July 2011 Dry and Hot!

We had somewhere around 3" of rain Friday. Now humidity is off the scale. House windows were all fogged up this morning.
This thread is pictures of our market Sat.
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1197177/

Crit, I don't know. I've never really watered mine before since they're planted so deep. I do wonder if that's why I lose a few bulbs tho. I guess what you don't want is them sitting in dirt that's too wet because they'll rot. I think that's why I lost Muscadet. Oriental Girl was in hot dry dirt under the water sucking Maple tree.

Bernie, your market should be the poster child of all markets. I ame awed by what you sell. It's all beautiful!!

It's hot out already and I'm debating whether to go out. I hate to sit inside, but I do have little things to do.

Actually, I could use a nap.

Hot + Humidity + Sunday afternoon = Nap!

Still really hot but it seems the humidity is a bit lower now. Yesterday we had a breeze for the wedding so being outside for that was bearable.

My brother's wedding was a beautiful affair. It was a sucess and so was the reception. Everyone had fun and we stayed late to help clean up. Got home just before 1am. My head hit the pillow and I was out. lol

That's great pepper. So glad the weather somewhat cooperated and it was a huge success.

CG: very nice produce. That's a lot of work. I love fresh farm eggs. There's a world of difference in taste.

We caught two coons in one trap. There was a third coon this AM trying to get the others out. My husb. hauled them about five miles away. I am afraid they will be back tomorrow! At least my flowers on the deck stayed in tack last night.

Pepper, glad the wedding--weather went fine. Outside weddings are pretty but risky. That's a very pretty red lily.

Oh pepper glad the wedding was all everyone wanted. I was really worried about you all, but it was cloudy at my house most of the day. Today was horrid. I got out at 6am and came in at 5pm, the last hour or two was almost unbearable but I had started a BIg project and had to finish. I was soooo glad that was done. I have cleaned out the garden room and the shed. The shed is put back together but the garden room everything is sitting outside, so I hope for a day or two we don't have any rain.

Love the farmers market! I am getting cherry tomatoes but then it is only 1 or 2 at a time. I usually stand right there and eat them...rofl.

Take care everyone. Will feel sorry for you working in this heat and humidity.

Thanks Sally. I hope to keep making progress in the backyard! I'm pretty sure that those Wrens are okay with the new trellis. I'd like to put it up even higher for them next year, so they might think they are too high for distractions, we like having Wrens! I remember in the Spring one of them was trying to get in there to build the nest with a stick that wouldn't go in the entrance, she or he finally gave up and flew off with it! I haven't heard from the guy that bought my truck, thats a good sign I guess. I told him he's welcome to call if he has any questions about it later. Next, I'll be selling a trailer that I used with the truck.

I resigned at Fedex Wed. I told the mgr. I didn't know it took so long to get insurance, until after I got hired, for one thing. I wanted to kinda come up with something besides the job really stank! But really, somebody could be dead before insurance kicks in! I didn't tell him, but that kinda heat can be a killer when working like that, I'm sure he knows. I will miss burning the crazy calories, but not getting up at 2am to carry packages nonstop for 4 hours. Thats more of a job for someone in they're teens or 20's not they're 40's. I didn't tell him that, (he is 29). They are nice people there, I told him that when I quit, I liked the people generally. I did make it there a little more than a month, with no real complaints from them. Now that I've left, I bet they are seeing who is getting the 7's mixed up with the 1's and it isn't me! It'd be easy to do, they look so similar, the 1's have the little curved line like a seven. I finally found out who for sure was doing that, and it was the guy that worked next to me and helped me alot. He was a nice guy and I'm sure he wasn't doing it on purpose. I never said anything about that, I took the heat there. I just, quietly as I could, fixed his boxes, they were his boxes that time. He just goes too fast and doesn't look long enuff to see it's a 1, not a 7. I'm back to my one very part time job here!

