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

~M~ - a TAN???? OMG it must be hot and sunny there - I soooooo envy you!!

hey marilynne i've planted snowball viburnum over the years and they always end up
with aphids. nice thing about the ninebarks...good color selection and man !...problem
free/ bud out to the tips even in our zone !
i wish i could grow the new hydrangeas...some of the new ones out there look pretty.
this yard has been easy to look after...hubby poured concrete curbs, and raised lots up
so i can get at them easier. in my last yard i would often stay on my hands and knees
across the yard lol....
so is everyone having ok weather ?
had the old schnauzer at the vet yesterday...hubby took him and i really didn't think he
was coming back...but the vet gave him prednisone to see how he does.
14 years... going to miss him like crazy when the time comes.. he has been such a loyal
part of the family. i remember the one time the son was about 10 yrs. old and was teasing
him. he grabbed the kids hand...looked him in the eye, and gave him a little growl. made
it QUITE clear he wasn't going to put up with it. scared the bejeebers from the kid!
hopefully he can enjoy some more time in the yard.
have a good nite all

Our weather got up to 5c........... now it's 3c, so it's not so great right now. A couple of weeks ago we go up to +15c, and we'll have that again, soon :-)
Glad your schnauzer is doing good. 14 years is a good age.
I remember when a dog we had was sitting next to me, and unbeknownst to me our 8 mo old had tangled his wee fist into the dog's hair and pulled a fistful out. Lady didn't even bark, and I only realized our son had done this when I saw the hair - She knew that he was a baby, I guess.........

I'm thinking perhaps our slew of 'record breaking temps' may have come to an end. Furnace is on this morning, and it's kinda chilly outside .. course, that could change in a heart beat .. the rain yesterday has greened up the lawns .. and made things look a bit less 'dirty'.

Lindy, our 2 Westies are both protective of us .. not in a bad way .. but they put themselves, and their BARKING in between us and the person they are unsure of .. it's nice to see, but, at times, rather irritating as they tend to try to OUT BARK one another !!!!

Am hoping one of the Green Houses here bouts sells 'Nine barks' kinda excited now to get one .. I am happy to have the tidbit re APHIDS .. creepy lil buggers those are .. and .. destructive !!!

Off to physio today .. last session for this week .. hard to believe it's Friday tomorrow !! This week has flown by ..

Take care

~M~

Morning all, another sunshine day here with high temps, weekend they say will still be higher than normal but not quite as high as what we have had all week.

Enjoyed my day home yesterday, had to stay in close proximity to back deck as I was answering calls from home..did manage to bet the back deck enclosures down, washed everything, moved the cafe furniture into secret garden and had a big bonfire with what was presently being used.

Greg picked up my new patio set, got to give him credit, didn't flinch when he brought the two crates and we realized the set had to be put together..omg, so many parts and pieces but like a loving son, stayed till dark until the entire set was on the back deck..laughed when I said I would spend time sitting, I got that look ' but you never sit' lol

Was laughing to myself as I drove in, worked from home (if you can call it that when you answer about 10 calls) yesterday and will do so Friday and I come in today which is payday..my hand should really shake when I take my paycheck today.

I just could not believe last night as my little landscaper came to help just how much growth I saw in the gardens since Sunday when we were raking..my Forthysia's are showing mega yellow leaves, lilac buds are opening..amazing once you rake and the sun gets at it just how it thrives.

Told Greg to look up, few of the 30' trees have buds opening into leaves..wow, likely leaves on trees by Easter..imagine!

"M" you will love Ninebark, bet that is not all you come home with...last year I bought miniature snowballs, think they do something in the dna, not prone to aphids..I'll have to read up on them and if not then will spray with neem. I did plant my lilac tree last night, thinking of picking up another tonight..no frost whatsoever in the ground, easy digging.
You will be pleased to have physio behind you. Any plans for visiting Lorna's parents? A bit back you said she wasn't well, is she now feeling ok?

Lindy, perhaps your schnauzer was just having an off day and will get to enjoy summer with you.

Had a St. Bernard when I lived on Little Lake, he must have sensed I wasn't a great swimmer..I would no sooner be out enjoying that he would come, gently take me by the arm and drag me back to shore.

Woke up to a world of white.......... took about 10 min to clean off my car of the "snowball" snow!
It's only minus 1c right now, but should warm up soon, I hope.

