Back Again.....

           I know it's been a while...but I spent three days in the hospital, and 2 months in  two nursing homes. I did not take the election  results very well. Now I'm back on my feet, sort of, and will be doing all my yard tasks from my 4 wheeled walker!!! Should be a challenge.                                                    On a happier note, my trees are budding. Last year I didn't get one apple and only two plums. The only things that did well were my  grapes and berries. I can thank the drought last winter for that. This year, I am hopeful. once again. Gardeners are optimists! I will have 3 types of grapes; Last year I built all the sections to rebuild my arbor..now I just have to assemble it! My Kiwi wasn't fruiting after three seasons so I cut the thing out! Of course it grew back with a vengeance! We'll see how it co-exists with the grapes.
            I have tiny green buds on my Lilacs, buds on my plum tree, and my Granny Smith. Seeing the date of today's entry, I hope we don't get a freeze to knock this year's crop out. Last year I went out and bought canning jars. Hope I get to use them this year.   I used to be a canning fool!  I know this is short, but I gotta get back in my dirt!!! Seeeeee Yaaaaa!

Hello Again

             It's been sooooooooo long, 'puter has been out of function. It felt like I was on vacation in Siberia, too bad I didn't get to bring home my favorite gemstone, Chrome Diopside for the troubles I went through! In July, my body went dead from the waist down, and I had to do IV Steroids for 5 days. First time they didn't work! So I've been using a cane and walker
                                                                                                                  ever since. The gardens have gotten so overgrown that I just gave up! Hopefully, this Spring I will have the power to start again. If not, I'm going to have a huge plant sale!!!!!! After paying for these perennials for 26 years, and nurturing them, and feeding, I am certainly not going to just GIVE them all away! I'll keep a few for the patio of my apartment I'll have to re-locate to. The trees and lilacs and fruit will stay for the new owners.Don't I sound like a grown-up with a grip on reality?????                                The drought we had this Spring and Summer made no Apples, plums, or other crops to pick. All I got was some blueberries and white raspberries.                                                                                               Hope to get final prep for the winter soon. I spent 4 hours getting the shed ready;Tools away, some got oiled and sharpened. They are all piled on top of my garden cart. Hose drained, rolled  up and hung on it's hanger.One more wacking of the lawns will do it. Then put snow shovel in the mud  room and dump 2 barrels of debris. DONE!                                                                                                 This winter I'm going to try to make jewelry to pass the time. I figure if I'm going to watch TV I might as well try to generate income at the same time! And I don't have to use my legs! I have a huge supply of stones just sitting there. My Mom had hundreds of findings (jewelry components) on hand . So all I need to furnish is creativity. And a pot of coffee. Thanks to brother The Silver Fox for getting my 'puter running, and Kathy P. (my Obie-Wan) for being it's surgeon. Feels good to be back! Now to the aforementioned tasks before me..........Toodles        Kathy.

Back In The Saddle Again

               Just came in from a few hours out weeding. Boy! Do those things grow well when you don't have $  for mulch!   New "gotta have" item........ mulch each and every bed this year! Well worth the investment--- No weeds, less watering, less diseases, less work! Gotta love that! I already filled a 5 gallon pail and I only moved about 10 feet! Funny thing happened when I tried to get up...... I had to crawl to the mudroom on my hands and knees to pull myself up by a grab bar! Boy have I gotten out of shape and legs are really weak! I have several plants still not planted yet, and they are all lined in the driveway waiting for me to get busy! I think I will let things rest this year. No breaking up or dividing. I actually like seeing big clumps of plants filling up the garden space. I have tons of seeds yet to start.They are all on a table with seedling trays- all I need is the energy to DO it.                                         I went  to the place where our town has designated to dump yard debris yesterday. I had four trash barrels to dump. A gentleman offered to help me, then wanted to know WHY I had so many barrels. I told him I had many gardens. My truck hasn't run since last July, and stuff did pile up. Now truck is back,  debris is under control, and  I won';t have to answer dumb questions again. I guess I'm just a cranky old lady! Working in the garden always makes me smile and I am sure it lowers my blood pressure too! Last year I bought some "ice cream " tulips. They look just like an ice cream cone! I highly recommend  them! Vanilla ice cream with strawberry sauce on top! All my lilacs are blooming right now. Smells great! My tree Peony is blooming right now too. It is way ahead of the regular Peony bushes. This year I have all the lumber ready to rebuild the grape arbor. Got two more red vines to plant. I have given up on my Kiwi vines, and now they seem to be going gangbusters! If something doesn't do well for me, in this case, Kiwi, I get rid of it and work in something else. After babying Kiwi for several years, each time I got blooms, they fell off after two days. I never had trouble with grapes. I have a Niagra vine, and it NEVER fails me! Which brings me to ask a question----does any one know if the rule that fruit is plentiful every other year is true???? I heard it somewhere, and I wondered if it was an old wives tale or truth. On that note, I will close for now. Keep digging!!!

