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getting anxious...

Category: a new year | Posted: Thu Feb 21, 2013 1:00 pm

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well, February is almost complete, and this is the time of year when I start getting antsy for the weather to change. it's not any easier knowing that there is still at least a month left of winter, but that doesn't mean I have to like it!.....lol.

reading through the posts & blogs and seeing all the pictures just makes me jealous. I am starting to look for signs of life in the yard as I walk the pathway when I come & go....(of course it would help if there was some daylight). I think the worst part of the winter is the grayness of it all.... the sunshine is always welcome. in the meantime, I have been starting to stock up on seed packets & solar lights and gloves and planning what will happen in the yard this year. I think in a few weeks, will have to plan a cook-out...hot dogs on the grill, macaroni salad & baked beans.....a little preview of the summer!

i'm still waiting for the birds to start flitting about..i can't wait to see the first robin, though I will probably hear them before I see them. my new kitty hasn't really seen a bird yet, ...he looks out the window but there really isn't much to see but things blowing around...it seems it has been very windy this winter. I can't wait to see his reaction..i think he will probably go nuts, especially if one happens to land on the fence when he's looking out the window!

in a couple of weeks, I will start 'window' shopping for bare-root plants...see what is available...& what I want to grow...hoping the forget-me-nots & English daisies I planted in the front bed made it through the winter...that is such a difficult area to get things to grow & flower...the electric co. did come by a few weeks ago & trimmed the branches over the sidewalks, so there will be a little more sun, not much, but some. (they do such a 'chop' job....but they are electric workers, not arborists).
i'll have to take a picture of the tree across the street....absolutely awful....they probably should have just cut the poor thing down..a poorer job of trimming I have never seen!

Cannot wait for the day, when I get up in the morning, and my first step outside I can 'smell' the change in the air and actually believe that spring has arrived!

p.s. saw the crocuses starting to come up! am truly excited....my friend suggested I was out with the flashlight looking for them, and I had to tell her no, it really was in the daylight!....lol

Last edited: Mon Feb 25, 2013 1:51 pm

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happy new year...

Category: a new year | Posted: Wed Jan 02, 2013 12:57 pm

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first, i would like to wish everyone a happy & healthy new year along with wishes for a great new year of digging in the dirt!

i haven't had a lot of time to visit lately, started a new job in september. i'm working 4, 10 hour days, and it seems i leave in the dark and come home in the dark as well, but, i like it, and the pay is reasonable. the only drawback is the driving. i can't seem to find a decent job near home. but i've resigned myself to the fact that that is probably the way it is supposed to be!

we've had some decent snow this winter (far cry from last year). i'm glad it has provided decent protection from the winds this winter, at least for the time being. who knows what mother nature has in store for the rest of the winter.

received my first seed/plant catalogue a few weeks ago, and of course, that gets my mind working on what i want to do in the spring, when i'm able to work the dirt again. but as usual, plans are made, and then things happen. that is o.k.

all those tomatoes i grew last summer, turned into about 8 batches of sauce. they are sitting in the freezer, and the only thing i've been making with them is bbq sauce (so far). i will probably still grow tomatoes, maybe not so many.

i also got a new kitten from the shelter in september. he was so scrawny and weighed only 3 lbs. i think he was younger than they said. i was worried for a moment, it took about a month for him to adjust to our home, but now he thinks he owns it. he is my 3rd black cat, so i named him 'ditto'. he is lucky he's so cute.

i try not to make resolutions for the new year, too much pressure! i am going to try and get the front garden 'finished' this spring. it still needs alot of new soil. and will be praying for a spring/summer with some decent rain....that would be a huge help!

(sorry the quality of this picture is so bad)


ditto ( photo / image / picture from Annette's Garden )





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this is winter?????

Category: a new year | Posted: Sat Jan 07, 2012 4:14 pm

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happy new year! one week into the new year, it's almost 50 degrees outside, and no measurable snow to speak of. it makes you confused and impatient, we should have a couple of feet of snow and temps in the teens and twenties. oh well, mother nature does what she will!
had a sort of good garden year last year, moved some plants,the monarda doubled in size after i moved it to the back fence, so i guess it likes it there. this spring will be moving the penstemon(?)and maybe i'll finally find the right spot for the yarrow which wants to take over the side spot by my sweetpeas.
my front garden bed still needs alot of remedial work to it...will be asking for more horse manure from my friend. but i did plant some foxglove and columbine which should do nicely there. am also thinking primrose would be nice and will be looking for some when the markets reopen in the spring.
i moved alot of bulbs this fall, mostly tulips, muscari & merry bells (alliums), and am anxious to see them pop up in their new spot. (though i had noticed that with this wacky weather, some are confused and popping up already).
had some weird thing happen to 2 of my clematis this summer, after they bloomed they just dried out & died. i don't know what happened and will have to see in the spring if it was a fluke. very odd. i want to blame it on the woodchuck that decided my garden was a salad bowl this year, but can't say for sure. that woodchuck was horrible! ate all of aunties cucumber & bean plants, she said she'd never in all the time she's planted that she'd never had trouble with anything like that. from what i was hearing, they were all over the neighborhood wrecking everyones gardens. oh, well, just makes you more vigilant.
one thing i did do is figure out how to get my pictures posted....all i need to do is have my film developed onto a cd and take it from there....resolution for this year....get a digital camera!
am looking forward to the new growing season....always grand plans...if i get one or two done i consider it a success.
i almost forgot (well actually, i did) after 3 years of looking like nothing my toad lilies finally had blooms this year..not until the end of september, but they were there, i was so excited. i do have pictures and when i get the film developed, will post.

