More Wind

Saturday night was a very long and wakeful night. The wind was so strong. It created sounds as it whipped past our house. I had to tighten the latch on the door between the laundry room and the garage. That stopped some of the moaning, but I pushed a strip of terrycloth in between the edge of the door and the door frame. The sounds were soft and muffled then. But I couldn't get into the garage without undoing my handiwork.

I watched a couple of small plastic water bottles scramble back and forth in the backyard. I guess the wind blew them onto the grass. It was a frantic game of  'where do they go next' as the strong gusts blew them from place to place. I looked out a bit ago and can only see one right now. The second bottle is probably tucked under a bush or rock

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Wind

It has been a very windy Saturday. I could hear the branches being whipped along the south side of our house long before it was time to get up this morning. We changed the place of our morning walk to a pathway surrounded by trees  giveing us some relief from the wind. Now as I prepare for bed the wind is making shrill noises as it pushes into the garage and rushes to the entry door of the laundry room.  So I know that it is going to be a long night. But all the rest ot last years leaves, that were still in some areas of the garden, are being swept along making way for new summer colorful plantings that will be placed in the yard soon.

Two Days To Write About

I had decided to try to write some every day and then last night I found that this site was not working. So here goes two days worth.

Yesterday we got brave and planted 3 tomatoe plants. Two Beefsteak and one, a  little yellow pear shaped tomatoe. We cut the bottom off three plastic milk containers to use to cover the little plants if the temperature went down to close to freezing. I also transplanted two yellow pansies to fill in where the deer had nibbled this past Winter.

Today we planted 60 Gladiola bulbs and two packages of Dahlas, one package of white ones and one package of mixed colored  ones. We found them on a table of items marked 75 % off. The package states they are guaranteed to grow. Well, we shall see. We also erected a trellis for my two Clematis plants. They had been relegated to a tomatoe cage, but this will be much better as it will allow them to climb quite high.

Spring is Here?

The sky is not blue and bright with sunshine this morning. The storms of yesterday still linger. When walking earlier this morning, we felt just a few drops of rain. But the talk is that things will change this afternoon and once more the days will be Spring-like.

A friend sat in my livingroom yesterday and watched  Robin tear off a Pansy blossom and fly away with it in its beak. Do Robins eat flowers?  This shot of the baby elephant at the zoo eating with its mother proves it is Spring. The baby has been born!

It's Not Only Me That Wants to Get Outside

Today was a beautiful, sunny day, but quite cold. The temperature was 37 degrees F. when I ventured outside into the bckyard this morning. Our long Winter was hard on some of the plants in our yard. I removed two large Lavender plants that had died. Now there is room for something new. Yes, a trip to the plant store is needed.

What I really want to tell you is about the pink Geranium in my basement. It was pretty last Summer and Fall , so I decided to try to keep it alive and have it again this Summer. It has survived and is pushing its way toward the sunshine. I,m thinking that it wants to get out into the backyard too.

Composting

I decided to try composting. For several years I would pile clippings and yard waste in a pile behind a pine tree in the back yard. I would remember to turn it once in while but never did create the "black gold" you read about in the books and magazines. So, this year I bought a black plastic composting bin. Put it down in the backyard in a spot that gets lots of sun. But the weather has been too cold and wet for much gardening so the only things in it are some egg shells, potato peelings and orange peelings. So as soon as the weather changes there will be lots of clippings and leaves to go into it also. Then I will be on my way to creating the "black gold".

Spring Cleanup Begins

We had a few days with some sunshine and warmth and we started cleaning up the yard. It was a decade and a half ago that we planted and nurtured the new plants in our yard. We were starting with land that had not been planted or worked before. It sits at the base of a mountain range and our new subdivision was just begining to make its mark. So the process of putting in a yard with lawn and trees and plants was quite a work out. Rocks were a big concern. There were many in places that could be better used for lawn and gardens. So, we dug and moved them to what we though were better spots. Digging a whole for a tree or shrub could take a long time.  Once in a while a crowbar would be brought out to help nudge a particularly large rock from a spot picked for a tree.

Once it was all planted we tended everything carefully, watering, feeding and loving each new plant. But then some grew and grew and grew. They got too big for our backyard and needed to be taken out to make room for something new and something smaller. The result; a pile of leaves and branches and roots, that grew quite large and sits on the edge of the street in front of our house and waits for the city crew to come and take it away.
This vegetation will be processed and turned into lovely black compost that can be purchased and returned to the yard as topdressing.