Those of you who read here know that my youngest sister has taken up blogging this year. You can visit her at Just My Opinion. Actually, I hope you’ll go to visit, and wish her a Happy Birthday on Thursday, April 27.
We won’t be together to celebrate, but I’ll see her in a week, when she comes home for a family wedding. If I’m a GOOD sister…..I’ll remember that I need to call to wish her a great day.
If I miss, sis…….Hippo Birdie Two Ewes!
Daily Archives: April 26, 2006
Great Day!
It was gorgeous today!
Last night we had frost warnings for new plants, and today the temps slowly raised into the lower sixties. We were away from home all morning, so I headed out to the driveway garden in the afternoon. You can walk past a garden and make note of changes that need to be made, but you don’t realize the depth of the work until you get down and begin working the soil.
The driveway garden has never been edged, so I’ve had a constant battle with grass trying to creep into the bed. Beyond that, when I first planted the garden, I thought something called “Bouncing Bet” or “Soapwort” sounded like a lovely plant to add to my collection. If someone tries to sell you one of those plants, RUN THE OTHER WAY! It’s one of the most invasive species I’ve ever planted. I find it creeping through out the lawn, and making its way up the driveway!
I am a bear of little brain, and a creature of habit. Each year I have walked down to that garden, and started at the northern-most end of the bed, on the driveway side. And, each year, I have run out of cool weather and steam while still on the driveway side. THIS year, I’ve managed to get work done on the west side of that bed, and I’ve done it while the soil is still damp enough to work. There is NOTHING harder to do than pull grass from dry clay.
I sprayed several patches of soapwort with Round-up. I tend to be an organic gardener, but I’m going to kill off that damned stuff yet! I used a spade to begin loosening patches of grass, and I pulled down dead stalks from last year’s flowers, and deadheaded daffodils.
I dragged Dear Husband out with me for another half an hour of work after dinner. He collected branches from the lawn and took them to the mulch pile. We have a chipper shredder, and I’ll have to get busy soon to make the mulch that will cover this bed. Beyond that, if we didn’t pick up the twigs and branches, he’d mow over them and dull the mower blades. While he collected branches, I raked the southern end of the bed, and collected all the weeds and grass that I pulled out this morning.
I have some serious renovation to do on this bed. The center section is ready to replant. This time I plan to plant masses of Perovskia (Russian Sage), and Rudbekia. I’m debating whether I want to put something slightly taller in the center of the bed as a focal point. Today, I realized that I’ll need to rework the southern end of the bed, too. Purple coneflower spread and edged out the Obedient Plant, and now weeds have edged out the coneflower, except along the edges of the bed. Dear husband will have to help me remove some volunteer shrubs, and then I’ll divide and replant the Hostas near the Bleeding Heart that caught my eye today.
It’s a start, and a good one. Let’s hope for more cool weather with occasional showers to keep the soil workable.
Bits and Pieces
FROST WARNING for tonight. Anyone in the Chicago area who was foolish enough to plant tender annuals or half-hard perennials before May 15th needs to go out and cover them up!
We’ve had the heat on today. Chilly weather moved in with the rain last night. We need the precipitation, so we’re not grousing about the rain, but it would be nice to be just a bit warmer. Thankfully, the temperature will rise to the sixties for the coming week…..just about where it should be at the end of April.
I told you that the egrets have returned, didn’t I?? I think I did. This is the time of year when I have trouble staying in my own lane because I’m busy watching for the egrets in the marshes and ponds. I need a warning sign for the motorists behind me.
We may have had the last of the dinners with my niece and her sons. There are just too many things on their calendar for us to stick to the same night of each week, band concerts, baseball practice and such. I’m going to miss those dinners. It will end for sure in June, when she moves south about an hour.
I need to call the Geek Squad. I think I need to have both the CD player and the CD burner replaced on the computer in the office, OR, I need to uninstall the software for making CDs and reinstall it. The darned thing wouldn’t let me close a newly burned CD, then wouldn’t let me take it out of the burner, and THEN told me that I couldn’t turn my computer off because Windows was communicating with a program, when nothing showed up on the task manager. (muttering) Time to do something about it!
I have to apologize for all the whining lately. I had a much better day, today, despite the rain. I don’t deal well with mess, or with dozens of unfinished projects hanging over my head. The CPA’s assistant came this morning, and to be ready for her, I had to clean off my desk (and clean the desk), and make odds and ends of entries. That simple act of making things tidy lifted my spirits, and made it easier to get things done. I worked on my side of the desk while she worked at the computer, and between us, we got loads of stuff done! Who knew that being tidy was such a good thing!
We have birthdays to celebrate! Two today, one tomorrow, Nan’s birthday is April 27th, and my brother’s birthday is the 30th. We plan to celebrate without him. And there are easily 8 more coming in May, I think. My granddaughter will be two soon! If you have a moment, visit Just My Opinion and wish my little sis Happy Birthday, won’t you?