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dooley
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dooley's Blog




Clearing brush!

Category: Yard work! | Posted: Sun Feb 28, 2010 12:50 am

The sun was shining today which I like a lot and it was 62 degs. So, dr and I spent about four hours down clearing brush in the area that will be our front yard. It is not finished but we made some progress with it. I cut all the little brush less than half an inch and raked it all out. I raked out all the accumulated leaves, several inches of it. Then, we discovered this long things with loads of stickers that grow up into the trees. Glenda says they are Devil's whips. I cut them at ground level and as high as I could reach into the trees. Glenda says they come back so I have to get some stuff to put on the roots. I'll look into that a bit later. I have a large pile of brush and stuff to move around to the back to burn. If it's nice tomorrow I will finish the end near the driveway. But, you can see the trees properly now where we've cleared. I want to put some ground cover under there. I know when those oak trees leaf out it will be pretty shady so I will have to look for the shade loving kind. There are some small stumps to be pulled or cut or something, too. But, we made a good start. If we go down every nice day maybe we can accomplish it slowly. But, there is rain for Monday and Tuesday and then a couple of nicer days and then more rain. I hope none of it turns into snow. After living in Arizona for 20 some years I'd forgotten how much it rains....or snows... in other parts of the country. I know it's a bigger project than I've tackled and my knees aren't the greatest anymore. dr has shoulder problems..old football, new arthritis. So, maybe we will have to invest in an over the counter pain relief company.
But, it will give us something to do in our retirement other than sitting and staring into space. LOL
dooley


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Didn't get much done today!

Category: Yard work! | Posted: Tue Jun 10, 2008 9:53 pm

I didn't get too much done today. It was just too hot. It seems a little more humid. Maybe the rainy season will start earlier. I read something about it coming but there is no rain in the forecast.
I finally got out and planted a row of squash seeds in the terrace below where I put the plants and I planted some pepper seeds right in the ground. I put the soaker hose on it and came in for breakfast. I talked to Glenda for a long time and then went out and shut it off. We went to the post office and the library. I came back and checked in on the Stew and finally decided that I had to get out and do something else. I looked at the fence where the morning glories normally grow and the weeds and grass were choking it so I got my little tractor seat out and sat and cleared the fence line on both sides and the little square bed in front of it and half of the next little bed. Not sure what I will put in them but I have a lot of seeds and since the ground is warm and I can water it until the rains come stuff should grow pretty fast. I cut the grass around the gate posts and along the gate line. I got the hoe and leveled the ground again. The gate pushes up dirt and then the gate doesn't close all the way. It works a lot easier now. I watered things here and there and wound up the extra hoses on the reel and moved the wheelbarrow back a little bit. Chance has a couple of depressions in the dirt in that corner where she likes to lay when it's so hot in the afternoon so I didn't want her tipping the wheelbarrow in on top of her. So, now it's about time to think about making something to eat before I have to go to work. Only 3 1/2 hours today. It should go pretty quickly. We have a volunteer to help with checkout tonight. Have a nice evening. dooley

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Pictures from garden area

Category: Yard work! | Posted: Mon Jun 09, 2008 5:32 pm

We took some pictures of the garden area where I have been working for a few days. It was pretty messy and looks a lot better now.
This is the flat area where I am going to let the grass grow now.

These next two are the terraces. They were all broken down and I had to replace the wooden pieces and shore them up. They still need a few rocks under the boards. I put the soaker hoses there and the top one has zucchini planted. I need to do some more seeds later today.


I put flowers in the tin tub. I will put more pots or tubs of flowers in the grassy spot and at the bottom of the terraces.

Of course, I had a great helper.


Between the grassy area and the terraces are a lot of small hollyhocks that will grow this year and flower next year. I had to take care not to cut them down or walk all over them.
dr had to take a couple bridge shots.


The lower back yard with the apple trees

and a couple pictures of the rose hedge. This is just one end. It goes about 12 feet and is taller in some areas.


I still have lots of work to do but this is some progress to date. dooley


Last edited: Mon Jun 09, 2008 5:38 pm

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I'm at it again!

