Maybe the last fire before spring? Pull up a chair & visit

There! This one should feel a bit warmer than the last one... http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/947689/#new

Finally, I'm home with a cup of coffee. DH is taking his new rescue dog (another adult Lab) to the vet for a tune up tomorrow and I intend to sit that one out. That dog has the worst breath I have ever smelled. Hope the vet has a solution.

I have intentions of working outdoors tomorrow if the weather stays nice. Just noticed lots of new growth (first season) on my horseradish plants! Yippee!!

First thing the vet will suggest is "cleaning his teeth". While it costs me $90 for the same, the vet wants $350. for the dogs. Think not.

Christi

.... EEeew! Good thing it is DHs' dog. I ain't a gonna do it! I have the Podster and wasn't inclined to get another one right away. But I got outvoted. So he can tend to the Health, Education & Welfare of that dog.

How does your garden grow Christi? I know it must be starting to pop! 8 )

Hi, Kristy. Everyday that the weather is even half ok I am out there. Don't have anything blooming but the daffodils and a couple iris. Still working hard to prepare everything for spring planting. Last year I felt really bad. Since having spine surgery in August...Katie, Bar The Door. Couldn't be better. Next Saturday going to see RJ in Houston with Rita and BigLeaves. Patty will meet us there. So torn between the Texas natives and tropicals. Now how is that for a big difference? The seed you sent last year is going great guns and I can hardly wait for all the beauties I have "under the soil" to come up and bloom. Blessed among all people. That I am.

Christi aka Princess Kilikina aka LouC aka Lucy (as in Lucy Ricardo)

Podster...I have a story for you.....Our bank opened a new branch out near us. We decided to move stuff from a safe deposit box to new bank. Now, new one has a kiosk in middle of lobby with a "greeter." There's not another soul around. To "bank," you walk to the back of the lobby where there's a row of machines. You talk to the machine, a voice asks what you want to do, and you either deposit or withdraw. Sorta like a drive-thru without the convenience of staying in your car. We both hate it, but it's near us. Sooooooo...we ask about getting safe deposit box, and a guy appears to show us the vault. Then we go to an office and he has papers for us to sign. He asked if there was anything else he could help us with. I had a question.....I had a hand gun that belonged to my dad, but I didn't want it in the house with a 3 yr old grandson. Could I put it in the safe deposit box without setting off alarms? The guy looked a little nervous and said he'd after go ask someone else. After he left, I said I could just see me walking into the lobby and having them knock me to the ground and handcuff me! DH and I got tickled and were still laughing when the guy came back and told us......it would be a federal offense to carry the gun into the bank, but whatever I put into the safe box was my business and they don't monitor that. Not much of a definitive answer. We thanked him and got up to leave and ..... At the kiosk were three other men just standing there, presumably to see the whacko that was going to carry a concealed weapon into their bank. At least we now know there's more than two people who run the bank...most we've seen so far....

LOL ~ on doing business with machines. Well, when they take you down and cuff you perhaps they'll get it on tape. I'll watch for you on the news. Good Grief!

Sadly... the bank employees don't even know the law. It is no federal offense. Even persons with a TX concealed handgun license can legally carry on premises that are not posted with the appropriate signage. It would put a chill on them to know what might be found in safe deposit boxes much less peoples' purses or pockets.

If I can suggest, you could contact your local police or fire dept. as most have free gun locks to pass out. A bit more costly but larger sporting goods stores should have some options available such as small safes, lock boxes and other security hardware. Many folks will purchase a gun safe to keep their valuable papers, jewelry, firearms etc. at home where it is secure and accessible. Fireproof safes are also available.

I must admit I love the personal touch that we still have in small town USA. At the Post Office, the gals will patiently answer the phone fielding questions from the lonely, elderly and shut ins. We visit with others while waiting our turn. They wrap packages for folks and fill in money orders for those less literate. We have many rural folks UPS packages left at our business for the convenience of the UPS driver. No one minds as they were coming to town anyway. The charm is, we truly do not want to move into the 20th century any time soon. 100 years behind and loving it!

Christi ~ I am so glad you are perking better this year. Just don't overdo... I know you will have a grand time with the Houston Tropical tour group ~ lol.

