When most normal people mow the lawn they probably have the typical obstacles to avoid: trees, sidewalks, flower beds.
On most of my mowing days I find myself stopping or attempting to avoid some things that just shouldn't be there. Typically I have to wait for guineas to move out of the way and normally, they aren't inclined to be rushed. Goats, dogs, horses, turkeys, chickens and ducks are also fairly typical.
Today, it was socks and panties. Yes. I said "panties." What in the heck are panties and socks doing in the yard you may wonder? I wondered too. Apparently Unruly got "too hot," and shed the most sweat-inducing articles of clothing left on her body. Her socks and underwear. Which tells me another thing. The kid was outside, again, cavorting with the critters in nothin' but her SKIVVIES!
No, I'm not raising a country kid comfortable in her own skin. Not at all.
On another note I've started the tilling for my new veggie garden. Started being the operative word. My ground? It resembles concrete at the moment. The sprinkler is running on the area I'm planning to till in an attempt to soften it up. And here I had all these grand illusions that I'd get a BUNCH of tilling done today so I'll have everything ready to plant bulbs and wildflower seeds this fall. That's me, grand plans foiled once again by Mother Nature.
Showing posts with label gardening. Show all posts
Showing posts with label gardening. Show all posts
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Around the farm
I promised pictures, here are some pictures, and a very short movie.
Willow and Margarita playing with their "toys."
Margarita being nosy.
In my garden.
And finally, Chief and Calypso having a little play time. This was shot from my livingroom window. Chief sure doesn't act like a 21-year-old pensioner!
Credits: Wild shot the photos (she's loving her new camera!) and the Hubster edited music into the movie.
Willow and Margarita playing with their "toys."
Margarita being nosy.
In my garden.
And finally, Chief and Calypso having a little play time. This was shot from my livingroom window. Chief sure doesn't act like a 21-year-old pensioner!
Credits: Wild shot the photos (she's loving her new camera!) and the Hubster edited music into the movie.
Monday, April 07, 2008
The past couple of weeks, truncated
We are slowly drying out. After a solid week of rain things are starting to look a tad drier. At least the puddles are smaller and the mud is only knee-deep now, rather than waist deep.
Oh, and the window next to MY side of the bed is leaking. Fabulous. Drip. Drip. Drip. Drip. All. Night. Long. It's TORTURE. It has been leaking for a couple of months (and I asked Hubby to PLEASE fix it a couple of months ago, to no avail) and we now have reason to believe it's not just a faulty window frame....it's the roof. *sigh* If it's not one freaking thing, it's another. I wonder if a couple of cans of that expanding foam crap will fix it, at least temporarily until we can get someone out to take a look and find out what's really going on up there. Damn rain.
Between the failing pond dam, the leaking window/roof, the hip-deep mud and truck-sized potholes in our driveway you'd think it was monsoon season.
It was finally dry enough Sunday that I could get out into the yard and mow without sinking the tractor up to the axles in slop. Yay!
And, if it doesn't rain today, Unruly and I will be planting tulips, daylilies and wildflowers. Double yay! I've been itching to get out and do some digging around in the dirt. I don't think my day at work will go by fast enough and all I'll be thinking about all day long is riding and planting!
I am now the mother of a 16-year-old. Someone, please say plenty of prayers for us. Actually, Wild has made enormous maturity strides in the past few months. It's almost like she's becoming human again on most days. Yes, we still have the occasional moments of monster-like mood swings, but I can deal with the occasional attitude compared to the constant foul mood we were once forced to live with. It's pleasant and she is once again, mostly pleasant to live with. We still do have that issue with the two sisters fighting and egging each other on, but I really do think it's a sibling thing. What siblings actually get along with each other while they live together? Not many. I fought with my sister constantly, now, we are best friends. One day, I hope, Wild and Unruly will figure that out and be close.
I have pictures to post, but I'm at work and my camera is not. Such is life.
Oh, and the window next to MY side of the bed is leaking. Fabulous. Drip. Drip. Drip. Drip. All. Night. Long. It's TORTURE. It has been leaking for a couple of months (and I asked Hubby to PLEASE fix it a couple of months ago, to no avail) and we now have reason to believe it's not just a faulty window frame....it's the roof. *sigh* If it's not one freaking thing, it's another. I wonder if a couple of cans of that expanding foam crap will fix it, at least temporarily until we can get someone out to take a look and find out what's really going on up there. Damn rain.
