Blessings on You, George Ballas

"Who is George Ballas?" you might ask.  If you already know, give yourself 100 Brownie Points. 

Mr. Ballas is my favorite person right now.  Why?  Because he invented the

Weed Eater

This morning, after I'd had my first cup of coffee, the temperature was 70 degrees.  Dry. Light breeze. A perfect morning for mowing the jungle that passes for my back yard.  It is bad, folks; really bad -- weeds knee-high in spots. 

Upon opening the shed door I immediately had to dodge some wasps who were busy creating their paper nest on the inside of the door frame. Did you know that wasps do not like WD-40? I couldn't find the can of wasp spray so I grabbed the WD-40 and gave them a spritz!  Voila!  Wasps gone!

I retrieved the gasoline container, filled the lawnmower, checked the oil, primed the carburetor, and pulled the starter cord -- and pulled the starter cord and pulled the starter cord.  Nada!  I think I need a new spark plug!

Now, when I'm in the mood to cut grass, I'm gonna cut grass!  Ta-Da!  Weed Eater to the rescue!  It's doing a more than passable job.

I spared this particular weed just long enough to get its photo. Amazingly, it was the only dandelion seed head I saw in the yard.

I'm writing this during a cool-down period.  Swinging that Weed-Eater makes me 'glow.'

I hope you're having a great weekend.

Tomorrow is also a day.

Bits and Pieces

I awoke early, after starting late and then staying up until after midnight pulling together the scriptures, Psalms and prayers for the service of Morning Prayer for today.  Morning Prayer is one of several Episcopal Church services at which trained lay persons may officiate.  At 10 a.m., I led the service at the church, with three retired women and myself in attendance; the small number of attendees is not unexpected for a weekday morning when almost everyone else is at work. I've taken on the joyful obligation of leading Morning Prayer every Thursday morning during our church season of Lent.

After the service, I took care of some other church business, then came home for lunch, leftovers from last night's Soup and Salad supper at church. I had made a big pot of chicken-rice soup for the occasion and brought the uneaten portion home with me - enough for three generous servings. I can make a meal out of soup and a few crackers.

About two o'clock, that pesky Wan'tu, about whom I wrote a few weeks ago, sprang into action again and forced Can'du out into the yard to work at getting the leaves out of the front flower beds.  It was quite warm, 77 degrees F, with bright sunshine, and Can'du got hot and quit working after just over an hour. She may have received a light sunburn on her face, even with that relatively short exposure.

While watching Can'du sweating away, I observed that the Hostas planted on the north side of the house have pushed up thick, spiky new growth, leaves still tightly furled, and the three Heucheras and a Black-eyed Susan planted in front of them are growing like crazy. All it takes is a few warm days to get things up-and-at-'em. I didn't think to take any photos of my own emerging plants, but perhaps I will do so tomorrow.  Just to keep things interesting, I'm sharing photos of Hosta and Heuchera from the Internet.

Hosta, at least two varieties

Heuchera Southern Comfort

the leaves on my plants are not this large yet

but my plants are the Southern Comfort variety and
I love this color!

After a period of rest and re-hydration, I busied myself paying bills, a dreaded but necessary chore. Most of my bill-paying is done online, so it's not as onerous a task as it could be, but it still takes time.

I'm ready to wash up and turn in.  Tomorrow is also a day.

The Sad Tale of Wań-tu and Cań-du

Image - Dover Clip Art

Wań-tu and Cań-du were born on the same day; not identical twins, but very much like each other.  Wań-tu grew quite rapidly while Cań-du took quite a bit longer to (as I've heard it said) "grow into her potential." However, in a few years Cań-du was, in her own way, as accomplished as her sister. Wań-tu, who was quite intelligent, was described as ‘Miss Heart and Brains’; Cań-du, more physically developed, was referred to as ‘The Strong One.’

During the first several decades of their lives, Wań-tu and Cań-du worked together with never a quarrel between them. Whatever activity Wań-tu could imagine, Cań-du would help her do it. They were a very successful team, and both of them were happy.

Then one warm Spring-like day -- a day quite like yesterday, in fact -- Wań-tu said, “The front yard looks very messy. In places, it is covered several inches deep with leaves that have fallen from our trees or have drifted into our yard on the wind.  Let’s get the blower, blow the leaves into piles, then rake them into bags. The yard will look so much better.”