Category: Yard work! | Posted: Sun Jun 08, 2008 11:13 pm

I'm back at it. I spent two hours just cutting weeds and bagging up debris that I raked up on Friday. We went to breakfast this morning and of course made a couple of stops on the way home. I bought four more tomato plants and some zucchini to get on with until the seeds start to grow. I bought some more flowers that I want to plant down in the garden area. The flat is going to be grass and flowers now as I can't dig all that grass that grew last year and this spring. At least it doesn't look like a weed patch now. dr is going to install the windmill that a neighbor gave us last month. I let everything go for so long after I hurt my knee last spring that it's just catch up time. It's quite a lot more work than I figured it would be. We'll take some pictures tomorrow after we get the windmill installed. dr is going to take a picture of the rose hedge, too. It's just loaded with flowers. The last spot that I need to tackle is the storage space. It's just waiting for some tidying. I cut a lot of the weeds there last week when I had the lawn pup out. I also have to weed the flower bed in the lower yard and see what I can get to grow in there. We had cosmos last. Well, my glass of tea is about gone so I'd better go haul those plants back to the garden and see what I can get planted before time for dinner. Have a nice evening. dooley

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I'm tired, I think an early night

Category: Yard work! | Posted: Sat Jun 07, 2008 1:16 am

I'm tired. We got up a 6 am. I had an eight o'clock doctor's appointment. I like to get the first one I can get and be finished with it. I didn't feel like eating so just had a glass of tea. That was a good thing because he gave me a full panel of lab work and it was fasting. Since I skipped breakfast I could go and get that done. He also scheduled a bone density test but they'll call me when they get that set up. Going to the doctor made us late for the weekly yard sales so we only went to two. One was our favorite estate sale people and we did find a few things even though we were late. dr found some things at the next sale. We decided that since it was after ten that we'd better find something to eat since my glucose levels were probably getting low. After breakfast we stopped at the store and bought some soft rolls for sandwiches for tomorrow and since it was hot outside we bought ice cream. Now, having ice cream in the truck, did we go straight home. Of course not. We aren't that smart, are we? We stopped at another yard sale. We bought some metal and wire lawn chairs. Four matching ones. Then we stopped at the post office and went to the bank and then we came home. The ice cream wasn't completely melted so I popped it into the freezer.
After another glass of tea, I went out and got out my little lawn pup and mowed Chance's yard and the lower back yard and the path through the storage yard. Then, I hooked up the hose and watered the apple trees and pulled weeds around them which the lawn pup wouldn't get because of the rocks I have around them. I watered the flowers that I planted on Wednesday and then went around and watered everything out front. I didn't get the weeds cut in front but there's always another day. I came back inside and checked my glucose levels and though not low it was low enough that I made toasted bagels with cheddar cheese and had a bowl of that ice cream. After another glass of tea Chance and I went back outside. I was going to plant some squash seeds. Well, I haven't done anything in the garden area since April, 2007. It was full of bind weed and grass and the terraces were falling down and full of about everything. First thing was to rake everything into a big pile and repair the terraces and put down some fertilizer. Then I raked up the weeds and pulled the bindweed and moved all the assorted pots into one area and watered the terraces. I think I can plant the squash in the two terraces and put flowers at the bottom. I used the boards from the bottom terrace to make another flower bed last year so I don't really have a bottom terrace but if I put flowers there it will be okay. I think I'll put those zinnia's there. I have four paks of seeds. I have some other seeds but I think I will start them in pots. dr is going to fix the windmill on Sunday. He says it will help keep the birds away. I still have the big pile of weeds and grass, etc to pick up but I will do that on Sunday. I came inside and put pork chops in the oven and some sweet potatoes with apples in another pan in the oven. I sat down here just to read posts and decided to write a blog. So, now, I'm off to have a shower before supper. I'll probably wash several pounds of dirt down the drain. It's down to about 80 in the shade now so maybe I managed to lose a pound or two while I was out there. I have to work seven hours tomorrow so I hope I didn't work my knees too hard. Have a nice evening. dooley

