Hackberry Trees, etc, #7

Goodness, I am neither a night owl nor an early mockingbird. Will be leaving in a jiff to take my daughter for the some tests where she will be put under for a short time. Kind of thing where you have to have a driver. Of course, no matter that she is 46, her mother is always near.

Careful on your journey, Charlie.

Sharon, what with moving furniture and then the book case and all the moving at the shop, there is no wonder you have strained your back. Take it from one who knows....slow down. You can injure you back very quickly and cause long term damage.
We don't need anymore back surgeries in the family.

Off to see the wizard....

Christi

Hope all goes well, Christi....wishing good thoughts for your daughter.

And safe trip to Charlie.

I'm OK...back needs exercise.

Took pictures of her innards by putting a camera down her esophagus. It was not good but exactly what the dr. expected. Will be more surgery in the upcoming weeks. sigh.

Back from cottage (Carol, Tim and myself closing it for the season).

Christi, sorry to hear about your daughter's problem. Glad you're there for her.
Thinking about her.

Sharon, hope your back is better. As Christi says, it's an important asset.
Even shins are too. Latter on mend. Just being very careful I don't hit it again.

A few pictures from Lake-of-Bays.

(1) Not all work.

Still relaxing.

Late sunlight on the water.

Just left the primordial parts the way they were.

One of my favorite jobs is trimming seedlings and the like to keep views down to the lake open. Unfortunately had to keep off the slopes this year.

Just heard that the Township has brought in regulations to control removing trees, as seen from the lake. Seems if you let seedlings get too large, you may have trouble being able to remove them later.

Also heard, you now even need a provincial license to put sand on the shore (beach: for children). Likely, the major real reason is raise money from dispensing licenses. Next they'll be selling pardons like the Medieval Church!

Just a bit too early for the maple colours this year. Saw individual trees beginning to turn colour as left.

MIL (91) has two acres of water front property with a house 3000 ft. She is so selfish that her rules to join her for even 2 hours turn everyone off so we don't go. DH went today to mow the yard as she has run off all the available yard crews. Sad but she is the same unhappy person I met in 1960...just older. Too bad we can't enjoy the place like you do, Charlie. It looks so peaceful.

Christi

missed you

Been a busy time, but when you have the time and inclination, go here to see the photos from our KY Round Up...sure was a lot of fun:

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1038443/

Missed you both, but Charlie, that is such a lovely place. Too bad when restrictions cut into what you love. And yes, there are usually ulterior motives.

Christi, I am so sorry you are still having trouble with that woman, that is such a tough situation, and you probably feel caught in the middle. No answers for that one.

Glad you came home all in one piece Charlie, worried about you and your shins.

Christi, ditto what Sharon said. MIL sounds a pain (as you say mostly to herself). Wasn't always plane sailing dealing with my MIL and cottage, but fortunately for us, MIL did have a very likeable side.

Needless to say, Christi, I'm really learning a lot of internet lingo from you!
e.g. MIL.

Great to see videos and all those pictures from KY Roundup, Sharon. It feels rather like being there. Lot of fun and good company. Love those hats and
pictures of all, especially of you. Think you're a prime mover. Must admit the camping video reminded me why I like reasonablly nice hotels!

I always stay in one of the condos, and they are really nice. Don't think I could do the camping thing either, Charlie, though there are those who do enjoy it.
It was fun.

I had to write an article tonight, and am running late, but it is so good to be back to this thread. I've missed our chats.

First day of Fall everybody.Autumnal Equinox
Its all down hill from now on

Oh Wow, you are back with us!!! Now maybe you can get some rest. Please show us your summer gardens, Joanne...we've missed you, and I bet they were beautiful.
Any new paintings?

Sharon, you are what we call "cute as a bug". That is intended as a very high compliment.
Not only are you talented in multiple areas but pretty as well with such class. sigh....as the other saying goes, "I am showing my age".

Charlie, when I first joined DG I had no idea what most people were talking about. Abreviations all over the place and I didn't know how to decipher any of them.

DH.....dear husband
DW....dear wife
MIL....mother-in-law
DD....dear daughter
DS....dear son
DGD..dear grand daughter
ROFL...rolling on floor laughing

There are probably many more but I can't think of them this early in the morning. Because of the lack of inflection people do a lot of things to try to indicate the emotion they intend. Oh, just had to teach Mike (DH) not to type in all caps as that is the same as shouting and very impolite.

With you and Sharon and many, many others it is easy to hear the happy lilt in your voice even on a black and white venue.

