with snow here - not warm enough to melt, maybe by the weekend.
(((Sydney))) and ((growin)), my sympathies on the loss of Duckey and the cancer diagnosis. In my case it's been the loss of feline friends, but it's still real and I understand completely.
The forecast here was for showers. Weren't any until around dinner time when we had a dandy thunder storm complete with hail albeit, not large hail. Fortunately, not much is growing yet. The crocuses are pretty well over given several days of really warm weather.
We needed rain except in those areas which are still soggy from melting snow (the snow in my back yard finally disappeared today,) but we didn't need it to all run off into the storm sewer system. haven't been down to the Ottawa River which is just a few blocks away, but I think the water levels are very high at the moment.
Ann
burn - those are nice crocuses. Do you know the variety of the yellow one? It looks bold enough to compete with the large purple and white ones.
Sorry Ann, I don't know the name. Wish I did though.
3 guesses what it is doing in Calgary right now!
Sydney and Growin
May the patter of Paws lift your heart and the gifts they share lite up your life. Many times they are with us for far too short a time so I wish you both peace.
Ann
Gorgeous pic Burn !!! The colours compliment one another so nicely ..
Bright sunny morning here in Thunder Bay .. but .. we have a heavy rainfall warning in effect as of this afternoon .. course .. if it falls into the WINTER STORM warnings we had all winter that turned into a flake and a half of snow .. we'll be fine :-)
Fancy .. I don't know WHAT to say about Cowtown .. my bud who lives there is FED UP !!!
Have a coupla folks coming by this afternoon to give me estimates on central air .. believe it or else .. TBay DOES get lotsa hot sticky weather .. sometimes a week at a time .. and .. the older I get .. the less effective sitting in front of a fan gets !!! I always feel it increases the value of your home anyway.
Enjoy your day everyone .. and remember to smile :-)
~M~
Although they are calling for rain later today, tomorrow and Sat. the sky is blue and we could possibly hit 20 today..I've enough projects indoors that should it rain all weekend, I can fill get much accomplished..
The girls that I teach Wednesday night were all walking through the gardens, each having something catch their eye which put us about 1 hr behind regular painting class so guess who is falling asleep at her desk..quiet here toda, everyone has outside appts. so it give me the opportunity to put my head back and as long as the telephone doesn't ring, I'll get a catnap...
I was going through my files here at work and came across this article..
JUST LOVED it when I first received it..thought you might enjoy it as well....
GOD FINDS OUT ABOUT LAWN CARE
“Winterize your lawn,” the big sign outside the garden store commanded. I’ve fed it, watered it, mowed it, raked it and watched a lot of it die anyway. Now I’m supposed to winterize it? I hope it’s too late. Grass lawns have to be the stupidest thing we’ve come up with outside of thong swimsuits!
We constantly battle dandelions, Queen Anne’s lace, thistle, violets, chicory and clover that thrive naturally, so we can grow grass that must be nursed through an annual four step chemical dependency.
IMAGINE the conversation THE CREATOR might have with St. Francis about this:
“Frank you know all about gardens and nature, what in the world is going on down there?
What happened to the dandelions, violets, thistle and stuff I started eons ago? I had a perfect, no maintenance garden plan. Those plants grow in any type of soil, withstand drought and multiply with abandon. The nectar from the long-lasting blossoms attracted butterflies, honey bees and flocks of songbirds. I expected to see a vast garden of colors by now. But all I see are these green rectangles.”
It’s the tribes that settle there, Lord. The Suburbanites. They started calling your flowers ‘weeds’ and went to great extent and expense to kill them and replace them with grass.”
“Grass? But it’s so boring. It’s not colourful. It doesn’t attract butterflies, birds and bees, only grubs and sod worms. It’s temperamental with temperatures. Do these suburbanites really want all that grass growing there?
“Apparently not, Lord. As soon as it grows a little, they cut it – sometimes as much as twice a week.”
“They cut it? Do they then bale it like hay?”
“Not exactly, Lord. Most of them rake it up and put it in bags.”
“They bag it? Why? Is it a cash crop? Do they sell it?”
“No Sir. Just the opposite. They pay to throw it away.”
“Now let me get this straight. They fertilize grass so it will grown and then when it does grow, they cut it off and pay to throw it away?”
