Carpets!

I have lost my love for carpets a long time ago!  I can remember when my parents got their first carpet – we were so happy. It was bright clean and felt so warm to the touch!  I no longer love carpets  for a number of reasons: 1.) they lock you into a color scheme 2) they need constant vacuuming 3.) they are hard to keep clean even with constant vacuuming 4.)   you have to buy or rent a special machine  or hire a professional to shampoo them 5.) they are always warm (hot) to the touch 6.) they make great hiding places for bugs and small toys and 6.) stains are forever because the flooring is expensive to replace.

When we first built our house we had a little bit of everything – hardwood, natural stone, linoleum and carpet. If I every win the lottery the whole house will be in hardwood and natural stone!  Linoleum  has had a bad rap but we still have the original piece in the kitchenette and it has held up beautifully except for one small nick. The problem I have with linoleum is that  it is extremely slippery when wet!

Yesterday is was cool and damp so gardening was out of the question so I looked at my “to do list” for indoor jobs. Only two to choose from shampoo the front room and office to finish the “deep cleaning” chore or start the deep cleaning of the basement.(actually  on May’s list).  I decided to finish the first floor cleaning, Shampooing the carpet is not one of my favorite jobs! First you have to move everything and vacuum well  than drag out the machine to shampoo.  I can never remember how to use the machine so out comes the directions.  Prepare the machine and finally actually start shampooing a section at a time. Wait for everything to dry and vacuum again before moving everything back where it is supposed to go.

While I was waiting for the carpets to dry I cleaned the rest of the first floor and finished all the laundry. I am so ready to play outside!

More black and gold!

I brought this wind spinner back in 2017 knowing I wanted to paint it – however, I kept putting it off. Yesterday after church I really didn’t feel like working in the garden but I did feel like painting!

I have an outdoor color scheme of blues and sea green  accented with black and gold with a touch of red. So it wasn’t a surprise that I chose to paint it black and gold.( Go Boilermakers!)

After getting the painting finished I started picking up limbs from the back yard so we can mow. I managed to picked all the small stuff but I still need to cut up the two large tree that fell next to the old kennel.  You can just see the top of the tree resting on the path next to the kennel and the other one is leaning  on the large upright tree. The two old chairs are now waiting to be hauled away to the trash.

  I have lots of work to do in the back yard yet. I plan on cleaning up the kennel area so it can be used again.  That means cutting down all the vines on the fence and I will need to remove some smaller trees and the old doghouse. I plan on  adding  a layer of gravel over the whole area inside to discourage digging.

Bottle tree

 

I first  saw a bottle tree when we took our first trip to Florida and I was fascinated with them. What were they and why did people have them?

The bottle tree tradition was brought to this country by African slaves and continued by Southern African American families and rural white people.  Bottle tree were  usually located near the  house to protect the resident from evil spirits. Traditionally the bottles are placed on the branches of a crepe myrtle tree. Bottle tree colors can range from blue, to clear, to brown, but cobalt blue are always preferred.

The bottles are placed upside down with the neck facing the trunk. You do not a bunch of bottles to make a bottle tree, . Malevolent spirits, on the prowl during the night, enter the bottles where they become trapped by an ‘encircling charm.’  It’s said that when the wind blows past the tree, you can hear the moans of the ensnared spirits whistling on the breeze. Come morning they are burnt up by the rising sun.

For years I thought about making or buying  one but decided they were too expensive. (Yes, I can be fugal at times).   I would check them out at each “show” I went to and usually pass them by and pick up another yarn decoration. So far I have a bunch of wind chimes , wind spinners, ans shepherd crooks but never a bottle tree.

Yesterday, we worked the Lion’s food trailer at the Seymour Pickers  and I did the usually “loop” walk during my break. I missed the bottle tree on that trip  but as people were starting to pack up I noticed a bare bottle tree clear across the lot. A friend and I made a beeline over to check it out. We looked it over and she told me about hers that she had brought from the same vendor years ago, Since it was near the end of the show and the tree took up lots of space in his van I managed to talk him down to a price I was willing  ( or at least to what I had with me at the time.) to pay.

Now I need to start collecting blue and green wine bottles!

Cleaning wild bird feeders

The past few days I have been cleaning the winter debris from the flower gardens near the house. This included the  bird garden which meant it was also time to clean the feeders , weed the center and trim the roses and mint

All animal pets, farm, and wild animals need clean feed and water bowls to help keep them healthy.  These containers should be cleaned at least once a month and more often if they look dirty.

