CLOSED: September Birthday Thread

There's always room for more folks to join us. If you're just stumbling upon our September thread or have lurked in the past and would like to join the fun, here's how our group works. During your Birth Month, you will receive a Birthday Card from each of the other participants. And in turn, you are to mail a Birthday Card to each participant during their Birth Month. Who doesn't enjoy receiving a thoughtful Card instead of junk mail and bills? A Card and a 1st Class Stamp, it's as simple as that. Purchased and handcrafted Cards are both welcome. Come on and have some fun!!!!

September Birthday(s):
GAgirl1066 / Paula -- September 1

Current Birthday Club Members:
Rouxcrew / Joy -- January 15
Irisluvr0252 / Debbie -- February 25
ClanCampbell / Chris -- February 28
hartzell81 / Heather -- March 3
Goldhillal / Crystal -- March 21
Carolyn22 / Carolyn -- April 3
AmandaEsq / Amanda -- April 6
FruitoftheVine / Susan -- April 9
Crit / Patti -- May 10
Mud_Elf / Kris -- May 10
taters55 / Linda Kay -- June 13
texaslady62 / Lori -- June 27
kohndr / Kobi -- July 2
Goober_Fairy/Kaitlyn -- August 5
GAgirl1066 / Paula -- September 1
GardenQuail / Michelle -- October 28
Dahtzu / Faye -- December 25
Hope43 / Twyla -- December 28


In April, we agreed these folks will be responsible to start new monthly threads:
Goldhillal (Crystal) -- January
Rouxcrew (Joy) -- February
Carolyn22 (Carolyn) -- March
Irisluvr0252 (Debbie) -- April
AmandaEsq (Amanda) -- May
FruitoftheVine- (Susan) -- June
Crit (Patti) -- July
taters55 (LK) -- August
GardenQuail (Michelle) -- September
taters55 (LK) -- October
GAgirl1066 (Paula) -- November
ClanCampbell (Chris) -- December

This message was edited Sep 1, 2012 1:37 AM

This message was edited Sep 17, 2012 5:39 PM

Hi, all!
First, thanks to my husband for helping me get this set up :)
The picture above is of a cake I decorated at a cakes and crafts Night hosted by the Women's Ministries at my church several years ago. For a couple of years or so, they hosted an evening each month where women could come and enjoy delicious cakes and do various crafts. One evening, the special "craft" of the month was cake decorating. I did most of the decorating, though I had a little help here and there. Then we got to take our cakes home to share with friends and family. Had my husband take a picture before the cake was cut :) And, now, here's the perfect opportunity to share it with my gardening friends!
Paula, HAPPY BIRTHDAY! I hope your weekend is a special one!
Michelle

Thank you Linda and Michelle!

The cake looks yummy! What a neat idea..that had to be such fun!

Nothing special going on....My daughter left yesterday to go with one of her friends to the lake for the weekend and my husband and son are going to be hunting all day. Dove season opens today at 12;00 noon. So I thought it would be the perfect time for some 'ME' time. I'm going to our house on the coast and shop all day long...LOL I will probably eat at Olive Garden (one of my favs) because they have the never ending pasta, soup, and salad. Yummmm!
I'm going to go to every nursery I can find and then I need to go to the fabric store and see if I can find some fabric to make curtains for my sons room. Still don't have the first curtain in the new house, BUT that's the way I want it. Way out in the country and we built it to have views from each room..so why cover them up. Got to put something in son's room mostly because of the sun.

Everyone have a wonderful day..gonna be a 'cooker' here...took my doggie out this morning and started to sweat just standing there at 7:00 in the morning. Horrible humidity!

Hope you have a nice and quiet Birthday!

LK, thank you for hosting last month - I really enjoyed reading all the trivia! Elliot Gould was born in 1938?? Wow..

I'm going to have to wait till Tues to get my card out to Paula - long day today and by the time I realized what time it was.. it was TOO late for the PO.. dang it!

Michelle, I love that butterfly cake.. those blue colors are wonderful!

