mudpies's Blog

A day in the sun
Jun 3, 2009 | 5:56 PM PST
Tags: Doctor , holding bed , Calendula , sunflower , birds , blue jays , barn swallows , hummingbirds , wax beans , Royal Burgundy beans , frost

Well, I had a most satisfactory visit with my new physician yesterday.  Having a doctor who's younger than my eldest child is a bit disconcerting, but she seems more than competent and is definitely a sweet-natured little thing.  I probably could have bullied her out of ordering a mammogram, had I tried.  I haven't endured that particularly nasty form of torture for a very long time and I'm certainly not looking forward to the procedure, but I guess it's for my own good.  She also ordered some blood work which I don't mind, and prescribed a topical therapy for my poor old knees.  It was expensive, but seems to provide some relief.  Apparently, the effects get better with time.  I hope so.  I hobble around like a 90-year old.

I didn't get my planter potted up yesterday, so I did that this morning before I went to the farm.  This is the first time I've started flowers from seed.  Usually I buy strong, healthy annuals from local nurseries.  Mine look pretty spindly.  I'm sure they'll fill in quickly, but I'm an impatient old woman.

I tidied up my holding bed.  I don't know how I managed to double plant one row, but I corrected that by moving some clumps of irises to a different area.  Then I moved more volunteer sunflowers into a second row and planted more seeds.  It's strange how one's tastes change.  There was a time when I thought sunflowers were coarse, ugly plants.  Now my only problems with them are (a) that I need big heavy vases complete with rocks in the bottom to ensure they don't topple over;  and (b) that they drop pollen like crazy, leaving a yellow mess on my tables.  But I love their cheerful faces enough to bring them inside on a regular basis.  I plan to plant some more tomorrow.  They're great for attracting bees early on, and blue jays later.  I also planted a row of calendulas for cutting later on.  What curious seeds!

Speaking of birds, I must comment on their particular dislike of me.  Kindly old ME, who never does harm to any of them!  We have tons of resident barn swallows.  Now, I admire and value those voracious little supersonic flyers, ( Their aerial acrobatics are a sight to behold and each one eats about  850 mosquitoes per day.)  but do they return my affection?  NOT!!  They dive-bomb me on a regular basis, and I KNOW that this chubby old body doesn't resemble a mosquito in the least!  Barn swallows are not alone in their aversion for me.  My mom feeds hummingbirds all summer.  Whenever I visit, one of my chores is to refill and rehang the feeders.  You'd think those miniature helicopters would be grateful, but no.  They, too, reward my generosity by using my head for target practice, swooping up and away at the last possible moment.  The blue jays sit atop my sunflowers in the fall and scold me mercilessly while gorging on the seeds.  Surely, they ought to be grateful that I plant their feast.  Only our robins seem to have any regard for me at all, and then only when I've turned the soil and they've grabbed a hapless worm or two.

After I played with my flower plants and seeds, I turned my attention to the veggie bed again and got a row of wax beans and a row of Royal Burgundy beans planted before heading home.  There's frost in the forecast tonight.  Can't the weatherman read the calendar?  It's June, for heaven's sake!  I'll have to be up before the crack of dawn tomorrow to spray down some of my tender plants.

Enough ranting and raving for one evening!  Happy gardening, everyone.

I see a caladium!!
Jun 2, 2009 | 5:30 AM PST
Tags: caladium , asters , zinnias , birthday , Doctor

I'm so excited I can't wait till this evening to share my news!  The first of the caladiums I potted up April 9th (I checked back on my blog to determine when I had done that.) poked its nose through the soil over night!!  Almost two months, but it's finally here!  I feel almost as good as I did when I gave birth to each of my girls!  I tried caladiums once before, but eventually threw them out.  I'm wondering now if I was simply too impatient and tossed them before they had a chance to emerge from the soil.  I think they're the most glorious of the foliage plants.  I'll be happy to display them outside if it ever warms up sufficiently.  I had planned to put them into my flower beds, but now I'm thinking I'll put them into a container instead.  That way, I can move them around till they get the right amount of shade.

A red letter day!  One of my granddaughters is celebrating her 11th birthday. 

I have to make an initial visit to my new doctor this afternoon.  For several years after my last heart attack, I didn't have a primary care physician.  We live in an under-serviced area and, for miles around, every doctor's roster was completely full.  Then I found the perfect doctor for me - a former cardiology researcher who decided to become a family physician late in life and who practiced his art right here in our village.  He is a year older than I am, which proved to be a detriment because the old rascal up and retired.  Imagine that!  At 70 years of age. He's got his nerve!

The provincial government has set up a service called Health Connect to try to find physicians for people living in under-serviced communities.  It involved a bit of time and red tape, but I managed to register very recently.  I received confirmation of my registration a week ago and spoke with a Health Connect representative who referred me to a female doctor in a town only a half hour drive away.  I had to go there to fill out an application then wait till the group she practices with determined whether they'd accept me or not.  Apparently I passed the test, whatever that may be.  At any rate, her secretary called yesterday to set up an appointment for today.  I'm feeling very fortunate.

After I attend to getting my garbage and recycling and composting material to the curb, I think I'll pot up a couple of containers.  (No - not going to risk my caladiums yet - too cool.) I've got some asters or zinnias (I knew I should have marked those pots) and cosmos I started from seed ready to go.  Even if I can't play in my garden, I can still play in the dirt today.  YAHOO!!