“Yes Sir.”
“These suburbanites must be relieved in the summer when we cut back on the rain and turn up the heat. That surely slows the growth down and saves them a lot of work?”
“You aren’t going to believe this Lord. When the grass stops growing so fast, they drag out hoses and pay more money to water it so they can continue to mow it and pay to get rid of it.”
“What nonsense! At least they kept some of the trees. That was a sheer stroke of genius, if I do say so myself. The trees grow leaves in the spring to provide beauty and shade in the summer. In the autumn they fall to the ground and form a natural blanket to keep moisture in the soil and protect the trees and bushes. Plus, as they rot, the leaves form compost to enhance the soil. It’s a natural circle of life!”
“You had better sit down, Lord. The suburbanites have drawn a new circle. As soon as the leaves fall, they rake them into great piles and have them hauled away.”
“No! What do they do to protect the shrub and tree roots in the winter and keep the soil moist and loose?”
“After throwing away your leaves, they go out and buy something they call mulch. They haul it home and spread it around in place of the leaves.”
“And where do they get this mulch?”
“They cut down trees and grind them up.”
“Enough! I don’t want to think about this anymore. Sainte Catherine, you’re in charge of the arts. What movie have you schedule for tonight?”
“Dumb and Dumber, Lord. It’s a real stupid movies about…..”
LOL ... How apt and how CORRECT !! When you sit and digest that 'funny' it kinda makes you think ... I wait all winter for the grass to 'green up' and then grouse about having to cut it and edge it and fill in and fertilize .. sheesh !! However .. once all is said and done and you're sitting looking at the property .. it makes you feel GOOD :-)
Raining here .. and am on stand by for some 'BUDDA BING, BUDDA BOOM' !! Have a couple of flashlights handy ..
Truth be told .. I LOVE a good ol 'Thunder Boomer' :-)
Cheers
~M~
'M' they called for rain here today mid afternoon but sky is still blue and no signs of it, but, I'm 100 miles from home..could be raining there..know it was thundering and lightning when I left this morning..poor old "Sailor" girl was fretting..hate leaving her alone in these storms...
15 more minutes and homeward bound..can't wait..late night last night tired me right out..should work out in the garden for an hour or so to get some fresh air..we'll see...might be raining and that would change my plans..
Bettypause
How true! I enjoyed your "article" on Lawns, it is so true. I think this is why I did the dry river bed thing , so I don't have to worry about all the other things.
Ann
another day of cool, overcast and windy. We've had so many days of constant wind that I've just tied up the wind chimes as they are about driving me round the bend! It's almost time to put the flannel sheets back on the bed.
Linda
OH LINDA ... No No No to those flannels !!! I am sure that Mother Nature is going to stop this little bit of foolery that she's been spreading around :-)
We're a 'tad' cooler here in TBay .. and it's foggy with rain/mist .. but .. the grass is greening up something 'magical' .. and I have shoots up in a variety of places .. some wanted .. some not .. as in Virginia Creeper ... 5 years ago I spent hours pulling it off the west wall of the house .. then digging out the rootS .. and I mean rootS .. lots of them .. I was good to go after that .. but .. guess what is coming up against the west wall THIS year?? Virginia Creeper .. so .. I am going to keep an eye on it .. it chose the far corner to do its creepin .. long as it stays 'TAMED' .. it can stay the season.
On with VCARS today .. hoping for a safe day for everyone out there ..
~M~
Finally seeing some rain here in London where I work. Sure hope it's doing the same at home!
I did a garden check last night and couldn't believe my eyes. Both an Artichoke (zone 8) and a Cardoon (zone 7 - 1 of 3) that I hadn't bothered to clean up last fall are sprouting! The only reason I can think of is that their own foliage covered the crowns, then the huge amounts of snow we got all winter took care of more insulating. It probably also helped that it didn't get really cold until after the snow cover was there - an unusual occurence for us. It went from hot and humid one day to snow cover the next. It certainly wasn't from self-seeding since neither got large enough to flower last year.
The bad news is that by the end of this weekend our overnight lows are supposed to drop below freezing again for a while - possibly even snow flurries on Tuesday. I guess I better get out there on Sunday with some mulch and give those little guys a nice warm cover. They've tried so hard to live it would be a shame to let them die now :-) I'll try to get some close-up pictures before I cover them.
