Knapp's Knook

Here To Say Good-Bye

2010-02-19T13:49:00.000-05:00

I'm afraid that our area has been over-run with rabbits over the past couple of years. Between the rabbits and the deer, there is little that I can plant that will not be ignored. And the deer have taken to eating flowers that they have overlooked for the past 20 years. I have given up.

I won't be planting a vegetable garden this year. I will grow tomatoes though. I just have not decided yet whether I will grow them in containers or plant them in the ground. At least they deer are not fond of tomatoes, and the rabbits seem to leave them alone too. Since that is the one vegetable that I can't get enough of during the Summer months, I do want to grow some for my own use. But there won't be enough of anything else to write about.

In future, if I have any gardening news to share, I will simply post it to my other blog, Stash-n-Stitch.

It's been fun, and for the few of you that have joined me here, I thank you. But now you will only have one blog to keep up with. It should make things easier for you and me both. LOL

Take care and thanks for being here. :)

The Calendar Says November, The Flowers Say What???

2009-11-25T13:31:00.000-05:00

A few of my perennial plants are getting just a little confused. Here it is, the day before Thanksgiving, and in just a few more days it will be the start of December. A few more weeks and Xmas will be here. But the weather has been un-seasonally warm for this area. Not hot, just warmer than normal. Enough to confuse a few of my plants. We have had several good hard frosts, but not hard enough, obviously.

Here we have a Pincushion plant. Not only does it have two blossoms fully opened, but as you can see, there are buds that are nearly ready to open up as well. All around the plant is dead foliage, but this plant remains green and quite "alive."

I planted about 4 Alyssum, and they are looking a bit ragged, but this one is still blooming. A bit sparsely, but a few blossoms just the same.

I have several Gaillardia plants, and most of them have given up and died back. All but this one, that must be somewhat sheltered by being close to the porch foundation. It is obviously still quite green, alive and blooming. I love these plants because they are such cheerful looking flowers all summer long. To have one still blooming so late in the year is a real joy and delight for me.

Last, but not least at all, I can't forget the small, but lovely Johnny Jump-Up plant. The first to bloom in Spring, and the last to bloom as Winter takes hold. I've even seen their lovely little flowers poking up through the snow on occasion. I have never planted any seed for these, but I do maintain 3 large bird feeders on the top of posts, in my flower bed. So I am sure the seed that spills from the feeders, and not eaten by the ground feeders, have managed to germinate and bring forth these adorable little plants. At one time I feared they were going to overtake my flower bed. But that never happened, and so I have been able to continue enjoying them for many years now.

Happy Thanksgiving to all. :)

A Week Of Small Critters - All New To My Home

2009-11-06T11:51:00.000-05:00

On the window, right beside my computer desk, I keep a Hummingbird feeder during the Summer months. And a little bird seed feeder during the Winter/Spring Months. They both attach to the window with a suction cup.

A few days ago, after filling up all my feeders and suet holders, I heard a tapping on the window. I looked out, and there was a chipmunk stuffing his little cheeks, on my window feeder. I know there are chipmunks in the neighborhood, but I had never in 22 years seen one anywhere around my home. But there he was. Later I discovered there were 2 of them. One on the bigger feeder out in the flower bed (which I can see from my window) and the other one here at my window.

In the afternoon, I made another surprising discovery. I once again heard the tapping on the window, so I looked out and there was another small critter at my feeder. But this little guy was nearly twice the size of the chipmunk, and it had no stripes on it. It took a few minutes before it finally registered that what I was looking at was a red squirrel. We've had grey squirrels here for years. Lew even built me a special feeder just so we could feed the squirrels and watch them frolick in the snow. We find them amusing and fun to watch. But again, we have never had red squirrels around our home for as long as we've lived here. We do now.

I only saw this one, so I hope he keeps the feeders here a secret. I would not like being overrun with red squirrels. I have been told they do far more damage than the grey squirrels do. True or not, I don't want to find out the hard way. He sure is a cute little bugger though, eh?

Then the piece dé resistance - Last night, just as I was shutting down my computer for the day, there came a tapping on the window. It was storming outside, and as I looked out the window, I could see the feeder blowing in the wind. Oh yes, I have replaced the suction feeder with a hanging one. Why? Because the chipmunk became very frustrated with me when I didn't refill the feeder quick enough to suit him, and he sat here yanking on the feeder and pounding it against the window. I had enough of that, and removed the suction feeder and put up a hanging one. The thought behind that was that maybe, with it dangling out away from the window, the chipmunk might find it a bit harder to raid. And it's worked so far. He climbs up to the big feeders in the flower bed, but he has been leaving the smaller one, hanging from my window, alone. So when I heard this banging last night, I wanted to know what was causing it.

As I watched the feeder sway in the breeze, or so I thought, I also caught flashes of movement as well. But it was so dark I just couldn't see what it was. I had to get the flashlight, and when I did, boy was I surprised. There on my little feeder was a tiny squirrel like animal, but with a very small tail in comparison to the grey squirrels, and he himself was no bigger than a chipmunk. I had never seen this animal before in my entire life. I immediately started searching on Google for nocturnal mammals of North America, and for me that was a chore. I am lousy at doing a search, on Google or anywhere. But eventually I found my little critter and it was a most wonderful and enjoyable surprise for me. A North American flying squirrel.

And not only one of them, but two (2). You just have to look harder to see the second one. And if I hadn't seen it climb out of the feeder myself, I probably would not have seen it either. But it is there. A big white belly is most of what you see, but the top of his head is sticking out of the top of the feeder too. He just lifted the roof and climbed right inside the box. So this photo was taken through 2 panes of glass, with the use of a flashlight to illuminate the critters. Not perfectly clear, but clear enough. Other than through TV documentaries, I have never seen a flying squirrel in my entire life. This was and is a real treat.

Something else that I am happy about, finally having my little porch closed in. I now have screening all way round, on the inside. And Plexiglas panels all way round on the outside. I can remove them in the Summer and have a screened in porch, and put them in for the Winter to keep the snow off the porch and the wind directly away from the door. And the added bonus is the ramp. That will make it so much easier for me to bring in my groceries and those heavy bags of sunflower seed and bird seed. :)

Last, but not least, is the beginning of blooming season for my beautiful Xmas Cacti. I have several, but this one blooms from Halloween through to Memorial Day or thereabouts. The only Xmas Cacti I have ever seen to do that. The first flower opened the day before Halloween. The buds are covering the plant now and getting bigger every day. Isn't she lovely?

I awoke this morning to find a light dusting of snow on the ground. It is bitter cold today, about 36ºF as I type this (11:42 AM), but they are calling for warmer weather starting Sunday and through the week. Fine with me. :)

Take care and keep well.

Fall Fell On October 7, 2009

2009-10-08T19:54:00.002-04:00

Yesterday was a nasty day! Rain and high winds, and what was once lovely is not ugly. All, that is, but this little Woolly Bear caterpillar. It is the first and only one I've seen this year, and last evening, when I put the dogs out, he was walking across my porch. As you can see, a large part of the center is red/rust, and the tip at each end is black. I have no idea what this means, so if anyone knows how to "read" woolly bears, clue me in, will you? They are supposed to show if we are going to have a lot of snow or what. Some kind of superstition that I never paid much heed to, which is why I don't know what his coat is predicting for us this go-round.
Anyway, that lovely, brightly colored maple that I showed you just 2 days back? Well, this is what it looked like today. It, along with about 80% of the trees in the area, are looking like this now. Or worse. Most don't have any leaves left. They are all on the ground or covering the roads. Branches and limbs are all over the ground too. I was picking up the downfall from my willow tree today.
On Tuesday, this was that area behind the house where there was so much color and loveliness. Now this is what it looks like. You have to admit though, the grass sure is green!!
And my lovely Sunflowers. Many now have no petals at all, just dark centers. The tallest one was blown over completely. This is the view from the front. If I walk around to the back, facing where the sun comes up in the morning, there are still blossoms, just not as many.
This is my one green tree! This maple tree is the one I planted about the second year after we moved here. It was a seedling growing right outside my Father's bedroom window, and they didn't want it there. My BIL dug it up for me, I brought it home, and Lew planted it for me. For some reason it is the last tree around to turn color and lose it's leaves. I don't know if it is sheltered being directly behind the house, or what. But right now it is just now showing the very first signs of changing color here and there, but it has a long way to go before it turns completely. My sweet maple stays green for me, longer than all the rest. I appreciate that. :)

So my prediction that I feared our Fall had peaked when I posted on Tuesday, was correct. At least for this are we are basically done. There are far more bare trees than colorful ones now. Last night the winds were horrible and we even lost power for about an 1½ hours. I sat knitting and reading with a flashlight sitting on my shoulder. Better than sitting in the dark, twiddling my thumbs, eh? :)

Fall In Lake Como, PA

2009-10-06T16:54:00.005-04:00

There are still quite a few flowers that are still blooming, and the Gilardia has been blooming since the end of May. I love flowers that bloom all season and beyond. The only thing that will stop them is a killing frost, and although we have had a frost, it didn't hit these pretty flowers.
Johnnie Jump Up - another all-season bloomer, even after a frost sometimes. These are blooming right out in the lawn. They escaped from the flower bed and struck out on their own, and I have been loathe to mow them down, so I mow around them and leave them there to show their lovely faces to the sun and to me each time I walk out the gate. Who could mow over something so lovely? Obviously, not I! :)
The Sunflowers are now in full bloom, from the smaller ones to the tallest of them. I am so glad I took the time to plant them the second time back in July. Now I have this to greet me every morning as I gaze out the kitchen window. And the birds are going to love them too. Right now the bees have been feasting.
Dusty Miller and Purple Petunias. The flower bed is in pretty poor shape right now. Weeds have finally gotten a head start because I have not been able to keep up with them. But still these lovelies are providing a bright spot along with the Gilardia plants, my Mums, and a even a few miniature roses are still blossoming.
This is the Maple tree at the edge of my property. As you can see, a lot of leaves are gone already.
This young Lilac bush was hit by the frost back on September 20th. That is a good 2 weeks earlier than we normally see a frost here. But this bush is proof that it happened.
I took this picture Monday morning. Yes, Canada Geese flying South for the Winter.
About 2 1/2 miles from my house is this bit of scenery. I could probably point my camera in almost any direction and find scenery like this. I am so fortunate to live in this beautiful area. I can't imagine living anywhere else.
I took this picture this morning. This is the view from my Doctor's office. You can literally see for miles and miles and miles.
This is the view from my own back yard, looking down across the fields.
Another photo taken down the road from my Doctor's office.
More of the same vista, but here you can see the beaver's dam.

Oh yes, the Butterfly Garden. It's not much now. Most of the plants have outgrown their best size, and are falling all over each other, but there are still new blossoms daily. I don't know about Butterflies visiting them this late in the year, but I know the bees are still visiting. Once they warm up in the sun, well enough to fly, that is. I am seeing them all over, walking along the ground and staggering. But as soon as the sun warms them, they are off and searching for more nectar. I am still seeing our Garden Snakes out sunning too. That won't be for too much longer. Usually, before the end of October, the snow has begun. I guess they are trying to catch the last of those rays before going in for the long Winter nap. :)

Fall Continues It's Advance

2009-09-26T11:57:00.003-04:00

Just a short distance from my home there are 10 Hydrangea Trees. They are nothing to look at most of the year. But come late Summer and Fall, and boy do they shine! They are heavy with flower and it seems they get more pink as the weather cools. I love them!

Right across the road from the Hydrangea trees there is a valley and vista that is beautiful in Spring, Summer and Fall. But I guess Fall is the more showy of the seasons. Spring is my favorite season, but I will not deny that Fall is just as full of beauty.

Along the same expanse of sky and earth, there in the middle is a beaver pond and swamp area. I guess you could say that Fall puts a very lovely face on death. The leaves are falling pretty heavily right now. I really doubt there will be leaves for too much longer, but I guess it could be possible to get another week or two of more brilliant color before it is all gone for this year.

One thing I see that I will have to do in future, is to make sure I have my good camera with me when I go out from now on. The little one I keep in my car to grab those unexpected moments just does not have the picture quality of the other camera, no matter how hard I try. But these were not too bad, so I decided to go ahead and share them.

Have a great weekend. :)

Fall Is Coming Fast

2009-09-24T18:13:00.002-04:00

According to our local news/weather station, WNEP out of Scranton, PA, 50 miles southeast of where I live, the fall colors are at about 40% in the higher elevations, of which I am a part. It looks like more than 40% to me, but what do I know.

On Monday, I had driven down to Honesdale to do some grocery shopping. I was way overdue and it was a lovely day, so I got it done. On the way home, at the top of this little hill, about 100 or so yards from my home, I was coming back , so driving toward you here, and just the other side of that road sign you can see, I saw movement out of the corner of my eye, and out comes running, not 1, not 2, but 3 BOBCATS!! The first two were her baby kittens, and she came last, taking the rear position to protect them. Now I knew there were Bobcats in the area. Not only Bobcats, but several people, including my BFF Kate, have seen Cougars as well. Once Kate saw a full grown Cougar coming from behind my barn. I have never seen one, but that is no guarantee they are not here. And the PA Game commission will outright deny they are to be found in the state of PA completely. But before Monday I had never seen a Bobcat in the wild either, even though I knew they were reportedly found in the area, and known to be around the area by the Game commission. So because you never see something doesn't make it so. I've never in my entire life seen a rattle snake in the wild either, and yet I know they are around. I have just been lucky enough to never run into one, thank goodness.

Anyway, Fall is definitely well on the way and the trees are showing it quite clearly these days. I don't know when we will peak, but I have a feeling it might be just a bit more than a week from now. I doubt we will go much farther. The leaves are falling quite heavily already. All we need is one good storm with a lot of wind and rain, and that will advance Fall quite a bit!

Hope you have a great day. Thanks for visiting. :)

Late Bloomers and Forever Bloomers

2009-09-17T17:57:00.005-04:00

This is the lone Red Poppy in that sea of Orange Poppies from my Butterfly Garden. All of the Orange Poppies were about half this size too. I wish there had been more of these big Poppies, but it was just not meant to be. Maybe the seed from this plant will survive the Winter to produce more of them next years. It really is a gorgeous lone Poppy.
As you can see, the Sunflowers have continued to bloom more and more daily. I can't wait for those really tall ones to blossom. I'm sure it won't be long now. I was sure I planted some of the huge headed ones, but I don't see any so far.
A dwarf Gillardia. I had no idea that they seed themselves. Just that they are a lovely bright and cheerful perennial plant that blooms the entire Spring and Summer, right into Fall. This is one such seedling. It was so small when I planted it here in July, I really didn't know if it would survive at all, let alone blossom this year. And yet here it is giving everything it has to bloom. I love this plant!! I now have about 5 of them, and would not mind 5 more.
This is my double lavender Rose of Sharon. I don't know why, but this shrub never blooms when all the other Rose of Sharon bushes are blooming. It has just begun to blossom and it is full of buds. So unless the deer eat them all off, it should get lovelier each day.
My Morning Glories are trying to play tricks on me. One day they blossom Pink, and the next they are definitely Blue. Today they are Blue, but yesterday they were positively Pink. See for yourself! Both of these pictures are of the very same vines, just one day apart. I wonder what they will be tomorrow? Blue or Pink? Another thing, usually by late afternoon the flowers are closed tight, but that is another oddity. Both of these pictures were taken in the late afternoon, around 4 PM or later, with the Sun beginning to go down.

This is a Zina Princess Lily. My BFF Kate gave it to me last Spring. No, it is not a perennial where I live, but we both dug them up and took them inside for the Winter. Her's was huge and stayed that way, and it started blooming even before she placed it back outside for this Summer. Mine, on the other hand, has just begun blooming since last week. So I have hesitated in taking it up for a time, but it will have to be done soon or the shock may be too much for it.
I think my Butterfly Garden grew so fast, that it crowded my Rudbeckia well enough that they didn't have much room for expansion. This group has stayed quite low to the ground.
This is the center plant of 3 that I planted. The two end plants have stayed short and compact, but this one did gain a bit of height. I'm sure that next year they will probably be quite high before the Butterfly Garden is even planted. But maybe I won't have to plant it next year. If enough of the plants drop good seed, it just might plant it's self. That would sure save me some work. LOL Like the Gillardia, the Rudbeckia bloom the Summer long. Always a bright face in any garden. :)

Sunflowers, Snakes and Mums

2009-09-14T11:24:00.002-04:00

My Sunflowers have really taken off and are finally looking like I had hoped. I'm just sorry I had to plant a second time to get them. Just think, if these were from the first planting, they might be taller still, and have bigger flowers. These were planted in JULY! But they are looking better every day as more and more blossoms open. Some are really "sky high."
A few years ago my BFF Kate needed to thin out her Mums, so this is where they were thinned out to. They look like pink daisies, but not quite as tall. I love them. They were so confused with our cold Summer, they were ready to blossom back in July, so I had to cut them way back to force them to make new blossoms later when they should be blooming, like NOW!
No need to gasp or run, these are but harmless little Garden snakes. I have quite a few of them that call the area beneath my porch, home. On a good day when the sun is nice and warm they like to come out and sun themselves. I love having them around and the dogs find them a curiosity, but do them no harm. Here there are two of them, but I could only find the one head........"peek-a-boo."
I am not exactly sure, but I believe there are only 3 snakes here. These were just inches away from the other two. What I fine most amusing is when they will stretch out on the pavement between the porch and the gate. It has startled more than one person coming to my house to find a grouping of snakes sunning themselves on the warm stone. :D

Bluejays & Tent Caterpillers

2009-09-02T19:01:00.002-04:00

Today I developed a whole new respect for the common Blue Jay.

