A memorable weekend

The Victoria Day weekend can be lots of things.  The Rooster and I, his chick, were discussing that it is likely THE holiday that is most looked forward to by Canadians.  The long winter/spring has lost its grip and summer is flinging her finery all about.  True, sometimes her snow white slip sometimes shows, but it is only a tease.  We know summer is on her way!

The bedding plants are ready to be designated as the next thing first.  Rain is on the radar.  My hope is to get the majority of mine in the ground.  The Rooster will do the veggie beds.

The dandelions have gotten away on us.  Again!   They will have our full attention come fall.  But the flowerbeds have the fewest weeds ever!!!  My pansies tend to over winter occasionally.  This fern leaf peony was a splurge last year and I'm delighted it is possibly as hardy as the old garden peony.

We made slow but encouraging progress on the kitchen.  The Rooster is muttering about giving up his contractor/handyman papers but when he gets the quotes he quits crowing and spreads his wings.  Thanks, dearie!

Before we cut the grass we donned our rubber boots and grabbed the pruners and headed off along both sides of the driveway and ditch that fronts our property.  Those gosh awful, nasty, disgusting forest tent caterpillars had a significant foothold on the trees.  So we cut off all we saw and burned them.  :(  None too soon as they were already beginning to travel away from their nests.  Then after we cut the grass we had to deal with the wood ticks.  sheesh!

I luv the smell of chokecherries as the smell of the blossoms wafts in the windows.  I like to hear the birds moving about in the branches.  Unfortunately black knot and  forest tent caterpillars have an affinity with the bushes, of which we have many.  But there is nothing like chokecherry jam (or wine)  if you can pick the berries before the birds all descend!

It is on my mind to make a garden journal.  I had set aside a kit with a fabric foam cover and rings for it and gathered some scrapbook paper.  Then I remembered the bulb book I'd gotten at the thrift store and  think it will serve better as a 'year in the garden' book.  So far I  have removed the inside pages and used black gesso on the cover.  I am taking lots of pictures.  I also discovered some flowers I'd dried and I may try some mono printing

 I just finished Queen Victoria's biography and watched the movie Victoria.  She was a very memorable and  creative lady!   Now if I can only be half as dedicated to journaling my memories as she was!  ;^)

Mid summer

And if the living isn't easy it is colourful.  I like a colour theme and a flow but my Rooster likes colour and flowers, big blowzy ones,  and as he is now part of the landscape team...    I will admit that things are getting done on time and the weeds are under control.  But as his welcome to the team he now must wrestle with the landscape budget which was the first time this year that the Budget ran over! LOL

Grand kiddie #3 had her third birthday and after exploring all the possibilities she settled on yet another baby for the nursery.  Kinda resembles baby 1 and 2 and has the same look as 4 and 5!  ;^)  She is our domestic child.  :)

We are trying to take time to enjoy the garden.  Smell the roses so to speak!  This should be the last time through for weeding.  I'm fairly pleased with the positioning of the plants and now they just need to fill in.

The Japanese tree lilac has finished blooming and the whole yard was permeated with its smell.  Now the mock orange under the front veranda windows is releasing its fragrance.  The moon flowers are twining up the railing and I'm waiting for flowers.  The faerie garden could fill in better but it will be overhauled next year. 

West of the centre walk the bed has been weeded.  The roses are blooming and the lilies are hitting their bloom button.

East of the centre walk I've started weeding.  The spirea we moved to disguise the stump hardly missed a beat in blooming.   I have pulled lots of dill which is all over these two sections.

These are quite tall, very prolific and smell heavenly.  Luv them!

I must have a 5 - 6 month attention span because all my first of the year commitments are lagging.  Time to recommit.  I grabbed my hand from pressing join for a bunch of new things and printed out my ufo list so I can pick it up and look at it rather than surf for something new, flirty and flashy.  :{

Then I revived my water brush and grabbed the sketch book because I am starting my own  club/class/come along.  I'm gonna capture what interests me, get it on paper, transfer it to cloth and play around till I create something!  I shall smell the perfume of productivity.  ha!  First I had to chase away the garter snake that lives under the margaton lilies!   Gee, there really is a snake in paradise!  :O

Scattering petals as I may!

