February 1, 2008 (Friday)
It is sleeting or something right now. Kind of an icky day. I uploaded pics from 2004 and 2005 from the old computer to this new one. It is fun to look back over everything. Funny how some things always change and some things never change. ~~~~~~~~ I unfolded my heating mat for plant propagation and put it on the top shelf of my plant stand to let it flatten out. I had to put a grow light and some trays on it to help smush it down faster. I don't know why it was all folded up like that; I don't think I did it. I picked out four clear vinyl tray covers, too. If I can remember to do it, I will go into the garage this weekend and see if I can find enough peat moss mix to fill four sets of 72-cell packs. ~~~~~~~~ I made oatmeal cookies last night. It's a very tasty recipe. The recipe doesn't say to flatten them out, so I make the dough into balls and the cookies come out dome-shaped. I have some dough left over, which is an improvement over the very few cookies that the butter cookie recipe made the other day. ~~~~~~~~ Time to think about next year:
PLANNING THE BEDS
- ACCENTS: statues, giant rocks (big enough to sit on), large pots (for dramatic things like sweet potato vines, elephant ears, coleus, impatiens, petunias, pansies, dahlias)
- BONES: boxwoods (accent with bright flowers like black-eyed susans), fruiting trees, azaleas, peonies (accent with feathery yarrow; sprawling mints; and spiked flowers like irises, foxgloves, and lilies)
- SPRING: tulips, daffs, hyacinths, Centaurea montana*, Papaver somniferum**
- SUMMER: irises
- FALL: mums, sedums, asters, cosmos, hostas w/colored leaves, grasses, gourds, and pumpkins
- OTHER: hollies and other shrubs or trees planted someplace where I don't have to see them. They will be used for making wreaths and pot decorations.
* perennial cornflower - cut back for second bloom and to maintain control
** self-sows
I was going to try to sketch this out in PSP, but things never turn out the way I plan them. I think I will stick with doodling in my mind and jot down any good design ideas later. ~~~~~~~~ Now I'm going to look at climate change and the effect of having cut down trees. This is similar to the "What's in Bloom Now" series, except that I can see when things START to bloom around here.
BLOOM TIME COMPARISON
----------------------------------------------------------------------
........................... 2005 ........... 2006 ......... 2007
----------------------------------------------------------------------
- Crocuses................. mid-Apr ........ ~~~ .......... late Mar
- HARROWED FIELD........... ~~~ ............ ~~~ .......... mid-Apr
- Pear Tree ............... ~~~ ............ late Apr ..... ~~~
- Crabapple Tree .......... ~~~ ............ ~~~ .......... early May
- Hyacinths................ early May ...... mid-Apr ...... ~~~
- Colossal Daffs........... early May ...... mid-Apr ...... early May
- Daffs.................... mid-May ........ mid-Apr ...... early May
- Carlton, Easter Bonnet (?), white
- Rembrandt Tulips......... mid-May ........ ~~~ .......... late May
- Fritillaria.............. mid-May ........ ~~~ .......... ~~~
----------------------------------------------------------------------
- wild Greater Celandine .. ~~~ ............ late May ..... ~~~
- creeping lavender fleurs. ~~~ ............ ~~~ .......... late May
- Blue Flax (Lewisii) ..... ~~~ ............ ~~~ .......... late May
- Tulips .................. early Jun ...... ~~~ .......... ~~~
- still Rembrandt, Black Parrot
- Columbine ............... early Jun ...... ~~~ .......... ~~~
- Bleeding Hearts ......... early Jun ...... ~~~ .......... ~~~
- Alliums ................. early Jun ...... early Jun .... late May
- 1st Tall Bearded Iris ... early Jun ...... early Jun .... late May
