« May 2007 | Main | July 2007 »
I'm getting this photo in just under the wire for Friday. It's 11 pm, I've been at a horse show all day, so haven't been able to get a better quality photo. This is the first flower on my cantalope plants. Home grown cantalope rivals home grown tomatoes for heavenly taste and incomparability with store bought. I planted 3 vines, way more than I need if slugs or 4 footed visitors don't get them (and hoping there are enough honeybees around to stimulate things in the garden), but that's how the seedlings are sold. Maybe later this summer, I'll have to have a cantalope in. Or would that be a cantalope along? And who spells it cantaloupe, as my computer's internal dictionary insists?
Posted at 10:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
Late afternoon rumblies in the sky and a sprinkling of wet stuff (it felt good but getting the under hutch stuff means standing under the tree that got hit by lightening so... no) put a temporary end to the gardening, so here ya go. Brandybuck, not quite as full a coat as I'd like but too damn hot to leave him in it, so he's now nekkid. Here's Sport
looking a bit like a pixie, don't you think? As for
Hopscotch, I have no idea why I left that hank o' hair hanging in his face. I didn't notice
it until I took this photo. And lastly, Mr. Chuck Berry, a very sweet lynx color buck.
Posted at 04:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (8)
Current temp: 89*
Current humidity: 61%
Hot n humid with humidity discomfort building as the day goes on. The kind of day when 89* feels like 98* and you sweat just making the effort to move your eyes. So this is the day I decide to finally tackle this part of the
property. That little bit of ground is prominently featured in the front yard at the end of the driveway. The tree is a glorious huge maple tree. It's the one that turns brilliant soft colors come fall. Maples are shade trees, so nicely shady that it's hard to get grass to grow under it. There are lots of maples in this neighborhood and many of my neighbors just throw pachysandra in their shady areas, because it's considered such a good ground cover plant. I hate the stuff. One neighbor went so
far as to chop major limbs off the lower part of their maples. Another option I despise.
And since I have lots of this
that needs to move out from under the hutches, I decided to put it under the tree and make another cheatin' garden.
A cheatin' garden is great for those of us not inclined to put forth a lot of digging effort. I select a spot for a new garden and dump a bunch of under hutch stuff (dropped hay and bunny poop
mostly) in that spot in the shape I want the garden. Then I cover that with a layer of newspaper. That step cuts way down on the weeds as the garden gets started, but eventually the weeds will come if you don't yank 'em as they try to get a foothold. Usually, I then cover that with a thin layer of top soil and then plant (yep, same day). That's what I did a month ago with my cantalope, broccoli and parsley patch (but I ran out of top soi
l at the parsley end). Weeds are just starting to show up and a quick session takes care of
them while the veggies get bigger. I ran out of newspaper when I planted my tomatoes the same day. As you can see, that layer of newspaper really does work well. I'll be weeding that patch when it's cooler. But for this patch, I'm not going to put any topsoil over the bunny stuff. The tree roots need to breathe and too much on top will hurt and possibly kill the tree. Also, the bark needs it's space. So I'll dump the bunny stuff around the tree but not right up to the bark.
Plants to go in there: hosta, astilbe and maybe lily of the valley. Lily of the Valley looks delicate but she's an aggressive spreader so I might put those in the back yard to
stamp out cover the poison ivy I smothered with under hutch stuff a couple years ago. I have 8 hostas to transplant and they are getting quite big now, so I may not need the lily of the valley there anyway. And since this is the front yard and I want it to look pretty, once the plants are in, I'll spring for several bags of mulch. We'll see how much of this gets done today. Neighbors cast disapproving glares glances my way when anything looks untidy, so they'd like me to do it all today, I'm sure. Which is reason enough to drag my feet and maybe get it all done by this weekend.
Posted at 01:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)
I do still have them, even if I haven't posted a Saturday Sky photo in a long time.
And today's
was so brilliant with just the right amount of sunny warmth. I took this photo today at Elizabeth Park,
home of a world famous rose garden whose stats include: 2 1/2 acres, 800 varieties of roses and 15,000 plants. And no weeds in sight. The center of the rose garden is a
big gazebo covered in something verdant and viney.
Arches of climbing roses circle
the
gazebo like bicycle spokes and between the arches are individual rose beds.
Many weddings take place there.
I saw at least 5 wedding parties in the hour and
a half I was there. This is Rose Weekend,
according to their calendar. But according
to the weather, Rose Weekend was last weekend,
so the blooms I saw today, still beautiful and well worth the visit, peaked about a week ago.
Molly found a friend there but his human didn't think play time was warranted.
Posted at 08:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)
Kim's fun idea - feature a photo of the lovelies in the garden all summer. Amazingly, I still have one last bearded Iris bloom to share with you.
