Hello again,
took this pic early am and nice day but mild and little humid...
2 days ago, Ju caught her first opossum early 3 am and she bark at them oh dear I don't want some peoples awake middle of early am so I grab my garden gloves and pick opossum's tail to get out of my back yard then I put opossum over the fence and sure opossum ran so quickly!...
Mum
Hosta bloom
I started to weed my iris bed today but the sun moved over to the part where I was working so I called it a day. Plus it's hard to talk or text when you're weeding. LOL. I had family and a friend keeping me entertained. lol
To keep up my bug theme here's a dragonfly. LOL. This may not be the first post on here but it's the first one by me. LOL
Blooms and Dragonfly is much nicer...LOL
No playing this weekend, I worked allll weekend, not happy about it either. Weeds have taken over. I didn't even get to water today it got dark before I got home. Hope everything makes it one more day.....
Doesn't look like the heat is going to stop anytime soon! We did get rain up here on Friday thank goodness.
Rusty like the pic of the blooms. Do you cut your Mums back so they bloom later?
What ya all got blooming?
Rusty like the pic of the blooms. Do you cut your Mums back so they bloom later?
What ya all got blooming?
84° and our rain fell apart this morning. That's ok. We're plenty wet. This bed is mostly sunny all day with a bit of afternoon shade and then sun the rest of the evening. I didn't cut too much grass in the sun and will just hoe the weeds since it's empty.
Will, it is pretty funny, now, years later. I'd be glad to not see the guy again. It could have been awkward. Does a mimosa have tubular flowers? I guess I've never seen one flower. I hope you're over your bronchitis by now. I used to get it every year when I was a teen. I hated the cough. It's funny, but it isn't about the dust mask. I would be wondering too! I just heard about the walnut threat. The HOTR has really nice flowers!! I think you could make a nice display!
Pepper, I have 3 black walnuts and the neighbor has two. I hope it doesn't hit here for a while. We are already in prime ash borer country. The purple boxes have a lot of something stuck to them. We lost two different elms to the bugs back when. We had a huge leaved one and the tiny leaved Chinese elm. I really don't miss them.
Rusty, LOL over no more spiders this time! Oh Ju, I hope you never find a skunk!! Your Mum is beautiful! I love the color! Pretty hosta too. I love the purple tips. I have the large white scented blooms on the pale green hostas now. The rest are done in that bed. Up by the house I have the common leaved one's with the purplish blooms.
Pepper, there's no texting in the garden!! I love how the yellow splits down his body! I've ben snapping pictures of anything that stands still, LOL! I have a toad that hops back into the hostas everytime I walk past. It's so funny!
Happ, at least the paycheck will make the work a distant memory, till the next week. I don't really have a lot blooming right now. It's kind of scattered in the beds. This is when I take my clipboard out and write down what is blooming so I can make fall beds more interesting.
I thought I'd really be behind. I'm glad to see we're all busy. We get the boys for four days and three nights for the next three weekends. I won't be getting much done. I hope we can find some away from home activities. Sometimes we just go to the cemetery and let them run around.
I got a new birdbath at Menards. It was the display since they had none left. She rang it up. I was expecting it to be the sale price of $30.00. It was discounted she said and it was $16.00. I was very happy. It's plastic, but doesn't look like it. I love it. It's tall!
I really should go out and mow. It's stuffy since it didn't really rain, but I think it's hotter tomorrow.
Talk later!
It's very hot and very stuffy here. I can't even walk from my truck to the house without being covered in sweat. Nothing in any of the gardens is getting done til it cools down some.
Yeah, it was miserably hot today (well, yesterday now..lol)! It was 92° at Noon they said at Noon, I think it topped out at 100° at least. 100° is what I heard last anyway.
I too was sweating bad! I was wearing my sweat-band just out shopping today,
I usually only wear it when I'm mowing! I had to water heavily today, some potted plants were drooping from the heat and dryness. I don't think Coleus is synonymous with drought! lol
Thanks billyp, this Bronchitis or whatever it is, is enduring pretty good to my dismay! I don't feel sick or anything with a fever and whatnot, but I still cough and have very, uh, productive nose blowings. It's got ahold of me whatever it is! If you don't hear from me on here, I bequeath you each a seed and please tell the world my story! Just kidding, I should be fine, knocking on wood..lol
Tubular flowers? Yeah, kinda I think. I dug up an old photo (below) of the one in the backyard, in flower a while back. I'm not sure if they grow in that part of IA., prolly.