Hi, all.
The cake and craft nights were definitely fun! And I got to try several crafts that I wouldn't have tried on my own.
FYI, the colors in the cake are actually purple (a bluish-purple), yellow, and black.
Paula, hope you enjoyed your shopping trip :) Visiting plant nurseries sounds like a lot of fun, especially if you get to purchase plants, too! Oh, and do tell us what plants you get! Looks like my card will be going out Tuesday, as well.
I was just looking through our list of participants above. There are several ladies whom we haven't heard from in a while. If you correspond with them or see them around in other threads, please head them in our direction :) It would be good to hear from them again!
Have a great Sunday, everyone!
Michelle

To my favorite GA Peach, hope your long week-end Birthday at the beach is all you hope for and more! Don't forget to wiggle your toes in the sand for me.

Happy Birday Paula!!

Hi, all.
Hi, Neener! Glad you could stop by :)
Fruity, I thought of you on Friday. We got together with some friends to go to Santa Cruz to listen to a music concert on the beach.
Michelle

A couple of days late, but Paula's birthday card is going out in today's mail.

At the library,, stopping by to yell


HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Paula.


Your cards from Miss Goober and I will be in the mail in a few days. I will be up to the docs on the 10th for my last visit to her and will get with Goober to get her stamps and cards that day.

Thank you to everyone for the birthday wishes! I had a great time just by myself, doing what I wanted to do. Bought several plants and dug up some from the house at the coast. There are tons of butterfly weed down there, so I'm transplanting some here at the new house. Also some agapanthus and daylilies. My car is stuffed. There was barely enough room for my little pooch!

Thanks again for the bday wishes and cards!

Hi, all.
Glad to see more of our group are able to stop by :)
Paula, sounds like you had quite a car-load of plants! What fun! Have fun getting them all settled into their new home :)
Elfie, glad you could stop by, too :)
Anyone do anything special yesterday? It was a nice day around here, so we went for a hike. We first visited the redwoods along the coast and spent some time by a pond listening to the ducks. Then we went to the warf in Santa Cruz for dinner and heard the ocean waves coming in on the beach as we walked out to the restaurant. And my dog had a great time, too :)
So, what all is happening in everyone's gardens these days? My tuberoses and amaryllis belladonnas have been blooming in August. Most of the amaryllis belladonnas have finished blooming and are either growing seeds (actually look more like tiny bulbs) or are thinking about it, but there are a few flowers still blooming. . I'm enjoying the last of these. Some of my tuberose blooms have faded, but there are others still to open.
Sadly, I did lose a few plants, including my dianthus and lavender. Didn't get them watered regularly enough this summer :(
So now I've been planning what to grow for the winter and spring, and adding new soil to the containers that need it. And my plants that made it through the dry summer are happy I've started watering them again!
Michelle

No special plans here, just took it easy! Sounds like you had a lot of fun, digging up plants working in the garden!

Wow! Sept. 5th already. Time is flying just like Mother said it would when I got old as dirt. The older you get, the faster time fly's.
Glad your birthday was good Paula, lol, and stay 39 as long as you don't forget the real #.
Hello to all of you and have a great day.
Susan, love tour Zinnia and Butterfly. Looks a bit like the ones I took. Butterfly's make me love Zinnias even more.
Hugs

Beautiful shots of those butterflies!

Hi, all.
Faye! Great to hear from you! :) My mother-in-law says the same thing about time going faster the older she gets. And, I hate to say this, but I've even noticed it myself... Of course, those times when you want time to go fast, it still slows down :)
Michelle

Darn voles ate all of my belladona amaryllis this year. Didn't get to see a one bloom.

Faye, zinnias and glads are my favorite flowers. They remind me of home and my Grandmother who grew them. I hear ya on the time flies thing. OY!

Michelle I'm sorry time has gotten faster for you, but enjoy it now..it speeds up.
Nita I will be saving zinnia seeds and will be glad to share.
Have a blessed day all you dear friends.

Cute Faye....looks like lollipops have been stuck in them.

