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weeds!!!

Category: Yard work! | Posted: Tue Aug 15, 2006 6:17 pm

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Since it looked like it might rain again, I decided to tackle the weeds and grass in Chance's big yard. The grass and weeds were a little wet so I had to stop often and clean the wet grass out of the weedeater. But, now it is done. I moved the pots of petunias away from the bridge so I could get the weeds growing close.I found a centipede about five inches long and half an inch wide under one pot. Whacked him with a big rock. They are poisonous. Under one there was a black centipede about three inches long and quarter of an inch wide. Never saw a black one. But, I whacked him too. It is Chances yard. It is probably poisonous too. Some things I move or get someone to move, like the rattlesnake, but centipedes and scorpions always get whacked. Now, I need to take a shower as soon as dr gets done washing things. I cleaned my glasses good because I was seeing green spots. Dr says my shirt is ruined with grass stain. Good thing it wasn't a good one. I can probably soak it or something anyway. I don't have any of that spot remover. It's a big spot anyway. Okay, off to get cleaned up. Need to go to the post office and find a place to have lunch later. I have to go to the lab before work so we'll go early and get that done and then get something to eat. Dooley

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Fences

Category: Yard work! | Posted: Thu May 04, 2006 2:59 am

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I think I've mentioned a couple of times that our yard is divided into mini-yards. It has to be fenced to keep out javalina, skunks and deer. I'd like to say cats, but they just climb over.We don't have a lot of stray dogs but there was a coyote a couple of weeks ago. We have a dog that we keep in the yard. She has all the shots and tags but you never know what the other dog has.
Today, I scooted around the yard on my knees and sometimes my seat, cutting the grass and weeds out of the fence lines. You can't do it with the lawnmower and the weedeater doesn't get that which grows through the fence. Anyway, our weedeater bit the dust last fall and we haven't replaced it yet. I started with the small front yard, patio area. I deadheaded pansies and the rest of the daffodils and the grape hyacinths and trimmed the lower leaves off of the hollyhocks and pulled out some dead tulip leaves. I swept up more of the pollen thingies that fell off of the mulberry tree. I didn't have to do the herb garden because I just finished digging it and I cleaned between all the flagstones then. I did have to pull and cut grass out of the gravel path because when I dumped the gravel there last year I didn't put plastic under it. Dummy! I continued to Chance's big yard, our backyard. DR mowed it Tuesday morning. I guess that was yesterday. I cut around the honeysuckle and the lemon balm and the morning glories and around the bridge and down the little wash and up the little wash and under the swing and lawn chair. I did along the garden fence and up by the flower bed. I did along the fence to the new yard behind the big shed. It's too rocky in some areas to use the lawn mower, but it doesn't have grass yet except along the fence with the backyard. Chance's little yard just needed along the sidewalk. We put plastic under the graveled area. So, I was down to the work area. I have to move stuff around to cut the grass there. There isn't much because right now it's packed pretty full but I need to get to the fence that's covered with the climbing roses.I'll need a long sleeve shirt and gloves to do that area and I'll probably still end up full of thorn punctures. I can probably finish it tomorrow. I would have finished it today but about 3:30PM my knees said, "ENOUGH!!!" We'll see what they say in the morning. Then, I've got to get some things from the greenhouse into bigger pots or into the ground. I have some more seeds to plant. Since it's been in the 80's for more than a week, I think I can say it won't frost anymore.
We took the quilt off of the bed and are using flanned sheets now. Last night I was thinking that soon the flannel sheets could be packed away too. It does get cool toward morning though. Today, I was thinking maybe it was time to open some windows. We do have the door open except when Chance is inside. We don't let her in the front part of the yard. She thinks it's all right to run through the flower beds. I tried to tell her to use the path but she thinks it's easier to cut across.
I think I still need to rake up all the debris I cut today too. Compost most of it. I put some branches in the dumpster today. I found a few dead branches on a rose bush and they went into the dumpster so I wouldn't step on them or pick them up with grass and poke myself. Our yard is two lots. The big shed is on one lot and the house is on the other lot. The lots are about 55 by 90 feet, maybe. I haven't really measured the lengths but I know the widths is 55 feet. So, it's total approx. 110ft by 90 ft. It doesn't sound too big but it is to my knees. We have eight areas fenced seperately. I wonder why? Some were already seperated and some we fenced to keep Chance safe. Oh, well! More work tomorrow. Dooley

