February 2015 Dreaming of Springtime.

I'm doing good, thanks ju. Actually, couldn't be better! *sarcasm* lol
I mostly just dry heave anymore when I step in kitty puke in my bare feet.

You have 4 kinds of Bamboo ju? I only have 2, 3 plants of P. bissetii and one plant of Bamboo that Joeswife gave me at the spring ru last year. Good luck growing your Bamboos, I heard they were hard to grow from seeds, or maybe that was just getting Bamboo seeds, one of them I think.

Hi ya Will , both really I believe the seeds are real this time ,,

Another seedling after six days ,, the one above I got one after 6 months waiting for it to germinate

Fargesia Janghaizgou #4 black . I believe , the pic Fargesia types are about all that are hardy here that aren't dangerously invasive .

I have sprouts but I don't have my planting book here , it is packed up.. I have hoya cuttings resting in the water in the pan, under pots. ( last pic) look close at the sprouts in the 9 pack

I guess I have to see about bamboo seeds. My desert rose finally popped open her two pods, got them out , and my oleander gave me about a thousand seeds. yippee! now to test on them bwuahaha..good night all, i am traveling to texas today at 8 am.

Looking good there ,, Debra !!! I can't do that many ,, it is fun to do and see though isn't it ..?
Later in the season ,, somebody's going to be Busy !!! lol with plants that is ..

Good luck with Texas travel . I here it is nice weather there ,,

We will do some seed chat in a while ..

This message was edited Feb 13, 2015 3:51 AM

I knew I read it somewhere before, likely not here as this was just a web search. - http://isleofbamboo.com/growing-bamboo/ Scroll down to seeds which is close to the top, right under "cuttings", which is first.

Yeah Debra, that does look like a Bamboo sprout in the 9 pack! Yes, be careful with your Tx. travels, tell them your from Ok. haha!

Wow, good going on growing the Bamboos from seeds Debra and James, I am envious!

From what I read, alot of Bamboos don't give seeds but every few years, I think there is one or at least one that only does seeds once every 120 years!

Joeswife (Debra) has a new name, the seed lady! I remember all those seeds that you brought to the ru. A thousand Oleander seeds, holy cow, busy, busy!

Nice seed talks. I do not collect or save seeds. Looking so farward to spring. Please hurry up and warm up....

Glad to hear you renewed too Will. We plant addicts have to stick together.

Thanks Betty, glad to be here! I expect I'll be around for quite some time. Yes we do have to stick together!

Hi Ronna, Plainwell, MI. was in the news lately, a radio station there got attacked by an evildoer for ransom or some such. - http://www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo/index.ssf/2015/01/ransomware_attack_on_plainwell.html Maybe a warmup in about 2 months, I can't wait either!

Happy Valentine's Day everybody!

Yes that radio station is not far from me. Strange huh? He did not pay the ransom and just started using his old modum and picked up where he left off. I do not listen to that station ever.

Happy Valentine's Day to all!

I'm alive and well, just been very busy.

Thursday, I got my crumbling old filling re-done and we ran to the mall so I could get new kitchen curtains in a sage vine pattern. I love them! We had the twins overnight Tuesday, and took them with us to get groceries before taking them home Wednesday.

We opted to not have the boys spend the night Friday because of the extremely cold air that was to move in and I cleaned house.

DD wanted to take the boys to the Sponge Bob movie last night so we had the twins for a couple of hours. I wasn't going to keep them overnight again. I need a break. DGD coughed all over me before I could get a Kleenex so we'll see if I get her cold. I'm almost out of Listerine. If I have to I'll make thyme tea!

I think I have my vegetable seed order ready. I'm getting them from Pinetree and Jung. Jung has the apple tree I want. I'm getting a Red Gravenstein. I'm pretty sure that's the tree my neighbor has that I can smell from the road when they are ripe. They are crispy for ripening in August. I don't like soft Transparents, but DH does. Too bad I only have room for one more tree right now......