PRICKLY PEAR JELLY
1 gal. prickly pear cactus fruit, very ripe, deep garnet color
4 c. juice
4 c. sugar
2 pkgs. fruit pectin
Gather the fruit using tong and gloves. Put fruit in sink with water. Using tongs, scrub under running water with a brush or scrubber to remove stickers. Cut fruit in half. Place in large pan. Boil until fruit is shriveled. Mash with potato masher. Strain through jelly bag or cheese cloth. Bring juice and pectin to boil. Add sugar and boil to jelly stage. Pour into jelly glasses and seal.

What a fun description, Paula.

Faye, The property next door has Prickly Pear Cacti growing in a large piece of a concrete culvert placed on its side so it looks like a big shallow ring-shaped planter, and was just admiring the fruits as I passed by today. Those plants have been growing there longer than we have lived here, almost 19 years, and the display is a shadow compared to yours, despite several pads that escaped the culvert over the years and rooted in the ground. Last year about this time I watched a group of teenage boys walking who totally destroy the fruits with sticks they were carrying. Of course I opened the door and yelled at them...lol But by then it was too late.

Have any of you eaten pickled cacti? I've often been tempted to buy a jar at the grocery store to try.



This message was edited Sep 6, 2012 10:02 PM

Hi, all.
Neener, so sorry about the voles getting your amaryllis belladonnas. Will you try planting more? If so, is there some way you can put some type of wire mesh around them to protect them from the voles in the future?
Faye, there are times when it's handy having time go faster... like when I finally got braces :) I got the Invisaline kind... much easier to take care of and I could still eat whatever I wanted :)
Forgot to ask last time I posted... What color are the zinnias? We planted some at the Blind Center, too. Come to think of it, I don't know what color those are, either. But we have a lot of butterflies around :) I like the flowers, but I keep wishing they were fragrant. Of course, if they were, then I'd have to grow some here at home, too. And I'm not sure where I'd put them :)
LK, the prickly pear jelly sounds interesting to try, but I think I'll let someone else make that one for me... something about the prickly part! :)
Michelle

Linda I'm just to old and lazy to try the PRICKLY PEAR JELLY . Bet it would be quite tasty, but I'll pass.
I have tried a couple of times to thin the Cacti, but it just keeps on growing. It blooms beautiful in Summer, looks like yellow roses.

Nothing in my yard as pretty as this Hibiscus.

Beautiful Faye...save the seeds if there are any. I got some off of my 'Peppermint schnapps' yesterday. Will be interesting to see what they bloom like.

That is a beautiful red hibiscus Faye! I got home from a week babysitting the Grand kids, and the darn ants stripped my snow queen hibiscus! I was so mad! I hope it will come back!

I will be saving seeds. This is one bush that's hard to beat.

Hi, all.
I didn't realize ants would go after plants. LK, I do hope it comes back, too!
Well, spent Friday doing more gardening work. Went through my amaryllises and cleaned them up. Lost a few -- I think some weren't very healthy, but others just got to dried out from the lack of water. But I think most will pull through all right. Not sure how well they'll bloom in the season to come, but time will tell. And finally got all my containers watered! Now I just need to keep up with them :) And the last of my amaryllis belladonna flowers is fading, but still enjoying the last of my tuberoses.
Everyone, have a safe and enjoyable weekend!
Michelle

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1277320/
Just a few more days to add your name to the list for the PJ night gown swap!

Looking great, Faye. Mine has long finished blooming. Of the handful of cuttings taken weeks ago, three I think took and will probably give them to my mail lady in exchange for all the eggs she's kept us in.

Hope everybody's having a great week-end.

Tree cutter ants will strip anything living in a matter of hours if you don't watch it!

Those sound nasty, LK. Hub's tomato plants looked so healthy then overnight the top leaves are completely gone. Thinking the grasshoppers had a feast.

