Talking of April Fools Jokes.
I'll apologize right at the beginning if this offends anyone. I work in a hospital Laboratory, and one of the tests we do is Semen analysis. The specimens are brought to the office people, usually in a paper bag and they bring it back to us. Well, one particular office worker, let's call her Ann will never look at 'those' specimens.
A man who works elsewhere in the hospital, who is newly divorced and dating was approached by one of Ann's co-workers (not me) and asked to help perform an April Fools joke on Ann. He went to Ann, who he is pretty good friends with, and told her that the lady he has been dating says she is pregnant and he is the father. Well, Ann is aware that the man has had a Vastectomy. He asks if he can bring her a 'specimen' and if she could get one of us Medical Technologist to perform a fertility test on it, he is very certain he is not the Dad. She agrees. He brings the specimen in a paper bag (white liquid soap, just incase she peeks, which she does not!). All of us in the back are fully aware of this joke, not knowing who she will ask to perform the test. She asks one of the men (this guy is super nice), who agrees and performs the test. He tells her that Vasectomy hadn't worked since there were many sperm present. She has to go back to her friend and tell him he is going to be a proud papa. She tells him thinking he will be very upset at the news .... he hugs her laughing yelling 'April Fools'.
Gotta love the types of jokes we can do in the Lab. LOL
Cottage Garden Seed Swap & Chat #34
LOL Toofew... i dont think i could look either...
look what i found this morning
Gorgeous! Which one is it?
Wow, what color!
That's beautiful! You must be doing everything right!
That's a beaut Mona! And it reminds me that I wanted to get mine started soon. I want to do a little research first though to determine which of my piggy seeds won't be invasive in my area. I've never planted MGs because their reseeding reputation scares the poo out of me, but they're so darn pretty (especially compaired to the old wire fence I want to cover) that I'm going to give them a try this year. Tuink sent me a boat-load of seed so I've got quite an assortment to look up.
im in zone 5 and they all die off in the fall so not invasive as for the seedlings in the spring move them where you want them and the others discard in the compost
I do try and dead head and collect what seeds I want as to not cause problems else where
and since the tape fell off I have to id for it maybe emmagrace will know
thanks
mona
Ahh Mona I fear the morning glory like you do the milkweed. I don't want 100 volunteers popping up in my yard which is why I've always been a scaredy pants about starting them. But I'm about to get brave...or crazy. LOL
I've done MW's the past 2 yrs and have not found them invasive at all. Same for MG's. with the MG's though, you will get a lot of seedlings the next year [as plants produce - it seems like thousands of seeds] but they easily pull out of the ground [i put some in pots and gave them to a friend] and all others DH just mowed over ... none of them even made it to the chainlink fence.
I am so bummed. We have had more rain, all floode d out and today rain, golfball hail that did a number on th eplants and then more rain, tornatoe watche s and warnings til 2 am and then freezes for the next three night s now instead of two.
I hope my Iris make it they all have stalks and buds all on them ready to open. ; (
I agree with Terese. I only had MG one year and the next year I had a lot of seedlings but they were easy to pull. When can I expect emergence on my butterfly weed I think it is tuberosa. It was supposed to be different colors but all were orange. I'm wondering if they made it through the winter.
I think I may have a pest flower. I dug some little bulbs out of our farm field that had little star shaped flowers on them. They have grown and bloom early in the spring. This year I see the foliage in several places in my yard. They're kind of cute but don't think I want them spreading all over. After they bloom this year I think I will pull them. Do any of you know the plant I am talking about. It probably came in on a tractor wheel. Seems to me I have seem them growing in older homestead yards maybe when I was a kid. BYW I am way beyond that now. lol Kid I mean.
they are easy to move and to pull and last year I only had three seedlings hahahah if you dead head here and there it goes a long way in controlling the seed production and animals do eat the seed
I love them and will never stop growing them since the blooms are so pretty
for the MG's -- i dead headed A LOT last year. we shall see how many seedlings i get this year in the lawn.