I was looking for the hummingbirds on it today, they weren't there. I think it was too hot for them! If you'd like to try one or some billyp, they grow real easy from seed, I could mail you some. There is seedling volunteers all over the ground now even.
Thats a unique birdbath, billyp. I don't think I've ever seen one with that many baths like that. Good buy, I love the metal too.
If anyone would like a 5 year old+ Eastern White Pine, you can have it free, just come and get it! : ) Or some free Ozark Witch Hazels? I got I think 7 leftover from the bundle.
I could even pot up some Mimosa's, Cottonwoods and/or Sycamores that are volunteers everywhere, if anybody wants some or one. Or Chinese Wisteria anyone? I potted up about 4 more today that sprouted from seeds from the former Stephenson's restaurant site. I have plans for some of the Wisteria, but not really all of them!
Will
Will, bequeathing a seed! Pretty cool! Drink a LOT of water!! Orange juice wouldn't hurt either.
The mimosa is really pretty, but I don't have any room. Even tho I enlarged the butterfly bed, I'm still trying to figure out where else I could possibly put that rose. It has the best blooms when the stems are at an angle, not straight up. It really looks best where it is, all alone. Dang! I do still have time to clear out a corner in a big flower bed. I'd really like to plant this bed with small things. I did sneak the perovskia in with the Caryopteris. Both are blue and it's ready to bloom soon. The shrub looks like it might be setting buds too.
I'm smiling over all the potting up going on there! My neighbor has a Sycamore and I get the large leaves in my yard so I'm good!
Waiting on the Grandkids, and I need to get a jar of apple juice out for them.
Talk to everyone later.
Will, alternate between water and gatorade. You'll need the electorites or however you spell that. LOL
I got me a great deal today at work!! We've had a fire pit there for several years and finally our assistant store manager said 50 bucks and a coworker of mine could have it. He decided he didn't want it and the deal was the same for me so I snatched it up. It has granite around it but one section broke in half so I have to have a friend who is a granite guy hopefully fix it for me. All in all a great deal!!
I'll post pics hopefully tomorrow.
Pepper, how great to know someone who can fix it! It does sound like a great deal if stone is involved. Can't wait to see it.
We got a thunder boomer last night. This time with wind, but nothing blew down out of the trees and none of my plastic chairs tipped over. I am so glad to have a weather radio go off even if it is at 1:00 or 3:00 am. Usually it's a warning for flash floods and we don't have to worry about those, but once in a while it's scary weather. That doesn't mean I have actual clothes I can grab in the dark, LOL! I used to pack a tornado bag with our best clothes and money. If we lose everything, at least we will have a decent pair to wear and can buy something to eat or at least get a room.
The sun is now out so the day officially begins with me running around shutting shades. I imagine it's going to get pretty humid :o(
I have more cherry tomatoes to dry, so I better get breakfast and get busy.
Well last month we were talking about the most expensive plant we bought. Well we went and out did it yeasterday. We bought a Fat Albert Spruce 6 ft tall. They are very blue and not cheap to begin with. But we wanted something we could look at and at our age waiting for a 2 ft spruce to grow is not a real option. So we plunked down $200 for the spruce. We have a sunny spot that is full of plants and some of the most persistant weeds. It is getting very hard to work on that steep slope as we get older. The spot for the tree has to be flattened out then dug down. I think a small retaining wall will be in order as well. The tree is in a nursery out here and will be till I go pick it up in late September. I bet that tree and ball weigh 300 to 400 lbs. Not going to be easy getting it to the spot but I know how to do it. Wife also got a holly that is truly vertical called Dragon Lady. I am looking forward to seeing how that plays out.
I bet the spot you put them in will look ten times better after the tree is in!! The holly sounds interesting too. I'll have to look it up.
Shortleaf, I will take you up on the witch hazel if you still have it left? Have to look at the Eastern Pine and see if these buggies eat those or not, probably does......
Its a deal happ! : )
I watered the Witch Hazels today again, they are doing terrific!
If you decide to have the Pine, it will be very happy!
