As the garden grows

The week I spent at my son's flew by; yard work, visiting with friends and family, and some thrift shopping filled the majority of the days. I also finished knitting a scarf and started a Christmas ornament for my brother's family - tbd when I'm finished making a few of them.

Monday, I was able to spend time with my friends K and L. K and I worked together for many years, and she is responsible for my love of ocean cruising. L was K's friend and travel agent and has become a friend to me as well. We met at a cafe where we sat and visited and caught up on each other's lives. It was wonderful to see them both!

Back at the house I finished a project I'd started on Sunday. The back patio had weeds growing around the blocks. I used a scraper to cut them back, and then pulled or dug out (with a knife) as much of the roots as possible. Since B doesn't want chemicals used in the yard, I sprayed a vinegar/water mixture. It's best done when it is hot because the remainder of the plants take in the moisture and it helps to kill off the roots. 

That only took a half hour or so, and I had plans to go shopping with my son. He needs to get a new front door - the fancy hardware had a small wee piece in it break and it cannot be replaced. And the door won't accept any other type of hardware....so new door it is. We went to local business that sells windows and doors, that I'd used on my previous house to replace windows. We left with a book of options, a business card, and a good idea of the cost. C will need to forward a picture of the current door, their decision on which door to replace it with and then the salesperson will provide a quote. He gave us a rough estimate and in my mind it is very reasonable. 

Next up was Canadian Tire, where we looked at barbecues and picked up hardware for the new doors. (Yes, there is an interior that needs to be replaced too.) We stopped at Rona, where we talked to a clerk to arrange for a call from their installation team. The door from the kitchen to the basement will be replaced to include a cat door to allow B's cats access to the main floor. The cats have acclimated to Sage, the granddog, and while Sage isn't permitted in their space, they are allowed upstairs most of the time.

While we were there we looked at barbecues and then wandered over to the lawn mowers. Even before I had my accident with the cord, C had mentioned he wanted to purchase a battery operated mower. After some hemming and hawing...he chose a mower and we loaded it into the back of the SUV. It is now in the garage, and needs to be put together. As he is a bit of a procrastinator I won't be surprised if it takes a few weeks before it is put together and in use. In the meantime the old mower is available along with the new power cord.

On Tuesday, I headed out to the farm to visit with my brother. The photo from Wednesday was taken from the near top of the hill heading down into the Qu'Appelle Valley. At this time of year, the grass and foliage is often drying up but with lots of rain everything is still very lush and green. However, the smoke from the forest fires was hanging in the air. The hill I drove down is just a few miles from the actual farm. There I was welcomed by the next door neighbour's dog, Wally. She's big girl and likes to chase cars, but is absolutely a sweetheart. Unfortunately, her owner isn't around a lot so she spends much of her time at my brother's place. R alo has a dog, Kola - a German Shepherd and was taking of his son's two dogs, Rider Whistler too. Quite the greeting party! R and I took our tea out to the front veranda, and the two youngest cats, Skodi (Scotty), and Moufette came to visit. I gave him the gears as the bushes in front of the veranda are so tall now the view of the valley is minute. They live in a fieldstone house that was built about 1906, I believe. Here's a photo of the house from the road. The haze in the air is smoke from the forest fires in Northern Saskatchewan.

Back in the city, I did a bit of housework and started packing for the trip back home. I got away from the city by 8 a.m. on Wednesday. I had intended to stay and mow the back yard one more time, but both C and B came home feeling punky the day prior, and I decided to forgo another chore to avoid whatever they had brought home.

D helped me unload the car and then I got to unpacking before dealing with dishes, sweeping floors, and straightening up the kitchen when the two of then headed off to the Library program. Hmm, I left one chore behind to come home to many more. That evening I went to Knit and Natter at the library, though again I was the only participant. It was quiet and J, one of the librarians sat and visited with me.

Thursday, D and Eli left for NTO for his morning program. I was in the midst of some housework when D called to say she had forgotten Eli's backpack. I offered to drive it in, but she decided to make the drive instead. We decided I'd go with her to NTO, as I needed to pick up a few groceries - and we made a quick trip to Value Village as well. I was well behaved and only purchased two clothing items. While they went to the Library program in the afternoon, I went through my drawers and closet pulling items that I no longer wear; some went to the bin, others will be donated to the thrift stores.

In the evening I went along to Eli's swimming lesson. He loves to dive to pick up a ring tossed by the instructor.

He can tread water very well, and is learning the flutter kick, front and back crawl. 