Another rainy day in Thunder Bay .. but .. rain = green up, so, we can all live with that.

Betty .. Lorna's folks will come here in May .. Lorna is dealing with a very painful right knee .. since her right leg is her only leg, it has supported her on its own now for almost THREE years .. can you believe come this Sept it has been 3 years since her amputation !! Anywho .. I kinda thought her knee would have acted up sooner .. but.. we see the doc on Monday and will take it from there .. likely some physio along with XRays and MRI .. hopefully NO surgery required .. don't even want to think about that !!!

If I do purchase a Snowball Bush along with the Nine Barks .. I'll make sure to read the Snowball tag, or ask a nursery worker, if the bush is prone to aphids.
Worked in the perennial bed the other day .. it's dry as a bone .. so .. bring on the rain ..
Hopefully the deer won't notice the tender DayLily shoots !! Have to remember where I put my bucket of 'Deer Scram' !!

Susan .. hope the snow was short lived !! Rumor has it we may see some in the coming week ..

TGIF ^_^


~M~

Marilyn - 50% of the snow has melted, but there's still quite a bit on the ground.....
It's minus 4c right now, and 11am. High of minus 2 today. By Wed, it's supposed to get to plus 11c.....

hi gals, what a difference in the old dog ! just a couple of days of pills.
weather here has been cooling down now, next week some rain too.
betty, how big is your yard ?? it sounds great. room for ponds, and so many plants.
this lot here looked big when it was empty, but with the house, hubby's big garage,
and the driveway, it seems there's not much left. i guess that's okay too... easy to
keep on top of it all.
i remembered the name of the new ninebark..it's amber jubilee, for the queen's 60th on
the throne. the color is really nice.
something on the news about how much garbage is laying all over the city...
it is bad...that and the pot holes, and the squeegee people. lol
have a good nite
L

WOOT WOOT !!! If I suddenly 'disappear' it could mean we won the LOTTO MAX, apparently someone from TBay won it and we have 3 tickets .. Gord is in town and has them with him to check .. oh .. the pain of anticipation LoL !!!

Lindy .. love the name of that Nine Bark .. I'm a 'semi monarchist' .. think the Queen is kind of a nice gal .. lots of history travels with her and her family ..

Wish we had less property .. keep thinking a condo would be nice at this time of year, but, I do not forsee that anytime soon, so, it's business as usual re the 'clean up' .. good thing it's only 4 of the 10 acres that are cleared !!

Watched 'The Descendants' with George Clooney last evening .. very good movie .. great story line. Then watched "Carnage" with Jodie Foster and Kate Winslet .. odd movie .. kept watching it because we had rented it .. it took place in an apt in NY .. never moved from that Apt .. a squabble between 2 couples re their sons who had had a falling out ..

Damp and cool here .. laundry on tap, and MAYBE I'll make PNut butter cookies .. BIG maybe !!

Have a good one

~M~

SIGH!!! Won't be disappearing, didn't win on any of the tickets .. almost GLAD, started to really THINK about it .. sort of scary !!!

~M~

Yes Marilyn - there are TV shows showing how winning The Big One changes your life, including those that Hound you for assistance. I have specific people I know I would help (after digging myself out of my financial "hole"), including our Church, but really - would I have to change my ph#? hmmmmmm I'm always caught twixt-and-tween as to whether I would want the responsibility of that much $$
Wish we have More property. 36ft x 60 ft lot sure doesn't leave much for planting (with our 14x52 ft trailer on the lot!) I'll come share some of yours, k? lol

Lindy - glad to hear your "old dog" is doing better on the medication!!!

Come on down Susan .. LoL
I am reminded of the saying 'be careful what you wish for' !!!
When we were house hunting 24 years ago Gord wanted to move to the country, he had been raised in a rural area and I thought it was a good idea as Murray (our son) was just young .. plus, we had big dogs at that time ..
This house had been on the market for a year .. reason being the acreage (lots to mow and care for) and, the woman selling was looking for the 'right buyer' .. she had been widowed and had 2 teenagers .. her hubby had built the home .. as it came to pass .. I had cared for her Mom on Hospice .. long story short .. she accepted our offer, and, 3 months later we moved from our 155ft x 80ft .. to a new home on 10 acres ..
NOW, we're 24 years OLDER and doing the upkeep is not so much FUN anymore .. but .. it's still nice to have the room.

