mysteryluvr54's Blog

Wow, haven't been here since Sept.  Happy New Year and hopefully better than last year.  We've had a ton of snow and rain and sleet.  Today the sun was out and it felt good.  I can see the grass again.   I was hired as a full-time employee at the company I was temping for.   I'm very grateful.  I miss the preschool teaching, but when times get tough you do what you have to do.    I passed my nursing assistant class, but still have to take the state exam.   If office doesn't work out maybe this will.   Life was quite stressful with work & schoo, but now I'm beginning to feel like my old self.  

Once the decorations are put away it will be time to start thinking about what to plant this spring and what to do or not do to improve things.   I love carrots, but just don't have any luck with all the rain we've been getting.  Maybe try some new things, too.   

This has not been a good month around here.  Besides some health & work issues with my husband which has thrown me back into the full-time, better get some benefits mode, we have been having some tremdous amounts of rain here in the Chicago area.  I have spent this rainy weekend praying the sump pump wouldn't quit and the house would stay dry.  Last Thursdays rain brought us a block sewer pipe that blew it's cap in the crawl space leaving us with about 3 inches of water in the basement.  I finally got the floor cleaned and bleached.  This is the 3rd flood in 2 years and I'm getting really scared of rain in the forcast.  One good thing is that Crab Apple tree in the front yard is going to go and not too soon for me.  While beautiful in the spring it drops little crab apples the rest of the season and they are a mess.  I guess we should be thankful it didn't break the pipe and the upstairs here didn't flood. 

I haven't been able to get out and check the garden this weekend due to the non-stop raining (there just was a humming bird out my window on the cornflowers as I sit here typing.  Where's the camera when you need it?).  Anyway, where was I. . . I'm sure my carrots are ruined again this year.  One of these years I will be able to enjoy the carrots I plant without them drowning.  Well, everything is nice & green at least. 

Weather's been great this year.  I like it in the high 70's and with low humidity. 

With 3 kids in college I've had to take on a full-time office job so no more preschool fun.  I have to get use to being away from home & garden and only being able to get things done in the late evening.  My oldest has been keeping things watered for me. 

I lost the corn to squirrels or something.  Have way more cucumbers than we can eat, so I've been giving them away.  I'm hoping the carrots will be ready soon.  Picked the first of the tomatoes today.  Looks like I may get a second crop of green beans.  I'll have to look more closely this weekend when the sun is shining there. 

I've been picking Japanese beetles off my poor roses and grape leaves.  They give me the creeps.  I hate killing nature, but they are eating the rose flowers up.  At least they are slow. 

Speaking of grape leaves, I'm hoping my son will build me a trellis for the grapevines.  I've trimmed them back and they are growing like crazy.  The wire trellis is not strong enough to hold them up.  So some wooden posts and wire are called for.  Then to figure out how to trim them back so I'll hopefully have more grapes next year. 

Well, it's late and I have to get up early now.   Ggggrrrrrrhhhh. 

Seems like an almost perfect summer, weatherwise.  Not too hot, not too cool, but I hate to say anything and ruin it. 

Went away to set my daughter up at school and came back to what appears to be a baby corn and some baby cucumbers in my garden.  (see pictures)

The strawberries are almost all gone.  We have enjoyed bowl fulls for weeks now.  I was able to pick some raspberries this morning to go with the strawberries.  Mmmm!   My only disappointment is the spinach.  It doesn't seem to be doing as well as last years.  It looks like it is getting flowers already.  Otherwise everything else is growing good.  

Our green apple is on its finally limb.  What leaves appeared in spring are now brown and there is a fungis coming out of some holes in the trunk.  I'll leave it up till fall cause there are 2 bird houses in it with bird familes.  I hate to lose it for that reason.  Well, on the bright side that will allow more sun in section of our yard that has become very shady over the years.  I will keep the bricks and plants or turn it into a herb garden.  That's something to think about for next year.

So far the compost pile seems to be doing well.  It smells earthy, which I think is a good sign.  I'm thinking I may be able to use some of it soon. 

Happy 4th to all,

We finally have some nice days after hot, humid rainy days.   The garden is looking good.  I've done some thinning and weeding, but need to wait till it dries out some more and see what's what.  Peonies would have looked pretty, but too waterlogged to stand up.  The stakes didn't help much.  I think I need taller ones.  Tried shaking the water off, but the petals feel off instead.   The compost pile seems to be doing good.  It doesn't smell, which I assume is a good sign.  Lots of worms when I turn it.  I have to get a thermometer for it to check the temp.  Just read how it needs to be a certain temp to kill all the bad stuff.  Whatever. 

I'm disappointed in the raspberries.  There isn't very many again this year.  I'm going to have to read up and see what I can do to save them. 

Finally got some work done around the house.  The weather was nice.  Sunny but cool.  Finished cleaning the dead leaves that I put around to protect the perenials.  Pulled some unwanted apple & crab apple seedlings.  Trimmed away the dead stalks.  Emptied and cleaned out pots in hope of refilling them with dirt and flowers this weekend provided the weather cooperates.  Saved some lawn bags by using the compost pile.  Sure hope this works.  Finally, I took some pictures of the baby grapes, new for this year and it looks like we will have more than 3 strawberries.  I'm not too happy about the raspberries.  There isn't as many as usually and I think they were disturbed when we had the landscaping fixed up.  I was hoping the would recover this year.  May have to go out and buy more to fill in the bare spots. 

Now to sit & put my feet, enjoy a cup of tea and watch nature finishing up before the sunsets. 

Happy Mother's Day !

It's nice to have all the kids home from college and work.  Sad to say, the weather is not cooperating .  I was hoping to get out in the garden and start preparing the soil, but it tooo wet.   It's rained every other day it seems.   I couldn't even go to my nursery to purchase flowers for my pots because of all the rain we had this morning.  Now it's just plain windy and cold.  Maybe next weekend will be nice. 