Last edited: Sat Jan 07, 2012 9:03 pm

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what a tease!

Category: a new year | Posted: Fri Feb 18, 2011 2:36 pm

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well....we've just had two days in a row of 50 degrees......tomorrow, back to the 20's & 30's.....but that being said....it was a good day to get the ice off my back walkway....and at least i now have a clear path to the gate....so, now with all this melting, it just makes me impatient! am anxious to see the first robin....that will be a sure sign...and on a good day (which means no wind) can have a small fire and burn some of the yard debris that is going to start revealing itself with the melting.....hope we don't get a big spring storm....

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plans in my head

Category: a new year | Posted: Fri Feb 04, 2011 2:05 am

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this is the time of year i start all of my "grand" plans. whether they work out or not has yet to be seen. one thing i know for sure i must do....i have a bunch of hostas on the side of my house....i'm not very fond of them....i promised my mother in law she could have them...she has a great spot along the side of her house.....so i've got to prep her area and then dig them up and move them. i figure a couple of days worth of work....my next door neighbor who is a very old family friend of my in-laws has lily of the valley that needs thinning out, again...did that about 5 yrs ago....i would much rather have that on the side of my house..won't cover the side walk like the hostas do. plus i have a couple of volunteer purple coneflowers i discovered last year...i'll give one to my mother in law and one to my sister in law who lives two houses down..........the other is to make a new bed with a path through it near the back fence (that was last years plan, but other things happened)....this time of year the sunshine is such a tease! next big milestone...st. patrick's day & the ides(?) of march.

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brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!

Category: a new year | Posted: Sun Jan 23, 2011 11:56 pm

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boy, is it cold today......i think the high today was only 6....that is cold even for wny......but....the days are getting longer, groundhog day is only a week or so away, & six weeks later, well you know the rest.....am getting my seed & flower catalogs and that only makes me wish for spring......everything is buried under the snow, including my xmas tree.....if there is a nice quiet day and not too cold....will have something to burn in the pit....(lots of dry wood in the shed to get it started)...already thinking about what i'll be doing as soon as i can get a shovel in the ground......

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plans & wishes.....

Category: a new year | Posted: Sun Feb 21, 2010 3:01 pm

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beautiful day today....the sunshine gets your mind thinking about what you want to do this spring & summer....i'm getting anxious about new plants i started last spring & summer.....will they have made it through the winter? i bought a shrub last spring...wine & roses weigelia....it sits in the corner of my back yard by the fence, and will be the backdrop of the new flower bed i was supposed to do last year....it's going to be beautiful (the shrub...i'm still pondering the outline of the bed).
this spring is going to be a divide & replant spring...lots of things to move..got waylaid last spring & had to put everything in the ground in a temporary spot just to save them...they all grew very well all summer & are now covered in snow, resting well, i hope. yarrow, & some bleeding heart & astriana. i love the foliage on the yarrow...and some shasta daisies in the wagon that sits in the middle of the yard....(that is a whole other subject - the wagon- & maybe will write about that later).

can't wait for it all to unfold!

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updates for my yard

Category: a new year | Posted: Sat Jun 13, 2009 12:52 pm

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i know i haven't posted/blogged in a while....much work to do.....am putting in 2 new beds this year,(pretty soon i won't have much grass to cut at all!! yeah!!)...have put my sunflower seeds in last week, and just have a few annuals to pop in....my biggest project today, is to put in a shrub, wine and roses wiegelia. its going to be beautiful, and will take up an entire corner of the yard. if it's nice tonight will have a fire in the pit, and i think i'll dig out the tiki torches too......i love the spring.


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the sunshine is returning!!!

Category: a new year | Posted: Sun Mar 30, 2008 2:28 pm

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i am very glad to be seeing more sunshine! everything is starting to wake up and the big piles of snow are slowly dwindling. the dogs are happy too because that means momma will be outside playing in the dirt and they will be out too!!! right now, though they seem to want to be in and out about 50 times a day (exageration), and if it's not too cold and windy (that still has a bite to it sometimes) i'll leave the back door open and they can sit on the back porch if they behave. Being retrievers, they bark at anything unfamiliar, which is good in a way, but it gets old sometimes....lol.

was walking into the yard the other day, and looked into my sleeping garden, and was thrilled to see that at least one of the peony plants my dearest friend had given me survived the winter! it was just starting to peek up through the dirt.
i figure a couple more weeks (of course, everything depends on mother nature) i'll be able to start cleaning everything up and getting ready for the new outside season...i've already had my brother man the grill at a cook-out!

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anxious annie

Category: a new year | Posted: Mon Feb 25, 2008 8:17 pm

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here we are, two months into the new year, and i can't wait for the winter to disappear!.....have ordered some nice flowers for my new front garden, (i am running out of room in the back yard) and it is a spot which get no direct sun..not quite sure how i'm going to do it, but with plants on the way, (probably arrive in april) i must make up my mind!
I had bought some bulbs in the fall, and neglected to put them in right away, so i actually got them in around the first of the year (i could still dig in the ground), just in time, too....after that, the weather went downhill, and has been cold and frozen ever since.....i know it's early, but i'm always on the look out for the crocus, daffodils, and muscari to be peeking their tips out of the ground.....
I also bought some canas for my backyard....had them a few years ago, and they didn't over winter well, and i wasn't able to revive them....i'll give them one more shot.....

hopefully...third time is a charm for this blog entry...lol

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