Hurrah, It Rained!

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It has been over a month since we've had any measurable rain here. The storms that have been rolling across the state have all broken up and slipped around us. It is very strange to be able to see the clouds completely surrounding you and rain falling only a few miles away, but look straight up and see bright, blue sky! Of course, they're measuring and reporting the rain totals at the cities that are those few miles away and when I hear them say we've had a good rain I want to shout, "Bullcrap! Maybe you did!"

I really, really shouldn't complain since last year was the 'year without a summer', but it seems as if the last ten years have either been feast or famine when it comes to the weather.

But, it finally rained yesterday! I was worried we'd get a deluge and it would just roll across the soil without soaking in because the ground was like cracked concrete, but it turned out rather well. We had a nice gentle start and a quick burst of downpour, then it quit. So, it was perfect for the next bout of rain that moved through a few hours later to be absorbed beautifully.

Surprisingly, with the exception of a few crispy edged leaves on the hostas, everything I didn't break down and water seems to have weathered the dry period rather well. The plants all look so perky and happy today!

Oh, and I think our corn grew at least a foot overnight. Well, so did the weeds (but we won't speak of it!). lol.

Happy (no more drought) Growing!

Who Knew?

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Some cool things going on this week...

From 35F and pictures of snow in my yard to 84F in the span of three days - Who knew!?
I'm soooo not complaining. It's gorgeous, it's about time, and we deserve it, damn it!

Airborne Adventures is already up and flyin' around our house for the season - Who knew!?


(I didn't get to the camera quick enough before it got away!)

Icicle Pansies really will overwinter in my crappy zone 5 - Who knew!?



Jumping spiders love graham crackers - Who knew!?
Apologies to the squeamish, I like spiders :)



And I didn't get a pic, but I held the first black swallowtail of the year. I think he may have recently emerged because the flight muscles weren't working so well yet and he was in an area where I'd thrown last fall's dead stalks of parsley and fennel. I never even remembered to check in the fall before I cleaned up! (this is why I usually leave my yard such a mess all winter) Sadly, he eventually took flight.
I have never seen Black Swallowtails this early in the year. The first of May? Really? - Who knew!?

Happy (who knew!?) Growing!
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Daff And Tulip Update

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Well, they're still confused.
Poor things.
Most of the daffs are thinking about it.



But the tulips are already way ahead.





Even the azaleas think it's time!



I hope this wackiness sorts itself out. And soon!

Happy (weirdo weather) Growing!
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What's Wrong With This Picture

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This is a very strange year so far.
My daffs are usually opening the very last of their buds when the tulips are still tightly closed and deciding whether it's time to open theirs.

Here is this years situation -
The daffodils are just barely beginning to open their buds:



And the tulips, who should be at least two to three weeks behind total bloom of the daffs, look like this:


I have never, ever had tulips this far along this early in the year. Certainly not trying to beat out the daff blooms! (See the hyacinth tucked in the tulip foliage? Not even thinking of sending up a bloom yet. Say what?)
Honestly, I don't blame the tulips for thinking it must be time. The weather has been complete wackiness for the last month, going from record 80's F temps back down to freezing every night for this coming week.
I think I'd be a tad confused myself.
I sure hope this wackiness doesn't continue through the summer. Three sucky growing years in a row would, well . . . suck!

Happy (bloomin' tulips!) Growing!
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Buried

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Here it is the 28th of February and I'm more than glad to see its backside slide out the door.
This heavy wet snow is awful and it's still falling. Roofs are collapsing.
I can't imagine how much this would have added up to if it was the fluffy stuff.

My Winter Sown jugs are under there . . . somewhere! I think I'll hold off on doing any more until some of this melts. At least they're nice and cozy three foot down.



Awww, he looks so forlorn -



That black spot behind the shrubs in the back left - that's our mailbox.



But, it does make for some pretty pictures. It's very quiet out there and kind of eerie.







How are things where you are?

Happy (think spring) Growing!
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Winter Robins & Icey Beauty

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I was rather jealous of Flighty when he posted about his robins on the 21st.
I hadn't seen mine since December and was missing them.

People think they're strictly summer birds that leave for warmer parts in fall and return come spring, but this isn't completely true.
Though solitary birds most of the time, those that choose to stay around for the winter, mostly juveniles, will flock together and show up periodically through the winter months.

Even though there were about 50 of them in my yard, I wasn't as lucky as Flighty to get a good closeup shot, but I did manage to click a couple of one of them,



until he noticed me.