For 2 years I had the locale deer herd scared to come down into my area. However this past week i had 4 hosta chewed up. About 4:30 this morning I took out the old trusty 410 and loaded her up with target load shell. I went out and no more than pulled out of the drive to start up the road, and there ,standing about 150 yrds in front of me were two bucks right in the middle of the road. I just left the headlights on and let the truck roll on idle very slowly up towards them. As I got closer they walked off the road and stood back about 30 ft to watch me as, I thought they would. Without stopping I just stuck the 410 out the window and blasted one in the rump. They took off through a small wooded area and I thought they would be long gone. But they stopped in garden area a short ways up and were standing behind a very flimsy bush where I seen them in the edge of my lights. Thinking they were hiding from me they stood their ground. I managed to get off another shot then at the other one and stung two rumps in about 5 minutes. They both burst out of the wood right front of the truck and started running down the middle of the road. I guess they firgured the woods were not safe so lets try the road. Well I ran the truck up real close to them and raced the engine honked the horn and generally did the most scary things I could. till they jumped off.
I was thinking about that today from the deer's point of view. Here you are wondering what that person is doing and suddenly there is a massive flash and roar out in the pre dawn darkness and your rump has a terrible sting. So you run off to hide and and here it comes again. But thinking it can't see you ,you are going to stand your gound. Flash bang again and more stinging. You think maybe it is time to get out of the woods and just take off down the road and outrun the thing. Then to your total surprise the thing is charging you and roaring like a terrible monster.
I bet you would think that is a place to stay away from huh.???
This message was edited Aug 4, 2010 9:39 PM
LOL!! Hope it works!!
Pepper it has never failed to work. It just takes a few days of persistance. you can also sting them real good with a pellet rifle that has at least 1100lbs muzzel velocity. I have heard they have a strong dislike for paint ball guns as well. But in my case I can use the shotgun.
I have shot 3 more since then. A buck and a doe yeasterday morning and another doe this morning. I think that is about all i will need to sting. We will see. Kind of hard to get up at 3am and go after them. but it is best in the pre dawn. The buck yeasterday I seen but could not aim the shotgun from the dark area I was in. I picked up a flashlight and shined it on him and it gave me enough light to see the end of the barrel. You would think he would run but all he did was just stand there hidding in the dark so the thought.
Just for those of you who think this is cruel. I have seen deer I shot up the road a mile or so ( where I want them) many times and have never seen marks ,scars or any other damage. I will not shoot unless I have a clear rump shot.
I think its a good plan Oz. Sometimes, deer will just pull a plant up roots and all. They can do some serious damage. Some people refer to them as hooved rats, yet others will refer to them as Bambis. I'm not sure if they all know the damage that deer can do. I'm in the hooved rats category myself..lol I'm all for detering them if possible.
I'm feeling much better, thanks friends.
This message was edited Aug 6, 2010 1:18 PM
Wellllll, spent my lunch hour at Home Depot again, lets see, the most expensive plant I have purchased so far is a Japanese Maple I just spent $50.00 on but it is beautiful! I am so happy.....also bought a dwarf kim lilac for $2.00. May go back and buy more shrubs... I think on the maple I am going to wrap it this winter from the drying winds probably with burlap, they aren't suppose to like windy areas which I have except when it is 100 and you need it....LOL Yesterday went to Larrys and bought a coffee cup elelphant ear....it is so cool. Larrys is about sold out, everything was marked down. Hardy bananas are 4.98.
I need (LOL want) some more of the big clumping grasses, if anyone sees those on sale let me know. Home Depot hasn't lowered their prices on those yet. If next week gets as hot as they say they will be burnt up and not worth anything.....
I was outside watering a minute ago, I took my camera with me. I got 4 different kinds of ornamental grasses by mail this year. I don't think they'll be big enuff to divide this year but prolly next. I'd be glad to give you a division next year or so, happ, if your still in the market for grasses then. I got by mail, straight fountain grass (Pennisetum alopecuroides), Pennisetum orientale 'Tall Tails' (Tall oriental fountain grass), Miscanthus sinensis 'Gigantea' and Miscanthus sinensis variety 'purpurascens' (Flame-grass). All but two of the 'Gigantea' small clumps came as plugs. The 'Gigantea' is around 4 feet tall now! Their all growing like a house afire, but I don't think their big enuff yet to divide. The place I got them from said the plugs should bloom this year even, I'll believe that when I see it..lol
Wow $4.98 for the banana 'basjoo's, I might get me one or 2!
You guys got some good deals! A Japanese Maple 'Bloodgood' for $50
and a 'Fat Albert' Blue Spruce for $200 is some great deals. 'Fat Albert' is guaranteed to be blue, unlike the species which might be blue or green, which could also be a bummer.