I have always heard they are noisy and useless. I now know that is not absolutely true. Yes, they are somewhat noisy, and in the Winter they do tend to be bullies at the bird feeder, but they do have a place in our world and a purpose. One of which I learned just today.
I had just finished hanging the laundry out to dry and was coming back to the house when I noticed several Blue Jays flying toward my apple tree. As you can see, there is now a nest of tent caterpillars mucking up my apple tree. As I watched, the Blue Jays made a feast of the tent caterpillars. Over and over again I watched as they poked into the tent and retrieved a caterpillar and ate it. Sometimes their quarry fell to the ground, and they quickly descended and pounced on their prey, and then flew back up into the tree for more. They ate for quite some time, and when their hunger was satisfied, they flew off to the neighbors, where they live. But I'm sure they will return as long as they know there is a good meal to be had in my apple tree. And they are more than welcome. I will be much more happy to be feeding them this coming Winter, now that I know they have earned it by helping me to destroy the horrid caterpillars.

A Good Day In The Garden

2009-09-01T15:01:00.003-04:00

The Sunflowers have finally grown taller than I am, and there are many, many flower buds. Slowly, over the next week or so, they will begin to open. Some have already started. Some small yellow Sunflowers are blooming, and then I just happened to see the back of this gorgeous bronze colored flower, so I walked around the other side, and got this photo. I liked it so much I've made it into wallpaper for my computer. :)

This is the full stand of Sunflowers. Four rows of them, and really looking good these days.

The Butterfly Garden continues to open new and different flowers, but the poppies remain dominant.

This is my one large tomato plant. It has a lot of tomatoes, and all of them would make a sandwich, so I would really like to see them mature and ripen fully, but I'm not holding my breath. The weatherman is predicting a low of 40ºF tonight, and that is getting pretty scary.

Cabbage. One huge head and 4 smaller ones. I'll be making a nice big batch of Poncé, and putting portions in the freezer for use later on. Yummy! I might manage to get at least 2 ears of corn. They are forming and getting bigger, so I'm crossing my fingers.

My peppers continue to grow. I don't know if this little guy will get much bigger or not, but we'll see. Maybe he will turn red, who knows. One of the plants is bigger than all the other, and has 2 peppers forming now, and several flowers. But I don't hold much hope for them because peppers take quite a bit of time to grow and ripen.

I had 1 cucumber so far, and I really didn't expect to see any more. But the plant has suprised me with this second cucumber that is growing nicely. Who knows, if the frost will stay away I may even get a few more as there are other flowers.

Finally, after 3 long months, it looks like I just might get at least ONE ZUCCHINI! It is there, and it is growing, and they don't usually take very long to grow. So I have my fingers crossed this one will make it. Wish me luck.

Happy gardening! :)

Some Gardening Progress

2009-08-22T15:01:00.004-04:00

I know that down in Bucks County, PA, their Trumpet Vines are in full bloom back around the end of June and all through July. Mine never blooms before August. Sheesh, it took 6 years before it ever bloomed at all. I was beginning to lose faith in it, and then suddenly 2 little buds appeared that first year. It still doesn't bloom like most Trumpet Vines do. With a mass of flowers all over. But it blooms, and for that I am thankful, as are the hummingbirds.
Just to show you what I meant about my "abnormal" tomato crop this year. That tomato on the RIGHT, the BIG one, was purchased at the Farmer's Market over in Hancock, NY., 2 weeks ago Friday. Just knowing it is 2 weeks old, and still not spoiled, tells me this was NOT a normal farm grown tomato, and I refuse to believe it came from anywhere around here. The small, cherry sized tomatoes, are the ones I am picking from my plants. The one bigger one is the biggest I've seen on any of my plants this year. And NO, I did not plant a single cherry tomato plant. Between the rain and the cool weather, they just didn't develop normally. But I can't say I'm not getting any tomatoes at all. I am, but nothing to speak of. It's a good thing I wasn't planning on bottling up a lot of tomato sauce this year, right? :)
I have 5 bell pepper plants. Can you see, by how close the ground is to the pepper, how small this plant is? Maybe 6" tall? But it does have a pepper. I have 2 plants with peppers like this, and one that managed to get a little bigger and it is loaded with flowers. But common sense tells me that this late in the season, I am not to expect any peppers from it. And take note of the moss that is on the ground. My garden is full of it. More proof of how much rain we've been getting.
This is my FIRST cucumber this Summer. The plant produced several flowers and minuscule cucumbers on it, but they then fell to the ground and never grew. This one is about 4" long now. There are more flowers too, so I just might get a few before they totally stop growing. I also bought 3 cucumbers at that Farmer's Market in Hancock, NY 2 weeks ago, and no lie, it is sitting on my counter where I put it the day I bought it, and there is not a mark on it. It has not softened at all, and no bruises or blemishes.........AFTER 2 WEEKS! I will tell you this. I am NOT going to buy any more produce at that Farmer's Market. I don't know who they are fooling, but not this lady. Fresh produce, picked from the farm, NEVER keeps for 2 weeks. And I have done nothing to protect it either. And during these last 2 weeks, it has been the hottest weather we've had all Summer. Normal tomatoes and cucumbers would have rotted up in that time, without a doubt. These are not fresh home grown at all. I don't know what they are, or where they come from, but no local farmer grew them and I would put money on that.
My corn............do you see the tassels? Yep, they are there. The fact that some of the stalks are still less than a foot tall doesn't seem to have stopped them. I guess the plant says it's time to tassel, so that's what they are doing. I'll be picking mini corn cobs like you get in Chinese foods.......hahahahaha

I didn't take any photos of the cabbage. I should have because they are doing really well. Maybe that's why I did not. The others are just now starting to do what they should have been doing all Summer, so I took pictures of them. The cabbage have "behaved" better than any of the other plants, so I never thought to photograph them. Oh well!
One of the Sunflower plants that was in a hurry to blossom. It now has 4 flowers on it. I guess they don't have to be tall to be happy either.
That little black rat is Dudley, my Pomeranian. Searching through the Sunflower plants for a rabbit, I'm sure. As you can see, the hot weather over the past 2 weeks have been just what they were looking for. They shot up like a flash, and nearly all of them are now beginning to develop flower buds. So they should be blooming soon. I am looking forward to that. Finally a successful crop of something!!
Considering that my Butterfly Garden did not even get planted until the beginning of July, it has not let me down. It is thick with blossoms of many kinds. Do the Butterflies like it? I don't know, but I do. This is looking at it from the front. You can just barely see the little Rudbeckia (black eyed susan type plants). They have grown, but they were quickly overtaken by the wild flowers from the seed packet.
This is the same Butterfly Garden from the back. There are a lot of tiny orange poppies blooming. Several little Snapdragons. Some pretty little pink flowers that I don't know the name of. Some white flowers, and I don't know what the yellow flowers are either, but they are fairly common weeds. I don't know if they were in the seed packet or just came up on their own. I had a canister of mixed wild flower seed, and I dumped the entire canister into the bed. So who knows what is there. They grew and blossomed and they are really pretty. My bed is falling apart though. I might have to replace it next year. Oh dear, another "repair project."

The past 2 weeks have been very hot, and very humid, and a lot of rain interspersed with very bright sunshine. Obviously it was just what the garden needed to grow right. But we really needed that in June and early July. Alas, it didn't happen when it should have, but it's here now. I guess you make the most of it and be satisfied. Better late than never, right?

Make it a good day :)

Fall Foliage At Mid-August

2009-08-21T12:51:00.003-04:00

My BFF Kate took these first two pictures yesterday. I told her I needed to prove that our Fall was showing signs of encroaching on us already. This first picture shows just a few leaves that have turned orange. And many trees are starting to look like this now.
This tree above, has progressed just a bit further with not only orange but brownish, reddish leaves as well. A bit more over-all color.
This tree is well on the way. A lot more red, which is what usually happens with the sugar maple trees. This tree is right across the field from my house. It was raining when I snapped the shot, so it's not quite as bright. But it is still quite obvious what is happening here.

Autumn is well on it's way and we have really had but 1 full week of Summer temperatures. Whoopee!! This truly is the year without a Summer.

Late Bloomers♦

2009-08-17T13:19:00.005-04:00

As usual, there are some flowers that don't really begin to show off until later in the Summer. My Morning Glory vines and Trumpet vines are such plants. But they are beginning to do quite nicely right now, as you will see.

Below is one of the Morning Glory Vines. I saw Lizette posing so nicely there, that I sacrificed the other vine to get her into the shot. But all blue morning glory flowers look alike, so if you see the one vine, you really have seen them both. LOL

From Knapp's Knook-Gardening Blog

Isn't she cute? She recently had a hair-cut, and just in time I would say. The past week it has been very hot and very humid. Well into the upper 80's here of late. I don't believe that we have actually reached 90ºF. here at our elevation, but in some of the lower lying areas around us, I'm sure it has. That is fine with me, because anything over 85º is difficult for me to be comfortable with. We have never had air conditioning. I don't think that is something that would be considered necessary when weather like this is generally very short lived here where we live.

Below, the Trumpet Vine. It is really starting to look good. The flowers don't last very long though. Maybe a day, and then they drop off. But the Ruby Throat Hummingbirds love it. About any time you stop to gaze at the blossoms, you will see a Hummingbird feeding from them. The Honeysuckle vine is about 10 ft to the left of the Trumpet Vine, so for the Hummers, that is a feast all by it's self! :)

From Knapp's Knook-Gardening Blog

The main flower bed is now almost exhausted, but for the lavender Mum that is starting to blossom. And I have some miniature blue Asters that have not begun to bloom yet. Everything else is starting to prepare for the coming Fall and Winter. The little petunias continue to bloom though. They are amazing and so lovely. I think they have to be one of my most favorite of the annuals that are available here each year. Marigolds and miniature Dahlias run a close second.

A friend of Lew's (who misses him almost as much as I do) has started cutting our hay. Even now it is chancy, but we finally had a 4-5 day window of likely dry hot weather, so he took it. There is a lot of hay yet to be cut, but you have to start somewhere. At least some is now down and raked, and will probably be baled up either later this afternoon or tomorrow at the latest. Way down under all the hay the ground is still soaking wet, and that makes drying the hay take just a bit longer.

Enjoy your day :)

Garden Update

2009-08-03T16:31:00.003-04:00

All of my tomato plants were planted on the same day. I think the one here must have drank a double dose of Miracle Gro. It is full of foliage, and no fruit. The tiny little 12" high plant is weighted down with ripening tomatoes. Yep! That was not a misprint. I said ripening fruits. I didn't say how big they were though, because I have a feeling a golf ball is bigger. But still, take a closer look........................................below
Those are two nicely colored tomatoes. And I am going to enjoy them so very much. In years past I would be eating tomatoes 3 times a day by now. Not begging for a 2" toddler tomato to ripen. But I'm getting desperate and willing to accept anything right now, as long as it's real and it's fresh.
The Butterfly Garden has some new flowers. They look very yellow in the photo, but they are very orange when yo see them up close and personal. They are very small poppy flowers, and there are a large number of them. Over the next several days more and more will be blooming. I hope there are still some hungry butterflies hanging out in the neighborhood. My Trumpet Vine is about to burst forth in bloom too. It is making buds right now, and it looks like it might be a good year for them. The Hummingbirds will be thrilled. Last year it didn't make even one flower, for some reason. Oh well.

We had a lot of rain over the last few days. The lawn desperately needs mowing but there is water in puddles all over it. Your feet squish when you walk through the grass. It's disgusting! But tomorrow is supposed to be dry, so I am hoping by then to be able to get the lawn mowed. Today I was going to do nothing, but maybe some knitting. I ended up clipping my poodle Lizette. She is not too happy with me right now. She hates her feet being done. :)

Happy Monday all.

My "Charlie Brown" Garden

2009-07-30T12:30:00.006-04:00

I was talking to the owner of Spinderella's last night. That is where I sent my alpaca and wool fleece for processing. While talking with her I mentioned my pathetic veggie garden, and she compared it to Charlie Brown's Xmas tree, hence the name "Charlie Brown Garden." I think it fits perfectly, seeing how sparse it it..............LOL But as you can see, plants are growing. Not like they normally have in the past, but they are slowly, but surely growing. Below are the best of them so far. The cabbages. For the longest time they were stagnant. Just there, being, but doing nothing. Then suddenly they started making heads and actually looking like cabbage. Hooray!I planted 2 rows of beets, twice! This is my one lone survivor. So much for beets this year.
I have 6 tomato plants. Five of them I planted, one a surprise from old seed left in the soil. It sprang up on it's own. It must be a very hearty specie of tomato to do what even the weeds are not doing well. But I am not complaining. If it provides me with one piece of fruit I will be thrilled. My tomatoes didn't grow at all for a full month, and then slowly over the past couple weeks they have done much better. Maybe it was the Miracle Gro I sprayed them with? Anyway, they are making fruit, so I just might get to enjoy a few before all is said and done. Not holding my breath though.

These are my Sunflower plants. I planted 4 rows of seed. The first planting provided about 8-10 plants, and you can see the one plant that blossomed (I posted in previous post) all the way on the right hand side, just in front of that last tall plant. If you look hard enough you can see that one tiny pathetic Sunflower. What a brave little Sunflower he is too. I did re-seed about 3 weeks ago, and as you can easily see, these seed did not drown and are growing very nicely. So I am still hoping to have a really nice stand of Sunflowers for me to enjoy as they blossom, and for the birds to enjoy as they make more seed.
Below is the most pathetic Zucchini plant I've ever seen in my entire life. And it's looking really good now. You should have seen it before. It was lucky to have one lone leaf. It has blossomed many times, but no fruit have grown. It has several buds on it now, but I have no idea if it will ever produce a single Zucchini. And that will be a record breaker right there. A Zucchini that produces nothing. Why, that's just unheard of!!
Below, my Cucumber plant. The stem is about 8" long or thereabouts. It has 4 miniscule cucumbers growing on it so far, and there are more flowers. Can you see them? I have circled 3 of them. They measure about 1/2" long. Hey, it's a beginning! Everything has to start somewhere, right?
All my life I have heard "knee high by the 4th of July." Ha! Not this year!!!! But if I am lucky I may have a few stalks that are knee high by the 4th of August. Whether they will have time to fully mature and produce cobs, only time will tell. Not holding my breath here either.

From Knapp's Knook-Gardening Blog

Well, that is my vegetable garden, so far. Will it actually produce anything? I hope so, but I am thankful my life does not depend on it doing so. :)

More Flowers To Share

2009-07-30T11:54:00.004-04:00

The Butterfly Garden is showing off some new blossoms after yesterday's soaking rains. We have two more SnapDragon like flowers. This is one of them, above, in red and yellow. Beside it you see the white flowers that were the first to blossom. I don't know what they are called either, but they remind me of verbena. They may be a sub-variety, but I really don't know. Below is a little yellow flower that has begun blossoming. They are very tiny, and I have no idea what they are either, but they are so delicate and cute I wanted to share them.

Below, another SnapDragon, these are violet, yellow and white. I am curious to see how many different colored varieties of these adorable little blossoms will emerge and the Butterfly Garden develops over the next few weeks. More than anything, I am thrilled that it is blooming at all. It didn't even get planted until the end of June, so it's a true wonder it is doing so well already. I guess that is thanks to the warmer weather we are finally enjoying this week.Other plants deserve a closer inspection too. In my large flower bed is this beautiful Jackmani clematis. It was seen vaguely in the photo of the entire flower garden, but it deserved to be seen up close and personal. It really is blooming in a spectacular way right now.
And of course, a few more lilies. This one is an Orange -Creme in color. It reminds me of a creamsicle. And the petals are so smooth and silky in appearance, it really isn't that much of a stretch in the imagination. Yummmm........
Below, a lovely pink and yellow beauty. Thank goodness the deer didn't hit this group of lilies as badly as those across the way along the fence line. It will be a while before I get more photos of those lovelies because the damage was bad enough it will delay blossoms for at least another week, if not longer.
Below, one of the 3 Rudbeckia I planted in the Butterfly Garden. As I look out the kitchen window, while washing dishes, the first thing I see are those 3 Rudbeckia plants. For a few weeks they were all that were blooming in the little raised bed. Now they are quickly being crowded by all of the other plants that are growing so quickly behind them. They didn't do much growing for a few weeks, but over the past 10 days I have noticed that they too are starting to stretch up and fill out more. I guess they are determined not to be left behind. Good for them. Their smiling yellow faces are delightful at all times.
What would we do if we didn't have such beauty in our lives? After all the months of grey skies and blustery winds and slippery snow, the soft beauty of Spring flowers and Summer delights are just the thing to help us recover from one Winter and prepare us for the next. I am never disappointed by the beauty that surrounds me every month of the year. I feel privileged to live where each and every season gets to show it's self off to it's best advantage, all in due time. The glorious green of Spring. The amazing colors of Summer. The brilliant bronzes and reds of Autumn. The blinding white of the Winter snows. And everywhere you look, in every direction, trees, trees, and more trees. The area is slowly building up, and that is to be expected. But lucky for me I doubt I will live long enough to see it totally destroyed. For me it will always be the most beautiful place on earth. :)