Ode to Shovel

    Happy Mayday! If you are a digger like myself, your tools are all sharpened, oiled, and ready to go. It is hard to believe as I look over my varied selection, what odd things I have amassed through these years. There was the year everything HAD to be purple, then there are the many different cutting tools. I have four different pair of loppers; each have varied lengths on the handles. Three short cultivators, and one ancient one that has a long handle. I am embarrassed to list how many pair of hand clippers I posses: each one comes with the promise of doing a better job than the last one. Small spades, (dime a dozen) sharpening stones...DON'T LEAVE HOME WITHOUT IT...many metal rakes, spools of wire and wire cutters, and shovels. On that point, I have one exception. As I said before, I'm an old farmer....well, when my parents had their farm, and I was a wee lass of four, my dad had one standard shovel. Somehow, through all these years (and we're talkin' 1950 to now....) I still have that one ol' shovel Dad bought!!  It was a classic, even has a split shank. I sharpen it, oil the handle, and it has gotten me through all these years. Hard to believe, I kept it for decades that I didn't even own my horses, lived in an apartment, got married, divorced, another dozen apartments, and now my home of 26 years. I never had a relationship ever! that lasted that long!! It's hard to think, I havn't named (him) yet. Isn't it the cars that get girls names? Then there's the very old 10 inch straight head screwdriver from my farm days as well. Great to get between rocks after those weeds with long roots. I think that is just as old, some things you just can't remember not having. I have recently  added cable ties to my arsenal, there are the scissors, pen and notepad, numerous pair of garden gloves, tape measure, tissues, chapstick, sunscreen,and of course, the cooler along side for my water bottles. I guess it does look like I'm moving in, but I have to plan only one trip out to the garden, so better make it good. My limited walking ability has taught me to plan wisely. hahaha                   Add to all this, the fact I need my four wheel walker to get to the garden in the first place, I must be quite a sight! Add my cane, and there's your entertainment for the afternoon, ladies and gents..... top it off with a funny garden hat,

Just Thinkin'

            Here I sit, waiting for the REAL spring to arrive. We had a few warm days, enough for my daffydills to have buds that are 3/4 open. All roses have greened up, the lilacs are leafing out, and other ferny looking perennials have big leaf clusters already and if I really looked hard, there would be buds formed at the base, ready to sprout up. So...... seeing how I had to shovel yesterday and today, my fingers are crossed I won't have frost damage this year. That is the problem with the early budding garden. There's always the risk of frost damage. The nursery catalogs sell covers and veggie growers use them regularly, but I have feeble funds, and my priorities lean towards mulch, compost, and flower packages. Case in point: the other day I was in Wal-Mart and leaped at a package of double-flowered Siberian Iris. Almost hurt myself. But they were a "must have" for 'ol Lynchie. I have a slight obsession with Siberians, want one of every color. They are idiot-proof. Plant once, they double each spring, and you get to have them all over your gardens for a tiny one time investment. In just a few years, you have enough to sell, share, or do whatever else you think of with them. They are hardy as a Sled Dog as well! I have scoured through dozens of catalogs to get different colors.                            I am a big fan of roadside adoptions as well. I keep a pail, jug of water, and a small shovel in my truck at all times, because you never know when something might appear, waiting for you to bring it to a better place (your garden, with mulch and primo care). I have even been at a yard sale, talking to the homeowner, and she has offered me a plant of hers! Be prepared at all times is my motto. You might spot a prospect while driving down a side road in the country- who knows??? In a week or so, I know I'm going to have to prune the apple and plum trees. Gardens still are a learning experience for me. After 60 odd years.... Last year I was exceptionally proud (be careful Kathy.... you know what the Bible says about Pride) to see an overabundance of plums on my tree. The very next day, I heard lots of chirping and squawking and as I looked, the entire harvest got consumed by birds  This year I have mesh to cover the trees and I won't wait so long to pick the fruit. I might even  have enough to do some canning. Last year I built a few trellises that my ever increasing Clematis collection will use nicely. They are painted a rose pink color. I am going to have to use tree limbs to make trellises for anything . else that needs support this year. Two years ago I built an enormous rose arbor. It took two days to make, and 2 people to get it in place. But I had wanted to do that for many years, and if I had bought it at a garden center, it would have cost several hundred dollars. Now four different colored roses can scramble all they want. One is a New Dawn rose I bought about 24 years ago. It would have covered the whole house if I did not prune. I  have a white, a yellow, and a Joseph's Coat that fill in the corners. There are also 2 Chocolate vines tucked in there. All I need is fertilizer and mulch to sit pretty and watch the flower show. Last year a couple were walking  by my house and admiring my gardens. The wife told her husband she wanted to do the exact thing with their yard. The husband laughed and looked at me. He said, "She did not do this in a week of work". I laughed, and shook my head. He asked how long (meaning years) it took me, and I said it was 26 and still going. I was happy that there are some people out there that realize it is a labor of love, but not an overnight wonder. Well now, diggers, I am going to close and watch a movie....Maybe a Harry Potter classic. Last week they were all on in a row so I got to tape them in order. I must admit, I never saw all of them and I am all for a good Fantasy!