Mid-Atlantic Gardening: Your Neck of the Woods 2015 Part 6

The weather here is not only beautiful but the trees are putting up a gourgeous show. Will get a few pics when I can. The Maple out front is a beautiful color of red and out back the forest is a sea of yellow and brown.

I like pine needles as mulch too. My neighbor has a bunch of white pines and I'll probably get some from him this weekend. There are also tons of leaves in our yard but I think there might be too much grass in the cut this weekend to use it as mulch. I usually like to have a higher shredded leaf ratio. I mix that with the pine needles and it makes a nice winter cover that I leave on the next spring.

I love it when I can bring home Loblolly or longleaf pine needles from NC they look good and last longer. Pine straw is used everywhere down there. I like the contrast between the natural warm brown of the mulch and the green of the plants. I found a neighbor who has a bunch of white pines and I'm hoping they'll share. :-}

I have always loved to say Loblolly pine over and over. It just flows off the tongue.

We have a Loblolly in the way back yard. It's dropping needles now. A bunch came down with the wind but there still are a bunch in there. It's too tall to measure but I'm thinking it's about 20' tall.

I haven't had time to read through all of the back posts, but I thought I'd let all you MAF friends that my father passed away unexpectedly a few days ago. Thank God, he went the way all of us hope to go - peacefully in his sleep in his own bed, without pain - but that doesn't make it any easier for the rest of us. I will be online every now and then just to preserve my sanity : - (

Oh Muddy, sorry to hear about that. It is fortunate it happened peacefully though.

Muddy, my thoughts and prayers are with you and your family. Let me know if there is anything I can help out with.

(((Muddy))) I'm so sorry. What a loss, and what a shock.

Sorry to hear that, Muddy.

Odd--My Ex passed last Saturday--Speedie's Mom this week (?)--and now your Father.

Fall seems to e full of sadness--in many ways... G.

Oh Muddy so very sorry for your loss.

Muddy, my condolences and prayers for comfort for you and your family.

My condolences Dear.

Susan, we are so sorry for your loss.

Susan stop by for some MAF sanity when you can and know that we hold a dear spot for you in our hearts and hold you and Speedie in our prayers and gentle thoughts. And, when you are ready we will listen and, thanks for letting us know what is going on with you. Peace to you and yours. Judy

posted an ugly gnome but took it out.

This message was edited Nov 1, 2015 3:32 PM

That is one ugly gnome.

oh, heck. I just noticed which posts came before mine. I think I'll take that out.

Please post your ugly gnome....laughs are good!!
I got back to Virginia today in time to clear all of the leaves off my lawn; that was very therapeutic. Other relatives are staying in SC with my mom through next week, then I'll be going back down to help her with all of the #$%@ that must be dealt with even though she is barely functioning.

Edited to add thanks for all of your kind condolences.

This message was edited Nov 1, 2015 6:19 PM

We'll continue to be with you in spirit, Muddy

Thanks again; it really means a lot to me.

Muddy, You notice I had to modify 'sanity' with MAF sanity. Lol I doubt we could be dictionary sane for more than a few posts! What's not to love about that!

Good to hear from you and there should be plenty leaves to rake still this season. Glad you can be there for your Mom. Do you have siblings?

I did notice that, and I agree! When reality is hard to bear, being a little insane is the only sane thing to do.

I do have siblings, but none of us live in SC so we'll be taking turns going down there until my mom figures out what she wants to do, where she wants to live, etc.

How long did they live in SC? Will she really want to move soon?

They lived there for 11 years. She probably won't want to move, but she can't live by herself in her current house. Fortunately, she does have some options.

Praying for all of you through this transition period. Hugs, dear

Hugs & prayers that all the #(*$@% will work out as smoothly as possible. Glad you & your sibs can take turns being with your mom, giving her some breathing space while she tries to put her feet on the ground and figure out the next step.

Thanks, I really appreciate it! I'm heading back down there on Saturday with my youngest daughter. We will try to schedule in some beach time....not swimming, just walking on the beach and looking at the waves...and maybe some visits to local cat rescue groups because my mom says she wants a cat. That's not really a good idea in the long term because it will limit her future living options, but adopting the right cat could really be a comforting step right now.

That sounds nice.
My friend's mom has maybe the ideal situation with a cat. The neighbor's cat adopted her! She feeds it treats and plays with it, bought it a heated house for her back porch, he visits her daily but no litter box duty. They only worry that the neighbor may not be keeping him up to date with shots, sibxe they seem so laissez faire.

I can see your mom getting a cat, and you possibly adopting it down the road...

Look for an older quieter cat. Stay away from the cute little kittens.

Sadly there is probably a good supply of older cats for adoption. All ages..
:^(

I think I'd rather a couple year old cat. Kittens are cute but have too much energy.

Kittens also have a way of climbing on you, losing their balance, and digging onto your skin with their claws as they slide down. :/

Sadly, there are a ton of older cats in shelters. There are even agencies that place senior cats/dogs to senior humans.

Agreed.. your mom needs a lap cat! Just don't come back from the shelter with more than 1... ;-)

Breeders often have "retired" girls available, and many good, smaller breeders raise kittens & cats "underfoot," so they do have cuddle-cats.

Humane Society quite often has special rates for seniors, either people or animal seniors. So you may get a good deal on a nice cat.

Speaking about pets, every dog lover should know. Xylitol a natural sweetener in toxic to dogs. One of the greatest dangers is chewing gum, but it is found in many foods.

I'm definitely going to steer my mom towards an adult cat, one that really needs her as much as she needs it, but not one that requires special medical care. I believe there are foster programs down there that will allow her to hand the cat over to another foster parent when she is out of town, which would be better than boarding the cat.

I wouldn't be able to adopt another cat because my cat doesn't get along well with other cats. I took care of one of my daughter's cats for several weeks, and had to keep it isolated because I didn't want them to fight.

I'm really glad i read THIS
http://blog.rivermudoutdoors.com/2010/08/cyberscouters-beware-of-believing.html
before heading to Globecom Wildlife Mgmt Area for our weekend walk/exploration..

Interesting! I bet that if you did take a walk in that area, you would hit No Trespassing signs and/or chain link fences with barbwire at some point.

Years ago we took a year long sail dowm the Inland Waterway to Fla.. We had just reached Norfolk, VA and as there was no wind we were under power while we took a look around. Suddenly our engine cut out and we began to drift towards the Naval ships stationed there. We couldn't toss out our anchor as there were all sorts of warnings about underwater cables, etc and all sorts of warnings about tresspass into Naval waters. In desperation we threw our dingy overboard and cranked up the little outboard engine and very slowly turned our boat around and back out into the non restricted area. Just as we got her turned around, the gun turrets on severl 'destroyers' began to rotate and train their sites on us!

Used to deliver Chinese food in the area and one nite there was an order from the Naval station just across from the Acadamy. When the person failed to meet me at the entry area I got out of my car, bags of food in my hands to find them. There seemed to be no one around at all when I heard what might have been a human voice coming from one of the ships docked along the long pier. So I proceeded to walk toward this sign of life about six ships up. As I got there and called out my best and loudest 'Hello' spotlights flared on and a booming voice said 'Identify yourself". All I could manage to say was "I have your egg rolls here, Sir' At least I knew enough not to board a vessel without permission!
I have learned not to mess with Uncle Sam. Sometimes Keep Out is the wisest course of action!