Shrubs And Trees

When I moved here in 1986, the backyard was a mess.  As Julius Caesar might have said "Et haec habet duas partes". Playing on his famous ""Gallia est omnis divisa in partes tres".  Sorry, I couldn't resist.  😄

But my new backyard was a half field of sandy sedimentary soil and half overgrown jungle with rich soil.   I spent several years pulling down vines and cutting down junk saplings and shredding/moving them to the sandy side to break down before root-tillering them in.  And it helped the sandy side that the County offerred free mulch.  That went in, too.  

Meanwhile, I was building a shadow-box fence around the back to keep the large dogs away from my cats.  Built a 2 level deck while I was at it.  Paneled, ceiling and lit the basement too.  And people ask why I don't want to move.  😛

But over the years, some trees have fallen and opened the jungle part to more sunlight.  Brambles and weeds thrived.  So a few years ago I decided it was time to plant new trees.  Not some Mighty Oak, but a few modest specimen trees.  Moderate size, but broad canopies and seasonal interest.  

So the backyard has 2 Sourwood Trees and 2 Dogwoods.

Those aren't mine.  Mine are still only a few feet high.  But mine will get bigger than that soon enough to shade out the brambles and weeds.

So, why not add more to the front yard?  I lost a tree, a burning bush, and 2 Golden Rain Trees.  So, a new Sourwood (in a better location for it), and Weigalia shrub.

That's a commercial picture too.  Mine is slender and 2' tall..

I probably won't see the trees mature.  I once read that planting an acorn is gift to the future.  If you have ever seen the fictional 'The Man Who Planted Trees' you know what I mean.  If not, watch it.  It's worth the time.

But mostly, I imagine how the trees will look 20 years from now.  And the imagining is OK for now.  The 2 dogwoods will burst with color in the Spring.  And the 2 Sourwoods will show brilliant gold flower clusters in late Summer and then brilliant red leaves in Fall.  I will see some of that as they grow and that is enough.  

I will nurture the saplings.  I will keep the vines around them clipped.  I will spread a small amount of fertilizer around their drip zone to encourage the roots to spread.  I will put a 5 gallon bucket with a small hole drilled in the bottom and fill it in times of drought to get them through their first few years. 

When I first moved here, I was driving home for one of the first times and admired the brilliant reds and yellows of some old sweetgum and maple trees.  They were a neighbor's trees but right next to my yard.  I was seeing them for the 1st time.

Someday, someone else will live here.  I won't know who they are (some new generation with a name I don't know yet).  I want them to suddenly see the Dogwoods in Spring flowering and the Sourwoods in blazing Fall color.  

It will be a gift from the past...

Veggies, Flowers, and Grass

I've got 9 tomatoes in 10 gallon containers.   Four Cherokee Purple and 2 Brandywine heirlooms (all about 2' high) and 3 cherry tomato hybrids.  My other 5 containers have bi-color corn and flat italian pole beans emerging.  It is a bit late for the corn and beans but they are "early" varieties, so I will hope.

Time to start some Fall crops.  Broccoli and Brussel Sprouts mostly.  Garlic cloves go in later.  Lettuces are growing in trays, but I need to plant more.  I recently read that scallion roots will regrow, so I am sneaking some in among the lettuce to see if that works.  

I also bought 3 dozen pollinator-friendly flower seedlings.  Three each of a dozen varieties.  It is late to put them in hard "normal" soil, so I am putting them in groups of "same 3" with the tomatoes (in exquisite container soil).  That way, I can transplant them together in "the real world come Fall.

I'm still staking and caging the tomatoes and haven't planted the flowers, so no pics yet.  But soon!

I have mentioned before that I had some tree-removal work done last Fall.  And a neighbor's tree was overhanging my roof and the roots were at the surface like railroad ties.  Annoying to bump over with the mower all the time.

So I had the tree company grind them down.  The neighbor came over and asked the tree guys to just take the whole tree down.  😂

But grinding out the roots left ruts low as bad as the roots were high.  So, same actual "bouncy" problem.  Well, I needed 50/50 topsoil/compost for the eleven 10 gallon containers anyway (and bought too much) so I filled in the ruts.