You can buy commercial cleaners for the feeders or even use a mild solution of unscented dish detergent. It is best to  sanitized with a solution of one part bleach to nine parts hot water. Wash the whole feeder inside and out and rinse for at least 10 seconds with clear water .Dry completely before adding food or water.

Use rubber gloves to avoid any contamination and use stiff brushes to ensure thorough cleaning. I usually wash half the feeders at a time that way the birds still have food.

Last year I brought a new hammock to replace the one that has been hanging in the same area for the list ten + years. Our first thought was to only get it out when company came or when I wanted to use it –  well I found it in the garage still in it original package. After cleaning out mom’s place and finding “new” items in their package ruined by age I decided to get that new hammock out and  hang it up so we can  use it now while we are  still breathing. It even came with a large pillow ( which  does not stay  outside) and I must say it is comfortable enough to nap in!

I love to rearrange things  and the bird garden was no exception. I moved the hammock from in the sun next to the Rose of Sharon brushes  to under the lilac  tree.  The lilacs smell great and only bloom once so no constant removal of spent flowers  every time I want to lay down. Also the new spot allows for  relaxing in the shade. I placed two new chairs  were the hammock used to be and removed the Fulton without cushion. I came to the conclusion that  after two years I probably was not going to spent the money to buy or make cushions for it.

 

This is the gardeners busy time of the year!

Are you ready?  I have been living outside for the past few  week working in the gardens. The list of things to get  done this month is very long but so enjoyable.

So far I have:

1. Removed all the old leaves ,mulch and winter debris  from the flower gardens.
2. Pruned  the  dead and broken branches from the roses, grapes, blackberries, shrubs  and fruit trees.
3. Prepared garden beds in the sun garden  for planting – added compost and fertilizer as needed.
4. Created a new raised bed for strawberries,
5. Planted 50 more strawberry plants, 2  more blackberry plants, and 3 more blueberry plants
6. Planted  potatoes.
7. Direct-sowed  frost hardy, cool weather veggies like broccoli, beets, arugula, carrots, cabbage, cauliflower, kale,  lettuce, onion sets,  peas. radishes, spinach, Swiss chard,  turnips, leeks, kale and onions.
8. Checked  and laid out the garden hose and replaced parts needed – I needed a new nozzle!
9. Started seeds indoors  –  especially tomatoes and sweet peppers. We never have enough of those!
10. Planted all  vegetable plants in greenhouse.
11. Deadhead spring bloomers as the flowers fade..
12. Trimmed shrubs at mom’s old place and the apartments. I still have a few at the apartments to trim.
13. Weeded all the flower gardens  near the house and replaced mulch as needed.
14. Made a list of  flowers/ shrubs that I still need (want) for the bird garden.
15. Cleaned the goldfish pond filter and waterfall. Treated the  pond for algae.
16. Applied dormant spray  to fruit trees.
17. Tied grapes , roses, and blackberry  to their trellis.
18. Turned the compost pile.
19. Filled  bird feeders and  cleaned the hummingbird feeders.
20. Cleaned and put out garden furniture/ cushions. You really need a nice comfortable place to relax with a glass of good wine after working in the garden all day!
21. Checked for  items that can hold standing water and discarded or filled them  to prevent mosquitoes from breeding.
22. Set up mosquitoes  and Japanese  beetle traps.
23.  Set up a container to  collect rain water for the plants. If doing this make sure the top is covered with a screen  to prevent mosquitoes from breeding in the water.
24. Moved and replaced hammock

What I still need to do this month:

1. Finish trimming hedges at the apartments.
2. Put out the hummingbird feeders as soon as the weather permits.
3. Divided perennials  if needed. I did this last year and so far have not seen any that need to be divided but I still have the backyard area to check.
4. Prune spring blooming shrubs after they bloom.
5. Plant hardy annual flowers  ( sunflowers, poppies, dianthus,  sweet peas, calendula (marigold), cornflower, cosmos. and coreopsis).
6. Harvest asparagus spears .
7. Spray fruit trees as leaves start to form.
8. Clean area around fruit trees and mulch.
9.  Fertilize grapes, blackberries, blueberries, and fruit trees.
10. Spray plants with soap water as needed to prevent aphids.
11. Prune lavender and mint.
12. Prepare shade  garden for planting.
13. Closer to the end of the month I will plant  basil, sweet pepper , dill, french tarragon, garlic, okra, oregano, parsley, rosemary, sage,  squash, sunflowers, thyme,  watermelon,  and zucchini’
14. Set up entry  garden fountain.
15. Clean up flower gardens in the back yard.
16. Clean up fallen limbs and trees from yard.
17. Mow grass.

Remember to record your work in a garden log for future reference.