Garden update: I've been watering in the evenings, as the heat has continued and will do so for several days now. I do need to get out there and weed the garden, but that hasn't happened just yet. On Friday, I picked the first peas - unlike last year, I'm going to get more than one picking. Exciting news! I found a cucumber hiding in the foliage, and there are more coming on. The tomatoes are getting large, though something got to the largest one. It is nearly baseball sized, so a bit disappointing but there so many more to come.

I did learn something from the J (librarian). She grows peppers in containers, as they like the heat but they also like wet feet. Her peppers are nearly store sized, while mine dropped their flowers and are stunted. We've been eating fresh lettuce from the garden too. The potatoes have been putting out seed pods, which we've been removing from the plants. They are toxic to both humans and animals so they go straight to the bin. In addition, the corn is catching up in height and should soon tower over the corn. As you may remember I planted the seeds and seedlings closer than recommended. I wasn't certain how this might impact the outcome, and so far I'm more than pleased.

Today, we're off to check out a few garage sales around town. I'll spend a bit of time early in the morning, out tackling some of the weeds. With a forecasted temperature of 33C/91F the remainder of the day will be spent indoors.

Have a great week ahead everyone! Stay cool.

Friday Funny

 

Wordless Wednesday

 

The heat is on!

The past weekend was stupid hot (for us at least), so while I did go out and water, the rest of the day(s) were spent indoors. Thankfully, the mini heat wave ended overnight and Monday morning was perfect. I got outdoors and finished weeding the rock areas. I also got the rest of the plants in the ground. The patio lilies were split in three and planted in the new perennial bed. That bed still has lots of weeds, but I'll work on it later and add some mulch. 

The lilac bush took some digging. I'm putting it up in the "ugly" area that was xeriscaped, so that meant I needed to remove a portion of the rocks, cut back the weed barrier (which as you know is pretty much useless after a few years), and dig a hole for the bush. It is a bit of a shaded area, so likely will be a little stunted, but at some point the neighbour's tree will come down. 

I had planned to plant the raspberry bushes behind the garden shed, but there is a pile of crusher dust that needs to be moved around onto the parking area (also gravel/weeds), so temporarily they have been planted beyond the garden fence next to the compost bin. They are small enough now, that I can move them again at some point in time. Like the lilac, this required removing rock and weed barrier cloth before digging the holes. I did discover that the soil back there has a lot of sand in it, so added some of the lovely compost the add some nutrients. If memory serves, the raspberries on our farm when I was young didn't seem to mind poor soil conditions. We'll see how it goes.

The garden grew by leaps and bounds with the heat, with the exception of the green peppers. I've already made a note to plant these in containers next year. The radishes bolted, so I pulled those, but the lettuce is now ready for picking. The corn is catching up to the potatoes which are blooming like mad, the peas have pods, and the tomatoes are putting out fruit. Lots of flowers but no cucumbers yet, hopefully they aren't all male flowers. We've harvested cilantro and basil and the oregano is ready too. 

The gerbera daisy, a plant I've never had much luck with is doing beautifully. It has four flowers on it and more buds. I've got a sunflower too, that is budding again, and the roses which we cut back last fall have decided they are very happy. You'll have to use your imagination but the perfume from them is lovely.

Tuesday D and Eli were off to NTO early, and I did a bit of puttering in the yard before heading to the thrift store. This week, I spent time in both the store and the sorting area. We actually got through everything that had been dropped off since the past Thursday. Woohoo! The store wasn't as busy as it had been the past Tuesday, which apparently was a stellar day with over $700 in sales. Knowing that most items average $2, that's a lot of items that left the store. D had asked me to keep an eye out for clothing for her friend S's daughters. I was able to fill two resusable grocery bags with jeans, legging, tees, a couple dresses, a hoodie and a rain jacket for them for just $15. Everything was a size up from their current sizing, so should help outfit them for the next year.

Back at home, I packed for my week away at my son's in the city. I didn't need to take a lot as I have clothing there, but wanted a couple of things to work on (knitting/cross stitch), a book, and my laptop. I knew I'd have lots of other things to do but wanted options. I left home shortly after 8 a.m. and arrived in Regina about 10, after encountering some construction on the secondary highway. The construction crews are creating passing lanes to improve safety. 

My first stop was Costco, where I picked up a life vest for Eli, some groceries and a Ninja Flip combination toaster oven and air fryer. It was a good price (better than Amazon!), and will allow us to free up some counter space in the kitchen as both those appliances take up a fair amount of room and are used frequently. Then it was off to Michaels to get some stitching thread. I've decided this year to make cross-stitch ornaments for family members, rather than crocheting. We'll see how far I get with that!

