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It has been a very mild fall here in SW La.-lots of sunny days in the 70's-just barely cool nights-and MOSQUITOES EVERYWHERE!!! We had our first little 'cold' snap-low's right at 40 degrees and a daytime high in the mid 60's. Lasted about 2 days (lol).
Peanut has been having major allergy issues again-so we went and donated to the vet's office again. He's much better now -but THIS treatment is going to be a much longer, involved process. I hope it helps-he's miserable, and it makes me miserable...and poorer! I always had this secret fear he was allergic to the cat-but the cat has been gone for over 6 weeks now, and he's still having major flare ups-so it wasn't the cat!
My veg. garden seems to be doing well. The broccoli is finally starting to take off-hopefully I will have radish by Thanksgiving-the cabbage in the barrels are doing great(especially the one the cat peed on-it's bigger than all the others!). Believe it or not, on a late summer volunteer tomato, I found 2 tomatoes about the size of my thumb. I really don't think they'll make it-but who knows! I planted carrots this year (first in a long time), and they are up,but they sure are tiny! I'm down to one bell pepper plant now and it's still loaded with bell peppers! I might try to overwinter it!
I got home early enough this evening to walk through the yard before dark, but not early enough to take pictures. I will do that this weekend-it should be a nice one. Let's see-My Cassia tree in the side yard is loaded down with it's yellow blooms (there are some pics in my photos), so sad that I had to butcher it like I did! The Bottlebrush still has a few blooms and it has really grown in size this past year. The butterfly gingers are still blooming, though most have started to topple over from the weight of the seed head. They smell nicely, especially late in the afternoon. The Red Parasol mandevilla is still pumping out it's beautiful red trumpet blooms-and will do so unless we have a freeze.
In the back yard the Passionflower vine has been just about totally devoured by the Gulf Frittiliary butterfly caterpillar. I let them eat it to the ground at this time of year-it didn't bloom much this year except in the late spring. The morning glories and the moonflower vine on the arbor are mostly just seed pods now-as is the Cypress Vine. In the corner, the Parrot Lillies are coming up green, and the zinnias, black stemmed elephant ear and caladiums are dying out. The Pentas still look good enough to last until a freeze, also. The Cannas have been chopped down (although there are many that are coming back up!), and I have to plant those blueberries in the ground soon!!
Around the patio, the Allamanda tree is dying back and is loaded with it's spiky seed pods-I will have lots of those seeds, if anyone wants to try growing one in the summer. It makes a beautiful small (4 ft) tree in a pot and loads of yellow trumpet flowers! Believe it or not, I have TWO late (this normally blooms in August) Bird of Paradise Blooms! They are not as pretty as the summer bloom, though. There is a tiny swatch of deep red zinnias blooming for the butterflies, and the coleus is getting "stalky". I also had 3 blooms on the Angel Trumpet this evening and noticed that I have about 10 or so buds-it's losing leaves, but making flowers! The rose bush is blooming (not many), and the blue/black salvia is still hanging on. The Hibiscus is just gorgeous-loaded in blooms, and little tweety birds! Since Motley is gone, I have a tremendous amount of the little birds hanging around the patio. Peanut barks his head off at them, but he can't catch them! My potted purple and white petunias are starting to fill in and are blooming nicely. The snapdragons are slow, but they'll come around!
I have started laying out the expansion of a part of my patio flower bed, and am contemplating the makeshift greenhouse. Clint will be coming in Dec 1st-maybe I can get some help out of him!
Hope you enjoyed the little tour-I know everyone loves pics-but it was too late to take good ones-so maybe this weekend! Have a good night-and make tomorrow yours!
I hope we all took a moment today to remember our Veteran'-Past & Present. No greater sacrifice can be made by a human other than to pledge his life, to keep yours safe. The Orange Grove Cemetary, one of the oldest & most beautiful in Lake Charles, has a huge flag display( over 700) every year for Memorial Day & Veteran's Day. I am guessing this cemetary to be over 5 acres. All Flags are donated, numbered, and stored by the American Legion Post 1-here in Lake Charles. It is a sight to see-you just can't get a picture to encompass it all. The weather today was beautiful-mid 70's, light breeze, and super sunny! Here are a couple of pics:
They go on forever:
God Bless America-and I can't say it enough-Land of the Free-because of the Brave!
Yesterday, one of Petey's cats (he had 2 left by his adult daughter when she moved out) got hit in front of his house, and died. It seems we just can't keep a cat! And we love them so much!! He is really upset about it, and now he won't let Tabby out of the house-which seems to suit her fine. UGH! I feel like I'll never be happy again!
On a lighter note...One of my neices entered the Colorado Teen Contest, and though she didn't make the top 15, she did get an award for "BEST INTERVIEW" (this kid loves to talk!). It was the end of the contest and since she wasn't in the top few, and WAS NOT expecting an award, she had taken her shoes off back stage-They called her name, and she had to go up front, barefooted, to take pictures with the winning contestant and others! They kept asking "where are your shoes"-and she just shrugged, and said "I don't have them!" What a hoot!! You can take the kid out of Louisiana, but you can't take Louisiana out of the kid! They've been living in Colorado for several years, but she still considers this "home". I LOVE IT!!