I counted the Witch-Hazels tonite, I have 6 or 7 to give away, happ, sure you only want one? I have lots of green chicks of Hens and Chicks fame if anybody wants some.
I got a photo here of my Ozark Witch-Hazels, whats left of the bundle in white paper, and I think a couple potted ones (sorry about the blurry photo, I got the cheap camera blues..lol). Also some of my grasses are in the photo. I tried to revive the dead looking plant (a yucca), thats why the brown booger in there. Actually, there's another brown booger that died on me in the photo, that didn't revive either, dangit!
Barring working that day or something else, I could go to the Fall RU and give some stuff away! I'd need a ride tho, my truck would eat me alive on gas and oil, it uses oil, I'd share the cost of gas.
Will
This message was edited Aug 6, 2010 9:41 PM
Here is the Eastern White Pine (Pinus strobus) today. I put my finger next to the trunk of it to give it something to compare to, it is pretty thick, just not very tall yet. Sorry about the hairy arm, I got me a hairy arm! The green moss comes with the pot! lol
Oops, here is that photo!
Here what I saw this morning 2 caterpillars on rue plants...
Look like swallowtails if I remember right.
Ozark, that was going to be my entry to the thread. I just haven't had time to add it. I'll wait to post the size and cost. You'll love the tree tho! The holly sounds really neat! ROTFL over the stinging rumps!! I wouldn't come back!! Seeing them die by car, I'd rather sting their rump. I don't have them eating my stuff, rabbits either, but after they grow out of the adorable baby stage, they are all pests, and good to eat.
Happ, that doesn't sound expensive for a tree! I haven't been anywhere to find sales, but I really cant squeeze another thing in till I re-arrange what I have. Go ahead and take burnt up grass on sale. It will grow just fine next spring :o)
Will, that's a nice selection of grasses. We dug up a Tall Bluestem fron the old railroad tracks before they mowed everything off. I like it. Last year I dug up a ''Purple Top'' from my daughter's farm lane before they mowed it. I like it too. I bought Miscanthus "Nicky." It's not big yet at all. Fat Albert blues up in the spring. It will appear green after winter, but it's blue all summer! Nice plants, most guys do have hairy arms :o) and nice cats! I think Swallowtail is right.
Well nature managed to sting me back last evening. I caught a couple of flathead catfish and did not have my glove in the boat. Got the back of my hand chewed up a bit and at that I feel lucky. It could have been worse. One flathead was 27 inches long and the other 37 inches long. The larger one is the one that closed up his mouth on me. I do believe that large Flatheads got sharper teeth than the blues. I have had my hand in the mouth of many catfish over 20 lbs both blue and flathead. I have landed blues to 48 lbs with my bare hands. I think it has something to do with the habits of the two different ones. Blues or primarily bottom feeder eating what they find. Flatheads are primarlily preditors and need the sharper teeth to catch prey. They fight like preditors also. Will give you a real hard battle. I never keep big catfish or any others . I Take a picture and throw them back. I do that with 99% of what I catch.
billyporter, you think the grasses will come back if left too long in the pots? I find them that way all the time but figured the roots were gonners also.
It was miserable this weekend. I got out really early and weeded in the morning otherwise I keep trying to keep everything watered. The family reunion Sunday was beyond horrible. I am going to have to check our family tree and make sure there is a fork in it, cause I have my doubts as of yesterday! LOL
Ozark, glad your hand isn't mangled too badly. Someone who fishes to keep are probably grateful to you for throwing them back. I love to watch them Noodle of the fish on TV. They called it Hog Fishing when my Dad was young.
Happ, I guess I never thought about how deep the pots are, that they are in. I know the first year the roots aren't too long and wide. After that, hmmm, good question. If they were a couple of dollars, I'd try one.
ROTFL and so sorry at the same time over the fork in the tree. That is too bad!