Rather petutantly, Cań-du said, “I’m tired. My back is stiff. We're too old for this. The leaves will eventually rot or blow away. Why can't you just leave well enough alone?“

Wań-tu responded, “Our neighbors’ yards are neat and tidy. They have been raked and cleaned. Do you want them to think that we have become so old that we no longer care about the appearance of our home?”

Cań-du, who recently had become somewhat argumentative, said, “All right, all ready! You’ve shamed me into it. I’ll work for a while, but when I say ‘quit,’ I mean it.”

And so Wań-tu and Cań-du worked as one for almost two hours. They cleaned  the side yard, the flower beds, the walks and the driveway, using the air from the blower to push the leaves into big piles under the maple tree in the front yard.

Suddenly Cań-du, who was panting a bit, whose brow was sweaty and whose arms, knees, and back were aching, said, “That’s it! I’ve had all I can stand and I can’t stands no more.” (Lest the reader think that Cań-du doesn’t know how to speak properly, she was quoting Popeye, the Sailorman.)

Wań-tu said, “Don't stop now! We need just a few minutes more. Well, perhaps another half hour to forty-five minutes. We can do it!”

Stubbornly, Cań-du turned off the blowing machine, coiled the electric cord and carried both to the storage shed, leaving Wań-tu gnashing her teeth over an uncompleted task.

Cań-du just said, "Tomorrow is also a day."

~ The End

Even More Stuff and Junk

 

I was able to work in my yard for several hours last week, a sorely-needed task. The front yard, which I had mowed the week before, was still in pretty good condition, relatively speaking (it has its problems.)  Other than a light shower earlier this week, it hasn't rained for quite a while, and it's the time of year when grass slows its growth, anyway.


The back yard was another matter. I could have fed several head of livestock back there.  I've often thought that city living has its drawbacks, since a nice nanny goat would be of great assistance in keeping the area trimmed down.  It took two sessions, with resting between, to get it all trimmed and mowed, but it looks much better.  I noticed that in areas where the grass/weeds don't grow, the earth was like dust. When I finished mowing I got out the sprinkler and ran it in several areas long enough to put down at least a half-inch of water.  I hope my plants appreciate the impact that's going to have on my water bill.


Until the last few days or so, the hummingbird feeder in the back yard had been taken over by honey bees, which swarmed the openings in great numbers, several hundred at a time. They would completely drain the reservoir in a few hours. I was able to observe them closely without fear of attack; they were too busy feeding to pay me much attention. 

I don't mind feeding the bees; the hummingbirds that had been visiting have fled for more southern climes. I don't know why they "wussed" out after a few days of low temperatures in the high 30 degree range; if they'd waited a few days they could have experienced record-setting high temperatures for October -- eight or nine days in a row in which the high temperatures were in the 90's.  So much for Fall!

Due to lack of rainfall, there's not much color in the neighborhood trees.  There is a red-leafed dogwood a couple of doors down, but you can see from the photo above that the foliage has been stressed.  My own poor Japanese Maple is so tatty-looking, with brown, curled up leaf edges, that I haven't bothered to take any photos.  I've watered it many times over the summer, but the leaves have still suffered heat-shock.

A Thing of Beauty?

Self-Portrait : 09-24-10

I suffer again from respiratory discomfort - not yet to the "distress" level. This time, I think it's allergies, or a combination of germs and ragweed, but to be on the safe side, after self-medicating and staying in bed for a couple of days, I visited my physician yesterday afternoon.  $338 later, I had undergone an X-Ray of my sinuses (slightly infected), extensive blood analysis (I still have a bit left), a steroid injection and two prescriptions.  I'm still alive today, and feeling somewhat better, thanks be to God.

All that as it may be, I felt I  had to mow the raggedy front yard today.  It's supposed to rain a bit for the next few days, and I was sprinkled upon as I was bringing the mower into the back yard, which put an end to my mowing. Besides, I was ready to give it up; breathing through one of those Maxi-Masks can be hard work. 

As I think I may have mentioned in an earlier post, our city gub'ment is quick to send hateful letters to folk who let even one solitary patch of grass exceed 8" in  height, and threaten to come mow your property and send you a bill unless the "problem" is taken care of immediately.  I think I shall apply for a job in that department (the sussing out of unkempt yards, that is), as I have seen several yards in my vicinity in DIRE need of a good mow.  Those folk are either exempt from city harassment, or they just ignore the epistles.   I haven't seen any city workers out with their mowers on those properties.  Can we say "discriminatory practices?"  Or do the powers that be only send letters to the folks they know will comply, even if they're 100 years old with one foot in the grave?