Veronica -- since i'm new to Butterfly Weed -- i can't help on when it should come up... but mine are not shoing growth yet... and you should see yours before me.
>>I dug some little bulbs out of our farm field that had little star shaped flowers on them.
sort of like a rosette? i pull them by the dozen. if they are one in the same, and mine are also IN a field ... i can not recall what they look like when the bloom, but i know i have an image of them on the ID forum [i'll go see if i can locate that]
but -- i do think it's a weed.
One thing i find when I'm out there 'cleaning' ... if the plant fights back when being pulled -- it's a weed, if if it comes out easily... it's a perennial that i should not have pulled.
Veronica -- is this what you have??
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/705579/
I've got a lot of neat weeds, but i dont know all their names. I just know what they look like now, since i've been pulling them for 3-4 yrs.
1 or 2 i'll let go, so i can see what it looks like when in bloom.
I should probably let one of these go to see if it is indeed a primrose of some sort.
Hahahaha Tcs Liek that sayign of yours. if it pulls hard a weed, if not plant ya shouldnt have pulled. LOL
I got somethign growign so beautifully in my hibiscus pots and it aint hibiscus, need when i can to get a pic and see if it somethign good or a weed. pulel d one little piec eup and it had like a sideways tuberous type root, cam eeasiily so mayeb it somethgint he bird s brought for me.
Veronica I think I might know what plant you're referring to. Does it have little white flower clusters in the spring? This is driving me crazy. I remember researching it once and the name had something 'religious' in it but it's escaping me right now. Ha! I just remembered. LOL @ me and "something religious. Is this it? http://www.na.fs.fed.us/fhp/invasive_plants/weeds/star-of-bethlehem.pdf
Isn't this weather a DRAG? I just had a bit of a catastrophe in This Old House tonight. Of course my basement has rivers running through it due to all the rain. I shouldn't complain about the rain because I think we do need it, but oye vey with the basement! So I plugged in the dehumidifier in a feeble attempt at keeping up with the water and I blew out an outlet. I didn't pop the breaker nor did I pop the power strip. Apparently I blew the entire outlet. Which was controlling 2 sets of light, the fan, and the dehumidifier. I have NO idea what I'm going to do with all those seedlings. I've already got extra make-shift shelves set up in the GH so it is full to capacity. I was planning to keep the rest of the seedlings in the house until I could harden them off offside. By the looks of things that's not going to be for awhile so now I'm dealing with a flooded basement and 9 flats of seedlings with no light. Ugh! It would appear that I need to do some major repair work here.
On an upside Ella my cerenithe is still hanging in there! It's not thriving by any means but if it's held on this long after looking so rough maybe it's about to turn the corner.
(Sorry for the flooded basement/electrical issue whining. I just needed to share the angst. LOL)
that is why we are here
La check your fuze box, sounds like you blew a fuze, I did the same thing with one of those oil heaters fromWally World knocked everything out in the tv room lol I hope that's all it is :)
Tough deal on the flooding basement I remember when dad had to deal with ours, evey time it rained he would go down and sweep it toward the sump pump and the drain that is down there, it hasn't happened for a couple of years now not sure why we sure had enough rain last winter, I keep everything off of the floor that water would ruin.
I've read stories in gardening mags. about eople transplanting those little white flowers in one spot, there was this one lady that went around her whole yard and made a bed of them out of the plants she collected lol They are pretty little flowers! I always find the bulbs when I'm plating flowers and have to smell them to see if the are wild onion or those bulbs, I don't destroy those bulbs but the wild onion I do. They make your lawn look kind of funky when they come up but the ones that get to bloom before you cut the grass or weed eat them are nice to look at. I don't mind them at all. The bulbs multiply more than the seeds do I think.
Oh Star, I'm sorry about your weather I really hope your plants make it, did you pots on top of some of your lower ones? I have two of the lilac sensations getting ready to bloom with buds and I'm worried about those for this week it's getting dow to 27-30 for Tues. and Wed. with possible snow here and I have a bunch of plants coming up! We were suppose to get tarnados and hail this afternoon but it passed us by just got a bit of rain.