No robins for me yet and I can't start seeds till mid to late March. I'll bide my time tho :o)

Have a wonderful Sunday!

BP, I know too about those old fillings. I was brave & ate popcorn at the Sponge Bob movie yesterday with no dental mishaps for once. I decided to treat Chloe & Nicole, but ended up enjoying the movie too. I want to do a sage color scheme in my kitchen. There's something so calming about the color sage. Could you post a pic of the curtains? Also, how old are the twins now? Any recent pics of them? I just submitted my order to Pinetree Thursday night. They're one of my favorite seed companies keeping me supplied in some of my hard to find veggie seeds. I receive the Jung catalog every year and have spent hours browsing thru it, but I don't believe that I've ever ordered from Jung. What's been your experience and any recommendations?

We're suppose to be getting snow, but nothing here yet. It's one of those borderline storms. I've had Chloe since yesterday afternoon and she may end up spending the night again since Carla is at work until 10 tonight and has college classes tomorrow; if they're not cancelled. I'm off work for the holiday tomorrow and Chloe doesn't have school. If we get the snow predicted, I'll just keep Chloe with me since she brought plenty of insulin and needles to last another night and day.

Take care all and remember that DST is just a 3 weeks away!

Betty,
I have to be doubly careful because I have a crack in one of my top back teeth. I baby it!
Yes, I forgot to take pictures last night. The color fades when the daylight shows even tho they are a bit thicker than the usual kitchen curtains. Long ago we found brownish paneling with flowers and quail. The sage goes so well with it. The rest of the walls behind me are criso white.
The twins are three, next birthday is in June. The boys are 10 and 8 with September birthdays.
I do order from Jung. They are still cheap without skimping too much on plant size. Basically those are the two I go for. Jung had the apple tree I wanted and Stark Bro's didn't. I think Stark just want to promote their mixes and the newer trees. I thought when they bought Miller's out they would sell all the older type trees.
Might as well keep her there. We find it's easier sometimes to do that.
Ooooh, I wish they would do away with DST!

Bikes last summer and Grandpa gets credit for the snowball fight. I was inside cleaning up, LOL! I did take the pictures.Both little ones are coming to get me.

Cute Bp!! LOL!!

I've been pretty busy with work. We're getting ready for spring and today busy setting up winter stuff again. lol. We had just put a lot of it away when the snow hit.

BP, what lovely grandkids! I love the scenery in the summer pic.

Pepper, all I can say is "job security". : )

Pepper,
Be glad you're job needs you. At least you aren't sitting. I would have to keep moving.

Thanks Betty :o)
We live on the edge of town. First picture faces West and it's a small tree line, but keeps the fertilizer plant dust down that is over there. The garden is a neighbor's and altho it's changed hands, both plant sweet corn.
Next picture faces North, and keep going to the end of the block after this house, across the road, and you walk down the gravel and out of town. That is also my garden which used to be all flowers. I miss the flower bed, but need the garden.

We are as warm as we are going to get and I think I will put on thermals and a scarf and walk around the block a few times. Ahem, I will be wearing the usual winter attire....
Nope, just let the cat out and I think I'll be treadmilling.

My Petey is a bit under the weather but has drank and eaten a little. He's not too lethargic. Not sure if he used the litter pan, but time will tell. Hopefully he gets over it himself and we won't have a vet trip.

Have a peaceful day!

BP, is your Petey a cat? I hope he is okay. I love cats. don't own one, but would do anything for any of my three grandcats.

Debra,
He is. We got two feral brothers when they were 5 weeks old and still had blue eyes. Petey is what I named all my feral runts because my Granddad had a Pete the parakeet when I was little :o)
And he's OK now. Thankfully he didn't get sicker. He's eaten and been outside a few times already.

Zoe is all grey and named for Zowie Bowie :o)

I haven't seen these birds come around lately, they are a pair of Northern Flickers it looks like.
Neat birds, a big woodpecker. - http://mdc.mo.gov/discover-nature/field-guide/northern-flicker
Now I know what they like, movie popcorn!

