flyfisher51's Blog

July 2008
Jul 27, 2008 | 3:55 PM PST
Tag: July 27th

We had a heavy rain system go through today. We got about a inch of rain in an hour. Included in this was Hail. My wife said they were 1/4 to 1/2 inchs in size. Plants were beaten down but not killed. I should be thankful that this is the worst that has been thrown at us this year. ( I should add "most years") We had golf ball sized hail back in the 90's that destroyed the gardens, shattered the plastic vent in the attic, and left hundreds of dings in the sheet metal of our cars. I prefer my ice in the winter when I'm prepared for it or in my iced tea where I can enjoy it.

The rain added another inch to the kiddie pool where I have been getting my water for the potted plants and hops. It has been a wet week where the Gardens have not needed to be watered. With two good storms this week, maybee the grass will start to grow again.

I walked around the yard and found three nice Blue Jay feathers. I will use them when I tie flies for Christmas Ornaments. It's about time they started leaving me payments for all the food they eat. I watched one this morning eating an apple on my tree. We rarely use the apples and I keep the tree for the birds and squirrels.

The one chipmunk is using a shortcut through the vegetable garden. He made or found an entrance in the plastic netting and scoots out  under the fence in the back.

I have just recently noticed that we don't have any Mocking Birds at my house. I have them at work, 38 miles away, but not here. I would expect to see them at the wild rasberry bushes or the apple tree. All of Pennsylvania is in their range. Maybee I'll see them later. We also have a wild cherry tree along the back of the property.

Have a good week.

July 2008
Jul 26, 2008 | 9:37 AM PST
Tag: July 26th

We had a lot of rain this week between Tuesday and Wednesday. Weather.com originally posted that we had 5 inches over the two days, then adjusted it to approximately 2 inches. We have a US Geological Survey Station on the Perkiomen Creek with a Rain Gage. It is about a mile from my house and it put us at 3-1/2 inches. The water in the previously empty Kiddies’ Pool put us at 4 inches. I believe I will go with the USGS.

Added photos to page today. Picked Zucchini in the morning. They grew well this week.

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I fertilized the hops today. The Cascades are doing great. The Northern Brewer are not doing as well in Hop production that I originally thought, but my Home Brewers Garden Book says that they are moderate producers. It is also still early. These are the Cascades:

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I sat under the Hop Trellis and sipped one of the home brews I bottled 2 weeks ago.  I pronounced them properly aged last night and refrigerated them. I watched the Chipmunks scurry through the yard. They seem to be okay with me sitting near where I throw their food. The birds and squirrels are a little more reluctant to hang out with me. The Chipmunks are so busy you would think there were 30 of them in the yard at one time. I counted 6 when they stood still for a few seconds.

The Daylilies’ are recovering from Bambi. We have a few flowers, not many.  We have 2 bunnies.  Where is Mr. Fox?

I have one Spaghetti Squash hanging on the fence:

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I am not worried. I have many flowers.

I have started to see Honey Bees in the yard. They have been absent from my gardens for a couple years. I hope they are recovering from whatever it was that afflicted them.

I tried to post pictures but seem to have only the URL's. Oh Well. I think I'll have to re-read the fact sheet in the forums.

I hope everyone has a great week.

July 2008
Jul 21, 2008 | 4:15 PM PST
Tag: July 21st

Got back from beach last night to violent thunderstorm warnings. Checked Weather.com and their radar and they showed a large front that stretched from Scranton to Lancaster across PA. There was a large orange section within the green that meant heavy rain and hail. The front was 11 miles away so I decided to get my shower in case we lost power. I dawdled to long in the shower and got out during the time we were to get clobbered. It was raining lightly with thunder and lightning all around us. I rechecked the radar map and through time lapse watched the heavy rainfall section collapse as it approached my house. It opened up like the Red Sea and went around us. It continued to rain lightly for about an hour but was not enough to keep the gardens from needing water today.

Went outside to feed the critters at 5:20 am this morning and spooked Bambi. Checked around the Bird Feeder to find the grass grazed down to the dirt. He apparently was eating the grass to get the seed that accumulates there. I got out the repellant and sprayed the back and west side garden and around the feeder base. While checking the west side garden today I noticed a Gazania Plant had been eaten down to about an inch of growth. This could have been the rabbit and I didn’t notice it before. This afternoon while watering the east garden my wife noticed that the Daylilies had been eaten. The deer ate all the flowers, did not leave one. There were close to a hundred. I will spray there tonight, perhaps we will still get some flowers.

On a positive note!!  I picked four tomatoes today and have over a dozen zucchini that I can see. I will be able to pick at least half of these this week. I still can count only one spaghetti squash but they tend to flourish into October, I am not worried.