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Too much

Category: Yard work! | Posted: Sun Apr 16, 2006 5:23 am

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I think I have too much to do. I wanted a herb garden. Then, I wanted a greenhouse so I could use a gift certificate from a garden catalog to buy herb seeds so I wouldn't have to buy so many. Well, I got a greenhouse and DR bought peat pots and potting soil so I planted lots and lots and lots of seeds. Now, all of the seeds are coming up. ALL of them. I planted a lot of seeds because generally about a quarter of them come up. Now, I have all of these little plants and I have to get places ready to put them. I spent two days digging the garden space. DR bought packaged steer manure for me to mix in the garden when I rake it down tomorrow. We bought bark mulch to go around the apple trees and some of the little trees and vines. I want to gather up all my pots from last year and sift the dirt into a big tub and mix compost with it and refill some of the pots. I have to fix the little furrows to put my soaker hose down in the garden. Then, I have to dig up the area in the herb garden place so when the herbs get big enough I will have a place for them. That's where the tulips are growing. I now have to find my herb book and decide which herbs need sun and which need shade or mostly shade. Our sun here is really intense here in the summer so I usually try to plant things so they have some shade. I have hollyhocks growing in the garden that I had to dig around. I moved about twenty last week but some are just too big to move. I can't pull them out because DR likes hollyhocks. We had one last year that was taller than the eaves of the house. They just grow wild around here. I didn't plant any. I have some morning glories coming up by the fence where I had them last year. I have a wheelbarrow that I had petunias growing in last year. I planted a salad mix in it last week. I saw green coming up and thought it was the lettuce. It was more morning glories. It's just been the last year or two that you could legally grow morning glories in Arizona. They were considered a noxious weed. Arizona grows a lot of cotton and the morning glories got so bad they choked out the cotton so the outlawed it. I don't know why but you can buy the seeds again. I know why they were outlawed though. Morning glories are coming up all over the place. I keep digging the up and moving them to a place by a fence where they can grow. I suppose next year I will have so many I'll just pull them up and dispose of them. I hate to throw away anything that is growing. I told my neighbor I would give him some of the herbs when they are big enough to put into pots. Since all of the squash plants have come up, I guess we will have an abundant amount of squash. It's zucchini, butterstick and yellow crookneck. I have 42 plants. Last year I planted a lot and they either didn't come up or the earwigs ate them. We had to buy squash. DR says he could eat squash two meals a day. I cook it with peppers, onions and sometimes mushrooms. Sort of just stirfry it until its hot. Grate cheese over it. Yum!!
I still have to try to find time to finish the plans for the library summer reading program. It needs to be done by May 1st so Dan can run it by the library board. They really don't have to approve them, but they like to know what's going on. It will be two hours a morning every Tuesday in June and July, except July 4th. That's a holiday. It's theme is animals and I've decided to do it about animals that are pets. I've arranged for a vet to come and talk about care and feeding of pets. Also, suitable animals for pets. I've put in a call to an wild animal refuge (a place that takes abandoned and sick wild animals for rehab). I'd like them to talk to the kids about animals that don't make good pets. I also am trying to arrange for an animal rescue place to come talk to the kids about abandoned cats and dogs and the neccesity of getting them neutered or spayed. Dan is going to do one program on snakes and lizards. So, I have lots of things to do. I guess I will just have to make time to get it all done. The days are shorter now than they used to be. I'm not sure why. When I was young school years were very long. Now, the kids seem to be off all the time. I can't figure it. Oh, well! I guess I should make time to sleep too. Dooley

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New Garden area

Category: Yard work! | Posted: Tue Apr 11, 2006 2:49 am

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I worked in the new garden area this morning. I watered the long flower bed and spread the seeds. I put the compost/potting soil over the seeds and watered it again. I fed the trees and watered them. DR put the inside fence up and put wire around the trees. Then I moved rocks along the fence and around the trees.


By the time I was finished it was noon and it was very windy so I quit. That big mulberry tree in the front yard is full of pollen and it gets my eyes by nightfall. I hate taking allergy medication so try not to take it unless it gets really bad. So, this afternoon I put the pictures to photobucket and did some computer stuff that needed done. Dooley

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Hard work!