They are shy birds most of the time, but I've found that in winter they are overly skittish. I don't blame them since it's a lot harder to hide in all this winter bareness.

Since I had the camera out and the sun peeked out for a few moments, I thought I'd take some pics of these beautiful sparkling gems . . .



(I don't know what happened when I took this one, but it looks cool)



This is my favorite-



Although I am terribly sick of all this snow (another 10 inches coming today) there is still so much beauty out there it might not be all that bad. Yeah, I'm fibbing - winter still stinks!

Happy (winter beauty) Growing!
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So Much Going On

Wow - long time no post.
Been very, very busy.

And my daughter found me a camera! I have a freaking camera!
Wooooohoooo! This is such a big deal for me. A really big deal.
I haven't figured out how to take the best pics with it yet, but I'm learning. Slow, but learning.
Why do they have to put a thousand bells and whistles on the damn things? I just want to point and shoot for pete sake.
Now I'll be posting tons of pics, the one thing I dislike about most blogs. Ack! lol.
:)

There is so much to update that I don't know where to start.

We had a freeze/frost last night. A frost on June 1. Urg!
We ran around covering and dragging pots inside last night. (Yes, I've completely, purposely forgotten about the post where I gave advice about not planting anything around here before June1. Shhh!) Hopefully, we are now home free as far as the weather goes. The record last freeze/frost date was June 7, 1889, so I think we're good.

Toms and peppers don't look so hot, but that's what I get for trying to push the growing season. Serves me right. They'll catch up and be fine, they always are.

We're a month or so into the hay bale planting. Here are a couple not-so-great pics. (hey, I said I was still learning.) Sorry about the monster size - I wish I could figure out how to resize and make them smaller. Something to mess with when I have more time.





I know you can't see the toms, but they're in there. I'll try to get some better pics later.

And here are some of my WS jugs. Yes, I know they should be in the ground already, but we've had really crappy cold and rainy weather so I haven't gotten all the flower beds where they need to be weeded yet. ~sigh~



I'll get there when the weather starts cooperating.

Our hummers are here feeding/chasing like crazy. I had a black swallow tail butterfly on my Lupines. Poor thing, it's so cold! And of course I took pics. This could turn into a real problem.

Hope everyone's gardens are sprouting like gangbusters!

Summer 2009 Will Be One Of The Warmest

And it won't stop there.

Or so says Met Office:

2009 is expected to be one of the top-five warmest years on record.
According to climate scientists at the Met Office and the University of East Anglia the global temperature is forecast to be more than 0.4 °C (.72F??) above the long-term average. This would make 2009 warmer than the year just gone and the warmest since 2005.
The updated decadal forecast indicates a rapid return of global temperature to the long-term warming trend, with an increasing probability of record temperatures after 2009.

I'm sitting at a forcasted minus 15F, so right now this 'warmth' sure sounds pretty good to me. Especially since last summer was a total bust for any warm weather veg growing. It was just too darn cold and wet. (the onions loved it) It rained almost every day! Rain is nice, but roots sitting in puddles and blasted by cold winds, not so good.

I was still sitting on the fence about ramping up on the amount of pepper and tomato plants this year, and even though I don't know how reliable this info is, this tidbit just shoved me over. Yeah, like I needed a push/excuse to sow more seeds! Tsk, tsk.

Time to plan for more of those warm weather crops in everyone's gardens?

The Big Dudes Make A Visit

Wow, the Weather Channel people are in town. I'm impressed!
Kind of gives a clue as to how bad our weather has been.
Power lines are down, schools are closed. (not my daughter's - she's not happy. lol)
The snow amounts only ranged from 5 to 12 inches, but it was that heavy, sticky stuff. That wind was the killer!
I don't want to see what's outside the window when the sun comes up.
This type of weather in October isn't totally unheard of, but it sure does suck!
We'll get to start all over again next week as it's suppose to hit 50 F on Friday, plummet for the weekend and back up to almost 60 F on Tuesday.
Back to our old CNY saying: If you don't like the weather, wait five minutes, it'll change.
:)

Limbo

What's going on -
nothing. We're stuck in some weirdo limbo.

We've had tornadoes, downpours, thunderstorms and snow flurries in the air (yes, snow) all within a few days.
My WS jugs are just sitting there doing nothing. I don't blame them. It's 37 degrees F right now and will only hover in the 40's F today.
This week is going to be total crap - cold, wind and rain. Nothing is really growing, more like biding their time. Even the cole crops have pretty much quit.
At this rate it will be July before I can get my veg hardened off enough to get them into the garden.
Nothing will get done this week . . . again.
Where the hell is May?