At the house I dropped off a few groceries, had a chat with B (who was working from home), and checked the fridge. I was surprised and pleased to see she had gotten some items that I enjoy eating (whole wheat bread rather than white, yogurt, and some extra veg). I did run out again though to pick up some Deep Woods Off and a couple of packages of deli meat. C arrived home about 4:30 p.m. and we sat and had a good chat. 

Thursday morning, I tackled the job I had planned to do while I was here. If you recall, just over a year ago, I planted the back yard with a mixture of grass seed and clover. My son, who I love dearly, is not a outdoor person, and failed to get back there to mow last year and this year. As a result, it is jungle back there...with tall weeds and loads of clover. There are places where the grass is doing well, and has gone to seed. This is the before, the second photo is after a couple of hours pulling and digging weeds and using the mower. 

Friday dawned quite warm with the temperature expected to reach 30C/86F, so I needed to be out early to get as much done as I could. I was in the backyard by 8:30 a.m. and within minutes my progress came to a halt. I'm using an old electric mower that I bought about 15 years ago or so...and I accidently ran over the cord. Shoot! Off I went to get a new cord, and since I was out to pick up a few groceries I needed for dinner that evening, and some cat litter B asked me to pick up. I was back at the house by 9:15 a.m. and within 90 minutes and a lot of hard work, I had the rest of it cleared. I've informed my son that he needs to mow regularly, and spend a bit of time EVERY day to keep the weeds at bay. 

Today, I'm taking a break, and probably Sunday too. The temperatures are rising again, it reached 28C/83F on Friday, and we're expecting temperatures of at least 30C/84F both Saturday and Sunday. I've pulled some yarn from my stash under the stairs and am working on a blanket in the cool of the a/c. I've a book to read if I need a break.

I do have plans for today, as friends I met in Yuma live less than an hour away and I've been invited to lunch. Another friend in the same community works at the Farmer's Market selling her baking on Saturdays, so my plan is to leave mid-morning and hopefully catch up with her. It's been awhile since I've chatted with her, and I know very well that I'll find something sweet for dessert. K and I worked together years ago, at a financial institution and though we don't see each other often we keep track of one another through Facebook.

Have a great week ahead everyone!

Friday Funny

 

My kind of week - mostly

I have won the battle but not the war on weeds. This week was spent cleaning up the weeds in the areas that were xeriscaped by one of the former owners. Over the years as leaves and seeds fall, a slight build up of soil is created, and weeds are nothing if not persistent. It has taken most of the week and made possible by the weather. Yes, we finally have got some nice weather with temperatures in the mid-20'sC/mid-70'sF.  The area behind the house was definitely the worst, and I spent both Sunday and Monday morning working on it. 

I also got the raised flower bed planted with the perennials. Some I had removed to keep them out of the way of the fence build and a couple I'd purchased recently. The Jackmani clematis is to the right and hopefully will fill the trellis before summer's end. At the base, I've re-planted a cress - the clematis likes to have it's feet shaded, so this should help

To the right and behind the fading poppy bloom is sedum. It is small now, but will grow up to 12-24 inches and fill in to a similar amount. As you can see the purple lamium, dead nettle, and oxalis are thriving. In fact, these plants have sprouted outside the garden bed, in the rock areas. I've been considering leaving them to continue to spread...perhaps they'll choke out the weeds? That would be nice. :)

The peony show is waning and I've started cutting back the spent blooms. The lilies that live among them have taller now than the peonies and I expect they'll start putting on a show in a week or so. (The vacant house next door has some blooming.

Tuesday was the start of day camps for Eli in the NTO. He'll be attending the camp at one of the local schools Tuesday and Thursday mornings, while the SaskAbilities camp is being held on Tuesday afternoons. He's been attending the summer day camp (mornings) for three years and there are many familar faces who face similar challenges. The afternoon is new, and the children have a wide range of disabilities. This week they were transported to a small town swimming pool, which features two water slides and a lazy river. Apparently Eli was fascinated by the lazy river. His mom is keeping him busy, as he's also enrolled in the library program on Wednesday and Thursday afternoons. It's a short walk, down the block and across the street from our house. This year there is a mixed group of kids, boys and girls with a good age range. D says he still gets a long weekend, though they will be doing some learning activities as well, and private swim lessons (evening) are coming up shortly. The summer will fly by, I'm sure.

I didn't go along, as I was scheduled to work at the thrift store. This week, I spent most of my time in the store, rather than sorting. We have multiple racks of clothing from the recent donations, and I tried to move as many of them as I could. Still we had four racks of "new arrivals" for the customers. AND customers we had - with the exception of our sale days I have never seen the store so busy. Nice of them to come in, as I was able to move things to the regular racks (note the prices are the same for the new arrivals). Two of us put out items on the shelves as well, small appliances, glass ware, shoes, bedding, craft items, etc. Some of these items were sold before I left the store. Nice to see!

