popular What have you done today in the Garden?

Been trying to find my reading glasses I lost while out doing my daily inspection for critters. And that tiny print on stuff is insane. ‘Magnifier plz’. It’s actually cold & raining all day, so rain gear is a must and it feels like snow soon.

Anniekay I’ll send you the PNW rain Fairy’s to help give your garden a better quality of water instead of using sprinklers.

 

No, thanks anyways. It's probably full of that nasty volvanic ash. You're right in the way of those Kamchatka Volcanoes that have been erupting for months over there in Russia.

Thanks for offering, though !!

 

Kamchatka Volcanoes in Russia. Plz.. Couldn’t you think of something more original than volcanos.

We have our own volcanos in the PNW . Haven’t you heard of Mt St Helens? Who needs Russia’s. And Hawaii’s is giving a big show now.

 

I watered the beds last night and Voila' the turnip seeds I planted last week, to replace the ones that died from frost,
All came up this morning !! As soon as the mist clears and the sun comes up I will be edging my front lawn along the sidewalks. It looks now like a teenage boy's hair from the 60's !!

@Pacnorwest yes, but those aren't erupting.....yet .

 

Nothing today, it froze overnight and it's still only 5c.
It looks like Sunday will be the first day without a chance of rain, with temperatures above freezing, so I might then do the last of my leaf clearing at the bottom of the garden.

 

Thanks Pac. I've always listened intently to your Mole warfare. hahaha Thankfully I don't have Moles where I live. I'm grateful for that. This little jerk is a Vole...not much bigger than a mouse and smaller than a pocket gopher. He digs these mouse size holes under my perennials and eats from the roots up all winter.

It got to above freezing today so Hubby is hooking the outdoor water back up for me to spray nozzle the wee holes. It is supposed to be -10 C tonight, so mayyybbbeeeee he will move on to the field after the floods.

 

Melody oh yes .. sorry I meant to say boles, woles, noo-oo ‘Voles’. Wholly Moley you name the ground critters I have them all. Lost some very nice tree peony’s over 20 years old. Heartbreaking. Not to mention tons of perennials small trees and some of my fav trees I started from seed. I’ve learned to use traps and set them where all the stinkin holes are located and not allow yard debris or overgrown areas to take hold . Wood piles & under out buildings are also managed. I called the cat rescue here they rescue wild cats and asked if they have cats that I could set up in the barn . Have a couple wild cats to feed now… but they do a great job hunting mice and voles. Even seen them snag moles.

It’s a huge battle not only voles, moles and the horrid Belding ground squirrels that are extremely destructive especially with farmers crops in the western states. Since these ground critters very seldom come above ground it takes bait setting in the traps to work . They repopulate by the hundreds every year. I have trapped several of each of the nasty ground critters. And leave them in the traps for the owls and bobcats that seem to do a good job snagging them for dinner. Which is nice since I don’t have to worry about how to dispose of them.
Good luck on your watering system. Hope you get all the little buggers.

 

My cats get a lot of moles... Otherwise I don't bother them. I also have armadillos here and they tear up the place looking for grubs. At least they keep cicadas and such down. I wish they would replace their divots though. And then there are groundhogs... I don't use poisons, and I don't have time to try and get rid of them. And there are deer, bears, mountain lions, coyotes, bobcats, razorback hogs sometimes, raccoons, opossums, squirrels, chipmunks, rabbits, rats and mice, and much more wildlife. I don't care to poison my wild birds, or pets or my land... I once counted more than 60 species of birds in my neighborhood.

It is hunting season around here. Some rude hunter dumped his deer carcass in my neighbor's driveway last week. It sat there for days. Someone on another forum suggested calling the county to remove it, so I did. They do not normally do that, but they did come and remove that poor murdered deer's remains and haul it away.

I have been trying to get more leaves raked. I have an endless supply with all the forest around me, and the trees in my yard.

I found a few new forsythia bushes that needed moved, and transplanted them to a better spot.

I have been pulling up honeysuckle bushes and vines all I can.

 

Wow @AAnightowl what a wonderful range of wildlife you have around you. Fabulous!!

 

The forecast is for 34°f for tonight so, out of an abundance of caution, I covered my tiny little beet sprouts, that I had to re sow after the last frost killed them all, with a long, narrow cardboard box held down by bricks. The rest of the veg that needed covering I used a layer of hay to cover those. So, all should be well tomorrow.

 

It's quite dry and 8c. So after I've done the laundry, I may go in the garden and "do leaves," but only if it stays dry.
I went down to the tea-house last night to get a couple of beers which I keep in the fridge in there. So I turned on all the lights from the switches behind the lounge curtains.
There's two sets of fairy lights strung around the eaves of the tea-house, some white ones that flash and some red berry ones. I like them.



I noticed the red ones had stopped working.

I rarely turn these lights on, mostly just to see that they are working!
Anyway, the red ones weren't. so I've ordered some more. I don't like things to be faulty, even if it really doesn't matter that much.

 

Those red berries look lovely in the greenery. I like them when they aren't lit. They remind me of holly berries.

 

Nothing today ourside ,although my initial plan was to have the afternoon out there.
I decided to Spring clean the kitchen this morning and of course that has filled my day!! I prefer to Spring clean now as too many lovely things need my time and attention out in the garden / greenhouse in Spring.
It has been a lovely afternoon too with plenty of sunshine, our forecast says that tomorrow will be pretty good too ...so gardening is booked.in.

 

Clear blue sky but a bit frosty only 4c.
I think the last of the leaves will still be a bit wet this afternoon when it's warmed up."So I'll have to watch the sport on TV instead."

 

We took four huge bin-liners full of leaves to the lottie today. They have been building up while I have been sicking-out.