Category: Yard work! | Posted: Tue Apr 04, 2006 12:12 am

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We got the fence up across the back of the yard behind the big shed. Yesterday, we planted the apple trees. They like being in the ground. They were bareroot so they were in little plastic bags with soaked sawdust. We had to soak them in water for several hours. Dan and I went to Phoenix while we waited. When we got home Brian and I planted them. Brian put in three posts in a triangle around the trees. Then, he took a piece of clear plastic tubing and threaded a wire through it and put it around the tree trunk. Then, he attached a wire to each post and the the wire coming out of the tubing. It will keep the tree straight while it grows. The trees have some very small leaves coming out already. They just needed the water, I guess. I'll need to buy something to feed them, I guess.
Today, I put rocks along the outer fence and we moved a piece of flagstone to put under the gate that goes to the alley. I started to level the area that we are going to fence along the back fence so Chance can't run along the fence to bark at the neighbor. She'll just run along the inside fence instead. Anyway, I'm going to put potting soil and compost between the two fences and plant flowers.
It was warm so I didn't work at it too long. There is always tomorrow. Need to go check on the greenhouse and see if it's time to close the vent. Dooley

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Allergies

Category: Yard work! | Posted: Wed Feb 01, 2006 12:22 am

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It was so nice on Monday that I cleaned the leaves and debris out from under the mulberry tree. I don't usually have much trouble with the dry leaves. The bulbs were coming up under the leaves and they definitely needed more sun. They were white and yellow instead of green. I gave everything a good watering. They are beginning to look better. I wonder if they will turn green now or just the new part will be green. The tulips are not up yet, just the daffodils and grape hyacinths and dutch iris's.
Yesterday, when I got up, my eyes were itchy and my nose was stuffed up. As soon as I got up my nose started dripping and then running. I must have used half a box of kleenex. I finally gave up and took an allergy pill. I try to use those as little as possible. I'm really not looking forward to spring pollen. Today, it's better so maybe I can go out and do some other things tomorrow.
The spinach hasn't come up yet. I decided to keep the poly stuff on it during the day, too. The soil is still damp so it should be okay. I didn't get my greenhouse yet. Brian says he has to finish closing the carport. It has one and one half walls now. My exercise equipment is there. At least now everyone who drives past doesn't stare at me.
Dan is here. More later

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Garden work

Category: Yard work! | Posted: Thu Jan 12, 2006 4:18 am

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It was nice yesterday so I spent some time clearing out my garden area. Chance loved it as I don't usually let her in that area of the yard. I collected about two large black bags of debris. I couldn't put it in the compost though. It was full of rock and walnuts that aren't good to eat. Some of the thick stems I'll cut up and put with the mulch stuff, maybe. I will start digging now. I have to decide how I want to plant it so I can decide where my soaker hoses will go. With the water shortage there will be restrictions so I need the water to go where it will be needed and not all over the ground. I may need to buy some more soaker hose. We had some last year and I bought some at the flea market in the fall. I will need some for the herb garden too. I hope it will bend around the plants.
Tomorrow if it is still nice and no rain is predicted so I will work in the little front yard. It isn't very big. We graveled a portion of it last year. But the mulberry tree dropped the rest of its leaves so I want to get them out of the area where I planted the bulbs. Some of the bulbs are early bloomers and they need the sunlight more than they need the warmth? I hope that's right. Well, last year the tulips came up through the leaves. maybe I will just move some of them. There is never an end of things to do outside. I notice that the iris beds that I cleaned last fall have a few brown leaves so I can take them away. I need to do the compost pile. I don't have a bin. I have a wire bin.

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I did it today!

Category: Yard work! | Posted: Sat Dec 31, 2005 4:33 am

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It was another beautiful day so I took my rake and finished the yard and Chance's small yard. Now, I have got to get the garden cleaned out so I can dig it. I should have done all of this a couple of months ago but I had too many other things to do. I'm happy to have this time to do it. We need to trim the trees this week and I may start on it tomorrow. Last year the apricot trees bloomed in February. The mulberry tree begins to get pollen in March. Yuck!! I can't trim that one. Brian says he will trim it and Dan can carry it away. I can't even be outside when they do it.
If it doesn't rain by tomorrow, I will water the trees and bushes again. They look a little dry. I'll water the bulbs too. Last year we had a lot of rain but it's been nearly two months since we had any now. I hope we don't have as much as Northern California is having. They have so much that it is causing mud slides etc. I wish our creek would get water again though. Last year it was flooded several times.

