We're under the gun until 3AM.
Tornado Watch at this point.
The storm is just reaching the Cincinnati area.
Heavy rains and we're just now starting to hear rumbling from the South.
Radar shows the main brunt of the storm w/ the violent weather is probably and hour away at least.
It appears to have lost a lot of power and to be tracking south of us.
All I anticipate here is a lot of water fast.
10 people are now confirmed dead in MS.
A long tracking 1/2-3/4 mile wide tornado.
If there is an up side to the strike it hit during daylight hours.
People were awake and aware so most got to shelter.
One this big.... if you are ground zero you are probably gone.
I've worked tornado rescue and being able to find survivors fast is key.
(At Xenia and Kettering we were working under lights.... dangerous and slow.)
So at least down there they injured got help fast.
Helped our son move a huge futon bed/couch down to the basement where he's living.
Man that thing was a beast! lol!
We also spent about 2 hours giving the owner garden design tips.
Lovely colonial farm house style home on about an acre of gently sloping land.
She should be able to really get a nice nice look out of this place!
Ric
April Showers/April Flowers (Part 4)
Hi guys! I'm posting a few pics from the garden...this is how it looks after weeding and digging.
Wall flowers.
Red tulips.
Pink tulip bud.
Pansies and tulips.
Pansies.
Giant pansy.
59° -
Details for Sunday, April 25
Showers and thundershowers likely, especially during the morning. A few storms may be severe. High 79F. Winds SSW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 60%.
Evening: Isolated thunderstorms this evening. Skies will become partly cloudy after midnight. A few storms may be severe early. Low 58F. Winds SW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 30%.
Currently dark & wet though the rain is mostly past. Will not have to worry about watering the new plants in the garden today.
The temporary "fix" on the shed (plastic and tape) appears to be holding, the work bench and contents dry.
51°. I had to take a flashlight out to dump the guages since more rain is headed our way. We had a grand totoal of 1- 8/10'' so far. It's raining again now. We didn't get our wind till last night, and had a heavy downpour after dark. We were watching "Little Big Man" and I couldn't get up and look without ruining the mood of the movie. What a great movie!
Dyson, looks like the Doctor put you on light work, (groan :o)
Cuckoo, looking out this morn, it looks like my hostas grew a foot overnight! WE needed this rain. The farmers didn't. They've been readying tractors all week.
Celia, I don't know on the sedum either, even with a close up. It does look lush!
Kiska, it will be exciting to know what he thinks of Iowa! What an adorable picture of the boys!
Marsue, it's better to be safe than sorry. A person can shop anytime. Gorgoeus gorgeous roses! They named those right!
Bernie, I love the iris! A Shreiner's catalog might give you a few names to chose from. Those look like the Lilliputs. Your tulips are saluting you :o) My neighbor gave me 6 or so tiny lilliput iris and I had to wait a good year to see what I had. I fell in love with them!
Dyson, your garden is well on it's way.
Ric, first, a big hug for being a rescue worker. Nothing could be more horrifying and rewarding at the same time. Bernie's tulips salute you too :o) Second, my first thought on bad weather is ''do I know anyone from there?" With the boys here, I don't see TV day or night, and didn't see any reports. It's too bad anyone died. How wonderful to give the house owner some tips.
Adina, I've always loved fresh turned dirt. It's a big, beautiful bed! I love wallflowers and had the orange once. They are iffy in my zone, so I haven't tried them again. Bright cheery tulips! I love the tulip close up! The pansies and tulips really make a statement!
Two pictures of the Half Moon bed.
The second
The peach blossom my computer wouldn't let me post the other day
One hosta bed
Slug bug yellow!
That's the only reason for this picture. I couldn't resist :o)
Bernie: your flowers are looking good!
Pepper: glad you didn't encounter any severe weather, either.
Ric: It's sad about the deaths in MS. I hope you didn't get any severe weather up your way last night. I'm sure you were helpful in sharing your knowledge with your son's landlady. She will surely benefit from your advice--if she follows your suggestions, that is.
Adina: love your wallflowers, pansies, tulips. What is going between the wooden forms between the flower beds and the patio?
Dyson: glad your shed stayed dry. It sounds like you have the makings of a good salad planted in your garden.
BP: I see the slug bug! LOL What kind of grass do you have in your yard? It is so lush and green looking. Our bermuda grass down here is just now beginning to turn green after being brown all winter. Your kind of grass probably wouldn't do well in our hot, humid summers. Your flower beds are looking good!
A lake wind advisory is in effect for our area until 8 p.m. (This wind will help dry out the wet spots in my yard from Friday's and Saturday's rain.)
# Today: Mostly sunny. High 76F. Winds W at 10 to 20 mph.
Dutch Iris "Purple Sensation" in full bloom
# Tonight: Some passing clouds. Low 53F. Winds WNW at 10 to 15 mph.
Beautiful Dutch Iris Marsue!