Finding a small amount of grass seed at a local DIY store in June is difficult and expensive.  They know they've got you desperate.  But Amazon always comes through, LOL!  Three pounds for $10 isn't the best deal, but I didn't want a 50# bag at DIY.  

Leveled the ruts with the good container mix, watered it to settle it, added some more to bring it all level again.  Sprinkled grass seed (I am in Fescue territory) all around.  Then added another 1/8" of soil to hide the seeds from The Birds.  

I am watering the ruts lightly each afternoon.  June sure isn't the best time of year to plant grass, but enough should survive to fill in.  And I bet that next Spring I won't even know where the ruts were!

So, doing a little of this and little of that, I'm keeping things going...

Damn hip...  😡   More about that some other day.

The Birds

 In mid April, my right hip came to a "grinding" halt.  So a lot of routine stuff stopped here.  Part of that was bird support.  The regular sunflower seed feeder went unfilled (and was badly tilted due to soft soil.  The finch thistle seed feeder went unfilled.  I didn't put out hummingbird feeders.

A few days ago, I straightened up the regular feeder and refilled it.  I put fresh thistle out for the goldfinches.  Still didn't get out the hummingbird feeders (but that is top of my list for tomorrow).

Cardinals and other smallish birds arrived for the black oil sunflower seeds yesterday.  Yay!  😀  And I saw a yellow bird fly past my deck door today.  I dashed to a window and saw 3 male goldfinches at the thistle feeders.  😍

I didn't get a picture today, but here are 2 from the past...

It will look like that soon again.

And I heard baby birds chirping for food in the trees and chasing their parents around!  

Now to make hummer-food and get those feeders out!

Thankful Thursday

Yeah, that was actually yesterday.  But it was a bit late when I wrote this, so I'm posting it today.  I am thankful for some of my neighbors.  This is more of a starter-home and bedroom neighborhood for commuters and about half of them are renters who come and go every couple years, so it isn't real tight, but there seem to be several small individual groups of neighbors who are mutually helpful.  It seems to be completely by proximity.

I am the longest current resident on the street (1986 to present).  Not that it means I'm most-connected (I'm not) but it does mean I've seen everyone else move in and leave eventually.  Some obvious helpful friendships have developed and ended as people moved on.  But I've seen new ones form, too.

And I am part of 4 at my end of the street.  It changes slightly as people come and go, but I have been lucky to generally have good ones.  The Couple across the street are the center of the group right now.  The Wife works in "conflict resolution" online from home.  The Husband is an all-around mechanically/constructive "good guy".

She is always there with a hug, some words of peace, and a friendly outlook.  The Husband will help anyone do anything.  Just some examples...

1.  If a neighbor is going on vacation, they park one of their cars in the driveway to make it look like someone is at home.  Mow the lawn, and pick up the mail and newspapers.

2.  They are taking care of the Husband's grandchildren.  And have the neighbor's children over for playtime with them (lots of driveway chalk-drawing and outdoor games).

3.  The Wife helped me immensely when I fell off the extension ladder in Jan 2021.  Did some grocery-shopping, cleaned the cat litter boxes when I couldn't get down the stairs, and drove me to the doctor appointments until I could drive again.  Did some house-cleaning too (I couldn't stop her).

4.  The Husband helped me get my lawn mower running again (it was too long with old gas).  

5.  Invited me to their Friday Night Poker Party.  I'm not great at social events, and they played versions of poker I not only didn't know of, but couldn't even understand when they were explained.  I posted about that once, but mostly, there  were "shifting wild cards" weird down-card layouts and I just couldn't figure it out.

Games were called Bow-tie, 2&22, etc.  I'm old-fashioned.  I know 5 card draw, 7-stud, Hi/Low (aka Chicago, I think) and that's about it.  

Their whole basement is a rec room.  Aside from the poker table, they had a pool table, a dart board, a video arcade game (sadly broken at the time), and a massive snack table.

But, one of their friends had brought his 15-year old son.  He was bored to death!  So, since I was utterly confounded at the poker table. I started hitting some pool balls around.  He was interested by that.  Not that he knew how to play, but was curious.  And some attention and distraction was probably appreciated.

I tried to show him how to use a pool cue.  He had certainly never used one before.  But I had an advantage.  My paternal grandfather had a table in the basement, and I was fascinated by the realization that it was "mostly) geometry angles, so I played a lot there.  I'm not saying I'm good at it, but I understand various ways to hold a cue and how to aim at a round object.

