What is happening in your neck of the woods???

Hello there,

How on earth did you all go missing..wondered why it was so quiet...

we came from here:

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1242119/



Moved us into a spring like room, got the bug, going to Garden Gallery at lunch-am in search birdhouses..yesterday went over to the new garden/decorating store across the street, that isn't good news, having one so close and having rusted iron garden art..yikes, you know me, like being in heaven, came home with a metal lattice with flowers on it 4' wide by 6' high..perfect for my stained glass blue heron that is asking to come out from under the bed..lol

Temps are between 14-18c this week..imagine, early summer weather.. Storms, still some to come for sure but it's nice to take advantage of what we have..kids I'm sure are enjoying their March break..bikes galore out on the streets.

So quiet here at the office, almost tempted to work from home tomorrow and Friday..would give me the opportunity of finishing Julie's stained glass window panel and maybe meet up with Jeff over the weekend to deliver it...

ok I've updated me in starting this thread, now need to move the old/new links to their rightful place and read what you've all been up to..

bet it's outside enjoying the weather!

This message was edited Mar 14, 2012 10:30 AM

Thanks for the 'shuffle on over' Betty ^_^

Honestly starting to think we might scrap spring and head right straight to SUMMER !!!
The snow is melting so quickly with these high temps, and the flower beds are peeking through ..
Saw our first 2 Robins today .. always a smile maker ..

Went for physio .. GROAN .. hip is feeling better but OMG do the exercises cause some serious discomfort !!
Back tomorrow and then the Grandkids are over for supper ..

Thinking about 'rattling some pots and pans' .. have a NEW recipe .. got it from one of the other Hospice volunteers .. if it turns out, I'll post it ..

Toodles

~M~

hi ladies
M. have you tried accupuncture ? works great for me i've also had 'cupping' done on my
back... was at my wits end, and didn't want any more pills.
it seems everyone is getting great weather, we're going to hit 20 on the week-end.

last time i clipped the mutts i threw their hair into the yard.....birds are loving it !
opened the window and can hear the crows setting up shop in the neighbours pine trees.
can't wait to smell the lilacs !
lilac 'miss canada' developed by isabella preston- ottawa research center

I LOVE LILACS !!! Have 4 "trees/bushes" and am thinking a couple of them are nearing the end of their perfumed road :-(
My next one is going to be a DEEP purple one ...
Am also SO hoping to get some lavender growing this year. Had some take and start to grow a few years back and unfortunately it indavertently got MOWED down .. has anyone tried to grow Lavender .. if I had my way I'd have an acre of it ^_^

The recipe was a KEEPER ~~~~
I'll put it up in a bit ..

Lindy .. I have tried acupuncture once for my hand .. didn't really work .. thought I must have looked quite comical with those needles all up my arm ..

Mud puddles abound here .. and the dogs and cat are less than impressed (kinda like me) ..

Busy days ahead .. but .. FUN busy !!!

TTFN

~M~

fellow lilac-lover....the deep purple and the double white mme. lemoine[?] have the BEST
scent.
there was a article on the home page about rejuvinating lilacs............i always thought they go forever like peonies.
bought a bi-colored lilac 'sensation', didn't have room for it so i gave it to my niece..
great color and old fashioned scent............i want it back lol.
L

Morning all, storm passed through quickly this morning, thunder/lightning and hail..Sailor sure was uncomfortable with the sounds..

Lilacs, planted about 6 small shrubs along the fencing, won't have lilacs for several years but got to start somewhere! My secret garden has ancient lilac bushes, soon going to lose them, not a whole lot of flowers , planting a few shrubs in front of old trees in hopes I don't lose the secret garden. I have 2 dark purple, just starting to get lilacs, was able to purchase 3 boomerang continuous bloomers, not as large as other lilac trees but worth trying it for several blooms..I'll go in search of those listed above...last year I also bought a few more mock orange , remember as a child having them in grandma's yard, oh what a scent.

hi B was your grandma a gardener too ? did you have anyone in your family that
loved flowers as much as you? i try to show the kids as much as i can....my son
will plant with me, but daughter would rather help with the canning. she thinks it's
'green' so i guess that makes it a good thing.
let us know how your boomerangs do............haven't seen any yet.