This blog entry has been viewed 667 times


New plants

Category: Yard work! | Posted: Wed Apr 16, 2008 11:16 pm

Last night a librarian gave me some begonias and some red verbena that she had used for a teen program and a bag of potting soil. So, today I repotted my kalenchoe. I put the verbena in a pot and sat them on the table in the front yard. I put some of the begonia's in the swan and some in the pig and some in a flowered pot. I tried to take pictures but the time of day was wrong and I either got too much sun or too much shade. Dan would have adjusted his camera to fix it but I'm just a point and shoot photographer. What I get is what I get. I tried to get the purple iris and another little purple plant but didn't get those either. I'll try those again in the morning. I see some different iris are going to bloom. They belonged to Dan and I dug them up when he moved and put them in one of my flower beds. This is the first they will bloom and I think they have too much shade because some aren't blooming at all. I will tell him if he wants them that he needs to come and dig them. I told him he could come and divide mine after they bloom, too.
I watered all the plants this morning. The rose bushes have buds now but they also have aphids so tomorrow I will have to spray they with some soapy water. I sprayed my kalenchoe at the beginning of the week. It looked like the bugs had died so I sprayed them with warm water this morning and wiped off the leaves. I now have two pots of kalenchoe instead of two plants in one pot. They were getting so big they really needed their own pots. It's still too cool to move them outside for the summer. I pulled some weeds and grass this morning. I watered the apple trees. They are two years old so I may not need to pick off the flowers this year, that is if they get flowers. The flowers looked a little brownish and I sprayed them with some soapy water, too. They had little bitty flying bugs of some kind. They weren't there this morning so I'm hoping the buds will go ahead and flower. I haven't had an apple tree in my yard before now. I always went to one of those pick your own places. Arizona doesn't have any close to us though. You would have to go where it's not so hot.
We fixed a place in the fence where Chance could get her head through. She was looking for cats. dr bought a humane trap last week so as soon as we find a place that will take them we can trap some of those feral cats. So many places charge you and we can't afford to take too many cats if we have to pay for each one. I can understand it because they have to have food but these cats are fending for themselves and digging in my flowers and need to be moved. I will try that no kill shelter but last time I called they were full.
I made spinach/mushroom quiche for lunch/supper today. Now it is time to get ready for work. Oh, the pictures. Let's see if I can do those here. dooley

The swan. Hopefully those begonia's will grow and fill the space.






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Yard work?

Category: Yard work! | Posted: Fri Mar 21, 2008 11:51 pm

We started the day early today and went to have our truck serviced, had breakfast and went to the travel agency to see if they ever managed to get our car rental reservation made. They were closed for Easter. One would think it wouldn't take two weeks to make a simple car reservation. Oh, well! Monday I will call them for the fifth time and then if it doesn't get done I will tell them forget it and do it online.
After the travel agency we backtracked and stopped at two grocery stores, filled our water bottles and headed home. We passed a yard sale sign, turned around and went back. We bought a few things and then headed home again. We passed another yard sale sign and detoured yet again. After stopping there we went to the post office and made it home about noon.
I told dr I was going to take my diet soda and a piece of the deli chicken and sit in the yard for a bit. He came too and brought an extra bit of chicken for Chance. After eating, I decided I would rake up the little yard where the table sits and straighten it up a bit. I pulled out the dead leaves in the spider wort and decided it needed watered. So, I hooked up the hose on the newly fixed faucet and watered them. Then I dragged the hose down to the lower yard and watered the apple trees. I trimmed the Russian Sage back to where new growth is coming out. I cut back the Carolina Jasmine to where new growth is coming out. I think my honeysuckle is past saving. It doesn't have any new growth but I trimmed it back and watered it hoping maybe some might come but I doubt it.
I went around to the front of the house and remembered that I had put some plants in the exercise room last fall and that's the last I did anything with them. So, I hauled them out and trimmed them back some and watered them. Since it isn't supposed to go below 40 for the next 10 days I will leave them out and see how they do. Five of them are geraniums that I bought two years ago and there is a lavender and two lemon verbana. I'm hoping they will all put on new growth. I found a tub of ironite while I was looking in the garden shed so I put ironite on all the rose bushes and trees in the front and watered them good. I watered the pansies and daffodils and tulips. I think that is enough yard work for today. I think on Sunday I will feed the apple trees.
When I finished the yard work, I spent about 40 minutes in the exercise room. I am supposed to do that three times a week with a full day between each day. I only managed two days this week so will have to try harder next week. Now, it's rest time. We are having a sub sandwich for supper. We bought it at the deli today. Tomorrow we are having ham what with it being Easter. There will only be dr and myself. I guess we could have asked someone to share it but Dan and Laurel are both feeling under the weather with the same crud that everyone else has been having. When I was growing up we always had ham and potato salad for Easter. The potato salad was to use up the Easter eggs because no one in the family would eat cold boiled eggs by themselves. They still had to have them so everyone could color eggs but would only eat them if she put them in potato salad or egg salad for sandwiches.
I'll put boiled eggs in my potato salad but I don't think I will color them first. I wish my grandchildren lived closer so I could color eggs and do more things with them.
I need to go take a shower. I'm thinking maybe I will cut my hair. It is entirely too long and it's been bugging me. Have a nice evening. dooley

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Cleaning up!