- Soapwort ................ early Jun ...... ~~~ .......... early Jun
- Spiderwort .............. ~~~ ............ early Jun .... ~~~
- Mountain Laurel ......... ~~~ ............ early Jun .... ~~~
- Snowball Bush ........... ~~~ ............ early Jun .... late May
- Lupines ................. ~~~ ............ early Jun .... late May
- purple Lilac ............ ~~~ ............ early Jun .... late May
- Rhododendron ............ ~~~ ............ early Jun .... early Jun
- red Clematis ............ ~~~ ............ ~~~ .......... early Jun
- Tassel Flower ........... ~~~ ............ ~~~ .......... early Jun
----------------------------------------------------------------------
- more Iris ............... mid-Jun ........ ~~~ .......... ~~~
- Jackpot Tanacetum ....... mid-Jun ........ ~~~ .......... ~~~
- modern Peonies .......... mid-Jun ........ ~~~ .......... early Jun
- old Peonies ............. mid-Jun ........ ~~~ .......... early Jun
- 1st Foxglove ............ mid-Jun ........ ~~~ .......... mid-Jun
- Mountain Bells .......... ~~~ ............ mid-Jun ...... ~~~
- rose, Chrysler Imperial . ~~~ ............ mid-Jun ...... ~~~
- roses, wild pink ........ ~~~ ............ mid-Jun ...... mid-Jun
- Dahlia, Little Beeswings. ~~~ ............ ~~~ .......... mid-Jun
- Delphiniums ............. ~~~ ............ ~~~ .......... mid-Jun
- Evening Stock ........... ~~~ ............ ~~~ .......... mid-Jun
- Fuschias ................ ~~~ ............ ~~~ .......... mid-Jun
- Sage .................... ~~~ ............ ~~~ .......... mid-Jun
- Shasta Daisy ............ ~~~ ............ ~~~ .......... mid-Jun
- rose, All-Ablaze ........ ~~~ ............ late Jun...... ~~~
- rose, Moonstone ......... ~~~ ............ late Jun...... ~~~
- Clematis, purple, white . ~~~ ............ late Jun...... ~~~
- daylily, orange ......... ~~~ ............ late Jun...... ~~~
- daylily, Stella de Oro .. ~~~ ............ late Jun...... ~~~
- Perennial Pea ........... ~~~ ............ late Jun...... ~~~
- Single Moss Rose ........ ~~~ ............ late Jun...... ~~~
- Black Prince Snapdragon . ~~~ ............ ~~~ .......... late Jun
- Crimson Clover .......... ~~~ ............ ~~~ .......... late Jun
- daylily, Happy Returns .. ~~~ ............ ~~~ .......... late Jun
- Siberian Wallflower ..... ~~~ ............ ~~~ .......... late Jun
----------------------------------------------------------------------
- Amish Cockscomb ......... ~~~ ............ ~~~ .......... early Jul
- dahlia, Hockley's Maroon. ~~~ ............ ~~~ .......... early Jul
- Scarlet Runner Bean ..... ~~~ ............ ~~~ .......... early Jul
- wild Yarrow ............. ~~~ ............ ~~~ .......... early Jul
- California Poppy ........ ~~~ ............ ~~~ .......... mid-Jul
- Cornflower 'Jubilee Gem'. ~~~ ............ ~~~ .......... mid-Jul
- Flower-of-an-Hour ....... ~~~ ............ ~~~ .......... mid-Jul
- Germander ............... ~~~ ............ ~~~ .......... mid-Jul
- Hosta ................... ~~~ ............ ~~~ .......... mid-Jul
- Hyssop .................. ~~~ ............ ~~~ .......... mid-Jul
- Love-in-a-Mist .......... ~~~ ............ ~~~ .......... mid-Jul
- Love-Lies-Bleeding ...... ~~~ ............ ~~~ .......... mid-Jul
- Monarda citriodora ...... ~~~ ............ ~~~ .......... mid-Jul
- rose, White Dawn ........ ~~~ ............ ~~~ .......... mid-Jul
- Veronica ................ ~~~ ............ ~~~ .......... mid-Jul
----------------------------------------------------------------------
- Kniola's MG ............. late Jul ....... ~~~ .......... early Jul
- Blue Sea Holly .......... late Jul ....... ~~~ .......... ~~~
- Nasturtiums ............. late Jul ....... ~~~ .......... ~~~
- wild Dame's Rocket ...... late Jul ....... ~~~ .......... ~~~
- Oregano ................. ~~~ ............ ~~~ .......... late Jul