Pepper, one Tropicanna came up, (but it has 2 sprouts in the pot), it is pretty, It's in the photo below. The empty pots by it are the roots of them that didn't come up. That one will make a fine addition to the tropical spot I plan.
I finally found a nursery that sells the ornamental banana 'basjoo' that I want as the centerpiece for my tropical spot. I went by Heartland Nursery on View High Rd. to get one on the way back from KS. and mowing, but they were closed.

Farmer's Markets do a great service, they are very popular here too. My housemate said they were sold out of Tomatoes, she said she didn't get there early enuff.

Eeek! Hot wedding! It was hot today, pushmowing too. One guy waved this afternoon to me when I was mowing, to see if I was alive prolly! I think they already think I'm nuts, so they look hard when it's sweltering hot! I think when you wear a Sombrero and panty hose people look anyway!

Thanks happ, but I'm not doing that anymore. That was a long time to be outside today, I hope you don't do that often!
Will

This message was edited Jul 17, 2011 10:52 PM

LOL @ Will. Mental pic of him in his sombrero and panty hose behind the mower. LMBO!!!!

Haha! I was just being funny, Crit! I did have on panty hose, but they were just knee highs! I don't know if I have the ummm courage to wear pantyhose up to my waist! The Sombrero prolly does look amusing in this heat by itself, but I'm just trying to keep the tops of my ears from being scorched and my shoulders and my face. They say skin cancer on the tops of the ears is the most common kind of cancer among men. I've covered up my ears for years, I'm not macho enuff not to cover up my freaking ears in the sun! : ) My feet have itched already, but not like last time, the Chiggers might have got to me a little.
Will

This message was edited Jul 18, 2011 10:30 AM

I still only have green tomatoes. My dad is giving them one more week then I'm gonna have to pull them or something. A real shame too because alot of them maters are bigger than my hand.

Will, hopefully you find another job that is better.

Why do you have to pull them ?
I picked first ones tonight. They are in my hoop house. Garden ones are only about tennis ball size so far.

Bernie, LOL! I hope your nap was more successful. I tend to only be able to nap sitting up. I lay down, I'm wide awake. I never could sleep in the daytime.

Pepper, our humidity was a tad lower too.

Woo hoo, that sounds like a great time at the wedding! I'm so glad it went well.

Oohhh, love the coneflower shot!

Birder, that's amazing to catch two. I'm betting they WON'T be back. After being almost trapped, our's never returned and my yard is ''dump'' free. It's amazing how they try to work the trap.

Happ, I can feel the sweat roll off me as you cleaned, LOL! I'll bet it feels good to walk into the shed now that it's cleaned.

We did the same thing yesterday. Two cherry tomatoes apiece.

Will, we had wrens nest in our old swingset poles. We didn't have the store bought swingset. Our's was with big poles and a round pipe on top. That's where they nested. Don't worry about the height. If there's a house, they will find it.

You shouldn't have any problem getting a good price for your trailor. They are expensive new! Set a good price on it!

You stuck it out in miserable conditions and made a bit of money so it wasn't all bad. I hope you find something better.

I do hope they see it wasn't you mixing up the boxes. With that guy's luck, they'll give him a new partner and he'll take the blame too :o)

ROTFL!! I'd be looking and most likely sneaking back around with a camera! With the heat and no rain, I won't mow till it cools off. I did buy a neck bandana that you soak in cold water till it fluffs. It really cools the neck. They sell them in Walmart. DH used them when they worked in the warehouse at work.

Nice Canna! It will soon multiply so you won't be lacking! I think we all learned something this Spring about watering our things we have to over-winter :o)

Pepper, don't pull them!! I still have green one's too. Even the early haven't ripened yet. I don't know why? It's hot enough and we've kept them watered.

Here are mine. I took this the other day.

Will, I have old swingset pictures for you next :o)

My little sister and I on our home-made monkey bars. Dad welded them. The swing set is to the left.

Little old me on the glider. See how tall the poles are? :o)

I saw on one website where people were drapping plastic over the old swingsets of their kids and made a make shift greenhouse to use in the spring, made me wish I had one sitting around.