Unfortunately gardening has not been much fun this weekend. Golden Rod has not been home since early Friday morning and I must  say I miss him kneading my back as I bend over to work the beds.   The way he muscle himself into my lap whenever he thought it was time for a break. I hope he is just making the “spring tom cat” rounds and comes back home.

Errands and Gardening

Thursday was a very busy day.  We started out by running to Brownstown and then Seymour on business which took most of the morning and  half the afternoon.  We stopped at the post office  both in Brownstown and Seymour, the courthouse, the apartments. the bank,  Home Depot, St. Francis Pet hospital, Dick & Rudy’s, Arbys , Big Lots, Union Hardware, and Jay C+ before coming back home.

My checkbook is a bit lighter but the property taxes are paid for the year and Shoes has a year’s worth of heart worm medicine. While Bill was getting gallons of water I found a few things for the garden at Big Lots ( new gardening hand tools, a hose sprayer nozzle, wooden clothespins, and a pail to water the chickens). We decided to check the going out of business sale at Union Hardware  where I found a great bargain on a new hoe.

Once home Bill  went to work at the homestead and I finished washing the clothes and hanging them on the clothesline. The rest of the day was spent in the garden.

I finally planted all those poor live plants that were delivered during our “hard” freeze period. They have been sitting in the dinning room for almost a week so I was very glad to finally get them onto the ground.

I had enough strawberries to fill in the empty spaces in the existing beds and to fill the new bed. They were starting to get a bit dry so I watered the bed after planting and will water again every day until they perk up.

The blueberries were planted .

And new blackberries were planted and the older ones pruned  and tied to the trellis.

I ended up watering the plants in the green house and cleaning up around the grapes. Overall this garden is starting to shape up nicely.

It was a wonderful evening to sit out on the patio with a glass of wine  and watch the chickens play until it was time for them to go inside for the night. Josie is my “wild child” she  simply goes over the fence to feed in the open range when ever she feels like it.

Another new garden bed!

I know I keep adding more beds each year! This one wasn’t  part of the original garden plan but  since we like strawberries so well we decided to add a third bed of strawberries. I recently rearranged the greenhouse and it turned out I had just the correct number of concrete blocks to make a regular size bed. I took that as a sign to go ahead and build it.

Wednesday was a pretty day but not a good day to plant so I turned the compost. After years ( since 2014) of using the black plastic bin with little success.

 

July of last year I built an open compose bun out of concrete blocks. I placed it on the north side of the greenhouse to help protect and keep the heat in the greenhouse especially in the winter. I kept the black bin but use it mainly for finished compose.

This is a two bin set up so that I can simply fork the top of one bin into the other side to turn the pile. Bin one was full so it was time to turn it but I was not expecting to find finished compose on the bottom this quickly.

Surprise!! I had brought a bunch of bagged garden soil for the new bed but only had to use a third of it because there was enough composed soil to fill most of the new bed.

Hopefully I will get the strawberries planted today meanwhile the greenhouse is filling up. Most of the planters have little green leaves poking up out of the soil.

 

I have an opening but not for long! That space will soon be filled with a planter of yellow squash

Still waiting for these little seeds to show their stuff but I do see some lettuce coming up.

Mom’s last project – finished!

On September 1, 2004 my mother started to refinish this mirror. It was the last project she started. She stopped to get an after school snack for the grandson and never had a chance to finish the mirror nor the snack. She had a massive heart attack and was gone just that quick.

The mirror has hung on her bedroom wall until last week when we finally cleaned out the house. I remember when we brought this mirror for a 4-H project. It was supposed to be in my room but mom loved it so much it stayed in her bedroom with a matching lamp. The lamp broke a long time ago but she still had the mirror.

I always know I would finish this project but kept putting it off. I don’t have a place to put it in our house at the moment so I had no need to finish the project. Last week Shawn saw the mirror and asked if he could have it and I say okay but I wanted to finish painting it. I felt it was something I needed to do.

It took  a good cleaning, two coats of white paint and finally the gold trim.

I thank mom would  have been pleased with the results.

Messed up weather

This has been a very strange spring  and it has put me behind schedule as far as working in the garden. I usually have all the cold loving crops in by the end of March but not this year.