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One thing leads to another.

Category: Yard work! | Posted: Thu Dec 29, 2005 5:18 am

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Did you ever have one of those days when one thing leads to another? This morning at breakfast, I told Brian I wanted a greenhouse for my birthday. Just one of those with heavy plastic would do. So, he got up, got his measuring tape and went out to see where we could fit one. He decided that it would have to go where the canopy was located. The one that covered the area where the potting bench is located. so, he moved the canopy frame. We moved it to the backyard. It does not have the cover on it right now. We moved the glider swing under it. We were sitting on the glider with Chance. I decided to get my rake and clean up the yard. It had dead grass and leaves in it. It was a nice day to be outside. Then, I noticed that the little wash we installed in the spring to drain the yard when it rained was filled with debris and dead grass too. So, I went inside and got gloves and clippers and started to clean it out. First thing, I had a blister on my thumb. Brian said I was supposed to wear two gloves. I was finding it easier to use the clippers without that glove. So, with a bandaid and the glove on I was going to finish the wash. Well, a branch on the walnut tree kept getting in Brian's way and he wanted the clippers to cut it off. Of course, they weren't big enough to cut the branch so I went and got the loppers and used them. Brian was pulling the branches down so I could cut off the ones that were in the way. He pulled too hard. The big branch came down too. Well, before you knew it, we had trimmed the whole tree since he had to get the ladder to cut that branch off. Then, we decided to have a coke before we went back to work. We tried sitting on the glider swing to drink it. But wouldn't you know the bees decided it was a nice day to be out too and wouldn't leave us alone. I think it was the coke they were after. We had to retreat inside.
I went back outside to finish clearing the small wash. It is only about 20 feet long but it took me most of the afternoon. It is lined with rocks and big rocks along it. I had to move most of them to get at the pesky dead grass. Some of it was already starting to grow. Also, under the rocks were all sorts of pesky bugs and spiders. Even Earwigs!! I did them in for sure. The rest I left alone. So the day ended on a good note. I hope it is still nice outside tomorrow as there is more to be done. I've neglected the outside as it's been cold and I've had Christmas to occupy my time. Brian says he will start my greenhouse as soon as he finishes the exercise room. I've been neglecting my exercise too. I'm starting a journal with the New Year. I find if I write things down I can't neglect them. So everyday I will have to write if I exercised or not and if I ate the wrong things. Then, I can lose a few pounds that I should not have. Tomorrow's another day. I guess I should go and find my bed. Brian's already given up on this day and is snoring away. But, don't tell him I said that.

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Beautiful days!

Category: Yard work! | Posted: Mon Dec 12, 2005 5:05 am

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We had two beautiful days so outside I went. I raked some more leaves. I used some of them to cover some bulbs that were starting to come up. I think it is a bit too early yet. I put artificial green garland in a scalloped pattern along the front fence and also lights that follow the scalloped pattern of the garland. Brian hung a huge star on the front of the house. My Christmas decorating is now done. Today, I watered the little trees that we planted in the fall and some of the bushes that haven't lost their leaves. The book said they needed water every month through the winter and more when it starts to get warm again. It was up to lower 60's after some only 40's days. I know 40 is warm for some places, but 40 is cold here. It's been in the 20's at night. It didn't rain today but the weather forecast is for rain tomorrow night. They keep moving it back a day. Our son says he is using his wood faster than he thought so maybe tomorrow we will go with him and haul another load for him before it rains. I was only going to make cookies. The ones that I have already baked have a habit of disappearing. I have sugar cookie dough chilling so I can still make them tomorrow. I want to make biscotti too. I have been looking online for recipes. I have seen ones that I won't make but I found some that I want to try. I bought lemons last week so I want to make lemon bars too. I also want to make gingerbread people. I have to find my little people cookie cutters. I don't remember seeing them in the box. I have to finish the cards. It's mostly done. So, onward and upward to the holiday. Have a merry one.

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