I'm guessing that most of this stems from texting on the cell phone, which I do not do and not interested in learning. I love the sound of the human voice. Actually, as a rule I love all human contact. When I am ill, mentally or physically, I totally withdraw and don't want anyone around me. While I have been very ill since we lost Aaron, I am slowly joining my beloved friends once again. Please know that Sharon and Charlie deserve much credit for my change.

God bless.

Christi

I'm on Garden Talk but not this thread.
I discovered Picasa and have many many collages.
I'll post three and the last 2 painting I did.

its hard to choose but I love the new Japanese Iris

.Fata Morganas and astilbes

ge, I haven't crossed your path until now. Glad to have found a new friend.

Christi

I am currently "watching" 43 forums

I am way too busy for that many.
here is the Fall Pears I just finished

Fall Pears is big
this one is 6x6 Birdhouse -morningglory

Beautiful....I have not painted in a while, usually that's a winter project for me. Now I see yours and want to paint again.

Thanks, Christi...I am just thankful I can keep on keeping on.
Later, my friends, I must get up to the shop.

Enjoy your day.

It has taken awhile to adjust but Mike retired 3 years ago Oct. 1st. At first we both continued in the stress mode and worked here like there was no tomorrow. Little by little we have shifted gears. He has only had a PC since mid-August and is learning. I consider that a big improvement and stimulates both of us and I am teaching and he is learning.
Keeps our minds going and our bodies rested. It has been raining here for almost 2 weeks. As of now it has gone to 17 1/2 inches and is still raining. Had two days respite and I nearly killed myself trying to catch up the garden. Yesterday he drove 75 miles to his mother's and mowed her two acre yard.

We stay busy.

Christi, 75 miles and back and 43 threads, etc., you certainly do stay busy!
Also, Sharon, with all your interests.
Enjoy working (as in retirement) myself, but not good at concentrating on many things at the same time.

Christi, may be showing my age myself, but it's feeling it that's the problem.
May be a bit difficult to ROFL. But guess you don't actually have to do it! Thanks for the list of internet abbreviations. Interesting about caps.

Nice collages ,Ge. Reminds me of June/July. As Sharon says, now's the start of fall. Where's the time gone? Nice paintings. One day I intend to join the two of you in painting. Love Japanese irises myself too. Find the Siberian ones are more vigorous, but tend to take up too much room in a perennial bed through the growing season.

Christi, those caterpillars have certainly disappeared. Was one good suggestion on the identification thread. Am sure there's a lot less info about moth caterpillars than butterfly ones.

Am totally confused by a phlox in our garden. Almost certain it is White Admiral, but after about ten years, it has suddenly turned a light pink this year (maybe the 'dirty magenta' of the wild form). The possible explanations I've just read don't fit. Going to read some more. Am very familiar with human genetics and plasticity during growth, but ignorant of plants. They really are much more confusing than humans. What the plants breeders do, or think they do, makes it even more confusing.

Our garden:
Heleniums (Sonnenwunder,Flammenspiel) and pink New England aster.

Helenium, New England asters and Clematis (The President).

Have a lot of fall monkshood.
Just beginning.

Have lots of Aster Alma Pötschke.

Find white wood aster a very useful plant.
(Just got some pink wood aster en route to cottage.)
Upper right: Frikart's aster (Also very useful plant:
this is Wünder von Stäffa). (Can't see any difference from Mönch, except shorter). Love the lavender blue and long bloom time.

Magenta and pink.
How could any gardener have not liked magenta?

Golly, Charlie you certainly have the magic touch. Those pictures are worthy of printing and framing. You should be proud.

Christi

Thanks Christi,

Have good seasonal growing conditions here and spend too much time at it!
Must say I'm not unhappy about November coming and an end to gardening
for the year. Love it, but need a break.

Big problem with winter here is ice. I like shovelling snow. It has some aspects of gardening, but there's none of the temperamentalism and lack of self-discipline of plants. Big problem with ice is the slipperiness. Very easy to fall and mobility is our main reason for going to Florida for a month in winter.

Is still a fair bit of garden work for October and earlier November, cutting stuff back, taking up stakes, cleaning up, weeding, dividing perennials and planting spring bulbs. The voles/mice really like crocuses and I have to replace many each year. In the past have had to also plant numbers of fall mums in September, but now don't need many as have built up the number of particularly asters in the three important gardens.

Saw on the news the flooding in Georgia and states around. Saw there was flooding in Kentucky. Hope Sharon not affected.

Charlie

I don't believe Sharon is in danger of the floods. She has been burning the candle at both ends and then from the middle lately. Benz Convertible has been keeping her busy too.

She is helping to do the displays in a re-sale shop for a friend and she is so good everything is flying off the manikins and they are yet to open. Just drop-bys. If you go to Parking Lot forum and the thread Blue Hats, ummmm Blue something, you will find a group of ladies (moi included) telling their secrets. hahahaha. Sharon is our leader.