- Oriental lily, white .... ~~~ ............ ~~~ .......... late Jul
- Yellow Peruvian Zinnia .. ~~~ ............ ~~~ .......... late Jul
- Liatris ................. late Jul ....... late Jul ..... late Jun
- Oriental Lily, Stargazer. late Jul ....... late Jul ..... late Jul
- Hollyhocks .............. late Jul ....... ~~~ .......... early Jul
- Purple Coneflower ....... late Jul ....... mid-Jul ...... late Jun
- Forget-Me-Nots .......... ~~~ ............ late Jul ..... late Jun
- Oriental Lily, Horse (??) early Aug ...... ~~~ .......... ~~~
- Rudbeckia ............... early Aug ...... late Jul ..... mid-Jul
- old blue Hydrangea ...... early Aug ...... ~~~ .......... late Jul
- Rose of Sharon .......... ~~~ ............ ~~~ .......... early Aug
- dahlia, Barbarossa ...... ~~~ ............ early Aug .... ~~~
----------------------------------------------------------------------
- Helenium ................ mid-Aug ........ ~~~ .......... late Jul
- Heliopsis ............... ~~~ ............ ~~~ .......... mid-Aug
- Heliotrope .............. ~~~ ............ ~~~ .......... mid-Aug
- Tithonia ................ ~~~ ............ ~~~ .......... mid-Aug
- wild Polygonum .......... ~~~ ............ ~~~ .......... mid-Aug
- Harlequin Marigold ...... ~~~ ............ ~~~ .......... late Aug
- Sweet Scabious .......... ~~~ ............ ~~~ .......... late Aug
- wild Aster .............. ~~~ ............ ~~~ .......... late Aug
----------------------------------------------------------------------
- dahlia, Pompon .......... ~~~ ............ ~~~ .......... early Sep
- Ligularia ............... ~~~ ............ ~~~ .......... early Sep
- Pastel Glads ............ ~~~ ............ ~~~ .......... early Sep
- Utrecht Blue Wheat ...... ~~~ ............ ~~~ .......... early Sep
- Moon Vine ............... ~~~ ............ ~~~ .......... mid-Sep
- Standing Cypress ........ ~~~ ............ ~~~ .......... mid-Sep
- berries on VA Creeper ... mid-Sep ........ ~~~ .......... ~~~
- State Fair Zinnias ...... mid-Sep ........ ~~~ .......... ~~~
- wild Golden Rod ......... mid-Sep ........ ~~~ .......... ~~~
- sunflowers .............. mid-Sep ........ ~~~ .......... early Aug
----------------------------------------------------------------------
- rebloom.................. late Sep ....... ~~~ .......... ~~~
- Iris, Purple Coneflower, Happy Returns Lily
- Cosmos 'Seashells' ....................... ~~~ .......... late Sep
----------------------------------------------------------------------
- VA Creeper turns red .... ~~~ ............ early Oct .... ~~~
- FIRST SNOW OF SEASON .... Dec 9 .......... Jan 19, '07 .. Nov 11
----------------------------------------------------------------------
INTERESTING NOTE: The descendants of Jackpot Tanacetum don't look anything like the original planting. I knew they'd revert, but they sure are different and I hadn't really noticed it until I went through comparing all the pics for bloom times. The original JT was very densely covered with little tiny white flowers that were practically balls. The 2007 version is a wide open plant, with dramatically fewer flowers. The flowers are the classic daisy shape and are of medium size with yellow centers. Cute.
It is supposed to go up to 50 degrees or so around 3 AM, then drop back down to 37 by morning, then be somewhere in the mid-40s for tomorrow. Weird, and it is pouring down rain still (9:53 PM). When I went out to check the mail, I discovered ice all over the place. It was like the crushed ice in restaurant beverages and I couldn't actually even see it except along the edges of puddles where it was piled up from the water flow. It was very crunchy and somewhat slippery. That was my first clue that it was even there, the crunching. I had wondered why the trees were covered with ice when I didn't see ice anywhere else.