I used to really love Halloween, I haven't even bought a pumpkin this year. :( but-I found this little poem:
SWOOPING BATS, DANCING RATS, GLOWING PUMPKINS & WITCHES HATS
HAZY MOONLIGHT, GHOSTS IN FLIGHT-ALL ARE READY FOR
HALLOWEEN NIGHT!!
So much going on today. We are having bad rain/weather issues and the river where Petey lives is rising. But-First-my neighbor called me around noon today and told me her 11/12 year old nephew died suddenly-apparently of the flu!! He was feeling real bad Monday-went to the doctor yesterday(Tuesday)-got medicine-this morning he told his step mother he felt really tired and was going to lay down. She passed his room and looked in on him-and something didn't seem right-the boy had DIED! What a Heartbreaker!! I had seen the boy several times-he played in the yard next door & I would watch them play chase & toss baseball/football/soccer balls around-this is so terrible! I just can't imagine the parent's pain!!! This flu strain is nothing to take casually-even when you've been to the doctor it is bad!! Please don't try to treat it yourself!
Came home a little early, because the river is rising and more rain expected tomorrow (2-8 inches-what a span!), and strong, strong south winds that blows the Gulf up into the lakes & rivers- so flooding is predicted. I walked out my back door to check the area as usual, and a whole covey of tweety birds flew up from my patio-BUT 2 feet off my patio a hawk flew off with a large bird in its claws! It circled my back yard neighbors house, flew back over my house, and dropped the bird in my front yard-and flew to a small tree in the front and just watched me (Peanut's running out and barking of course!). I assumed it was a dove-but when I checked- it was a PIGEON! A LARGE pigeon! I was always laughing because Motley would stalk the pigeons and they were as big as her-Makes me wonder-did a Hawk get my Motley?
So-on to Petey's house on the river-Thankfully his daughter,her boyfriend and 16 year old grandson showed up to help move things. We don't expect a major flood-but if you have 6 inches or 3 feet-it's all the same! Cleaning up the mud is the nasty part-So we are waiting to see how much rain we get-and how much rain they get above us, because it all drains into the Calcasieu River (pronounced Cal-Ca-Shew), which runs right in front of Petey's house. If it floods bad, I will have Pete, his beagle dog, and 2 crazy cats at my house. I hope it's not bad. Sooooo-I'll let you know the circumstances later!
We are nearing the end of October in SW Louisiana, and there is really not a lot going on. Our leaves haven't started to turn yet, maybe in a couple of weeks. Temp is 70 today-sunny & nice (ground is still very soggy from last week's rains). The fall veg's are planted-the cabbage is looking good-and the broccoli is "pale", but it was two weeks before I could put them in the ground. They are all standing up smartly, so, they'll be ok. Radish are up, and I kept a few straggler zinnias for the butterflies. These are our signs of Fall:
Confederat Rose-Top picture is the whole tree. Unfortunately when this one is through blooming I will have to cut it down-it is brushing both back neighbors fences-and has split in the middle. - Then-This is a Rain Tree I pass every morning on my way to work-There are hundreds of them in bloom all over town-A picture just does not do it justice:
And it wouldn't be October without Lousiana Satsumas!
AND-I heard and saw the first V-formation of geese this morning. Fall is here.
A little bit of Louisiana to make your day! (Go SAINTS!) Make it a good one! ( still no cat- :(
Ok-so there is this BIG blank shaded area where my blog should be-The New GG is still a work in progress-and eventually I know, all will be well!
I had just finished watching FOOTLOOSE for the upteenth time. My all time favorite movies that I can watch again & again-TOP GUN (OH, yea!), Dirty Dancing ( OH YEA!!), and Footloose! (I must add Casablanca-in B & W to that list. I AM NOT a movie or TV fan. Rarely watch either, and I am not into Drama, scary, Blood & Guts, or anything that involves a lot of emotion-I'd rather be entertained and not be given an emotional roller coaster ride. Footloose-kick off your Sunday shoes!
Still no Cat-I am terribly sad. Today me & Peanut worked on the mound of mulch left from the Pine Tree removal. It's full of Fire Ants (THAT is a big mound!). I did rake off some of the bigger stuff to throw away, and spread a little here and there. The ground is still WAY too wet to plant anything and it was too wet to mow (maybe where I can find a dry spot tomorrow),but I did pull up some spent zinnias, and cut several branches off the Morning Glory Tree that fell over earlier this summer, and that will be cut totally down in a few days (kinda wet there, too). I had a box that was labeled "the cat house", that they could get under or on top of, and was sort of an outside shelter for the cats that was starting to rot-and since apparently I cannot own a cat-I threw it away, along with the BBQ pit that the bottom fell out of. I am over-whelmed with the amount of things that needs to be done around my house...I am kind of in a deep funk. And, I also have a really bad cold, and that doesn' help, either.
