The heat is on!

Most mornings this week saw me outdoors working on the garden beds, and attempting to rearrange the rocks in the flower bed. I managed to get most of the vegetables planted on Sunday, in both raised beds and the original garden bed. In the raised beds, I've got tomatoes, basil, peppers (green and jalepeno), oregano broccoli, cucumber, lettuce, radish, red and green onion. In the larger garden bed, I have peas, carrots, potatoes, and corn. The orginal asparagu s and the chives I'd planted last year are doing well. It appears I may have missed a few strawberries as I'm seeing some evidence some made it through. I'll leave them if they aren't in the midst of the other plants. 

The containers were planted on Monday - or at least most of them - I may have bought a few more plants since then. If you've been around for a number of years, you'll know that I have a bad habit of having more containers than I originally intend. As of this writing there are four containers out front, and seven in the back yard. Several of these are hanging containers, two I purchased and the others I planted with annuals I'd purchased last week.

On Monday, the Landlord Next Door's construction guy (Matthew) stopped by to measure the fence. When I'd talked to LND, he hadn't wanted to commit to the quote I'd received as he "didn't know the guy". Matthew is well known here and in fact, we've used him for other smaller jobs. I just didn't realize he was set up to do larger construction jobs. It turns out he is, and later that afternoon, he returned with a comprehensive quote that is much more detailed and definitely higher in price. It was clear to me he's prepared to do the work and has the resources so I'd be quite happy to go forward with the work. However, when I contacted LND he advised he would be talking to a realtor on Wednesday to determine whether replacing the fence would be beneficial in a possible sale. Hell yes! In any event, he is supposed to contact me this weekend to advise whether he's prepared to share the cost. If he doesn't, this neighbour may feel the need to point out the condition of the fence to anyone I see viewing the property. 

I spent part of Wednesday morning, digging more rocks out of the flower bed. I'm trying the move them out of the way for the fence removal and replacement. I think I mentioned last week, I'd discovered a concrete border covered by dirt and rocks. More of the border was uncovered, and I'm hoping to locate several of the rocks within that border.  Others have been moved to an area to the west of the garage. I'm not certain what we'll do with them but they're out of the way there.

Some afternoons were spent relaxing in the backyard. The area near the firepit is shaded by the tree by mid-afternoon. It's a great place to sit and read, and listen to the birds. While I've not seen many (except for the prolific robins and grackles), the Merlin app tells me there are Northern wren, chipping sparrow, goldfinch, and several others visiting the neighbourhood. Meanwhile, I'm reading Malice by Lisa Jackson, the story of a former LAPD detective Rick Bentz, his dead ex-wife, and a serial killer determined to torment Bentz. 

The temperatures were decent through to Thursday, cool in the morning with highs around 27C/80F in the afternoon. But that changed that morning, when we woke to 20C/68F, and the mercury climbed to 34C/93F. I went out to water early in the morning, and then again in the evening, and spent the rest of the day indoors. I had been weeding in the peony bed the day before and when I was out watering, I could swear they had grown at least 3-4 inches in one day! On Wednesday the plants still had a bit of a purple hue, but were now totally green. The buds are showing, and I expect we may see the flowers next week.

Our air-conditioning unit frequently throughout the day, and continued to do so on Friday. It didn't get quite as warm, a few degrees cooler, but with winds gusting to 60 km/h (about 38 mph). The plastic Adirondack chairs were blown about, while the garden and containers dried out quickly. I watered well twice, once in the morning and then again in the evening. 

It is Tourism week here in town, and D and Eli made it to three of the events. The Heritage museum tea, the Library open house, and the old Rail Station tour. I went along to the latter event, and found it quite interesting. The building was set to be demolished but with some CN rail funding they were able to start the restoration of the latter. Thus far, they've repaired the roof, added insulation, and created two lovely foyers. The fellow who did our tour suggested it could take $1 or 2 million to finish it. I suspect it won't be done in my lifetime. 

The weather is expected to improve, that is cool down over the next week with rain in the forecast. I'll be happy for both! The yard work continues, with the weeds doing their best to overrun parts of it. We'll be planting a few things tomorrow, including a couple of mint plants (peppermint and spearmint) in a container, as well as an apple seed that I was able to germinate. I doubt anything will come of the latter, but Eli was curious as to what would happen if we planted apple seeds. 