So I showed him how to shoot.  He was wretched at it, but willing to learn.  He got better.  Not by a whole lot, but at least he didn't rip up the felt, LOL!  The first time he sank a ball, he was thrilled.  And so was I!

The Wife noticed, and left the Poker game to challenge me (friendly) to "solid or stripes" (with the teen as my cheering section).  I know Rotation, Eight-Ball, and Nine-Ball, but never heard of that one.  But it was utterly simple.  You choose one and the 1st person to pocket all "yours" wins.  

"WE" won.  The Wife and I by entertaining the teen, me because I sank all my solids while she had several left, and the teen because I gave him the last shot.  It was one of those positions he couldn't miss.    The last solid was an inch away from the pocket, the cue ball was directly next to it.  I helped him position the cue and said "just tap it".  He did and it went in.  YEAH!

The teen and I played darts after that.  Neither one of us were any good at it and we didn't know the actual rules.  So after a bit, I just took one of his darts, placed it in the bullseye and declared he won.  He liked that.  

6.  I was a Boy Scout "helpful, courteous and kind" etc.  So I help people and neighbors.  My original neighbor was an elderly lady.  When it snowed, I got up early and shoveled her driveway (as quietly as possible).  But she caught me at it one day and brought me a quart of her best soup later that day.  

BTW, 2 strange stories about her.  One time one of my cats (Tinkerbelle) went missing.  When the neighbor returned after vacation for a week, she opened her toolshed and Tinkerbelle came running out of it.  I was on my deck on the time, so I saw it happen.  It wasn't the neighbor at fault, and she realized what had happened and came over to apologize.  I was just happy to see Tinkerbelle again.

She moved away a few years later.  And we met in a store several years after that.  We talked for a while.

7.  A former policewoman lives on the corner lot.  Sometimes, when she sees several of us outside, she comes by and gives us advice on the latest scams, porch-piracy, and local crimes we should be aware of.  And the rest of us appreciate that.

8.  The newest side-neighbor is trying to be friendly, but there are language issues involved.  My decades-old high school Spanish classes are not up to the task and neither is their English.  But the Husband and I can get by with a little work.  

It is their first house.  I have helped him about lawn maintenance, trees, and shrubs.  He had a tree that was over-hanging my roof removed while I had a tree-removal company removing a dead tree and some unrecoverable shrubs on my property.  And I had the tree company grind down his tree roots that were making mowing my yard like "driving over railroad ties".

We aren't "the best of friends" but at peace.  And I make it a point to talk to both of them when possible.   If they stay for a while, things will improve.

9.  Not all neighbors are perfect.  There is a guy down the street who just loves to ride his motorcycle back and forth along the street early in the morning.  I don't love motorcycle noise.  And before him, there was a side-neighbor who used to drive his cycle to work.  He has the right to that.  But before 6 am, he would run it in his driveway 30 minutes while he washed and tuned it.

I went over one morning and asked if he "had to keep it running all the time".  He was surprised I didn't like the sound of  motorcycle!  Well, for me, 6 am is "the middle of the night".  He stopped for a week (just doing it in the garage) but his wife stopped him from that so he had to do it outside again.  Fortunately, they moved.  

10.  So I like my neighbors.  And we generally help each other.  

Sorry to go on for so long...

 

Stargazer Lillies

A mere 3 days...

1...

2...

3!

 Wow!

Garden

I can't do a proper garden this year.  Bad hip and too much shade now where I built raised beds years ago.   So I bought a dozen 10 gallon containers and put them in the sunniest spot in the back yard.  And then bought 50/50 topsoil/compost mix from a local nursery to fill them.  

I'm glad for my 5x8' trailer, glad for my 3x4' yard cart, glad for my lawn tractor to haul the cart, and glad for my saved collection of 5 gallon 35# cat litter buckets to fill in the cart!  I can't lift anything that heavy anymore, but I am sure glad I kept the old ones.

It took a few days (that hip thing, "grunt, ouch") but I finally got 10 containers filled.  Planted 4 heirloom Cherokee Purple and 2 Brandywine tomatoes.  It is a bit late, but they are 2' mature, so I should get something from them.  Have 2 cherry tomatoes yet to plant but they produce fast and should be OK.