Lindy, only remember some shrubs, mega glads and roses.. my mom enjoys gardening but not to the extent that I do..lol

Greg, my eldest came over for chicken & slidders last night, mom cooked his favorite..told him for the first time this year I felt overwhelmed with amount of work ahead of me in the gardens, did say I'd do 1/2 hr. every night and several hours on the weekend...with straight face he told me he had the answer, he'd have his friend come with a bobcat, level the gardens, fill the 2 ponds, let me keep side gardens and front gardens and no worry, he'd reseed and knows I enjoy cutting gas, so it would be soooo easy for me to cut and have time to sit

hmmm

B. not what you had in mind !!
bribe him with home-cooking.....my son comes home almost every week-end for dinner !
his girl is lovely but can't cook at all. he told me the other day how he always loved the things from the garden....didn't think he really noticed lol.
but 'horror'!!! a bobcat in the yard ??? smack that boy !!!
L

Betty I bet he was just playing you! Is there a grand kid who could earn some money or brownie points? I know my neice goes to my Moms and helps a bit. We also have Mom and Dad do a list of "wants" for the garden instead of buying them "stuff" we give them our time and do a big Family get together for a weekend to do the big stuff. We have a blast and it's a very good excuse to get together. Maybe you could suggest it if asked?
Our weather is way too warm here and I really hope there isn't a big freeze waiting out there somewhere.
Lindy - Welcome!

Have some stuff started and will be getting more seeds going when I come back from being an assistant for my Daughters Grade 9 class trip to Bamfield next week. I didn't want to leave too many little things for my hubby to watch while I was gone.
Alberta Ann

Ann, every year I add 'to do's' and all the family come and spend Mothers'Day..they get all done for me but I've already got a few projects in mind that I would rather they do than raking.

Cathy a friend who cleans houses also does misc. chores for people. Will ask if she would do raking after I cut down last years crop..sure wish the deer would have eaten more lol (might regret those words) and also do the windows which I'm terrible at doing..usually turn out worse than when I started. lol

Half of it is just looking out and seeing old dead growth..

What is in Bamfield that is of interest? Have been purchasing packages of seed but unlike you I'll be scattering on the ground this spring as I don't do well with growing inside. Seeds aren't cheap anymore are they.. think yesterday seeds for vines was $3.49..you open it up and what do you see, about 10 little seeds.

B. you're sure right about the seeds.. looked in a package and checked the bottom, i thought for sure there was a hole.lol
i bought some seeds at the end of season last year, saved some $ that way..
try to not worry about the chores..everything always seems to get done
ann, my sis. moved up to edmonton this last summer..packed up, rented a u-haul and
away she went ! i heard from her at christmas..says she loves it there.
hope plants don't start coming up with these high temps, it's still so early.
cheers to all L

Betty I think it's smart to leave the easy to find people for stuff and certainly have your family do the special things. I must admit I like going down to my Folks in Calgary and drive up their driveway to see the retaining wall or the new stairs or the new walk way we did for them.

Bamfield is a research station over by Tofino/west coast trail Vancouver Island, that is one of the most Bio diverse Eco systems in the world. Many scientests who are doing marine bio studies are here doing research. Its a way for our girls to see if they are interested in anything to do with this type of science/job. Last year for grade 8 we were in Kananaskis where we did a 3 day visit with field studies for geology and again Bio diversity as that was a coming together spot for all kinds of insects and animals. I think I have way more fun than the girls but some of them really take to this kind of learning and it sparks them into a direction for grades and above.

Seeds are always fun for me as I like to see what kinds of plants I can grow that are not available at the garden centers. Also I like to see how well I can look after them and how big they can grow. Some I fail miserably but some are super de dooper.
Alberta Ann

Please give me advice then on how to..my problem is either I start them too early and they become too leggy, or I put them out too early and the die...

That sounds like quite an educational outing, you will enjoy it as well..I would have thought it would be geared more to those in grade 12.. Kids sure are smart compared to my day (or me). Lol

Got another 1/2 hr done in the garden..let's see, in a month I'd likely get 15 hours done and it wouldn't be a hardship and would get me to mid April..doable I guess.

Feels like a hot bath, raking takes a lot of effort, I then normally would enjoy the couch and a movie but tonight I'll get a bit more of Julie's SG piece done..want it finished and out of here.

"m" glad you are feeling better....

Carol, how are you doing? Hope you are seeing an improvement now that we have sunshine and warmer days?