Well one more day of this nonsence and it supposed to hit double digits Saturday and Sunday melting all the snow. And then they tell us another cold front is coming in! Just hope this the last of the snow!
Last Sunday was supposed to be Scoopy Doo Day in our off leash parks - hard to find poop under the snow so it was cancelled to this Sunday - It may all have melted by Sunday morning but probably pretty muddy.
Im trying something new called Whole Body Vibration. Any body here ever done it? I am having my second session of 3 free ones today and will decide if I want to try it for a while. Expensive but I have some friends who are recommending it. Turns out the franchise owner and one of the employees are both members of my dog agility club!
Oh and I forgot to add = Linda I solved the warmth problem when the flannel sheets come off and it gets cold again. I have a heated mattress pad and I just leave it on all year - some of these cool evenings this past week I have been turning it on to warm up the bed before I crawl in.
And do the same if I wake up cold in the night.
This message was edited Apr 25, 2008 7:08 AM
I'm also in awe of what's happening in my garden but as you say, by next week it's cold/cold temps perhaps even freezing so all my little seedling friends will have to wait yet another month..now I'll be off this aft. trying to find individual containers to transplant them because they are far too large..wouldn't you know I started them much too soon..
But, the growth that has happened since Sunday's raking is unbelievable..it's a pleasure to go home each night and walk around..
You can feel temps getting cooler since I arrived this morning and sky is heavy so wouldn't doubt rain will fall later this aft. - we do need rain though..there is a fire warning band on in our area..
I've never heard of Whole Body Vibration..looking forward to hearing your views on it...
We get off at 1:00 today so because I've no flowers in bloom I've decided to stop at the flower wholesale and buy me some..lol
Another snow storm here yesterday. After a week of blissful warmth. Rats..... Winter has been too long here. Crocus are finished, pulmonaria is full bloom in the snow.
inanda aka the other Ginny
Just seems longer I think because Mother Nature gave us a taste of Spring and now, she's resting...
In contrast to the weather report the sun has been shining most of the day - although my thermometer reads 10C official is about 2C. Anyways the snow melt has started thank goodness - since we are predicted to get into double digits the next few days I guess all th snow will be gone and perhaps gardening can commence! But I'm not holding my breath!
This was the year I was really hoping for an early spring because I intend to enter the CHS garden competition which takes place mid July. Ah well we are all in the same boat!
This little Corydalis was poking up before the snow - hope it has not suffered , it another one of the lovely early spring blooms and then it disappears.
DULL, DULL, DULL !!!!!! What a crummy day .. BUT .. no calls .. that's always a bonus ...
My friend 'the landscaper' was here today .. decided the grass over the septic field was getting too long .. so off she went on the riding mower .. 20 minutes after she got off of it .. we had a few SNOWFLAKES !!! .. it's raining now .. but I can imagine we WILL get snow :-(
I have to chuckle Fancy .. I get hot flashes .. enough so I could probably heat a 100 unit condominium complex !!! LOL .. Do so hope you weather gets better for the weekend .. as for the Whole Body VIbration .. well .. I know it's something that goes hand in hand with an exercise regimen .. but .. for me .. WBV occurs regularly when DH forgets he's all grown up and not a kid again :-)
Everyone have a super weekend
~M~
Heh to everyone and thanks for all of the condolences. Its been really rough and tough.
Growin, Im so sorry to hear about that diagnosis and as Ive just experienced and I know its extremely difficult. I had to take about a week off from work, as there was no way I could have been in the hospital. Its terrible being alone now and my husband is in Afghanistan and he doesnt even know yet..yikes... and yes he was certainly my constant companion. He was like a human being to me and my best friend. Maybe Ill see you at the sale on Sunday.
Ive been trying to get some things together here in the garden and did plant some morning glory seeds, heavenly blue today and I have some brug cuttings from a generous DG member that seem to be doing okay actually. Its been quite nice here today and sunny and tommorow is supposed to be much better, so Im keeping my fingers crossed as I finally have a couple of days off.
Hope everyone has a great weekend
The melt continues- lots of greenery poking up in the south facing beds.