I noticed my first Iris bud today... how can we not feel blessed in the garden.

Yep..."the times they are a-changin'...." We've lived in some small communities, and I miss knowing most everyone. Once in Del Rio, a rancher who kept an apt. in town in the complex where lots of military lived, found out my dad was coming to visit from MS and loved to fish. He insisted I take my dad to his ranch, so he could fish in Amistad. Gave me the keys to the gates, and said to close the closed ones and leave open the opened ones. We drove right to the water's edge (where it had flooded his land). I never forgot the kindness...and my dad couldn't believe it! All the years in the Air Force, we lived in the community, except Hawaii. Knew our neighbors and looked out for each other. We do that here too, but nearly every house also has an alarm system sign in the front yard.
As for safe in house....got one...and it stays open....nothing in it. I can't work a bike combination, so knew I wasn't going to be very good with a key and comb. locking safe. Figured if someone got in and tried to force me to open the thing, they'd have to torture and kill me....wouldn't be able to do it. My neighbor, however, bought one to keep copies of computer discs. The little we have that needs to be kept is in bank box. Last time I opened it was in 2002! Mostly just "stuff" that DD will look at after we're gone and wonder why we kept it...

I walked into a bank branch the other day to sign on an account for an association I am involved with. At first I didn't see anyone, then a person appeared and I asked for the lady I was to see. She walked away and the person came out after a couple minutes. It hardly seemed like there was any room for business to take place. My Credit Union is larger and much more active.
I don't know if they had one of the automated machines, but I wouldn't doubt that they do. Very impersonal.

LOL ~ our small town bank has been consumed many times over by larger ones. They finally required our signatures on file. Don't know why... checks go thru the computer without signatures with no problem. * ))

Bubbles ~ the answer! Make your daughter keep the safe combination ~ or give all that stuff to her right now. Unclutter my life ~ let the kiddos have it!!! LOL

Bigbubbles, I love your firearm story. I bet the extra three guys watching you walk out were security people, just in case you were secretly planning to rob the place. Too, too funny!

Crow

Do you think it's because there are so many bank robberies that they "hide?" I asked the lady at the kiosk if she felt a little vulnerable being out there alone with everyone else hiding in the back somewhere. She said they 'took turns'....
I teasingly told her I didn't feel very safe coming in and finding that I was the only potential "hostage!"

As for DD, she's married, has her own 'stuff' plus most of mine... already!

Crow...I figure my photo is taped to the kiosk in the lobby....just in case.

Just a blurb on cleaning dog's teeth. I used to work at an animal hospital. Bad breath is definately a sign of bad teeth. Now I know we all grew up with dogs living outside and eating scraps from the table. But my dogs are family. I have their teeth cleaned because they won't let me brush their teeth.

The main reason for brushing or cleaning dog's teeth is to save wear and tear on their kidneys. Bacteria gets in their blood stream from rotten teeth. In the end, the dog will more than likely develop kidney problems which will cost money in meds and or special diet. Not to mention the pain that they go through with broken teeth or infected gums and teeth. Just imagine when you had a tooth ache. It's no different for them.

My dog's dental cleaning bill is about $150.00 because I opt for pre-op blood work to make sure their kidneys and livers are fine since they filter the anesthesia. But you wouldn't have too. I never cleaned my dog's teeth until I worked at this animal hospital. I learned so much.

That was more than a blurb huh. I had to chuckle at the bank story. We still have small town banking here too. I just have to shake my head at the direction banking is going. Not just banking but so much more. I do catch myself yelling at the tv every now and then at the stuff I'm hearing on the news.

Great day today huh? The weather was great and promises to be all week. I hope the weather men are right.

I'd give up all the sunshine gladly if it would just rain! Oh well, guess I should start thinking about desert plants! Good for you, taking good care of your dog. Wish they could just hypnotize them instead of anesthesia.

I hear ya about the rain Linda. April is usually a rainy month for us. I hope it is this year. But I do love the sun and warmer temps. I'm tired of being cold.

My Texas vet doesn't use Ketamine to anesthesize for dental cleaning. That is good, because then you don't need to use IV fluids to help the kidneys and liver. Saves some money. She gases them down. I can only imagine trying to hypnotize a dog. :) If we could, just imagine the bad habits we could break in them. No barking, no begging, no clawing up the bed trying to get a soft spot.

