What's happening in your neck of the woods..with friends!

I bought a few castor bean plants last year..they were lovely, saved the seed and as usual I decided to put my box (I mean a big/big box) of all the seed I saved from my plants away for safe keeping, have been looking EVERYWHERE and everycorner and no can find...only place I didn't look was outside back shed, can't see I'd have stored them there because of the cold but perhaps I did...maybe I'll go on a hunt tonight..

You made me think Jen of that commercial you see on t.v. where the neighbor says, 'can I store my grass seed here' then he adds, 'on your lawn'...lol...

ya thats so my hubby... he gives the neighbors tips all the time

I asked for rain and rain we have..torrential rain, can barely see the road from here...ooooh can see those plants standing tall drinking it all up..

Another nice day for gardening i.e. not too hot! Finished planting some annuals, tired of having them sitting around. Still have a couple of big corners to tackle, cutting tree suckers and weeding behind the Mugo Pine and under Therese B. Fun that one!

Betty: I got a shelf unit for the fabric this morning and very pleased. I have a couple of similar much smaller ones, metal, open shelves, pretty sturdy, besides on sale at Cdn Tire- $30 off! Not hard to take. Just finished putting it together and stacking fabric and it is perfect. Shelves are 18 by 36 so hold lengths of fabric just right!

Back has been painful all day - need to swallow another handful of Ibuprofin before bed!

No coffee tomorrow AM - fasting blood at 745am! AT least one can make appointments now so dont have to wait around for hours as a walk in.

Carol, looks as though you've been organizing...think we shop in same shop..lol..see lot of Fabricland prints! That certainly does the trick..love going to Canadian Tire early Friday mornings just to see the special of the week..great buys..me thinks you have been working far too hard and that's the reason for the painful day..yes?

Rained all afternoon and most of the night, ground sure did take it in..more to come today and of course all daySaturday..we asked/we got! hopefully we'll see everything turn that bright green again..

If it weren't for being short staffed today, think I'd call in sick..not up to par, been up all night...no fun!

Furries and I want to be fed, gab later

As always ... everyone here is busy busy ^_^

Jen, feel bad for your hubby and the canoe trip, but, nothing enjoyable about BUGS or BEARS .. the skeeters here ALL DAY, not just early morning and evening anymore, make sitting outside a dicey proposition, and I so detest the bug sprays, but, whatcha gonna do ...

Physio went ACES yesterday .. Lorna has now 'graduated' to one of those 'cushy' 4 wheeled walkers .. she jokes that she's become a 'member of the seniors brigade', but BOY O BOY she says she can sure see why they are so popular with the seniors. She can only use the walker while wearing her prosthesis, but, it enables her to stop and sit down and rest if we were to try to go for a walk and outrun the mosquitoes LoL

Swimming today ... looking forward to it as we have been on the go all week.
Tomorrow .. well .. I find out if I have overcome my absolute panic re having dental work done .. this will be my first appt following the one in April that I about lost it .. fingers crossed !!!! Have 2 to 3 more appts all to replace old fillings.

Another DRY day here .. cool at the moment. The gardens are slowly starting to show off .. the perennial Blue Salvia is gorgeous .. with temps down to 40F each night, there's not much growing going on.

Take care

~M~

Betty Fabricland is about the only place available he for that sort of fabric - it is all denm and fleece for dog beds. The fleece is readaly available on sale, the denim not and usually I look for the poly fill when on 50% sale byt a friend just passed on that huge roll to me - it came with her quilting machine a few years ago. Good score for me- ot is the polyfill that is expensive as I buy the heavy weight and it is doubled at least!

I have scoliosis and it is very gradually increasing and that is why I am starting to have more and more back problems- I just gobble Ibuprofen and it helps a lot.

Off for fasting blood work then home to walk the dogs and go pick up the PowerPoint projector at the Hort Society- I am giving a talk at noon to a group of retired bank employess - assisted gardening - sure what I need!

Light rain at the moment, dont know what the weather holds.

Enough of lurking.I tell you what I've been doing.I too had to fast and have blood work at 8:45AMWe have had heavy rain yesterday so when the sun came out for a while I went out to inspect my garden.The red lily beetles are back so that called for immediate action..had to spray them all again.My balance is bad so by the time I finished I was tired out.The garden is very lush and green.Not a lot of bloom yet..Perhaps I'll have some pictures for you later.
You girls are leading such busy and productive lives.You have my admiration....wish I could still be as busy and active as you. JOY

Well it has been pleasant out this morning and I started to get the veggie garden planted and then a neighbor dropped by and we chatted and now I have to get cleaned up and go have an Echocardiogram! Maybe get some more seeds in when I come home.