That is a beautiful garden, I can make out a few glads over to the side. Beautiful.

CG do you do a lot in the hoop houses? Have you been using them along time? Plse tell me all about them. I went to a trial garden that had all kinds of hoop houses and looked like a great idea.

Shed is clean which is great, but that should of been an early spring or late fall or winter project, dead of summer was not a good time...rofl. But now I can fill it back up. ;)

has anyone seen nettie? i haven't seen her for a while.

Nettie? I might recognize her DG id before her real name, I still prolly wouldn't know though.
Where are all those Purple Coneflowers, Pepper? Thats alot, did somebody grow them from seed? I know I'd go broke buying that many plants!
Homemade monkeybars and stuff, you're Dad was pretty creative and frugal (in a good sense!), billyp, neat photos, how cool is that to have in a photo album?!
Where is the photos of that project, happ?!
Will

This message was edited Jul 19, 2011 10:16 PM

Lets see shortleaf I will have to think about it, probably somewhere in greenhouses or along those lines I am guessing is where the photo was of the make shift swing greenhouse.

Will, those coneflowers are next to the driveway in a shady raised bed. I've had them there since we built the beds 14 or so years ago. We planted a big container of seeds. They come back every year. There were more "wildflowers" in there but they dwindled down to weeds so I pulled them and left the coneflower area and put in shade plants beside them. It's a major work in progress since it's hard to find plants that will thrive there.

Here's a shot of the whole coneflower area. It's not that big but they thrive there!!

Anybody wanna see some lagging tomatoes?! See the photo below, I think thats a tomato plant anyway, it's about an inch tall!! Them sonofaguns are from a seed packet that I planted in early April!

If it was me I'd remove those trees, Pepper, they rob them of sun!!

Thats quite a garden there, Sally, lots of work, I don't see any weeds, that also quite an army of watering cans there!

Will

Those trees stay!! LOL!! We've lost too many over the years. I actually want more trees. lol

Mystery Mansion build in Ozark:

http://realestate.yahoo.com/promo/mystery-mansion-rises-in-the-ozarks.html

Wow, that is a big house. It'll be interesting to see who lives in it! Bigger than that big Spelling house in Calif. even. My wild guess is that Walmart/KCRoyals guy, Glass.

That place is huge!!

Yes, It's so bigger I never seen! 13 bedrooms!

Some people just have more money than brains, ya know?

You should see the houses that Sinquefield (the backer of repealing the kansas city and st louis earnings tax) family has in southern Missouri. I have never seen anything like it. With the Master Gardeners I met both of them and saw her gardens and greenhouse. The greenhouse is a dome and bigger than the average persons home, one of the houses has a unbelieveable lake with a waterfall, oriental gardens, shelter house, etc, he told me he had never spent a night in that house. It was truely amazing. I will have to find pics. One of the huge arboretums people come to trim the trees in the japanese gardens, the waterfall had just been completed, the crew was running behind because of the delays in finishing Bill Gates waterfall. I am saying this only to bring to light that there is "real" money in Missouri that most of us are not even aware of. The woman taking us on our tour said that Sinquefield was from Los Angelas and Chicago and when they started buying property in Missouri they were paying way more than anyone had seen in the hills of Missouri, so people were running to them to ask them to buy their property...rofl. Sinquefield was very nice and was telling me the house we were at he had built for family and friends to come and get away. He seemed very family oriented and flew them in regularly. In the winter he stocks the lake with trout, he didn't fish but the family enjoyed it, course if they are not all fished out by summer they die....

Greed! Greed I say!! Oh well, I'm just jealous!! But, I bet they don't have ac in they're house!!

Anybody wanna see the first plant to go in my new and glorious waterpond?! It's 1 of the 2 Water Irises that I got from happ. I thought I'd put one in for a few days and see how it likes it before I put the other one in. I hope it likes being submerged!!