Flowers Doing Well

2009-07-28T13:25:00.004-04:00

We have been enjoying a bit more warmth and a bit less rain, and the plants are responding. The sun comes up behind the house, and goes down in the front. So I wanted to get a shot of the biggest flower bed, now that most of the plants are in full bloom, but because of it's size, photographing it from one end just doesn't get everything. And the lighting also changes things. But here it is taken from the driveway facing east. As you can see, the Hosta are exploding, as are the lilies. The purple mass wrapped around the bird feeder is a Jackmani clematis.
Below, the same flower garden but taken from the top facing west. Here you see the flag, birdbath, beneath that the Silver Mound, and the ground rose (Apple Blossom) to the right. All of which are missed when looking up from the other end.
Below, those beautiful flowers in my "Friendship" shade garden. They are blooming fuller now, and as you can see, they are opening up along the stem. There are three distinct colors now. Salmon on the top left, Pink below and toward the middle, and a lovely Purplish color on the right. If anyone knows the name of this flower, I would really appreciate knowing what it is. So please leave a comment and inform me. They are so lovely. I am hoping this little garden will re-seed it's self since they are more than likely from a collection of wild flower seed. But it is also possible they are not wildflowers that thrive in my area, and if that is the case, they won't be able to seed and grow next Spring. I guess I'll just have to wait and see.
This is the Butterfly Garden I planted just about a month ago, in the old raised strawberry bed out back by the vegetable garden. The 3 Rudbeckia plants in the front are almost hidden by the other plants, but they have started growing taller, so I am hoping they will be more visible soon. There is a mass of tiny white flowers blooming right now, very similar to the many small white flowers in the "Friendship" garden. These are the first to bloom in both gardens. Then, if you look really hard, you will notice one flower, near the center, at the top that is standing taller than all the rest. It is so adorable, and my friend Miss Wendy tells me it is a Snap Dragon.
This is a close up of the Snap Dragon. Let me tell you, getting this shot was NOT easy. I must get a little tri-pod for my camera for just such occasions. I took about 6 photos, and this is the only one that was actually clear, and yet the bottom flower is clipped off, so even this photo is faulty. But it's the best I could do. It really is lovely, don't you think?
Above, is what we generally call a Sunflower, but the poor lad is stunted. He stands all of 6-7" high. As you can see, behind him are his bigger brothers, and they are only about 2' tall right now. I was shocked when I first saw that a flower was actually forming on this tiniest of Sunflower plants. But he is standing proud, if not tall........... :)

A Variety Of Gardens

2009-07-18T15:41:00.011-04:00

I'll start with my "Friendship Garden," as the seeds for this small garden were given to me by a friend. The packet says it is a shade garden, so I planted it in the front of the house, where it is in shade until the last hours of the day. It is growing very well, and now the tall plants, that have kept me guessing for so long over what they would look like, have begun to blossom. They are really lovely.
This is a close up of the dark pink/lavender tall plants. The flowers are amazingly lovely, and so delicate. The photo below is another of the same type plant, but with pink flowers. I have circled the buds, so you can see how they are growing with every other one on the opposite side of the stem. I am curious to see if the bottom flower will still be blooming when the top bud opens. If it is, that should be really pretty.
Next, my "Butterfly Garden." I put an entire canister of mixed seed in this small raised bed. Some of the tiny white blossoms have begun blooming, but I think it will be a while before the rest of them start showing off. Still, considering our weather, it is coming along. And it was planted very late, so I am really happy with it's progress so far, under those conditions. Oh yes, just in case you are wondering. All that tall grass in the background is part of the hay fields on the back side of the fence.
Next, we have some news about the "Vegetable Garden." We actually have vegetables.......TOMATOES to be exact. Albeit the entire plant is maybe but 15" tall, still it has begun to grow. Over the past week we have had slightly dryer, warmer weather. I think the tomato plants have decided to jump start their growth and try to get the most of the improved conditions, especially since we don't know how long they will last. I have 5 tomato plants, and every one is showing small marble sized tomatoes on them. And the plants themselves have started perking up and looking healthier and heartier. They just may surprise me yet.

Next, the cabbage. They have actually begun to make heads. This plant has doubled in size over just the past few days.
These are rather pathetic when you realize they are Sunflower plants, but they are looking very green, healthy and seem to be shooting up quickly the past few days.
The next photo is one of the Sunflower plants, all of 5" tall, but already it is trying to bloom. Now whoever heard of a Sunflower plant only 5" tall. Well, maybe by the time the flower opens it will be 8" tall? Still, unless it does some major growing very quickly, this has got to be the shortest Sunflower I've ever seen...............LOL

From Knapp's Knook-Gardening Blog

Last, but not least, the long flower bed. Remember back in May this was a tall stand of weeds? Now it is a tall stand of Lilies, Daisies, Iris and a few other shorter plants. But the Lilies are now coming into their own and showing off.

A lovely pink Lily...................
Another in a salmon like color...............
The next is a pale peach ...............
Deep red/purple..............the darkest of my Lilies
A buttery Yellow. These are the darkest of the yellow Lilies.

Thanks for visiting........... :)

Now - Roses

2009-07-15T14:07:00.002-04:00

This is the big flower bed alongside the driveway. All of the following roses are blooming in this flowerbed, but unless you are up close, it's hard to see them.
This is my pride and joy, Double Delight sub-zero hybrid tea rose, and she smells wonderful. She didn't even begin to start showing any green until the second week of June. I've had this rose for over 20 years, and I honestly thought she was a goner this year. But as you can see, she did rally round and today she is showing off her first bloom of the year. I will make sure to mulch her heavily this Fall, to give her the best chance for survival next year. I hope it works, but if it does not, I will replace her with another of her kind. She has been a hearty rose and my absolute favorite.
This rose is called the Freedom Rose and it is supposed to be a fast growing hedge rose, and the claim was they are well suited to my area also. I purchased 10 plants.......and over the following few years, I watched them die off, one by one, until there were but 2 left. Originally they were planted out along the wood fence where the lilies grow now. They not only did not thrive there, but to this day (15 years after their purchase) not one of the two has ever developed in such a way that it could be even considered a hedge rose. They are thin and spindly, and yet when they bloom, their flowers are amazing, and also fragrant. I moved them to the bigger flower bed in the hope of keeping them alive. That I accomplished, but they have never done what they were supposed to do. Become a hedge.
This is Charlotte Brownell, a sub-zero hybrid tea. Another very hearty rose with beautiful flowers
I can't remember the name of this rose, but it is a sub-zero variety of multiflora or everblooming. Again, all of my roses are just now blooming, a good 5 weeks later than usual. Generally, every one has started at least by the first week of June. But it has just been too cold this Summer. I would venture to guess that my roses think it probably is early June.

Eliminating Weeds The HARD Way

2009-07-15T13:10:00.006-04:00

Earlier this Spring my neighbor, Keith, moved the fence around the yard to encompass the garden and the side lawn where I hang laundry in the Summer, so that the dogs would have more room to run and play, but also so that they can be with me most of the time I am outside doing yard and gardening work. They can't be with me 100% of the time because the two big flower beds are still outside their yard, but I am only out there for the occasional weeding and weekly mowing. After the fence was moved there was quite a bit of large standing weeds that just looked horrible. They were too thick stemmed to cut down with my little weed trimmer. This is a part of the stand of weeds that covered a strip on both sides of the fence, including where Lizette is, about 40' long and 4 or 5' wide. A friend (Bob) was nice enough to cut the weeds in front of the telephone/electric pole with my brush mower. But it is too heavy and cumbersome for me to handle with much ease and he didn't have the time to do all of the mowing then. I have always admitted that I am NOT a patient person. And I just couldn't stand these weeds standing there.
To the right of this weedy mess is my intended vegetable garden. These weeds are growing along the back side of the garden, and inside the fenced area. In the past Lew kept these weeds mowed down with the brush mower. We didn't dare use the lawn mower because of the rocks that were all over the place beneath the weeds. But as it was outside the yard, we didn't really care. The brush mower did well enough at the time. Once the area was enclosed inside the fence, it became a matter of pride to have it neat and clean from rocks and weeds, but people are busy and they just didn't have the time to get it cleaned out for me. Well, impatience and determination took care of that.

After my friend cut the weeds from in front of the fence by the electric pole, I just couldn't stand looking at all the rest of the weeds still standing. I got out my little garden stool that I use for weeding with, and a little pair of Fiskar's garden shears, the blades are about 4" long tops. With temperatures only in the upper 60's to low 70's occasionally, I got to work, cutting down those weeds an inch at a time. Once all of the weeds were down I searched for and removed rocks. And I'm talking about many wheel barrel loads of rocks, not just a few. I should have got a photo of the rock pile, but just didn't think of it.........hahaha I finished the entire stand there in front of the garden where Lizette was, and then started on that stand to the back of the garden where you see the red mulch for the tomato plants.

I had managed to clear about 6' of the area behind the garden when my friends Wendy & Matthew (and their son Jackson) came up for the weekend to visit. Matthew took control of the situation from there, starting up the brush mower, and he finished mowing the stand behind the garden. Then Wendy and I cleared up all the weeds, heaping them all on the compost pile at the end of the garden plot, and I cleared out the rocks. Then Wendy mowed the area around the telephone pole, and the piece in front of the garden, while I mowed the longer piece behind the garden. Still, take note that I cut down at least a 50' swath of these tall thick weeds with a 4" pair of garden shears, by hand! Now, the result................................WALLAH!!
Not a weed in sight! (And not a garden either) As you can see, the entire fenced in area, and the area around the telephone/electric pole are totally cleared. And behind the pole you see the mountain of weeds now resting in the compost pile. Some thought I was foolish doing all that cutting by hand, but I did accomplish what I set out to do. And for the first time this Summer I actually appreciated the cooler weather. If we were up into the 80's as we usually are this time of year, I could never had done what I did by hand at all. I would have been forced to wait for friends to have the time to cut them down with the brush mower. But instead, thanks to cool weather, help from friends, and my own stubborn determination, the area is clean and will remain clean from now on. Now the weeds are down and all the rocks removed, it is a very simple matter of just mowing the area when I mow the rest of the lawn. Easy peasy! :)

This is just a little photo to show that I have some very good friends living on my land, and to say that I am very happy to have them. There are about a dozen or so living under or around my porch. But they are in the flower beds, every one, and I am forever doing the lawn mower dance to avoid striking one with the mower. They come in all sizes from mature adult to very young ones. But every one is appreciated and treasured for all the good they are doing. I hope they are eating lots and lots of bugs, as I am sure they are. Hooray for the humble Garden Snake! :)

This Is A Garden???

2009-07-15T12:56:00.003-04:00

The year 2009 has been the very worst year for gardening in my 67 years of living. Nothing I try has helped in any way. Including Miracle Gro! And yet I still hold out the faintest wisp of hope that things might turn around and SOMETHING will bear fruit. This poor example of a tomato plant sure is making an effort. It actually has tomatoes starting to grow. They are getting heavier too, because yesterday I had to tape the stem to the post to support it because the tiny growing fruit is going to snap it in half if I did not. Considering all the trauma these tomato plants have suffered this Spring, I guess it is a wonder there is even a flower, let alone a fruit coming.
Believe it or not, these are cabbage plants. Alive, yes, but growing? I don't see much proof of that.
The label said these were bell pepper plants. And you know, in the very tip top center, there is a tiny white bud forming. This has got to be some kind of sick joke, right?
This is a cucumber plant. And it is several months old, as are all of the plants. Another joke.
And when was the last time you ever saw a Zucchini that did not take over the garden? Well, you have seen one now. This one can't even keep what few leaves it has. It flowers, they die, and no fruit even tries to form. I've sprayed and dusted for bugs too, but nothing helps.

I am very thankful that over the past 2 years we had bumper crops and I still have plenty of veggies in the freezer. If I had to depend on this garden I would starve!

Sick, Sick, Sick! :(

Flowers & More Flowers

2009-07-15T12:40:00.002-04:00

At least SOMETHING is blooming here in northeast PA. Some flowers are doing fairly well, albeit blooming much later than usual. This is one of my hanging basket plants that I bought this year. The label claims that it is a Lysimachia Variegated, but when I looked it up on the Internet, the plant they showed me looked nothing like this. So if anyone seeing this knows the true name of this plant, I would appreciate it if you would inform me. I love it, and will be looking for it again next year, unless I get extremely lucky and manage to keep it over the Winter inside. But that doesn't work very well most of the time.
A Red Sedum. It really is showy when it's in bloom. For some reason, this year only, the deer have decided to eat my pink sedum. I have a yellow sedum that is blooming quite nicely too. Why the deer chose to eat just the pink one, I have no clue.........for 18 years they never once touched my Hosta plants, and I have several. But a few years back, and for the next 2 years, they really chowed down on them. This year I managed to get them coated with Deer Away in time, and they have thrived well, and are now in full bloom. The Hummingbirds are having a feast.
I have a dozen hybrid day lily plants, developed by a personal friend. Every year they have been quite showy. In my last post I showed you the first one to bloom. The rest are looking quite the same as this one. As though they want to bloom, but just don't have the strength to do so. I am really thinking the very cool nights (in the 40's) and the not too warm days (in the low 70's) are just not providing enough heat for them to fully open. But maybe in a few more days they will open wide and be as lovely as they have ever been. Only time will tell.
A Fanfare Gillardia..............one of my favorite species. I now have 3 Fanfare's but one of them is not doing all that well. I hope it comes round eventually, but it looks poorly right now. I may have to move it.
One of 3 coral bell plants. I had two of this variety. The other one has never developed as well as this one, and it's even worse this year. I bought a new, dark leaf Coral Bells this Spring, but the flowers are so insignificant, you can barely see them when right on top of the plant. Trying to phot0graph them would be difficult. I am guessing that variety is more popular for the deep purple coloring of it's leaves rather than it's flowers.

As I said, at least something is blooming, right?

Some Things Are Growing

2009-07-06T17:38:00.003-04:00

My roses are way late, thanks to the rain and cooler weather, but at least some things are blooming and the flower beds are starting to look like flower beds again. This first is a Dwarf Gilardia. I love their bright orange/red/yellow colors and the fact that they bloom all summer long. Obviously the cold and rain has not slowed them down in the least.
One of the first of my miniature roses to bloom this year. This is called Green Ice. When the flowers first begin to open they have a greenish tint to them, but once fully opened they are white as snow.
This is one of a dozen hybrid lilies I have that was hybridized by a personal friend. He has a talent for this kind of thing. He used to hybridize tropical fish as well, but decided to change course several years back and began playing with day lilies. So far he's done rather well.
This is a spreading rose, called Apple Blossom. The flowers are very similar to the color of apple blossoms. This is just the first blooms. The entire shrub is covered in tiny buds getting ready to burst forth. You would be surprised if you saw how far back I cut this every Spring. But if I did not, it would overtake the entire flower bed by now.......LOL

At least something is blooming and growing well. It definitely is not the vegetables!! :)

Maybe No Veggies, But There Are Flowers

2009-07-01T13:55:00.002-04:00

Planted late because I had so much other yard work to get done first, and then it was full of weeds that had to be removed before being planted, my little Butterfly Garden does seem to be off to a great start. From all the thousands of seedlings I can see sprouting, it is doing far better than my veggie garden without a doubt. I am sure that in a months time it will be blooming and the Butterflies can have a feast. I dumped the entire canister of seed in there.........hahahaha
A very nice lady that I correspond with sent me a packet of mixed seed for a shade garden. It is now my "Friendship Garden" I scattered the seed in the front of the house where it gets no direct sun until the end of the day. The seedlings are about 8" high and just now beginning to blossom. This is the first flower I've seen. Very small and dainty, but pretty. Don't you agree??

Several years ago I planted some tobacco plants (Nicotania). Their fragrance is amazing, and my hubby Lew really liked them. But they grew so tall they would fall over, and I don't care for plants with that characteristic, so I am not fond of them at all. But since they were first planted, every year they seem to make a come-back. They too are in the front growing in the shade garden, but they are all the way in the back, and not bothering the other seedlings yet.......I hope they don't. This one is the first to bloom. Rather pretty I think. Now, if it would just stay upright!

Have a great day. :)

One Month Later

2009-06-30T09:20:00.003-04:00

On Memorial Day weekend, one month ago, I planted my small garden. Six tomato plants, 6 bell pepper plants, a bit of radishes, 6 cabbage plants, 2 cucumber plants, 2 rows of corn, a row of beets, and a zucchini. Since I had lots of space left, I planted 4 rows of mixed sunflower seed. Well, a whole month later, this is my garden. Have you ever seen anything so pathetic in your entire life? Well I have not! It has been too cold for anything to grow, shockingly that includes the weeds too, as you can easily see. And too wet for the seeds too, I guess, as they didn't sprout, other than the radishes, but even they are looking just plain horrible. The garden is a washout, and I am just devastated and disappointed. This has never happened before in my entire 67 years of life, and I hope to never see it happen again.
You saw how small the tomato plants are. I doubt any of them are over a foot high, if that. But they are all struggling valiantly. Every plant is now flowering, and this one, the first to flower, now has 3 tiny marble sized tomatoes beginning to grow. Whether they will thrive and mature is another matter. If they don't get some heat soon, that may never happen.
This is a Zucchini plant. Can you believe it??? it has 3 leaves! Amazing! And yet it is being so strong and brave. It is now covered with buds. More buds than leaves, and one lovely yellow flower. Anyone that has ever gardened knows that Zucchini grow huge very quickly, with lush green foliage. This poor pathetic plant is proof of how devastating our weather has been for gardeners in my area. I'm glad I don't have to depend on this garden to survive. I would starve for certain.

At Least Some Things Are Growing

2009-06-17T09:51:00.004-04:00

For several years my Honeysuckle vine grew up the eastern side of the porch, providing lovely shade for about 1/2 the day. Then Lew decided he wanted to build a garage on that side of the house, so he dug up my vine and moved it. It was planted in a hole full of rocks, and for several years after being moved it didn't grow very well, and barely hung on. He never got to build the garage, and my poor plant was barely surviving. I went down behind the barn and got a wheelbarrow load of very old rotted down manure. Black gold. And I filled that hole up and over the top, and asked Lew to build a support for it. The next year it began to take off, and now it is doing very well again. I have no doubt that in time the support will be totally covered by the vine. The Hummingbirds love it.
Many years ago Lew built this raised bed, I would guess it is 4' wide by 8 or 10' long, to grow his strawberries in. He filled it with several loads of that "black gold" from behind the barn. For some reason the strawberries never did anything. So a few years later I planted it to herbs, and hoped to keep it as an herb garden. Most of them didn't survive our winter, but for one plant. It is the second from the right there, it is a Lemon Thyme plant. Other than that, the bed grows weeds. Three years back I cleaned it out and the spread mixed seed for a "Butterfly Garden." It was really beautiful, and the Butterflies did seem to enjoy it. They were all over it most of the Summer. The following year most of it came back on it's own. Rudbeckia, Poppies, Sunflowers, Snapdragons, and the like. I just weeded it out, and it was nice that year too. A little less dense but very nice. Last year I was too busy with Lew's doctor appointments and such, and it fell back to weed.