Between the failing pond dam, the leaking window/roof, the hip-deep mud and truck-sized potholes in our driveway you'd think it was monsoon season.
It was finally dry enough Sunday that I could get out into the yard and mow without sinking the tractor up to the axles in slop. Yay!
And, if it doesn't rain today, Unruly and I will be planting tulips, daylilies and wildflowers. Double yay! I've been itching to get out and do some digging around in the dirt. I don't think my day at work will go by fast enough and all I'll be thinking about all day long is riding and planting!
I am now the mother of a 16-year-old. Someone, please say plenty of prayers for us. Actually, Wild has made enormous maturity strides in the past few months. It's almost like she's becoming human again on most days. Yes, we still have the occasional moments of monster-like mood swings, but I can deal with the occasional attitude compared to the constant foul mood we were once forced to live with. It's pleasant and she is once again, mostly pleasant to live with. We still do have that issue with the two sisters fighting and egging each other on, but I really do think it's a sibling thing. What siblings actually get along with each other while they live together? Not many. I fought with my sister constantly, now, we are best friends. One day, I hope, Wild and Unruly will figure that out and be close.
I have pictures to post, but I'm at work and my camera is not. Such is life.
Monday, March 03, 2008
Ha! I PLANTED!
Sunday dawned warm and bright. Blue skies, puffy white clouds, a warm spring-scented breeze.
I was in heaven! I flung open all the windows and let the early spring in. I worked in my gardens, cleaning out beds, planning new beds.
I sat on the deck and just absorbed the sun and the breeze, listened to the birds, watched my muddy pig sty horses sunbathing in their pasture.
Oh...and the urge, the barely containable URGE to plant things in the ground overtook me. I wanted to dig and plant and be happy in the plantings.
I made that mistake last year. I got too eager, planted too early and lost four basil plants and a few flowers in a late frost. I wasn't going to do that again, it's too heartbreaking.
So, we did the next best thing. I ran up to the store and picked up one of those mini-greenhouse thingies and a handful of seed packets. Unruly picked out the seeds because this year, she's getting her own little plot of land to grow stuff in. And she can keep her over-eager little mitts outta mine, where she is just as likely to yank a flower as a weed.
So we planted 72 little peat pots of impatiens, morning glory, forget me nots, canterbury bells and a couple others whose names escape me at the moment. And for a while, my urge to plant was satiated. For now.
Of course, now I must run back and get another mini-greenhouse thingy and some veggie seeds to get my veggie garden plants started. Because with the nasty snow forecast that's rolled in, I won't be getting back into the gardens any time soon. *sigh*
I was in heaven! I flung open all the windows and let the early spring in. I worked in my gardens, cleaning out beds, planning new beds.
I sat on the deck and just absorbed the sun and the breeze, listened to the birds, watched my muddy pig sty horses sunbathing in their pasture.
Oh...and the urge, the barely containable URGE to plant things in the ground overtook me. I wanted to dig and plant and be happy in the plantings.
I made that mistake last year. I got too eager, planted too early and lost four basil plants and a few flowers in a late frost. I wasn't going to do that again, it's too heartbreaking.
So, we did the next best thing. I ran up to the store and picked up one of those mini-greenhouse thingies and a handful of seed packets. Unruly picked out the seeds because this year, she's getting her own little plot of land to grow stuff in. And she can keep her over-eager little mitts outta mine, where she is just as likely to yank a flower as a weed.
So we planted 72 little peat pots of impatiens, morning glory, forget me nots, canterbury bells and a couple others whose names escape me at the moment. And for a while, my urge to plant was satiated. For now.
Of course, now I must run back and get another mini-greenhouse thingy and some veggie seeds to get my veggie garden plants started. Because with the nasty snow forecast that's rolled in, I won't be getting back into the gardens any time soon. *sigh*
Friday, February 29, 2008
An extra day of winter...ick
It's Leap Year Day. One extra day in February. One more day I have to wait until spring. One more day of cold and ice and sweaters. I'm at the hating sweaters point. I'm ready for tank tops and cut offs.