Posted at 06:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
A couple years ago, I started thinking about wheels I'd like to own. There are those that are indeed lust worthy but not currently justifiable because of cost. The name Golding comes to my mind instantly. Imagine the joyous anticipation of participating in designing your own custom spinning wheel! And when it arrives, the giddy excitement of discovering it does indeed live up to all that anticipation. Maybe someday I'll experience that particular delight. Certainly, I've already been fortunate enough to luck into some wonderful wheels, especially lately. At Spa 2006, I happened upon a really nice wheel. I tried it out and it was indeed delicious. Apparently, I wasn't quite ready for it, because I decided to think about it for a while, leave it in the hands of fate, I suppose. If it was still there later that day, I'd go back and try it again. And sure enough, about 10 minutes later, someone else (scroll down to Feb. 19) tried and hesitated not one second. I felt a twinge of regret but just a tiny bit. And that someone else was truly happy with her decision and I equally happy for her. It was right, so my twinge of regret did not last. Another friend has a smaller version of the same wheel. She is also delightedly happy with her wheel and each time I visit her, I remember that wheel at Spa, not with regret but with determination. I've gotten into the habit of checking out the Housecleaning Pages, certain that eventually, the right wheel and the right time would come together. A few weeks ago, I saw a wheel just like Leslie's advertised, but for $3,000. Ouch. I still couldn't justify that expense. But I could google. And in that process, I stumbled over a distant weaving guild's classified ad section
. There was The Ad. And the time and money was right. And yesterday, Mr. Fedex Guy brought me that box.
And this is what it says on that little plaque on the front. And yes, she spins as beautifully as she looks.
Posted at 09:06 AM | Permalink | Comments (15)
There I was, gently slipping on the Hogwarts sock in progress. I finished the section of pattern I'd struggled to recapture and changed colors for a few rows. That meant I was juggling 4 dpns, live stitches carefully spread across them, and dangling yarn ends. At that precise moment, Mr. Fedex Guy showed up. My package requires a signature. I had to get to the door before he left. But not hopping with the SIP on foot cause we all know at least one of those dpns would take a dip in the foot and I'd end up falling and pulling out stitches and losing my place all over again, making me cuss up an angry storm, to which Mr. Fedex Guy could possibly misinterpret and either just leave or call the police or something. Who allowed the knit goddess such a mean sense of humor? But I did get the SIP gently off my foot and door opened in time. So, It's
here! But all I can do right now is a quick inventory of the contents. I broke a tooth a couple nights ago, my dentist is squeezing me in today, and I have to leave soon.
Posted at 01:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
Track Shipments
Detailed Results
Date/Time | ![]() |
Activity | ![]() |
Location | ![]() |
Details | |||||||||
Jun 21, 2007 | 6:36 AM | On FedEx vehicle for delivery | NORTH HAVEN, CT | ||||||||||||
5:02 AM | At local FedEx facility | NORTH HAVEN, CT | |||||||||||||
Jun 20, 2007 | 9:33 PM | Departed FedEx location | KEASBEY, NJ | ||||||||||||
1:59 PM | Arrived at FedEx location | KEASBEY, NJ | |||||||||||||
Jun 19, 2007 | 3:26 AM | Arrived at FedEx location | HUTCHINS, TX | ||||||||||||
Jun 18, 2007 | 10:27 PM | Left origin | HOUSTON, TX | ||||||||||||
9:21 PM | Arrived at FedEx location | HOUSTON, TX | |||||||||||||
Jun 16, 2007 | 10:41 AM | Package data transmitted to FedEx | |||||||||||||
9:40 AM | Picked up | HOUSTON, TX | Tendered at FedEx Kinko's location | ||||||||||||
Posted at 10:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)
Two good books, box o' yarn, the first day of summer - yup, it's time for Summer of Socks 2007. I even have my Hogwarts socks back on track, though not done before SOS KAL as I'd
foolishly hoped once long ago. Today, I will cast on my first pair of SOS socks because it's start day, but then I will have to put them aside until the Hogwarts socks are done. Which will be the first? I've got a lovely skein of Schaeffer Anne which is pretty much perfect for Feather and Fan socks. I love the simple beauty of feather and fan, and it was the first lace knitting I did
on purpose. The yarn was a gift and has been simmering in the possibilities tank long enough. Another possibility: a book store is throwing a big Harry Potter party the night of July 20, ending with opening the 200 or so boxes of Book 7 books starting at midnight (strict rules: they are not allowed to open the boxes until that
moment). Someone I know who works there asked me if I'd like to knit a pair of Harry Potter themed socks as a donation to their raffle. That could be fun. I also need (yes, sometimes need has everything to do with it) to knit myself a pair of Stained Glass Bubble Socks. A pair of those have been dangling in my mind for a long time. Even if they aren't the first pair I knit for SOS 07, they will be an FO by the end of SOS 07.
My hope in joining this KAL is to advance my sock knitting skills. And provide a motivation to finish. I have a number of nearly knit socks, including one pair that just needs kitchnering on one sock, and a finished foot on the other. It's been that way since about February. Another pair is ready for the gusset of the first sock. Time for this pattern of well begun to be well done. Those socks won't count in the KAL but they sure will keep the tootsies warm in winter. But only if they are finished. With that accomplished, then it will be time to dabble with design. SOS 07 is the perfect forum!
Posted at 10:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)