MAKING AN IMPACT
This is a study of which perennial plants I have that make a bold and colorful statement. I am going to ignore trees, roses, peonies, etc. for now.
* denotes best in show
ranking:
(1) - fragrance
(2) - color
(3) - shape or foliage
Mid-April - Mid-May
crocuses, hyacinths*, daffodils*, tulips*, fritillaria
Late May - Early June
creeping lavender fleurs*, blue flax, columbine, alliums* (3), iris* (1/2/3), lupines* (2/3)
Mid-June - Late June
jackpot tanacetum, foxgloves* (2), delphiniums* (2), sage, shasta daisies* (2), daylilies, perennial pea
Early July - Mid-July
germander, hyssop, veronica
Late July - Early August
dame's rocket, oregano, oriental lilies* (1), liatris* (2), hollyhocks* (2), purple coneflowers* (2), forget-me-nots, rudbeckia* (2)
Mid-August - Late August
helenium* (2), heliopsis* (2), wild asters
Early September - Mid-September
ligularia*(2/3), standing cypress* (2), wild golden rod*
I think that Standing Cypress is going to bloom much earlier since the only record I have is of its first year bloom. I need to figure out what those "creeping lavender fleurs" really are. I see that early to mid-July could use some serious help as far as perennials go. I'll study the 'Net to see what blooms in MA in that time frame. (But first, looking over the seeds I already have, but have never tried, these might bloom in early to mid-July (since they supposedly start in June): Geum, Knautia, Iceland Poppy 'Gartford Giants', Gaura, and Veronica (I already have that, so I know it works. Maybe this batch will be more attractive.). These MAY bloom in early July: Coreopsis, False Indigo, Ratibida, Penstemon, and Baby's Breath. Things possibly blooming into October include: Helianthus maximiliani, Coreopsis, Knautia, Baby's Breath, Burgundy Gaillardia, and Gaura. The Chrysanthemums would, too, but I can't count on actually being able to grow them.) ~~~~~~~~ Interesting. I found a blog of someone who lives in Lynn (The House Journal of "holihouse" - http://holihouse.livejournal.com). In that area, she's probably at least 2 weeks ahead of me as far as bloom time goes, if not 4. She has Coreopsis 'Early Sunrise' with buds on 6/23/05. So, Coreopsis might work in early to mid-July for me. Luckily I have some to try out this year... that exact same one. Maybe that was the reason I bought it. LOL! Maybe I should try Heuchera and Agastache for that time. She lists hers as budding or starting to bud. Heuchera may not be the greatest for floral impact, but nice foliage would partially make up for that. (Here are some snazzy Heucheras I found online: 'Caramel' - orange; 'Sparkling Burgundy' - burgundy/reds; 'Sashay' - green, but purple underneath with jagged light-colored edges on top; 'Peach Flambe' - bright peach in spring and fall, soft peach in summer, and plum in winter.) Also interesting, she notes a Monarda 'Raspberry Wine' blooming in early July (7/8/05). I list Monarda citriodora as blooming in mid-July. It wasn't fancy, quite blah really, so I didn't list it as a dramatic bloomer. My 'Panorama Red Shades', another Monarda, does hideously in my front flower beds... beautiful flowers, but too much mildew, which I could combat if I wanted to, but it's really not worth the effort. At any rate, my point is that the right Monarda might fit into that time frame quite nicely. Something to consider. She lists Hostas, Stella de Oro, Platycodon, Verbena, and Caryopteris as blooming on 7/22/05. Are those last three perennial? Caryopteris x clandonensis Z5a, blue-purple flowers, but it looks sort of herby/weedy. I like 'Snow Fairy' with its white-variegated leaves, but it is basically a shrub. Platycodon grandiflorus Z3a. I've always liked Balloon Flowers. A lot of Verbenas are not hardy here. V. hastata is perennial to Z3a, but of course it says it requires consistently moist soil. I don't think that's going to happen around here, especially considering what happened here last year.