30-30

Today I Mow,

Tomorrow, I rake.

The next day ... (fill in the blank)

For "Patty-stiltskins" is my name.

I worked in the yard this morning, mostly using the Weed Eater around the edges. I  did pull a few creeping weeds, and trimmed a couple of unruly vines. By 11:30, I was more like soggy toast than a human, so I came into the house to put a cold cloth on my head. My northern European genes have failed me, again.

As those of you who have read my blog for a while have learned, I am a daylily fancier. However, I may have to expand my repertoire of "plants I love" to include Bearded Iris.  Gardening Daughter brought me a few Iris rhizomes from last fall's Iris Society sale. We planted them in the front garden which she created for me.  The first to bloom was the beauty below; its name is known only to God and the grower. 

There is another one in bloom, but as luck would have it, as I was searching for a name on the one pictured above, I broke off the bloom.  There are a couple more buds on that plant, so I am hopeful that I can get a photo of it. It's a very, very pale rosy pink and the bloom is much smaller than the one that bloomed last week.

I have intentions of attending the Bearded Iris sale coming up this fall!

While I was toodling around in the day lily beds, I noticed that "H-14" (see last June's post, if you're interested, by clicking on the link) has two large flower spikes, and generally looks very healthy.  Hooray! I can hardly wait for that one to get large enough to divide; I can see a home for one of its offspring in the front garden.

In the next few days, I hope to post about my new venture: Hay Bale Gardening.

More later -- when I've cooled off!

Not Sick, Not Gone -- Been Doing Other Stuff

I haven't made any blog entries for some time, as you may (or may not) have noticed. My Arkansas sister called me night before last to admonish me. She alleged that if I had a grain of common courtesy in my system, I could have let people know what I was doing, instead of just disappearing. I apologize for my bad blogging manners.

I have been yardening (more below), and entertaining and feeding the wild life in my back yard (birds and squirrels.) My yard has been inundated with a variety of birds (I set a good table) most of which I can identify, but I need to get a bird book to be certain of others. I have several pairs/families of Cardinals; a flock of Blue Jays; too many Grackles and Starlings; cute Sparrows of various sorts; lots of Finches, plain and colored; at least one Tufted Titmouse; a Nuthatch; Brown Thrushes; Mourning and Collared Doves; Robins; and at least three individually identifiable hummingbirds.

And Squirrels!!! Too many to count! They are greedy pigs, and cause me to have to refill the feeders at least twice a day. One small individual I have named "BOB" because his tail is only about 3" long; no curl to it at all. He's really cute, but not having a balancing tail must be a real handicap. I have noticed that he is a ground feeder, and doesn't try to climb the shepherd's crooks to reach the feeders. I make sure to leave him something he can easily reach.

By the way... the raccoons that I wrote about last year are evidently still in the neighborhood, as I found some little foot prints in a newly raked flower bed a few days ago.

Now, as to the yardening: While not actually performing any work beyond weed-eating and mowing, picking up and bagging the not-wanted-bits from these efforts, (which is quite enough in this heat, even if one starts at dawn), I have been watching, managing and supervising those with stronger backs and constitutions, "those" being my gardening daughter and her 18 year old son. Progress has been spotty due to the overwhelming heat and humidity, but we (editorial, of course) eventually will get to the place we had in mind when all this started.

The first project was working at the northwest corner of my carport.

Before

A tatty mess consisting of an old forsythia bush (which has found a new home in someone else's garden), several volunteer oak trees that were not snatched out when they were of snatching size, tangled variegated vinca vines, a badly deteriorated "whiskey barrel" that used to contain more than grass and vinca, huge clumps of violets and other various and assorted volunteer weedy things. Some curb appeal, huh? Not!

After

A beautiful (I think) small bed containing purple fountain grass, Chocolate Joe Pye Weed (hiding in the far back left behind a tall basil), three varieties of basil, thyme, and four salvia plants, moved from a previous planting spot, plus assorted interesting stones.

The next, and more major project, was the brain-child of my daughter who was convinced that I needed a pathway from my driveway to the front door, with plantings on either side. It's a work still in progress. I don't have a purely "before" photo, but just imagine, if you will, solid grass. The photo below was taken during the initial removal of the grass.

