The weather gods played a trick on us last night and this morning. A quarter inch since what last July. And all this after 3 days of 25 + mph winds from the South. Give us a break!
Jerry
Keeping the fire going till springtime, pull up a chair...
Now Jerry, I love cats too but seven? You must be a very busy guy.
We got close to half and inch of rain last night which makes me very happy, I hope everyone got a good rain too.
Josephine.
Atta boy! Anyone that likes cats is friend of mine! Particularly when they are all "ITS"! That is a pet peeve of mine due to the fact that most of my cats were acquired by donors. I have five right now but have had up to nine. I don't begrudge them a home but resent the irresponsible folks that dump them. Right now, I have two cute doggers that I am hoping to find homes for. Called to get them spayed and the vet I use (he's good and cheap) is booked up till the first of May. I made appts in case those girlies are still here.
I don't know about anyone else but I've been out playing in the dirt. Lovely weather but your wind has reached east TX finally. I was surprised at your rain gauge. Figgered to see 2 or 3 inches of dust. LOL Good for you. We've have no more than a mist here.
This girlie would love to come meet your cats... lol
Hey, I love dogs, but cats bury their poops and dogs don't and that's a pet peeve of mine. I've been there and done that with six or seven dogs, but not in the last 20 years.
I found the way to keep cats from always being under foot is to have more than one so they have company and to never feed them on the back doorstep or let them in the house.
My cats eat 2 1/2 18lb bags or dry cat food a month and that's $300 a year that will go away as these ones die off. Retirement is fun, but spending priorities change.(smile)
Oh, cats don't dig. when I had dogs there were always holes every where in the yard. Not that that I have such a beautiful yard, but the holes ever where just bothered me.
That dogie you got there looks to be good blooded...what breed is it?
Jerry
Unknown parentage but I do believe it is a Chiweenie. Chihuahua Dachsund cross. Cute enough...
But cats? Then you have to plant Catnip!
Dahlianut ~ if your snowflake hasn't melted by our fire, I started a thread in the Bulb forum just for you~ http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/950446/
Here's what I've been up to yesterday and today...playing in coir moving the babies to a new temporary home.
Jerry
That looks great Jerry, what kinds of plants do you have there, they look very healthy.
Josephine.
Way too many tomatoes, a few peppers, a few broccoli, and a few basil. They are perking up real good now. A few days ago they were not looking so good. I gave them a shot of Medina Hasta Gro and now they are trying to jump out of their skins. Of course being out in the warm sunshine doesn't hurt, either.
I have a neighbor who watches my kitties when I'm away so she'll get as many of the mater plants as she wants. She is very active in the church so none will be wasted.
Jerry
Thanks podster ^_^
You are welcome. When the snowdrops bloom, I will send a photo of them for you too... It shouldn't be long now.
I had a good day! I placed one of the two pups is a great home. An older couple wanted a companion that was housebroken and would bark if needed as an alarm system. She moved right in and when I saw the gal later in the day, she said that girlie was propped up in her husbands' lap in his recliner. One to go... the little charmer above.
Nice plants TXrockgarden! Making me jealous. As usual I am slow and have a few started but don't garden on as grand a scale as you do. Generous of you to share with the neighbor, that will make for great neighbors!
First wild violet bloom...
Whee! Hope springs eternal, even thought I try not to! We have a chance of rain and there's lightning outside and lots of wind. Come on rain...please! Had a smattering the other night, but the usual...didn't last long enough to do any good. Nice propagation set-uperry! I see you have an old cooler used for other than that purpose also. I tried coir, but it didn't seem to make any difference for me, so I figured I could do without it. I've got a few sprouts poking up also, but am having trouble motivating myself when I remember last summer. Wasn't a good year for my little plants at all.
We just had a big storm go over us, lots of wind but only a bit of rain. Oh well, at least no tornados, and that's a good thing.
Josephine.
San Antonio had storms and hail, but it went right past us. Like you said, at least no tornados...or hail!
I did the rain dance earlier today. We'll have to wait and see if it did any good. It always happens that if I'm working in the yard, it will rain just enough to make me have to quit! After I have gathered all my stuff, it quits...........leaves just enough water to make things muddy. It sure is frustrating. I know if any one saw me, they would say "That old woman must be crazy!" They just have no faith!!!!
Whew! what a wild ride we had last night. Winds, hail, rains and lightning. We had a tornado warning at 10:30 and the storm arrived at 11:15. We rode it out in the hallway with the dogs and bird. No tornado thank God. I think I worry about downbursts here more than tornados. Once we heard the familiar sound of a twister but nothing happened. My GH is standing tall. It's first real test. Plenty more where that came from come spring.
The sun is shining and the birds are singing this morning. It is a little windy. I think I'll take my plants back out of the GH. I didn't want them to get hailed on so I put them up yesterday. Glad I did now.
One of my origami red columbines germinated. Now there are three more to go. Took three weeks. Hope the others follow suit soon.
Everybody have a good day.
All done with seedlings for this year. Will box these little babies in with hay and cover with a plastic tarp when frost or light freeze threatens.
Actually, this is the hay I intend to plant some veggies in this year. I got the idea over on the Straw-Bale forum.
This is the trial year for different tomato varieties to find out which ones I like and for the ones that like my growing style. I planted 4 or 5 each of 19 different varieties. Next year that number will be probably 3 - 5 varieties as I am sure I will have tomatoes to throw away this season.
Oh, got another 1/2 " rain last night. A little windy but a nice day out today.