We mostly have Kentucky Bluegrass. It will go dormant, and gets pretty crispy if there's no rain in July and August. It's the grass I prefer. We've had a couple of nasty grasses that sneaked in from somewhere, along with the fine, and wide bladed fescues they throw in the seeds for shady and problem areas. I don't like them either.
One nastry is, I think, Bentgrass. It gets so thick and cusiony I have a hard time pushing a mower thru it. I should like it because it crowds out weeds, but I don't. I grubbed out a huge patch of it one year. Now I see it starting in a couple of places. It goes to a light yellowish tan color in early fall and is just starting to green up now. Ugly!
Gusty, windy, rainy, cool morning here in N.W. Missouri this morning. Things are pretty much a mud pit here........ Sounds like nothing compared to the tornado damages in the south....................Hope they get back on their feet with time. Always love everyone's great pictures on this thread.Adinamiti I love your Wall Flowers and their color. You have a nice flower garden. Say, billyporter What's with your slug picture ? I'm laughing at your slug but don't really know why??!!! Ha Ha!
Cuckoo
Cuckoo, the neighbors have a Volkswagon Beetle in their back yard :o)
Sally, your garden looks great! I can't see the yellow bug, but the pinetree is awesome!Oh, the peach blossom!
Mau, lovely irises! That is an alley around the house.
Ric, sorry to hear about the tornado and the people affected! So sad.
Dyson, don't overdo! You'll have lots of veggies this summer!
Bernie, great blooms!
Jackie, what a beautiful picture of your gsons!
It's cloudy and chilly outside. Here is the damaged apricot branch.
Adina
Sally, LOL! I see it now! I'm posting one of the plants similar to the one you dug a few days ago.
Cuckoo, thanks!
Though there was hail and heavy wind in southern Kentucky last night, the tornado watches did not escalate to warnings and all we got was just over an inch of rain. It is gorgeous this morning but more rain is forecast for later today and through the next two days, with much cooler weather.
Another picture of the resident dogs. Sweetie is a "chug" [chihuahua/pug]. All are rescues left at DD's vet clinic.
Here's Candy, a pit bull who was expecting when dumped, but has since been spayed. Her disposition is as sweet as her name.
Finally, Ms. Pup, the matriarch of the farm. She arrived more than 12 years ago, shot in the face and blinded in one eye. She is pretty frail now, no longer the leader of the group, but is a good girl. Last year she got disoriented and was gone 4 days before DH found her in a rising creek stuck in the mud with water nearly up to her muzzle. She was a mess when rescued, had to be shaved and de-maggoted, but is amazingly still alive.
Hi everyone! I'm back!! Thanks for the compliments of my pictures and flowers!!
I have more pics, before the storms and after the storms :*(
Mau I'll trade you! Also, to count the number of states bring up a google map, that's what I did! I didn't count the states where I just changed planes, that's why TX isn't in the list.
I don't remember which slide show I posted, so I'm going to post these two. The windshield is Dave's new one on his truck, he was parked in the driveway for about 2 hours and I had to take a pic of the pollen buildup on a brand new windshield after sitting for a couple of hours:
http://picasaweb.google.com/christinepix/20100423#
Here's my flowers after the storms:
http://picasaweb.google.com/christinepix/20100424#
Does anyone know the name of the purple/blue/yellow iris that's not bearded?
Here's what accuweather says so far about the storms yesterday:
http://www.accuweather.com/blogs/news/story/30773/reports-of-destructive-tornado.asp
From what I'm gathering from accuweather.com, there were two long tracking tornadoes, here's the first one:
http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&tab=wl
Here's the second:
http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&tab=wl
Accuweather.com seems to have more information than The Weather Channel does, accuweather has counted 54 tornadoes so far, The Weather Channel is up to 30.
Adina, your poor apricot. That looks like it hurts. Those are nice big leaves on your plant.
Sunfarm, you ended up with a great bunch of dogs. Our neighbor's white pit has a few brown spots. She is a sweetie too. Give Ms. Pup a careful hug from me. She's been thru too much.
Chrissy, I need to pull some weeds" as a caption cracked me up! Those are the wettest flowers! My heart goes out to those in the path of the tornado. I didn't know the extent of it.
Keeping all those hit by the tornado and bad weather in our thoughts today.
Sunny, breezy, 60º.
We got new plants yesterday. Holly, speedwell, heath, ice plant, shamrock, sweet woodruff...
...and Chamaecyparis obtusa 'Nana'.
Rainy all day today. 49º. Feels like winter! LOL!
Iris bed is really opening up.
Mowed some lawn yesterday afternoon. I planned on finishing today, not.
Pond is also on hold.
What does anybody use for a pump. A garden center place that specializes in ponds told me I needed a 2000 gallon per hour pump. They would have sold me a ready to go kit for $1000. Menards has a 2000 gallon pump for $89.
The kit had all kinds of chemical things & filters & high priced hose, etc. I already have the return hose installed. I'm not going to raise fish, just have water moving down the falls & stream.