First Stage

Second Stage

A lot of work was involved between First and Second Stages. After the grass was removed, daughter and grandson dug a shallow trench in which to lay the stones. Lots of trial and error in placing the stones, along with some chiseling of stones to make them fit "just so." I actually did participate in the spreading and tamping of the small stones to hold the blocks in place. I have to have some ownership in the process. :)

More soil will be removed on the sides of the walk so that when the planting is done, a heavy layer of mulch can be applied without running over the boundaries. The now dirt area will contain some evergreens, some day lilies just inside the border furthest from the house, and various other perennials. It's too late in the season to get any decent annuals, but I may be able to find some pots of flowers to add a bit of color until fall.

It will be a while before I have another progress report, since my labor force is going on vacation for a week. I'll try not to mess up their work while they are gone.

Hope everyone is staying cool and having a great summer.

More, later.

Happy, Arkansas Sister?

Labor Day - Post 70

Art from EdHelp.com

Since it was Labor Day yesterday, I decided I would labor, something I really don't do daily. How much physical energy I am able to exert on any given day depends on the weather and a whole list of conditions too tedious to post here. I usually work in the church office on Monday morning, but declared myself a holiday after checking my to-do list while at church on Sunday.

The stars must have been in some sort of favorable alignment yesterday, as I woke up 'wide-eyed and bushy tailed,' as it were, and ready to get with the program.

After a cursory glance at my favorite Internet sites and reading a few e-mail messages, I evicted myself from my office and got busy. First on my agenda was to clear out of my house the small mountain of stuff I've recently accumulated for recycling -- paper of all sorts, cardboard, metal cans, plastic containers, etc., most of which was (neatly) piled up in a corner of my kitchen. Why I let it accumulate in the house is easy for me to answer: sloth, one of the seven deadly sins, I believe.

I blush in shame to think that for years, I just put all this sort of stuff into the trash, and it ended up at the landfill (Mount Trashmore, about 4 miles south of town.) My landfill contribution is now down to about two medium sized garbage bags a month, plus used kitty litter, for which I've found no other solution.

I sorted, boxed and bagged and hauled it out to the bed and back seat of the pickup truck (which I'm using courtesy of my daughter, who couldn't take it to Okinawa with her) for a journey to the recycling center. It's still sitting there, of course; the center was closed yesterday and I am procrastinating about making the 5 mile trip. I probably have another truck load still lurking in nooks and crannies. Unfortunately, I am a pack rat when it comes to paper; I have an unreasonable(?) fear that if I throw something away I'm going to need it, desperately, within 24 hours, even if it's 10 years old! I need a refresher course in Records Retention.

Anyway; once that chore was done, it was time for general housework. After that, I took a break and went back to the computer (I'm addicted). While online, I checked the weather and learned that Tropical Depression Gustav was due to dump from three to five inches of rain on us during the next few days. Oh, no! That meant I must mow the lawn (front and back) NOW, or there would be hay-making conditions out there by the time it dried out enough to get the mower to it. So, out into the heat I went, sweat band around my brow (94 degrees, but overcast, and with a pretty good breeze, courtesy of Gustav.) Even in mid-day, I could see Gustav-related clouds beginning to gather.

Gustav is a-coming in!

I got all the yard work done in just under two hours. I had to take a few breathers along the way to re-hydrate, but the lawn is currently under control, and is getting a good watering today; it's been raining since before dawn.

In the right hand corner of my back yard, an area about 15 feet square, there is a veritable jungle growing! I used to have a compost pile there, next to the back fence, and from all appearances, it's very fertile soil. Blowing weed seeds, bird contributions, etc., have sprouted there and grown with a vengeance. I let that space get completely out of control the year I fractured my spine, and have just trimmed around the edges of it to keep the vines (blackberry and dewberry, and some unknown creepy thing) from taking over the entire yard. It needs a good dose of Round Up, methinks, or in the spring some pre-emergence herbicide (do they make that for home yards?)

My imagination sometimes runs amok. As I was mowing around the edges of the jungle, this photo op caught my eye:

Roman ruins! Right here in my own back yard!

I'll have to get my trusty excavation team (daughter and grandson) to help me move it. I think it would make a wonderful base for a bird bath, don't you? All I need is birdbath top to make it complete.

As I was constructing this post, my doorbell rang. Outside in the drizzle was my almost 4 year old granddaughter, with her parents. In her hands was a package, and on her face a gorgeous smile. "I have a present for you, Grandma!" My birthday is later this week, but daughter couldn't wait to gift me. At the urging of my dear granddaughter, I opened my gift -- a rain gauge and a thermometer combined on one post! A rain gauge is something I've wanted for some time but had not yet purchased, so I was delighted. My daughter and I put it in the garden in a position that will enable me to read it from my kitchen window (with a little help from my trusty mini-binoculars, if necessary). I even took my old camera out and snapped a picture; see the rain on it already?