This year I bought another canister of mixed seed for a Butterfly Garden. I used the weed trimmer to cut them down and make them more manageable to digging out. I can't get my little Mantis tiller running, so I had to weed it out and turn it over by hand. So with my trusty EZ Digger (Korean hoe) I got to work late yesterday and cleaned it out, but for the Thyme plant. It was quite a job too. Some of those weeds were like bogs of roots running all over the place.

While out yesterday I found these lovely pots of Rudbeckia very reasonably priced ($6), and each pot had 3 plants in it. So after I got the bed cleaned out, turned over and well cultivated, I poured 25 lb of Miracle Gro potting soil and spread that over the top. Then I spread the seed from the cannister, and gently raked the soil to mix the seed in and under the soil. Then I divided the Rudbeckia and planted them accross the front of the bed, facing the house. So now, as I wash dishes every day, I can watch my garen grow! LOL I can't wait to see it in bloom. The seeds should get a good start, if they don't drown that is. They are calling for rain later today and for the next 3 days running. Keeping my fingers crossed my "Butterfly Garden" survives and thrives. If so I'll show you progress reports as the weeks go by.

Have a great day. :)

Rainbow On A Dry Day

2009-06-14T20:11:00.005-04:00

Over the past few weeks we have been getting quite a lot of rain here in northeast PA. But for a nice change of pace, today has been totally dry all day long, allowing me to get a lot of yard work done. I had found a recipe in my Good Housekeeping magazine (Soy-Scallion Flank Steak) and I had picked up a London Broil steak to marinate for tomorrow. I don't have scallions, but out by the garden I have a really nice planting of chives. I substitute them for scallions all the time. To me there is little difference.

So I walked out to the garden to cut the chives, and I am caught by this light ahead of me. I looked up, and amazingly there is this gorgeous rainbow overhead. Coming from a very bright spot ahead, and going up, up, up and into a very dark cloud that was moving overhead. And not a drop of water in sight. I just had to share, it was so unusual but so very lovely.

:)

Rhododendron & Tomatoes

2009-06-13T23:23:00.003-04:00

Today my rhododendron is looking rather drab, but last week and earlier this week it was absolutely gorgeous. My poor plant was in bad shape and had a lot of dead branches stealing from nutrition from the good ones. I gave it a good trimming, and when it blossomed, it was really worth all the hard work. The flowers were gorgeous.
This is my first tomato plant flower. I was so tickled pink when I saw this I just had to take a picture to prove it. Our weather has not been good for tomatoes. They like the sun and the heat, with enough water to keep them fed. They have been nearly drowned instead as we have had so much rain, on average 5 days out of every 7 there has been rain. And the rain has kept the temperatures below normal for the most part. So my poor garden has not been getting the sun and heat it craves. So seeing this flower brought me hope that eventually the plant will win out and there will be tomatoes. At least one! LOL

I hope you are all having a wonderful weekend :)

2009-05-28T18:51:00.001-04:00

Vote for my pet in the Furry Faceoff Challenge!

lizette

It's cats vs. dogs... the ultimate showdown! I've entered my pet in the challenge and need your help to win!

The furry friend with the most votes will be the lucky winner of the AmericanGreetings.com Furry Faceoff Challenge.

The Flower Beds Progress

2009-05-25T13:56:00.004-04:00

The "next job" is now the "job well done." I hope you can see the difference.........LOL All of those large plants are my hybrid day lilies that were developed by a friend. They put on a beautiful display every year. Between them are lower plants. I need to plant 3 more perennial, and this bed will be finished. I have been planting a few perennial every year, and using annuals to fill in until I could get it finished. After this I won't be needing to fill in with anything. It will just come up every year on it's own and blossom. I just have to keep the weeds out! hahaha Easier said than done, but this year it went very quickly. In the past it has taken me up to 4 days to clean out this bed. I outdid myself this year. Of course I nearly caused myself another hernia trying to push the wheel barrow of weeds away for dumping. The wheel barrow was carrying a double load. The mess on top was a much as was inside the barrow. But now, once I get the last three plants installed, it will be a joy to sit back and watch it come to life.
My first Lupine to blossom this year. About 3 years back Lew bought a package of Lupine seed and asked me to plant them because they reminded him of his youth. Lupine and Holly Hock. The Lupine are doing very good. I can't say as much for the Holly Hocks. This Lupine has started blooming, and there will be several others to follow. Of the 10 Holly Hocks I planted, right now there are 3 sticks showing. But from past experience I know they will come up from the ground shortly, so I have left the sticks be, so I know where they are.
This is a wonderful Honeysuckle vine that a friend gave me many years ago. It was growing on the East side of the porch and doing great. Then Lew decided he wanted to put a garage beside the porch and so he dug it up and moved it away from the house, and stuck it in a hole full of rocks. It didn't do very well. Finally, I got a wheelbarrow full of old horse manure turned into black soil, and I packed it around that Honeysuckle bush. Suddenly it started taking off. I told Lew it needed a better support that what it had, so he make this trellis for me using a piece of fencing and a few bits of wood. It works. The vine is growing great again, and it won't be much longer and we won't be able to see any of the support because it will be totally covered by the growing vine. And talk about smell? Mmmmmm The Hummingbirds love it too! And by the way, he never did get that garage built either. But that neither here nor there. The plant is thriving now, and that is what matters.

Right after we moved here, my Father brought me this French Hybrid Lilac and planted it for me. It has done fairly well over the years, but never gained great size. Then the past few years it started getting poorly. Several branches, one of the main branches too, had died. I cut all the dead parts off, and simply pulled the big stump part out of the ground, it had rotted so bad. So there is not a lot of bush left, but it still blossomed. I don't know if it will start to get better now that all the bad stuff has been removed, or if the tree is sick and on it's way out. But the flowers are gorgeous. A very deep purple, and I think they have a stronger smell to them. It is my favorite Lilac bush.

One Down And Plenty To Go

2009-05-23T15:26:00.004-04:00

Finally, the big flower bed is weeded out, and DOUSED in Preen. I'm sure I have over done the Preen, but with all the gardening and flowers I have around here, and just me to do all the work these days, I need all the help I can get. So I sure hope Preen does not let me down. I have heard it from a friend that has used it in the past, and she highly recommends it. It will really get tested around here.
Once all, or nearly all, of the weeds were gone, look what I found! My Stars of Bethlehem are blooming. There used to be quite a nice patch of them, but now they are surrounded by Lily of the Valley (as you can see in the background) and I think the Lilies have pretty much smothered most of them. At one time I couldn't get those Lilies to bloom at all. Then I moved them to this flower bed, and every year I fight them back because they really work hard to take over. Between the Lilies of the Valley and the Freckles Violas, I don't need any more bossy plants!
This is the "Long Bed." It is not very deep, less than 2 ft. I would guess. At one time my husband had this small field fenced in so he could wean his foals, and give them room to kick up their heels. I loved sitting at the window or out on the porch watching them frolic and play. When he stopped breeding and selling his horses, he took the fence down and began to plant fruit trees in the field. By then I had established this flower bed after weeks and years of hard work, and I liked the look of the rustic old fence as a back-drop. So I asked Lew if he would please leave this one piece of the fence standing. No foals are frolicking in the field any longer, but I am still trying to create a piece of loveliness by keeping a flower bed along the fence. Right now you would be hard pressed to identify any flowering plants in there, but they are there. Most of them are Lilies, but there are some Iris, Mountain Pink, and Perennial Hollyhocks. When I am finished weeding it out, maybe then you will see the flowers more clearly........LOL :)

Progress Report

2009-05-16T17:04:00.004-04:00

It;'s fairly easy to see where I've got all the weeds cleaned out, and where I need to work. But I'm getting there, slowly and surely. Actually that mess to the right with the little pink flowers contains a huge anthill, and there are also a mass of quack grass that has taken over the mound of Mountain Pinks that were planted there. I very well may have to remove everything to clear out most of the quack grass, and get the ant hill removed too. I have put ant poison all over it, and I just hope it's working.

Notice how heavily I have applied the Preen weed prevent................hahaha With all the yard work that needs doing, and will need doing all Summer, as much as I enjoy weeding, it's going to be too much for to handle all alone. So I am calling in some help in the form of RoundUp in some places (under trees, along fence lines, etc.) and Preen to help keep the weeds down some.
One of my garden ornaments I bought a few years back. I love these little critters. Don't know if it's a duck, goose, stork or what. But I think they look really cute. This one is guarding over one of my little roses.
My other garden ornamental bird, but he is in a sea of "Freckles" violas... my, my, they are knee deep on him.............hahaha And there beside him one of the lovely little double white daffodils. For some reason these come later than the rest, but that's OK. It extends the season for the daffodils, and they get all of the attention right now because they are the only ones blooming.

I love radishes, but the garden was not yet tilled. I had this window planter laying around so I planted it to radishes. They seem to like it pretty good. They sure are coming up well.

Progress Report - Spring In The Mountains

2009-05-11T22:49:00.003-04:00

I have been working to get the big flower bed weeded out. It is a lot of work, but it is coming along. I have all of the bed done in the back, so next I will start weeding on the front side. This is the lower end of the bed. One thing I love about weeding. You can easily see where you weeded it out and where you did not. But it make you feel good to see what you have accomplished.
This is the center of the bed. Those are Lilies of the Valley up front there, but they are not blooming yet. Normally they are by now, but not this Spring. It's been a bit cool. On the left, you can see what looks like a white flower. That is where the ant hill is, right under my Mountain Pinks. Today I covered it with Terro Ant Killer pellets. Serves them right for moving into my flower bed.
This is the upper end, where most of the "Freckles" violas have taken over. They are all through the bed, just like the Johnny Jump Up flowers are, but much showier right now. They do look really nice though, but I wish they had not taken over so well.
The lilac bush (in front of a red maple) is beginning to blossom. They are not too fragrant as yet, but soon the air will be full of their scent. Nothing nicer in my opinion.

While weeding today I was serenaded by a Jenny Wren. Many birds have a lovely song, but for me the happiest of them is the Jenny Wren. They just make me smile every time I hear them calling. Their song is such a joyous sound.

Take care, keep well. :)

Sometimes Sun & Sometimes Wind or Rain

2009-05-03T17:49:00.003-04:00

Today we are enjoying a bit of sunshine. Not really bright sunshine, and not all day, but some now and then. A storm is coming in sometime later, but for now all is calm. This is a purple Pasque flower blooming. It's so nice that some flowers bloom early, because when Spring is slow arriving, you need these little reminders that it will be here. We just have to be patient.
The bleeding heart plants. At one time I had many, but they kept getting bigger and bigger. They were crowding out everything else, and I had mistakenly planted them in full sun, which was not the ideal location for them. So I've dug them all up a few years ago and transplanted them and gave a few away. Now I have these two that are flourishing in the front of the house, where they enjoy a good bit of shade every day, which is much better for them. I also cleaned out the plot between them and on the other side and planted it with "shade garden" mixed seed. We'll see what comes up and hopefully the butterflies will enjoy them. I'm sure I'll enjoy whatever manages to germinate.
On Wednesday my best friend Kate and I drove down to Sam's in Dickson City, PA because I had seen a wheel barrow down there that looked really wonderful and very easy to maneuver and handle. We borrowed her son's truck so we could haul it back home. I couldn't fit it in my car. I'm learning just how handy a truck can be now that I no longer have the use of one.

Anyway, when I returned home I found my little greenhouse on the porch had been blown over and every one of my seedlings had been dumped from their pots and smashed. I sat down and cried for about 5 minutes, and then I started repotting everything. Of course I have no idea what specie of tomato plant is in what pot any longer. I had every plant with a name tag stuck in their pots, but they got all mixed up in the mess. So whatever survives will have to do, and I guess I'll find out what I have when they ripen.

The tomato plants, most all of them, were broken right off. So I repotted the roots, and took the tops and stuck them in the soil anyway. Since tomatoes are known for sending out root on any part of their stem that comes in contact with soil, who says it was a wasted effort. I don't know if the roots will send out more shoots either, to replace the ones broken off, but I'm going for broke. If everything fails then I buy plants. I refuse to allow the destruction to destroy my plans and hopes for a small garden this year. One way or another, I'll have on.

Springing Forward

2009-04-28T15:18:00.002-04:00

Just last week I was lucky to have a few daffodils blooming. Now the bed is nearly overrun with a little viola named "Freckles." Several years ago I bought 3 varieties of violas. "Freckles" was the only one that thrived, and boy did it! Now I have to dig it up in some places because it is trying to choke out a preferred perennial in that spot. Definitely if they are choking a rose bush. Those are my favorite flowers so I must protect them at all costs. My lilies are growing nicely too. Actually, I think the bed of violas look lovely below the bird bath, at least for now.
This is the lower end of the flower bed. Fewer violas, and if you see the bright yellow bird, just beneath him is one of the Pasque flowers. I have 4, and 3 are blooming right now. In that little clump of blossoms in front of the big rock is Mountain Pinks blooming too. I also need to get weeding in here, but I can only do so much.
The Forsythia is in it's glory right now, and just amazing, isn't she??
This is the back yard. In the front a sugar maple, and two weeping willows in back. They are getting greener every day.
My Honeysuckle plant. After Lew moved it to this spot, for the first few years it didn't do very well and I was worried I was going to lose it. But I put some better soil around it, and Lew built a frame with fencing inside for it to climb. It is much happier now and it is really taking off.

Yesterday we broke an all-time high temp. for this date in this area, reaching 93º. Not quite so hot today, about 83º right now, and just gorgeous. Tonight we are supposed to get some rain, and temperatures will cool down again to more normal. I don't mind. I've enjoyed the last few beautiful days. I got the dogs fenced in yard mowed last night, and I took the plastic off around the porch today. Each day a little more, weather permitting.

Mother Nature's Dirty Tricks

2009-04-20T15:14:00.003-04:00

The date on the calendar does say April 20th..............just 10 days until May! Do you see that temperature?? Right now it is 38ºF. The snowing has finally stopped, but for a while there it looked like a blizzard outside.
My Forsythia finally bloomed, and this is what it gets? So not fair. The snow is wet and heavy and weighing down the branches aleady, and there isn't that much on the ground.
My poor weeping Daffodils. Well, they are weeping now anyway. Earlier they were standing up strong and straight and blooming so nicely. Now they are being bent and their little heads lay on the ground. There are 3 flowers here, but you can only see one. The others are bent so low and completely covered.

UGH! When will it all end??

The Seedlings Really Do Exist

2009-04-16T17:25:00.007-04:00

Today I got the tray of seedlings from under the grow lights, and transplanted them into larger pots. I got out the little plastic greenhouse from the yard shed, and set it up on the porch. The plants will be getting some natural daylight while temperatures are warmer. I will probably continue to bring them inside during the night, for a while. It's still pretty cold here at night.
This is basically most all of the seedless tomatoes. Obviously some are much larger than others, and yet every seed was planted on the same day, and all within an hour or less. And yet a few germinated within the 2 week period that the packet said they would. The rest took their good old time and sprouted when they got good and ready.
Some of the seeds didn't sprout until a month after being planted. Some waited 6 weeks to sprout, and still look like they may not completely make it. If you remember, I had purchased 1 packet of Seedless Tomatoes that included 10 seed, and cost $5. At first only 2 plants sprouted. A month later more finally showed up. Now I have 8 plants of the 10 seed, so I am not going to complain. I am very pleased that many were successful to this point. The two pots in the front are a melon I am trying.
My favorite tomato is Miracle Sweet. I have 5 plants. Another short growing nice tomato from Burpee is "4th of July." I have 4 of those. Last year they were not ready by the 4th of July, but then none of the tomatoes were ready last Summer when they usually are. So I am not blaming the advertising or the seeds. Since every tomato variety was way later than normal last year, I am sure it was the cold weather that held them back too. Take note to the one, lone Marigold. I planted 18 seed, this was the only one that germinated.
OK, 6-7 weeks AFTER being planted this is what you can see of the Bell Peppers. Actually, the one plant that is the largest, actually has 2 leaves, is right in front of the white plant marker, so you can't even see it's leaves. The rest are still half in the soil It appears like only 2 are there, but that's because I couldn't photograph them well enough. You do have to look hard, even when you are right here in front of the tray, but there are 5 seedlings sprouting. They are really lazy, if you ask me.

Spring Comes To Lake Como, PA

2009-04-15T15:42:00.004-04:00

Finally, after all the rain, the mud, the cold snaps, the high winds, we have a bright sunny day where the wind is a gentle breeze and the temperature has reached 60ºF. Today was made for working outside. When I first came out my flower bed was full of debris. Dead grasses and leaves and stems from last year's plants. So I hauled out the rake and wheel barrow and got to work. Now most of the debris is gone and the garden is much more presentable. The rose buses need serious pruning, but I wait for signs of foliage before I do that around here. Otherwise I might trim them too short, and following frosts kill them back further. So it pays to be patient and make sure they are thriving before I start trimming. As you can see I gathered up the ornaments, scrubbed them all down, and now maybe they will help to deter the deer when the plants gets a little bigger. Of course what they don't chase away, Deer Away will!!! I have ordered a new supply, and plan to use it liberally!!!
I'm pretty sure this is one of the lavender Pasque flowers. I had to move it 2 summers back, and it appears that when I took it up I didn't get all of it. This little piece is thriving quite well, and the rest of the plant is too, but about 3 ft away, although it has no flowers on it right now.
Yes, the Johnny-Jump-Up has begun flowering too. They are scattered all over the flower bed along with my "Freckles" Violas. A lot of them end up being pulled and tossed where they try to overrun the other perennial plants, but they are great for filling in bare spots and they are beautiful too.
The white Pasque flower is much farther along, and for some reason, this plant is always the first one to come on so heavily and bloom so early. The others will all catch up soon enough though. I just wish they would continue to bloom throughout the summer. But they seem to prefer Spring. I will be enjoying them for the next 4-6 weeks, and then I will just have the foliage, which is also quite pretty really. Very fern like in appearance.