Before I knew we had had not won Lotto Max I was thinking of how it would change our lives .. perhaps NOT for the better ... think I'll remain just as happy at status quo.

Made 5 dozen PNut butter cookies, burned a dozen for good measure LOL .. just ONE flippin minute too long in the oven and POOF .. black bottoms .. funny thing about PNut butter cookies, thay even taste good a bit burned
^_^

~M~

Marilyn - even 155ft x 80ft would be great............. siiiiiiiigh

OH PNut butter cookies! We got some given to us (friend works at Timmies!) and I love 'em! I was looking in Bob's "1001 Cookie Recipes" book, and found about 7 PB cookie, several bars and square, etc - all containing PB! I found one I like, so am going to see if they're anything like the Timmies cookies.
lol One recipe I found makes 4 to 6 cookies per cookie sheet - they're called Jumbos for a reason!!!!! That's not the one I'm making, though LOL

oh you guys...got me thinking of cookies !
daughter is home this week-end..getting all our taxes done, and she LOVES to bake.
i make sure there is always butter in the freezer for when she comes home.
see if i can drop some hints.....
about the ninebark..jeffries nursery has nice pics of it..and even shows the queen
planting one. the ole gal does pretty good for her age!
did anyone watch the new dancing with the stars ? it looks like it will be a good year.
cold here today, rained early this morning
nite all L

Morning all, first got up and brrr it was cold, forgot coffee when did groceries yesterday and needed a fix so off to grocery store, luckily Foodland is only down the street. By the time I came home birds are chirping and sun coming out so guess I will get a few hours of outdoor work in today! Ohhh might even cut a few daffodils and bring them inside to enjoy.

Two kitties seem to each have picked a twin size bed in one of the bedrooms, talk about hair so washed all the bedding, needs to be made now, bit of dusting, wash floors and there you go it's play time.

"m" would not want to win big one..perfect for me would be about 250k, just enough to treat myself to a few things.

Went to car dealership yesterday, looked at the chev sonic, fell in love with it, candy apple red..would have bought it in a sec, however, good judgement set in..have my little Aveo that I just did a lot of preventive maintenance to, looks like new, mega miles on it but runs like a charm..I just bought a patio settee set for back deck for same as they would give me on trade in..not goingto happen..so, will drive intil something major happens then go buy a car. Alternative would be to give it to Kyle but I always do same for all 4 grandkids, not prepared to go that route...lol

Cookies, yikes, I will stay away from baking them, bake and eat them all I'd do and I'm really going to start watching what I eat, need to lose 25lbs..easy to put on but not so much fun taking it off. Now that I can get out biking, gardening etc it may help. Now if I lived at your place "m" could make a track around the 10 acres so I could walk/run or bike.

Had so many precut shapes from stained glass pieces I made that I decided to make a stained glass window panel with scraps..even melted some of same color glass not roundels...didn't buy anything but a roll of solder and two links of chain..think the friend I'm giving it to will like it..

While I've all stained glass tools out, might make another for Christmas gift..hmmm while resting between yard duty..

Having trouble with Internet connection, rarely enough to open sites..will call them tomorrow if not fixed.

g'morning ! B we have an old ford ranger 410,000 k's still runs but ticks when cold. not worth anything..so we'll probably keep it around. we have an escape too,
great in the winter...nice for shopping and getting in and out of, but a little car would save on fuel costs
been looking at magazines at what's new for 2012, there's dahlia'dark angels' single flower/burgandy leaves
a new coralbell..'stainless steel' a new column crabapple 'emerald spire' 15x6 ..
'goldspur' amur cherry 15x9 this tree has neat gold exfoliating bark, saw these in the new
'garden making' magazine.
i'm a fool for magazines.. and the catalouges. holes from alberta, hortico from ontario.............cheers L

Lindy, have the Garden Gallery guide out..last year I ticked all perennials, trees, shrubs I have so that I can purchase something new..in the note section I will mark those you've just listed..

When I had the timing belt and rad done last fall they. Told me I could likely get another 160kl there are 2 stone chips on hood and nothing else wrong with body..Lordy,summer/winter tires are worth what they were giving..no offense to dealership but I'm not going for it.