My Lavender has gone to the Big Herb Garden in the Sky.  It is a shriveled remnant of its former self and it did not recover after being transplanted.

Happy Gardening.

July 2008
Jul 17, 2008 | 5:44 PM PST
Tag: July 17th

Early blog this week. We are heading down to the Jersey Shore tomorrow to visit with my Wife’s Aunt. I hope to get some surf fishing in tomorrow and Saturday. I will be looking to catch striped bass, weakfish, and flounder. I will be more than happy to catch some time just standing in the surf.  Saturday night we will probably head to Atlantic City to the Casinos. I haven’t been there since spring 2007. We don’t take much money so we don’t give a lot to the Casinos. My oldest daughter will be minding the cats, watering the gardens, and feeding the critters while we are away.

I finally picked my first tomato today. It’s already gone. I had it with dinner. I also picked a zucchini. I was going to leave it but my wife figured it was ready. I was going to let it get huge, but she likes them smaller with less seeds.  I have another half dozen growing and three more close to ripe tomatoes. I have three tomato plants and a dozen zucchini. I also have a spaghetti squash growing on one of the vines trying to escape the garden. It is at the top of the fence. I’ll get pictures when it gets bigger.

The bunny started eating my Gazania flowers. I had flowers with all of the petals nibbled down to the center. He or she was being careful not to rip the plants out of the ground. I weeded the side garden on Sunday before we went out to a family function. While I was weeding my Wife planted a few plants in spaces created where the Tulips and Daffodils had been. Their foliage is now all gone and all that was left was empty space. I planted the Lavender in the side garden, but it isn’t recovering from the overwatering or whatever affliction I gave it. I will look up growing suggestions before planting it again. I have a few Nasturtium plants coming up from last year as well as Portulaca.(I never planted it in my garden but this is the second year I’ve gotten it.)  The Portulaca springs up almost overnight. In the front garden my Wife planted orange this year. After our last good rain in June we had a whole spectrum of colors appear.

Got to go pack my saltwater flies and fly rod. Hope everyone has a great weekend and a prosperous week.  

July 2008
Jul 12, 2008 | 9:52 PM PST
Tag: July 13th

Busy week and weekend.  There has been little time to work on the garden. I need to weed the side garden.  The weeds are blending in with the flowers and it is hard to tell where one ends and the other begins.  I think I have some Convolvulus returning from last year. I also have some Morning Glory that is returning for the third year. It is snaking its way through the other plants.

The Morning glory I planted on the small wire trellis and push mower is doing well, but without flowers.  The same can be said for the ones on the hop trellis.

The Yellow Poppies are producing their first batch of seeds. I may gather these before they pop to plant in another part of the garden. The area they grow in seems to be shrinking. I started the side garden with one of those wildflower mixes from Walmart.  That was about 6 years ago. They came with that box and are all that is left of that first group. The second year they came up I almost pulled them all out early in the season thinking they were weeds.

I moved my Rosemary and Oregano that I had from last year into larger pots on Monday night. I moved the Hot and Spicy Oregano and Greek Oregano I bought two weeks ago into new pots.

The Lavender looks distressed. I think it may not need the same amount of water I am giving the other herbs. My mint doesn’t seem to be spreading outward as advertised. It is getting taller.

The Hops are starting to flower. I have read many places not to expect a lot the first year.  I also read that you get one ounce from 8 flowers. I’m looking at several hundred flowers per plant. If they all mature I will not have to buy hops for my American Pale Ale. I will only need to purchase some Fuggle Hops for my Oatmeal Stout and Saaz Hops for my Belgian White Beer. I am growing Northern Brewer hops that I use in the APA and Stout and Cascade hops that I use in the APA. It will also allow me enough to make the Hop Pillows I have been threatening my Wife with. This is a classic battle of the household. I love the smell of Hops and she doesn’t. I might even make some medicinal Hop Tea. Of course I am making all these plans and my Hop Flowers are not even a full 1/8” in diameter.

Speaking of beer, I brewed my last batch of American Pale until October. I normally would not brew this late but my Daughter bought me a gift certificate to the brewshop.  The batch I brewed three weeks ago is ready to be bottled. I’ll do that Monday night.

The rabbit won’t be bothering the Coneflowers in the Hop Garden for a while. He ate them all before I could spray them. I should have sprayed them before writing about it. I have the Deer and “RABBIT” spray in the shed, about 30’ from the trellis.

My Zucchini still is without fruit. I may have my revenge yet. A friend is going to give me a recipe for battered Zucchini flowers. I have a boatload of flowers. The winter squash that was growing up the fence has now cleared it. If this is a repeat of two years ago I will be harvesting squash from the Forsythia bush next to the garden this fall.