Sooooooo... Let's start with a new bed. I have a big space to work with, but I need to try to refrain from cramming everything into every bed... |
 |
| Growit Posted on Sunday, February 03, 2008 - 06:55 pm: |   |
I thought you wrote a lot last time! Boy was I wrong. I suppose, seeing as this is your main reference for growing, you can be let off.
Right, your final list. I hope what I have to say will help with some of your decisions but ignore me if you want. I cannot guarantee your bloom time as I am far ahead of you but having said that I can guesstimate when things will bloom for you by the bloom time for me. That is unless you are not intending to grow any of this and are just planting grass!
Geum look best in late Spring here so early Summer for you, after that you will get blooms but intermittent.
Knautia, Lovely, exuberant plants that go on and on. Give them companion plants to spread through.
Gaura are fussy here. They can do well for a year or two and then just give up. Lovely if you can grow them. They do have a long blooming period and look best here late July early August onwards.
Babys breath. If by this you mean Gypsophilla then it does one big snowy show for a few weeks and then gives up. Great for its moment scruffy afterwards.
Agastache. Not sure if you have tried this before but I really like it. The foliage smells wonderful.
Monarda needs moist soil to avoid the dreaded mildew. I plant mine behind a bush so you don't see the mildew just lovely flowers :)
Caryopteris is a stunning later flowering shrub but you are right it is a bit weedy so I have three planted in group to make them look more robust. I would recommend the plain green having seen both the gold and the vari. Not sure if it would survive your temps though.
I hope this is of some help. If, however you think I am spoiling your fun by passing on my pearls of wisdom(?) tell me to go away. I will leave quietly. |
Thank you, Moira. You provided exactly the sort of info I love to find.  I will be doing just grass in the new front yard, but I have a whole bunch of seeds that I bought to plant in the beds right in front of my house to make up for the sparse bloom periods some of the beds go through, so what you wrote is very good to know. So, to pick your brain a bit more...
Geum. Do you cut yours back after the first bloom to get a better show or do you let yours just go au naturale?
Knautia. So funny that you describe them as exuberant. I don't know what I was looking at that had said they bloom from spring to frost, but that is probably why I bought it. When I recently (and finally) got around to looking through some English gardening magazines that I have, I saw a nice pic of Knautia. I wondered if it was your climate that makes it so lovely and what it will look like in mine. LOL. I think I originally planned mine for the Iris bed, along with Gaura and Baby's Breath.
Baby's Breath. I bought seeds for G. paniculata. My records indicate that it will flower from July to October. Do you think we are talking about the same Gypsophila? If so, I wonder if cutting it back after the first bloom will help.
Gaura. Eek! I hope it lasts longer than just a couple of years here. The pics I've seen online are lovely. I guess I should research that one a bit more and see what I can find out. (You know the rule: Buy first, study and plan later. LOL!)
Agastache. I haven't tried that, but it keeps creeping into my light cone, so maybe I should try it.
Monarda. I really do love the flowers. Someone around here has a huge patch of it on the north side of a forest and another has it surrounded by forest on all sides but the west side. Both of those patches are lovely. Mine was lovely the first year (or maybe it was the second - interestingly enough, those were the shady years in my front beds), but has gone downhill since then. I'd like to put flowers behind the house (west, but cool, shady, and moist). Maybe it'd be happy there.
Caryopteris. Sounds like a plant not to do. LOL! Is there such a thing? LOL! |
| Growit Posted on Monday, February 04, 2008 - 11:12 am: | |
Neither. They are more like a cut and come plant. Every time I pass one I cut the finished flowers and more will come but slowly the amount of new flowers decreases.
Its cultivation requirements are very similar to cornflowers, it even resembles a cornflower. It does get a lot taller but in a not upright manner lol! It throws its branches out at strange angles which is why it looks so good growing through other plants.