TX Gdnr.....You could make millions if you perfected the behavioural hypnosis pain control technique!!! LOL!

BigBubbles.. I imagine they called everyone out to see what you looked like when you mentioned "hostage" and asked about carrying in a "gun"!!!! ROFLOL!!

Yes Sheila, I'll probably be featured in a bank training seminar.....

Well, DH and Stretch survived the trip to the vet and I enjoyed the afternoon playing in the dirt. I do love our country vet. He is good and cheap. If I have a complaint, he stays too busy as a result. Stretch had an abcessed tooth. First treatment was antibiotic. He also has heartworms, tapeworms, ear mites, etc. Seems we always find the project dog. Apparently this one is about 4-5 years old.

I got a bed ready for vegies and did some planting. I was removing leaf trash from pots of herbs and of course the catnip pot attracted ~ what else? Cats. Two of mine love that stuff. I found lots of new growth... lemon balm, oregano, comfrey, licorice, apple mint are a few that caught my attention.

Sounds like y'all have a good week ahead ~ enjoy it! LindaTX ~ any moisture in sight?

Nothing predicted at this time. Our Shed Project will go on without any rain for now, I'm afraid. After the shed is in, I will have my work cut out for me...restoring some grass, trees and shrubs. Seems nothing gets done without taking out valuable vegetation, at least when men are involved!

LindaTx, ain't it just always something? My DH "pulled up weeds" for me only for me to realize he'd just weeded out all my cosmos and cleome seedlings. To my credit, I just said "thank you honey" and didn't even say it wasn't weeds. I've got large "holes" in my landscape right now due to having 6 pines removed, so need to do something about that. I've got a dozen projects started inside too. I think I may too many irons in the fire at the same time here. Oh, well, it's keep things interesting. The master bedroom and bath have been painted twice in less than a week (REALLY wrong color choice for 1st attempt). I didn't see it until it was almost totally completed because I was shopping for tile for next project.

What gardening projects does everyone else have going right now, or is everyone just waiting for spring?

Crow

Oh Wow!! bless your heart, you have to stay on top of those guys to see things get done right, don't you?
Josephine.

Just had a new rose bed put in, and ordered a lot of perennials to spread around. Unfortunately, they'll probably arrive before 4/15, after which I'll actually time to work in the yard.

Irwells, what perennials are you putting in? Come on, give us details! I might need to steal some of your ideas :)

This message was edited Feb 24, 2009 3:42 PM

Oh, man, I do this every year. I'm stuck inside doing tax returns, and I get all of these catalogs in the mail, and go crazy. Then the plants arrive at the absolute worst time, you'd think I'd learn.

Crocosmia, heleniums, dianthus, asclepius, yarrow, toadlilies, agastache, hardy hibiscus, miniature buddleia, liatris, gaillardia, glads, asters, several coneflowers, coreopsis, scabiosa, penstemon, salvia, and probably some stuff I've forgotten. Plus, I just put in 14 roses, I really want a beautyberry, and I still haven't decided what to put in my shady area.

AND, I put annuals/perennials in containers on the patio! I think I need a 12 step program!

That's gorgeous! I'm still afraid to take my pots out of greenhouse. Weather guy said average last freeze is Feb 23. We opened everything up and watered well, but I'm still leary of few chilly nights. Planning to re-do the front beds. Perennials are great the first few yrs, but seem to need replacing after that. Too woody and ragged.... Waiting for all the bulbs to bloom, then I'll tear into it. (Was my winter project...where's the time go?)

That was actually Summer, 2008. I waited too late to plant them last year, and was disappointed with the results.

Today was day one of an 11 day process for getting the straw bales ready for planting. Today the bales were soaked with water.

The temps here for the next few day are supposed to 83º, 82º, and 81º. It's definitely time to start planting veggies here. Will just have to cover if frost or freeze threatens.

Jerry

Wow ~ pretty blooms and what a nice collection of interesting pots!