Veronica, when it warms up and stays warm those milkweed will come up :)
Toofew, your April's Fool joke was too much LOL
scicciarella, that looks like one of my JP MGs last year, it has a bit of pink in it too right? Akatsuki no Umi or Tie Dye NOT, I'm no expert on JP MGs that's for sure but those come to mind was the flower a real nice size?
Thanks Mona. :-)
Lea I don't have fuses I have a breaker box. I assumed that's what had happened, that I'd popped a breaker, but no dice. I've been having some other electrical issues lately so I guess I'm going to have to find some money and get an electrician in here.
there is no way the breaker didnt pop if it burned but just to be safe this is my suggestion it is very easy to change an outlet it is four screws and two of them are on the plate so to make sure not to get hurt shut off the main switch to off on the panel use a flashlight if there is not natural light during the day take the plate of and then look at what it looks like one screw top and bottom and then look at the wires you should have one on each side or 1 on one side and 2 on the other it depend where it is on the line
so just take a good look and use tape and write on it if it was top right or bottom left and as you take the thing out make sure to have the new one ready and put in the same way
reattach the wires etc... then turn the power on and then use test button and turn off then on all the breakers unless you know which one then all you have to do is that one turn it off then on then test button then on and it should run ok
just google it and print out the pic you can do it yourself the part is like two dollars or less at home depot he will charge you like 150 dollars
Lal I feel for ya. I have stil half atraielr with no electricty from Rita damage. It a real pain in the patey, but evrybody want s way to much money to even try and look at the problem.
Glad your cerenthie hanging on. Mien went to plant land. LOL
starlight parle-tu francais ????
mr. google has tought me to fix electrical stuff the simple stuff like light switches and plugs, also fixed my cloths washer they wanted 275.00 dollars and its cost me 13.50 for the part and two hours of my time to do the job lol
that is why I use power bars if I am putting more than one thing plugged into an outlet
La, don't envy you any, I need a real electrician in here too and they are so expensive, this house hasn't been rewired since it was built in the very early 50's and the wires are getting crispy :) From what I understand I'll have to get breaker boxes, whatever they are I'm used to dealing with fuses sounds like they are so much easier if one goes out you just replace it. I don't have enough wattage capibility is that what it is? to deal with all the electrical appliances and from room to room anymore, that's one thing that really bothers me when I hook so many lights up downstairs.
scicciarella, I found that a lot of appliances when they go out it's usually just something that can be easily replaced by buying the part unpluging it and plugging the new part in, I used to work on my electrical parts in my cars too before they started making it too hard to get in there and work on your own car.
I even replaced my own wires its called fishing them so disconnecting all the boxes and attaching all the wire and tying it to the new one so as its pulled the new wire replaces the old one and then reconnecting everything I am to cheap to pay so I did all the work and then had the eletrician come and check it out didnt tell him who did the work just payed for an electrical inspection so 200 dollars compare to 18 thousand that I was quoated for a total replacement the materials cost me all wire the breaker box the swithes and plugs etc...... about 1500 dollars and it took me two weeks to do the work, it would have taken them 4 days to do it lol but I would rather pay myself
I even replaced my own wires its called fishing them so disconnecting all the boxes and attaching all the wire and tying it to the new one so as its pulled the new wire replaces the old one and then reconnecting everything I am to cheap to pay so I did all the work and then had the eletrician come and check it out didnt tell him who did the work just payed for an electrical inspection so 200 dollars compare to 18 thousand that I was quoated for a total replacement the materials cost me all wire the breaker box the swithes and plugs etc...... about 1500 dollars and it took me two weeks to do the work, it would have taken them 4 days to do it lol but I would rather pay myself
I'll just add in one of my experiences. I have a outlet that has one of those little breaker things in it that you see in bathrooms. You know with the red buttons. The one in the basement that is by the sump pump has to have one for the same water reasons. But.... I have several other "regular" outlets that are wired to that breaker outlet. If any one of those outlets are tripped. That will set off that one breaker outlet and I have to go and push the red button on the sump pump outlet to get all my outlets working again. Could this be a problem for you?