Over The Weekend

It's exactly 30 F outside. There is steam rising from the ponds this morning and I suppose there will be tomorrow morning also.

Not as much got done this weekend as I'd wished. Of course.

The hubs got some of the garden weeds rototilled in the veg garden.
They was gettin' big, Ma!
What the heck is it with plants you want and weeds. The one's you want have only grown to toddler stage and the weeds race ahead to teenage-dom. Hmmm, at the size of them, maybe even middle aged.
Most got cut down in their prime. Too bad for them!

Mother Nature needs a Prozac. We had a hot, dry April and now that it's May, were dipping into the 20's F at night and getting soaked. She really needs to level out her mood swings or something!

I got 2 flowerbeds weeded. Doesn't sound like a big whoop, but a true pain in the ass. The rock wall around the tree bed had to be completely torn apart and weed roots yanked from underneath.
I divided some Lamium clumps and threw them in the pockets of the rebuilt wall here and there. That's one plant I wouldn't mind spilling into the walkway. Lamium is a fab plant! It flowers from April until well after frost, has the cutest white and purple flowers, the bees love it, it will grow in deep shade and keep on trucking, the leaves are fabulous variations of frosted variegation and it's a peach to rip out if it decides to explore past it's boundaries. Choosing to use the white flowered type, or the variety with the brightest frosted leaves will brighten up a gloomy area with it's glow like nothing else.

Seriously, I think Lamium is one of the most underused plants ever!

That freaking creeping (insert whatever weed you can think of that creeps and makes you crazy) is a whole 'nother story. I've been ripping 'creepy' crap up by the handfuls.
~sigh~ sometimes living in the country has it's downside.

At the rate I'm having to go - I'll never get finished.

Transplanting

Yay!
The weather in this neck of the woods has finally broken. It's nice. And it looks as if it will be sticking around for a while.

I'm full of that excited feeling gardeners get when they can finally get their hands in the soil, and feet - and butt. The youngest planted a whole row of broccoli in the garden yesterday - on her butt. It's such a wonderful thing to know the soil is finally warm enough! :) It was fabulous to have her working in the dirt with me. She thinks it's no big deal, but to me, it's always the most joyful time with her I could ask for.

My plans to get all the cole crops in a week ahead of last year didn't quite make it, but 5 days is close enough.

Transplanted and sowed yesterday:

Broccoli
Cabbage
Cauliflower
Brussel Sprout
2 types of head lettuce
Radish seed
Carrot seed

No sign of the peas yet, but I'm betting they'll start making an appearance this week.

I wanted to get so much more done yesterday, but got stopped in my tracks by another migraine.

I finally scraped together enough to get a new pair of glasses and learned something very interesting about my migraines from the eye doctor yesterday.
My regular doctor hasn't bothered doing anything about them as his answer to everything that is wrong with me is simply because I smoke. "Quit smoking and it'll go away."
~sigh~
So, he has had the same answer all these years about my migraines - quit smoking and they'll magically disappear. Trust me - if it were that easy, I would have done it years and years ago. Hindsight.

Anyway, I haven't been able to get new glasses for six years and when the eye doctor checked, my glasses hadn't been adjusted for my more dominant right eye. The last time I got new glasses, I thought it would help with the headaches (because, when you're straining to see, you can get headaches). I simply figured it was because I was doing so many small crafts and straining my eyes for hours on end. But, getting the new glasses last time didn't make any difference in the amount of headaches I was experiencing.

This doctor (bless him!) says, "No wonder you're getting headaches. Your lenses aren't adjusted correctly for your dominant eye."
Huh?
So he explained to me what was going on with my eyes and said with the new glasses my migraines and headaches might ease up. He showed me the difference with those flippy-lensy things, and I swear, it was like looking at the world in a totally new way. Not just clearer - different.

I'm going to be so overjoyed and miffed at the same time if all these years it has simply been my glasses!
After I get the new ones and wear them for a few weeks, he wants me to call and let him know if it made a difference in the amount of migraines and headaches. I hope (for my sake and his) I can report positive results. He seemed pretty sure it would make a huge difference.