Hi, all.
I don't think we have tree cutter ants around here. And if we do, I don't think I'd want to meet them!
Hey, I forgot to tell you guys, but if you'd like to see my cerinthe and amaryllis belladonna flowers, I posted some pictures over in the seed trading forum in DJ'S Fall Seed Robin Interest. Will be sending deejay9 some cerinthe seeds to share with others. Not sure if my amaryllis belladonna seeds will be ready in time, but if they are, I'll send some of them, too. (But these seeds look more like tiny bulbs, so perhaps I'll need to share these elsewhere.)
Much cooler here today. And windy... Feels like fall. But quite nice on my deck :) Would be a great day to replant my freesias, but I took a break from gardening to play some board games with friends :)
Have a great evening, everyone!
Michelle

This message was edited Sep 8, 2012 5:27 PM

One of our old-timey neighbors stopped by tonight with more tomatoes and Red Bell Peppers. She took one look at the damage on Hub's tomato plants and said it was definitely the result of Tobacco Hornworms.

Growing up in SC, Fire Ants were awful. If you ever step on a hill and disturb it, whether you're wearing shoes or not, you'll never forget how a hundred or more of these tiny red buggers will cover your feet and legs in the blink of an eye, and it'll feel like every one of them left a stinging bite. Thankfully, they aren't found in Virginia, but you gals further South know exactly what I'm talking about.

Freesias, hadn't thought about them for a long time, Michelle. They aren't hardy for me and had forgotten what a California staple they are with their pretty pastel blooms and sweet fragrance.

Fruity,
I know all about those ants..we have gazillions of them now. It has been so wet, they are popping up everywhere. But the worst thing is..they're getting in my flower pots because thats about as 'high and dry' as they can get. Not a day goes by lately that I don't get bitten 3 or 4 times. My husband keeps wanting to put gas on them, but I tell him no.

Woke up to a nice cool morning...the rest of this week is supposed to be mid 80s during the day and mid 60's at night. Nice!!! The dogwoods are already changing and dropping some of their leaves and a few other trees. The acorns are falling too. I guess Fall is right around the corner.

Faye those cacti are awesome.I still have a piece that you sent me a few years ago. It hasn't bloomed yet here, but it is getting bigger.

Sooz I pulled all my tomatoes a few days ago because the worms had found them. First time I planted San Marzano tomatoes and I will plant them again. They are really a good tomato for drying and also for sauce and roasting. Just as sweet as can be. Did have a lot of trouble with end rot for some reason, but I had so many plants that I managed to get enough to eat.

Right now we are having the annual infestation of the marbled orb weaver spiders. They have webs in every window. They are catching stink bugs, so they get to stay. Funny story. I came downstairs one morning this week and turned on my phone. had a text from DH saying "under no circumstances go out the front door. I go to the window and look out. Dang. One of the spiders had got a huge web across the front door right at eye level. DH almost walked into it in the dark on his way to work. He had to go out the back door. No way to win. If you take down the webs they are just back the next day.

I'm not sure what kind of spider I killed outside my front door yesterday - but he was huge and was trying to overtake my porch.. I had no choice.

OH - Neener, I thought about you when I saw this:

Hi, all.
Why, Neener, I've heard of guard dogs, but never heard of a guard spider! :) LOL
Oh, and now I know what my dog's favorite tree must be... Any guesses? (pause, in case you're thinking of an answer...) A DOGWOOD tree :) He LOVES dogs!
... Now, that was a big buzzy thing! Something with a very big buzz just went by the window... Sure glad it was outside and not inside!
Several times this week while I've been outside, I've been blessed to hear a hummingbird flying around :) (In case you're wondering, that wasn't the buzzy thing I just heard, though.)
Remember to stop and enjoy God's beautiful creation this week! What a diversity of plants, animals, birds, insects, and more!
Michelle

Hi, all.
Taking a moment to be thankful for the freedoms we have, for those who guard and protect our country and communities, and for those who come to our aid when disaster strikes! THANK YOU!
Paula, be watching your mail! I mailed your card today. And as usual, it's signed by me and my guide dog :)
Michelle

Thank you!