Gyp does not last that long here and flowers from about June to August. If you have a hot summer it goes over in a month or two but you can leave the heads on. They don't look as good but still look floofy.
The shorter varieties last better and you have to be quite severe in the pruning department to stop them splitting on the old wood at the base. We mulch to protect in Winter so you will definitely have to protect them.
You could try the Monarda there but it is one of those 'full sun, moist soil' plants. You may not get as many flowers if they are in part shade.
Caryopteris is probably not the one for you but have you tried Ceratostigma (perennial)http://www.crocus.co.uk/plants/_/shrubs/ceratostigma-willmottianum-forest-b lue/classid.7586/
or Schizostyles (perennial)http://www.farmyardnurseries.co.uk/schizostylis.htm
Both are later flowering and reasonably hardy. |
LOL! Interesting!
Fascinating. Look at all of this great info you gave me, Moira. Cutting and pasting into my spreadsheet for future reference. Thank you so much! 
Maybe I will dig up my Monarda this year (assuming it survived last year's nightmare) and improve its soil. Maybe I should give it a water reservoir of some sort to feed off of. Considering how much rain we get (when we're not having a drought), it's odd that I don't have any "sunny, moist" spots to plant it in. I wonder if living next door to the Rudbeckia swarm is part of the problem... sucking the place dry.
I think Ceratostigma might be kind of iffy in my zone. That's too bad because I could use something like that. I like the Schizostylis, too, but I'm trying to get away from tender perennials. (Doing a lousy job of that, but I am trying my best. LOL! I see things like that Schiz and want to give them to my Mom to grow... figure someone I know ought to be growing them. LOL!) |
February 4, 2008 (Monday)
I was looking for pictures of Alliums in rock gardens and came across another interesting, entertaining, and amusing garden blog: bloomingwriter at http://bloomingwriter.blogspot.com/2007_08_01_archive.html. She also links to a ton of other gardening blogs that I will have to peruse at some point. ~~~~~~~~ I'm posting a few pics that I should've posted over the last few days.
Star and planet (I assume) on January 31.
Sunrise on February 2.
Same sunrise, seven minutes later.
Ice on puddle yesterday.
This IS the last time I'm going over my seed list. Really. I promise myself. ........ Done with that. The whole idea there was to grow things so that I could collect seed rather than risk having the seeds that I already have go bad before next year. I feel better already. Everything has a home, too. D-O-N-E. Ho hum, now what? Just sit back and wait for spring to get here, I guess. Meanwhile, more hot tea! |
| Flowerfreak Posted on Monday, February 04, 2008 - 03:21 pm: | |
WOW! That wore me out just reading it all! There was so much here for me to read and catch up on that I don't have time to post much. Glad Moira was there to help :)
HAHAHA (yeah right, like you are going to sit still for 5 minutes!)
Well I hope you have a lovely day sitting there doing "nothing". haha  |
| Growit Posted on Monday, February 04, 2008 - 03:59 pm: | |
Love the ice pic DJ.
Yeah, me too. Are you still sitting doing nothing? I kinda doubt it. |
LOL! Hi, there!  |
Depends. Is reading GB "doing nothing"? LOL! |
Actually, I did spend a long time trying to come up with a sign to make for my farm. Something with a pumpkin on it, to hang down by the road. |
| Flowerfreak Posted on Tuesday, February 05, 2008 - 07:27 am: | |
LOL, you got me! |
February 4, 2008 (Monday)
(continued from before)
Some things just strike me as funny.
A landscaping and gardening company in Asheville: The Dirty Hoe.
A gardening blog from Ontario: I Wet My Plants.
