leafette's Blog
leafette's Blog
Last Post 46 days, 16 hours Ago
Jun 2, 2008 | 5:58 AM PST
The North wind is still very much blowing and the southern wind hasn't yet beaten it back up north. Our last frost date is the third weekend in May but we got hard frost again this morning. The transplants were on the front step so I need to go out and take a few pulses this morning! sheesh The geese were circling this morning so they are as confused as the rest of us!
I'm not the only one who is dragging their heels. Many just can't seem to get going this year. The trees are still not all leafed out. The wind has a real bite to it and the ground itself is still quite cold. Now the dandelions are not at all phased by the chilly days!
Oh, no! I just remembered stopping to smell apple blossums yesterday. Oh, oh! Dh has begun an orchard on his side of the yard. He is into the older tried and true varieties. He only wanted about a half a dozen apples this first year and he may just get his wish!
My two call ducks are actually sitting on eggs. Now the drake should have had his wings clipped but I thought he'd stay with the females. Not! I think he heard some young wild thing asking for assistance and he has 'flown the coop'! I'm not sure I'll get a chance to explain to him all the dangers that are involved with hanging out in that drainage ditch area.
Well, I best grab a warm jacket, mitts, toque and go see if I'm going to try one more time to have a sweet potato vine in the window box. This will be strike three!
Apr 26, 2008 | 1:01 PM PST
Looks like a regular snow storm! Ground is becoming white. Dh and I attended a workshop on trees and shrubs presented by the agricultural people today. There was to be some outside activities but we did it all inside. brrrr Very informative. Dh wants to get a small nursery bed going so we can put these 60 cent tree seedlings that are available into a protected and monitored area till we are ready to transplant them. I was pleased to hear about blends of trees. When you order 20 poplars they give several of the available varieties to encourage diversity. I hadn't thought about introducing new tame poplars to our native poplar stand. And then underplant with other shrubs to get some more diversity. But the question about the poison ivy raging thru that bush has no solution. drat! Dh studied how to make cuttings. One tree and you can have a million starts. That appeals to his thrifty nature and I can then get on with more perennials. 8^)
I think I'll continue to play with fabric. Spring looks like it will resume at a later date!
Apr 24, 2008 | 4:27 PM PST
I was just thinking I could maybe switch from sewing fabric to sewing seeds mode. Shouldn't have thought that as a major spring storm has swung by with lots of freezing rain. Hope it kills that smart alecky dandelion under the south window! The snow is pretty much gone and I even have a few crocus waving about. I did put my ducks out and some of Dh's fowl friends are wandering over into the yard. The new lambs are skipping about and they and their mothers were the only idiots that stayed out during the rain. sheesh No leaves on the trees but I did see a slight green haze over at a neighbouring town.
Our wee Joshua is 9 days old. 6 lbs. 8 oz. so I won't be getting him a wheel barrow and rubber boots till next year. Seems to be a good baby and has hardly disrupted the household at all. So far so good! 8^)
This rain should get things greening and then it'll be time to be outside. I'll try for balance this year as I do have some sewing projects that need finishing. Dh is also inserting his 'must haves' into my garden budget. This could be the year of the fruit trees! I gotta keep him somewhat interested as he has said this could be the year of the potting shed! Yay!
So I guess it is : "on your mark, get ready, set, GO!"