Off for hot bath..I smell like smoke..burnt a bit but not all...smells nice though

Waving to all

I dont know when I last posted but things have not gone well.My 'cold' continued to bug me with no improvement and last Friday (9) at urging of a nurse friend I went in to see my doctor. Within in an hour or so I was in an ambulance on my way to the hospital!Apparently I had two infections UTI and Bronchitis plus as I had had my version of diarhea for some days I was very dehydrated and suffering from ' general malaise"! Anyway was quickly on IV fluids, had a chestCT and X-ray-all normal - they were very worried that I might throw a blood clot and had a couple of very serious discussions about what they should do if I was found without a pulse! After a few hours in emergency I was moved to a short stay unit and then to a regular unit which happened to be the same as the one I was on 18 months ago when I had my colon surgery I was also on IV antibiotics and always in a private room for protective isolation so nobody could pass any infection to me. Also had a blood transfusion on Sunday. After that made rapid progress and came home Tuesday morning.

I am much improved - should have started the 5th round of chemo this week but that is all cancelled for a week or two to allow me to really recover and then go back to see what the oncologist wants to do.

There is a dog story too but I will tell you about that another day.

you sure had a tough time...
take care
L

Yikes Carol that is awful, youve got D mail.
Ann

Busy peoples ^_^

Betty .. I take it you didn't get the storm Lorna'f folks talked about last evening .. said it was quite a big thunder boomer .. missed them though.

Carol .. goodness .. you've been there and back again over the past 2 weeks. I most certainly hope things start getting much better ..

Was out for lunch with some cousins, we try to keep in touch 4 or 5 times a year .. hard to do at times.

Absolutely astounding temps here, and glorious sun which is melting away the, not so glorious, snow !!!

TGIF


~M~

Omg Carol, glad you are starting to gain strength, must have been frightening for you. Lucky for you the emerge moved quickly. Can't believe you were so ill!! Is there someone coming to check up and help with meals? Sendings hugs and prayers.

"M"' almost summer day today..worked from home so decided it would be best to stay close to telephone..got windows done from inside, washed down front and back entry doors, cleaned a rug and few other chores...was nice getting spring smell back not the house.

Even drove not town a bit ago, met up with Greg, took a quick ride into car car dealership..phew glad Larry wasn't there or I'd likely come home a new car owner..did leave a message to call me though.

Was going to go downstairs and finish SG piece but think a hot bath, pj's and quiet night on the chesterfield sounds more to my liking...besides,no plans for the weekend so there is always tomorrow..

http://www.buzzfeed.com/corporatewhore/guinness-takes-no-chances-in-getting-blokes-to-the-5mba

Happy St Patrick's day everyone

Loved the link Carol...oh my, maybe I should be spending more time training my order collie Sailorgirl. Lol

Fog is lifting, birds are chirping..way a day ahead of us..glorious sunshine..

Little boy up the street knocked at the door last night, seeking employment either inside/outside work..must be about 10-11 so he will be arriving shortly. Lol.

Best I get motivated and dressed

Enjoy ou day

morning all, just poured a cup of coffee.. last of the snow melted overnite.
going to reach 22 today. think i'll throw open the windows and let some air in.
flower beds are drying up quickly..will soon be able to clean up the dead foliage.
peppers are up on the top of the cupboards...going to start some perennials.
gaillardia, jacob's ladder, coneflower powwow,and columbine songbirds. the columbine
have been in the fridge for a couple of days..they're ready to plant.
have been looking for seeds for dianthus 'knappi' it's a beautiful plant with yellow flowers.
i started some a few years ago but gave them away due to lack of space.
there was a seed place online had them and more columbines i've ever seen, i'll have to
check them out better [before i give my card # ]. i left a post on the tomato forum last week, lots of folks from down south..going to post pics how i start tomatos. i've gotten
bored with the old stand-bys and have been growing late season heirlooms.. anyhoo,
hope you'all are having great weather.. L
p.s. betty love your always 'half-full' attitude

I must've lost you when you started the new thread. And then we got a new computer and there's all that setting them up and I got the mother of all colds a couple of weeks ago, just after Vancouver DD and family were here for DH's 70th. I've sort've been MIA.

Omg you just know you are losing ground when you work along side an 11 year old..his name is Noah (same as my grandson) has asperghers syndrome like my Kyle..never stops talking. And I know he is speaking English but in today's slang. Lol

We did the wage negotiation, he asked for $5.00 and I offered $7.00

We worked 2 1/2 hours non stop..quite a worker..said he was working towards a bike and needed $15.00 which was balance he needed..mom will math his..said he made $40. Las 2 days going door to door collection beer and wine bottles then bringing them in for recycling. Ambitious little ones. End result is he got $20 and I got exhausted.. 10 more gardens to rake then I can start weeding.. I sp need a nap but want to go downstairs nd finish the stained glass piece Jeff asked for then a nap is in order..phewwww

Missed you Ann, thought perhaps you were on another trip..happy birthday to your DH.. It's just not purchasing of computer and feeling you are all upgraded but transferring of all data..I'm useless when it comes to that.