~~~~~~~~ So, Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow, huh? I hope that means that ONLY Pennsylvania will have another 6 weeks of winter. I didn't see my shadow HERE. Too cloudy. Of course, I'm not a groundhog, either. Maybe that's an important distinction to make. If my eyes were as close to the ground as a groundhog's, maybe I would have seen my shadow. ~~~~~~~~ One of Moira's posts reminded me that we had frost this morning. This is why I don't like the ups and downs in temperature at this time of year. Frost and no snow cover. Combined with the rain from Saturday, or whichever day it rained, it's just messy around here.
 |
February 7, 2008 (Thursday)
It poured down rain last night. The thunder woke me up in the middle of the night. Then this morning I awoke to a light covering of snow. It is snowing right now, too. My son is taking a nap - a great rarity these days - so I am enjoying some peaceful me time. ~~~~~~~~ Yesterday, I took some of the rocks from beside the path to the coop and tossed them between the end of the path and the coop to use as stepping stones. No more walks through muck. ~~~~~~~~ The recycling fiasco seems to be under control finally. What a nuisance that was.
February 8, 2008 (Friday)
This week has gone by so quickly. Maybe that's just because last weekend seemed interminably long. ........ The girls gave me two eggs this morning. I was wishing for eggs yesterday, so they must have read my mind. ........ I saw raccoon, cat, and rabbit tracks in the snow on the way to the mailbox this morning. ~~~~~~~~ I started seeds of Clematis and Filipendula this morning. I noticed what looks like a Nasturtium coming up in my Chinese Foxglove pot, and new leaves sprouting on my Chilean Jasmine. It's hard to not get excited about that! Maybe I should give it to my Mom since it's hardy in her zone. ~~~~~~~~ Besides the sticky notes, I am finding other Vista tricks. My husband had said there was a Rolodex feature for looking at files. Turns out that Windows + Tab turns every open window into a Rolodex card and you can thumb through them to get to the one you want. Sort of like the Alt + Tab version which gives a little window showing every open file. One cool thing I found is that Ctrl + mouse wheel changes the font size in an open window. Now that is actually useful. Something else useful is that I found out how to add the "Run..." option to the start menu. Finally.
February 11, 2008 (Monday)
I made Oatmeal Cookies again yesterday. I made the whole batch at once, so I have been eating up a storm. I went through the recipe, mixing everything together, and got to the oatmeal (3 cups worth) before I realized I didn't have 3 cups of it. Haha! I substituted ground flaxseed and soy flour and they came out just fine. ........ I checked my seed baggies last night to see how they were doing. It's a good thing because *someone* moved my potting tray and the poor things probably practically baked. We shall see how it goes. ........ I tucked the chickens in last night, then came back in and went around closing all of the curtains in the living room because the temps were dropping rapidly and it seemed to be getting noticeably colder inside the house. I sat on the sofa, then freaked out when I heard some rumbling noise and was the only person who heard it. It seemed like it was coming from the basement. Then it happened again and I jumped up, turned off the TV, and decided it was probably just a snowplow going down the road... until we looked out and saw nothing on the road and realized it was the wind. Boy, was it windy last night! Still is, for that matter. The coop said it was zero degrees last night. Weird, since it was supposed to be about 16 with a wind chill of zero. Of course I forgot to lube them, so I did that this morning. Hopefully frostbite won't show up later like it did on Roo. Roo's new song is, "Rrr-eht-rrr-eht-rrrrrrrrrr." It is interesting that Roo is the first chicken I've ever heard match the number of syllables for "cockadoodledoo".
February 13, 2008 (Wednesday)
Creepy! Okay, which one of you wise guys moved my EpiPen sticky note to the third position from the top on my computer desktop? LOL! ~~~~~~~~~ We have more snow, with rain pooled on top of it. Every time I stepped and cracked through the upper crust on the way to the coop, water came rushing in from all around and filled in the holes. And of course I still haven't waterproofed my boots. ~~~~~~~~ The trip down to the mailbox this afternoon was a nightmare. Between the rain and the snow, I had to wade through 3" of water. It was a little better walking on the snow on the grass instead of on the driveway, but that still didn't keep my socks from getting soaking wet. ~~~~~~~~ We went to a social event last night. That is the third time our son's picture has made the newspaper, and he's only four.