Bernie
High in the low 60s with sprinkles off and on all day. My plants are loving this weather right now. lol
Refs being mean and keeping the players from fighting. LOL
Pepper, Thanks for not keeping all the rain and letting some of it come our way. It started here about 5PM and the temperature dropped ten degrees in less than 45 minutes. It has been a gentle rain, which I hope will continue for the next couple of days to help us make up our precipitation deficit.
You're welcome! LOL. It's pretty cool here too. Tomorrow our high will only be in the 50s.
Bernie are you planning on putting plants in the pond?
Keeping it going all winter or draining?
How many gallons?
If you are not raising fish you don't need as extensive a filter system.
You will have aquatic life but ammonia levels and such won't be an issue.
If you have fish they recommend a twice an hour water exchange.
W/o fish far far less but you don't want stagnate areas.
Nice little pack there Sunny!
Celia looks like you'll be busy this week!
Mau BEAUTIFUL Iris!
We just picked up a clump of light purple bearded that are at least 60 years old.
Heritage from the farm where we picked up our Beef today.
BIG Steer our 1/4 side was 140 pounds.
35 pounds heavier than last year but still super lean.
5 more pounds and it wouldn't have fit in our freezer!
We've had 1.5" of rain before today.
I'd say around another 1/2" dropped this afternoon.
Cooler and more rain tomorrow then back to above normal temps and sunny for the week.
Ric
46*F overcast- came so close to 50 yesterday and today-the snow is going quickly - not many areas of the yard have a foot of snow; there are patches of bare ground, enough to make my way to many places w/out getting a shoe full of snow.
Hope the tornadoes are finished; so sorry for the loss of life.
gdaughter's hockey days- (pink stick)
I think I am going to use a preformed tub for the bottom pond. The one I am looking at is 165 gallons.
There will be plants. Also goldfish. They are more fun than Koi. Don't need to feed them, they grow like crazy. Even reproduce!
Old pond had no pump at all. There was a small leak, so had to add water once a week.
We had some lily pads in there & other pond weeds.
Yes, Ric, busy, busy, busy!!! LOL
This message was edited Apr 25, 2010 11:31 PM
50° and Dyson Dark. There must be some clouds out there.
Celia, those are big, nice looking plants! Is your dirt acidic, for the heath? Oohhh, love Nana!
Bernie, we have a kid in town who is doing ponds as a business. He needed a pump for his own and didn't buy the expensive one from his dealer, but found a cheaper one somewhere else. I haven't talked to him this year, but sometimes cheap is too cheap. Your call.
Pepper, that's a pretty stern finger those boys are getting!
Ric, congrats on the historic iris. My favorite thing to get! I'm drooling and falling to my knees over your beef. It don't taste like the store!!
Kiska, my cousins daughter started hockey around 3 or 4. She's 16 now and is still playing. You have to admire these girls!
Bernie, the goldfish sound neat! I can't wait to watch them grow!
We cut the peach tree down yesterday. No blooms on it again and I'm tired of it wasting space. It really opened the sky up. For some reason my Dave's browse won't let me get a picture. It seems to happen after I've been moving pictures into folders and just started doing it the other day. Hmmm. Now later it will be fine.
Bernie the pump you need will be driven by how much water you want to move.
That's determined by what affect you're seeking.
Do you want a babbling brook, creek bed, white water rafting?
How high will you waterfall be?
Column height (how far up) figures into the GPM you need.
I think something in a 700-1000 GPM rating is about what you need.
That will give you the option to 'T' side water lines off to allow good water movement in the pond part also.
Tetra, Little Giant, Pondmaster all make mag pumps in this size.
They do though need a debris filter of some sort or you'll be cleaning them out a lot.
We just drop them in the leg from a pair of pantyhose.
Cost will be about 100 bucks.
http://www.bestnest.com/bestnest/pond-pumps-large.asp
(They are local for us but usually have free shipping)
A good option are the direct drive pumps.
Think sump pump. If you have access to one of them.....
They are killer. Try to find one though that is either made for ponds or continuous operation.
Usually at the high end of the GPM for your application.
I'm sure Joey has some favs.
Rain has stopped. Cool the next few days.
Ric
38*F overcast.
CG~the pond project will be beautiful; what fun to see the planning coming together.
bp~Palmer's "hockey" girl, Kerrie Wieland, played in the Olympics this year. You just never know where it will take them.
KY Sally: great rescue dogs! How nice that you gave them a good home!
Celia: lots of good buys there. Don't overdo while you are planting them.
BP; bye-bye peach tree!
Ric: "white water rafting" on Bernie's pond! ROFLOL
A lovely day here yesterday and another one in progress today. Highs in the low 70's.
Friday and Zach, my DGS, had a good time playing with the remote control helicopter. Friday tried to catch it but he was unsuccessful! LOL
Ric, I love the options you're willing to work with Bernie on, on the pond :o)
Kiska, how true. Her coach is looking into a scholarship for starters.
Marsue, that's the best toy for both to enjoy. I'll bet there was a lot of laughter!
Peach Tree coming down!
