We have reached the point of summer where I need to be careful of the heat and humidity and sunshine. When it gets too hot, I wilt, and there are too many things I want to do to be sitting on the sidelines recovering.
For years I’ve talked about working in the gardens a little every day, and this year seems to be my year to accomplish it! I’ve been getting up at 5:00 a.m. and putting in between 90 and 150 minutes on the gardens, almost every day. I was a lounge lizard on the Fourth, but I moved right along most of the week before, and returned to work today.
I have sternly forbidden myself from buying any plants until everything from the previous round of shopping was planted. I HATE loosing plants that succumb to heat. It’s awful to see them waste away. I feel bad about killing off perfectly good plants, and hate to waste the money. Limiting what I purchase to what I have a chance of getting planted has been a win-win situation all around.
This weekend I planted two scented geraniums, two spicy globe basils, and three lemon verbena in the herb garden. Along the front sidewalk, I planted two thirds a flat of white alyssum, and five red-violet petunias. I’ve been weeding in the gardens along the front of the house, over a period of about four days. I continued today digging up a patch of crabgrass, pruning the junipers and birch, and starting to clear a path for the meter readers around the corner of the house.
The south side of my home is edged with a bed of day lilies. Unfortunately, this bed is infested with a strange weed that propagates via very shallow runners. The plants grow up to five feet tall and are topped with a small yellow flower that looks rather like a dandelion. The good thing about this weed is that it is very easy to pull! I spent about 20 minutes this morning clearing all but the last six feet of the bed. I came to a screeching halt when I found very healthy poison ivy plants. I need a hazmat suit that I can wear to protect myself so I can pull out those plants.
I’ve left the weeds lying on the lawn, which is a no-no, but I’ll collect them tomorrow morning, and add a bit more of the evergreen to the wheelbarrow. I may have some teenaged assistance this weekend, so perhaps I can get some mulch down to prevent the return of the weeds. And, I hope to spread some cosmos and cleome seeds across the front of the house, so we may have some color later this season.
A little gardening each day seems to be the way to accomplish my goal. *S*
Arrrgh!!!
It's just my state of mind!
Good for you, Buffy! A bit each day beats the sox off of trying to do everything at once.
Unfortunately, I am now raising some of the pavers that the landscapers put down last year – adding sand under each paver to bring it up 0.5 – 1.0 inch. Sand comes in 80# bags. The sand that I bought, Saturday, was loaded by a young man who worked at the store – and – he put one bag atop another. Thus, when I came to a stop, the top bag slid forward off of the bottom bag. In struggling to pull the bag up and over the bottom bag (it was wedged somewhat atop, still), pivoting, and putting the bag in the garden cart, I pulled something. Wouldn’t you think that at my age I would use my noodle a bit better than that?
That was yesterday. I was surprised that I could walk this morning; but, since I could, I went into the Red Cross office to work. By the time I came home, I was starting to feel the strain. (I am very slow to react to physical injury!) I’m hoping that tomorrow won’t be too much worse.
I thought of you the other day when I pulled the “healthy poison ivy” out of our strawberry patch!
OMG! Weren’t you the person who was just bragging about being in good shape!??? I wouldn’t think of moving a bag of sand on my own. On very rare occasions, I’ll forget and move a big bag of bird seed, and I’ll feel it for days, if I’m lucky. Sand is a horrible weight to move.
I hope that you’ll be okay, and that you recover from the muscle strain quickly!
ewwwwwww POISON IVY! I’m afraid to even breathe around it! I’ll have to cover myself from head to toe, and carry a plastic bag to collect it. I’ll have to throw out the clothes that get touched, or risk spreading the oil through the laundry.
Buffy–Yeah. I am getting my come uppance for bragging, aren’t I? (Hunky Husband tells me to remember that I’m not 50 anymore!) I took an Aleve last night (and just now took another one) and I’m doing OK. Getting ready to go out for my walk. Am skipping the swim for this morning in order to join an online FEMA briefing on what’s going on with the river in Missouri.
Yes, I am much more careful around poison ivy than I was prior to my first case of reacting to the stuff. My first reaction was brought on by clothes that had been washed and put away over-the-winter.
You are smart in how you approach physical labor and poison ivy.
Ouch, CC! I’m so sorry you are hurting!
I’ve tried to respond to several of your comments the past two days, but MT keeps eating what I submit! Perhaps skipping the swimming might have been a good thing, and you can always go to the pool when you feel a little better.
My understanding about poison ivy is that each time you get it, your reaction to it becomes worse. Perhaps it’s from your experience that I learned to be careful about the clothing. However I learned it….it’s a good warning!
I hope you feel better soon!
Thanks, Buffy. When one is hurting is exactly when they need to swim or walk or whatever. That is one thing that I learned a year ago when I was really hurting. I think that if I take one more Aleve (in a couple of hours), I’ll be out of the woods and back to normal. (Just not back to normal for a 50-year-old! *smiling*)
Cop Car, I know from experience that you are right about needing to exercise when you least feel like it. I have a bad back, and the doctors have always encouraged me to move when I would much rather sit still and pray that things would get better, SOON! *G*
I think swimming would be an excellent choice to help relieve your back pain. I was concerned that you might try to do too much, too soon. Perhaps your meeting provided the brief break you needed. Feel better soon, my friend!
Buffy–In modern parlance, “I’m good, thanks!” (In old fogey parlance, “I am well, thanks!”
Cop Car, I wish to speak to you about your response….”I’m good, thanks!” (In old fogey parlance, “I am well, thanks.” I’ve been telling everyone I meet that I have it on good authority that we should be saying, “I’m well, thanks.” I assume that “well” refers to health and state of mind, where “good” could refer to any aspect of your existence. Is that right?
I’m so glad to know that you are well!
Buffy–Oh! I had misconstrued your question when we exchanged emails. In the old days, we were abjured to use “well” in speaking of our health. “Good” was reserved, more properly, for other usage.
From The New Oxford American Dictionary, 2nd Ed,
at the end of the several-column-inch entry for “good”, is an inset that clarifies usage, as quoted below. (Notice that HTML coding that would allow me to duplicate the itallicized and/or bold fonts is not seemingly available on MT. I apologize that the quoted passage is, therefore, somewhat difficult to read.)
“Usage – The adverb corresponding to the adjective good is well: she is a good swimmer who performs well in meets. Confusion sometimes arises because well is also an adjective meaning ‘in good health, healthy,’ for which good is widely used informally as a substitute: I feel well, meaning ‘I feel healthy’ – versus the informal I feel good, meaning either ‘I feel healthy’ or ‘I am in a good mood.’