Lindy, can you explain the refrigerator part..I'll be on the lookout for some seeds you listed.

Head pounding a bit, better close my eyes for a bit then go back to my schedule.

hey b. nice to hear you're getting help. i'm finding the osteo in my spine really making it
hard to bend.
anyway about the fridge..when i had surgery in 06 and went off work i started reading all
the plant books i could get my hands on.
i found a book called 'from seed to bloom' cause i was 'gettin in o'er my heed' and needed some advice. turns out some perennials germinate better from a damp chill, the two i follow this with are columbine and delphinium. just put the seeds in a dampened paper towel, in a baggie, mark them and let them stay in the fridge for two weeks. the seeds have a very hard shell, so maybe this helps the gemination. i know some friends who grew native plants would also rub some seeds between sand-paper, i could see this
helping with morning glorys. i love having baby columbines to pop into bare spots, fills
things up and keeps the weeding down. L

Old bones, ain't it grand...my thought are that we didn't look after our bodies..now I think, little steps by little steps you get to the same place..should have learned that earlier. Lol

I will pick up a few packages of columbine next time I pass the nursery and give it a try..is it early to start now. Several years ago I did put seed in wet paper towel, put in zip lock bag and set where they had sunshine..talk about spurting..became too leggy though

I often seed columbine and I just scatter the seed in the garden when the ground warms up - does fine.

oh oh......... I lost you......... I should really check "other threads" more often cuz that's where I find all my "losted threads" lol

Carol - I've never grown columbine here, but did in Winnipeg for the first time 2 years before I moved here. Love it.
I always think of it as an ethereal fairy flower - kinda like they'd use it for little hats :-)

Lindy - I have a Jacob's Ladder in my front flower garden!

V-Ann - sorry to hear about that terrible cold! Guess we're on the same page - losing new threads......... siiiiigh - ya think we're getting old?!?!?! Glad to hear you have a new computer!

Carol - LOL I just saw the "St. Patrick's Day Roundup" LOL I'd never seen it before, but boy did I get a belly-laugh on that!! LOL

Good morning. Played a concert last night and it went pretty well

Data on the new computer - well, we've gone from Windows XP to 7 and we set out what we thought was a logical place for data, but the applications on the new computer don't want to find it; so I've been working mostly off a flash drive. Need to get "Windows 7 for Dummies", I think.

I DO still have the old computer which, other than the fans running nonstop because they were caked with dust, is just fine. Once I got the new one up and running I took the old one in to Best Buy to get it cleaned up. They did that. Then they told be that I had "traces" of over 70 viruses and for $180+ tax they would clean it all up. I said "no thank you" - I'm running a good virus program and while those "traces" might slow the computer down, they aren't gonna cause a major problems and it's now a secondary computer. But with the change away from Primus (to Teksavvy), I now have Internet on BOTH computers. Yay! no more fighting about the computer. We also got separate email addresses for the first time! gmail, but I'm using Thunderbird on the desktop.

Need some Ts and Ps for a friend and member of my handbell choir. She suffered a stress fracture of a vertebra recently - coughing. After a week of pain, they finally did a CT scan and found the fracture and hospitalized her. Now she's been diagnosed with multiple myeloma and starts chemo today.

Peering through the fog here, saying GOOD MORNING ..

ViAnn, most assuredly my T and Ps are with your friend. Multiple Myeloma is a painful row to hoe ....
Re the new computer, our new one, purchased at Xmas, also runs Windows 7. A learning curve for sure .. I STIIL like Windows XP, and that's in the 'dark ages' now it seems. I found XP easy to use ..
My laptop has Windows Vista, kind of a flakey program, and, like you .. I run a good virus program and trust it to catch the 'bad guys'
As for the 'cold' ... lots have had it .. a colleauge has me hooked on Echinacea .. seems to have done the trick for me as I have been untouched by the 'cold bug'. (fingers crossed here)

Betty .. I feel as though experienced/retired nurses, with all our JOINT problems, should speak to the student nurses and tell them how NOT to abuse their bodies. Looking back over my career I can pinpoint LOTS of bad habits that have likely lead to my 'owies' right now.
Nice that Noah helped you .. :-)

OMG Carol .. got a great laugh from the 'Round Up' !!! Thanks for sharing ..