Mar 17, 2008 | 7:23 AM PST
Happy St. Paddy's Day! He really was a good guy. How The Irish Saved Civilization is an excellent read and no, I don't think I have any Irish blood. I did have thoughts of green grass the other day but the wind has tossed up flurries of more white stuff so the paths are full again. The new lamb crop is springing up though. Once the little guys are dry and bonded to their mothers they don't mind the weather and get quite frisky as they play the games that the young are wont to do whenever 1 or 2 or 3 or 4 gather with no purpose but play in mind! I am needing to finish up the green shower curtain project and I hope to make good inroads into that today. I do hope everytone is thinking green in some aspect today. Blessings from Elle
Mar 14, 2008 | 6:25 AM PST
.... and look what happened! I have finally turned away from the "spring is here' pictures and put my nose down to the sewing machine. I was making lots of progress and our long awaited February thaw arrived. Now I'm fussing that I won't get all my projects done before the bare ground starts to appear! lol
We had 60 days in a row where the temperature never got above zero. That was a bit unusual. But on Wednesday things had peaked in the weather department and we actually had some precipitation in the form of rain. Now that'll sink the snow levels! But last night we had a presentation to go to up north and we left with some weather happening but it cleared as we went. But coming home we had blowing snow and icy roads but things got better as we neared home. So winter is kinda fighting as it is being sat upon by Spring.
Now I have incentive to get busy because this should be winter's last push and then yahoo, spring!
Feb 29, 2008 | 5:12 PM PST
I'm trying to get the winter's quota of sewing done and my dearie has begun to think spring! Being the thrifty individual he is, the budget for this year's vegetable seeds is $40. He is counting all his packages, reviewing the highlighted items in his heritage seed catalogue and agonizing over his choices. I don't care for that 'b' myself. My spending is limited to the charge card limit and the dire threat of a low alimony payment! He thinks we should only grow what we can eat. If I could cook I'd try sugared flower petals. An ornamental thistle makes him want to drag his field sprayer out of the scrap heap. But he actually takes time to smell the roses; I'm hurrying off to the nursery for the latest variety. He is know to run after me but that is because he heard my whoop at finding the latest hiding place for the cheque book! He is thrifty and buys little brown envelopes for his seeds which he stores in a large tin. I buy Rubbermade containers for my fabric finds and throw tablecloths over the new end tables because my closet avalanches if I open it. I also have a very large assortment of black plastic garden pots! He gets the tape measure out to plan the veggie spacing. I shove the shovel into the ground and head to that bush over there. I dream, he plans. He services the lawn mower and I scalp the dandelions, lower rocks and generally level the yard. He yells, I look contrite and together we collapse on the step in the evening after a full and fun day of working in the yard. I can't imagine people being bored!
Feb 25, 2008 | 4:11 PM PST
Lovely weekend away. It was a tad snowy, well actually visibility was down a bit at times, but things went well. We did have a stop as the road was cleared. A moose crossed and there was a three car pile up! Some had been waiting in the line up for 45 minutes and we were only held up for an additional 20. Those moose are BIG but it was rather odd that it was out in the afternoon.
Dh and I had a very nice room overlooking a lake. The weather turned down right balmy. Wow! There was even signs of water on the shoulder of the highway on the way home.
But it is still too early to be thinking spring. We passed some green houses and there was no sign of any smoke coming from their chimneys. So the garden can wait a bit as Dh got a 'chick' catalogue in the mail today. The 'chick' on the front has some hairdo! lol I know what he'll be reading tonight. And after he has checked out all the shapely legs and big breasts he'll decide on what kind of gals will be invited to spend the summer with us. DD says we really should find the movie Chicken Run!
I'm usually quite content to let winter run its course. Not this year. I guess our Dsil's depression has made me anxious for the spring. I had no idea of the struggles that plague some people. It seems that fixes just aren't guick. I was pleased to see him and Dd looking thru the garden catalogue, planning what they'd like to grow.
Now isn't that interesting. We are to have high hopes, look up, raise our sights, etc. but it is down on our knees, hands in the earth, intent on tiny seeds and seedlings that we find peace!
Feb 20, 2008 | 1:54 PM PST
Strike four coming up!
And by grace, she bunts and slides into first!
What doesfirst base umpire Bill say! Don't forget to consult with KIKi, I want 2 witnesses!
A happy leafette! hmm a small, happy leafette! we'll work on size next week. I really gotta go pack! ;)
Feb 20, 2008 | 1:22 PM PST
I got it! Now to press the post button!