On a different note, I was a naughty girl.
When we went to the casino for our free bingo for the week, I swiped a begonia leaf from one of the displays they were yanking out.
Shhh! Nobody saw? Right? And it was just lying there!
Ok, the hubs just ignored me as nothing surprises him anymore when it comes to plants, but youngest son was mortified. I got the, "I sooo can not believe you just did that" look, followed closely with the eye-roll.
He has yet to discover how deep this 'plant obsession' of mine really goes. Wouldn't it have been much worse if I had picked up the whole plant, roots and all, and walked out with it rather than just a broken-off leaf? It was headed for the trash anyway.
Well, that's my story and I'm stickin'!

So the leaf got sliced and mounted on some potting soil and I'll see what happens. How bad can I really screw it up? If it doesn't work, it was worth the experiment. My Aunt D does it with hers all the time. Of course, she has a green thumb to die for. lol.

Oh, No...Slow Down!

Everything is popping up.
Here I was so anxious to see some growth, green of any kind.
Well, things are suddenly popping up everywhere after two days in the 60's.
Making an appearance:

Poppies (there are some coming up in a spot I don't remember planting them(surprise!) - anyone know which varieties have smooth edged leaves as apposed to ragged? No, they aren't prickers. lol)

Rhubarb (at least one lived!)

Peonies

Bleeding Heart

Delphinium

Martagon lily

Trout lily (I hope the Virginia Blue Bells, Mayapple and Jack-in-the-Pulpit that I bought with them made it. They were cheap, so who knows. No above-ground signs yet)

Lizard Tail

Chives

Clematis (three of them have large leaf buds)

Lupines

Spirea (also have leaf buds and I need to move them yet!)

Hollyhocks (have nice green leaves)

Weigela

Iris (showing new, green growth)

Daylily

Variegated Fountain Grass (WS'd last year - showing signs of green)

And, of course, there are tulip, hyacinth and dafs finally peeking up from the soil.

Poor things. Today is suppose to be the last day of decent weather before it all goes to hell - temps in the 20's, rain, snow, wind, you name it. Now I want everything to crawl back beneath the soil and wait for better weather. ~sigh~ 40 years of gardening and even though I know everything will be fine, I still worry about every single plant pulling through our crappy spring each year.

And It's...

...snowing.
Yes, the white crap is falling from the sky again.
Bummer.
It's suppose to get to almost 70 next week, so I'll bide my time and stare at seedlings on the plant stand. And repot. And prune. And transplant. And water. And fold more newspaper pots. And stare. Oh, and sow more seed.
I have a feeling this ridiculously long winter is only turning into an enabler for me.
Exactly where do I think I'm going to plant everything?

Enough Is Enough

Seriously.
It's suppose to drop to 8 degrees tonight, negative numbers to the north.
Argh!

Humans aren't the only ones being affected.

The dog puts one paw on the frozen, snow covered front steps and balks. Apparently, the crap on the ground will outweigh the need to pee every time. She's depressed. She wants to go out and play on some green grass. I know how she feels all balled up in a sighing lump on the floor after staring out the window all day and longing to be able to just find a stick under all that frozen white crap.

I've taken to calling my daughter's bunny (why do they never take animals with them when they move out?) 'Slug'. She's usually so chipper towards spring, but the fresh clover and tender, new grass shoot treats aren't coming at the usual prescribed time this year. She's a depressed bunny. I don't blame her.

And the Koi - just plain ole pissed. Sun - thaw - snow - frozen - sun - thaw. Uhrg!
I'd be pretty miffed if I were them too. I imagine they wonder if the Jap Beetle treats will ever show up this year. Even the Orfe are sluggish when around now is usually the time they're zipping through the water like mini torpedoes in a race for those first bugs of spring.

It's suppose to be 60's on April 1st. Yeah, a real April fools since it's suppose to drop right back down to crap after that. They're hinting at another snowstorm next weekend. The joke is on us.

Poke us all - humans and animals - with a fork, we're done.
Winter can just bite me!

That's What I Get

5 inches of snow on the way.
Yup, that's what I get for wishing some heat would move in, or that spring would at least peek in at us and say, "I'm coming", or that Old Man Winter would just go away already.
If wishes were horses...I'd have a herd living under 200 feet of snow.
Serves me right for drooling over everyone's burst of yellows, whites and purples sprawled across their blogs.
Ok, I get it. I've been not such a good girl in the jealousy area.
No, really. I get it.
So, no more wishing!