I am feeding the feathered and furry creatures in the morning before work during the week, and breakfast on weekends. If I feed them late in the day they don’t finish the food and I get the Raccoons in the yard at night. They also use the bird bath so I now replace that water every morning. I don’t dislike raccoons. They have had a tough time in this area the last 20 years with rabies fears where they would be destroyed just for being caught in a trap. It is just they are too large of a wild creature for me to want to attract to my backyard. They are big enough to wreak havoc in a yard and garden. They knocked down the trash can I use for mulching just to check inside. In addition, my garden fence is made of plastic netting. I have not upgraded to wire yet. That’s a project for next year.  I shared my old shed with a raccoon for two years before I had to tear it down. When I needed something from the part of the shed the raccoon was sleeping in it would move to the other side. It never showed anger at me.  I don’t mind them in the yard occasionally; I just don’t want them here every night. So far all they have done is knock down the can, dirty the birdbath, and knock it down a few times. I am also afraid they will scare a neighbor and more traps will be set. This happened last year with my neighbor when one came up on his deck. He was caught and I don’t know his fate. I live real close to a flood plain and we have a load of wild critters in the area. No lions, no tigers, no bears, but we have deer, fox, coyote,  and wild turkey to name a few. I would like to keep them all around without to many clashes.

If you read this far, thank you for being interested and everyone have a good week.

July 2008
Jul 6, 2008 | 10:22 AM PST
Tag: July 6th

Short time between blogs. Day Lilies are finally blooming. They are on the east side of the house and only gets sun a few hours a day.  Nothing else new in gardens, except the rabbit. We have a new visitor to the gardens, it’s a rabbit. He has eaten my coneflowers from the Hop Garden. I sprayed what is left with stinky repellant. I wonder if the Fox knows we have a new rabbit. It’s a nice fat one. I am tempted to tell him if I see him around. I just can’t let my Wife know that I told him about the “bunny”.

Posted new picture of gardens in spring, My “Honesty” fence around the vegetable garden,  the gardens now, and the building of the Hop Garden.

The fishing trip on the Fourth was a success! The rain held off until I got home. I fished for 4 hours. I didn’t wear my waders, just shorts and wading boots. The water wasn’t cold. After about 3 hours I thought to myself that it would be nice to catch at least one fish. Near the 4 hour mark I caught a nice little 9 inch Smallmouth Bass. I caught him on a deer hair popper I tied about two years ago.

I saw two deer walking in and one when I was leaving. I saw lots of crayfish in the creek, including a few half eaten ones. I released my fish as soon as I landed it. I use barbless hooks so I was able to turn the hook and release the fish without touching it. I made a few more casts and decided to leave, I had gotten my wish.

I hope everyone has a great week.

 

July 2008
Jul 4, 2008 | 9:44 AM PST
Tag: July 4th

I am trying something new. I am composing this on word and I will copy and paste it on my blog. If it works you will be able to read this. I type slow and  normally will time out when doing my blog.

It is July 4th and I was going fishing today. We are having our first real rain since June 14th. We have had sprinkles but most of the rain goes north or south . It will occasionally evaporate right before it hits us. I will gladly trade fishing for a little rain. Accuweather says I have a 3 hour window this afternoon before we continue with thunderstorms.  I fish 5 minutes away.

The night visitors finished the squirrel log. I am going to make a feeding station and put it up on the side of the shed where only the squirrels and chipmunks can get it. The chipmunks and squirrels eat the safflower seeds. I added hot sunflower seeds to the mix, that deters the squirrels, but it is a treat to the chipmunks.  At the other feeder the week started with Cardinals bringing their new kids to the feeder for the hot sunflower seeds. The mother would fly to  the feeder, get a seed , and fly back the pine and feed the baby.  The female Downy woodpecker returned, the male showed up yesterday, and they were both out there today. I had a female Red Belly woodpecker yesterday. The Blue Jays are bringing their young to the feeder also.  They look like their parents except are half the size.  I still have my Black Capped  Chickadees,  Tufted Titmouse (only suddenly more numerous), House Finches, and Goldfinches coming to the feeder. I am ground feeding the doves. I have to take a birdhouse down. Part of the roof is off and on the ground. It was purchased and I just painted it. I think it is vacant. I believe the glue holding it together failed. I will replace or rebuild the roof, with nails.

The squash is doing well as far as growth, still no fruit. The tomatoes are also doing better. I saw Honey Bees yesterday. I haven’t seen them in two years. Maybee they’ll get around to the vegetable garden.

The flowers are moving along. They are not growing as fast as I would like, but I think I am impatient.

Hope everyone has a good Fourth of July .  ------Gone Fishin'-----