Here are some pictures of my precious garden.Am I allowed to post pictures of my garden or is this a talk thread ? Let me know your pleasure.Joy

And another...a picture of my pond

These are first roses to bloom.They started at the end of May.Usually we don't have roses here until the end of June o early July

A beautiful FUNGI I'm not sure if it's a mushroom so We won't have for supper.

Lovely garden Aged!

We had a down poor tonight at 9pm so much rain that our sewer backed up.. Not the first time this has happened... Lucky our basement isn't finished.. Nor do we ever thing it will be since this happens every spring... So tomorrow I'm bleaching the floors, well I'll have to wash them a few times then hubby can bleach them since I cant be around that...

My feet are getting bigger and bigger by the day.. Someone told me if you drink alot of milk they go down.. Had an ice cream cone last night before bed and woke up to the way they looked before i was prego.. They were so nice looking for about an hour then like a puffer fish, they ballooned right up... So weather it was the ice cream or not it doesnt seem to last..

Talked to my manager and my 8 hour shifts seem to be coming to and end, I just cant do them anymore, so i'll stick the the 4 hour shifts.. I just feel bad cause when i work with someone they have to work a bit more, cause I just cant do want i use to.. I work in a retail clothing store, in case i never said that..

well i would love to add more but I just have to go sit with my feet up and theres no where for me to do that here so, off to tv land

jen

JOY!!! Loved the pics of your lovely garden, most especially your POND ^_^
Have wanted to do one here, but, am a bit reluctant because of the wildlife here bouts, mostly the bears .... course, I do not HAVE to put fish in it !!

I am everso HAPPY to say that I made it through my dental appt .. it was just to replace a filing, but, as I simply despise anything hovering over my face, it's a major task for me, never used to be .. guess when you get to be over 50 things change in that dept ~~
Have a 9am hair appt today .. finally going to get my hair cut short (ish) .. have NO time to fuss with it these days.

RAIN RAIN STAY !! We had a 4 hour downpour yesterday, and it looks like perhaps more today .. YAHOO !!! Have SO wanted to have a bonfire in the firepit or Chimenea ...

No doubt a dump run is on todays agenda as well as more gardening as we can do it ... looking ahead to next week makes me shudder .. so much to get accomplished !!

Enjoy your day ^_^

~M~

Hello there, brrrr talk about cold this morning, Ann (friend who just moved up permanantly to the cottage had a few things to put in a garage sale, seeing as my street was having one and I didn't or couldn't part with my treasures we did her things...considering the weather she did ok..

Last weekend a/c was on, today I've the furnace on..trying to get the dehumidifier going and talk about noisy, guess it's time I go purchase a new one, should check Canadian Tire flyer...

Am so hoping that tomorrow morning it doesn't rain, no fun doing the 'Kyle's Ride for the Cure' in pouring rain..lordy just got out of a boiling bath and still cold so would hate to be riding in the rain tomorrow...

Joy, absolutely love your gardens...is that a blue hosta? saw some at the nursery and was going to pick one up on Friday, picked up a few other things and forgot about it...you must spend mega time in that garden...greens are spectacular...all I can say is 'wow'

Just love the different green colors, and look at your lovely pond...

"M" you must have one, I don't put fish in mine..but I so enjoy the sound of water movement..

"M" only good thing about having false teeth (o.k. I confessed) since I was 17 and my body shut down and teeth fell out is that I don't miss dentists and anyone working on my teeth..I've done well, 2nd pair in let me see , just over 40 years...doubt there will be a 3rd. pair..lol..

Jen, you are nearing the end of your pregnancy am sure you boss can understand that...keep close eye on the swelling though...

Just called mom and no answer, called the cottage and no answer so will continue to track her down..know on Friday her count was still terrible and she had to have another shot in the stomach..maybe Jim took her out for a ride as she was getting depressed being in the house and unable to go or do much...blood cloths aren't something to play with...

Imagine, been in my jammies since 3..shucks when you get up at 5 you almost think by mid afternoon that it should be bedtime..neighbor came over to borrow the lawnmower and asked if I was ill, nope, just cold and lazy ...

Hope you've had sunshine in your neck of the woods...

a friend of mine hes a pharmacist and he said watch if you push on your swelling and it stays down for a bit thats a bad sign.. other then that alot of people swell.. I go to the doctors on wed.. Ya my boss keeps telling me to sit for a few min, but i dont think i would ever want to get back up lol... I only have 1 8 hour shift this week and if i want to another girl said she would take half for me...

Betty I really don't do much in my garden now.I'm 81 and have a balance problem.I have gardeners who have done the cleanup spring and Fall.My garden is nearly all perennial.Only a few of the containers are annual.My DGD helps me in between. I really can't remember the names of most of my plants. The gardeners Cleaned the the labels really well!! They are all NOIDSI I do enjoy my garden and my pond. I put in fish and have a heater for them in the winter.Just when they get to be a good meal size the raccoon gets them If they are smart they hide under the water lilies-My pond is the neighborhood watering hole. The birds and animals come for a drink...It keeps life interesting.JOY

Quick question ... what's the name of that vine some of you used as 'filler' in your baskets/urns .. was it Sweet Potato vine ? A pretty light green colour ....