Honest. I found the mountain, I saw the photo in my stretched window and I pressed post! awk! I'm sniff, OUT leaf, sob, ette
Feb 20, 2008 | 1:16 PM PST
Feb 20, 2008 | 12:05 PM PST
http://my.gardenguides.com
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Hmm, I'm trying to put my frozen February horizon on the blog!
What next Bill? leafette who is feeling pleased she even has got this far!
Feb 20, 2008 | 6:17 AM PST
Well, time for me to turn over a new leaf. The veggie members of my family have seed catalogues spread all over the kitchen table. DD&Dsil are getting half the garden plot for their own use and my Dh is starting to think spring. They are all thinking about ground breaking events. My farmer never got the tracter and cultivater thru the ground to prepare our Red River Gumbo for spring planting. He is thinking he needs to buy a small rotto tiller. Dsil says in Columbia they have no such machine. They dig by hand. Dh says have at it! He'll babysit the new grandson! LOL
Now Dh has been adding lots of composted sheep manure to the garden and he has high hopes for the coming year. I hope they include raised beds. I say forget the gumbo and get into those nice boxes I've observed on this site. We really should fence it as well! The kids still talk about the day we came home from church and thought, "gee, something looks different!" Yup, the garden was gone! The sheep had got out. A neighbour saw them and put them back in before we got home but after they had demolished the veggies! :(
We are off for a long weekend before we start our agricultural year. Now I've been very smug about keeping up with most of the goings on on GG so I hope I don't lose too much ground while I'm away! I also hope I don't lose too much window sill and counter space as these veggie guys claim space for their peat pots and seed trays!
It's a coming, oh , hallelujah! Spring is coming down the road!
Feb 18, 2008 | 6:44 AM PST
Hmm, the down side of belonging to a garden site seems to be the patience factor. Before I just bobbed along with the seasons and took life (snow) as it came. Now I read about garden prep, I see cute greenhouses, and watch little sprouts in dixie cups as my computer screens changes views with a click of the mouse. Then I look up and out the window! White and if that wasn't enough there is a cold draft across the keyboard! VBSigh. I think I need an attitude adjustment! So I'm off to play with flower patches in a quilted garden. I'll be mulching the floor with all the weedy pieces that don't make the cut or need pruning.
I'll try to remind myself of these days when I'm knee deep in sheep manure and my back is sore from wheeling the wheel barrow thru a curvey path in the heat of summer and I need a quilted project for a quick gift! Such is life! leafette
Feb 14, 2008 | 8:34 AM PST
Life has moved into fast forward for a few days, but I did want to express warm, happy heartshaped thoughts. I took in a lecture one time where a quilter showed a quilt that was made from different examples of flowers that all used a heart shaped petal. It was a full sized sampler quilt and she just rearranged that heart shape in different configurations and colours to represent real flowers. It was quite inspiring! So today's thought could be to think about what flowers in our gardens can be made from that old tried and true heart shape! Leafette who has heart shaped leaves! 8^)
Feb 13, 2008 | 6:29 AM PST
But definitely not outside. Woo, cold and very white. In fact the drive into the city had limited visibility. But DD had an appointment to see how the wee babe is doing and the Women's Hospital has flower deliveries coming thru the door at regular intervals. 31 weeks and 3 lbs. 7 oz. Not sure how they figure that but they also gave us a few photos and I was sharing with any who wanted to study the rather vague and darkish blur.
The flowers were all lovely. Makes me wonder why I don't have some fresh ones sitting around on tables here at home. It would get the mind thinking about things other than outside temperature and weather conditions.
So keep telling me about sewing seeds and cutting back the winter debris. I'm sure you are right. Spring is coming. There is good stuff down under all that snow and it is just waiting. But while I wait I need to do some other kind of sewing. Think I'll look for some flower or leaf fabric. Leafette