Have a great week ahead everyone! I hope the weather is fair and the temperatures to your liking.

Wordless Wednesday

 

Getting my hands dirty

I'll start this blog by assuring all the readers and those who commented that, yes, the snow photos were taken this week. The snow started on Saturday - the first two photos - we woke to snow but by mid-afternoon it had melted. Not so on Sunday, third photo, and it continued to snow all day and through the night. The fourth photo is what I woke to on Monday. It melted quickly and by afternoon, all that was left was what you see in the fifth photo. There were remnants in shady corners until Wednesday but the 17C/63F temperature took care of those.

I quite enjoyed my volunteer shift on Monday at the thrift store. When we walked in there was a mound of bags to be sorted through. But instead of sorting, I spent my time in the store, sweeping the floor, pulling empty hangers, and putting "new arrivals" on the shop racks. Meanwhile in the sorting room, the other women had managed to make a good dent in the bags of donations. Again, we were running low on hangers! It's amazing how much comes into the sorting area. As I was leaving with L, we noticed that in the two and half hours we'd been at the shop, the donation bin outdoors had been completely filled. She went back to grab a cart and with the help of a few others we emptied the bin onto the cart. While I headed home, two others took the cart back to our hallway. I bet the Tuesday shift were kept busy.

Since Tuesday morning was cool, I spent the time indoors doing very little. It warmed up nicely in the afternoon, so the three of us went outdoors. (It was an in-service day at school so he was home). I did a bit of reorganizing in my garden shed, sweeping it out and moving things to open shelves. We won't be putting up our gazebo until the fence is replaced, so it is sitting on a shelf for now. :( I did discover that I have five bags of mulch...won't need to buy any this year! I also got a string of LED solar lights hung on the shed. It wasn't a particularly sunny day so they didn't light up that evening.

D and I went to NTO on Wednesday morning, after dropping Eli at school. Our first stop was Value Village (I know, I know - I volunteer at a thrift store). But we had coupons to use, D and I each found two summer dresses, and I picked up a towel and a couple of face cloths. The latter items aren't something we see a lot of in our thrift store.

We stopped at the dollar store - they have inexpensive garden planters and tools, and D met a friend in one of the aisles and had a good visit while I shopped. In addition, there were stops at the garden centers at Canadian Tire (bell peppers and pansies), at Real Canadian Superstore (two bags of compost and jalapeno peppers). The garden center at Walmart was a huge disappointment, so after we picked up a few groceries it was time to head back home.

We unpacked our purchases before I headed back out to the garden centers at Independent Grocer and Canadian Tire. I was "only" looking for vegetables but some darned annuals just jumped into my cart. I picked up red onion, broccoli, curly grass and two baskets of annuals at the first store, and geraniums, verbena, salvia, and calibrachoa at the second. There were many more options but I'm trying to limit myself to a half dozen containers of flowers this year and focus more on the vegetable gardens.

Back at the house, D was out running errands, so I got busy in the yard. I took all of the plants I've started in the house to a table outside to start the process of hardening off. The new plants have been out in the greenhouse or on racks outside so they were set out as well. The raised beds needed more soil as it settled after the snow, so I added more soil and compost, along with some fertilizer. The soil got turned in the beds as well as the larger garden bed. I had drawn out a plant map one evening and I took advantage of a rest in my chair to reconsider the plan. Oops, I can't plant carrots in the raised bed as they aren't deep enough! That meant a little more shuffling in my plan. I am trying companion planting as well; basil and tomatoes, onions and peppers. I'm also going to try putting a row of radish between two rows of lettuce. I've seen suggestions that the lettuce will shade the radishes, and slow down the potential for them to bolt. 

When my work was done, I sat and read and listened to the birds before dinner, and then again after dinner. It was so nice to enjoy the warmer weather. The robins, grackles, and sparrows were happy too. There was a potential for rain that evening but it did not come to be. Before heading indoors I moved the plants into the shed for the night. While no frost was forecast it would be cool overnight at 5C/10F.

The rain came overnight, not a lot of it but enough to wet down the grass and garden soil. Time to pull some weeds! They're far easier to pull when the ground is wet. The plants came out of the shed to enjoy the fresh air too. 