~M~

M Yes!

Yes, potato vine, you can get the maroon/chocolate brown one or the bright green...really looks spectacular when grown..

Just got back from the 'Kyle Bike for the Cure' ride...15kl. is a lot when you don't bike a lot, yawning her, hot bath, jammies will certainly be the call of the evening..

Kyle raised $2,900 (last year I believe it was just over $3,000)..you could see he was disappointed to not have beaten last year's amount..

No sooner did we all get to Greg's did great grandma appear with envelopes...she had raised $$$ to reach the $3,000 and then a few calls came in with pledges, Kyle had beaten last year's total...such a quiet boy..representative from the Cancer Society said we'd have to work on Kyle for next year so he could be more talkative....hmmm she sure doesn't know when strangers aren't around you can't keep him quiet..

All and all, after our day bike riding I AM tired...it was heavy rain and high winds all night and well up to 10:00 a.m. - disappointing to say the least, as 11:00 am came, the sun came out and it was a beautiful day for a 15 kl. bike run..

Joy, doesn't matter who does the maintenance, you've got a spectacular garden...what kills my fishies are the blue herons, so don't put any in the pond anymore...you are much like me Joy, I enjoy walking the gardens, trying to name pretties but I know very few of their names! I just enjoy planting, watching them grow, that's about all the knowledge I want or can mentally remember..

Jen, just keep telling yourself, only weeks left working and then you'll be home with that little one..

Betty I know all the names just don't know the cultivars.We have hd two days and night of pouring rain.My son has two sail boats in the yard and at this rate we may need to use them.LOL

Thanks a bunch re the 'Sweet Potatoe Vine', am THINKING I might go and buy some flats of annuals to do my pots today and remembered how nice that vine looked in a pic from someones garden last year ^_^

The reason I am just 'THINKING' about the purchase is because the temps get down pretty low here. NO frost, but +5C and sometimes a tad cooler makes for brisk mornings.

That half day of rain Thunder Bay received has 'greened up' most everything .. could use an equal amount for the benefit of the wells out in the country.

Everyone ENJOY your week ^_^

~M~

"M" just listening to the weather, says the front that's moving in has a cold side and warm side...warm side you get and cold I get..yikes we wanted rain and we sure got it..from the looks of the upcoming week we're heading once again to a summer of rain filled weekends..wonder if I can change my weekend to Monday-Tuesday and work weekends...

Girls are coming to paint this morning, just put the micro furnace on for them as it's damp in the studio...was it only last weekend I had the a/c on for them..crazy weather...

Potato vine seems to do well on the colder nights ..

Good luck with those planters...

Joy, do you enjoy sailing as well? Guess your son sails on the ocean???

I have the Foxy Lady still in my yard, was drydocked for the winter..am hoping if the weather co-operates Greg will come and get it onto a trailer this weekend...

Wanted a coffee for my travelling to work, don't you just love it when you make the coffee and the milk is sour..must get into purchasing smaller amounts, these 3 bags you get are cheaper but more expensive in the long run, by the time with my living on my own that I get to the end of the 2nd or into the 3rd. it's sour...so off to local restaurant for my coffee, heading into work hoping to have enough time for Canada Tire...

Enjoy your day everyone..

Betty the sun keeps peeking out and fooling me into thinking we will have a fineday,then the clouds roll in again.At least we haven't had rain todat.
I don't sail. When my husband was alive we had a cabin cruiser.My son loves sailing and has three boats.He has one they can sleep on.He moors it in Douglas Harbor in Grand lake.The local yacht club hold races there every wed.The other boat he has on a trailer and uses it on the St. John river.The smallest is a racing boat he bought for his children. We have a sailing school here for the youngsters.He is a board member of the school.,I am past the age to enjoy sailing.My balance is so bad I feel like i'm in a rocking boat.Who needs to go sailing!! JOY

Well I wrote a long post several hours ago, previewed it and guess what - forgot to send it!

Yesterday was a nice day here but not much gardening as I was working the afternoon at LH. One tour of 11 people! Plus some musicians were rehearsing for a chamber concert last evening so when I finished my tour I got to sit and listen. Piano and string quartet and also a Baritone with piano accomp.