Very soon I will be transplanting my vegetable seedlings and setting them out in my portable plastic greenhouse. I'll keep them on the porch for a while so they are protected from full sunlight, but natural daylight will be better for them than a grow lamp anyway.

Spring Is Trying

2009-04-12T08:27:00.002-04:00

These daffodils have taken their good old time getting to this point. I swear they first popped through the ground a full month back, and it took them all that time to0 finally begin blooming. I can't really blame the daffodils. It has been bitterly cold, damp, wet, and very windy. I would not enjoy hanging my head out in that kind of weather either. But they finally have begun to bloom. These daffodils are right up against the house, and I think that is what helped them to come through the ground sooner than the rest of the daffodils, which are away from the house. But they are not really blooming any sooner than the rest of them. The others that are out in the flower bed broke through the ground about 2 weeks later, but maybe they got more sun when it was shinning because they are starting to bloom already. But it is just nice to see anything blooming at this stage.
Miniature blueberry bush............those buds are getting fatter every day.
Bleeding Heart, and these little beauties come up fast and begin blooming even before they are fully out of the grown, so it won't be much longer.
Lupines..............Lew loved these flowers and he chose them for the flower beds. I'm happy to see this one has survived so nicely. Again, this one lone Lupine is planted up against the house is the only one that is up right now. But I am hoping the others will survive as well.

Weather has been good and bad. It can't seem to make up it's mind. Bright sunshine one day, and miserable cold, wet, windy the next. But the plants and the birds apparently know better than we do that Mother Nature can be trusted and won't let them down. So I guess I'll listen to my plants. The good days are right around the corner....................... Make it a great day :)

Spring Has Sprung

2009-03-18T12:54:00.003-04:00

The daffodils are up a bit more now, and there are visible buds showing. A few more nice warm days and I'm sure they will pop right open. But these are growing up against the house. All the other daffodils are still mostly under ground, but I am seeing tips peeking through. In a few weeks they will be up and showing bud too.

It has been so warm this week, I just could not put this off any longer. And won't these smell great when they are dry. A light breeze and a warming sunny day is all that is needed. And it's free. What more could you want?

My seedlings are a bit of a disappointment so far, but I am hoping yet for some luck. I have 5 tomato seedlings up now, but I planted about a dozen. And one other seedling popped up, a melon I believe. None of my Marigolds have sprouted, but maybe it's just too soon for them. I'm trying to be patient, but it is very difficult.

Don't You Love Spring Mornings?

2009-03-12T07:23:00.003-04:00

I do! It's going to be a beautiful day today, even if it begins with the discovery that during the night we had some snow flurries. But a full moon is beautiful most anytime. This is the moon just before daybreak.....6:30 AM on it's way down in the Western sky.
Just 15 minutes later, the sun breaks in the East
And the moon sits a little lower in the West, but still a bright and beautiful orb. As you can see, there is still a lot of white on the ground, but most of it has melted.

My Spring Starts Today

2009-03-04T13:34:00.002-05:00

With the Red Winged Blackbirds singing in the background I got out my seed starting tray and filled it with water so the little cubes could swell and get fat, and then I planted my seeds and will have to be patient now, and wait to see if they all germinate.

I bought some seed from Burpee this year. A hybrid tomato that is seedless. I can't wait to try them. They were 50¢ per seed, because they are very limited. This is the first year that Burpee has had them available. I have 10 seeds planted, and since I am but one person it is not likely I will need every plant, but after paying that price for each seed, I want every one to sprout and thrive. I will share the extra plants with friends. Besides I also planted other tomato varieties that are favorites ( Miracle Sweet & 4th of July) . If I find some in the store I will probably plant some Celebrity too. I love them as well. So one way or another I will have lots of tomatoes. Or I hope so.

I also planted sweet banana peppers, sweet bell peppers (can't have too many of those). I bought some special melon seeds too. It's called "Twice as Nice" and these were a little pricey too, but nothing like the tomatoes. This melon tells you when it's ripe by turning yellow. You can pick it then for a crisp sweet melon, or wait a little longer for it to soften some and get even sweeter. I have never had much luck with melons, so I will be crossing fingers and wishing hard for this one.

And last, but not least, I planted seed for one flower plant. A new "Snowball" Marigold from Burpee. A solid white Marigold sounded interesting, and should look really lovely among the yellow and orange ones.

So I'll get back in a week or two to let you know what is sprouting and how things are progressing. Wish me luck~~ :)

Spring Is Almost Here

2009-02-27T10:22:00.003-05:00

The Red Winged Blackbirds have arrived here in Lake Como, PA. And I found this alongside the house this morning. Daffodils sprouting. The rest of the place is still blanketed with snow, but right against the house it is melted away from the heat in the basement, so these daffodils get a head start. The rest of them won't show for some time yet. But at least something is alive and growing NOW.

Hungry Guests

2009-02-24T21:34:00.001-05:00

Just before the daylight was all gone, we had a few whitetail deer stop by for a snack. If the dogs had not spotted them through the window and started barking, I would never had known they were out there. But the dogs did see them and barked a warning that alerted me. And they were willing to ignore the barking to grab a few pieces of corn I had thrown on the ground.
They were very skittish because my poodle Lizette wouldn't stop barking. I guess they were afraid that at any minute she would be coming after them. So they didn't stay very long, but long enough for me to get off a few fairly good shots, through the window. They are clear enough considering the circumstances and time of day.

Up Close and Personal

2009-02-20T16:45:00.003-05:00

This little suction window feeding station has been a source of delight all Winter long. Junco, Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse, Sparrow have all come to dine at my elbow while I'm on the computer. This here is a little Chickadee I managed to capture before he took flight again.
Here I believe he has "spotted" me taking his picture. He flew off immediately after. My poor cat, Rosie, has been suffering horribly because of these teasing little birds. So close, and yet so very far away. Often she will sit in the window chattering to them. They couldn't care less. I believe they know that she can't do them any harm. They fly in over and over again to grab a bite to eat and cause her unending frustration on a daily basis...........smart birds.

We are hearing the Phoebe singing in the mornings now. Another blogger that lives not too very far from me has photographed a Robin on her lawn. Both signs of coming Spring. We just need to be patient a little while longer.

The Morning After

2009-01-19T08:49:00.005-05:00

Although this photo isn't exactly the morning after, the rest are. Last Friday (1.16.09) my best friend Kate, and I drove down to Moosic, PA. We had to leave rather early in the morning, so everything was still covered with ice or hoarfroast. It can be breathtakingly beautiful as the bright morning sun strikes it. In this photo we are driving down the road and see this mound of trees ahead of us, totally covered in hoarfrost. It was just amazing. Kate snapped this picture on her cell phone. Our entire ride was punctuated with oohs and ahhhs because we were both so mesmerized by the beauty of everything around us.
This was early sunrise of THIS MORNING - After being dumped on yesterday with a good 12" of new snow. I have to tell you, I was completely taken by surprise. The weather service had NOT been calling for that much snow, and to be honest, most places didn't GET that much snow. But there was this relatively small area of northeast PA that did get hit with much more than everywhere else around. Just a few miles off they only received about 3" of new snow in comparison. Aren't we the lucky ones??? LOL Well, other than all the shoveling that it requires, in actuality we are. It is absolutely gorgeous and I would hate to be forced to live without it.
As the sun starts climbing higher in the sky, there is this golden hue that spreads out over the landscape. Who can not see the beauty in that?
Deer tracks in the snow. I have feeders in the apple tree on the left, but I have 3 feeders in my flower bed on the right. It is obviously a well traveled path back and forth as the deer try to get as much of the spilled seed as they can find. This is one of the reasons that my dogs pester me over and over to go outside after dark. They love surprising the deer as they fly out the door. Well, they think they are surprising the deer. The dogs are not smart enough to make the connection that the deer, after observing the dogs for years, know all too well they are contained behind a fence, and they stand and stare at the frantically barking dogs, totally ignoring them. Oh well, at least the birds quickly fly off as they burst through the door. Better than nothing, right? After all, a dog does need some amusement in his life too.

Horizons And Babbling Brooks

2009-01-11T14:10:00.003-05:00

On a clear day you can see tomorrow...............and it was just like that yesterday. My son and his lady were up visiting from Georgia, so we took a nice ride around the neighborhood getting seasonal photos. A storm was on the way, so this is the proverbial "calm before." It was gorgeous!! This is looking out over Starlight, PA; in the valley below us. Taken not far from my home.
Over, just a couple miles from home, this stand of evergreen trees standing guard over a very old and small local cemetary. One of these days I will have to investigate further. I love reading headstones. There are many such small private or community cemetaries all around here.
On the home front a Sparrow gets his fill at the little feeder I found to put right on my window beside my computer desk. This is such fun, having the birds come inches away to eat. In the distance a Gray Squirrel. I have spring weighted bird feeders that close up when the squirrels jump on them. But I don't forget the squirrels. Lew and I have always enjoyed their playfulness and so we provide food and nuts for them too. Here one is gathering seed and breads from the summer birdbath. It seconds as a platform for Winter feeding.
A babbling brook rambling along. We drove over this on our little sight-seeing excursion and I thought it would make for a lovely photo.
Up by Dix Road, out of Starlight, PA., this vista. Rows and rows of mountain tops in the distance, with frost covered trees in the forefront. Ice covered most everything and it was just so lovely.

All The Ways Winter Is Beautiful

2009-01-11T13:58:00.003-05:00

A sleigh ride, always fun, but more fun with friends! These are a few of my "neighbors." They came over to pick me up to go riding with them. Neighbors is used loosely since they live about 1/2 mile as the crow flies, but much farther going the road way.
A Red Bellied Woodpecker that has been visiting my suet feeders for the past few weeks. This is a first here for me. I am delighted, to say the least. We have always had Downy woodpeckers. Then a few years back several Hairy Woodpeckers came in. Now a Red Bellied Woodpecker. I love it.
We don't have much in trees close to the house, but my neighbor does. Bluebirds and Cardinals abound on their place. But they don't feed the birds. So during the Winter they come to visit me. This is also the first Winter I have had the Cardinal at my feeders on a regular basis. He is here almost daily now. Occasionally I see his mate, but not always.
We have a good snow cover on the ground, and then we had some ice fall. Trying to catch the sun's rays as it strikes the ice just right is so difficult. It looks like I did pretty good with this one. The grasses glisten like crystal out of the ground and surrounded by snow. Just gorgeous, don't you think??
This shrub is just one example of the beauty all around me. Every tree, every branch and twig coated in ice and blinding in the full light of the sun. Too beautiful for words.

Oops! It Happened Again

2008-11-25T13:53:00.003-05:00

SNOW!! That's what. The last time I checked we had 8" of the lovely white stuff, and it's still coming down. I have no idea what they are predicting, but I do know they were saying it would continue through the week on and off. By Friday I hope we are not snowed in. haha
This is our second good snowfall this Winter. The first came before Halloween, this is in time for Thanksgiving. I wonder what our chances are for a white Xmas? haha Again it is heavy and very wet but breathtaking to look at. Love it!!

A Few Early Winter Surprises

2008-11-23T15:52:00.004-05:00

This plant is called a Xmas Cactus, but every year it begins blooming in October and then continues to bloom about every 6 weeks until June. These blossoms appeared about a week before Halloween, and it is still blooming. Forgive the fogginess of the pictures, but I took them through a window with a screen in it. But if I had gone outside to take the pictures they would have flown off and I would not have been able to capture them in my lens to prove they were truly here.........LOL
As you can see the red epaulet on the wing, this is a Red Winged Blackbird. My husband kept telling me he was seeing them just outside the window, but every time I looked they were gone. Over the years I have never seen one anywhere around here after August. But this past Wednesday (November 19th) here they were, just as plain as day.
Here you can see them together. Two males in a naked apple tree, further proof they are far from where they should be. I have no idea what has kept them, but if they are waiting for the others I think they missed the boat. They are obviously young males because their wing bars are there but not as big as adult epaulets. They certainly were a very pleasant surprise.

I Thought It Was Halloween coming, NOT Christmas!

2008-10-29T13:52:00.004-04:00

They did warn us we would get some snow. Maybe 3-4". HA! By 4 PM Tuesday afternoon I measured 6½" of fresh snow, and it was still snowing Wednesday morning. Total I would say we had about 9"........... a long cry from 3-4" if you ask me. It is not uncommon for us to see snow before Halloween, but usually a snow shower or maybe an inch or so. Not 9" deep. But there is always that exception to every rule. I guess this was it.
A small sampling of what this snowstorm did. The snow was very wet and very heavy. You can how it broke the branches on this small apple tree. You can imagine what it was doing to the trees all around here, and all around here there are more trees than anything else. We lost our electricity just about noon yesterday, and it was out until 11:30 AM this morning. So nearly 24 hours without electricity, without heat and howling winds blowing all around us. Hubby's oxygen machine shut down and we had to use air tanks, so first thing this morning I had to make a run for more air tanks. That is another exception to the rule. We live in a very rural area but oddly enough we very seldom suffer with power outages, and when they do occur they almost never last very long at all. A few hours at most. This is the longest power outage I have endured in over 35 years of living in this area. But we did manage to make it through the night and lived to see another day.
A bad snow storm may cause problems, but it also provides you with some gorgeous scenery, so I wanted to share a little of that too.

What A Difference A Week Makes

2008-10-19T20:06:00.004-04:00

Last week we were peaking and surrounded with Fall colors. Today, the sky is clear but the lovely brightly colored leaves are all (or nearly all) gone. And this morning, if you look closely at the very top of the photo, in the center, you will see the MOON! This photo was taken about 10:15 AM, and I am facing West. Yep, that tiny white dot is the moon.

Up until now we have had some frosts. Enough to finish the garden, but my roses were still blooming, having escaped the frost in some way with no help from me. Just happened to be in the right place I guess. Not so fortunate this morning. Everything was hit by the frost. It was very heavy and missed nothing. Fall is passing quickly. Quite often we will see our first snowfall before the end of October. I wonder if that will be the case this year as well. Next week I hope to have several lovely Xmas cacti in bloom. Mine are loaded with bud right now, and two flowers have already opened. They are huge and amazingly lovely. They should have many more blossoms next week. We'll see.

Fall Peaks In Northeast PA

2008-10-10T18:33:00.006-04:00

Not too far from our home, a few miles off, there sits a lovely farm on the top of a hill. The house sits on one side of the road, the barn and other out buildings across the road. As you come up to where the farm is situated there is a telephone pole right before the buildings begin. Someone decided to decorate the base of that telephone pole. They have lovely little annual flowers along their walkway out to the road too. But it is this gorgeous display of blossoms at the base of the telephone pole, just a foot or two back from the road, that grabbed my attention day after day as we drove by. I don't know what the name of the plant is, but I wish I did.
I posted a picture of this pond last week. The colors have brightened a lot since then. We saw them change from day to day, and it was amazing.
This picture was taken not too far from our house, a gorgeous vista. I would love a view like this, but then who wouldn't? Now that the trees are so beautiful, I am really pleased that our weather is just a lovely. The temperatures have been between 65º F to 72ºF, and the sun has been shining brightly. We are happy to take as much as we can get because the next really good rain will no doubt end all of this lovely scenery. The leaves will be gone with a good wind. When Fall comes in like this you really have to savor every moment while you have the chance. It truly does not last very long.

Fall Is Definitely Here

2008-10-05T11:41:00.005-04:00

Down below Hawley, PA. along Rt. 6, is a huge lake and public fishing area. It was so beautiful driving back from Milford on Friday (10.3.08) I just had to take this shot. Obviously the trees are well on their way changing colors.
This is our west pasture. The horses seem quite content to graze lazily as the weather cools and the foliage changes. The flies don't bother them this time of year but it's still warm enough to be very comfy.
This is the big maple at the corner of our lot adjoining our neighbor. Every year it puts on quite a show.

End Of Summer Blossoms & Tomatoes

2008-09-05T18:53:00.007-04:00

Every year, regardless of the finished size of our vegetable garden, one thing is a given. Tomatoes. Without tomatoes there is no reason to grow a garden at all, IMHO. It is the one item in produce that you cannot enjoy in any other way where it tastes quite as good as it does when you pick it fresh and warm from the sun. Tomato sauce, stewed, diced, tomato soup, juice. None of them equal in the least bit to the burst of flavor and pleasure enjoyed when you bite into that warm fresh flesh. So every year, big garden or small, I make sure to plant tomatoes, and then I wait. Patient, I am not. So this year it was even more painful than usual.

