| Flowerfreak Posted on Friday, June 27, 2008 - 12:13 pm: |   |
I was wondering if you were going to get back on her about this, lol |
| Stormdancer Posted on Friday, June 27, 2008 - 05:10 pm: | |
Lol...looks like ya'll know me well... |
Yes, but I had to have an excuse to go to my favorite nursery. LOL! Plus, the slim chance that the nursery might have had nice ferns was the only thing standing between me and a possible case of PI... Over the hayfield and through the PI to Momma's woods we go...
I never had any doubt that you'd be right about the ferns. And after finding out that you may not always be right, but you're never wrong... Well, that just confirmed that you'd be right about the ferns. LOL! |
June 28, 2008 (Saturday)
It is 71 degrees and hazy again (7:30 AM).
I had gathered an armload of fresh hay for Fat Rabbit yesterday evening. It is practically all gone this morning.
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More hollyhocks are open today, plus more False Sunflower 'Summer Sun' and a Bachelor's Button. The Chrysler Imperial Rose has opened now, too.
Hollyhocks
False Sunflower
Bachelor's Button
We went out today to buy school clothes. The guy who ran the store recognized the name of the street we live on and asked about our location relative to a local landmark. My husband said it was the old farmhouse down the street and the guy said, "The old -------- farm?" (with -------- being the last name of the former owners). Hilarious, considering we were in a completely different town close to Boston. Turns out he went to school with the former owners' kids.
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| Stormdancer Posted on Sunday, June 29, 2008 - 06:55 am: | |
hahaha...don't blame you DJ, wouldn't want to deal with the PI myself...but the fern would look lovely anywhere you placed it.
Sounds sweet about buying school clothes...it is amazing sometimes how fast the little ones grow...my GD begins school this year also, of course the oldest GS is beginning Middle School this year, he's turning 12 in August...makes me feel old...I remember when my son started school...I cried the first day of school every year until third grade...that was my baby, growing up and leaving his momma. Once third grade rolled around, I was pushing him out the door...they do grow up at an amazing rate. |
| Growit Posted on Sunday, June 29, 2008 - 05:27 pm: | |
Hi DJ 
Just had a quick read and a flick through this last page. No time for much else at the minute.
It all looks like it is coming together so well. Love reading you journal.
Speak to you soon.  |
That's what I'm afraid of.  I'm just so glad that he will at least have summers off for many years to come. 
Hi, Moira! So good to see you. I'm glad you're enjoying my journal. |
| Stormdancer Posted on Monday, June 30, 2008 - 12:46 pm: | |
Well DJ, my mom said it was "normal" for me to cry when he went to pre-school...she got a bit worried in the following years as I cried on the first day of school...thought I was nuts for not being ready for him to be back at school. I think its because he and I were pals and did quite a bit together when he was little...I knew he was ready and I think that's what made me sad...realizing that my sweet little boy was growing up. But he made me proud with his "yearn to learn" and he did very well in school...LOL...the second week of him attending pre-school he made me stop walking him to his class...I had to drop him at the door and let him go in..."But mom,(in a very indignant tone)I know where my class is...you don't have to take me"...went home and bawled like a baby...my baby didn't need his momma any more. Got over that like I said...by the time he began third grade, I was ready for school to start and him to be out of my hair for a few hours...amazing how things change... |
It makes me very nervous to put someone else in charge of his safety, happiness, and well-being. Not like I'm overprotective... I just put very little trust in other people. So, I just try to think of all the fun he is going to have and try to believe that everything will be alright. So far, though, that is proving much harder for me than it sounds. In some ways, I'll actually be glad when school starts so I can stop dreading the whole thing and just move on. LOL. |
June 29, 2008 (Sunday)
It is about 90 degrees and sunny (10:00 AM). I forgot to see what the temperature was when I first got up.
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We weeded the bed beside the driveway. That didn't take too long, so that was nice.
June 30, 2008 (Monday)
Yet another day that I forgot to check the temp when I got up. It is 80 degrees and sunny right now, although the sun seems to disappear behind the clouds every now and then (9:30 AM).
We received 0.5" of rain yesterday. My white delphiniums snapped over from the rain. I suppose I will cut them and bring them in. At least they'll bloom again later if I do.
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I think Saturday was the first day this year that I picked a wild black raspberry for my son to eat. I picked several more yesterday. I found enough that I even managed a couple samples for myself. Although there are plenty of berries for snacks around the house, I ought to walk over to the barn to see what's producing over there. (Mostly I'm just anxious to see how the blackberry bush is recovering from the barn repairs. It was the king of blackberry bushes and I can't wait for it to resume production.)