Glad to hear Petey is okay, Sally.

Will.
Those ARE flickers and I just love them and their soft ''wicka wicka'' call in the spring. They eat ants.

We buy "Keystone" canned meats. I opened a can of turkey yesterday to tempt Petey, and to make a pot pie tomorrow before the crusts in the fridge go bad. I've been meaning to make a pie, but this will be healthier. I already have cooked carrots and peas in the fridge so I just need to cut up an onion and parboil some potatoes. I grew up on the Banquet pot pies, but they are not the same anymore. I refuse to buy them.

It was so nice yesterday that the screened in porch got up to 54°. I went out and put toys together in large tubs and tried to get them all put away in cabinets. I brought a lot of cars, tractors and other toys DD doesn't have room for, here.

The wind is really blowing and it's the warmest it will be today at 9°. It's going to drop all morning. It's GOOD to be up early again! We will hibernate for the next two days.

Have a safe day!

I love the pic of your Flicka, Will. Good Job. I love those birds too. Still down here in Texas, has turned really cold here, people dressed like me in Kansas. I am blending right in down here, I am glad I didnt bring just summery stuff. They have wisteria and lilac tress blooming here. beautiulf yellow wild flowers and giant cacti. You know I want to get a couple pads, and grab some seeds or dig up a plant, but I won't. I brought two tubs of plants, sure don't want to go home with any!

Debra,
Laughing! You might have had to shop for warm clothes while you were there. Good thing you packed for the cold!

I've been known to snap a twig or shake some seeds :o)

Have a good time and safe trip back home!

Thanks Debra and Sally. I went with the nextdoor neighbor this time and he likes butter and salt on his movie popcorn. Usually, the hundreds of times I've gone with my friend here, she likes unbuttered and no salt on her popcorn. We threw that out too but I first saw Northern Flickers here when I threw out the buttered and salted popcorn yesterday. I'm guessing they have tastebuds, I'm also guessing Suet cakes are sweet too because that's way up there on their fare I read and see.
They love eating ants and they may have been attracted to the ground here which is dotted with sunflower seeds and emptied husks which could have resembled ants from a distance, that stuff is all over the ground from our birdseed. From what I read, it's a common bird in Missouri but more uncommon in the winter, so glad to see it. They like bugs and probably not a lot of bugs anywhere right now.

It's a whopping 19 degrees right now.

Haha.. when it gets 40° in Texas they panic!
Will

Evening Will!
What movie did you see? If I have popcorn at home I'll just salt it a little. If I do butter it's the real deal. Movie popcorn has really improved so I let them butter and salt it.

I'll bet flickers would eat peanut butter. We started putting the cheapest on pine cones and do they ever go thru a jar in no time. Next year I will just do suet cakes.

Hi Sally, with the popcorn we saw Jupiter Ascending Tuesday before last (the popcorn was stale after a week..lol, it was good, good graphics thruout the movie, not just at the beginning. You know, Mila Kunis was born in Ukraine, she didn't leave Ukraine until the age of 7. It's funny, she played an English speaking Ukrainian (she also speaks Ukrainian) in the movie, she was Jupiter. - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mila_Kunis Ok ok, can you tell I like Mila Kunis?!

I last saw American Sniper last Friday with my friend here.
It was good, worthy of all the Oscar nominations. If someone doesn't like the shooting I wouldn't suggest seeing that, lots of blood and shooting folks. All the patriotism and loyalty is nice to see though.

Those Flickers were back today! I guess finishing things up. I poured the rest of the bag of black oil sunflower seed out, they all like that stuff. The cat Grubworm sits right there on top of the tv (that she puked all over) watching them, making that crazy chirping sound of when cats see birds. I'll try that peanut butter and pine cones method sometime, thanks bp.