The rain fell overnight and everything was wet! I took advantage of the loosened soil to tackle the day lilies in the area in front of the flower bed. They block the view of the lower plants in the bed, and we've got mounds of them in other locations in the yard. I will tell you, in case you didn't know, that day lilies have a ridiculous root system. The tubers look like gnarled old feet with strings or roots going everywhere and to a depth that is hard to conceive. Remember when you were a kid and tried to dig a hole to China? Or was that just me. In any event, that's what I felt I was doing.

This photo was taken mid-way through the process.

I filled three garbage bags with detritus from the lilies. What I discovered was the bed is, like the peony bed, encased in a concrete edging. The lilies had spread well beyond this barrier. Imagine the fun I had when I hit that hidden concrete with my shovel! I plan to move the dirt out completely, locate that border and then refill the space with a ground cover of some sort. We have dead nettle and other lamium, and will use a piece of one or the other. I'd prefer phlox but can't find it at our local garden centers. Perhaps I can find some in the neighbourhood and beg a piece from another gardener. 

Friday was wet and cool, with more rain having fallen overnight.  I did get out and move the plants outside when I picked Eli up from school. It had stopped raining and the temperature reached 12C/54F. I'm eager to get out to the garden this weekend to plant seeds and start the process of transplanting the starts. Hopefully things won't be too wet to get at it on Saturday. 

The weather forecast suggests we're in for a hot week next week (in relative terms). Most of the week will range between 25C-30C/77F-80F. No concerns about frost or snow. I'm looking forward to it! 

Have a great week ahead everyone!                                                                              

Friday Funny

 

Wordless Wednesday

 

Better or worse weather, pain or no pain

I had no problem keeping busy this week, starting on Sunday when we made a trip into the city to Costco. I was watching a You-tube video from a Canadian creator who showed all the sale items ending May 10, and some for the the entire month. So many of these items are ones we use regularly; furnace filters, toilet paper, paper towels, dishwasher tabs, batteries, and other shelf stable food items. The sale prices made it make sense to make the trip in. Of course a few others jumped in our cart and the end of the day the total was a wee bit eyewatering. However, the savings based on Costco pricing was over $100 and when we compare prices to what we would pay for the same amount of product the savings were even higher. For example, furnace filters are about $25 each in our local stores, and three were $40 at Costco. I won't bore you with more examples but suffice to say we are stocked up now for awhile.

We left home around 7:30 a.m. and were home before noon. After a bite to eat, D and Eli headed to the nearby park, while I went to the backyard to start building my raised beds. D and Eli returned as I was readying to set up one of the beds, and she gave me a hand connecting the side rails. The neighbour children came over to play as well, so it was a bit chaotic with four children running about, jumping on the trampoline, riding scooters, etc.

After grocery shopping first thing on Monday, I headed over to the thrift store for my shift. When I had left on Thursday, there were no bags to sort through. Not so on Monday! The area in the sorting room was filled, and there was pile of bags and boxes in the back hallway. We managed to get through the pile in the sorting room, and made a start on the second pile. Obviously there was a fair amount of clearing out by some folks on the weekend. We also clean the store and tidy the racks - with eight to ten volunteers, a lot gets accomplished. AND I came home with nothing. :)

D and Eli went to equine therapy that afternoon, and we were all saddened to hear that Rocket, the miniature horse he worked with early in therapy had to be put down over the weekend. Apparently she developed a lung infection, and at her age, they decided the kindest option was to let her go. On the other hand, there was a new foal in the pasture and Eli and his therapist were able to go see the baby. The mama is a bit protective but allowed Eli to pet her. There were also baby chickens and baby kittens to see. One of the cats is called Potato, and her kittens are Potato chips. 

Tuesday morning, I was helping D unload and reload the dishwasher when I felt a pain across my lower back. I took a pain med, and used some cream and carried on. We had a busy day planned - we may have found someone to tear down the old fence, remove the concrete, and rebuild it. Wally came by to take measurements for his list of supplies. Once he has a cost for those, we'll discuss the cost of labour. We'll be in touch with the next door neighbour - he lives in Winnipeg and rents the place, and has agreed to share the cost. We'll see what he says, if he doesn't like the price, we'll suggest he find another quote.

In the afternoon, we headed into NTO to do a bit of shopping, some time for Eli to play at his favourite park, and for his therapy session. Our first stop was Value Village, where we dropped off several bags of donations. In the store I found a couple of glass baking dishes (I'd broke the one we had), a good quality towel, two plant containers, and a pillow insert for less than $20. D was looking for books for Eli - the child would prefer not to read, but reads with understanding and emotion when he does. He read a chapter of a book on the way in, and he had me giggling. Not only does he read, but he has a habit of making side comments as well. 