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I went out and gathered raspberries. I first found red raspberries. That was a nice surprise. Then I went to peek in on the king of blackberries. Looking good! Its berries are all green right now, but in the next fews days I'll probably go out and net it. I picked a bunch of black raspberries, then cut down my white delphiniums. They are very tattered from the rain, but I made them into a bouquet anyway, along with some aging snapdragons and daylilies, plus some perennial peas, weeds, and sprigs of spent sage blossoms. It's not so hard to cut down flowers that are fading fast, so that was good practice for the first bouquet of the season. I only found one tick on myself while I was out there. Not too bad for a leisurely wade through the barnyard hay and weeds.
Blossoms and Berries |
| Stormdancer Posted on Tuesday, July 01, 2008 - 08:13 am: | |
YUMMMMM, I really like your shot of the Blossoms and berries.....looks very tasty!!
(((DJ))) it is hard to hand them over to people outside the family...he'll be fine though...go meet his teacher and stay involved with his daily school routine...if things don't "feel" right...then make sure you investigate...don't let the school "run over you"...this is your child and YOU have the right to know what is going on in that classroom. Sometimes teachers and kids have personality conflicts, so if he seems upset, check out how this teacher treats the kids in the class...I've locked horns with more than one teacher over the years, NO ONE mistreats any of my kids...once the school realizes that you are an Active parent, they will be more willing to address any concerns you have.
Don't mean to add stress to your upcoming first days of school, just offering a bit of advice from a "seasoned" parent. Its hard enough on the little ones without them having to deal with sorry people in the education system....stepping back off the soapbox now..LOL |
July 1, 2008 (Tuesday)
It is a foggy 66 degrees (6:00 AM).
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I meant to mention yesterday that the 'Winsome' Dahlia was opening its first flower. The dahlias love those tubs. I also uncovered the dinnerplate dahlias yesterday (removed the netting).
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Fat Rabbit is the picture of a life of luxury. He is sitting in the sunshine with his eyes closed, chewing on a fresh leaf of lettuce like it's the world's longest spaghetti noodle.
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I think about a third of my pumpkin plants have gone missing... What in the world goes under the row covers and steals them? If we didn't have mosquitoes, I'd sit out there with a shovel at night and put an end to it.
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We had a short but heavy rain, so I finished reading Tasha Tudor's Garden.
July 2, 2008 (Wednesday)
It is 68 degrees and either foggy or misty (7:38 AM). We had 1.4" of rain yesterday. It came in two rounds (0.4" the first time and 1" the second time around).
The south hayfield has been totally smashed by the rain, except for the wild Larkspur. It is still standing tall. Definitely a keeper... anything that can stand up in our heavy rains.
Roo got into the girls' pen again yesterday. When I put him back in his own, one of the girls went in there with him, so he had a girlfriend for the night. She seemed pretty happy to get out of there this morning.
I think a wild pumpkin is growing beside one of the new beds I'm building beside the coop. I'll be surprised if it sets fruit since it's in shade for most of the day.
I noticed yesterday that the 'munks (or whatever) have eaten most of my son's pumpkin seedlings, despite the fact that they have been under deer net this whole time. I had to start the Racer Pumpkin seeds and remaining Fairytale Pumpkin seeds yesterday to make up for the fact that so many of my pumpkins have gone missing. I will be growing them to a much bigger stage before I transplant them this time, I think.
My Brugmansia seems to have an endless supply of some sort of striped beetle. I keep grabbing them, throwing them on the driveway, and smashing them with my shoe. The pest reminds me of something that would normally be attacking cucurbits.
My 'Union Jack' Dahlia has a flower today. I cannot wait to see what sort of multiple personality show she puts on this year.
The Purple Coneflowers are sending out petals. I hope that the garden will be full of flowers in the next couple of weeks. |
July 3, 2008 (Thursday)
It is 73 degrees, sunny, and a little breezy (8:30 AM). It actually feels pretty cool outside considering the current temperature and the fact that it is supposed to reach 90 degrees today.
I pulled a few weeds this morning. Well, not exactly weeds. I had planted Ambrosia in the square plot and decided to yank it all out. I don't want it to spread there. At first, I thought I wouldn't mind if it spread out in the new yard (the area I planted it in last year), but after examining its wild self-seeded escape this year, I have changed my mind. It needs a very enclosed spot of its own in which to run amok. I have a lot of weeding to do over there, which I had expected, but I think the last round of harrowing made it even worse than I had expected it to be. So, I certainly don't want it running wild in my square plot.