Will Birds are great , does something for the winter hum drums

Day before yesterday a Hawk ate a squirrel in the driveway ,, ewwww .
Everybody got to see ,, comments " I don't want to watch that !!!"

billyp not fair we only started around 40 degrees and went to 4 ,, he he ??? Tomorrow a high of 6 degrees heading for4 degrees now,, below zero late nights early mornings ,,


Debra Last time I was in Texas , it never dropped below 98 degrees at night and was over a 100 degrees everyday for two weeks ,, (BIG sigh ,,, I could do with being cooked that way about now ,,

Bp, I don't like the Banquet pot pies anymore either. But I don't like any of the other brands either. They all taste weird. Last time I cooked a Banquet my mom said it smelled like a sweaty armpit. Haven't touched them since. lol

KFC has a good pot pie, but one pie contains: (approx. 2 hours on the treadmill)
790 calories
45 total fat(g)
66 carbs(g)
1970 sodium(mg)

It's still winter time and so "Mother Nature" has reminded me. The good news is I have tomato sprouts in the basement.

JW, I hope that you have a wonderful time in Texas and a safe trip home. Maybe Kansas will be thawed out by then.

Stay warm and remember that DST and Spring are almost here! (Including tree pollen season.)

I didn't want to mention , The pot pie as the Hawk and squirrel came to mind ,,
You know ,, Squirrely pot pies made for the birds ,..

Homemade or store pot Grandma's something or another , the last I ate ,, I enjoy them ,
just not the squirrel Brand ,,

it is too , too , cold here ,,

Bamboo shoot , still on the grow ,, you have seen it before ,, only thinking green is all ,,

Hi James, yeah I like watching the birds too. Man, I wish I could photograph a Great Horned Owl! I have heard them quite alot but I have only seen the outline of one once, years ago when it was after my Grandma's fish.

Hi Amanda, I prefer the Marie Calenders pot pies myself, they are delicious!

Hi Betty, I like how you break down the pot pie, that's cool, really. It is good to know what makes up foodstuffs and the energy to burn them off.

Safe travels Debra, boy it is cooling down in Texas alright. I have relatives in the Dallas area, they are always boasting about the weather, I wonder how they like 28 degrees..lol

Don't want no steenking squirrel in my pot pie! I'll leave that to all the feral cats around here. They seem to be getting their share of squirrels!

It's supposed to get down to 3 degrees tonite. That should finish off the evergreen part of my P. Bissetii Bamboo foliage and turn it all brown instead, like last year.

This message was edited Feb 18, 2015 11:12 PM

Will,
Smiling. I like her too and am glad she and Ashton Kutcher got together. He's from a small town not too far from me and we drove thru it. It's one long stretch of road with houses on each side. His Mom worked at Proctor and Gamble in Iowa City. DH did too but they weren't in the same dept.
I am for snipers. They are incredible and an asset.
Beware, once they find the peanut butter you will be buying a jar a week. They really go for it. We tied cones in the pine tree that doesn't produce the, Ironic eh? The Eurasian tree sparrows, juncos and cardinals all ate heartily.

Ju,
It can be gruesome but everything has to eat.
All I can say is numbers are irrelevant. Cold is cold!
Laughing, you and me both, under a tree with with a cold glass of whatever and sweating away!

Pepper,
EEEEWWWWW! I just buy pie crusts and really, you only need a top crust. I used two because I had them in the fridge since Christmas. I parboil the carrots and potatoes. Thicken the white sauce and pour everything into it to heat up. Then into the pie pan it goes and it only needs 20 to 30 minutes to brown the crust. Much better than store bought and there are leftovers. I cut slits in the top too.

Betty,
Awww, baby tomatoes!
I'll bet KFC is really good but if I want calories, I'll eat Chinese buffet :o)

Ju,
Since I like rabbit and squirrel, I will think of that instead of fresh kill :o)
But the bamboo is healthy, green and growing! It's what we are all waiting for.

