birdlover46's Blog

It's a cloudy Sunday here...
Sep 19, 2010 | 6:44 AM PST
Tags: mums blue jays , nuthatches..potluck
and fall is definately with us. I do enjoy fall but I have to say too many cloudy days can get to me and so I am looking forward to tomorrow when the sun shines again and the temps raise once more.....Weatherman said it will only last one day.....how they know all of this stuff is beyond me.......but can I hope for TWO days of sun or more?  LOL   Noticing the nuthatches are busy daily up and down the tree eating or at least pecking along the way.....Blue jays are making themselves known too. They sure can screech!!  Still waiting patiently for my mums to open. Perhaps if I do not look at them every day.....the blooms will pop....you think?  I know a watched pot does not boil very fast.....perhaps the same is true with plants. I have one cosmos that was late coming up and is so nice and tall, but I do not yet see a bud on the plant........close but not there. I am so anxious to see what color it is and I surely hope that frost does not nip that from happening. Well I suppose I better be off here and ready myself for church. Today we have a church potluck after Sunday School. Always good.......such good cooks in our church.......I love it!  Happy Fall everyone.. Birdie  :)

Fall has arrived with
Sep 8, 2010 | 3:52 PM PST
A low of 46 degrees this morning.  It is a gorgeous day.........cloudy but mild temps and just wanting to be outside. I deadheaded some flowers and watered just a bit but then heard we are supposed to get rain showers tonight........well tonight has arrived and it is raining steadily at present. I see the nuthatches have arrived again. I noticed several monarchs busy in the zinnias and other   flowers. My mums are  having tons of buds in them....I surely hope that they get a chance to bloom before the freeze really hits hard. They can take a freeze if it is not too severe. Keeping my fingers crossed. Beginning to take some of my summer yard ornaments down and washing them up again for the winter hibernation until next spring. I like to do that while the weather is nice instead of running around the yard when we are having a stiff northwest wind. It just makes it more fun that way. Picked a couple more green peppers. We enjoy them cut into strips with ranch dressing. I made some stuffed pepper last week and we surely enjoyed that. My pimemtos are really beginning to all turn red. I love their sweetness. I will freeze some of them too. All good when the winter is cold and we want chili for a comfort food to warm our inners. Hope everyone is enjoying the beauty and the smells of fall.  Birdie in Iowa  :)

WONDERFULLY COOL
Aug 15, 2010 | 5:34 AM PST
Tag: zinnias...fireworks..car show..phlox
this morning and loving it! This is our first reprieve from the heat and humidity in weeks..A/C is off and windows wide open. Walked with hubby this morning and I wore jeans and long sleeved light weight shirt and it was perfect!  AHHHHHHHHH such a relief after so long and I hope the rest of you in "hot" areas will soon experience the same.  :) I can't believe how long my phlox are blooming this year.......my red ones in the front are reblooming and my lavender ones in the back have bloomed for a month or more.......must have been all the rain and humidity. I can't believe the mildew is not worse than it is.....although the plants have lots of air circulation and I am sure that makes a huge difference.  Rally in the Valley this weekend and so we enjoyed the parade and all the foods and just enjoyed the day. Friday night was Cruise night and so we sat for two hours just enjoying  all the "old" and "new" cars and pick-ups cruise by down Main Street.  Yesterday they had a car show in the park and that was nice to see as well. 92 entries the gal who chairs it said.....wow.....no wonder our park was shinning like a dime! :)  Summer is winding down and my zinnias are looking wonderfully bright and colorful and the butterflies are enjoying them immensely. I did see a hummer in the evening too...so should be seeing them more now too.  Enjoyed the Fireworks at dusk for the super ending of the weekend festivities. Well this is long so I best get on ready for church here pretty soon. Enjoy this August Sunday all!  Birdie  :)

Green Peppers
Jul 30, 2010 | 8:25 PM PST
Tag: Peppers Weeds

I wanted to tell you about my green peppers. They are doing so well this year. FIrst of all I started seeds for the Sheepnose Pimento Pepper and Jupiter Pepper on 3/29/2010. My dad only wanted a couple of peppers and so he gives his leftovers. So his plants were of course much advanced as he buys started plants. So I planted his and a week or so later put out my Teeny tiny peppers. Soon I was showered with lots of green peppers from dad's plants. I am sorry to say I do not know what kind....he didn't pay attention........just that they were Bell Peppers. Well they are wonderful.. I wonder if they might be Big Bertha....but I am not sure at all.  My sheepnose pimento is a first for me for red peppers. I bought the seed on discount ....they are full of nice little peppers. They do not get nearly as big thus called sheepnose peppers. So I am waiting for them to turn red.  My Jupiter is showing lots of peppers on the plant.......so much so that they are hovered together tightly.  I am thinking I am going to need to take a couple off in order for the rest to grow with more room to spare. They should be ready soon as well. I wanted to tell you about them and I also took pictures of all three kinds..and posted in my photo section if you would like to look.  They taste wonderful with ranch dressing.  Now off to bed I am.....my hands are numb from pulling all of those weeds again today.. But I got finished and am so glad and feel so fulfilled!  HEHEhheeeeee      Birdie  

Rain and Weed saga
Jul 30, 2010 | 8:53 AM PST
Tags: Weeds , tomatoes..green peppers..lily

