I am asking Santa 2013 for a new trowel. Obviously, I take my trowels and throw them in the woods whenever I finish planting anything. Really. I never can find my trowels. I have a nail where I hang them after I finish AND they are never there when I go to plant. Trowels are like tweezers. Someday, when I have passed to the next world, someone will find where all of the tweezers have hidden themselves.
I found a trowel today. It was in my purse. I can't remember why I put it there. I bet I was going to plant something somewhere. A trowel in your purse is not a good sign -- it's a great sign. It shows the world where my priorities are.
***************************
I wish I was physically stronger. One of my Christmas gifts was some gardening help from Dan.....and he's not doing the fun stuff. He is the muscle for my ideas. I think it up, buy the plants, he wields the shovel, I plant....
***************************
The seed catalogs have whet my whistle for the yard. The first order of business is trimming the crepe myrtles. They had a field day last year and need to be shaped. Bill and I like the classic look-- we spent the afternoon on five bushes. We have two more to prune and then we'll move on to the rose bushes.
***************************
Bill's sister , Nancy divided a family heirloom to share with us--I hope the flowering quince from the home place in Wapello takes off. Nan also brought black-eyed Susan seeds and hollyhock seeds for us to plant. I checked out the flowering quince and it is growing! Hurrah.
***************************
One of our neighbors in State Center,Winifred Liston, had the best garden in the world.. Ferns, hens and chicks, a pussy willow bush, roses made her lawn lovely but my favorite plant in her yard was her Jack in the Pulpit. I ordered Jack in the Pulpit seeds from a gardener of exotic plants. Winifred had found her plant growing wild -- I am going to create a starter garden for my seeds. I want my grandchildren to have the joy of seeing Jack getting ready to preach.
***************************
Sometimes I feel like I am just getting nice dinners together for the deer and the armidillos. The squirrels have helped me by gathering the acorns....I have squirrels that look like "butterballs" waddling around the yard. I saw my first red squirrel yesterday. Our squirrels in Iowa are a pretty red-brown. Our squirrels in Macon were a dove gray....but yesterday, I had an "Iowa" squirrel in my yard. One of my friends asked if it was a flying squirrel. No idea! It was walking on all fours when I saw it.
***************************
Planting, weeding seeding, and loving.
Mike's memory garden continues to thrive.
****************************
I am clearing a path to the creek.....the simple goal is a "no-tick" zone. Guinea fowl are an idea that has been percolating in my head...... they eat their weight in ticks. I don't know if I would be able to protect the birds from Raggs. He'd run them slap crazy. They are loud, big, personable, and tick eaters....hmmmmmm, I really don't think I'm ready for another form of livestock to take care of right now. But, I'm thinking about it. I wonder if there's a Rent-a-Guinea program?
Like officious little men in baggy gray suits, the guinea fowl scuttle up and down our driveway. Since dawn, they've been scouring our orchard for beetles, locusts, spiders, and ticks. Now they are ready to patrol our yard and garden for ants, cockroaches, flies, wasps, termites, cutworms, grubs, and snails. The guinea fowl are relentless in their pursuit.
Read more: http://www.motherearthnews.com/sustainable-farming/raising-guinea-fowl-zmaz92aszshe.aspx#ixzz2J5gfyEHc
No comments:
Post a Comment