witt's Blog

We had some crash/booms late in the night. We woke up to having gotten 4/10ths of rain. That's better than nothing. We were grateful for it!

I spied some sprouts of chives from the seeds that I planted in the pot on the porch. Maybe by the end of summer they will be big enough to transplant out.

What's new in bloom? My yellow lilies are blooming in spite of being dry as a bone. Some of my "out of the box" echinacea are blooming. I found one lowly rocambole. I used to have them everywhere, but over the years I lost them. There's one in The Butterfly Garden that was never planted in that spot. You better believe that I'll get the seeds when they come!

A shower came up, but it didn't wet the driveway. Some folks in Cabarrus county got six, count 'em, six inches! I'm sure that each drop of rain fell on a mimosa seed and they will be coming up. We will spend the rest of the summer pulling those, but I guess it's worth it when I see the hummers enjoying the blossoms.

The Japanese beetles are back. Yuck. I was hoping Mr. Mole had gotten them all. At least they waited till the Zepherine was through blooming. She'll pop out a flower every now and then, but technically she's done.

I was messing around in The Poison Garden when I noticed a sweet scent. I thought it was perhaps honeysuckle in the woods, but no, it was the gardenia. I hadn't even noticed the few blossoms with all the shasta daisies blooming all around it. I'm just lucky that it survived the Big Freeze. After I had cut out all the dead branches, there wasn't much left of her. She struggled last summer just to grow. So far my other one in The Old Gourd Garden hasn't produced a bloom. I plucked three of the flowers and brought them into the house. They are a bit bug-chewed, but I floated them so that the damage isn't so noticeable. It's the perfume that I'm after anyway.

It's going to be hot again today with pop-ups later. Maybe we'll get a little surprise from heaven.

Talk about a mansion. Our friend's home was lovely. I'd hate to have to keep it clean, though. We toured the yard and got to see the new goats, the chicken pen, which still isn't finished, the gardens, etc. They have one of my roosters that I had given him years ago. I had named him Cici, but they changed his name to Kellogg because he looks just like the rooster on the old cornflake box. We really enjoyed what they have done so far and the potential for making the grounds lovely. I was going to get a cutting from a Texas sage, but I forgot. I don't even know what one is, so I'd better do some research and then go back for another visit. We love to swap plants together.

When we got back home, we sat down to watch Ms. Wren and the babies, but she never came. Would you believe they fledged and we didn't get to see it! Dang it. I guess that one baby was trying to do that the other day when it was halfway out the hole. Oh, well. I wonder if she'll use that same nest for another brood?

I still haven't finished The Patio Garden. Still lots of creeping jenny to get out of there and try to sweep up the mess that is left behind. Maybe I'll get through with it today, but only if I get off Garden Guides to do it!

There was no more cilantro to pick, but there was still plenty to do under the mimosa tree! Pull clover, mimosa sprouts, and tons of creeping jenny. I'm getting there little by little. One of these days I'll get it all cleaned out. There are lots of Easter lilies popping up in there. I hope they get enough sun to bloom.

We had the best time watching the baby birds. One of them stuck his head and whole breast out the hole. You could see his little feet on the edge of the hole. Ms. Wren came flying back and gave him "what for." I didn't see him do that again. The way that they are eating, it shouldn't be much longer before they fledge. The hummers were especially active, going from the feeder to the bee balm, to the mimosa blossoms, and even to the ice plant.

I am pleased with the growth of my elephant ears. I put the comparison pictures in the Bulbs and Tubers section. Maybe they are finally going to be in a place that they can grow and be happy.

Did I die and go to heaven? It was so glorious. I think that I want to be a coriander picker under a mimosa tree in my next life. It couldn't have been more pleasant. The breeze was swirling the sweet scent of the blossoms around me, mixing with the buzzing of the bees and hummers overhead. Ms. Wren would perch on a branch and seranade her babies with her trill. Even the cilantro was emitting a delicious aroma as I pulled off the little brown seeds. Occasionally, I would brush against a sweet annie and be thrilled by a new perfume. I could have done this all day, and I practically did. I got all the plants harvested and pulled up. Then I cleaned out the debris left behind. There is still a lot of runaway creeping jenny to get out, so I might work on that today. It's not a chore when you're working in Eden. It looks better, and I'm glad to have my Patio Garden back--almost. 