Lots more Purple Coneflowers are sending out petals this morning. Soon they will all explode.
The Monarda 'Panorama Red Shades' is beginning to blossom. I am anxious to see how its flowers do this year. Yesterday, a spider had built an interesting web between two of its leaves. It looked like the cables on the Leonard Zakim Bridge. That must not be a very stable design for a web, though, as it is completely gone today.
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It is down to 82 or 86 degrees, depending on which thermometer is to be believed. The earlier high was 90. Now I'm just waiting for the storms to come. Splash and dash, New England style.
I was looking at the flowers and examining bees, when I thought a huge dragonfly had come to visit my Perennial Peas. It was actually a hummingbird. It was enthralled. So enthralled that I went and checked the hummingbird feeder to see if something had happened to it. I just filled it the other day; it's still okay. Guess the PPs are just beak-smackin' good.
Thanks to the high temps and high winds, I had to water the veggie beds and dinnerplate dahlias, even despite the great amount of rain we had the other day.
One of my leeks has finally poofed open a flower. Another one is beginning to split its way open. They are very nice. I like ornamental food.
I cut off the toppled Shasta Daisy 'Alaska' flower stalks. What a nuisance. I am not sure where those plants will be relocated to. Perhaps a cutting garden. Now I need to figure out what to fill in the gaps with. I was thinking Delphiniums or Foxgloves, with sunflowers mixed in next year to provide something of interest there.
Some of the self-seeded Liatris that is finally old enough to bloom is nearly chest high. I don't know if that is a function of their youth or the amount of shade they put up with each day. They look healthy despite the shade, so who knows. They are also coming up from between big rocks. At that rate, maybe it is something to do with moisture levels.
I know there was something else interesting about the day, but I don't remember what. Seems like it had to do with bees. I did get a bee stuck in my hair while I was trimming the Shasta Daisies, but that's not what I thought was so interesting.
Ah. I could smell the lavender blossoms earlier when I was standing in the yard, even though I was several feet away. Maybe that was what I was trying to remember. I love that smell. If I ever pass out, I wouldn't mind it being face down in the lavender patch, as long as the bees made way.
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Oh! Ah-ha! The interesting thing that I was trying to remember earlier was the mama turkey that came through with her five babies. Maybe I'm just not remembering things accurately - we don't see turkey families around here as often as we used to - but the babies seemed shockingly small for this time of year. Anyway, mama and babies wandered through the north upper lawn, the babies practically lost among the grass (time to mow again already? ugh!), and mama snacking on the raspberries under the crabapple tree. Too cute and sweet.
Mama Turkey and Her Babies
Orange Daylilies
The ferns around the house did a good job of surviving last year's painting and scaffolding, and the chimney repairs. The Hydrangeas, on the other hand, are not nearly as spectacular as in previous years. Perhaps they are just hungry. It could also be the lousy whipping, freezing winds that come through in early spring. I've noticed that those beds get a good amount of light, considering that they are on the north side of the house. I may have to try Foxgloves there.
Foundation Ferns
Sweat Bee
'Union Jack' Dahlia |
July 4, 2008 (Friday) The 4th of July
It is 67 degrees, grey, misty, and drippy (8:53 AM).
I saw the first Nasturtium bud of the season yesterday. It wasn't open yet and it's not open today, either. I don't blame it. It's a dreary day.
One red Pompon Dahlia flower is open.
I love the pink flowers on the Black Valentine Beans. They are so cute and I like the color of the leaves. I don't know how my Yin Yang Beans are doing. They have peas all over them.
Apparently it rained overnight. I forgot to check the rain gauges this morning. I need to remember to do that later.
Luckily, we managed to catch some fireworks last night. I thought maybe the rain was going to cancel the show. I think the first shot is pretty cool. It looks like we watched from across a lake, but the light was actually just reflected on wet pavement.
Fireworks Over Wet Pavement
Sparkly Fireworks
My son took over the camera for the remainder of the show. I thought his pics came out even more interesting than mine, courtesy of a long shutter speed, busy hands and arms, and a tendency to stop peering through the viewfinder every now and then so he could see the fireworks in real life.
Splashes of Color
Blazing Trails
Wandering Sparks
I thought this photo was very creepy and eerie. It captures the very last moments of the fiery remnants of several individual blasts that went off simultaneously. My husband and I thought that when seen together in this photo, the sparks seemed to form an eagle. Weird!