I thought I'd try to hurry spring along last night and get outside to work in my garden beds a bit. Clean 'em up, get 'em ready, but some compost on 'em. I figured if I was making an effort, maybe Mother Nature would get a clue and wake up a tad bit earlier.
No such luck. It got cold. My hands FROZE. Then it snowed. Yes. It snowed. Again. I'm so freakin' tired of the cold and the ice and the snow and the frozen mud. I want spring here. And I want it now. My daffodils and crocus are already starting to peek their little green heads out of the ground, there are signs spring is coming. But it just can't get here fast enough.
I have piles and piles of nursery/flower catalogs and I've pretty much picked out enough flowers, plants, trees, veggies and shrubs to landscape an entire city block. My fingers feel the itch to be buried deep in rich, warm earth and make life happen.
I thought I'd try to hurry spring along last night and get outside to work in my garden beds a bit. Clean 'em up, get 'em ready, but some compost on 'em. I figured if I was making an effort, maybe Mother Nature would get a clue and wake up a tad bit earlier.
No such luck. It got cold. My hands FROZE. Then it snowed. Yes. It snowed. Again. I'm so freakin' tired of the cold and the ice and the snow and the frozen mud. I want spring here. And I want it now. My daffodils and crocus are already starting to peek their little green heads out of the ground, there are signs spring is coming. But it just can't get here fast enough.
I have piles and piles of nursery/flower catalogs and I've pretty much picked out enough flowers, plants, trees, veggies and shrubs to landscape an entire city block. My fingers feel the itch to be buried deep in rich, warm earth and make life happen.
Monday, September 17, 2007
An anaconda in the pond
It's coming. The leaves are starting to change, the nights are chilly, the owls and coyotes are out at night again, making all kinds of noises and the horses are blowing their slick summer coats and getting in their fuzzier winter wear.
I love fall. I love the changes and the smells and most of all, I LOVE the cooling of the weather. The crispness of the mornings that invigorates, the chill in the night air an excuse for a bonfire and hot spiced cider. Searching for the perfect Halloween costume for Unruly. Wild is to old to dress up any more, to hear her tell it. I long to lounge by hot, crackling fires in the fireplace and chill out on the floor with the family while feeding log after log into the flames. I yearn to reading books curled up beneath a quilt and drinking hot tea or working on that cross-stitch project I put away every spring to save for winter stitching. There is just something about fall, and impending winter, that turns on the hibernation switch.
The list of "do to's" gets longer, too: Clean up the flower beds, plant more bulbs, transplant and plant new trees, put in a few more grape vines and fruit trees, mulch the bulbs and the roses that are already in, prepare another flower bed, an herb bed and a larger veggie garden, stack firewood, clear weeds, put up more hay, run a heat lamp out to the chicken house and a de-icer to the horse tank, dig out the rain sheets for the horses and make sure they are in good repair, move the horses to the winter pasture plant pasture seed in the bare spots in the summer pastures.
But most of all, hope for rain.
The pond is about 3 feet lower than normal and we're seeing some very strange things slowly being uncovered as the level drops. For some reason, there is a huge cable/pipe running through the middle of the pond and connected to this upright steel tube that is sticking about a foot above water level. I think it's the remnants of a fountain, but, it's hard to tell. It just looks weird.When I spotted the cable/pipe yesterday, my mind immediately said "OH MY GOD! There's an anaconda in the pond! I knew the snakes were bad, but this is ridiculous!" I knew that wasn't possible, there is no anaconda in my pond. It's just a man-made thing. And I've no clue as to what it is.
P.S. No, that's not the cable/pipe, but, rather what my mind conjured up when I saw it! Yes, my brain isn't always the tamest place to live.
I love fall. I love the changes and the smells and most of all, I LOVE the cooling of the weather. The crispness of the mornings that invigorates, the chill in the night air an excuse for a bonfire and hot spiced cider. Searching for the perfect Halloween costume for Unruly. Wild is to old to dress up any more, to hear her tell it. I long to lounge by hot, crackling fires in the fireplace and chill out on the floor with the family while feeding log after log into the flames. I yearn to reading books curled up beneath a quilt and drinking hot tea or working on that cross-stitch project I put away every spring to save for winter stitching. There is just something about fall, and impending winter, that turns on the hibernation switch.