Late afternoon when I took this pic so rather dark.
Sydney very sorry to hear of your loss.
This message was edited Apr 25, 2008 4:07 PM
Sydney, you have all of us, we're no further than the touch of your keyboard..It's so sad to loose these furry friends...
Fancyvan, won't be long and the rest of that snow will be gone..
"M" you've got me laughing, now that would be a sight..
It's not late by anyones standard but the 5 day up at 4:45am and getting home at 6:30 pm takes a toll on this gal so I'm going to have a bath, get into a nice silk night, had my hair done - permed and styled, got some waxing done..lol..and now it's me and the furries and an early night...
Today was a spoil Betty day..if I can't have flowers outside then I'll get some inside..bought a hanging planter for the 4' window frame in the back yard, and a bunch of roses to put in each room and some table planters..perhaps this will fool me into thinking it really is 'spring'...
Night everyone...
Sydney, just a thought but my neighbour is a foster mom for dogs for short periods of time while they are getting permanent homes. I know it's not the same but... I should be at the plant sale about 2-3'ish. If it interests you there is a beagle-fest in Nelson Park downtown behind St. Pauls Hospital at 2pm http://beagles.meetup.com/8/.
It was cool but sunny so did a bit of gardening. Spent most of the day doing arrangements for the new community garden group. This is the first time in a number of years I haven't done volunteer stuff for the VanDusen Botanical Gardens plant sale. Feels a little odd but I needed a bit of a break for the community garden setup. Sunday is supposed to rain a bit - wet specialty plant hunters.
Say what?
Growin
Dukey is beautiful!
Ann
Cripes !! Ya go to bed and wake up to a world in turmoil .. almost don't want to turn the puter on some mornings ..
Weatherwise here in Thunder Bay .. welllllllllll .. the Saturday trip to the dump is cancelled .. it will be nothing but a quagmire with all the rain overnight ... so .. we can at least boodle into town with the recycling stuff.
The fella on the Weather ne t. Chris St Claire .. has graciously (and he is SO gracious) informed us that snow is likely on the way here from the west .. Kenora has it now (350 miles west of us) Winnipeg got it .. G R O A N !!!
Toronto has a transit strike .. the footage of folks clammering to get home from the city was horrid to see .. I know lots of nurses who came off shift likely had to do some fast thinking or bunk out at the hospital !!
Abbotsford BC .. my gosh .. the floor at a church fell through .. 12' down .. some youg people at a Christian Rock COncert were injured .. no one was killed thank heaven ..
Guess I should give thanks for waking up breathing ... !!!!
Hope everyone has a terrific day :-)
~M~
Fantastic day here today, warm, no sweater, work a bit, in the garden along the foundation of the house, trim the lavender cut down the dead stalks, than sat on my deck most of the afternoon, surrounded by birds. The trees are showing signs of green. I still have a snow covered pond though, but that ok, by next week, it should be all gone.
Anybody seen our Falls this time of year? This is a pic of it, 2 days ago.
Awesome picture of the falls Burn...
It's warm here today too! Yea! Finally stopped snowing. It's officially +12C right now, though the thermometer in our backyard is reading +20C, and I believe it....
DH is setting up our fourth rain barrell and I've potted up some more Dahlias, some Pineapple Lilies and some Acidanthera.
Woo hoo! Spring is here for a few days anyway. ;-)
Joanne
Great pic burn!
About half the snow melted off my yard today - probably most of the rest will go tomorrow except maybe fopr the shadiest corners. Here's something that came out from under.
What a lovely 'peeker from under the snow' :-) Here's hoping your weather STAYS stable ..
Have had snow showers here most of the day .. and way cooler temps .. I figger I'm just gonna 'go with it' ....
~M~
Suns up .. as is the wind .. temps have crouched down .. but .. NO SNOW ... :-)
I see my herd is hugry for their corn .. so off I go .. then it's OFF I go to 'woman a booth' at a Wellness Fair' ..
Hope everyone enjoys their Sunday
~M~
Evening, been quite a weekend hasn't it..was reading your post 'M' and had the same sentiments...