Right now the National Forest Service is doing a controlled burn. The air is so grey and thick you can't see over a hundred yards. The wind is really blowing but not enough to lift the smoke. I can even smell it indoors. DH said if we have to smell the smoke, he was going to light the fireplace and enjoy the flames.

Bubbles, I agree ~ where the heck did time go this winter???

TXrockgarden ~ I will enjoy watching your gardening project to see how it goes. Will you keep a soaker on the bales all the time? I would think they would dry out quickly and where did you find the straw bales? I don't know why but I thought you were doing the coir bales...

This year is the year I'm getting back into gardening. With more time on my hands I decided to expand and to explore several gardening techniques, coir in 5 gallon grow bags, straw bales, raised beds, and traditional dirt rows. Next year I should know what works best for my style of gardening.

I am not sure about the soaker on the straw bales. I may end up with a drip irrigation system for them. I am anticipating that the bales will dry fast. If that is the case then I'll have to box them in with tin. If you have ever burned a wood stove near a wall then you know how metal placed between the wall and the stove will conduct heat and keep the wall cool. I do the same with my kilns. I have metal between the kiln and the walls.

Interesting... my first thought when I saw the line of bales was it would dry out quickly but haven't read much about strawbale gardening. Thinking if they were clustered together the moisture retention might be better. I think we are in for another dry summer all around this great state.

In this drought sometimes the air is so dry that when you water the garden it seems like it dries up awfully fast, leaving it dry again like before being watered.

kilns? Are you also a potter?

Pottery is another hobby of mine. I haven't made any pottery in the last couple years, but fully intend to get back into it as soon as garden is in. I really miss my clay.

Jerry

My (glass) kiln is in the garage, and I hate that because of tax season I miss the best "kiln weather." Gets awfully hot in the garage in August, even without the kiln on.

Irwells, your patio plantings look beautiful. I have a harder time with planting pots than anything else. I seem to always try to either cram too much stuff in or misjudge the size of some of the plants and they bulldoze over everything else in the pots. I've got a couple going right now that are the best I've managed. They have a red yucca at the back for spiky height. Around it I've got pansies, pink snapdragons, blue abelia and pink and white allysum. As it gets hotter, I'll change out all but the yucca. I'm not sure what to put, but maybe some begonias or coleus and trailing rosemary or sweetpotato vine. It just seems everyone has begonias and I'd like something a bit different. May torenias??? You've managed to get such a variety of heights, forms and colors and I can never get that quite right.

Crow

lrwells50, The flowers on your patio look beautiful. There is definitely an art to making a grouping of flowers look like a huge bouquet. Looks like you have got it right as to the timing, flower sizes and colors.

If you are going to have a kiln indoors, winter is definitely the time for firing. My kilns are in a metal out building with only the interior walls being insulated and covered with wood. In the heat of Summer it gets too hot to fire in their for the electronic controllers. A potter friend of mine who has been at it for 40 years has his kiln outdoors under an open shed - works great.

Jerry

I had a problem with my planters all being the same height, so I went to WallyWorld and bought some cheap plant stands, and that's helped a lot. If I leave clay pots outside here they're shattered come spring, so I try to find nice (cheap if possible) plastic/fiberglass/resin ones. Home Depot had some really brightly colored ones Sunday when I went, which was a nice change from the usual cobalt. I do have a strawberry pot that I bought 10 or so years ago from Jackson & Perkins that is glazed inside and out, and it seems to make it thru the winter without any problems, so I may try to find some bisque pots, glaze them, and see if I can figure out how to fire them in my kiln.

I really like a lot of color (I guess you can tell,) and I have a hard time finding planters that are different.

I've bought a clay one to mosaic this summer, but will have to bring that one inside. And will have to get daughter #1 to show me how the first time. I have a lot of small pieces of glass, so I may use that rather than ceramic. I have a client who has a jewelry/gift store, and they save their broken plates, etc. for a friend and me. We haven't gotten around to using any of it yet, but we have quite a collection!

lrwells50, you may want to peek into the Trash to Treasure forum (http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/f/t2t/all/) and the Mosaics and Stained Glass forum (http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/f/glassworks/all/). There are a lot of folks in both of those forums who will have great advice for you about making mosaic work outdoor proof. Some of their projects are GORGEOUS! :-) I peep in every once in a while to drool. :-)