DG is very large. I don't know how many forums, 200 maybe, with 200 threads running at any given time in each thread. I am currently watching 41 forums with very different interests. While Sharon and I are hard to beat, you might visit some others, lurking for awhile, and then jumping in. Over 750,000 members as of last Monday. Only 10% are paying members but that is great number to meet.

I mess around the tropicals a lot. I have a lot of tropicals in my yard even though I am smack dab in the middle of Texas. Florida's forum is very chatty and I have a lot of friends there.

This is a great place to be. With the things I have been through this last year, couldn't have made it without my DG friends. Many of whom I have met. By sometime in 2010, I will travel to Kentucky if the Lord wills it.

Since you go to Florida (where?), go meet Lourspolaire, Sylvain. He is a great guy. From Canada and lives in uhm, my memory is bad tonight. Anyway he is so funny. Trying to get him to come to Texas next Spring when IslandShari from the Marshall Islands visits. How's that for international friends. Have another sweetheart friend from the Australian forum...Chrissy. So smart and interesting. I feel so fortunate to know you and these others. God has been good to me.

Christi

Christi, appreciate all your valuable DG information.

Going to St Pete Beach in February.

DG people I'd like most to meet in person are, of course, Sharon and you!
You (and Mike!) and Sharon always have a place to stay up here.

Charlie

Burning the candle, yes....and are there only 2 ends, seems like more than that.

I have been helping to get a vintage resale shop opened, have been doing displays, yes....I decided about a month or so ago to stay in this town, though I debated it for awhile. I have been alone for 2 years, and most of that time was spent gardening or writing or doing some form of art. That sounds good, but it was all done at home. Sometimes I thought I really needed to get out and do something among people before I became a hermit. Or....perhaps I needed to just move away closer to my family. But my family is scattered, and so which one would I move closer to? And would moving really be the answer? Maybe the answer is right here.

So I thought about it awhile, and things started happening, my friend who owns the resale shop called to ask if I would help with displays when she moved into a new building....so I did that, and one thing lead to another and I have been going to estate sales, auctions, etc....and I am having a great time.

Then my convertible guy...well, that was another happening. He is an old friend, lives nearby, and his wife died quite suddenly about 5 years ago. We started meeting for coffee a time or two...mostly talking about our 'sudden deaths' we have in common...and our kids were all friends...then that led to the theatre, and I enjoyed his company and particularly his wonderful black Mercedes convertible.....who wouldn't.

But I was working so much and for so many hours, I didn't see him often...when suddenly he started fixing dinner for me every evening. Nobody has ever fixed dinner for me except my mother all those years ago...and he opens my car door...and he lets me drive his car....and he is a treasure. We are very good friends. And it's good to have someone to talk with at the end of the day. It's also good not to panic when the door knob falls off in my hand when I walk out the door, or when I need the furnace filter changed and can't reach far enough to do it myself. So he is a good friend and good company and a good conversationalist, and a terrific cook. And when he found that I don't eat red meat, he filled his freezer with fish and shrimp. What's not to like?

I did not do well being a hermit, and something had to change...now everything has changed, I am busy and I am happy and yes, a little bit tired, but no longer am I on the verge of becoming a hermit.

You know I am not good at doing nothing, so as long as I am able, I'll keep busy.
Now if I only had time to weed.....sigh.

Charlie, your gardens are gorgeous. I found a dahlia blooming happily yesterday...didn't even know I had a dahlia, but do remember planting a couple last year and they never did a thing. Suddenly one is blooming. And so is my goldenrod, and so is my bamboo. Nothing wonderful like you have, but even so, there is still some color in my gardens.

Here's the dahlia....don't even know its name.

And the goldenrod...our state flower...

And the bamboo....as usual, I don't know its name, but sure is pretty out there on the hill...


you all have a good evening, I'll talk with you tomorrow...
And thanks, Charlie, I'd love to meet you too, open invitation to you and Carol as well as Christi and Mike.

Wherever you go, there you are. God has a plan for you and it is beginning to open a new chapter. As they say, go with the flow and do not even try to control it. I love you.

Christi

Thanks, Christi, same back...
This is my calendar for today, had to send myself an e mail so I'd remember it:

10a.m., shop..3 displays
11:25, gallery
1 p.m., estate sale
2, Karen's house to see antique cabinet
4, shop... to see the Scentsy lady

Makes no sense, I know, but that's the e mail I had to send myself.
I need to dig out my daytimer....

And convertible guy says....what time do you want me to cook?

But I am no longer a hermit, that's a good thing.
You all have a great day...I'll see you when I see you.