What a wonderful Father's Day we had. The children were all here. We toured the gardens and had a fabulous get-together. Daughter did notice that the celosia that she gave me had given up the ghost, but she understood how unusually hot it has been. I was forgiven. She did inspect the lily just to make sure that it was doing ok. Yeppers! Thank goodness it was. Grandson's flowers were blooming their little heads off, too.

An added treat for me was to get to eat seafood at my favorite restaurant. Everyone left with farm-fresh eggs, full bellies as well as fulfilled hearts, and coriander seeds.

Happy Father's Day to all you daddy's out there!

Something was accomplished at the Bucolic Bungalow yesterday. First, the pink evening primrose was cleared out from The Back Forty. I simply pulled up most of them. There were a gazillion! I trust there will be plenty of seeds and/or roots to cover the place next spring. My 5-gallon pail was crammed full! It looks much better. I'd love to dig up the iris there and lift them some. I wonder if it would be safe to do now or is it too hot and dry to try that now? Wait till fall? Maybe that would be better. They won't bloom now. They haven't for the last two years and they are a gorgeous variety. Next, the cream and yellow lantana in front of the potting shed was looking bad. (Toady or mole-y holes all under it and the lilies!) I decided to move it to The Hibiscus Garden with the rest of the lantanas that I have there. I do hope that it will take off again and thrive. While I was heading to The Hibiscus Garden, I spied a petunia just blooming away in the middle of the lawn. I guess you can tell that the grass hasn't been cut lately! I rescued her and put her in The Old Gourd Garden. Then I decided to grab a few more from The First Natural area and spread them around the yard. It seems that they do better in this environment than anything else. At least it's color. Since I was not getting any results from all my seeding around, I decided to try nature's way with the chives. I took the dried seed heads and just crumbled them all over the place and I'll let Mother Nature take care of them. She does a much better job than I do. I did put some in a pot, put a plastic bowl cover over it, and put it on the porch where I can keep an eye on it. Maybe I'll get a few that way. While I was walking about, I would grab errant Sweet Annie's and transplant them here and there. They never seem to grow where I want them. The pot of White Gossamer Plant (That sounds much more elegant than Hairy Wandering Jew--what a mental picture.) that a friend gave me is looking awful. I took cuttings of it and put them everywhere, too. Those that I had done earlier are looking good. At least something was attempted. Whether it will all be successful, who knows? That's the life of a gardener, though, isn't it? Hubby just came in from feeding the chickens this morning and said that my peas were an inch high and we had gotten 1/10th inch of rain last night!! I was just out at the Garden Garden yesterday, and I didn't see any peas. They must have popped out late yesterday afternoon and grew last night! Isn't that wonderful? I won't get any work done today, but with the kids here to celebrate Father's Day, there will be garden tours. I hope that Daughter doesn't notice that two of the celosias that she gave me for Mother's Day have bit the dust. Well, what do you expect in this Sahara?

Have a great day, dads!

Uh, oh, Friday the 13th actually came on a Friday this month! Yesterday morning I was trying to do a gazillion things at once so that I could get outside a bit. I started some potato salad and was working on it a bit at a time while straightening up and cleaning in other parts of the house. I had finished everything except washing up the utensils. I ran back to the kitchen and there was Hubby standing in front of the sink, working intently on something. I went back to another room and completed another task. I came back to the kitchen, and he was still working. I didn't want to disturb him, so I left to do something else. I came back to the kitchen, and he was still standing at the sink. I dashed off to do something else only to return to find him still there. I peeped over, and he was rubbing some little something with a paper towel. I left him to do whatever and went to another room, but I really wanted to wash those dishes and be done with it. He should be done with whatever it was by now! Nope, he was still standing there rubbing. I couldn't take it anymore, so I asked him what he was doing. He told me that he was cleaning a bullet. What? Why in the world? He said that he had left it out on the shelf, and it was dirty. I bumped him away from the sink and started washing the dishes. When I finished, I went to wipe off the counters. Guess what was sitting on the counter? Yep, you guessed it. Go figure!

