Are ya'll ready for S-N-O-W?part 2

Well we didn't get the snow here, in fact it rained and it melted all the snow we did have on the ground.

We got about two inches total I'd say. Much less than I thought we'd get. Hubby is out there running the tractor to scrape the driveway. I'm on my way out to putter around and get some fresh air.

I wound up getting dressed today after all. I want to get all the Christmas stuff put away. I'm sick of it already. Glad I don't have much to take down.

What is everyone doing New Year's Eve?

We're babysitting.

Anyone have any gardening New Year's Resolutions?

Mine is to hoe my veggie garden every day and not let it get away from me. I have two brand new super nice scuttle hoes that are very easy to work and on the back. I can whiz down a path in a minute or two IF I don't let the buggars get more than an inch high. If I'm vigilant about it they soon give up. I don't know what I'll do with the asparagus patch. That wild grass really got hold in there and I'm afraid I'll break roots or fronds if I mess in there too much. Any ideas? Some say to just let it go that the asparagus will just come up through the weeds. That's what it does in the wild but it bugs me. I like it to look neat and trim. :)

Asparagus Treatment for the Lazy and Physically Challanged:

Attach hose to house water spigot. Put on a needle point type sprayer
that can spray hard very thin stream. Blast water around roots of asparagus
for about an hour. Continue the next day, and the next. This washes away
all the grass, and soil from the roots of the asparagus. You can root prune
now, or just fluff some new soil around the crowns. this has worked
very nicely for me. I love "watering weeds". LOLOL.

This year I want a burner to burn weeds, junky trees and trash along the
roads of our property.
I want to plant more pines
and newspaper mulch my plants.

Happy New Year everyone!!!
sheri

Sheri,

What a great idea. I don't think I've ever heard of power washing weeds away. :) My garden is so far from my house though that I'm afraid I wouldn't have the pressure to do that. Maybe my weeds were annuals and they'll be dead. If I can get in there early enough I might be able to hand weed them and then mulch. We'll see. Your asparagus looks great. I planted one year old transplants last spring...........114 of them. We should be able to get some to eat this year right? They are pretty when they're growing..........so light and airy. How fast do they multiply? I see all those little balls on the fronds that I assum is seed???? Does that drop and make more? I didn't bother them nor did I cut them down in the fall. I wasn't sure what to do with them.

Brenda

Weeds...UGH!
I have a really bad weed problem here.
Its like I can't get rid of them.
My aunt who lives in town doesn't have hardly any weeds on her property.
What is it?!
Is it because I live in the country??

I no longer make New Year's resolutions because I never keep them.
I always have a long list of gardening things I want to do every year but never seem to do most of them. I'm a terrible procrastinator.

I finally bought some rubber Sear Craftsman garden hoses.
They come with a lifetime guarantee...never will have to buy another hose gain.

No plans to party on New Years Eve.
We aren't into the party scene.
Working New Years Day.
Happy New Year to everybody!

Heres the 2 babies....

Cottage_Rose, I have had those Sears rubber hoses for about 5 years now and I am sorry I bought them. They are durable and they will last forever but they are soooooo heavy. Takes all of my strength just to pull them along the garden. I am totally wiped out after watering my flowers and garden. No resultions here either but I would definitely like to get a weed torch.

I've had rubber hoses before and I guess the weight hasn't been as issue for me. I'm sick of the lighter vinyl hoses that kink and get holes in them too frequently.
We need the heavy duty hoses because of our livestock and using them in the winter too.

What the heck is a "weed torch" anyway?
I think burning evil weeds alive would be FUN! ;o)

its a blow torch -awesome machnes!!
http://www.flameengineering.com/Red_Dragon_Propane_Torch_K.html

I luv those rubber hoses too.



This message was edited Dec 30, 2007 12:10 PM

Oh boy! I need one of those!
Does anybody have one?
How do you like it?
I'm wondering how close you can get to your flowers without torching them.

Rubber hoses are high on my list this summer also I love them
I have to work new years eve day then I think I'll put on the old flannel pjs and stay off the roads to many amatures out on that night any ways I'm not a night person and to old to be a party girl LOL
Gloria

Well I'm new here and just looked in to see what was up and I saw the most beautiful pictures of lovely BABIES and some of the most COZY, sleepy dogs all snuggled in for a nap!! It's a great Michigan winter slice of life!!! Thanks every one for sharing. It's helping me to get aquainted!!
Just reading my catalogues!! I see planning is high on everyones winter list !

Hi jazzzy theres something going on here most of the time I.m glad you popped in to say hi
Gloria

Hi Jazzzy,

I got my PJ's on before coming to check in on this thread. I spent the day grooming my two bichons. What a job. I did get a new slicker brush and a new After Bath conditioner that made the job much easier. I finally ordered myself a professional dryer. My arms get so tired and their coats are so thick. It just takes too long to dry them. I'm excited that the next time they get a bath I'll be able to dry them quickly. They are good to stand still and not complain but I'm sure if I could get it over with faster they'd be happy.