The other 4 containers will have "early" bi-color corn with flat italian beans growing up the stalks.  I would have planted those yesterday, but it rained suddenly.  And I like to pre-soak corn and beans anyway.  

Not much of a garden this year compared to years past, but the important thing was that I did it.  Sometimes the "trying" is the point.

10 years ago, I had a garden that produced these beauties in one day which I started from seed myself...

And gave me these in just one day.  I ate tomatoes with every meal for days and loved it!

Now, I am reduced to store-bought seedlings in container pots.  *sigh*. But you do what you can...

Gripes

1.  I had an old WWII clamp-on adjustable fluorescent lamp.  Used 40 watts.  Loved it for decades.  Simple on/off switch on the top.  But it started to "hum" all the time.

So I replaced it with a similarly adjustable but LED lamp.  It doesn't "hum" and uses about 11 watts.  But it comes with 4 buttons to control light color, intensity, and each has several degrees of brightness.  I kind of hate it.

All I wanted was a non-humming light with an on/off button.

2.  I have a cat who loves to fire-hose pee standing up like marking territory.  I bought litterboxes with high sides.  Now he just stands taller and aims farther up.  It must be deliberate.  

3.  I have a bad hip.  My Dr says I should smoke and drink less.  Duh!  But that isn't fixing my hip.  

4.  I've been laying in bed (hip thing) too long.  I need to get more active again.  But the hip thing isn't going away.

5.  The Weather Channel (online) makes a big thing about timing of rain.  Right down to 15 minute increments for the current hour.  So, it was supposed to rain at 3 PM.  At 2 PM, I was outside hauling some 50/50 topsoil/compost to fill up 10 gallon buckets for tomatoes/corn/beans/flowers.  

I was mixing in a balanced slow-release organic fertilizer.  And suddenly torrents of rain pelted down on me.  I barely got the dry fertilizer and the lawn tractor (hauling the buckets in a trailer).  And I was soaked to the skin by the time I got inside.  

6.  No one other than big box stores, Amazon, or Walmart delivers  anything when promised.  My new eyeglasses are 3 days late.  My driver's license should have arrived 2 days ago.  Maybe Amazon has spoiled me.

7.  Doctor offices are just as bad.  After getting put in an exam room, I am told "The doctor will be with you in a few minutes.  30 minutes is not "a few".  One day after 90 minutes, I was reaching for the door when the doctor arrived.  They should just be more honest!  If the doctor is an hour behind, they know that.  So just tell us, right?  I now always have a crossword puzzle or a book with me.

8.  This is not a gripe.  But it applies to waiting.  The DMV or MVA, (or whatever your driver's license place is called) used to be notorious for making you sit around forever several different times.  Last week, I went there.  After 10 minutes in line at the entry booth, I was given a number.  My number was called before I could even sit down!  And the people were friendly.  I was out in another 10 minutes!

9.  I was required to accept a new cable box recently.  I hate the changes.  Now, every time I turn on the TV, I have to refuse "pay-for" movie service.  OR it says (seemingly randomly)  "press any button to go to channels".  Any button sends you to the button you pressed, not channels.  I only watch HD channels and HBO movies.  

10.  I'm becoming slightly paranoid about 2 things.  OK, not actually paranoid, but there are 2 things that amaze me routinely.  The first is that, no matter when I go out to see if the mail has arrived (and it isn't), the mailperson arrives by the time I get back to the house.  And since they are going down the opposite side of the street, it is 10 minutes before they get to me.  So I can stand there for 10 minutes and wait.  

The mail usually arrives noon to 2 PM.  Yesterday, at 5 PM, I checked the mail and there was none.  I no sooner got back to the garage, here they came!  I have joked to myself that they sit at the top of the hill and wait for me to check my mailbox before they continue on their route.  LOL!

The other thing is one traffic light.  It allows me to return to my neighborhood across a minor highway.  From where I am coming from, there is absolutely no timing connection with that light.  Traffic on the route home eliminates the possibility.  

But 90% of the time (more or less), every time I turn the corner of the back road, I see the light to cross the highway just turning yellow!  And the highways gets 3 minutes so I have to sit and wait and wait...

