Accessible Gardening: #20 Practical Matters for Physically Challenged Gardeners, 2 by Agavegirl1

Agavegirl1 wrote:
Hi gang, :D
I'm back! Duct tape worked. Mainly because the only time I took it off was to talk to friends that called (LOL) ! Heard from a friend in CA, one in GA (best one of 26 years), my neighbor who is back after almost a month of vacation stopped over with a card and a pie she baked for us! My former neighbor whose cat we were caring for was back from her vacation and she called. Both my brother and mother called from OH. My SIL called also but she wasn't in when I tried to reach her. WOW!!

Things have resumed to normalcy in the household between DH and I. We had a very amiable chat about a particular irksome habit. I, however, in my infinite state of enlightenment and perfection have no irritating traits or bad habits! All in all we had a good day and enjoyed ourselves. :D

Also our next door neighbor stopped over and let us know they bought the house now instead of renting it so they will be our 'permanent' neighbors. Nice! I really like them. Young couple. She has 2 kids, he has 1 so they'll make a nice family. Kids are young and absolutely love me. Why? I'm not a 'kid' person. Former neighborhood the people across the street had 4 kids and they loved me too. Why? I'm not a 'kid' person. Maybe it's because I treat, talk to, and interact with children exactly as if they were "little" adults and not brain damaged infantilized individuals incapable of conversing and interacting appropriately?

My current neighbor's kids are fascinated with my plants and yard and come visit me when I garden. I give them a little "tour" every now and then and show them the cacti and Agaves. Teach them what can/can't be touched.
Uhm...kind of amusing, despite our previous educational tour of my yard, one found out the hard way when I was inside. Heard the yelping and subsequent crying...heh..heh..heh. Well, you just don't come into people's yards when they tell you not to unless they're out there!
I know they're a kid BUT they are old enough to know that. They are also old enough to "see" and "know" 4 inch needles are sharp and hurt! Typical kid...cried 10 seconds then stopped and went to go play with his sister in THEIR yard.

Also so much for my gardening projects yesterday (* eye roll...grimace*) Did have a few absolutely crucial things to get done. They didn't. Looks like today or without a doubt tomorrow! Just has to get done!

We all know the phrase "Be careful of what you wish for you just may get it." Well, my current neighbor (Shirley..not with the kids) brought over along with the pie and card two really, big cuttings of prickly pear pads. I had admired her plant and she knew DH always kept saying he wanted one like it. Well, her daughters (that I managed to unload some of my Century Plant pups onto ) were nice enough to return the favor.

Remember the P.Pear vs. automobile picture?
Yeah. The pads are that big! Shirley got two BIG branches from one of her daughter's P.Pear and brought them over. Gee. Thanks.
Now I have to figure out where to plant something in my front yard that grows fast and will become the size of a minivan! Need to move some plants around....again! (smack forehead, groan). I'd need a raised bed the size of the Great Wall of China to retain that thing. It is definitely getting planted in the ground out front!
Let's see...move some plants out of the way, fill in those holes. Dig new holes to put them in.
Dig another huge hole for P. Pear; try to stabilize this thing with one hand while I replace the soil in the hole with my other hand, cuss and swear....GRRRRRRR! Oh and DH, bless his little heart was nice enough to "surprise" me with 2 new cacti also. Gee. Thanks. Cut flowers that DIE in 2 weeks and go IN the garbage would have been equally appreciated. :D
And he wonders why the amount of potted plants wintering on the covered patio keeps increasing while the patio table gets pushed farther out into the sun. Beats me.
(And no we do not expose our precious babies to too much sun. It is still 103-96 degrees! The little sweeties need partial shade!).

Ahhh...if only this little Agave had dying, funky tomatoes (that go IN the garbage) and Tobacco worms (that go IN the garbage) to worry about.

Oh Jim and company,
Latex surgical gloves like at the doctors office. You can get a box real cheap on line. Some drug stores even have them. (get pre-powdered; or use some talcum powder before putting them on.). That should take care of the worm creepies and you can work efficiently.

By the way absolutely loved the scarecrow. Husband was ROFL when I showed him. Is it facing your neighbors? Should be. Also liked what you told them about your flower beds. Me being me would have said, "Yes. It's been very convenient having it so close to home." (*grin*) I know. I'm just not right in the head! Hey...I can HONESTLY say I fell on it one too many times (LOL)

Bets,
Did you ever think that maybe the landscape truck comes around because the guys are checking you out rather than your yard? Men have to work up the nerve to ask you out. Maybe by making frequent appearances he's trying to start up a conversation. Hmmm....
Never know. Couldn't figure out for the longest time when I was single why DH always got his mail the same time I did and we just happened to keep meeting at the mailbox almost every day! He got off work earlier than I. He told me he knew about when I got home so he used to peek out the window to see when I started walking towards the box! (LOL). Try a little tolerance. Mom always said, "You catch more flies with honey than you do with vinegar!"

As for the big boss I think I would have told her that you're planting tomatoes to help feed some of the people in your little local community there and was going to distribute some. Oh, and she can have some too because they're high in antioxidants and good for weight loss; you can put them in salads. :D Nasty, rude, cow! (Her, not you).

As for flue shots I avoid them. Every time I got one I got sick for 2 weeks, fever over 101 and needed antibiotics and wound up with a Drs. bill! I start living off of Airborne, handfuls of vitamins, up my C vitamins, eat more red, yellow and orange bell peppers (they have 3xs as much vitamin C as an orange!) and avoid kids as much as possible.
Not because I'm "not a kid person" but because they're little germ factories. Let's face it kids don't always have the best hygiene or are good about washing hands and not eating off of their friends forks, or chewing on pencils. They pass notes, touch everything in school a million other people have touched, sit on a bus with 50 other kids, etc. After flu season I resume contact with these little alien beings.
Also I am a fan of anything household product with the word "Lysol" on it and keep wipes in my purse less I have to use public carts, open public bathroom doors, etc. Haven't had the flu or a major cold that had me down feeling yucky more than a few days in 3 years! (I probably just jinxed myself.)
Hot tea, tea, tea once Fall comes. Flush the old body fluids and put new good ones in sick or not!

O.K. everyone. As promised here are some blooms.
Have a great day. Peace. Out.
TTC.

Pics #1 & 2... my neighbor's barrel cactus.
Pic #3...the afore mention 2 cacti Dave got me. The one is ready to bloom (probably today or tomorrow). All excited because it has about 3 possibly 4 more buds on it. :D
Pic #4...An Aloe ferox. Many of the Aloes are flowering right now.
Pic #5...A hedgehog cactus.

Oh, song for the day is, "I Can See Clearly Now" by Johnny Nash.
Such a fabulous song I never tire of. Always puts me in an even better mood than I am.