I heard a little blip that much colder temperatures are to arrive on New Years. I will for sure stay in my fleece jammies all day if that happens. :) Hubby has been retired one week now and must be getting bored. He went out to clean the pole barn and even cooked dinner for me. ha ha ha

I have really heavy hoses. I didn't get them at Sears though. My veggie garden is a loooooooooooooooog way from the house so I string several long hoses together all the way out there and put an sprinkler on the end. I leave the hose in place all summer. I do disconnect the one right over the driveway and just lay it alongside the cement. The hoses are black so they aren't so noticable. I'd never be able to reel all that in for sure. It works. It's the best way I have of watering the garden for now. Would love to have a shallow well punched out there but would have to run electricity out there to pump the water up out of the ground. I only water every three days for half an hour to an hour and only if we haven't had rain. My son is a plumber so I had him put a second outside hose spigot on the other side of the house and I have a hose reel there so I can water the flowers around the house with it.

Maybe we'll luck out and get plenty of rain this summer.

Brenda

had my HOT bath and jammies are on the little mister is watching boxing yuk so I'll be bopping around here for a while he retierd 3 yrs ago and he did all those things then too now he just waits for me to come home from work or goes and plays pool in the summer hes gone every where helping some one do some thing I miss summer LOL
Gloria

My dream is to have a job that I can make enough money to keep DH home and cooking for me. LOL. He always finds something to do.
There is much to do here, hauling wood, cutting wood, yard, fishing, hunting, snowshoes, quads. He keeps busy.
He is ready to retire in 2 years, so I better find that job this year!

I've been retired for 5 years...DH is still working...works for me!! The only downside is that I am ready to do stuff and he is pooped from working...he's on his feet all day and where he works it is cold (no heat). So in this kind of weather when he comes home, he crashes...

I keep thinking I should get a small job, but I don't want to be tied down!

This message was edited Dec 31, 2007 7:43 AM

Don't blame you at all. Sounds like you have a good system in place.

Many women are scared of their hubby retirement. Not me. He has many hobbies and loves to do things around the house. My problem is getting him to sit and relax once in a while. He is getting much better.
(the duct tape to the chair works pretty good)

The new casino is open tonight! only people that are tribal or that hear about it will be there
They will have a GRAND opening soon though!

No retirement here, my dh is the shop manager where he works and no retirement plan
I dont work, i stay home and do house and yard stuff and luv that!

happy new yr everyone-be back in a bit!

Retirement plan? I thought that is where the wife works to support the husband staying home. Did the love of my life lie to me?

cp LOL LOL good one. I have a retirement plan...that's why I retired. DH has none

Well my hubby has been retired since 2000, but is now working 2 part time jobs. His parents left us their cottage in northern Michigan and it really takes two incomes to take care of two places. We don't want to have to sell the cottage because it is on a lake and the fishing is wonderful.

Dori,

Did you son say how the casino opening went? Was it crowded? Is it going to be open 24/7 or just certain times? I'd love to go check it out if we could get in. It would be something to do. We did drive by and look it over. It's very nice.

We babysat last night but only till ten o'clock. We barely were able to stay awake till midnight to watch the ball drop on TV. It was good to see Dick Clark. It saddened me though to see how his speech was affected by his stroke a couple years ago. It still amazes me that a million people would want to squeeze into Times Square on New Year's Eve. That is nothing I ever would want to do. I hate large crowds. Now that we're living up north rural I love it. The fewer people and traffic the better for me. I like peace and quiet.

We only got a dusting of snow here. I see on TV the folks south of us got quite a bit more snow. Good thing most don't have to work today and can take their time digging out.

Happy New Year everyone!! May your flowers flourish and your weeds all die easy. :)

Brenda

i called the casino yesterday and they said only tribal last night-but it was tribal and others my son said, and pretty busy. The gal told me on the phone it was open to whitemen today(well she said the public) Good luck to any one that goes!
1-888-7-eagle-7 is the phone there! but if you show up and have $$$ your in! LOL

happy new yr all
2008 wow!

Well we got the snow...about over 12 inches..hubby is digging out..lol...all white..and bright for sure...pretty..but we will stay in...lol...

Casino...for us..hehehe Mt..Pleasant is the closet..we have gone twice..now we say...we will drive buy and throw 4-quarters each out the window...hehehe..and do not go in..heheh..They are sure busy..all the time. And the hotel looks wonderful..but we will leave our chairs in there..for others..

Have a great new years everyone..

Smiles..Diana...

Thanks for the report Dori.