On cool side, did go out and do a bit of burning, I smell like a bbq'ing betty lol but it's a bit damp for me. Instead of taking a chance catching a cold or making my head pound even more, think I will go in search of my seeds I saved from plants last head and organize them..another week or so shall scatter and hope for the best!

B. my hubby would say your car is just broken in !
plant rack is set up..it holds 16 plug trays..so far have 4x72 of tomatos, 1x72 of peppers
and 1x72 of perennials.
each plug tray makes 4 trays of 3.5" pots
lots of friends have been asking for petunias and marigolds, the plug trays work great,
each hole is 1.5 " square..so i start them late april. and they're a nice size by planting time. not in full bloom... but they last longer than commercial plants.
unfortunately, most of the flowers and baskets at the stores are in full bloom by june and
finished early. one thing i'll do is to buy the hanging baskets on sale...pop them into a bigger planter... give them a haircut and a good shot of fertilizer.
but there are some hybrids like the 'supertunias' that don't set seed....so they basicly don't die. i've had them blooming into october..it looks strange.. everything dying out, but
these bubble-gum pink petunias..blooming away !!
proven winners has a web site check it out
happy and safe week to all
L

wow, what size of veggie garden do you have?? Now that is a tremendous amount of work. I've tried several years running, waste of time and seed for me. Did purchase a pkg. of expensive vine seeds, might give them a try. Found several containers of seeds from my own gardens, worked up some earth and scattered, will see if any come up.

Is super petunia's something different than the wave petunia's?

oh they're not all for me ! actually we have room for about 40 tomatos..but since i'm
starting them..i have lots for my family and friends.
and the petunias are so $$ to buy...and a 6-pack sure doesn't go very far, i like to start
them from seed.
the marigolds too...are so easy to start, but i need about 50 to go across the front of my yard so this way is so much cheaper.
the supertunias are grown from cuttings, so all of them are clones..
they don't follow the growth cycle of a regular annual...grow/set seed/then die.
thats why 'dead-heading' keeps your annuals going longer. kind of freaky what's being
done to plants now.
L

Just had a call from Garden Retreat that the plugs I ordered are in - dont even remember what I ordered probably Calibrocha and Petunias for containers. Guess I better get ready to do some repotting and get them under the lights. Well I have been complaining of being bored - this will at least give me one thing to do!

Back to theC ancer Clinic tomorrow - maybe restart chemo on Wed although it would be nice to have another week - but whatever the doc says!
Tree trimming tomorrow also - lots to do there.

Dont think I ever told you the dog story- just after I got home from hospital had a frantic phonecall from dog walker that he had picked up the dogs ( my dogs were staying with a friend who was going to Hawaii the next day) and when they got to the park Bailey was unconscious, no resp or heart beat! They did some CPR and rushed him to a nearby vet. Vet thinks he most likely had a big seizure but when I saw him he was still pretty much comatose. After some discussion I opted to take him home and deal with whatever happened- he just turned 15 and I was not going to do any extensive testing. Well to shorten the story after about 2 days he was back to normal! And continues to be fine! I had not expected him to survive the night he looked so bad! Guess he told us it was not his time to cross the bridge!

Carol, Wow, that sounds crazy! What a lot for you to deal with. Good old Bailey for pulling through! Good news!
I bet you will have bought yourself silly with the plug order. LOL Better get all your lights ready. Do you transplant the plugs from trays or do they come in bags?
I have been tracking my night lows in the G house and found that we are only going to 29 F soooooo maybe able to get it open soon.
Alberta Ann

Carol - so glad that Bailey pulled through!! Did he perhaps have an allergic reaction to something? My DD's pug ate a tiny bit of onion (she thinks, anyway) that fell on the floor when she was prepping dinner. Had a bad reaction, but a couple of days later was fine. Furries DO eat stuff they're not supposed to...... and being in a different house, she may have......

Time to prune the trees, eh Carol? Well, not likely This week - so much snow to come...... but then will get "normal" temps and looking forward to That! Do you have someone who will do this for you?

Adair Tree Care looks after my trees.

Ann the plugs come in trays. And I know I did not order as much as last year. I have the order saved somewhere on the computer but too lazy to look it up. Getting ready to go to a funeral- a lady who used to work for Hort Society died suddenly last week- had liver/pancreatic cancer I think.