The list of "do to's" gets longer, too: Clean up the flower beds, plant more bulbs, transplant and plant new trees, put in a few more grape vines and fruit trees, mulch the bulbs and the roses that are already in, prepare another flower bed, an herb bed and a larger veggie garden, stack firewood, clear weeds, put up more hay, run a heat lamp out to the chicken house and a de-icer to the horse tank, dig out the rain sheets for the horses and make sure they are in good repair, move the horses to the winter pasture plant pasture seed in the bare spots in the summer pastures.
But most of all, hope for rain.
The pond is about 3 feet lower than normal and we're seeing some very strange things slowly being uncovered as the level drops. For some reason, there is a huge cable/pipe running through the middle of the pond and connected to this upright steel tube that is sticking about a foot above water level. I think it's the remnants of a fountain, but, it's hard to tell. It just looks weird.When I spotted the cable/pipe yesterday, my mind immediately said "OH MY GOD! There's an anaconda in the pond! I knew the snakes were bad, but this is ridiculous!" I knew that wasn't possible, there is no anaconda in my pond. It's just a man-made thing. And I've no clue as to what it is. P.S. No, that's not the cable/pipe, but, rather what my mind conjured up when I saw it! Yes, my brain isn't always the tamest place to live.
Monday, June 04, 2007
Floral bliss
For the first time since I put my first flower seed in the ground I have poppies. Beautiful, big, bright red California poppies. I LOVE poppies! I've never had luck with them in the past despite planting the damn things every. freaking. year.
I pointed them out to everyone and even made them go out to the garden and look at their exquisiteness up close and personel. I love their papery skin and their black centers. I love they way they move in the breeze. I think about the Wizard of Oz and that field of poppies the Wicked Witch of the West creates to stop the little party of adventurers "poppies...poppies...poppies."
Wild didn't understand my enthusiasm over a "stupid flower."
"Well, now we can make opium," I explained, smiling conspiratorially.
"What's opium?" from the 15-year-old.
I can't decide whether her ignorance of this narcotic is a good thing...or if I need to have another little "drugs are bad" conversation with her. She knows about pot and heroin and cocaine and LSD...but opium isn't in her vocabulary.
Note: I'm kidding about the opium, of course. We don't have enough poppies!
Monday, April 30, 2007
Mishmashing
It was one of those hectic, but fabulous weekends. Unruly managed to get a "green light" Friday so, as promised, we headed to the zoo Saturday morning. With temperatures hovering in the upper 70s and the sky nearly cloud-free, it was a perfect day to spend wandering around the zoo. We could have stayed home and sat on the deck to watch the bi-plane aerialists practice their air stunt act, but we didn't. That was only exciting for about half an hour. I mean, you can only watch barrel rolls and nosedives for so long before it's just not exciting any more.
At the zoo, all the animals were out enjoying the weather. And so, it seems, was the entire population of St. Louis.
Every. last. person. was at the zoo Saturday. I now remember why I prefer the zoo on chilly days. Fewer irritating, rude people. What is it with people thinking it's okay to harass animals to try to make them move or "do something?" Unruly and I were watching the chimps in their wonderful new exhibit when these three kids came up and started yelling and beating on the glass. Moms just stood there and completely ignored their brats. Of course, Unruly decided that if those kids could yell and bang, she could yell and bang at those poor chimps. Uh uh. Not my kid! I said, rather loudly while pulling her from the glass, "No! YOU are NOT going to bang on the glass! How would you like someone to bang on the window in YOUR room? It's rude and mean." Suddenly, the other mothers became aware of their children's bad, bad behavior and admonished their brats to stop.
We had a good day. Unruly got to talk at length with a zookeeper hanging out near the new cheetah cubs. Have I ever mentioned she wants to be a zookeeper/zoo vet? She does, and boy! was she EVER enthralled by this young zookeeper who was so kind to engage her in conversation and answer ALL of her questions. The zookeeper said the zoo has a Zookeeper-for-a-Day program for kids. I checked into it. Awesome program! So awesome that every single program until fall is BOOKED FULL! Grrr....