This morning another one of pulling weeds...this time along the alley and driveway area. With another 2 1/2 inches last night.....so they pull easily and there are enough to keep me busy between the little clover...trees..and some weeds I  can't name but seem to love to drop their seeds on our property. I spent 2 hours out there and it was beginning to heat up in the sun.....so am taking a break. Time to get some lunch soon anyway. Making some sweet corn on the cob!  Keeping my eye on my one ripening tomato. It is going "mighty slow" in my book. I have another cabbage ready to pull. I have tons of green tomatoes on the vine. I just hope that the disease in the bottoms of the tomato leaves do not affect my tomatoes. I have to can lots of them this year if the Lord allows. My green peppers are going great guns. Eating them raw with ranch dressing. (hubby's favorite way) My peach lily has one last bud on it.......that would make 110 blooms off that one lily!! I can't believe it but I am sure all of our rains had something to do with it. I would have never DREAMED!  I am going on for too long..........enjoy this July 30th....summer is fleeting!  Birdie :)

Taking a break..
Jul 28, 2010 | 7:58 AM PST
Tag: weeds gardeners...hibiscus
from weeding in the lawn street side. This time of year it seems the weeds really are full blown and so I tackle them by PULLING them out. With our nice 1 inch rain last night they pull nicely. It is cooler too this morning....perfect for being out there. I was so excited when I won 3rd place in the Monthly photo contest!!  I can still hardly believe it.. So I thought I better really make this yard look Nice........in case I want to take another picture sometime!  HEHEEheeheehee Enjoying my hibiscus blooms. They are a nice pink and huge, if interested I did post it in my photo area and in What's in bloom photo in the forums. I love to  look at all the different blooms others have.....we have some great gardens and fun gardeners to share with. Well I guess my break is over and so I should get back out there.....hang out this load of laundry and get back on my knees!  Happy Gardening everyone!  Birdie    :)   :)

It's me again!
Jul 22, 2010 | 6:49 PM PST
Tag: tornado..peach lily
I don't usually write this soon....but I wanted to tell you that they think a tornado went through a neighboring town..........blocked off because of the mess and downed lines etc.. one house gone and many sheds turned over with tons of tree damage. They are sending the people to check if it was a tornado or not?  Sure looked like tornado damage to me..... UGH.so glad no one was killed....one lady did have bruising do to glass from window...So stay safe everyone! I picked the 93rd spent bloom off my peach lily today. It is amazing how many flowers can come from ONE PLANT!  I can't believe it! I guess it loves the rain and heat and humidity! :)  God bless u all.....Birdie in Iowa  :)

RAIN RAIN!!
Jul 22, 2010 | 11:33 AM PST
Rained 4 inches last night with 6-10 in surrounding areas.....some tornado like winds destroying two homes but no lives lost!  Yikes....creeks out of there banks with bridges washed out on some country roads.. Wet summer with more rain in the forecast for late this afternoon or evening. Flood warnings for many of our counties!! Water in basements....ours not..thankfully!  How much rain can the soil hold?  I think we are MAXED OUT!  Makes weed pulling wonderful if the humidity weren't 100%. I might still go out there for a while.....cloudy so that is GREAT!  Enjoy those flower gardens people and don't allow the weather to "Dampen" your spirit!   Birdie    :)

Humid day again!
Jul 20, 2010 | 5:58 PM PST
It's another humid day here in Iowa!  Hubby has trouble with it and so we turned the A/C on tonight. I think we will both sleep better. Our high school Baseball team is playing District Championship tonight.....I am listening of course and the score is 0-0. They are both ranked 2nd and 3rd......so it's anyones game.   With these tournaments....you never can tell.  The flowers are doing pretty good this summer. Weeded a bit tonight in the shade. :) I think the rains have really helped all to grow well. Raspberries are finished ....pruned out the old canes entirely now and so a bit of a reprieve until the fall crop appears. I noticed that the new canes are already shooting blossoms....so it won't be long. Getting lots of green beans and going to cut my first cabbage tomorrow and make some fresh coleslaw.. YUMMY! I did finally add a few pictures to my photo albums..Well not much else going on.......just listening to the game and chatting! Enjoy your gardens...........fall will be here before we know it!

July is half over!
Jul 16, 2010 | 6:22 PM PST

I can't believe it .......can you?  Seems summer only began and here we are nearly half over. I heard those cicadias this week and that was a depressive thought......but all things have their seasons........so I am over that too!  HEHEEeee. We are enjoying some great veggies.... Green peppers..radishes are over...green sweet snap peas, and green beans. Plus all those scrumtious raspberries! They are nearly finished and so have been pruning them out as they finish.......need to make more room for the Sept. bearing canes! I already see buds! I made a raspberry crumble this morning and took some along to a tea I attended. With a bit of vanilla ice cream........it was delicish! Many thanks for it too! Nice time with gals I hadn't seen for ages..so fun!!  Humid.. so I am inside.....just too much for this gal out there.......with humidity high ..with dew point high as well. They tell us worse tomorrow.........might as well work indoors at Dollar General and stay as cool as can be..... Hubby warns me........don't over do!  Good advice....I will heed it. Happy gardening to you all.  Birdie  

8 Comments

 

Add a Comment