Any plants I took outside seem to be doing ok and haven't gone into shock.  I'm still going to wait till it warms up more to take the Aloe outside.  I don't want to lose that. 

I've been trying to build up the compost pile.  I think once the grass dries out and I can mow it, I will bag some of it to throw on the pile to add some green.  I hope this works.   Any hints of dos and don'ts would be appreciated. 

Finally getting some nicer weather.  Spent the time between thunderstorms pulling dandelions and cleaning out the dead debris.  I'm trying my hand at a composting this year and have been reading up on the do's and don'ts of composting.  Wish me luck. 

Tried to turn over the dirt in the garden, but it's too wet.  We've been having some rain every day and it doesn't look like it's going to dry up soon. 

It looks like all my perennials are returning with the exception of one that I planted near the front door in a shady spot.  Might have to find something else to go there of just wait a few more weeks and see if something pops up. 

Looking forward to Mother's Day weekend to purchase annuals for my containers and replacing the herbs that didn't make it through the long, long winter. 

Have some new pictures starting off 2008.

Brrrr !  It's cold and snowy outside.  Just stopped by to update with some pictures.  Hard to believe it's already 2008.   I'm looking forward to spring and to planning what to grow this year.  I'm always anxious to see what survives the winter. 

I brought my herbs inside and they are still producing but looking very scraggly and pale from lack of sunshine.  They're ok for soups and stews. 

My Christmas cactus bloomed for the first time this year with pretty salmon colored flowers.  The high winds knocked it over while still outside so I transplanted it into a bigger pot and next thing I knew it was getting buds. 

It's been a long time since last wrote.  Haven't had much time for computer fun between work and school.  Even my flowers are being neglected.  I did cut back the herbs and have them hanging to dry.  I'm hoping to bring the pots in side for the winter.  I picked the tomatoes before the bugs ate any more of them.  I have them ripening on the counter.   Most of the pots are still blooming with the warm weather.  My clematis by the front door is back in bloom.  I'm not sure that is suppose to be.   The mornings are pretty quiet without all the birds.  Some of the maple trees are turning a pretty orange.  I will have to get out this weekend and get some pictures. 

I bought some wood to frame the garden.  As soon as the tomato plant is finished I can dig in the last side. 

I only asked for good rain once a week during the night to keep thing well watered.  Instead we got some heavy storms going through.  The ground was saturated and my carrots were practically swimming.   We lost power one evening and so the basement partial flooded before we got the extension cords out and plugged into my neighbor 2 doors down and now we also have a leak in the roof.  This was a repeat of last Aug. and now we have purchased a small generator to keep the sump pump going.  Luckily we didn't lose any trees but the storm did knock over some of my pots. 

When things finally dried out I had to pick all the carrots and save only the one that didn't turn to mush from the hot, soggy ground.  Pepper plants are still hangin in there and if this heat continues we should have some peppers.  The tomato plant is still producing tomatoes and flowers.  I'll take as many as I can.   The apple trees are full, but not quite ready for pickin.   Looking forward to applesauce, apple crisp and smoked sausage with sauerkraut and apples, etc. 

Work and school for me have started up again, so I won't have too much time to spend in the yard on the week days.  Sniff, sniff.  

They're predicting rain all week long, too.  Lots of mosquitos!  I almost hate to go out to the garden or work around the yard there so bad.  Thank goodness I don't have to stand out there and water.  Did some trimming and weeding, but was getting eatin alive, so I stopped.   I need to get the pea plants out, but that will have to wait, too. 

Used some of the tomatoes and peppers for salsa.  Delish!   Also used some slices on our burgers along with the homegrown lettuce.  Made a coleslaw with the carrots and parsley from the garden.  

It's been pretty hot and humid around here, which is driving me nuts cause I love to be outside.  We have been getting some much needed rain, so for that I can't complain and after all it is August.  2 more weeks  and work & school start back up for me.  Where did the time go?  I know. . . spent gardening, taking pictures, reading, teaching and getting to know nature better. 

I had some alone time today, so I've spent it deleting the blank picutures and re-uploading the ones that were missing.  Boy, I hope that never happens again.  Thank goodness I hadn't deleted my pics off my hard drive after putting them on a disc.  I was debating doing that, too.  My folks enjoyed watching them on the CD I sent.  

I've been freezing & we're still eating from our garden.  The tomatoes are ripening.  I'll just freeze some for soups & sauces and if I can get 4 ripe at the same time along with the peppers, I'll make some salsa.  

We are losing one of our apple trees and I don't want to replace it with another, so I've been trying to come up with ideas for that spot.  It will get  full sun, which I don't have in pretty much of the rest of the yard now.  We have those nice bricks around the tree and I want to put them to good use,  so I'm thinking maybe a herb garden.  I like the pots and they can be brought inside during the winter, but it might be a nice spot for perennial herbs mixed flowers.  Just an idea.  Have till next spring to figure that out. 

I was looking into investing in another tree.  One that is free of fruits, nuts or seeds.  (with a crab apple and 2 apple trees I'm tired of raking & stepping in apple mush)  I was shown a pretty tree and a fast grower called Maple Autumn Blaze.   As I was driving home I thought. . . hum, why not save a maple tree that's growing around the house from one of  those whirlybird seeds.   So I went under the bushes in the back near my neighbors Maple tree and found me a good start on a Maple.  I planted it in a pot, so we'll see what happens.  Hey, a lot cheaper than $600.  If it doesn't make it there are plenty more where it came from and there's always next spring when the whirlybirds fly. 

Well, after all this business with the pictures I need to take a break and get some fresh, humid air.   I think August is the worst of the 12 months right there behind February.