Got more chickens Saturday afternoon. Yeah. What is SO freakin' addicting about those fowl? Cute. Fascinating. Each has a very distinct personality. And, they eat bugs. Lots of bugs. Which is good when you live in the country. So we now have, ummm...four ducks and 12 chickens, including the grumpy old hen Fuzzy Face. She sure is a grump and she doesn't put up with the chicks' crap at all. She cackles and clucks and screams at them...very, very cranky, that old hen! But, she lays green eggs, so it's all good.
I saw a turkey, a big ole Tom turkey, walking down the side of the highway during rush hour. A major highway. Very odd. He didn't seem bothered one iota.
Sunday morning around 5 a.m. the dogs started going nuts. Barking, growling, whining. Of course I think it's a serial ax murderer standing outside waiting to chop us up into little bitty pieces. But really, when I got up to look, (Hubby doesn't get up. He'd rather die in his sleep, I think. The wimp!) I saw a doe standing in our yard grazing. The sun was barely coming up and it was hazy, so the scene was very serene and Bambi-esque. I've heard them in the woods, seen them in the pastures and spotted their foot prints in the creek and in the driveway, but never seen them so close to the house. I like them, but I guess this means I'll be planting no tulips, peonies or begonies. They are like candy to deer.
Most of Sunday was spent mowing, weeding, talking and chillin'.
Wild was gone all weekend. Oddly, the weekend was relaxing, uneventful and quite enjoyable.
I will be ordering my new John Deere lawn tractor tomorrow. Online. How funny is that? I've ordered small things online, but it strikes me as highly amusing to order a lawn tractor online! Ha! I'm easily amused, I suppose.
At the zoo, all the animals were out enjoying the weather. And so, it seems, was the entire population of St. Louis.
Every. last. person. was at the zoo Saturday. I now remember why I prefer the zoo on chilly days. Fewer irritating, rude people. What is it with people thinking it's okay to harass animals to try to make them move or "do something?" Unruly and I were watching the chimps in their wonderful new exhibit when these three kids came up and started yelling and beating on the glass. Moms just stood there and completely ignored their brats. Of course, Unruly decided that if those kids could yell and bang, she could yell and bang at those poor chimps. Uh uh. Not my kid! I said, rather loudly while pulling her from the glass, "No! YOU are NOT going to bang on the glass! How would you like someone to bang on the window in YOUR room? It's rude and mean." Suddenly, the other mothers became aware of their children's bad, bad behavior and admonished their brats to stop.
We had a good day. Unruly got to talk at length with a zookeeper hanging out near the new cheetah cubs. Have I ever mentioned she wants to be a zookeeper/zoo vet? She does, and boy! was she EVER enthralled by this young zookeeper who was so kind to engage her in conversation and answer ALL of her questions. The zookeeper said the zoo has a Zookeeper-for-a-Day program for kids. I checked into it. Awesome program! So awesome that every single program until fall is BOOKED FULL! Grrr....
Got more chickens Saturday afternoon. Yeah. What is SO freakin' addicting about those fowl? Cute. Fascinating. Each has a very distinct personality. And, they eat bugs. Lots of bugs. Which is good when you live in the country. So we now have, ummm...four ducks and 12 chickens, including the grumpy old hen Fuzzy Face. She sure is a grump and she doesn't put up with the chicks' crap at all. She cackles and clucks and screams at them...very, very cranky, that old hen! But, she lays green eggs, so it's all good.
I saw a turkey, a big ole Tom turkey, walking down the side of the highway during rush hour. A major highway. Very odd. He didn't seem bothered one iota.
Sunday morning around 5 a.m. the dogs started going nuts. Barking, growling, whining. Of course I think it's a serial ax murderer standing outside waiting to chop us up into little bitty pieces. But really, when I got up to look, (Hubby doesn't get up. He'd rather die in his sleep, I think. The wimp!) I saw a doe standing in our yard grazing. The sun was barely coming up and it was hazy, so the scene was very serene and Bambi-esque. I've heard them in the woods, seen them in the pastures and spotted their foot prints in the creek and in the driveway, but never seen them so close to the house. I like them, but I guess this means I'll be planting no tulips, peonies or begonies. They are like candy to deer.