New foster in last evening. He is a 4 year old CHW sheltie. Owner( whom I have known for some years) loved dearly but she has a lot of dogs including a couple of really small ones. One of the small ones has been periodically nasty to the sheltie and I guess last week he had enough and went after him and did some serious damage, lots of stitches! So she feels she could not keep him since she was having to crate him when other dogs loose and out in yard by himself.
He is pretty bewildered of course- adopted when he was 1 year old from a breeder who is known not to socialise her dogs well and the dog has come a long way. He seems very soft and quiet. However about 3am this morning he started barking so finally I came down and let him out of crate and sat on sofa with him in my lap for a bit, then took him out to pee and back in his crate and I back to bed. About 5am he started again so this time I took a pillow and went down , let him out and lay on the sofa and back to sleep with him on the floor beside me.
When I let him out later this morning he was running all over the yard and I had a hard time to get hold of him. I always keep a short leash on new fosters just for that reason! One minute he is following me close and wants petting the next if I stand up or move towards him he bolts. It will take a while! I also put up sections of x-pens a few feet away from the gates so if somebody opens the gate the dogs cannot get out.
He will be neutered on Wed. Next week he will go to another foster home - I did not want to foster but thought he should be moved out of the home soon and the other foster family not available until Tuesday next.
Supposed to rain here all week but so far a nice day to work outside.
I have a Shubert Chokecherry which suckers badly ( would never have had put in if I had known) and this morning I finally got in and clipped most of them down.Now I need to rake out the wood chips and really clip and dig out the roots of the suckers. I have to do this every year!
Also remembered to check all my lilies for Lily beetle which has made its appearance here a couple of years ago ( slowly moving from down east!) and can decimate the lilies in short order. None in my yard yet.
Heres Limi!

Carol, every time you post a foster dog I want to take him home..exactly the breed of dog I want..how very sad for the little one, must be hard for them adjusting to different home..most likely it would be better to be put into a 1 dog home right?

You've just reminded me, I really should look at my lillies as well, Frank from the garden show - Breakfast television was saying they are indeed in our area, meant to check and then forgot..red in color, almost like a potato bug ??? Must also mix soap/water and spray on some of the shrubs, bugs/bugs/bugs...mostly on the mock orange and hydrangeas, guess they are more tasty than others...

This morning I was out in the 'secret garden' putting hops vine on the trellis, came back in and all of a sudden I screamed, there was about 1" long green caterpillar type bug on my arm...drats and more drats..didn't kill it, swept it up and put into the garbage...

Joy, you have me laughing, when we're unbalanced with our walk it is just like walking a plank. How great the kids have taken up sailing...I'm the last in my family to get my 'Boaters Permit' the youngest of the grandchildren (12 year old) got theirs last year...do you also have to have a boating permit? Foxy Lady has a cabin for sleeping, we can sleep 6 on her but rarely use her overnight...should but never seem to find the time...besides, there are so many locks and with the summer traffic it seems to take ions to get anywhere, other than the Trent System it would mean going out all the time on Georgian Bay, me thinks sometimes its waters are more dangerous than the ocean...

Betty I guess they are pretty easy to spot large and bright red!

Just let me know when you want a dog! We do ship! LOL!

OMG. Didn't know you had lily beetle out west. We've put up with them here in Ottawa for awhile now - I have MANY fewer lilies than I used to have. They don't have them in western Ontario - in fact they only got as far as an hour up the valley about 3 years ago. Must have come in to more than one Canadian location.

Hi All
Been out with my daughter on a grade 7 field trip to Tyrell Museum, Head Smashed in Buffalo Jump, Frank Slide, Fort Whoop Up and the Erattic Rock by Okotoks. Whew! What a super experience, slept in Tipi's the first night and the wind howled along with the Coyotes. It's an all girls school so 40 13yr olds was quite an experience! I really do have a wonderful daughter!

Carol you are welcome anytime yes we have a spot for you and your babies!

My garden has survived the snow and me being away with DH watering so now everything is a go!
Bye for now.

Carol, going to do the checking of lillies tonight for sure..bad enough we have to contend with weather, now with all these creatures..

Ann I think they started showing up here about 3 years ago. Lots of warnings issued but I expect there are lots of people with lilies who dont now about them!
There is somebody at Olds College collecting data and people are encouraged to report sightings to him.

I AM NOT a happy camper..came home, first thing I did was go check on my pretties..drats, everyone of them has been attacked..yep, little red bugs eating away, tried to take some off, I don't like bugs so instead of catching them in a container off on the ground they went..managed to squish a few but those that got away will surely be back..

Other than squishing them, is there anything else I can do? will they attack any other plants?

Do have some pretties though, all the wreigelia (?) bushes are in bloom, so many different colors, sure wish the flowers would last longer

I haven't seen those lily bugs out here, my lilies are mostly aphid food, it's a constant battle. We do have the iridescent green bug, is that the potatoe bug?
We had the 5th wettest May on record so everything is green. The one day on the weekend was warm, 22, and I'm sure most things in the garden shot up at least an inch from the sun's warmth.
That last sheltie is gorgeous.