It's done raining now, but I still see flashes of lightning in the north. I went out about 10:30 pm to lay the chairs over. We were under severe T-storm watch till 5:00 am. We had no wind. Just a good steady rain. I doubt I mow today. We're to heat up and the humidity will be a killer. It's mostly water grass right now, and we all have crappy yards around here. It's just that everyone else mowed and I had Grandkids :o)
I never done any of the noodeling. I like to go out with nothing more than a 12 lb test line and challenge the monsters. When my son was very young and first started to fish we lived near a park with a lake full of large carp. I gave him a rod filled with 4 lb test line and showed him how to play fish. He got to the piont were he could handle a 8-10 carp on that light line. It has stuck with him to this day. It is not a everyday thing to catch large catfish. It takes a lot of perseverance and knowledge of their habits. Nearly all my catfish are caught on artfical lures. Most people will not believe that. Most all of the big ones on spoons. But tomorrow morning I am going to take a couple of 4 inch bluegills down there to fish with. I have a hunch there just might be at least one over 50lbs at least using that area. I think I know what they are doing and other than to say they are near shools of white bass suspending around 30 ft deep I am going to be stingy and not tell you anything.
But, but, you have to take a picture if you catch a monster sized one on those bluegills!!
When I was a kid, we were fishing with my Grandma and her cane poles. My girl cousin found a catfish in a hollowed out hole in the base of the tree. He went in when the water was up and was trapped when it went down. The hollow had held the water tho. My Dad helped wiggle it out. It was the coolest thing and I wished I had been the one to find it.
Alas, I never learned the fine art of fishing. We caught bluegills and that was about it.
I woke up to rain again. We got 9/10'' yesterday morning and about that much again. I did get out and mow yesterday, as hot as it was. Halfway thru, I came in and had watermelon, cooled off and finished the rest. Then I scrubbed out the birdbaths and took butterfly pictures.
I love the Angelwings!
Definitely take pics Oz!!!
I have so much weeding to do outside it's crazy but it's too hot to mess with it. I hate it when I have to be a lazy gardener for awhile. lol
I know what you mean pepper it just makes me sad to even look at a couple of my gardens they are so weedy. Course weeds this year going to seed will be a awful next year.
I don't even want to think about weeds next year. UGH!!
Pepper, love the zinnias and mad that I didn't plant any of my own. The butterflies really like them and I was really trying to support them and the bees this year. They both love the lavender hyssop I planted tho. Especially the bumble bees. Did I mention tomatoes are pollinated by bumblebees? I wasn't minding being a lazy gardener :o)
Happ, stock up on the Preen!
I did go out today and pull a wheelbarrowful of weeds and It felt pretty good to accomplish something. Makes me feel the year won't be wastd after all and I may be doing more work in cold weather than I've done before :o)
I can't remember if I posted these yet or not. Kwanso Daylily that blomed last month.
(ImaMes must be busy and Will is missing :o)
billyporter, those are beautiful daylilies, I saw those at the daylily farm. Are you getting flooded or doing ok? Have a friend who wants to go to an Amish town somewhere up there but she is afraid it will be flooded.
My gardens have never been so full of weeds ever. If it ever cools off I will be yanking weeds and planting things like a crazy person! Problem with preen is some things I want to go to seed, but next year I may have to just use it and forget it. hot hot today also with lots of wind.
Alot of the lakes and ponds around here have algea growing on them. One lake in KS they have shut down to any activity because of the poisionous algea bloom? I have seen ponds with green algea but had no idea it was harmful to animals and humans.
Yes pepper, the catapillars in rusty56's photo are swallowtail. I always plant dill for them. They love it and it is a cheap "feed" for them so they leave other things alone.
shortleaf, if you get to where you can divide your grasses, I would certainly be interested.
We just moved to a new house *new to us* that had "NO" landscaping. So, I am enjoying making new beds and planting lots of stuff. I want to get a bunch of things that will come back without having to take them up every fall. I have banana trees and canna's I have to do that with. Plus I bring in a lot of my potted stuff, hoping to not have to buy so much the next spring.
Oh, and a bit of 'old time tricks' to keep the chewing critters, a.k.a. rabbits, squirells, etc., from chewing on your plants, save hair clippings or hair out of your hairbrush and put around the plants in the spring. They won't like the smell of 'human' and will sta away. I did that on my tomatoes and had NO PROBLEM with anything getting chewed off. I have waist length blonde hair and saved it from my brush all winter, then made a ring of hair around it. After a couple of waterings, it gets covered with some dirt and you don't really notice it. If your hair is brown, no worries. My husband laughed at me, but it works!
Hi again all.
I photographed this butterfly (maybe a Swallowtail) hosing on a Cherry Tomato today! It didn't budge, even when I got fairly close. See the green fly waiting its turn? I know now butterflies like Cherry Tomatoes that have been thrown out!
Hi Crit, welcome!
Will