As usual, I came home exhausted but it was my night to cook. I made up taco meat with a portion of the beef/pork mixture and "mom" burgers from the rest. We are expecting temperatures this weekend over 30C/86F. I expect I'll be doing a fair amount of grilling in the next week. Once I had these chores done, I collasped on the bed until D and Eli returned.

Wednesday, I was back at the weed picking in the rocks, this time on the side of the house. I wanted to put up the gazebo and needed to clear the area around the patio, in particular, otherwise those weeds would be there until fall as I haven't enough room to get to them. Not that many won't appear/reappear. I dodged the sun as much as possible, and managed to get a good amount of the area cleaned up. I also hung up a couple of pieces of garden art on the fence, and started digging up the new perennial bed. I've decided it will be the bulb garden. Once I've cleared up the weeds, as much as possible, I plan to plant the patio lilies I purchased last week, as well as a few bulbs I picked up earlier this year. Hopefully I'll find some tulip bulbs too, and get them in the ground before the end of fall. 

This is the ugly area of the yard. It does get direct sunlight for a few hours a day. I'm hoping that in a couple of years, it will look pretty too. 

The photo of the bunny wasn't a great one. I was clearing weeds around the perennial bed when I saw something streaking down the sidewalk towards me. Initially I thought it was Stanley, our cat who loves to get outdoors un-noticed. When I realized it wasn't him, I tried to grab my phone to take a photo. It took off a short distance but didn't immediately leave the yard. As I said to D, we've got lots of food here for it. She told me she saw two black bunnies and a grey/white one in the back alley. I suspect they were someone's pets that they tired of. I did post on the local lost pet's FB site but no one has responded. Poor things, I don't suspect they'll last long...despite the food source. When I went out to check the garden, I found that something had chewed a good amount off a pea plant, decimated a sweet pea, and the little bugger has been nibbling on the broccoli as well.

In the garden update, the potatoes are blooming, as are the peas, tomatoes and cucumbers. I am seeing a few cucumber blossoms dropping but my research suggests these are likely male flowers that have made their contribution. I'll have to wait and see. I'm happy to report that the tomatoes are setting fruit. This is much earlier than what we experienced last year - though I am growing a different variety.

Guess what I did on Thursday? If you guessed I bought more plants, you would be right. The garden centers are selling off much of their stock, and our Independent grocer had the best prices. I found a planter containing cosmos, one struggling petunia, and one, as yet, unidentified plant. This will end up in the raised perennial bed, with the hopes the cosmos will drop seeds and I'll see volunteers next year. The second plant I bought is a lilac bush. I've got a place in mind for it, inside the front gate. I bought both for less than $20. 

We had a thunderstorm with a heavy downpour in the early morning, which was welcome as the rain barrels were nearly empty. They were almost full in less than an hour. No water in the basement, thankfully. Oh, but the humidity was so high. The mosquitos were out in force, so I forwent working outdoors and did some housekeeping instead. My bedroom needed a tidy, and the kitchen counters were cleared and scrubbed. I don't touch D's doom piles though - she seems to know what and where things are in these spaces. 

Friday morning, with lots of bug spray, we were able to get the gazebo up. With the table and chairs tucked inside, it is now a place where I can sit with a cup of tea and my breakfast or just hide from the weeds. ;)  I know that once the clean-up in the rocks is complete, I'll start my weeding in the flower and garden beds again. I'd like to have everything reasonably cleaned up before I leave for a week next Wednesday. I'm off to the city for a visit with my son and his g/f. 

I also managed to wrap the garden bed in a plastic webbing. It's about 24" tall and should help keep bad bunny out of the vegetables.  The planter of cosmos was put in the perennial bed and all the containers were watered.  Last up was more rock weeding before I headed indoors to avoid the heat of the day.

Today, I'm planning to head out early to get more weeding done. At some point I plan to pick up fuel at the local Co-op, as 10 cents of every litre will be donated to the RCMP officers who were injured in the shooting. I suspect the line-ups to the pumps will be long. There is also a BBQ and silent auction we'll likely attend.

The forecast says we'll reach a high of 33C/91F - I'll be hiding indoors in the a/c for the rest of the day. I've got knitting to work on, a book to read, and there is Canadian football to watch - though our team won't have a game until Sunday.

Have a great week ahead everyone!

Friday Funny