February 14, 2008 (Thursday)
I think I might try to grow some of my vegetables after all. Just the Alliums, garlic, corn, Yin Yang Beans, chard, spinach, peas, Romanesco Broccoli, eggplant, and cherry tomatoes. That way I can work on maintaining seed for things that don't stay viable for long (Alliums and corn), try out the eggplant, have some tasty toms since the store can't seem to sell any, same thing with the peas, and try out my cool broc. The beds for so few veggies will be cheap to build and won't require too much water. Yay. I think I might be a happy camper, finally.
 |
| Flowerfreak Posted on Thursday, February 14, 2008 - 03:10 pm: | |
I knew you'd come around!
I'm not big at all on the Sweetest Day/Valentine's Day thing, but Happy Valentine's Day! Hope you eat lots of chocolate  |
Oh, I will. My Mom sent a box of Godiva chocolates. |
February 15, 2008 (Friday)
I am so sick of nightmares. I never have anything but bad dreams, but I guess the year or two reprieve I had from dreaming kind of spoiled me. I've been having worse nightmares than usual the last few nights, but last night took the cake. After having a few nightmares in a row (nothing unusual there), I finally awoke and decided that maybe the electric blanket was too hot and that was why I was having such bad dreams. It was turned down pretty low already, but I turned it off anyway. I then went back to sleep and proceeded to dream that someone was choking me to death. I told them that I couldn't breathe and they finally stopped strangling me, but then they leaned against my throat with their arm and I still couldn't breathe. I told them I couldn't breathe and they asked what I said, and I repeated that I still couldn't breathe. They finally took their arm off my throat, but I still couldn't breathe. That freaked me out and I woke up, but I still couldn't breathe. I was pretty tired, so I thought maybe I couldn't breathe because I was actually still asleep and still dreaming. Then I realized that the blankets were pinned tightly against my throat and that was why I couldn't breathe. I started to reach for the blankets to push them away, but my hands and arms were entangled in the blankets and the blankets also seemed to be pinned beneath my shoulders. I started thrashing around, trying to yank my hands and arms out of the twisted mess of blankets, but I couldn't and I still couldn't breathe. I began to panic. After some more frantic thrashing, I finally disentangled myself and got the blankets off my throat. My throat still hurts from being choked. I cough every now and then from the pain. I keep trying to clear my throat because it feels like I have a lump in it, and this whole thing happened well over a couple of hours ago. It isn't any consolation, but I guess it's safe to say that it wasn't the temperature of the blanket that was making me have bad dreams. LOL! ~~~~~~~~ Hooray, I see Robins!! We probably have about six to twelve down by the creek. I guess that's what I saw yesterday, too, but just didn't realize it. Their pretty little red breasts are quite obvious today. ~~~~~~~~ The wind chill will be -1 tonight, so off to put Hawk and his girlfriend in with the other girls for the night. Guess they will stay in there tomorrow, too, when it will be -1 wind chill for the day. Wheee. |
| Growit Posted on Wednesday, February 20, 2008 - 03:31 am: | |
Nothing I can suggest for the nightmares DJ (except not to eat cheese last thing?...Think that might be a bit of a wives tale) but what I can suggest is investing in a feather duvet. Better still buy two, one for him and one for you!  The fairy bears no relevance to anything I have written just fancied a change of clipart pic lol! |
| Nibbs Posted on Wednesday, February 20, 2008 - 04:10 am: | |
I've been thinking about you and your nightmares, too, DJ, and wondered if you're being affected by some sort of allergy at night (breathing problems). It was just a thought.
Dreams can be such a friend, but also very upsetting, can't they! I love it when a really nice dream carries me through the day (rare), but, gosh, a nightmare can stay all day too!
I had a dream once about being on a cruise ship with a good friend. We were tickled to be able to sit on the deck, with our bare feet sticking out into the water, and orcas would come up and rub their backs on the soles of our feet. It was wonderful (and obviously stayed with me all these years). I can trace back events and understand why I had the dream. Some dreams make sense, and some don't.
I hope you can find some resolve to your nightmares. |