With hubby still undergoing chemo for his lung cancer at the beginning of planting season everything was left up to me. A dear friend tilled up the garden for me, but it was quick going because this year it was not going to be anywhere near what we normally plant. Just some tomatoes, corn, broccoli, cucumbers, and a few carrots. Because I didn't have hubby to help me get the potting shed repaired, I was unable to start my own plants and we had to buy them all. That caused some frustration because I couldn't find my favorite tomatoe variety either, but I did get some pretty good ones. Early girl and Jet Star. We still had our favorite corn seen left over from last year, and it was still very viable seed. Every one planted sprouted. So our corn harvest is fantastic. The rabbits have had a party on the carrot tops. I have put off checking to see if anything is beneath, but hoping to find something eventually. The cucumbers blossomed in the thousands and then the plants were blighted. We had a small but nice picking. The cabbage plants turned out to be other than cabbage. They ended up kohlrabi, not a favorite here. The broccoli has done very well and we continue to pick and process that every few days. But the tomatoes were very disappointing. They didn't even ripen until the last week of August and no more are coming. So the only tomatoes I am getting this year is was was formed because the plants are all dying as the fruits ripen. We are picking a lot of tomatoes, but it will end up approximately 3 weeks worth of crop. About half of what we normally have. So you better believe every tomato that ripens will be doubly treasured and enjoyed. Ten months of waiting for such a small crop, but every bite is amazing.
This Rose of Sharon is nearly as treasured as those tomatoes because every year it is a battle to see if it will even get the chance to blossom. The deer have kept it so small over the past years and eaten the blossoms most of the time. This year I bought some Deer Away, and I am sitting back and enjoying every flower that opens, and it is loaded with flower buds. I need to get in a good supply of that stuff!!
Malvia...........a couple of years back I planted some Malvia seedlings I had started in the potting shed. I was under the impression they were a perennial plant. I have since learned that is not quite the case. They do return each year, but from seed dropped in the fall and germinating in spring. How do I know that? Because the plants are coming up everywhere BUT where I planted the original plants. Fine with me.......at least they do come back. Pretty little things, if you ask me.

Miniature Rose....Sunrise. What a little beauty. I love my miniature roses. There are a few of them blooming right now, but this is the best of them. The color is so vibrant and cheerful.

Trumpet Vine

2008-08-13T21:36:00.004-04:00

Have you ever read the ad in the nursery catalogs for the Hummingbird Vine? They tell you how high this vine grows and how the Hummingbirds just love it. What they don't tell you is how long it takes to grow that size, or that you will wait for years (yes I said YEARS) before you see your first blossom. But they are worth waiting for. Just don't be foolish like me and wait until you are past middle age to plant one. I am not going to survive enough years needed to enjoy this vine. But it is finally a true Trumpet or Hummingbird Vine now. It only took about 10 years to get to this. And it was 6 years before we saw our first flower.
Down near Philly, where I grew up, Trumpet Vines bloom a good month earlier. But here in northeast PA they bloom in August. So our blooming season is shorter too. I have two vines. One yellow and one orange, a gift from my step-daughter, Lisa. The yellow Trumpet Vine had it's very first little flower bud last summer. After 10 years of waiting, just one bud and it never opened. For some reason there are no flowers this year. So in a sense I am still waiting for that one to reach it's full potential. But I'll wait. I'm sure the Hummingbirds will be glad once it finally does blossom. Until then I and the Hummingbirds will continue to enjoy this one.

Odds and Ends

2008-07-26T17:27:00.005-04:00

I don't know if Robins come back to nest in the same place year after year, but for many years a pair of Robins have nested in our shed. It was really dangerous for the fledglings because there were so many places where they could get trapped and die if I didn't keep a close eye on them and be ready to rescue them before it was too late. Early this Spring they did have a nest inside with one egg. I managed to be there when the fledgling was ready to take wing and go for that virgin flight and guided it toward the open door. I worried about the Robin pair every time they used that nesting area. Maybe something told them it wasn't the best choice because they have another nest but this time it's in a column style apple tree and it's on a branch low enough for me to stand and look directly into the nest, and I'm only 5' 3" tall. All I can say is they can be very thankful our cat Pyewacket is now so old she is not really able to hunt very effectively any longer. There are 3 babies in the nest this time.
Gillardia........FanFare variety. I love Gillardia plants. They are so compact a plant and also very colorful too.
Did you know that in some places this is called a Butterfly WEED? We call it a Butterfly Plant here and if it is a weed it is a very pretty one. The butterflies love it too. Many times you can find it literally covered with them, and bees as well.
Lizette is always watching, standing guard. She takes her job as watch-dog very seriously, and she lets us know about every car, truck, motorcycle..........bird, frog, or whatever that is getting too close to her home. Is there such a thing as a bark-less dog? I want one.
Last year the deer descimated my Holly Hock plants. Some of them never recovered, but I have about 6 of them that managed to come back. This is the first one to blossom. Last year the deer would eat the flower buds and blossoms as well as the leaves. I sprayed them this year with Deer Away. It seems to be working.

A Lot of Lilies

2008-07-26T16:58:00.006-04:00

At one time on the right side of this fence was a small pasture for our colts. I wanted to dress it up, and I wanted more flowers too, so I removed the sod and tilled up this stip of dirt for a flower bed. Well hubby sold off all the colts and stopped breeding his mares. Then he took down the fence, turning the little pasture into lawn, and has been planting it with fruit and nut tree plants. Since I thought the fence made a nice back-drop for my flowers I asked him if he would leave that there for me, and so he did. I just need to get it painted one of these days. But here I have planted 8 of my 12 lily plants.
Peach lily.............I just love the color
Dark yellow........ They catch the sun so nice.
Orange with a rusty red center remind me that Fall isn't really that far off.
Coral......just too pretty for words.

More Lilies

2008-07-26T16:38:00.005-04:00

A very nice couple that I happen to know have gone into the hybrid lily business. They started with a few choice lilies, and over the next few years they started polinating them by hand to get these hybridized crosses. All together I have 12 of their hand pollinated hybrid plants, and every year they seem to get a little bigger and much more beautiful. This one is a very pale yellow with a hint of peach.
This is a lovely soft salmon colored lily. An entire plant full of these is really lovely.
This is my darkest lily, like dried blood in color. Not red, not purple, but beautiful.
This lily is the most yellow one. Like bright sunshine, it will blind you if you look at them too long.
A soft pink lily with a darker center. It looks like cotton candy. I bet the butterflies think so too.

The Garden Grows

2008-07-26T16:16:00.005-04:00

Tomatoes, broccoli, corn. That's what is obvious. What is not are the cucumbers, carrots, green eggplant, zucchini, and something I'm not sure of. The garden is 1/4 the size we usually have, but since this year I am doing it all alone, I just don't have the strength or stamina to keep up with one as big as last year. Besides anything grown fresh is better than nothing at all. I have already tasted my first fresh, warm tomato. The upside down planter produced that, and is in the process of making another right now, and is finally getting more flowers too. The tomatoes here in this photo are loaded with green orbs and a gazillion flowers. I should have a pretty nice crop of tomatoes. And as you can easily see the corn is doing fantastic. Since taking this photo I see they are now showing tiny ears with silks hanging, and they are tasselling on top.
Broccoli...........one head of many. I have about 8 quarts put up already from the first heads. Now are the little ones that will keep coming over the next month or more. They will be great grilled up with some zucchini.
Miniature blueberry bush. I have two, and they are both in one pot. I've had them for at least 5 years now, and this is the first time the larger one blossomed and made berries. I've been eating them as they ripen right off the plant. They are delish!
These are my "surprise" plants. I wanted cabbage, and the label on these said CABBAGE. They are NOT CABBAGE! There were 3 purple and 3 green. The rabbits changed that to 2 green and one purple. I'm not sure if they are rutabaga or kohlrabi, but they have suddenly developed bulbs at the bottom with the leaves growing off the bulbs. They look like the kohlrabi I grew last year, but that purple one (the one in the back, and it's deeper purple now) I haven't a clue what it is for sure.
These are my carrots. They WERE lovely and leafy. After I weeded them out the rabbits decided the wanted to snack on them. Now they are not so lovely and I just hope they keep growing beneath the soil. I have always had such good luck with carrots I will be very disappointed if they don't grow this year, and all thanks to some trespassing rabbits.

By the way, did I mention my veggie garden is also a ROCK GARDEN. In all honesty I think we have more stones and rocks than anything else. LOL

Two Roses & A Tomato

2008-07-09T13:40:00.007-04:00

Freedom Rose - According to Spring Hill Nurseries this is a hedge rose. They claim they grow to about 4' high, very dense, no care, bug resistant. If my experience is anything like the norm, that just is not true. I've had these roses about 15 years. I started with 10 plants and only 2 survived. And they grew so poorly I finally moved them into my flower bed as individual plants since it was obvious they were not going to get so big or so dense. They are doing well in my flower bed, but they appear more like a multiflora rose than a hedge rose. What I do love about them is their color. It is the reddest of reds, and so clear and bright. This is my one lone bloom for the moment. More are coming, and I can't wait.
Apple Blossom - This is a ground cover rose. They do stand fairly high though, up to about 2' tall, but they spread about 4' wide. As you can see, the blossoms come in dense clusters. I don't have any other varieties of this style rose, this was an experiment. I was looking for something that required little care but thrived well. I didn't fully expect it to get as big over-all, so it was a surprise when it just kept growing. But it is also very lovely, and it too will bloom the entire Summer.
My experiment growing a tomato plant in an upside down planter. I received the planter a good 3 weeks after I had planted all of my other plants, so with the shock of being transplanted this is not as dense or as big as any of the other plants, but it has seriously started to take off. When I planted it there was a lone marble sized tomato on it. Now it's about the size of a golf ball. I don't know if it will actually ripen or not, and that doesn't matter. It is the end result I am looking for here. If this is really a successful way to plant and grow tomatoes. Only time will tell, but so far it's looking good.

addendum - I have to tell you, posting to Blogger lately has been rather tricky. I used to be able to add all of my photos at once, and then fill in the information. But the past few weeks it has been a little more challenging. I seem to be able to upload no more than 2 photos at a time, so it is done in steps. And then you better pay close attention if you had any particular order in mind, because Blogger adds later additions to the top, not to the bottom. So I have to think ahead to know exactly how I want the photos positioned. Since I've always had dial-up I don't understand why it is so much more difficult now, but obviously it is. I guess I should be pleased. It presents a challenge, something to make my brain do a little work to see results. Can't allow these little gray cells to stagnate, now can we??

Floral Beauties

2008-07-09T12:55:00.003-04:00

Bachelor Buttons - I had never grown these before 2/3 years back. Then I bought some seed to start some for myself, and I have never needed to plant them again. This too is a very prolific plant. And oddly enough, where I live, they thrive as wild flowers all over the mountains, but the flowers are not as full as this domesticated variety. The lower end of my flower bed is less dense in foliage than the upper end, and that is where this plant has decided to "fill in" the openings, and it's doing very good. Almost too good, quite like the Johnny Jump Up plants do. So I will pull them where I don't want them, and it's nice to know I can do that without suffering guilt pangs (I hate to kill any plant if I don't have to) since I know there are plenty of them, and they will be back.
Hybrid Gold Lily - One of about 12 different hybrid lilies I purchased from a person friend who started out raising and breeding tropical fish. He even developed some unique varieties of angel fish and a few other tropical varieties on his own, and sold them world-wide. For some reason, after about 10 years he decided he needed another challenge. He ended the tropical fish business, and went into tropical birds. Budgies, parrots, parakeet's, and the like, but I guess that was challenging enough so he also decided to work with hybridizing day lilies. Over the next several years he developed some very lovely lilies, so there may be some out there with similar colors, but not identical. I bought mine from the man himself..........LOL.
Butterfly Plant - In some articles I've read, this is actually considered a weed, probably because in it's natural habitat it has taken over. I bought one plant, but I don't need to buy more. Like the Gilardia, this is not only a perennial plant, coming back every year exactly where I planted it. But it will send out seed in fall, and then you have them coming up everywhere. The butterflies do love them. I have a few in my flower bed now, but when the seed heads form I cut the plants back and destroy them so that they don't take over. OK, this means they require a little maintenance. But heck, weeding is maintenance too and we all do that, right? So it's not that hard cutting off the seed heads. And if you want to make a lovely butterfly garden you can plant them or let them plant themselves and I promise it won't take long, and you will have a large stand of these beautiful flowers.
Dwarf Gilardia - This is one of seven Gilardia plants I now have. Two of them were purchased plants, the other five are offspring that were created by the plants when they released their seed in the fall. Apparently the birds did not eat them all. They managed to survive the Winter, germinate and they are doing just fine. I love this plant! It is not too big, getting no more than about 12" tall. Great for borders. They are so bright and colorful, and they will be blooming all Summer long. How can you fault that?

Summer Blossoms & Garden Scoot

2008-06-29T19:52:00.007-04:00

Sunrise, a miniature rose. I swear by these little roses. If you have any problems at all growing hybrid teas but would still like to have roses in your flower garden, buy miniature roses. You can buy the cheapest varieties, even those $3.00 so called "houseplant" minitature roses you often see in grocery stores. They are very hearty and will not let you down. I live where temperatures have reached as low as -35ºF on rare occasions, and it didn't stop these babies from coming back the next Spring. This plant here has been blooming in my flower garden for well over 15 years. I highly recommend them.
This is either a florabunda or a multiflora, I don't quite understand the difference. It's another faithful bloomer. I lost the name tag years ago so I can't give the specific name, but as you see it blooms in clusters and this one is a pale pink. It is really lovely, and it has a nice fragrance too.
Sweet William. This plant has thrived for at least 5 years now, the last 2 of which it did not produce a single flower. I had almost given up on it, and then this year it burst forth and made up for lost time. I have grown several of these from seed as well, but they have not managed to winter over even though the seed came from this plant. When I first planted this very one, I had purchased several and planted them all in the same flower bed. That meant they all got the same sun, same heat, same rain and same whatever. For some reason this one continues to live and it is the only one. I love the flowers, and would really enjoy having many more. But until I can figure out how to keep them alive, I guess that's not going to happen.
This is a photo of my new garden scoot I am purchasing from Gardener's Supply. I have been using a very nice kneeler/stool type contraption that had a frame that folded up for very easy carrying. It gave out on me last night while weeding the corn in the veggie garden. I went Googling this morning for a new garden stool, planning to buy another just like the one I had, when Google led me to this through a site featuring products for seniors. It is made of steel, has 4 rubber neumatic wheels, a tray for my hand tools, a basket for my water bottle and an adjustible seat that can be set from 17" to 20" high, and it turns completely around. I bet this new garden stool will outlive me!

Flower And More Flowers

2008-06-29T19:38:00.006-04:00

Dwarf Gilardia. I started with one plant, I now have 4 very sturdy plants, and 3 more "babies" coming along fairly nicely. I divided the first plant for the first 2, but the 3rd mature plant was an offspring from the seed of this first one. And the 3 little ones struggling to come along now are also offspring that are from the mature plant re-seeding. With a perennial as lovely as this who could possibly mind when they reproduce themselves. And they are easy to share with freinds because they are such lovely plants too.
The common Daisy, one of my most favorite wild flowers. I have deliberately allowed them to live in my flower beds as long as they don't cause problems with my roses or any other special perennials. This huge stand of Daisies came up for the firt time this Spring right outside the gate, and it was such a neat and tidy stand I have allowed it to mature. Now I have all of these gorgeous flowers greeting me every time I walk through the gate.
The dainty but lovely Coral Bell. I have 2 plants and they both need dividing. I have shared some with a friend, but really need to "share" a bit more. The same goes for the dwarf Aster that is behind it. LOL
Jackmani clematis. They get so dense you can hardly see the foliage at times. Just gorgeous!

Veggies ARE Growing

2008-06-29T19:13:00.005-04:00

This is my first planting of corn. We always grow a bi-color corn with a short growing time because we just don't have time for some of the other sweet and heavy ear varieties. The saying around here goes "knee high by the 4th of July" and you will have a good corn crop. It's not totally necessary to have the corn that high by that date, but it sure does help. I think my first planting is going to be very safe. It's coming really good, and the second planting it up a good 6" by now as well.
Carrots. I didn't plants an entire row of them, but what I planted is coming well. It always amazes me that with all the stone and rock in the garden that carrots do so well, but they seem to really like it. I have grown some huge carrots over the years, and never really had a failing crop.

(I was glancing over this earlier post and discovered the photo of the full garden was not here. I have gone back into Blogger to edit and I have uploaded the photo at least twice now, and yet it does n ot appear. I guess for some reason Blogger has decided that rows of tomatoes, broccoli, corn, etc are not safe of people to see.)

This is basically the entire garden for 2008. About 1/3 the size of last year's garden. But with all the trips to hospitals, doctors, testing places etc, we are just thankful to have this. We still have a LOT of veggies in the freezer from last year. So we just planted what we wanted fresh and not really planning on putting any up. Just what we can use as it comes ripe. Tomatoes and broccoli are very easy to see here. But on the far left of the second row of tomato plants there are 4 cucumber plants and they are growing well. On the left of the broccoli are cabbage, 3 of 6 are still there. The rabbits have not totally destroyed them. I just hope they can grow big enough quickly enough the rabbits don't even want to taste them. Then on the other side of the broccoli are 2 eggplant and then the row of carrots. Corn at the far end, 4 rows.

We fenced in the garden because after 18 years with no rabbits we were suddenly over-run by them. It's not working. We need something finer for the bottom of the fence. As it is one Mother Bunny had the nerve to actually set up her nest right outside the garden. She has 3 little ones playing hide and seek with me as I go back and forth.