The beginning of a heat wave and I decide to work on my landscape plan!  LOL

Pavers will cover the area in front of the bench.  I brought the tower from a far corner and hopefully the Rooster can replace all the missing screws and firm it up.  This is a second weeding for this corner.  We shall put down a thick mulch of composted manure and cross out dirty fingers and cramped toes! :(

I was out early yesterday and while I tweaked things I arrived at a plan.  ;)  At high noon I did what any creative gal would do to cool off.  I went to the garden centre.  I had three things on my wish list.  A rose,  a tall backdrop for the bench and a clematis for the tower.  I was over budget, what else is new!   I only got the three plants.  vbsigh  It was dicey though and I'm not saying I'm done.  ;)  I have learned my lesson.  I smelt and admired the hydrangeas but I turned firmly away. I now only buy what survives my brand of TLC.  I picked the tallest, hardiest and blowziest rose for the Rooster.  I am hoping to bamboozle him from noticing that it is now where the peony was.  oops!   And I wanted a colourful clematis.  Roses, peonies, and clematis seem to survive my management style.

It is and it is casting winks at a very red rose from beneath clashing wine petals.  hmmmm    It does match the rosebud!  lol

This hollyhock should really be over in that corner as well. It somehow arrived in my pastel pink bed which enjoys a close proximity to the garden hose.  It likes it dry which is what that bench corner is.  Go figure!   I may have to sneak it over there while the Rooster has his head buried in a pile of tenacious thistles.

Update:  Turns out the Rooster has also been making a plan.  The flowerbeds for the house yard originally form a figured eight with the house situated near the crossing at mid point.   Works well for grass cutting but I came to the conclusion that the bottom of the 8 had to go a few years ago.  And now even with the Rooster joining the work detail we are not keeping  up.   So the mosquito section, the top of the 8 will revert to grass. I had already moved the bench, tower and bird bath so I guess we think alike and he just took it the step further.  ;)  This means that I must move a few more plants to expand the grass edge.  He'll never notice these in the switch.  Besides I have a lovely young flowering shrub from last year who will like their spot in the sun much better!

Hmm, I have rescued a number of plants that I thought were dead and gone or I just plain forgot about.  I have one peony to donate to my DD.  There is a  yellow flowered plant that will go out back as I am thinking it is gearing up for world domination. lol  But I managed to give each one a new and better home.

So we have one bed all done.  Mulch is in place.  The fence boards have to go on and the far end of the bed will have a lattice for the two clematis from the potting shed.  It'll be a nice end for the yard before going further to the clothesline, gardens, and chicken coop.  I seem to have persuaded Manny, that big dog, to sleep in the cool of the old potting shed.  shhh!  I don't want to jinx that!  ;^)

This section is at right angles and runs to the gate and that curve I am working on.  I did move that hollyhock and two others I found.  They are a tad droopy so I shall be posting when we get the mulching done and the hollyhocks are perkier!   Now it is time to hit the shower and put my feet up.  Hopefully I don't lose too many petals in all the shuffling about.  ;)

Fry Day

I think I dallied too long going out this morning and then the mercury hit the top of the glass. oops! So I didn't get as far along as I'd hoped.

But I feel cool just reviewing the progress so far.

Whatever I do has to have some element of fun! Something to make me smile. This definitely makes gardening worth the effort.

This willow sheds so much and I move the stuff around but it just looks so messy that I finally just gathered most of it up and took it to the chickens. Looks much tidier. I'm not sure how the chickens feel about twigs all over there living room floor but...

I'm really feeling like this area is ready to just fill in and look pretty. The frogs slipped over from That Faerie Place. That one little guy is probably going to learn that 'eaves dropping' isn't a good thing to do!

A First for July

Shhh! In spite of the fact that many of the areas of our province are facing more flooding issues it is looking like we actually could be making hay, and good hay, on time for the first time in years. And the winter wheat... lush. We are experiencing HOT and dry. Horrible for sleeping in this old farmhouse but very welcome to our high, saturated water table.

The grand kiddies are up to date with hugs. And I'm ready for whatever normal looks like around here.

I'm a tangent kind of person so a different day for different hobbies is NOT going to work. VBSigh. I'm really not sure I can blame age on my declining multi tasking skills. I'm very spontaneous (maybe excitable) but just kind of an all in or all out personality. So I think I need to flow with that.