In case anyone is looking for a great hoe to knock down those weeds I'll leave this link

http://stores.ebay.com/Rogue-Hoe-Outlet

I bought three of the different style scuffle hoes. They cut weeds pushing and pulling so you don't really even have to lift the hoe up. You can do it with one hand which I did when one arm got tired. These are very very sharp and extremely well made and made here in the USA. If you have a lot of weeding to do and hate the job this makes it easy work. I only bought the scuffle hoes but I'm sure all of them are good. I like them because the handles are nice and long too so you can actually stand up and hoe and not bend over. Saves on the back.

I think we'll wait on going to the casino. Vern just checked our propane level and we're at 40% which means a fill is coming very soon. That is about $500 so that's our extra spending money. ha ha ha Always something isn't it?

Brenda

we only got a dusting of snow here (YEA) i looks like it will be in the 50's by monday according to TV5 weather. it's just a teaser of spring weather that's so far away. the sun is actually shining here,not clear skies though. a bit overcast. HAPPY NEW YEAR ALL!!
erika

well i dont even want to think about any retirement lan whats that???? but any way. yes we got lots of snow over night very heavy. all over the trees looks very pretty out side today... cold though. oh well im home from work now and am staying in for the rest of the day. having some really good looking steaks for diner cant wait.. have a wonderful new year everyone. Ronna

We didn't even get a dusting here yesterday, but woke up to about 2".
DD was suppose to come up yesterday from Clio, but they were snowed in with about 8" she said.
DH is on his way to work and he said the roads were plowed until the edge of Gladwin. Then just ruts. It was awful.
hemlady,
I know what you mean by keeping the cottage. We loved ours so much we moved here. But this is our dream, (not a fancy house, but location, location, location) I don't want to have to sell what we have worked for for so many years because of no jobs in the area. I am hoping that 08 brings some good things to all of us that have stayed here in Michigan. This is still one of the most beautiful states in the nation.

I hope the casino does well. I enjoyed gambling the one time I went and 20 bucks lasted for 2 hours. The next time I went, it was less than 2 minutes. I am not good with crowds anyway. I feel that I am ahead by not going there and not buying lottery tickets.

Loon
Thanks for the tip on the hoe.
Looks interesting.
I think I will try one.
If you could only have one style which one would you recommend?

Those hoes do look great..I'm waiting for your answer to CR...

brrrr....14 deg here this morning...come on spring!

I was just looking at my journal. I kind of keep track of weather, funs things we did, when I see the first redwing black bird, etc.
The last couple of years at the 1st couple days of March have been heavy snow and 0' at night, but warming up to about 40' during the day.
By the end of March, we see turtles sunning themselves on the logs and hear peeper frogs.
You just need to curl up and hibernate a couple months.

Just an observation.
Bears, with their tough skin, fat, heavy fur, hibernate all winter. Chickadees, do not even fly south. Doesn't seem fair.

this is my favorite garden hoe-I got at a auction a few summers ago
it works forwards and backwards too

darn cold this morning
My son said the casino was packed-they were lined up at the door waiting
to get in! silly people in a hurry to say goodbye to their $$$ LOL

dori - I have that hoe too and it works slick.. Did I tell everyone that I got a new tiller from Santa!! What a guy...

Dori I've got the same one too.
Works good.
Wonder if Loons works better?

Dori, Sarv and Rose: What brand is your hoe? I like the looks of it.

Dori,

I have that hoe too but I like the other hoes even better. I have a friend who is NOT really a gardener and she came and helped me weed one day. I let her have one hoe and I took the other (I liked them so much I bought all three styles) and she kept saying what a dream hoe that was and how easy it worked. The handles do come with the hoes even though they are not in the picture.

If I had to pick one I'd probably pick the widest one at 8" so you can cover more ground with each stroke. If you want to do close work around in tight areas then the smaller heads would be better. It just depends on which application you're using them for.

This 8 inch wide Scuffle hoe is for the gardener or landscaper who has lots of ground to cover. It cuts pushing or pulling and will be a tool you reach for often.



80S - Scuffle Hoe

Thanks for the casino report Dori. I'm glad they are busy. That should make your son's job pretty secure. What does he do there? We still haven't made it over there. It's so cold. I guess we'll wait till the new wears off and the crowds thin out some. I hope the machines are paying well. I have a ton of change. Maybe I'll hit the coin machines to get rid of the change.

Is everyone ready to put on their bathing suit for monday when it warms up to 55? I hope we don't have flooding since the ground is still frozen.


Brenda

Loon is there any place you can get them besides E Bay like around here or close by ???????
Gloria

I don't think so. I'm not sure. These people have an Ebay store so maybe you can go to the store and see if there is contact information or phone number where you can buy them. I know they're made in USA but I forget what state.

Say, if any of you want to try them out before you buy them just wait till spring and I'll let you come and weed here for free. ha ha ha


Brenda

happy...I have no idea where we got ours or what the brand is. Tomorrow I can dash out to the barn and check the barn...it's dark here now or I would do it right now!