Since we were at the mall, we stopped in at Coles bookstore. I had a gift card from Christmas, so we used that to pick up a book for Eli, two for me, and got convinced to purchase a beach blanket. It will be handy when we go to the lake (soon, hopefully).

After a bite to eat, we dropped Eli off at his therapists, then dashed over to Walmart where I picked up garden soil, topsoil and potting soil. D stopped to fuel up her vehicle, so we didn't get into the store for the few grocery items we needed, so did that after Eli's appointment. We were home shortly after 6 p.m. and after unpacking our purchases, a painkiller and more lotion, I was in bed. In all of the movement I'd done,  I had realized that my hip was out of place,  It has happened before, especially when I was driving my standard transmission vehicle. How I managed to do that just bending over, I have no idea.

It was a restless night, and at one point, I could barely straighten up to walk to the bathroom. By morning, I had decided to call the chiropractor's office to see if I get an appointment. In the meantime, I headed out to the back yard to put away some items that were left out overnight. We were expecting big winds later in the day, between 80-110kph (50-68mph) and I didn't want things to blow away. As I was moving something into the garage, I managed to catch my foot on the threshold and tripped, catching myself before I fell. Within in minutes, I realized that my hip wasn't giving me grief, and though there was still muscle tenderness, I was walking easily again. Crazy!

In fact, I walked to my appointment with the hairdresser just a few blocks away. The temperature had already reached 20C/78F. She and I had a great conversation about gardening. She did a great job of my cut, and I left the salon feeling human again. 

D had something to pick up at Canadian Tire so I rode over with her and walked through the garden centre. Oh my, there are so many things I'd like to purchase. But despite the wonderful weather, we still have a couple of nights ahead where the temperatures could fall to near freezing. I likely won't be able to hold off for more another week but the less time I have to haul them in and out of the garage the better. First I need to make a solid plan for planting the vegetable gardens. My peppers never did come up, so I'll need to buy those, along with a broccoli (D's request), and red onion. 

Back at home, I felt good enough to empty the bags of soil into the raised beds. D was concerned that the loose dirt might be blown around by the wind, so I opened up a couple of Amazon boxes, covered most of the beds, and weighted them down with rocks. I don't know that the wind would be that much of an issue, but it will keep her happy. :)

Last, but not least, I did some weeding out front and planted a lily bulb that D had purchased. I had planned to plant others I had bought but the package suggested they wouldn't do well in full sun, so I will have to hold off and plant those later in another spot. I am truly enjoying getting my hands in the dirt.

The weather turned on Thursday, with potential rain and heavy winds forecast for the afternoon.  I was determined to get some work done outside so was out in the garden bed when D left to take Eli to school in the morning. My goal was to remove the rest of the old strawberry plants. They didn't produce much and were full of weeds. D ran a few errands and I was just finishing up when she got home. 

As i mentioned, we have found someone to tear down and replace our fence, with reference from one of the thrift store volunteers. When Wally first came by to check the scope of the job he brought a friend with him. When I learned that Chris was a mechanic, I asked if he might be interested in a used car. Long story short he purchased D's old car and took it away. 

This left the garage empty so D and moved things out of the garden shed. Camping gear, the lawn mower and trimmer, snowblower, and weed torch all found a new home. (Neither of our SUVs for in the space.) I'm addition the bins of outdoor toys were moved in too. Later she moved tools from the back porch and basement.  I still need to clean up the garden shed and I have the space to reorganize it.

I attended Knit and Natter at the library, while later in the afternoon, D and Eli drive to NTO for his swim lesson. It continued to get cooler and more windy. Shortly after the returned home we had an hour long power outage. We were fortunate as several areas in the province lost power for nearly 24 hours. 

As a result Friday was a quiet day. D and I did run out after Eli went to school after lunch to an Estate sale. Our purchases included a step ladder, a large water jug, and a pretty kitchen towel. I've been planning to buy a step ladder so finding a lightweight aluminium one for $20 was a real bonus. 

The forecast is suggesting we may see a bit of that dressed 4 letter word overnight. It should melt as it falls....

Have a great week ahead everyone!

Funny Friday