Jerry
This message was edited Feb 11, 2009 12:44 PM
This message was edited Feb 11, 2009 9:11 PM
You're so lucky, Jerry! We had a lot of wind and some lightning...and not a drop.
The raindance brought about a 1/2" here. We could use a lot more. No wind damage.
Success! The second little dog found an excellent home today. I am once again out of the donated dog business. I told both adopters that if it did not work out, they could bring them back but will be surprised if they do. I am grinning...
Some of my wintersown vegies are popping thru also and I am impatiently awaiting a seed order for more. Spring fever has struck. We had 1 inch of rain, with incredible wind last night. Today was still a hairspray day with that wind. Even after the rain, there were fires that broke out. The wind dries it out quickly and fans the flames.
We got a little bit of rain but I don't think it was even measurable. I have soil and amendments ready for Ric to do some rearranging of my front beds and I bought a few bedding plants - nothing much - to fill in a bit until my seeds that I plan to broadcast can come up. This is perfect weather for all that. I'll be so glad to get that finished. I just wish I could do it all physically myself.
Ann
We got a 1/2" one day and a couple days later got about 2/3" so it was definately nice. I have daffs blooming everywhere and paper whites too. Won't be long the redbuds will be busting out!!!! Come on spring!!
Lovely picture Sheila, I love Robins.
Cute photo! We see Robins all thru the winter, but when I see one, I think spring is on the way.
It is amazing how the rain hits and misses thru out TX.
We got a little rain here and it's forecast at a 30% chance every day for the next week, so maybe we'll get more. It's sure been dry and I dread seeing my next water bill.
Happy Valentine's Day to all you Chatty Cathys out there.
Valentine's day...Time to plant potatoes. You can see that I'm ready over on the Vegetable Gardening forum http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/952679/
Jerry
I bought tomato plants and tomato cages today at Lowe's. I also found a neat new type of tomato trellis. It's in 3 hookec together panels and will fold flat for storage. You can put it around an existing tomato in a triangle shape or fold it out where all three panels are in a row for other vine type plants. I'm going to try my butterbeans on one of them and hope it's big enough for them....
I also couldn't resist a handful of seed packets. I got some cosmos and some cleomes that I'll throw in the back of one of the beds. I just love both those and they're so easy to grow.
I wish that glad and lily co op ended sooner. I'm ready to dig in the dirt!
Does anybody else plant sweet potatoes? We have a hard time finding any to plant. Thought of planting some from the store, but I didn't know if they would do anything.
Texasrockgarden ~ thanks much for the Valentine greetings. Hope you had a good one too.
Valentines Day is the target date for planting taters here too. Didn't make it myself.
I haven't done sweet potatoes but think they are a warmer season crop. Willhite Seed Co ships slips only from mid April to June. http://www.willhiteseed.com/products.php?cat=97 I understand you can also start your own by sprouting sweet potatoes and removing the slips.
I have lots of vegetable seed sprouting already and got a large vegie seed order in today. Hoping for room, if not in ground, in the freezer.
Crowelli ~ if you really want to dig in the dirt, I will try to dig the Crinums this weekend for you. I will be digging daffodils for a friend that needs to put them on a grandbabys' grave ~ so sad but so glad I could offer them. Will let you know when I get ready to send the Crinums.
Thanks Podster. I've never ordered from them. It looks like a really good place.
They were the ones I just got an order in from. I think they are overwhelmed with demand this year as more folks are gardening so if you are interested, you might turn in an order early. I tried them because they are Texas based (seeds better suited to the south hopefully) and the amount of seed sent is quite generous.
Thanks Pod. Send them on any time and let me know how much the postage is so I can send it to you. If you want to give a guess as to what it'll be, I'll be happy to send it immediately. Do you think it'll be over 20? If not, I'll just mail you a check for 20 if you'll Dmail you address and who to make the check out to. I've got a spot all picked out for them.
Just had to post this pic my DH took yesterday morning of my entrance beds. I think y'all probably saw it when I put the fall stuff in a few weeks ago, but boy has this really taken off. The petunias and allysum smell so good!
And this is the first LA Iris to open this year.
Looks like spring has come to Houston, beautiful Crow!!!
OMG it's not spring, it's summer in TX. (me still peeking in to admire your prettiful flowers ^_^ Back to shovelling snow LOL)
I ordered from Wilhite this year and am very pleased with the results. Had the crew dig a really big bed this week and am moving things around. I keep wanting to plant and everything says after last frost. yaaaant. That 6 or more weeks. April 12th is Easter and can almost always depend on weather event then. Only thing I have blooming yet is daffodils and they are really happy.
Crow, if that is not a "Welcome to my Home", I don't what is. Fantastic.
Christi
Thank you all for the nice comments. It's so much fun to have online garden buddies to share with. I get all enthusiastic about some plant and start talking about propogation, sunlight, temps, and my families eyes all glaze over. It's nice to know others with the same addiction
My subdivision is having a spring garden tour. The catch is that they want to do back gardens, not the front. They're going to sell tickets and use the money for our civic club activities. They've asked if I'll open my garden and be available to talk about the plants. I can't believe that no longer than I've lived here they think my back garden is worth buying tickets to see. I couldn't have done it without all the wonderful input from my DG Texas Forum friends. A big thank you to all of you who so freely share of you advice and experience.
Crow
I would charge the subdivision to let them see my backyard if I were you! (kinda kidding) If your back yard is anything like the front they should charge double to see yours. Congratulations!
Ann