Most of Sunday was spent mowing, weeding, talking and chillin'.
Wild was gone all weekend. Oddly, the weekend was relaxing, uneventful and quite enjoyable.
I will be ordering my new John Deere lawn tractor tomorrow. Online. How funny is that? I've ordered small things online, but it strikes me as highly amusing to order a lawn tractor online! Ha! I'm easily amused, I suppose.
Tuesday, April 03, 2007
Green thumbing and horse whispering
I always knew the horses and the gardens were my therapy. I always forget how therapeutic both are until I truly need them again, or I go for too long a stretch between either. I went riding and instantly felt more at peace with everything. I dug new flower beds and planted flowers and felt the stress fall from my body in great, ugly lumps. Planting things, making things grow, even the smallest marigold, gives me the feeling that yes, I can still nurture and grow something and I'm not a complete failure in all things I touch. Watching a tiny seed turn into a beautiful plant because I put it in the dirt and watered it is immensely satisfying on all kinds of deep, subconscious levels.
I took Chief out for a short bareback hack last night, and it was SO nice. Just him and me, toddling along as that old Appy is wont to do. He doesn't go fast, and that's okay when I just want to get away and relax. The gentle back and forth, side to side motion of his body beneath mine is more relaxing than any high-priced massage could ever be. The smell of his horsiness and the sound of his hooves brushing through the grass are worth more to me than any diamond or sports car can ever be worth. The horse hairs stuck to my pants and shirt and in my hair and eyes are welcome additions to my hopelessly out-of-style wardrobe. The scent of his musky, sweat-sharp odor clings to me and it's the priciest, most worthwhile perfume I could ever buy.
He reminds me to be humble in a way only horses can do. He reminds me kindness, quietness, understanding and gentleness should be first on everyone's list of "must dos" the moment they wake in the morning.
Despite the whirling world around me, my thumb is still green and I can still whisper to my horses. Everything else can just sit by the side and watch for awhile, because when I'm getting rich, dark earth beneath my fingernails or feeling my horse beneath my hands, my nose and my thighs, all is right in the world, at least for a little while.
I took Chief out for a short bareback hack last night, and it was SO nice. Just him and me, toddling along as that old Appy is wont to do. He doesn't go fast, and that's okay when I just want to get away and relax. The gentle back and forth, side to side motion of his body beneath mine is more relaxing than any high-priced massage could ever be. The smell of his horsiness and the sound of his hooves brushing through the grass are worth more to me than any diamond or sports car can ever be worth. The horse hairs stuck to my pants and shirt and in my hair and eyes are welcome additions to my hopelessly out-of-style wardrobe. The scent of his musky, sweat-sharp odor clings to me and it's the priciest, most worthwhile perfume I could ever buy.
He reminds me to be humble in a way only horses can do. He reminds me kindness, quietness, understanding and gentleness should be first on everyone's list of "must dos" the moment they wake in the morning.
Despite the whirling world around me, my thumb is still green and I can still whisper to my horses. Everything else can just sit by the side and watch for awhile, because when I'm getting rich, dark earth beneath my fingernails or feeling my horse beneath my hands, my nose and my thighs, all is right in the world, at least for a little while.
Friday, February 16, 2007
This and That
I'm gonna talk about snow for a minute, just because we have some. I love snow. I hate driving in snow. I love snow days. I hate the crusty black crap that freezes around the wheels of my car and make a horrible grinding noise when I turn. I love frosty breath on the chilled air. I hate frozen snot. I hate the ice on the front steps. I love the slick, crunchy snow on hill and beneath the sled. I love snowy nights because that means I can sit in front of the fireplace with my stack of flower/veggie catalogs and start dreaming about spring planting.
Mmm...spring! My yard/property is an empty canvas and I'm ready to fill it with a swath of flowers and veggies of every hue on the palette. I can't wait to get dirt beneath my fingernails and inhale that musty, rich aroma that comes from good earth when you cut into it.