So sorry to hear about the loss to you and the Hort Society.

Glad your boredom will be lessened, with all those plugs to re-pot!!

Can't resist

http://player.vimeo.com/video/27920977?title=0&%3bbyline=0&%3bportrait=0href=

Oh Betty - you make me think of summer, and gardens, and planting....... Thank You!! They're gorgeous!!

Carol .. nice that Bailey is still with us .. these furries keep us hopping !!

Betty, the link is gorgeous .. since the weather has returned to NORMAL March temps and conditions, it was nice to see what WILL be happening in a month or so.

Physio is ongoing, mixed reviews really .. some days good following, some days not .. but, I am able to do pretty much anything with care.
Lorna is awaiting a time and date for her right knee MRI .. between that and the phantom pain in her stump she is pretty much NOT a happy camper .. but .. I'm sure that this too shall pass ..

Off to make a meat loaf ..

TTFN

~M~

~M~ - I can understand the "phantom pain" Lorna's having, but thought she was through with MRIs?! Now that she has prosthesis for both legs, isn't she through with all that stuff, soon?

Lorna just has one prosthetic leg, the left .. when she isn't wearing it, she uses a walker and kind of 'hops' on her 'good' right leg .. after 2 years of 'hopping', the right knee is starting to complain ... so .. MRI time .. just am hoping she doesn't have to wait too long .. and that the 'fix' is easy .. PUHLEEZE !!!

~M~

has it really been 2 years? wow - how time flies
I can well appreciate how her "good" leg is compensating for her use of the prosthesis on the other "leg".
I'm with you - paying for her MRI app't to be quick, and the "fix" easy.......
Dear Lord - Lorna's gone through enough (nuff said!)

Be back in a bit..you know how there re talent shows ie American idol? Well I've been watching Senior Star...all seniors, talk about talent..on till 11, sure hope I can stay awake and watch this special Canadian show!

Hi folks,

Went to Ottawa Hort. Soc. meeting last night. Interesting talk about suitable trees for planting in city yards. I went to get ideas but came home filled with hope for our black ash. The city is being hard hit by the Emerald Ash Borer but we've had out tree inoculated. He showed a picture of two at the Dominion Arboretum - one had been inoculated and was looking healthy. The other had not and was nearly dead. I had not counted on the inoculation working but would really like to keep this tree as it's SW of the house and provides significant shade. DH and the original next door neighbour dug it out of the bush in 1971 and planted it straddling the lot line between our two driveways. Current next door neighbour (to the west) doesn't like it, but our approach is to do what we can to keep it alive and if it doesn't work, let them take it down.

We've got freezing rain this morning. Yuck!

We have several Black Ash on the property, seems they must be sort of indigenous to this region .. so far so good re the Borer .. I keep flashing back to the last onslaught of Army worms/Tent Caterpillars .. about 7 years ago .. my gosh, it was gross and devastating .. not sure which of those adjectives should have gone first !!!

Intermittent light snow here today, the furnace is on, so I know it's a cool one out there !!

Betty .. have heard of the Seniors show .. we have them here as well in some of the newer 'Retirement Homes' .. they're quite popular, and generate large audiences .. I do believe Chartwell is a backer for the show?

Off to physio again today ... fingers crossed it isn't as 'owie' as yesterday !!!

Thanks for T & Ps for Lorna .. one can only hope this is a 'fixable and MINOR hurdle' ..

Take care all

^_^

~M~

slept really late - in bed by 11:30 and now it's after 9:30 - just woke up. Guess I needed the sleep! Lately we'd been going to sleep about 2 to 3 am, and we decided that wasn't a good thing. This being out of work sucks for both of us.
I got a Job Fair to go to at a company called My Sewing Place - Saturday at 8am! They're looking for a Administrative Assistant.

Morning, bit under the weather last few days, must read up when I get myself organized on what you are all up to....

Imagine 80 last week, snow tomorrow, wont stay on the ground for long though.

Hope you feel better Betty ..

Cool here in Thunder Bay .. typical March weather, seems to be going out like a LION !!!

Busy, as always, must mean I;m still alive LoL

Take care

~M~

was 55 yesterday..... and hopefully higher today - just had snow on Monday - crazy, eh?
I thought March came in like a Lion.............!!

First blooms!

Hepaticas in the north bed ( facing south)