Will,
I had to tape it in case I fell asleep, but IPTV had a show on owls last night. A couple raises them and other birds. I saw the first half hour. I'm a smart girl because I will have to re-watch it anyway to see what I missed when my eyes were closed off and on during that first half hour. We have had the Hooters all month, fairly close. Scary owls!

One more real cold day. Yep just one. Where is March?

Stay warm all!

Yeah, I'm glad they got together too, Sally. Actually, I wouldn't even be considered a cradle robber now IF we got together because she is 32 or 33!

Hehe.. anyway, look what I got a photo of, a big fat Robin! -

I hear the so-called Great Hooter here pretty often but I never see it. From what I hear they are very reclusive, unless they are after the fish in your fish-pond!

March is only 10 days away!

Darn these squirrels! - There is at least 2 in the photo gobbling up the birdseed!
Will

The good news is we burn extra calories keeping warm, so stay cold and eat up! Lol. Btw, I'm using my new tablet. I can't wait to use it this spring in the garden. : )

I have seen a Great Horned up close once. It was at the chapel at Powell Gardens back when I worked there. I drove back over to the cabin where the gardeners have their offices and got the director to come and see her. She was sunbathing on one of the pillars in the front.

Bp, the pot pie sounds good!! I may have to find a recipe and try a homemade version. Gotta be better than the frozen ones!! lol

Hehe, plenty cold here, the thermostat is on 51 degrees! It sounds bad but it stays around 70 degrees up here as the thermostat is downstairs, it is cold down there!

I wish I could see a Great Horned Owl that close, pepper! Powell Gardens brings back memories, I haven't been there in years.

I think this is that chapel in 2001, the first time I went, (pic #1) I believe I've been 5 times, but not since 2006 on Mother's Day. - pic #2
Will

Will,
Laughing! Funny how ''old'' people get after they get out of school. Suddenly we're all the ''same'' age.
Two were hooting not far from here this morning. I heard them thru the bedroom window. One is a good block south and the other southeast.
Beautiful robin! The squirrels eat our seed too, but everyone is cold and hungry so we let them. We do put corn out, but they don't eat it as well as they used to. Can we say too hybridized or GMO'ed? I don't buy corn anymore, frozen or canned.

Betty,
I like that reasoning! That's why I've considered a laptop to use when I'm outside. I can think of so many things to look up when I'm in the garden or flower beds.....

Pepper,
Awesome! We've seen them swooping around town just after dusk and we get them sitting on telephone poles. Not too often tho.
I used chicken broth instead of milk for the white sauce and subbed a couple Tablespoons of cornstarch for flour. Basically you just don't want to over-do too many vegetables. I had some left over so I've been eating a bowlful for breakfast, and I'll make biscuits to spread it over today since the pie is gone.
The link is to canned meats. This is a very good brand and it makes it easy to just open and use. We had the turkey in the pie and it was typically dryish meat. I'll just stick with the chicken beef and pork. We also get the hash. It's plain. I would add some fried onions and potatoes to it to taste a little more homemade. We get these at Walmart. They are already cooked and altho the meat is packed tight there is broth and a little fat too.

http://www.keystonemeats.com/home/cannedmeats.php

Neat Chapel pictures Will!

I got my seed order out yesterday, Yayyy! I decided to try a few Italian peppers since people on Dave's gave good reviews. Talk about adding a long column of numbers, LOL! I add backwards and forwards to make sure I come out with the same figure twice. All was good, check wrote and off to the mailbox.

I wish I had found the apple tree last fall. I would have had the hole dug for it and kept the dirt in the garage.

Have a warming trend! We all need one. Just one more week till March.

billyp What kind of Apple tree was that , ?

You all know I enjoy the conversations and pics here , I have a terrible time reading as concentrating to answer or ask questions most of the time though .