I really need to put my broccoli in the ground-I have had this pack for 2 weeks now, and they are not looking too good. I turned the mud in the garden area today, maybe by tomorrow it will be dry enough. Low tonite in the upper 40's (wow!), and high tomorrow only around 70 or so.
Later Gators.
I have a couple of pics here of the AT. It is at it's peak right now. The whole yard smells in the early mornings when I go on the patio. I think it had a better show last year-but it is still something to see...and SMELL!
another-closer taken late yesterday
A lot of the tips are already turning brown-it is HOT & muggy here. At 8 AM it was 84 degrees with 89% humidity-the air is THICK!-
Have a great day Everyone!
Well, first things first: The diswasher is screwed back in place and it works properly now. The washer hasn't leaked since last weekend (fixed itself?), Peanut hasn't had a full-blown rash blow out, so I'm tryng to keep him out of the weeds & flower beds. The car is still not fixed-will get that done next week.
THis was going to be my weekend to plant my vegetables, but it will have to wait. It has rained 2 nights in a row and the ground is a mess. I did turn over some of the dirt, but it will need to dry a full day, and we have more rain predicted. I did manage to finally get the 2 eggplants out of their tubs-I chopped and pulled and dug with the shovel, and finally got them out. I removed some of the dirt, and refurbished the rest and planted 1 cabbage in one-turned around, and Motly jumped up in the pot and promptly peed on my cabbage! Dang CAT! Then, Peanut is in the squash and the flowers poking his nose and breaking them all up! OUT! If they were kids, I could give them each a shovel and a pack of seeds...
I am going to extend one of my veg. plots, so I got out the weed/grass killer and sprayed it while the animals want to rest and weren't following me around. It will be dry in a couple of hours. Then I will lay a tarp on that area and weigh it down and take it off next spring-grass & weed free!
I did plant a few flowers, but I will have to remove some summer annuals first. IF the rain holds off I may do that this evening. I want to get my new patio set on the patio, and take the old one off this evening when I have help. I have some shrubs/trees/plants that need to go in the ground, but will probably wait until the end of this month, and when we haven't had 2 days of rain.
The Angel Trumpet is starting to bloom, it will get much prettier than this, but I had to show it (in case the rain beats it up!)
Hope you have a nice weekend!
I was going to write about what got done this weekend, but, I'm moping, instead. Yesterday my lawnmower quit while I still had most of the front yard to cut. I took the air filter off and gas came pouring out. So, I left it open so it would dry, and pushed the mower under the eave of my house-Not supposed to rain until late tonite-Well, around 2:00 it started raining-2 inches to be exact-mower is ALL wet now!
Was going to wash some clothes-water on the floor under the washer (NOW what!). When I had the mouse problem, Pete pulled my dishwasher out some (unbolted it), and this weekend, when I opened it, it almost fell out on the floor-He hadn't bolted it back in place. So, I start to unload it and the dishes were dirty. Mmm, I thought I had turned the washer on. So I start it again-and it's not making much noise, so I open it-NO water in the tub. (Now what?). Also, my car has automatic lights, and I've been noticing that sometimes they "click"-What the heck does that mean?? This just started, too.
So-the lawnmower, the washing machine, the dishwasher and my car need attention-I'll probably have to throw money at them-oh, and Peanut is scratching up a storm again-so he'll be in the vet's office again for another hundred bucks! I hate washing dishes-yuk!
Later Gators.
Yesterday evening, moving things around on the back patio, I was being eat up with mosquitoes-They are Horribly BAD recently-I lit the citronella candles and sprayed me with OFF!, and found a can of Yard Guard. Haven't used that in a long time, though I have used some other brands-so I sprayed the patio area-AND Wow-instantly I was transported back to when Clint was 7-8 years old and had a yard full of ittle boys playing on the trampoline at dark. I used so much Yard Guard back then I should have bought stock in that company! It sure made me lonesome for that Little Boy with pockets full of snakes and turtles, covered in mud with buckets of crawfish and polly wogs and smelling like a wet dog ( or maybe the dog smelled like him-I never was sure...) :~( I just miss him. Funny how 'smells' can bring back clear memories!
FINALLY, the glider is painted. I still have to coat it with sealer, and this is a little more blue than I bargained for-but I think it will do!
I spray-coated the underneath with pruning spray! If you read the can, it waterproofs and seals all kiinds of things-it is rather tarry, though, until it dries... AND........The Bird Has Bloomed!
There are a couple in the forums under "What's In Bloom" And, I wanted to show you my squash! All sumer long I have had virtually NO squash-was going to pull this one up, and NOW it wants to produce! Hope they get big enough to eat!
And, I have tomatoes, too!
Check the forums-I'll have a few pics here & there-HAVE A GREAT DAY TOMORROW! Hope the sun shines on you!
Carolyn
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