Simon Snail & Roses

2008-06-25T15:23:00.008-04:00

I was visiting my BFF Kate a couple days back, and glancing out the window, sitting on her porch, I noticed this adorable little ceramic snail. Well, no one could see him sitting there on a porch bench, and he certainly had a poor view of the world facing a kitchen window. I said to my friend "I'm going to steal your little snail." And she told me "Be my guest! You are welcome to him." And I did just that. If you recall, a week or so back I had bought an adorable turtle (Tommy) with a frog (Fred) to sit in my flower garden, this little snail would be the perfect "playmate." So I introduce to you Simon Snail, which I might add, was hand made by my BFF Kate. Didn't she create a lovely little snail? I think so, and I love him. You can't see it from this view, but right above him is the rose you will see next. He sits in her shadow, guarding her from the real critters that might harm her. I think he looks perfect there.
Double Delight, a hybrid tea rose that has been gracing my flower bed for nearly 20 years. This is her very first bloom this Summer. Not quite as showy as they usually are, but lovely still. This is one rose that has a marvelous fragrance. Well worth bending over to take a sniff.
Peaches n Cream? I'm not sure. This could as well be Helen Hayes. I know I planted a Helen Hayes one year, but I've lost the name tag for this rose, and for the life of me can't remember exactly which one she is. But she too has been producing lovely blossoms for many years. Also a hybrid tea rose.
Blaze, a climbing rose that stopped climbing many years ago. I have two of these, and when they were very young, vibrant plants they once graced an arbor my hubby had made for me, and they covered it thickly with their branches and blossoms. It was not unusual to have 100 blossoms at once. But over the years it has lost some power or strength. It doesn't climb any longer and grows more like a bush. The arbor is gone as well, and they are free standing on either side of the yard gate. But when they are blooming, crawling over an arbor or standing alone, they are a lovely blossom just the same.
A rose of a different kind............On the seed packet it is called a Primrose, Sundrops (Oenothera Missouriensis), a perennial plant, drought tolerant. They are supposedly native to the Mid western United States from Nebraska south to Texas, but easily adaptable in other states. Supposedly they blossom throughout the summer. I sprouted this from seed last year. When I placed in the flower bed it was very small, and grew slowly over the last Summer. I honestly didn't know if it would survive the Winter at all. But when I finally got to weed out the bed I found it doing very nicely and getting ready to open it's first blossoms. It had 2 flowers, and they each bloomed for 1 day each. Now it needs to grow a bit so it can produce more, but it did survive and I am hoping to find more blossoms as the Summer progresses. The other day I discovered another one that I had planted in a different flower bed. That one has not bloomed yet, but now I know they will survive our Winters. I'm curious to see how big they will eventually get.

Flowers & More

2008-06-12T19:00:00.005-04:00

I didn't know if I was going to be able to upload these photos this evening or not. For some reason I kept getting a "go back" message because the page couldn't load. Maybe there are some storm cells in the airwaves causing some interference, whatever. I finally gave up trying to load them all at once, and tried it one at a time. Guess what? That worked! So finally, here they are.

First off is Zina - Princess Lily. Supposedly at perennial but not in my growing zone. So for me it will be an annual for this Summer only unless I can find some way to keep it alive through the Winter. We shall see. She certainly is a lovely little thing. And she was a birthday gift from my BFF Kate.
Purple Iris. These little lovelies barely scratched out an existence in a rock bed out behind the house. I don't know if the former owner planted them there deliberately or what, but they were pathetic. Year after year I kept saying "I must dig them up and move them. They will never survive there." Well, they did, for at least 20 years. That's how slow I was in moving them. So two years ago hubby helped me dig them up, there was so much rock, and we moved them to another flower bed I had just recently started maybe a year or so earlier. I had only the Green & White Iris in that bed at the time. These were so spindly and small, I didn't know if they would even survive the move. Anyway, I planted one little bunch on either side of the Green & White Iris. Last year they came up, a little bigger than when I first planted them, but not a whole lot. But over the Summer months I could see them growing and thriving. This year they are at least three times bigger than they were last Summer, they have grown so much. Now they are actually crowding the Green & White Iris, and growing so tall as to cast it in their shadow. Obviously when given half a chance they took it and ran with it. They are one of my best success stories.
The newest addition to my flower bed. This little turtle with a frog stealing a ride on his back. I have no idea what I'm going to call him, so if you have any suggestions, let me know. I thought he was adorable, and besides, he was 20% off. LOL
This is my Revolution Planter that I purchased from Gardener's Supply Co. It's something like the Topsy Turvy tomato planters, but this one isn't plastic. It's a cloth bag inside a sturdy wire frame, and it has a heavy plastic water reservoir that sits on the top, and it waters the tomato plant continuously by a wicking cloth absorbing the water from the reservoir and feeding it to the plant as needed. Since it just arrived a couple days ago, the tomato plant has not had much time for growing at all, but it must be in a hurry because if you look closely on the left side you will see a small baby tomato forming. Too funny. It probably will never grow long enough to ripen, but it's cute anyway. It shows me there is promise in this plant, it is so eager to produce. LOL

I had to purchase more cucumber plants as the original plants dried up and died in the heat spell, even though we watered them most evenings, and there was a good bit of rain as well. And since my zucchini and cabbage never sprouted, I bought some of each and planted them too. I also found Green Eggplant. Never heard of it, but since it is almost impossible for us to grow regular eggplant, and I love that vegetable, I thought why not try the Green Eggplant. Maybe this variety will be more acomodating. Can't hurt to try. Right?

Green N White Iris

2008-06-10T17:52:00.002-04:00

It has been a very hot several days here in NE PA. Temperatures around 90º or above. It brought the blossoms on this iris forth. The "leaves" are variagated, green in the center with white along the outside edge. I bought this plant over 5 years ago, and waited and waited. Last year was the first time it blossomed. There were only 3 flowers last year. So it is growing since we double the blossoms this year.

The weather here has been very humid and muggy. It's difficult to do anything, so we are taking it easy. Hopefully it will be breaking soon, and more reasonable temperatures will return. I am looking forward to the break.

After The Storm

2008-06-07T21:19:00.005-04:00

After the storm passed, I noticed these little birds sitting in one of the apple trees. One that is not looking too healthy either. According to my Audubon book, this is a Tree Sparrow. In the book there is a Chipping Sparrow that is very similar, but the Tree Sparrow had the little chest mark, so I'm going with that.
Tree Sparrow again. He turned his back to me, so I took another photo. I was so excited to be able to get one so close and so clear.
A male Goldfinch. I wish he had turned my way, but I was lucky to get this shot. Immediately after he took flight and away he went.

Now that the storm has past, it's not much cooler, but there is a light breeze in the air that is very refreshing.

Today - A Heat Storm

2008-06-07T20:55:00.004-04:00

It was hot and humid and muggy today, temperatures in the 90's. Rather unusual for this time of year. More like what we get in July. But just like those hot, muggy July days, the heat also unleashed one mean storm, with a wall of rain; hard, gusting winds; bending the trees quite a bit.
Of course these storms come and blast away and then move on fairly quickly. Before the storm was over, and when the rain was still almost a solid wall coming straight down, the sun broke through with blinding brilliance.
Looking southwest this was the sun breaking through.
And of course there is always a rainbow when the sun shines. No idea what the smudges are. They only showed on this one photo. Maybe a bit of fog on the lens. It was not the best of rainbows, but it was there none the less.

Spring 2008

2008-06-06T12:34:00.002-04:00

There has been a rather long dry spell on this blog. I apologize, but life has interrupted in a rather nasty way with hubby struggling through chemotherapy, which I believe was more harmful to him than his cancer was. But the chemo is on hold for the time being and he is very slowly trying to get back to something of a more normal life. It alludes him so far, but we continue to hope. And the cancer? Well, according to the latest PET scans the radiation seems to have blasted it into oblivian for the time being. For now it's wait and see.

This first picture is one of our Lupine plants. Last year I started several from seed, and lucky for me they survived the Winter, and this year they are all blooming. I am really pleased. I've never grown Lupine before and I really like them.
My Garden Flag among Candy Tuft and lots of Johnny Jump Up blossoms. I planted the Candy Tuft. A gift from my BFF Kate. But the many Johnny Jump Up flowers that grace my flower bed come from the bird feeders that are also staked in the flower bed and kept full all Winter. Of course another "benefit" from the bird seed are thistle, but I pull them up. The Johnny Jump Up plants are just too pretty to pull up, so I allow them rather free reign and enjoy them.
Our Rhododendron is finally blooming. This poor shrub does not seem to like where it grows. It seems to do well in spurts. Some years it will grow really well, and other years it seems to be stunted. This is not one of it's better years, but still it blossoms.
I wish I knew what this little gem is called. My girlfriend's hubby was tearing it up, and asked if I would like some. I took 2 small tufts and planted them, and every Spring they are thick with blossoms. One of these days I'll have to find out what they are.

Morning Glory seedlings. Every year I used to plant seed here for the morning glories to climb up the side of my porch to give it shade and add the beauty of their blossoms. But my hubby closes the porch in heavy plastic in the Winter, so I have to tear them down and get rid of the string I put up for them to climb. The past couple of years I thought "what if I just pull them down and leave them?" And so that is what I've been doing. Every Fall I pull the plants down after frost has killed the vines and leave them in a pile on the top of the soil through the Winter months. In early Spring I shake them out as hard as I can and then removed the dead and dry old vines. A few weeks later seedlings start appearing. This year we are enjoying a bumper crop. There must be a thousand of them here. I should certainly have a solid wall of Morning Glory vine this Summer, and thousands of blossoms to brighten each morning.

Spring Is Finally Showing Off

2008-04-19T20:54:00.002-04:00

On April 17th the first of my Daffodils bloomed. Since then a few more have bloomed, but many are yet to begin. That's OK. I don't mind waiting. They will bloom when their time is right. It seems to be coming a bit later this year but that does happen now and then.
My faithful Johnny Jump Up. I've never planted these, but we have three bird feeders on posts in the flower bed. Obviously seed from this adorable bright eyed perennial are abundant in mixed seed, because we have been nearly overrun with them since the first Spring after we put up the feeders. We don't mind though. I can't tell you how many smiles they have put on my face over the years. Especially when they are peeking through the snow as if to laugh at Winter in defiance. They are always the very last flower blooming and then the very first the next Spring. As Summer comes on they get big and leggy and many of them are pulled and tossed. But there are always more coming along behind. No other flower speaks to me as these bright little faces poking up and facing the sun regardless of the time of year. They speak to me of Endurance and Determination. And I strive to be as strong and enduring as they are.
This is the first of four Pasque Flowers that I have. This one is in such a hurry to bloom it can't even wait for the rest of it's body to be up and out of the ground and it already has flowers opening to the morning sun. I have 2 white and 2 purple. Last year I divided the largest of the purple ones so that my BFF Kate could have one for her flower bed. It also needed to be moved because since it was first planted it had grown so much wider it was threatening one of my rose bushes. So while moving the main plant I also took off a section for my friend. Although I watered it daily, it had me seriously concerned. It turned all brown and I was almost certain it was gone, but I hung on to a bit of hope. I looked hard the other day and it has not disappointed me. It is coming up again and looking just fine. Not blooming yet, but it is going to thrive.

Xmas Cactus Blooming Again - Or Yet??

2008-04-10T18:58:00.003-04:00

Last Spring a friend gave me some cuttings off her solid red Xmas cactus plant. She told me not to expect much because they did not bloom for her. I potted 2 cuttings and they both took root and began to grow. Then back in November they began to bloom, this is a 2nd blooming for this cutting. The flower being nearly bigger than the cutting it is blooming from. The flower is definitely too heavy, so I had to hold it up to be photoed properly. Otherwise it was hanging down to the table.
This is my very old Xmas cactus that has been separated over and over again, but nothing stops it from blooming. I've given away more of these than I can remember. I have kept 2 for myself, but also kept them at a manageable size. I have them in 8" pots and they must like it there. Every year they begin blooming around Thanksgiving and continue with new blooms about every 6-8 weeks right up till late May. This is the 3rd blooming for this plant, and I'm not complaining.

This was a surprise

2008-04-09T19:49:00.001-04:00

My knitting blog is only "elementary." Now I wonder why that is? LOL

Spring 2008

2008-03-15T14:49:00.002-04:00

Spring is arriving here in northeast PA slowly, but it is definitely close. For about a week or more the Canadian geese have been flying north in large flocks. For about 2 weeks I have been observing Turkey Vultures hovering overhead as well. My DH saw a 3 Robins several weeks back, but last week we saw an entire flock of them here at home. And early this week a flock of Red Wing Blackbirds arrived. We are now hearing much more bird song in the mornings, and the snow that has been here all Winter long is finally disappearing in large patches. There are areas where entire fields are cleared, but others where the ground is still totally covered. Winter never let's go easily, so this year is no different. But Spring has been encroaching for a few weeks now, and very soon it will be here to stay.

:)

Winter Wonderland - January 18, 2008

2008-01-20T19:08:00.000-05:00

I'm finally getting around to posting these photos. I took them days ago, but have been too busy to actually upload them and post.

Had a major mishap while taking these. Right here beside this rippling brook, as I got out of the car, I reached back, grabbed my camera and did not notice that the strap had caught on the arm of my glasses laying in the passenger seat. The glasses were tossed out of the car without my knowing it. I ended up taking several photos at this spot and never once noticed the glasses laying in the road. All I could think of, at the time, was that it was a shame I wasn't able to capture and upload the sounds as well. The little brook bubbling over the branches and stones was so calming, I wanted to be able to share it. As it was I drove away, looking for other places to catch a good photo, and never once discovering my glasses missing until I got back to the house.

This is a small rise about a mile from our house. My BFF Kate mentioned hearing a bit of a poem that mentioned the trees dressed in their Winter Wedding Gowns of Snow White, and this shows just how well that description fits.

Just a small outcropping of rock. I liked the look of it through the lens. Hope you do too.
The snow was so fine, that every tiny twig/branch/frond/ whatever was covered. Nothing was being left naked. I love scenes like this. This is when Winter is at it's most beautiful.

A lonely tree out in an open field. My first thoughts at seeing this? Wow, that would make a great jigsaw puzzle.

I have a game for the PC called Brainsbreaker. It's a jigsaw puzzle game. You make your own puzzles from any photo you can find on the Internet or upload to your PC. You can determine the size, number of pieces, a choice of shapes. I love it, and play it for at least some bit of time nearly every day. Can't wait to add this photo to the collection of puzzle pics to work on.

Horses, Robins & Bluebirds?

2008-01-12T21:15:00.000-05:00

A few days back, before the "heat spell" came in, we had a good foot or more of fresh snow on the ground. But over the past few days, that snow has nearly all be gone. We enjoyed temps in the 50's and even one day in the 60's, and now it's gradually cooling down again. No problem. We enjoyed the lovely weather while it was here.

Yesterday Hubby told me he saw 3 Robins while out fetching wood for the furnace. And this morning as we enjoyed our morning coffee, we both sat and watched a little group of 3-5 Eastern Bluebirds in our yard checking out the Bluebird house hubby built for them several years ago. We have enjoyed them for some time, raising their young from that little house, and hope to watch them for many more years in the future as well.

I'm surprised to see them here so early, but I'm sure they know what they are doing.

Have a great day. :)

A Winter Wonderland

2007-12-31T10:25:00.000-05:00

I think this is a great way to say goodbye to 2007. A beautiful fresh snowfall. We managed to get about 6" of the powdery fluff. They are predicting that tomorrow will bring another 6", so we will begin the new year as we end the old, knee deep in snow! As long as I don't have to drive in it, or on it, I don't mind. And for the next 2 days I don't plan to be going anywhere.

Last night we had to drive down to Milford, PA, about 62 miles away. Driving down went well. They had been calling for the storm to begin around 3 pm with rain, then sleet, and then changing over to snow. But the storm held off until about 6:15 pm, and when it did begin it was all snow. So we got down to Milford in good weather, and about half the way home before the snow began. For the first 20 minutes driving wasn't too bad. We were in a busy area and there was a good bit of traffic, and the roads were clean. But once we got further away from town and people, the road was just a white strip in front of me and the snow was getting deeper by the moment. A few times we had to slow to a crawl, but we managed to arrive home safe.

This morning I was out shoveling the snow, and the dogs were having a good time frolicking in the new stuff. Dudley (the black dog) loves the snow. He will shove his nose right down in there and then plow with it. He rolls in it and has the greatest time. Lizette is just the opposite. She does her "business" and then heads for the house. A spoiled princess. Often, when Dudley comes into the house, he is snow white all over from rolling in the snow. He looks more like a little baby bear on those occasions. LOL

This little cream puff dog is Lizette. She refused to look at me when I called her. Totally spoiled!!

Second Blooming 2007

2007-12-28T12:54:00.000-05:00

My Christmas cactus are blooming again, the second "event" for this winter season. I am curious as to just how many times it will be blooming before it finally stops for a nice rest.

I have two of these plants. It was one large one that I divided about 2 years ago into 4 plants. I gave one to my Sister Ruth and one to my friend Kate, and have these two left. I really love them blooming this time of year when nothing else does.

Another Winter Storm and Other Stuff

2007-12-16T16:08:00.000-05:00

With all the children long grown and gone, and no grandchildren visiting either, we don't bother with the big Xmas tree these days. So this is what stands in it's place. A little 3' fiber-optic tree. It serves it's purpose and adds a bit of cheer for us at this time of year. We don't need much, just a little "something."
Back in March (if I am remembering correctly) I took a bus trip to NYC to visit a friend there who lives in Brooklyn. She had several Xmas cactus plants she wanted to cut back, so she gave me some cuttings. My plant is red and white. Her plants are solid red. I planted the cuttings and have been tending them carefully. This week they rewarded me with their very first blossoms. Each plant also has a second bud that is growing, so by the time these flowers fall off, the new ones should be about ready to open. My other, more mature plants are now in their second blooming session of this season, having bloomed the first time right after Halloween.
We've had snow 3 times over the past 8 or 9 days. Last Sunday we had a snow and sleet storm. Then this past Thursday it snowed again, dumping about 8" more on us. Now we are having another storm. It began last night about 9 pm with sleet, then it turned to freezing rain this morning, and now it has turned to snow. By the time it's finished we will probably have at least a foot of the white stuff on the ground. But according to the weatherman the next several days should be dry. Thank goodness!! As much as I love the snow, I am ready for a small respite from it now. We lost power for a short time very early this morning, but I've been surprised that was all. With all the ice that is hanging on everything, I am not counting out the chance for another power outage before this storm is done and gone.