Category: Yard work! | Posted: Tue Sep 25, 2007 7:34 pm

All summer I've neglected my yard except for watering. Then, the grasshoppers came by the thousands and ate just about everything. What's left they don't like or I've sprayed. I sprayed our little arborvitae trees this morning as they are not attacking them. Yesterday, I started a general cleanup of the front yard. We have five sections to our front yard. I still need to cut some grass in the upper section and the section on the far side of the lower drive. I moved all the flower pots with dead or eaten on plants back to the area near the garden shed. I'll clean them up and store them for winter. Cut and raked dead grass and cleaned up spider webs. Cut iris by the front corner and moved some things around. dr cut the branches of the mulberry tree that were hanging too far into the street and a few that were hanging low enough we bumped into them. I am very allergic to mulberry so I took an antihistamine as a precaution. Seemed to work as I have no headache as yet. Hopefully since I didn't touch the stuff and washed good when I come inside and changed clothing I won't get a reaction. I wonder if I can cut the rose bushes back now because the grasshoppers have eaten most of the leaves. Will they have a better chance of coming back in the spring if I cut them now or should I wait until after a frost when they won't grow until spring? dooley


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Didn't get finished!

Category: Yard work! | Posted: Tue May 29, 2007 3:32 am

I didn't get finished. The day wasn't long enough or I took too many breaks. I did get the 20 or so pots filled with a mix of garden soil (bought in 2cu ft bags) and composted manure. I used three bags of soil and two and a half bags of the composted manure. The pots ranged from three to five gallon and 4 long rectangular ones. I have 20 tomato plants so I can put one to a pot and maybe two in the two larger pots. I want to put vegetables in the rectangular planters, starting with lettuce. I think I may still be able to grow it in the shade. It is supposed to be in the 90's for the next 10 days anyway, probably for the whole summer now. No rain in the forecast though. i may have said that in the earlier post. dr used his new gas grill to smoke some ribs. I finished them inside with some Dr. Stubbs barbeque sauce. Couldn't get sauce all over the new grill now. LOL. Made shortcake with strawberries and blueberries topped with coolwhip for red, white and blue dessert. It was actually purple by the time the juice from the berries mixed. But the berries were still red and blue. I think maybe I can plant the tomatoes in the morning if my knee isn't achy. I don't have to go to work until quarter to five. I start at 5:30. I don't want to lose the tomatoes because I didn't get them planted. I don't have my squash planted yet either. I need to send Glenda some seeds and some from the poppies too. I think I need to send someone elsse seeds too. I need to look back and find the address. I'll do that on my break tomorrow. Dooley

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Taking a break!

Category: Yard work! | Posted: Mon May 28, 2007 8:36 pm

Today was not a lazy day. It's beautiful out though it is getting warm. Going to be in the 90's for at least the next 10 days. Didn't see any rain in the forecast though. I've been watering everyother day but some things have been getting water everyday. I only water the trees once a week. This morning the apple trees got a good soaking while I was in the lower back yard cutting the bee plants out of the 50 ft flower bed that runs along the back fence. I let the hose run in it as I was cutting stuff. Kept moving it so the whole thing got a good soaking. I also done the butterfly bushes and the rose bushes. Those rose bushes that we bought just when my knee got hurt didn't get planted right away. One is about two ft tall and has yellow roses on it. One has died. One isn't doing well. I trimmed it back some this morning. I have some rose food I'll put on it later this afternoon. It's in full sun now so don't want to stress it. One butterfly bush is being chewed on by ants or earwigs. I suspect earwigs so tonight I will put out some earwig food. I have some already mixed up. I saw some crawling out of the mulch when I was watering it. I put the soaker hose on the new asparagus. It is growing well and I don't want it to die back yet. It should grow all summer and turn golden in fall before you cut it back. I forgot it so it got a good long soaking. I need to go and poke some holes and plant some squash. I haven't done that yet. I just haven't kept up with things. My knee is getting better. Just that one spot that still hurts if I do too much or do something I shouldn't. Like stoop down to look at something or twist is when I turn too fast. It will just take awhile to heal completely. I'm finally off most pain medication and the anti-imflammatory stuff. I don't like taking it for too long. I just quit after awhile. It doesn't swell unless I'm on it too long. Oh, well! Off that subject.
I went to get my hair trimmed on Wednesday. I told her just to here and put my hand where I wanted it cut to. Well, she said oh, chin length. I should have known. Her idea of chin length and my idea of chin length are two different things. It's too short. dr says it will grow and my hair does grow fast but I don't like it. The people I work with say it looks good and they like it and maybe it's just because I don't wear my hair short that I don't like it. She didn't layer the sides like I wanted it either. I wish I hadn't paid her. Well, maybe just the tip.
Guess I will go out and unstack the pots and fill them with dirt and see about transplanting the tomatoes. I have some miraclegro just for tomatoes to give them a start.
dr is smoking pork ribs on his new grill. I can't wait to eat but it's going to be awhile yet. I'd better go get some exercise so I can eat a little more today. Doolely

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