Lindy .. columbine grows wild here .. and .. does NOT take to 'relocation' I have tried with both it and Lupines.
Sure is pretty mixed in with the wild Maltese cross.
The refridgerator deal is a good idea, have heard of it before .. just make sure the paper towel doesn't dry out somehow.

Looks like more yardwork today .. love wood heat, but I just cna't grasp how that birch bark gets to be EVERYWHERE !!!

Take good care all

~M~

afternoon everyone, amazing how I kept so busy since 6:30 and yet have nothing accomplished! Well perhaps a few thing!

Can't believe the green growth..just spend an hour pruning dead limbs from trees..wish I had the nerve to attack the lilac trees but will wait yet another year in hopes when I plant new trees they will grow quickly enough that older trees can be cut down comp,Evelyn!

Making progress even though I'm working in little blocks of time. Wouldn't you love to get crazy but am sure another one or two blizzards are yet to come.

Aren't computers grand..think we should all have a back up..paranoid I am, iPad for playing, laptop for travel and main. It downstairs..so easy to get virus's..Jeff told me the best thing you can have is iPad, just don't get them, why, he explained npbut I didn't retain

Off for lunch then maybe another hour or so in the gardens..Lordy if we all keep this up we'll have gardens cleaned and planted by Easter..

morning everyone...blowing away all the records held for high temps..is this global warming ?? will spread the left-over seeds on the flower beds..so true 'always an easier way' . thanks for the tip, will try it.
starting some jacob's 'cause last year none came back, sometimes i think i have a plant gremlin in my yard. lost 10 large hostas one year...like they never existed.
slow getting moving today... but hubbys been energizer bunny, lol i hear him banging on the roof where some shingles came off.
will pull out the advil for later !
here's to a happy and safe week-end to all
L

V-Ann - T&P for your friend. It must just seem like one thing after another for her......
Good for you on not getting sucked in by BB! If you really wanted to "clean it up" you could go to http://housecall.trendmicro.com/ I find them very good and it doesn't depend on a program on your hard drive!

~M~ - My laptop & desktop computers run Win XP, but Bob's computer runs Win7 - I had to learn his in order to help him - System Restore is a commonly needed program cuz he's always getting something that stops him using his game programs, so we Restore.

Lindy - the leftover seeds your referring to are Datura ones, right? It's the only one plant I know that this works best for. So jealous of your +22 temps!! Send some our way, and next time I'm in Winnipeg we should meet, right? My family (other than my DH) are all in Winnipeg so my visit isn't too far fetched! :-)

Ohhh did mean to offer prayers for your friend violaAnn. Will have to fo in search of the diesel, not familiar with it.

You are all so computer savey..I'm excited I know how to turn one one.

Susan are you not getting these temps?

Lindy hope your hubby got off the roof with ought mishap

Put in another hour in the garden, starting to make a dent, now it's on the couch doing nothing..even thinking of having a soak in tub with Epsom salt. Lol

No Betty - although it's 6c now, and we have had up to 15c lately, here close to the mountains our temps really fluctuate and we could have a couple days of +20c even in January, it doesn't last. We may still have a blizzard the end of May (it did that in 2007 - Huge Dump Of Snow to where it broke branches and trees across the roadways)! We also don't get +30 for more than a couple of weeks in the summer. We're very temperate, but as soon as the sun goes down behind the mountains, the temp drops!!

That would take a lot of getting used to Susan. You wouldn't get to enjoy your gardens for long and would be very limited to what you can plant.

yes, I had to revamp all my gardening to deal with a shorter summer and milder winter. Yes, we get 2 weeks of +30c in summer, and 2 weeks of -42c in winter, but generally it's very mild for both seasons
Most years we can't ripen tomatoes in the garden - would have to be a greenhouse, etc. OR if you grow cherry tomatoes - they will ripen of course. I like the "Sweet 100"'s for those - I can grab a handful for snacking and mealtime at any time
:-)

Well you just have to know ill not be moving to Calgary. My nephew relocated his family several years ago and the minute his 2 year contract was up, home he came..

I'm sure it's more than beatiful, just takes adjusting to!

Yes, it's beautiful in my "back yard" and yes, it takes some getting used to not having a long hot summer, but I prefer mountains to flat prairie......
Driving up a hill in Calgary and when you get to the top, to see the vista of lights of the city against a backdrop of mountains is breathtaking!

Breathtaking to say the least Susan! We sure do all live in God's country