Lordy I am so tired, got to Midland from work on Friday and got a perm and by the time I got home from shopping it must have been late evening, or at least I felt like it was...up and out of the house of Sat. - went to Meaford - good 100 mile run, came home and worked outside..today same, left at 7:00 to meet sister in Wasaga Beach and off again to Meaford..glad all that's behind me...got back at 2:30 and just came in..I could do with another couple of days to get the yard raked...moved around a few plants where they were next to the 3 holes I jug for the trees I have to pick up one night this week...tired/tired..but it is a lovely day as had the entire weekend been but imagine, they are calling for possible snow here as well..critters will it never end....should go out and get the hanging plant out of the frame so it doesn't freeze tonight..learnt it's toooo early to be purchasing hanging plants..lol..
Can't wait for tomorrow...it will be Monday and I can once again rest at work....
Yeowza Betty .. I even feel tired for ya :-)
We went through flurry after flurry here today .. then sun .. then snow .. kept looking out the window of the bilding I was in wondering what was up next !!! Looks like this kaffufle of weather may be on its way east ... who's to say .. at least it won't STICK !!
As of tomorrow any landscaping of note on our property will be on hold for weekends or holidays as my bud is back to work at the cemetery starting in the morning .. I told her to make SURE she has lots of tylenol to take with her LoL funny how NEW muscles rear their heads after 5 months of inactivity of that type ...
Off to walk Lilly ..
Everyone have a wonderful upcoming week :-)
~M~
One comment from Thunder Bay .... BRRrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr ... nothing above +7C is predicted for THIS week !!!!
AT least it won't be snowy ... from what I hear it'll be 'half dreary, half sunny' ..
Many chores at hand today .. seems the deer have eaten all the corn .. so off to the feed mill .. funny thing about the local feed mill .. there's a GREENHOUSE just down the road :-)
Enjoy !!
~M~
Can you believe April 28th and we drove to work in snow...guess my poor hanging plant won't survive..forgot to take it in...it was actually 0 when we arrived at work, I've my little micro heater on here to warm me up..it's raining now, dark and gloomy...weather is just so unpredictable...
Mother Nature is a tricky lil woman that's for SURE !!!
I didn't buy anything at the Greenhouse .. couldn't make my mind up .. I know I'll be planting some kind of a tree or shrub (or both) this summer .. but can't decide .. I sure do like the Russian Sage though :-) but ... anothe Lialac would be nice .. or a Birch or an Ornamental typa tree ...
Decisions .. decisions !!
BRrrrrrrrr Betty .. as I said .. gonna be a cold week .. hope your hanging basket DID make it !!
~M~
3rd warm sunny day in a row here - snow was all gone in my yard but yesterday afternoon but no gardening time for me until today - busy a lot of the weekend with my club's annual dog agility trial I didn't run y dogs, a friend ran Bailey for me but although he did well he did not get any qualifying runs for his advanced titel - we need just one more. I think I am a bit too anxious about getting it - need to relax a bit more and just have funl the dogs certainly do sense when you are uptight about things!
So today I spent most of the morning cleaning off some more of the flower beds but the guys came to spray the grass in the afternoon so we have to stay off for a couple of hours. I dont pay much attention to my grass but it is getting a tad sad looking so I decided last year to do one of the 4/summer spray programs and see if it improves a bit. Right now with the snow melt I can see how much damage the dogs have done - rather more than usual since I often have 3-4 dogs here now with the rescue dogs instead of my own two. Ah by mid summer it will look reasonable.
Have to check out a power point presentation as I am talking to a senior group on Thursday about assisted gardening. Maybe better learn to run the equipment too!
Good luck with the 'power point' equipment Fancy .. I now go to presentations with 'alternate' methods .. ie .. handouts and/or an overhead .. as my Mom would say "Once bit .. twice shy" .. but that's just me .. I seem to run in to problems going from room to another most days LoL
The 'gas guy' was here to spray the line so the fence people don't hit it when they put up (in) 'Lilly's' enclosure .. this is a good sign (I hope) .. seem to have been waiting FOREVER for this to happen .. the thought of being able to open up the backdoor and letting her GO out on her own .. well .. just makes me smile :-) Course .. I have lotsa ideas about what to plant to make it look purdy too :-)
Hope you 'Suthuners' don't hate the North too much for the weather you're getting .. trust me . "I feel your pain" ....
Take good care everyone
~M~