Snow And Johnny Jump Ups

2007-12-01T16:15:00.000-05:00

You just gotta love a flower that after days and nights of deep frost, the minute the sun hits it, it insists on blooming, and to hell with the time of year. We've had two measurable snow falls already, and a real nasty mess coming in tonight. But today these little men are standing upright with their faces to the sun in total defiance. How can you not love em? By tomorrow morning they will be buried under snow, and then a layer of ice. But today they bloom!

Talk About Extremes

2007-11-22T12:24:00.000-05:00

On Sunday and Monday, it was in the upper 30's, and look what happened. We were the lucky ones. We had between 3" and 4" of fresh, heavy, wet snow. Perfect for snowmen, and a lot of the local children had fun making them. In other areas not that far away, they got hit with 10" to a foot, and with the weight of the snow, lines were down and some did without electricity. Also, here, it was warm enough that the blacktop roads melted the snow as it came down, so the roads were totally clear.

We had to drive into "Town" (26 miles off" to the hospital for me to have a CT scan. The drive down was amazing. A "picture postcard world" surrounded us down and back. A dozen times I kicked myself for NOT having my camera with me. I could have shared some truly magnificent scenery shots otherwise.

Now, on Thanksgiving Day, just 3 days later, this is what it looks like looking out over the North pasture. Balmy sunny skies overhead, and no signs left of the snow that covered our world on Monday. It is gorgeous outside, and warm enough to enjoy a good bit of time outside without so much as a sweater. It is just that lovely.

Just to prove how nice it is, I took a photo of the thermometer outside. This was done about 8 AM this morning. It was already 54ºF, and as I write this now, it is 64ºF, a bit cloudy with spots of sun, little to no wind, and still balmy and lovely for so late in the year. I wonder if this is what our Winter is going to be like? I can't say, but I could take it as long as we still had some lovely snowfall on occasion. Especially for Christmas!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone. :)

First Snow - First Look At Winter 2007

2007-11-10T15:51:00.000-05:00

On Saturday morning we woke up to a world of white. I grabbed my camera and got these photos right away, while the snow was still falling. I knew that by the end of the day there may be no evidence of it, since it wasn't really all that cold to begin with, and the day would gradually get warmer. I was right. By early afternoon most of the snow was totally gone. But it was beautiful while it lasted, and it didn't last long enough to get dirty or nasty looking. This snow just covered the trees and the ground, but not the roads at all. The asphalt was too warm and it melted as soon as it landed. It was a perfect snowfall in that sense. A beautiful Winter scene without any of the dangers involved in driving on bad roads. It would be nice if all snowfalls could be that way.

Horses in the outfield here. If you look closely enough you can see a few of our horses way in the back, near the trees. They had to work a little to get their grass this morning, but there is plenty of it. The cold weather doesn't seem to effect them very much. They get very woolly during the Winter, and really seem to enjoy frolicking in the snow. Many a time I've seen them rolling in it and playing like young colts.

Behind the house we have a Maple tree and a couple Willow trees, and to the right of this photo is a group of Column Apple trees. All of them still have their leaves, although all the other trees in the area are totally bare. Maybe the house protects them some, but I doubt it. More than likely they just happen to be at just the right elevation to have escaped so far the ravages of Winter, but eventually they will succumb. Still, it's nice being able to see a bit of green still on a few trees.

I apologize for being "late" with this update, but Blogger was not being very cooperative on Saturday. I tried numerous times to post with no luck. Better late than never, right?

Have a great day. :)

Is It Fall Or Winter

2007-11-06T19:05:00.000-05:00

I am starting to think that here in northeast PA. we have gone straight from Summer to Winter. Last week we had our first killing frost, and today the snow was flying. It didn't last long, and it never settled on the ground, melting as quickly as it landed. But it came fast and hard for a few minutes, and stinging on the face if it hit you.
Look closely and you will see the little white streaking flakes against the background of this evergreen tree.

Here is a photo of my Xmas cactus plant, already beginning to blossom. The plant to the left of it will be showing off very soon as well. I noticed them last week developing several buds. These two cactus will continue to bloom for about six months now. Last year they bloomed right up till June, if I remember correctly, taking short rests between blossomings.

Have a great day. :)

No Doubts But Still A Few Surprises

2007-10-29T15:51:00.000-04:00

If the extended warm weather had me thinking otherwise, the landscape is a jolt of reality. And last evening we had our first big killing frost. Early this morning the thermometer read 30º F. Heavy frost on my car and the ground was all white and crunched underfoot. As you can plainly see, most leaves are gone, and the trees are bare. The Fall colors piqued last week. It was lovely then, but no longer.

I am showing here today the very last blossoms. I took these photos yesterday morning, but until now was unable to upload them to Blogger. Today most of these blooms are dying since they were hit so hard by the frost.

As you saw in the other picture, most of the trees are naked, and yet this lovely Maple tree behind the house is still very green, and just now beginning to turn. It really does stand out simply because it is so green.
The butterfly flower bed is down to these few Zinnia with just a sprinkling of Bachelor Buttons and Rudbekia. Of course they too got hit by the frost last night, but as "last blossoms" go, I was really happy they bloomed for so long.
Again, one of the 5 seedling Rose of Sharon plants has given me the gift of it's lovely blossoms, and this one also is taking after the "Mother" plant in it's coloring. There is one more seedling that has 4 buds at the top, but I doubt very much that they will get to blossom. The plants are losing leaves now too, along with the other trees and readying for the Winter.
Last, but not least, the lovely Daisy. This adorable lone bloom sprang up beside my climbing rose "Blaze." The Daisy was always my Grandmother's favorite flower, and every time I see them, they remind me of her. Since I have deliberately planted them in among my other flowers, I think of and remember her often. The Daisy was also the favorite flower of a beloved cousin, Jacqueline. Cancer took her from us as well several years ago, much too soon. The simple little Daisy keeps me close to 2 of my favorite family members.

Fall Bounty

2007-10-23T17:50:00.000-04:00

This first gorgeous flower is a Rose of Sharon seedling that I have been growing this summer. The seed sprouted beneath the "Mother" plant owned by my BFF Kate. I have been growing 5 seedlings. Earlier I showed an all white flower. That seedling came from the same "Mother" plant. This flower is the color of the original plant, and from the buds on the other 3 seedlings, they will all be as this one. So that makes my little white one even more special. But this flower finally opened today. All of the others have buds, but I don't know if the weather will allow them to bloom. Under normal circumstances this blossom would never have opened either. But we are still enjoying very unseasonably warm weather.
This beautiful yellow Mum was a surprise gift from my hubby. Yellow is one of my favorite colors (green being the other fav), and I was so thrilled with this gift. Just the right time too. For about 3 weeks I watched the buds fatten, but now it is in it's full glory.
I have several Dwarf Gillardia plants, most I raised from seed. Right now they are all beyond belief beautiful and just covered with all new buds, some of which are just now blooming. Weather permitting, they are going to be loaded with flowers AGAIN, but I'm not holding my breath. I am just thrilled they are so beautiful this late in the season.
My roses have been doing double time too. This is a ground cover rose called Apple Blossom, and the entire plant, about 3' across, is all in bloom with hundreds of lovely blossoms. Amazing, isn't it?
Even my climbing rose has thrown up a flower to surprise us all. This small blossom was found near the base of the plant, but wide open and full of life and color.

Yesterday I visited the vegetable garden and found enough new broccoli growth to give me 3 quarts. I blanched 2 quarts for the freezer and enjoyed the other fresh with dinner.

I also checked out eggplant. They were full of flowers, so I decided not to tear the plants up last month. I'm glad I didn't. I have 10 eggplant in different stages of development coming. I am sure I will not see all of them mature, but that's OK. Every one I do get will be an added bonus and well appreciated.

Today's weather - warm (67ºF) and light rain
Make it a great day. :)

Yes! It Is Fall, But Some Plants Don't Know It

2007-10-09T15:28:00.000-04:00

Our Fall maples. The changes are steady and progressing right along. A good wind and a heavy rainfall, and they will be bare soon enough.
Sometime about 10-15 years ago, my step Daughter gave me two Trumpet Vine plants. One orange, the other yellow. I waited 6 years for the orange vine to blossom the first time. And for the last several years it has been doing fine. The yellow plant has just been a dream all these years. But today, for the first time, I have discovered a flower bud. The first one. I have noticed others, but they were much smaller, and I also see where the deer have eaten the ends of other branches, so they probably got the other buds. I doubt this bud will ever come to flower, but now I know that it is possible that one day this yellow Trumpet Vine just might bloom as nicely as it's cousin one of these summers. I'm glad now that I never gave up hope on this plant.
Lilies are a summer flower, right? I always thought so too. All of my lilies did their blooming in late July, early August and then died off. Well, I now discover that two of the plants decided to grow another stalk and start budding out. Three days ago, these two plants began blooming AGAIN. This is one of them. See all the other buds? With colder weather expected by the weekend, I may never see them fully open, but I definitely appreciate this effort to surprise me.
Another garden surprise. Last year I planted Bachelor Buttons. I didn't plant any this year, but I quickly learned that was just fine. It seemed the seeds cast by last year's plants were planting and growing all by themselves. Well, all of those plants are now at the end of their cycle, but guess what? They have been casting seeds, and those seeds have taken root, and now they are ready to start blooming. This is just one little patch that is thriving so well. You can see by the Hosta in the background that our Summer is well over. But the extended warm weather is keeping these Bachelor Buttons fooled into thinking NOW is the time to be growing and blooming. Hearty little annuals, yes??

Fall Marches On

2007-09-29T15:46:00.000-04:00

Our weather has been perfect in every way for the past week, and we are expecting more beautiful weather through the next several days, but just a bit cooler. Oddly for this time of year, our weather has been more Summer like than Fall, but the trees can't be fooled. Here you can see the changes since I last posted this same area. The maple is much redder now.

Our garden is done for the year now. All that is left to be done is to pick a few eggplant, and gather up the Winter squash. Our total garden produce count is as follows:
Beans (wax and green) - 30 quarts. Broccoli - 18 quarts; Brussel Sprouts - 7 quarts; Cauliflower - 15 quarts; Carrots, sliced - 8.5 quarts; Egg Plant - 8; Corn - 27 pints; Kohlrabi - 3 quarts; Snap Peas - 9 pints; Green & Banana Peppers - 14 pints diced, strips and 1" chunks; Tomatoes - 61 quarts; Potatoes - 3 bushels. We also had a very nice supply of Zucchini and cucumbers that were eaten as quickly as they came ripe. The same for the radishes, and the Kale. And of course, we must have eaten several quarts worth of tomatoes fresh as well. They have been the staple of my diet since they began ripening in early August. And of course, there are still many Winter squash to be gathered. We have Acorn, Turban, and Spaghetti squash. And it looks like their vines did a super job as well. I don't think we will have a need to be buying any veggies for the next 9 months. Our freezers (3 of them) are nearly all full.

I had a beautiful little Rose of Sharon blossom to share with you, but for some reason the photo did not upload correctly. I have several seedlings that sprouted themselves under my best friend's big Rose of Sharon. I potted them up and have been keeping them close to the house to protect them from the deer eating them. We have a portion of the lawn fenced in for the dogs, and so I am keeping them inside the fence. It seems to have worked. The deer have butchered the bigger one outside the fence, but not touched the seedlings. They are about 18" tall to 24" tall, and I never expected them to develop flowers, at least not this year. But right now every one of them have buds on them, and one has actually bloomed. The odd part is the parent bush has bluish-purple flowers, and this seedling from that very bush is blooming snow white. I am now very curious as to what color the other plants might be. When they do eventually bloom, which I don't expect until next year, it is going to be fun waiting to see what surprises the have for me.

Late Summer Blooms

2007-09-10T17:07:00.001-04:00

The Freedom Rose, it was one of ten originally purchased at least 10 years ago, and now one of two that managed to live and survive. But it has yet to grow to the size promised in the catalog from which I ordered it from. But this is about the best I've ever seen it. There are 8 roses in full bloom all at the same time. Yes, 8 of them. There is a rose under the front rose all the way to the left, and it can't be seen in this photo, but I assure you, it is there. LOL
Last year I bought three "hardy mums" at $3.95 each, at Wal-Mart's. I didn't really believe they were hardy, not for that price, but guess what? This little guy made it through last Winter, and has been preparing all Spring and Summer just for this showing of it's gorgeous orange flowers. I'm really proud of it, and now that it is even better established, I am hoping it will survive another Winter as well.
My Rose of Sharon. It is a double flowered, in lavender, shrub that is now about 5 years old, but looks the same as when I bought it. The sweet Whitetail deer seem to think it is there job to prune it regularly. So it has gained little if any height, and if left to them, would NEVER blossom. I got tired of trying to fight with them, and hubby put a cage around it, so that this year I might actually get to see some flowers. It is covered all over with buds, but I doubt they will all get to bloom before frost, since they are opening so late in the year. They could have time, but I doubt they will. The deer have also been enjoying a smörgåsbord of Holly Hocks too. GRRRRRR!!!!!

An update on the garden produce.

I have 26 pints of whole kernel corn and 61 quarts of tomatoes, half diced, half whole or large chunks. I believe we will get at least one more picking of green and yellow beans, and I know we will be getting more peppers. We have gathered 2 eggplant so far, and 2 more are forming, with many buds, so we might get lucky and have a few more. We have grown and been unsuccessful with eggplant for 10 years, but I insist on trying every year. I'm so glad that this year they actually produced something for a change. We have a second planting of corn coming ready very soon, but we might just eat that since it's only 2 rows. The Winter squash I won't know the count until the vines die down and we gather the produce. We are going to try and store them in the hay barn, using the hay to prevent them from freezing. They are quite the job cooking them all up to put in freezer bags.

Fall Is Definitely In The Air

2007-09-02T14:34:00.000-04:00

This morning the sun rose bright and clear. It was all of 40 F. and obvious that Summer is on it's way out, and Fall is starting to slip in. The Canadian Geese are gathering in large groups, getting ready for their long journey south. The trees are well on their way to changing colors. I have seen some Maple that are bright red as of a week ago. Ours here obviously hasn't changed as much, but more than half the leaves are now no longer green, but some other shade of color. And the trees in the background have begun turning near the tops as well.

Last night the deer made a visit, and left devastation behind. My young Rose of Sharon, which is a double blossom in pale lavender, was just sporting it's first flower. They were so late because in the Spring the deer trimmed the shrub a great deal. It is now loaded with flower buds, and I guess that appealed do the deer, because they ate the first flower to bloom, and several buds. A little too late, but not entirely, DH has put a cage over it now. Hopefully the other buds will have the chance to bloom now. I certainly hope so.

The deer also made their mark in the flower bed. That beautiful bright red Holly Hock that was in full bloom yesterday is now a totally naked stalk. Every flower was eaten. I guess it was a good thing I got that picture yesterday, or I would have had nothing to show of that plant once the deer found it. I wonder how many more they are going to use for their dinner tonight?

More Produce & New Blossoms

2007-09-01T20:58:00.000-04:00

I thought it was high time I dug out the carrots. Good thing I did. I think they were planning to grow to the other side of the earth by the size of them. Some of these buggers are nearly 2" across, and a good 10" long, or more. When I was finished cleaning and cutting and processing them, I had 8 quarts for the freezer.
More of my Holly Hocks are now blooming, and they are looking really nice. This is a pretty pink one. I have three of this color so far.
Another Holly Hock, but this is a bright red. Not nearly as dark as the last one I posted, but a brighter lighter red.
Last, but not least, one of my Malvia. I grew these from seed last year. It said they were a perennial. But I planted them side by side, and these grew up in the general area of where the originals were planted, but not exactly in the same places. Now they are spread out more, and one of them is a full 2 ft. farther to the front than any of them were planted last year. So I don't know if they came up from the original root, or if they re-seeded themselves. Either way, they grew nicely, and they are blooming beautifully now.

Produce Update:
So far, I have in the freezer now
3.t qts. Kale
11 qts. yellow wax beans
14 qts. green snap beans
18 qts. Broccoli
15 qts. Cauliflower
8.5 qts. Carrots
13 qts. Diced Tomatoes
18 qts. whole Tomatoes
3 pints diced Bell peppers (more will be added tomorrow)
2 pints Banana peppers (more to be added tomorrow)
7 pints Snap Peas
2 pints Peas
Corn to be done soon

The freezers are being well stocked this year. It has been a great growing summer.

Take care all :)

More Blossoms & Pyewacket

2007-08-09T10:28:00.000-04:00

Last year I started several Holly Hocks from seed. Some of them survived, some didn't make it, but the ones that did survive never blossomed, and I was very disappointed. I thought something must be wrong with them. So this year I bought another package of Holly Hock seed and started more of them. Enough thrived that I was able to fill in where last year's failures had been, completing the backdrop for my long flower bed. The first ones planted were deep red, and the new ones are going to be yellow. I discovered this year that the deer also like Holly Hocks, and I feared for their safety, the deer did such damage to them. Finally they left them alone, and gradually I noticed that the plants from last year were starting to develop buds on them. This little beauty is the first one to bloom. So now I know what this group of them will look like, and I think that next year when the newer plants start blooming, they will make a beautiful backdrop with their deep red and bright yellow flowers.
The Spider Plant. I started the first ones about 3 years back, from seed. My DH loves them because they are so dainty looking, and yet they have proven to be very hardy. Since that first year they have succeeded in reseeding themselves every year. These were the first to bloom this year.
Old Pyewacket! I first heard that name watching the old move "Bell, Book & Candle" with Kim Novak and Jimmy Stewart. Of course that cat was a Siamese, but what the heck. I loved the name, and this is my third Pyewacket. She is about 18 years old now, not quite as spry as she once was, but she still gives the rabbits and mice a good run for their money. And at least once a day she manages to outsmart them. She has no need to hunt of course. She has plenty of food waiting for her. But she prefers to keep her claws sharp and follow the tradition of her breed. No pampered pet here. I think she was sitting there smelling the Morning Glory. LOL