Screaming Eagle
Streams of Fire
Flaming Loop de Loops
July 5, 2008 (Saturday)
It is 68 degrees, grey, and drippy (9:15 AM). We've had 0.5" of rain since the last time I recorded the amount. Yesterday was jacket weather, partly because I wore a tank top, but other people were out and about in sweatshirts. This is not the kind of weather I like at this time of year. The rain is nice, but at this rate, I won't thaw out before winter gets here.
'Union Jack' has opened another flower. It is the classic red and white stripe, just as it should be. 'Little Beeswings' has a few flowers open today and there are more red Pompon Dahlia blossoms, too.
The pumpkin plants are plumping up nicely under the row covers.
The chicken water fount is rusting inside. I should check the status of the other fount. I haven't used it in quite a while. It might finally be time for me to create a better system of watering the chickens, something that will work just as well in the winter.
July 6, 2008 (Sunday)
It is 75 degrees this morning (9:15 AM). It looks like it might finally be a dry day.
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My husband pulled PI and I pulled Ambrosia. After my husband finished pulling PI, he helped me pull Ambrosia. That was a lot of Ambrosia.
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I pulled a few other weeds, then trimmed around the flower beds along the rock wall. I need to mow, but I'm going to wait until at least tomorrow. It is too muggy now. It will probably be a morning job whenever I get around to it.
I think it was yesterday that I noticed the first Kniphofia blossom. I was excited and surprised to see it. It is small and all yellow. I had thought it would have some orange or orange-red on it. Maybe as they get older they will be more impressive.
After I finished gathering some rabbit food, I noticed that I have another Larkspur in the south field. It is light pink. Cute. I like the purple best, though.
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| Stormdancer Posted on Monday, July 07, 2008 - 07:35 am: | |
Hey DJ
Loved your shots of the fireworks. Sounds like you are having the same type of weather we are...HOT and MUGGY!! 80 degrees at 7:30 am here this morning and the humidity is already making it feel very steamy.
My yard is needing mowed again as well...want to do mine when you fire up your mower??  |
Hi, Karen!
That's exactly what I thought when I read your journal. I sit around feeling like I'm swimming in my clothes. Ick!
Funny! Actually, I was thinking that if I tie the handle down on mine (to keep it turned on) and tie down the lever that powers the wheels, maybe I could just let go of the mower at the top of the hill and it would mow without me. LOL!! Now, how to get it to come back up without my help? I wonder if goats would eat the daffodils in the lawn? Or sheep? If not, I'd much rather move a bunch of goats or sheep around than push a mower these days. LOL. |
| Stormdancer Posted on Monday, July 07, 2008 - 10:34 am: | |
Sounds good, but I believe the daffs would probably be like candy for most grazing critters......what about the chickens??? My chicken yard is wiped pretty clean...wouldn't have to worry about cutting then, just erosion!although, the chickens would probably like the daffs too....back to the drawing board... |
I dunno. I figured since deer don't eat them, maybe nothing does. LOL!
You know, that could be a fabulous idea. I would love nothing more than to turn that portion of the yard into a wildflower meadow so that I never had to mow it again. Hmmm! I suppose I could set up a small penned in area with net over the top and let the girls ransack it, then move them to a new area. It'd probably be even better if I wait until the daffs die back. I wonder if they'd dig up and eat my crocus bulbs? That'd be my luck. LOL! |
That's interesting. That's the way most chicken pens that I've seen look. For some reason, though, mine only wear out the areas around the lean-tos, and the boys wear out trails along the fences while admiring the girls. Everything else in the pens is overgrown. It's strange. But when I had all of the chickens in a small pen beside the garage, they wore the whole thing down to bare dirt. Made it easy for me to seed a new lawn there. I did have to put some wire over the daffs and spiderwort in their garage pen to keep them from tromping them to death while they munched on the garage siding. LOL. |
| Stormdancer Posted on Monday, July 07, 2008 - 01:44 pm: | |
Huh!..wonder if it has to do with the roosters trying to impress the hens? The area mine are in is totally dug up almost daily...its 15 feet x 15 feet...was covered in growth when we set the pen up....do you have an old dog cage? looking at some of the contraptions online for chickens (which are pretty doggone expensive for what they are)you should be able to put together a portable pen pretty easy and just move them around the yard...give them temporary shelter/shade with an old tarp or similar stuff...saw something in one of my books about making a "chicken tunnel" around your garden to keep insects down and weeds...looked like a run on three sides, covered of course with wire or net...sounded like a super idea to me, but my chickens don't have much chance with something like that due to the dogs...I'd never be able to keep them off the fence...shy of keeping the dogs inside...LOL |