The yard needs a serious weeding and I pointed the kiddies to the garden tools and we did make some progress but this week I need to really make progress. But the heat and humidity means early mornings mostly. But my age also deems it wise to balance all the physical activity with less strenuous exercise. So glad my various creative interests are not muscle builders. lol

So I'll be machine quilting the comfort quilt which is probably going to be not much better than being out in the garden, sweat shop wise. But I do have a fan!

So July is up on the calender and it is looking like a hot one and I hope that is more than just temperature! ;)

One day ahead of schedule

The rain is ahead of schedule, it is not due till tomorrow. I'm still behind schedule and I've lost count of how many days.

When I began designing garden beds I had the graph paper and the flower/shrub info and a dozen helpful books. It did not translate to the black dirt. Now that could be my measuring but I've decided I don't like jam packed. Now close is good as it means less weeding but my successes tended to be elbow to elbow and the 'no shows' tended to represent vacant lots. I'm trying to even things out and to let the majority be self sustaining. This white bed comes down to a black arbor and bench so I repositioned this tower and I'll need to find some hardy climber to cover it. But here is another job that isn't finished. But its, sob, not my fault. vbsigh The agricultural paper says our area is one of the top 3 areas in our province hardest hit with all this rain and high winds. What's a gal to do?

I had a privacy lattice behind this front to separate the front bed, which is my most formal area, from the side yard. This is the part of the yard I wanted to keep pretty natural, kind of a cabin at the lake feel.

Well, he who does the grilling wants to do it on a deck so I tore down the lattice, laid the black hose for a lawn edge and flapped the old plywood down to see if this would work. The steps down should cover that lower window. I'll have to fill in where the lattice used to be and along the grass edge with shrubs. The good news is less grass and trimming and hopefully not too much weeding.

I do not want much to ruin the view from my comfy chair in the sitting room, thru the large patio doors and into the north bush from which I've cut out the ugly dead stuff and filled in with cultivated varieties of the native shrubs. I'm also waiting for my new round sitting room rug to be delivered. This is my neutral spot in the house. A quiet place with the big windows inviting the outdoors in. A place to forget about weather forecasts, budgets, to-do lists, bad news and tiredness. A peaceful place.

Multi Tasks

I'm in the process of emptying the old shed so that meant I had to get all the lawn accessories out and into position. I must say that shade gardening is pure pleasure. This area doesn't get prime attention but things are actually beginning to fill in. It is cool, the weeding doesn't come any easier, and it just has its own special magic. I do need to catch a hen who can fly over the gate and likes to rearrange my path!

I picked up a few old books at the thrift store Friday and of course the grandson. A rainy Saturday so I steered the Grand Farmer and his helper into the veranda.

We got the various things up including my 'chandelier'! It doesn't work but I suspect I could set tea lights in it. I haven't quite mentioned it to the site foreman, but I think it needs a coat of some stupendously smashing spray paint! I do like how it is visible when I look out the front window from inside the front room. I would have liked a bit more sparkle and a little less visual weight, but it was free! I'm getting a sense of the colours I want in here and a teal floor is first thought that presented itself. But I'm not sure about the light. Lime?

Monday the sheep shearer was due. His timing was great as the sheep had had some time to whiten and drop all the mud from their belly wool. I spent the morning cutting some of the foxtail around the sorting area that the sheep will not eat. Very itchy stuff! So my city trip was postponed but the sheep are another thing off the list.

I dashed off to the city to pick up a new 1/4" foot with a guide for my sewing machine and to hear all about the summer training session. The old roller foot is now recommended for echo quilting so I ordered that as well.

I got a Threads magazine on my travels. I'd let my subscription go but this one didn't have one superfluous article in it. So I e-mailed back to add an invisible zipper foot to my sale order so I'll be ready for garments as soon as the snow falls. Yikes!

