mbvirtue's Blog

Soggy Squishy Mess
Aug 25, 2007 | 5:14 AM PST
Tags: rain stopped , transplanting

So now it's finally quit raining for more than 4 hours, and we can all start to dry out.  Went to let the dog out in the backyard this morning, and sank into the grass by a good couple of inches!!  Guess the mowing will have to wait 'til tomorrow, or we'll lose the mower.  :)  My MIL is coming over this afternoon and is bringing plants from her yard that can't take the sun... she lost a tree last year, and had hostas and a blue geranium underneath.  So I'm inheriting some really beautiful plants!  The ground is so saturated, all we'll have to do is set the plants on top and they'll probably just plant themselves.

Also have to move the rhododendron and azaleas that are currently in full all day sun on the front of the house, they've got a spot reserved down in the front perennial bed.  This is a long-overdue project, but DH and I were having differences of opinion as to whether or not they needed moving.  Now that MIL has come along with "professional advice" from the local greenhouse, maybe now they'll get moved!  Thank You, MIL...

Gotta take before and after pictures of the projects, will try to get 'em posted tonight or tomorrow AM.  Thanks for checking in, updates as events warrant!

 

Rainy Days and Mondays
Aug 20, 2007 | 6:27 AM PST
Tag: rain

Really didn't want to go to work today, but once you're there, it's hard to call in sick!!  We had almost 6 inches of rain over the weekend, that's a rough estimate because we were out of town Saturday night and the 3+" raingauge was overflowing when I checked it Sunday morning...

The red sunflowers in front of the house are really feeling the brunt of the rain, it's got them so heavy they can't hold up their heads anymore.  For only two plants, there certainly are a lot of flowers!  The sunflowers I'm familiar with produce only one seed head for each plant, one of ours had 15 last count.  Mind you, they aren't large like the yellow variety.

Otherwise, the rain seems to have washed off the JBs (Japanese Beetles for the uninitiated), so the green beans may make a last comeback.  Peach tree is a watch and wait, they aren't due 'til Sept. 8th (son's birthday), and if there are any apples left on the tree, they are due the week before.  Rain and wind has taken down about 1/2 of the fruit, I've given up trying to get 'em before the chippies do!  Bon Apetit, mes amies!

Mosquitoes
Aug 15, 2007 | 8:24 PM PST
Tag: mosquitoes

OK, so is this some kind of test?  First the Japanese Beetles, then the near-drought, followed by enough rain to make me wanna trade in the F-150 for a canoe, NOW we've got the mother of all mosquito invasions going on!!!  Even the poor dog got bitten, right on his rump.  Talk about uncomfortable... :(

I've found that I either have to run (not stroll) with the dog, which is pretty hard in the humidity, or we just bolt to the closest fire hydrant.  Most bug sprays make me feel like I've got a layer of hairspray (think AquaNet) on my skin, but now I see commercials for a new kind that's s'posed to feel powdery, or so they say... haven't found it at my local Pick N Save, but we don't have pine nuts, and don't get me started with Key Lime Juice.  (The kid just points to the lime juice and says "that's all we got"...)

 

WE GOT RAIN!!!! YIPPEEEEEE!!!
Aug 5, 2007 | 7:58 AM PST
Tag: Got Rain

OK, so maybe I'm going a bit overboard with the enthusiasm.  According to the rain thingy (can't spell gage!) , we got just over an inch, and I'm not sure when DH put it out last night, wasn't there yesterday.  So...I'm thinking we finally got enough to make up for the drought we had going on for the past month.  I really hope other areas around here that were worse off than us also got enough.

Yesterday when I saw the big blob of green coming (courtesy of our local TV website, Channel3000.com), I got the yard mowed (actually more like evening out the weed-tops!) and even did the trimming.  Now everything can grow back like it was in June, hopefully. (translation: GREEN)  Also got the ferns I "liberated" from an abandoned house into the ground, they'd been patiently waiting their turn in a 5 gal bucket since last weekend

I haven't been outside yet today to inspect "the grounds"...gardens on all four sides of the house means it's usually a tour rather than a casual glance out the window.  Sunflowers which were up to the roofline seem to still be standing, although the dill underneath has gone rather horizontal.  Time for more pics, see ya later!

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Photos
Aug 3, 2007 | 10:25 AM PST
Tag: No photos
It is with great sadness and much gnashing of teeth that I announce the demise of my photo albums.  Of the three albums, only one picture from two different albums survived the carnage...  If there are photos referred to in my blogs, please be patient as I reconstruct those albums.  Let's hear it for backing up all data from my old hard drive, including photos!!