Grapes, strawberries, apples, cherries and rhubarb are on the must-plant list this year. I can finally plant things that will be around for longer than one growing season! The plot I have planned for my veggie garden is the biggest yet, and I can't wait to fill it with all kinds of good stuff to eat, can and freeze. Perennial flowers and bushes taunt me from the colorful pages of my catalogs and I am SO tempted to just order one of each and plant them willy-nilly around the property, just so I can have them all! I can't decide, it's too hard.
I've been trolling eBay for a western saddle for Unruly because the adult saddles we have just aren't going to cut it. Her little legs barely reach around Chief's sides (he is shaped much like a big propane tank), much less all the way to the stirrups! So, I found a couple of cute ones and I think I'm going to go ahead and bid on a little red and black one I found. It's absolutely adorable and will match the black/silver bridle and halter Nana sent. So, cross your fingers I get in the last bid!
Mmm...spring! My yard/property is an empty canvas and I'm ready to fill it with a swath of flowers and veggies of every hue on the palette. I can't wait to get dirt beneath my fingernails and inhale that musty, rich aroma that comes from good earth when you cut into it.
Grapes, strawberries, apples, cherries and rhubarb are on the must-plant list this year. I can finally plant things that will be around for longer than one growing season! The plot I have planned for my veggie garden is the biggest yet, and I can't wait to fill it with all kinds of good stuff to eat, can and freeze. Perennial flowers and bushes taunt me from the colorful pages of my catalogs and I am SO tempted to just order one of each and plant them willy-nilly around the property, just so I can have them all! I can't decide, it's too hard.
I've been trolling eBay for a western saddle for Unruly because the adult saddles we have just aren't going to cut it. Her little legs barely reach around Chief's sides (he is shaped much like a big propane tank), much less all the way to the stirrups! So, I found a couple of cute ones and I think I'm going to go ahead and bid on a little red and black one I found. It's absolutely adorable and will match the black/silver bridle and halter Nana sent. So, cross your fingers I get in the last bid!
Tuesday, November 14, 2006
Trees coming out of my ears
They have begun arriving and as they arrive I panic because it's raining and muddy outside and I have to get the poor little things in the ground before the wither up and die.
I'm talking about my trees. Ten arrived on Thursday and managed to get most of them planted before noon. I had to go to the post office this morning and pick up the last eight of them but can not figure out how the hell I'm going to get them planted. It's dark by the time I get home and the ground is resembling soup more than dirt at this point. It just needs to stop raining and the sun needs to stay out just an hour longer. That's all I'm asking for. Is that too much?
Oh, and I need to get my wildflower meadow planted, too. But again, the mud, it complicates things. Damn mud.
Hubby and I went to see Monty Python's Spamalot musical Saturday afternoon with another couple. It was fantastic! It was the first musical he has seen, ever, in his whole life, and the first time he's ever been to the Fox Theatre, which is, in itself, a sight to awe even the most traveled theatre fan. I think I have him hooked on musicals. Bwahahaha! My evil plan to inject a little civility and culture into his Southern-raised self is working.
Next weekend it's off to see the stupid elephants and freak show clowns with the kiddos at the circus. Elephants stink, but I'll tolerant the reek for the trapeze artists and trained horses. It all balances out somehow.
I'm talking about my trees. Ten arrived on Thursday and managed to get most of them planted before noon. I had to go to the post office this morning and pick up the last eight of them but can not figure out how the hell I'm going to get them planted. It's dark by the time I get home and the ground is resembling soup more than dirt at this point. It just needs to stop raining and the sun needs to stay out just an hour longer. That's all I'm asking for. Is that too much?
Oh, and I need to get my wildflower meadow planted, too. But again, the mud, it complicates things. Damn mud.
Hubby and I went to see Monty Python's Spamalot musical Saturday afternoon with another couple. It was fantastic! It was the first musical he has seen, ever, in his whole life, and the first time he's ever been to the Fox Theatre, which is, in itself, a sight to awe even the most traveled theatre fan. I think I have him hooked on musicals. Bwahahaha! My evil plan to inject a little civility and culture into his Southern-raised self is working.
Next weekend it's off to see the stupid elephants and freak show clowns with the kiddos at the circus. Elephants stink, but I'll tolerant the reek for the trapeze artists and trained horses. It all balances out somehow.
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