In the pile, extreme right are the little wooden doohickeys that my dearie insists will fix my failed attempt at furniture assembly. I'd wanted that little bookcase for the Sunshine room done yesterday and so I 'did it myself' and the result is several weeks delay while the glue grabs and the fix is found! sheesh

But I did hit an EUREKA! This building store has a big paint department and I'm gathering paint chips to make my own fan deck. They want $30 for one and I figure I'm pretty close to being done to warrent spending $$$ for ones I can string together for free. I'd said no thanks to any help but the perky young thing was hauling paint gallons around and was letting me alone so nicely that I decided to try one more time for paint colour advice. Well! We got 2 nice greens and I asked how I should transition and she said, no transition, Go Bold! whoa! So I cautiously asked if one of the 12 walls slated for greens could have a little more boldness. Purple? She found a very good possibility. little snoopy dancing happening down in my heart! Lets go for broke. A red dining room? Now that took a bit more hunting but I have a cranberry swatch which is exactly the colour name I've had in mind. I asked her name and told her I'd be back the minute I started to whimp out! lol

Then I shuffled around Michaels for something cheap so I could get a coupon. He who keeps the budget wouldn't approve and a $20 expenditure on 2 accessories maybe won't cover the return gas and the 'must have' purchase. vbsigh And I only got a 40% after all that traffic hassle and options oogling. But I'm after a $100 screen printing kit.

And that brings me back full circle to emptying the shed, getting it ready for the remodeling for a dyeing shed and slapping on some paint while the slapping is good! The sorta bad news (shhh!) is that the hay fields are actually drying so my contractor/farmer may be springing into the tractor seat to make hay rather than grabbing his carpenter's apron, but all that sunshine will give me some time to paint veranda doors, chests and chandeliers! It'll also give me time to figure the layout. The really good news is that he estimates that the shed is a fairly quick job and he can give me some significant extra square feet! big snoopy dance happening down in my heart! He says we have just about all the supplies but I need to save up for shingles. ooh, more colour options!

So one thing I did buy when I picked up the grandson was some highpowered health food type shake. It's full of hay. I figure what is good for the sheep is good for me. And actually alfalfa powder and barley greens are amazingly affective as a Go Juice. They really make me a bit hyper.

So it is ready, seddy, GOOOOO......

Is it a win/win?

Whoa, the humidity is excruciating. We've gone from shiver shiver and wet to pant pant and wet. A lot of the water is on our persons! 8^) So I realized that paint wouldn't be drying and stuck with the slight breeze outside. This weather is getting complicated. Now we get humidex warnings. But I drink water and try to pick the shadier beds.

It's beginning to look good and during the hottest part I redesigned the little garden at the front step that the dog demolished in his quest for relief from the mosquitoes. I think he is now liking the wet mud in the potting shed. We had another huge but brief storm this morning so the beds will need to dry again. I think that fake stacked stone would be excellent around those old timbers. I can hardly wait to explain it all to my dearie!

My bunk beds arrived. hmmm! Before you glance at the picture, here was what I asked for. Special size bunk beds. I want the bottom like a box with wheels so I can pull the bed out and vacuum. I want 3 drawers with wooden handles, (sketch showing the half moon style) I want ledge to keep mattress in place. Simple open style similar to Shaker. Dark stain. No foot or head board for top and ladder on end. He did question the head and foot board and I asked if structurally it had to be there as we'd discussed ladder being part of end. He said well, no. I said I didn't want them then. Now win/win is something my hubby says is important in dealing with anyone. Both need to benefit equally.

I appreciated his promptness. I am very happy with the size. A regular bunk like my kids just got is WAY too big. I like the colour. I would have liked the ends more open but they are okay. I HATE the 3 little drawers on wheels. I didn't want slats I wanted posts. (Shaker!) I will try not to think too unkindly every time I drag out the bed and endlessly line up the 3 little drawers. If we put a layer of Styrofoam under the mattress it should be more comfortable to sit on the bed. My hubby works lots with contractors and has been at my side for the whole proposal. He says 80% The materials are not up to value and the workmanship is only medium. There are always communication issues so I'll take some of that. But probably the biggest thing is creativity. He thinks assembly line, big box stores. I wanted innovative and it was not what he is used to. I feel I overpaid for what I got. He is entitled to a wage but the material should be half. So not exactly win/win. No bad mouthing, I just won't use him when we do my kitchen. Actually, I wish my dear old hubby who was a carpenter's helper on many construction projects could learn how to use some of these new tools. He only sighs and waits for my final revision when he does things for me. And the truth be known, I work with his abilities. He is not a finisher but a rough carpenter. He is also picky, VERY, so I get some classy rough work which suits my simple style design sensibilities! And that would be WIN/WIN