Hey y'all thanks for your continued support (I feel a little like Bartles and Jaymes there.)
Yes that's exactly what I've got. The breaker box and the little red buttons that have to be switched over when too much power is being pulled (Lea they are SO much easier than fuses.) I have one central breaker box that controls all the electricity in my house. I often pop breakers in the winter when I'm using space heaters or in the spring when I have my plant lights going so I know all about resetting them. I do use power strips too, but in this case it is neither the strip or the breaker so the only thing left is the outlet itself. I have 2 other outlets in my house that don't work so it doesn't come as any huge surprise that I lost another one, however it does concern me that there's something bigger going on since this is #3.
I've managed to find space near windows for most of the plants that were on those 2 shelves and in a couple of days when the temps climb back up I'll go out and do a little more juggling in my tiny green house. In the meantime I'll ask my brother's advice on the outlet. If he thinks I can get by just changing the outlet I'll try Mona! (I am sooo unhandy I am at that kind of thing.) But I'll try...or sweet talk my brother into doing it for me.
;-)
Oh, brothers are supposed to do things like that for us sisters. I have 3. When I did live near them, they got called a little more for lifes little problems ;-).
my brother lives to far away and both my sisters are closer but real busy with work and kids and hubbies, we try to get together when we can
You all rock. La La you found my mystery plant. Star of Bethlehem.
Now I have the job of eradicating them. Guess it will not be a good idea to let them bloom again. I've already seen them and the article said tp get rid of them.
Thanks Terese and La la for your help.
Now I have another mystery. I have 3 plants set just so in one of my beds and for the life of me I can not remember putting them there.lol
edited to add that I did not read your response Lea before I posted. I just jumped in and got right on it. Yes they are pretty that is why I carried them from the cornfield to my flower bed. lol I actually think there were some in my yard when I moved here in 1962. I have been here in this place for a long time.
I still do not know what to do with the 3 mystery flowers. I keep wracking my brain did I have some ws plants that I kept until fall??????
This message was edited Apr 7, 2009 7:50 PM
Indy - you don't have to eradicate them if you don't want to. I have some that were already here when I moved in. I moved them to a spot that they can't spread all over the place. I like them because they are the first sign of spring here. They don't bloom all that early but I like how their foliage is green and grassy when every thing else is still brown.
Uuugg...Star of Bethlehem, I got em everywhere! They're a huge pain for me. Last year I went to the University of Ky arboretum where they have a rose garden and displays of new annuals and perennials being tested for All America honors, and they also have an area where they show invasive exotics and have info on controlling them. Everything they showed is growing right here in my yard, Star of Bethlehem, Asian honeysuckles, wintercreeper, English Ivy, and mulberry trees.
Veronica, can you post a pic of your mystery plants? I lot of times that's the only way I know I've planted something, I find them in 3s, LOL.
with mulberry I use a tarp under the tree at fruiting time so I eat the ones out of the tree and the birds and animals eat off the tarp and I dont get a million little plants to deal with
I think the birds spread the seeds too. I find seedlings all over, way away from the fruiting trees. At least those taste good, one redeeming quality.
for sure I love them yummy especially the white ones
I am glad to see I amnot the only one that hasn't had alot oftime to post lately. The thread has really sloweddown! lol :)
I got a picture of how the star of bethlehem foliage looks. It is planted near my foundation with a concrete walkway around it. I haven't found any seedlings anywhere. They do fill in fast, I think they must be more of a problem in other areas. Here they just spread relatively quickly, but not invasively. They are easy to dig up. They are very shallow rooted. I have noticed they don't flower very well for me, so that could explain why I haven't found any seedlings.
Check out these cute mini roses I picked up at the supermarket for my girls, for easter. I've been trying to keep them hidden in the downstairs window. My older one spyed one through the downstairs window when we were leaving the other day. I denied it lol! I want to save them for easter! : ) The more apricot colored one has a very nice fragrance. They are tiny and cute just like my girls. :)