I didn't accomplish a whole lot outside yesterday. Maybe I will get more done today. After the rains it seems that the grass has really grown. Maybe the tomatoes will jump, too. Even the elephant ears appear to have grown some. I'll have to get a pic to compare.

Since I couldn't do much playing outside, I had to do bookwork. I was working away in the afternoon when I heard the chickens set up to squawking. They are never vocal in the afternoon. I jumped up to run outside and see what had set them off, but run I couldn't. That dang foot is still stiff as a board. I hobbled out with a hop-step, looking like Chester from Gunsmoke, and all three pens were cackling their heads off. When I finally made it all the way out there, they all stopped at the same time. I never did see anything. No dog, no fox, no hawk, no nothing.

Later in the afternoon, we heard the thunder. Oh, boy. What a disappointment. It started rumbling at the front of the house and rumbled right over the top and gone. Not a drop! Oh, well. Maybe tomorrow. Dum spiro, spero.

Yesterday, it was about the same. I did have a lot more hummer activity, and the thunder came again. We held our breath, but not a drop. Off it rumbled into the night. Maybe we shouldn't have held our breaths. Dumb motto.

I forgot to mention that the other day, I spied a Japanese beetle. When it saw me, it immediately dropped to the ground and crawled under a clod of clay. I thumped the clump and there he was. Yes, I picked him up and squished him with my bare fingers. I can't stand the way they feel, but a dead beetle is better than a live one. It's war! So far I haven't seen another. Maybe Mr. Mole's ruining the lawn and flower beds was worth it. At least I got to enjoy my Zepherine roses without the blossoms being ruined and the leaves skeletonized.

We watched Ms. Wren feeding her baby. One time she had a good-sized bug. The baby took it, but it was like the baby didn't know what to do with it and dropped it. Ms. Wren hopped down on the porch and searched till she found it again. This time she took it into the house before she let the baby have it!

I noticed that the autumn clemetis had grown up nicely on the chicken wire that I had provided, but it would not climb on up the pole. I had to figure out a way to get a string to gather it together. I duct-taped the string to the pole and then tied it gently, guiding the clemetis on up the pole. Next year, we'll have to stack the wire higher.

It's 80 degrees already at 5 a.m. I expect it'll be another day in the 100's. All the chickens are panting, and we have already lost two birds due to this heat. We need some relief!

Sleeping in again! Can't believe it! I don't know if it is the heat that takes it out of us or what. I got out early while everything was still in shade and prepared a new place for my elephant ears behind The Herb Garden. The first thing I had to do was dig out the red clay and get rid of that, trying to keep any "good" dirt that was there. Then I mixed in compost, etc. I dug up the EE from The Cement Garden. It had one good-sized leaf up and one itty-bitty, teeny weeny one from another bulb. Poor thing was trying sooo hard to survive there. I got that transplanted, so I decided to get the rest of them from Aunt Winnie's Garden. They were about to burn slam up. I put pine straw around the whole thing when I finished. By the time that I finished, my clothes were soaking wet. I looked like I had taken a dip in a pool. It wasn't but 9:00 a.m.! I posted the pix in the Bulbs section, but no one has commented on it yet.

Next, I toted water around the front and watered. I had a volunteer batch of sunflowers that came up in The Quarter Round that I left just for the fun of it. Two of them kept falling over, so I just yanked them out and put them in the corner of The Front Bed. I have no idea what they will do. While I was doing my thing, Hubby was working on the compost piles. He found a tomato plant growing in one. He was going to pot it up, but I suggested to go ahead and put it in the Garden Garden. I figured that it would do just as well there as in a pot or languishing in the dry, dry compost heap. We had pretty much pooped out by noon, so that was the end of the gardening adventures.