I wanted to remove that Persimmon tree in the photo, my friend here insisted it stay, it looks okay there now. It's not as close as I thought, I thought the roots might be a problem for the pond.
I grew another Persimmon tree from seed this year, because it takes 2 to get fruit, I plan on planting the new seedling somewhere back there.
Will

Pond looks good!! Are you planning on a smalll waterfall or fountain for movement?

Thanks Pepper. I'm not for sure, it'll prolly be a waterfall trickle I'm thinking. A project coming up will be arranging a strip outlet in some sort of container or box, I'm hoping I can find one thats waterproof. I haven't got electricity to it yet, hopefully soon though.

Even a little movement will help keep mosquitos from making a home there. Plus the oxygen generated will be good for the plants. Since that's not a big area it doesn't need to be alot. Just a thought.

Will, I think one of my iris is pretty well submerged will have to look, the other is just sitting on the edge of the waterfall.
There are solar run little fountains that float around ontop of the pond that will keep the mosqit. down or those dunk things. The pond is starting to take shape you will be surprised. When I get back to Independence I will bring you some more water plants. I have little ones starting. Some cannas like water as well as daylilies. It is starting to look like a pond!

Went to River Market this morning. Had a blast and came home with a big sack full of stuff. I plan on hitting it again hopefully next month. I recommend being there before 7am to beat the crowds. You can walk around, see who has what for what price then hit the vendors that you want to hit.

DH and DGD's chillin' in the pool

Happ, what an idea! I wouldn't have though of a swingset, but you could stand up in it and with enough plastic make a real nice place!

Yes, the deep red are new Glads. I only have one yellow and a few pink left from Mom's bulbs. I tried to water them after the heat was wilting the flower stalk. I only have them planted about 4'' deep. This rain will really save them.

I find myself cleaning my garage at least three times in the summer. I like to. I think it takes me back to cleaning up the shed, which is in the pictures above, for a play house. On the left, inside, Dad had shingles stacked taller than me. Climb up there and you could open the door/window and look out. You can see the window in the picture. It's open.

Will, we were pretty lucky. He also welded a small merry go round and we had a home-made slide :o)

Laughing, frugal is right and he isn't even Scottish. That's on my Mom's side!

Pepper, I know Coneflowers are a ''sun'' plant, but I find mine do better with a bit of shade. they actually wilt if they get too dry.

The Coneflowers look great all by themselves!

Will, pardon me for laughing at those inch tall ''maybe'' tomatoes!! I think they are, but they don't have much of a chance to make it before the year is over.

There are weeds. It helps to get it all weeded in the Spring and then not get any rain!

I actually could use more watering cans. DH cut too much top out of some, so now the cats drink from those. They prefer it over their clean dish with fresh clean water in it. I do have a few more cans scattered around by plants that need topping off daily.

I am also going to use those coffee cans around the plants from now on. Since I buried them some, it's so easy to fill the can and let the water percolate down. I ran out of cans, so we cut the bottom out of gallon ice cream containers for the peppers.

Pepper, I hear you. If my yard wasn't covered in shade, I wouldn't be out in the heat every day.

Rusry, that's quite a house.

See what happens when some people have tooo much money? They lose their senses. A normal person would build a house big enough to entertain in and donte money to charity or at least family.

Most of the ''old money'' people (Rockefellers and such) would build the elaborate houses and then donate them to the State so the State has to pay to keep them up. They then were able to keep their money.

Thank you Crit, LOL!

Will, get more plants in, finsh the top and it will be a great place to sit and enjoy!

There are outdoor strip outlets that would work.

Happ, the solar fountains sound neat!

Pepper, markets are awesome and boy does all the food look good!

Crit, wow oh wow, what a pool! Lucky Granddaughters! Lucky you!!, LOL!

It does not feel like Sunday.

Yes, when the kids come out and swim, DH says that makes all the work that goes into the pool all worth while!!!!

Getting ready to go horseback riding.

Paint on Wall

Another one

Closing wall