10 Degrees And Tomatoes

Yes, ten degrees. Ten freaking degrees on March 25th. We're suppose to be somewhere around mid forties during the day, but it ain't happenin'.
Global warming, my ass. Yeah, I wish my ass was warm. :)

On the bright side - the sun is shining. Is it a sign when the hubs asks, "What the hell is that strange, bright, shiny, orb thingy in the sky?" I luuurve the sun! Welcome back. (snow is coming but I'm ignoring the forecast - what I don't know, I don't know, ya know?)

The tomatoes are up. Yay!

Large Yellow (came from wintersown.org, so unknown but delicious - according to the fam)
Rutgers
Yellow Pear (some I received in '06. thanks Kim!)
Beefsteak
San Marzano (another thanks to Kim)
Ace 55
Large Red Cherry

Ok, so it's weird that I'm psyched over growing tomatoes and don't eat them because I don't like them. Shhh!

I still have to get the buckets washed out. Half will go to my Aunt D. Since her MS is progressing, she can't bend down anymore without falling over. If she sits, she can't get up. So, hopefully the buckets will raise the veg plants up enough that she won't have so much trouble, and if she'll turn one over to sit on (the woman can be so stubborn sometimes!) she should be able to stand back up a little easier without falling over.

The peppers I had to resow (thanks to that dern James Mouse) are germinating. I'm not too concerned. We still have 8 weeks to last frost and I usually don't put them in the ground until a week or two after that, just to be on the safe side. I received a packet of leftover seed last year from one very kind man and there were a few of Parks 'Whoppers' seed included. I tried germinating half of them last year but got nothing and assumed the seed were too old. I tried again with the rest this year and got 2 to germ! I'm excited to see what they'll do.

Everything seems to be doing pretty well. The Hungarian Wax already have little peppers on them. Very cool!

I'm suppose to be hardening off my onions as of April 1 to get in the ground sometime around the 8th. Not gonna happen unless we get some kind of freak heat wave soon. Hey - I can hope!

Can Peas Swim?

Well,
if they can't, I'm never going to get them planted.

Snow - rain - hail - rain - snow, and yes, it's raining again at a pretty decent clip but will turn back to snow tonight. There are a few school delays from icing. A quick glance at the forecasted temps for the week tells me things aren't going to warm up any time soon.

Carol is already sowing seed in the ground and we're in the same damn zone. That pretty much shows how zone really doesn't mean a darn thing except the average low temp - she's seeing spring everywhere and we're still staring at Old Man Winter. Planting times can be eons apart. No wonder so many new gardeners are confused!

Instability Showers

Say what?
We have so much different crap falling from the sky all the time that they have to start making up names for it. Instability showers? Ok, I'll believe it.
Hmmm...those must be instability weeds in my flowerbeds.
:)


*Holy cow, I just found out it's a real thing!

instability shower—See convective showers—convective showers—Episodes of convective precipitation falling in an area no more than about 10 km wide and for a time period of less than about one-half hour.

See, I really do learn something new every day.

Small Signs

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It's suppose to hit 40 today, so yay!
I took a walk around the yard and cleaned up the perennials. Not much showing yet. What do I expect - the ground is still frozen solid and I was walking through patches of ice and snow!

Anyway, there are a few small, and I'm talking tiny, signs that spring can't be too far away.
I was cutting back the mums and chopping up the dead stems (I chop everything into really tiny pieces and leave it to do its thing rather than shluff it to the compost) and low and behold - new green growth! Wahoo!

Both the regular and variegated thyme are looking fantastic. Here and there I can see the dafs, tulips and hyacinths peeking up. The 'fire witch' dianthus got heaved like crazy this winter! But it's looking very healthy. I even had a gloriosa daisy make it through the winter!

The sweet williams look half mush, half nice and healthy. The allysum by the pond has spread like nuts. (definitely not a problem). I cut back the sedum and they're showing signs of waking up.

The rose campion looked good all winter (of course) and this should be the year I'll see blooms.

Obviously, there's no action in my wintersown containers yet, but I don't expect to see any until next month at the earliest.

I got the buddleia cut back. I'm not sure what to do with the cuttings. I don't want to chop them onto the compost pile or I'll end up with a million sprouts, sure as anything. It's really pissing me off that the ground is frozen like a rock and I can't pull all those freaking weeds. They're everywhere!

I have a real mess of labels spread all over the beds to pick up, but I'm sure I'll be wandering back out there this afternoon to do some more cleaning. Who can resist when it finally hits 40? God, it's been a long winter!