Will That sounds like a nice place ,,

Where did Joyce,/ happsgarden go ,? I know their was troubled times there ,and I did not say much to the posts ,, I have trouble finding words , when bad things happen to good people ,,

Still waiting for indicators of spring here ,,

Yeah, them dang squirrels. There is only one feeder here that they can't get in. It's a little bigger than a softball and round like a softball. The birds can get in it, with their beaks, but there isn't a place to sit. A squirrel would have no place to grab onto or sit and eat, which is good.
As far as feeders go this one wouldn't be ranked too good because birds can only get a seed and fly off, not alot of watching with that one but it keeps squirrels out. It can last up to 2 weeks, it empties slow, you might call it a globe feeder.

Oh bp, aren't you precious, your only as old as you feel, and I feel like I'm 3 times as old as I am! lol

Yeah, beautiful Robin, I hope I don't sound insulting by calling it fat, I take it back.
I'd never say that to or about a human, heck, I'm fat! lol

Does anybody know what this toothed-leaf plant is? - pic #1 I stuck a stem in that I thought was that other plant, (a Pothos I think). Anyway, it isn't that, it don't look like, but I don't know what it is.

Thanks James and Sally, that is a neat chapel. I remember it's a nice, air-conditioned respite on a hot day. Here it was on the inside back in 2001. - pic #2 Sorry it's all blurry, that was even before I got my somewhat decent camera (for that time), that camera was a real cheapo, I think it mighta been on a keychain or some such.

Yeah, I been wondering where Joyce went myself. Happ, if your out there, show yourself! : )
You know, your part of the Kansas City DG crime syndicate!
Will

Will, we stay upstairs during the cold weather and turn down our thermostat too. I have the thermostat set on 68 F and it's currently 75 F in my bedroom. I also have the heat vent closed. In the summertime, it's the opposite. I know that there's a way to adjust the air vents in the basement to deliver more air upstairs during the summer and visa versa. I'm going to have to figure it out.

I have tomatoes sprouted in the basement. I've also sown peppers and eggplants. Here's what I've started from seed:
Sweet Banana peppers
Colossal Hybrid sweet bell peppers
Gurney's Primo Jalapeno Hybrid peppers
Pingtung Long eggplant
Rosa Bianca eggplant
Amish Paste tomatoes
Mortgage Lifter tomatoes
Banana Legs tomatoes
Sungold Hybrid cherry tomatoes

We have freezing rain & sleet mix on and off. The temp is suppose reach 40 F tomorrow afternoon, so I guess we'll just have to wait it out.

I stocked up this evening on the essentials: ice cream, soda, chips, and chewing gum. LOL

Ju,
Red Gravenstein. I think it's what my neighbor has. Her's is in a side yard fairly close to the road. When I walk past I can smell the apples. It makes perfect applesauce. Just like the kind we got in grade school. They are a crisp apple, ripening in late August, so they aren't a mushy Transparent.
I think you do just fine answering.

Will,
I find a lot of birds prefer to fly off with their one seed at a time.
I feel surprisingly young :o)
It's an interesting stem. I can't imagine where you got it if you don't know the name, LOL!
It is neat inside! Yep, the old cameras just weren't very good. Even the one DD lent me in 2006 took dull colored pictures, but it served to hook me on digital.

Betty,
Back in the 70's during the gas crisis, we set the thermostat at 68° and that's what it was! I wore thermals all the time. Now we set it on 70° and that's all it is in spite of all the insulating. Luckily we have south windows in the bedroom and out here. They really add heat!
I bought the Sungold cherry tomatoes too this year and am trying some of the Italian bullhorn peppers. I did get one pkt. of California Wonders in case the Italians taste too different. I'm trying the paste tomato too, but got Opalka and maybe the San M's. I did get a jalapeno and the Black Beauty eggplant.
You have got to show a picture of those Banana Legs Tomatoes. I'm not even going to Google them because I want to be surprised, LOL!

Smiling, our snow was a bust and I stocked up on broccoli, cauliflower and salad fixings :o)

Have a warm day and ~ to Happ!