11.  Motorcycle Guy!  There is some guy down the street that drives his motorcycle up and down the street many times a day.  I think he is a teen who is not allowed to drive out of the neighborhood.  So most days, he drives back and forth on our street.  

He has a right to do that (if of legal age - which you can't tell with a helmet on) but the noise is irritating and goes right through my windows and walls.  I've gotten so I cringe every time I hear him going back and forth.

OK, enough of all that...

 

US Memorial Day

So many, across many wars, times so many thousands... 

 

Upon the Fields of Flanders, at Omaha Beach, in the Pacific struggle, on the shores of Tripoli,  at so many other places...  To them, I honor those who gave their lives defending freedom, those who returned injured, and those who struggled to help them all with ceremony and aid where possible.

Family lore is not always that certain, but I know I had Uncles who fought WWII in the Pacific and in Europe and probably Aunts and Grandparents who also served at home in industries supporting them.  From what I know, my Dad and his brother spent WWII building submarines, having been declined for more active enlistment for medical reasons.  

I expect building submarines required a lot of effort,  so they did their part.  

I mentioned "family lore".  Apparently "Uncle Buzzy" dropped a bomb down a Japanese Destroyer smoke-staff, and sank it.   The others served in Europe.  All came home...

But so many didn't.  So on this day, I pause to remember those who did not.  There will probably come a time in the future when those soldiers will be forgotten.  But it is not this day and time.

I honor all today, quietly, here and now...

Thankful Tuesday

I made it to 74 today!  

 I'm thankful...  Tonight will be Ribeye steak for me and real chicken for The Mews (they don't like steak all that much but love chicken). 

Spam Emails

A couple of months ago, I discovered an AOL mail feature that allowed me to "delete and block" spammer emails sent to my spam folder.  But now it seems I'm just getting more every day.  Easy enough to delete with the "check all" box, and I never fall for one of course, but did I do something stupid? 

Busy Day

Thursday was a busy day.  First, I had to get an abdominal ultrasound at 9 AM.  But their first offer was 5:30 AM, so 9 seemed much better.  I don't deal with appointments and time-commitments very well, so I didn't sleep well the night before.  I use a kitchen timer as an alarm clock (much easier to set) but I'm always worried I will sleep through the beeps when it matters.  But I got up and arrived on time.

The ultrasound requires a gel.  The tech warned me it would feel cold.  It was.  But when she spread it around, it was colder!  It was my first ultrasound, so I expected a machine.  I thought she was pushing on my with her hands, but that was the small detector she was moving around.  

The ultrasound was required for some possible liver scarring issues.  Livers get scars?  Anyway, it my right hip that bothers me, but my Dr is eliminating everything else before he will authorize a CT of the hip.  I sort of understand, but I wish he would get to the hip sooner rather than later.  

If the hip problem is fixable, I would like to get on with that.  But if it isn't, I would like to know that soon too!  There are possible causes for the hip pain that could be serious.  Delay is disturbing me.  Every negative test is just putting off a confirmable diagnosis.  And after every unimportant test, it is 2 weeks before I can see the Dr again.

So anyway, after the ultrasound, I went grocery-shopping, I had done a pickup order, but left out a few things I wanted.  Fortunately, I had bought a clear plastic bin at Walmart that fit the seat of my roller.  It is large enough to most of the things I buy.  In this case, it was chocolate chip ice cream, whole black pepper, frozen baby green peas, milk, and snow peas.  

And went home to get some sleep...  And not much.  Because I also had an appointment for Marley to get a urinalysis a 2 PM.  So 2 hours of bad sleep again and off I went with him to the Vet.  When we got to the exam room, they weighed him.  He was 16 lbs in his prime, but is down to 13+ now.  Age and kidneys are getting to him.

When they put him back in the carrier, he really surprised me.  He growled!  I can't recall hearing him growl since the last time he faced down an intruder cat years ago.  But then the vet tech said he is often difficult and growly when they do stuff to him in the back room.  Well, that's because I'm not there with him!

But anyway, his urinalysis was good and they didn't suggest any further treatment or meds.  So we went home.  We were both happy to be there again.

I slept for 3 hours, finally free of appointments.  Got up at 6 PM, fed the cats, made dinner, watched TV political news.  I bet I sleep 12 hours tonight!  No appointments to worry about.