I was all behind schedule this morning. We were caught sleeping-in. We didn't get up till 5:30. I don't know why we were so tired. We sure didn't do much yesterday. We did our run-around-town bit, but by the time we got home and everything put away, it was much too hot to do anything much in the yard. We just did things what we had to do. I had to forego getting flowers because I knew that they would just dry up, and it would be more for me to have to water. Besides, I needed some new shorts. My old ones must have shrunk in the wash. I also needed to get my summer perfume, but I couldn't find what I wanted. We walked all the way from one end of Wal-mart to the other searching for the unscented DeepWoods OFF! but couldn't find it. I found one unscented, but the concentration of repellent was only 7%. I wanted the 25%, but this one didn't say unscented. John finally said to just get both. He was tired of waiting for me to decide. At least I have a good supply!

I just came in from toting water. I was wringing wet with sweat by the time I did just the back. It wasn't even noon yet, and it's the shady part in the mornings! Everything is about to dry up. There is no way that I can keep toting water for 3/4 of an acre with I don't know how many beds. (I listed them somewhere in the forums, but I can't remember where.) I guess I'll just tote what I can and pay the preacher better.

We have had a Carolina wren messing around in one of our decorative birdhouses that hangs in the porch. They are forever trying to build their false nests in the ones that we have there. They are really just for looks. She has gotten brave going in and out. We don't pay her any attention. Yesterday she flew onto the windchimes and looked at us to make sure it was ok to intrude on our porch-sitting. She had an insect in her beak. She flew over to the birdhouse and a BABY stuck its head out, snatching the meal! We had no idea that there was a baby in there! There could be more, but we haven't heard a peep out of them.

It's going to be hot again today, so I guess we won't get a lot done in the yard.

Happy June the Onest!! The skies were cloudy and there was a nice breeze first thing yesterday morning. Rain was supposed to be heading our way. This was perfect for finishing the Garden Garden. I planted a row and a half of field peas from the peas that I had kept from last year. It may not work from lack of rain, but nothing ventured, nothing gained. I raked up the old straw that was left between the rows from last year. We didn't till this year because we weren't putting in a full garden. The guys had just slopped their dirt all over that wonderful straw, and I wanted it around the tomatoes. I finally got that dug out and raked up. I did rake across a fireant bed, but I just put a stick in it to deal with later. Then I gathered the old leaves that were wind-blown up against the fence and spread them between the rows. The jasmine that I had planted there last year appreciated getting out from underneath that mess. By the time I finished, the sun was shining, and I was blinded by sweat. What happened to the rain? I wanted it to water my peas and settle in the leaves. Oh, well. That's typical. I had to take a break on the porch and cool down. I must say that I didn't really mind the little thrill that I got when the ladybug crawled around in my shirt, but later when I was experiencing a similar sensation, I reached in to discover it wasn't a ladybug this time, but a tick. Yuck! After I got over that disgusting episode, I went back to pulling out of the lawn the clover, every kind of weed imaginable and crapgrass. I finally found another one of my sprigged areas of zoysia from last year. It is hard to find amongst all that detestable vegetation. I had a hummer sighting again while I was trimming back the lemon balm in front of the porch before it bolts into flower. I heard him chitter. There he was in the mimosa, just like he always was. He swooped down, took four sips and zipped off. I finished cleaning up that area and that was it for me. I had had enough. Back to porch-sitting to end the day. I had the binocs and was watching Ms. Bluebird poking her head out of the box for some fresh air. She never left the box all day, just peeped out. There wasn't too much bird activity. The heat maybe? It was oppressive by the late afternoon. Suddenly I spied something black in the natural area. I stood to get a better look and sure enough, it was a snake, but it seemed to be getting shorter, and then it totally disappeared!! He had gone into a toady hole under the bird feeder. I had hopes that perhaps he would eat some toadies. I kept watching to see if he popped out one of the exit holes because there is always an exit hole somewhere. I watched and watched. Then something caught my attention. There was something on the birdbath. I looked through the binocs and sure enough, the snake was getting a drink! He drank for a while, slipped down, and I never saw it again. I've seen a lot of things, but I've never seen a snake at the birdbath. Watch out birdies! Toadies, pay no attention to the serpent. He won't hurt you. (hee hee hee)

It supposed to be another hot one today with thundershowers in the forecast. I sure hope that we get a bit of it. We had 1 and 1/10ths inches of rain for the entire month of May! Pitiful. Today is the beginning of hurricane season.