We have had thunderstorms followed by snow and lots of flooding  which has not allowed the garden beds to dry out enough for planting.  Friday night there was snow on the ground and it was coming down hard around 2 am  so I thought the beds would be to damp to plant; however, when I got up yesterday the snow was gone! Okay, I know I didn’t image that snow .  I checked the weather and the 10 day forecast called for a hard freeze on Saturday night so I decided not to plant the “live” plants that are setting in the dinning room. Why plant if I have to cover them with the fleece cloth? Nope they can wait a few more days  as long as they are kept damp.  I checked the greenhouse plants and some are  up  but needed water. I also checked the garden beds and the soil was perfect for planting. Yes!! I also checked the gardening lunar calendar and it showed favorable for planting. Double yes!  I spent the whole day planting  – radishes, onions, beets, Swiss chard, spinach, lettuce, peas, and kale. I am happy to say that I am all caught up with my cool/cold weather planting.

I also planted the two potato bags and have them inside the greenhouse. The greenhouse is actually getting pretty full and I can hardly wait for the plants to take off growing at full speed. So far the kale, turnips and radishes have started to get their second leaves. The Swiss chard, lettuce, beets are just poking up out of the soil. Carrots, beans, zucchini, eggplant, pepper, tomato, and cucumber are still hiding  from me.

We had to go to Home Depot  yesterday evening so I picked up another starting kit for seeds. I had two before but they do not last forever and I wanted to start a few warm weather crops  inside since this spring has been so messed up. I saw this little garden scooter on sale for $20 and had to try it , of course mine in blue. It will hold up to 225 pounds for setting, has  built in cup holders,  a foam cushion/kneeling pad that is detachable, 8.5 gallon storage compartment and a pulling strap.  It should be perfect to hold the seeds while planting and the produce when harvesting.

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A few years ago I found this on sale and it has turned into my favorite gardening tool. I really gave it a workout yesterday. I especially like the tall handles which makes it so much easier to get back up after a full day of planting.

The plants inside the house are struggling a bit  and need more sunlight. The tomato seeds all germinated,  and I have a good turn out of parsley, thyme, and basil. The cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, sage and eggplants ( all second year seeds)  were not as productive and I may have to reseed. The lavender has finally started to poke up their little heads but the leeks have not done a thing. I am not surprised by the leeks since I found an old package of seeds and just planted them for the heck of it.

The weather is supposed to be warmer after Monday so I plan on moving the starter tray out to the greenhouse where the plants will get much more light. That’s the fun of gardening  you have to kill so many plants before you can call yourself a true gardener.

Now to start the warm weather seeds – pumpkin, watermelon, cantaloupe, cucumber, butternut squash, yellow squash, and zucchini. I am going to try setting them on a heating pad to see if that will increase the germination rate.

I did enjoy working in the garden yesterday and one of the reason is Golden Rod. He can be so funny! The last few times I have worked in the garden he has decided I needed a back rub.Most cats will knead your lap before settling down – well he does that to my back before pushing his way under my arm and into my lap.

I am also happy to report that Artemis has finally come out from his cave. I was getting worried about him as he showed no interest and what was going on when I was deep cleaning the office. I even opened his cage and petted him. He was ice-cold  but moved a bit. I wondered why he wasn’t curled under his rock where the heating pad is located but figured he know what he wanted. Yesterday I noticed the light in his cage wasn’t on and figured the timers was off or the bulb burnt out. Nope, the problem was the breaker on the surge protector had tripped and nothing was getting any power. Flipped the switch  which turned on the heating pad and the white lamp. I also turned on the red heat bulb and with in the hour Artemis was out and moving around!

DIY Summer Wreath

I woke up yesterday with more things planned than I had time to finished.. My live plants arrived in the mail on Thursday and I had planned to get them planted but the weather man called for snow  so I decided to wait  and see. I needed more garden soil to finish the new strawberry bed so they had to wait anyways but the blackberries and blueberries could have been planted. Stupid weather!

First thing I had planned was to finish the office by cleaning both bird-cages and I got that done right after feeding all the animals. I had planned on rearranging the photo ledge and shampooing the downstairs carpets and hanging the wash on the line. I was just starting on the photos when Bill came back saying he was ready to go to town.

He had the truck loaded with scrape metal from working on mom’s house and he said we could stop and get water, the garden soil, groceries and lunch. All the stuff I really needed to do today.  I got the soil plus some potato and onion sets and the butterflies to finish that wreath. The rest of the wreath stuff was “found” while cleaning the office. One of those half-finished buried projects!

It was too late  to work in the garden by the time we got back so I gathered the eggs and want back inside and finished the wreath.

I simply  wore the stems into the frame and secured everything with wire. Very easy and cost  less than $15.

I did mange to get the laundry done but had to use the dryer and picked up the fruit tree trimming from the other day. Maybe I’ll get the floor shampooed today or maybe prepare the strawberry bed or maybe plant the  new plants… I will do something!