That's more than enough for today! I'm ready to rest from my laborious Labor Day. I think I'll finish the Nevada Barr mystery I'm reading, Hard Truth.

Working in the Yard Again, & More Daylilies - Post 30

The Good Lord woke me this morning at least three hours before my usual getting-up time, and I actually got up instead of rolling over and catching a few more 'zzzzs.' It was not quite daylight, so I had a couple of cups of coffee and read email and blogs while I waited for good sunlight. It was cool this morning for a change. A front must have moved through last night. When I hit the back door, it was just over 70 degrees, with a nice breeze from the east; most pleasant! I didn't mind starting up the lawnmower and finishing the job I started yesterday morning (yes, I know; most folks can mow their yards in one episode, but remember that I'm an old lady, and it takes me two days!) Besides, I had to stop and smell the daylilies! I've had most of these lilies for over 15 years, and while I remember the names of a few, others I have completely forgotten.

At some point after I started acquiring daylilies, I had thought about engraving permanent markers for the clumps, but that idea got sidetracked somewhere and it just didn't happen. I remember "Dearest Love" and "Butterfly Kisses," and they are represented in the first two photos here.

When I was still active in my Personnel consulting business, I often traveled to El Dorado, an Arkansas city just north of the Louisiana state line. On one such visit, during the late Spring, I passed by a beautiful garden just smack dab full of gorgeous daylilies! I slowed almost to a standstill on the highway to ogle them, but had an appointment to keep and couldn't stop. As fate would have it, I had to return to that city the next week. Propped up against the front fence of the home with the daylily garden was a sign "Day Lilies for Sale." I made sure I left my client in time to stop by the garden to check it out before I headed back home.

Presiding over the sale was an older man, who was at that time about as old as I am now. He was most gracious in showing me all the lilies (which were clearly marked with their names) and told me that many of them had been hybridized by his wife, who had died some months before. He was in the process of selling the day lilies (almost 5 acres of them) and had put their home on the market, as well. Since the fans (as individual clumps of lilies are called) were not inexpensive (actually, they were pretty pricy for 15 years ago) I think I bought only two or three varieties at that visit, probably spending all the cash I had on my person. "Dearest Love" was a lily of his wife's creation, he told me, and I was very pleased to buy it.

I learned through the Internet today that "Butterfly Kisses" is a well-known variety, and one can find it for sale through various Daylily sites. Actually, I can't recall if I bought "Butterfly Kisses" in El Dorado or at another nearby daylily grower (not a hybridizer.)

I really thought I would have remembered the El Dorado hybridizer's name (I visited with her widower several more times during the course of that year), but for the life of me, I can't come up with it. I spent over an hour on the Internet this morning after taking the photos, looking at Arkansas Daylily hybridizer sites, but no names jumped out at me. I truly regret that I can't remember her name; her lilies are beautiful!

Perhaps her name will yet come back to me, or I'll find someone in the daylily world in Arkansas who remembers her; if so, I'll be sure to give her credit for the enjoyment I have received from looking at "Dearest Love" all these years. Its blooms are huge, and they grow on quite tall stems which lift the blooms above others in the same bed. It's difficult to tell from photographs without some reference point, but the bloom in the first photo is about 8" or 9" across. Other lilies pictured are somewhat smaller; "Butterfly Kisses" in my garden grow to about 6" across.

Last week, I had another photo of "Butterfly Kisses" along with a bright yellow "spider daylily," whose legal name has been lost to me. I call it "Aztec Warrior," because it just seems to suit it. It's *real* name is probably "Montezuma," or something similar, and the word association just stuck with me.

Whilst I was taking photos of my beauties, it became evident to me that I must-must-must! divide the lilies after they bloom. That means, of course, preparing new beds for them, and in the less-than-good soil I have, that's somewhat a problem. I shall probably move some of them to my front yard if I can find a sunny enough spot (I have trees, and not very much front yard to start with,) and give some to my green-thumb daughter.

I'll show some photos of my other currently blooming daylilies in another post, and I'm still waiting for my bright orange double-day-lilies to bloom. I saw some buds this morning, so it won't be too long.

Ta! I'm going back outside to run the Weed-Eater.