Stuff moved, and So long Mr. Hand Shovel

Well, this morning I almost died. I was supposed to get up at 6:00a.m. to go yard saling with L at 6:30a.m. I got up at 8:35a.m. Ooops!! I called her, no answer. I peaked out at her house, no signs of life. I just knew I was dead! So I went out into the garden, saw enough different things blooming, and made her up an arrangement of flowers, and brought it to her. She let me live.

Obviously we did not go out, since all the good stuff would be gone. So I figured while I was up, and it was cool, I would plant the daylilies, and move the plants I wanted moved. I'm done! Well, almost. I moved everything in the backyard, except for the roses. But I will do that when they are dormant, as that's the best time to move them. And I still want to move two trees that are in the front yard. But that is no big deal. And I'm not really sure I want to move them. I still need to contemplate this idea.

...and in the process of moving plants... I broke my beloved hand shovel. I shall mourn that shovel. It lasted longer than any others I've had. In this stupid clay soil, hand shovels do not last long. But that one lasted almost all growing season. Hopefully next year I will be able to find another just like it.

Landscaping class and other news

Well, there seems to be a problem viewing my blog. I dunno why, but if something is only partially readable, just scroll up and down and you should see the whole thing eventually.

So I got this interesting phone call this afternoon about the landscaping class. The lady that spoke to us first and registered us all, called me to ask how the class went. I told her that it was very interesting, and that Freyda seemed extremely nervous or something. That she had a very hard time answering questions and remaining focused. She then went on to tell me that NINE people called to complain!! LOL She said her first call was at 7:43a.m. the next morning. Needless to say, I was not the only one unhappy. But at least I was one of the few that were willing to give her a chance. But anyway, it doesn't matter any more. The community college fired Freyda, and have hired someone else to teach us the class. And, we'll have a class added on to the end, so that we still get the full 8 weeks worth of classes. Now I'm just hoping that "Miss Better Than Everyone Else" doesn't show back up. She was complaining the second she walked in the door. She was one of the three that did not return after break. But I have this feeling, that we'll be back to the original 15 people. So we'll see how it goes this time around.

Did not get a darn thing done in the yard today. I told Cecil to wake me up at 8:30 this morning. Well, he woke me up at 8:23, and told me that William was available to work on the other house. He'd be there in 45 minutes. 45 minutes is not long enough for me to shower, shave, dry and curl my hair. So I got up, dressed, and Cecil and I ran over to the other house and dropped off a key in our planned hiding spot. Went next door and talked to Earl, who proceeded to tell me I looked like shit. Thanks a lot old man.

Came home showered, got the kids started on school. Was about to go work in the yard, when William called again. He needs a few things to do the job for today. So I ran to get the list, went to the hardware store, brought him the stuff. By the time I got back it was time to bring Sophie to the beauty parlor. Dropped her off. Came home, had to help Cecil do a few things. Time to pick up Sophie. Kayli would not shut up about needing a new toothbrush (her's was Wilsonized), so I decided we'd go to the grocery store since there was no food in the house. $300.00 later we now have food in the house for the week. As we were leaving, Cecil called to let me know William was done. So I went to get him $$$ on the way home. Dropped the car off for the kids to unload, and took my truck and Cecil over to pay William, and ended up talking to him for a while. Came home, made supper. And by the end of all that... The mogeeters were out, and I did not want to go play in the garden!

Tomorrow is out because I have to bring my truck in for a warranty repairs, therapy, and L and I are going out for lunch and shopping. Perhaps if I get home early enough... But most likely on Saturday.

So there is my list of excuses for today!!

Adding beauty to my garden...

Alrighty, I am so excited about these newbies, that I wanted to share a portion of what I ordered this fall. I haven't seen any of these beauties bloom in my yard yet, obviously. But I can't wait to see them in person this spring. My back permitting, I'll be putting the last 9 in the ground tomorrow. A bit later than I would have liked, but oh well! They should be fine. Daylilies are tough little beauties. These are some of my favorites, from an order of 20 or so.

Lord of Rings

Darla Anita

John Peat

Strawberry Fields Forever

Pretty Gaudy

I also decided to see what would happen if I planted some sweet pea's. Since they are a cool season crop.... I usually still have roses blooming at Christmas.... Maybe I will get lucky. If not, I wasted 10 seeds. Big whoop.

The move still has not happened. I went out to do it, honestly! But I decided to dead head a few things things before I moved anything. Bad move. I was attacked AGAIN by fire ants! Only this time I didn't know it until I was covered in the stupid things. So I ended up with blisters all over my feets, hands and arms. I ran in and took some benedryl, but still spent the rest of the day itchings and burning like crazy! Once the benedryl kicked in tho, I went out and treated any hill I could find. So hopefully tomorrow after I plant the lilies, I can go ahead and at least move a few things. If nothing else, I will at least move the 4 things that drive me the most nuts. That way, at least I can stop talking about the big move. And I know any readers I have will be happy about that! Ha!

First Landscaping class

All I have to say is, lets hope it gets better!!!

The teacher is sooooooooooooooooooooo spacey. Um after everything. She'll pause during a sentance and totally change directions. She went on and on and on about the books on the table that we did not need to buy for class. Furthermore there were books that we could not buy. Total waste of time. During the break 3 people actually did not return to the class at all. So needless to say, it is going to be interesting. I did not learn a darn thing in class, and I actually answered more questions than she did, or more thoroughly than she did.

Like I said, gonna be interesting...

Moonflower Vine

Forgot to post this picture the other day too. This is a Moonflower Vine blossom. It's growing mixed in with the tamed Wisteria on the back fence by Sheldon's grave. This sucker smells heavenly. It's related to the Morning Glory, but not as invasive. I plan to plant a lot more of them next year. Need to do some more yard saling in hopes of finding a few more trellis'.

La-zi-ness

So much for the big move. I got to lazy, (and it was hot out that day) and took the girls to the library instead. Not sure if that was a good thing or not, as Kayli ended up falling off the curb and scraping her knee quite badly. She managed to fill two napkins up with blood, and still wanted to go to the park while screaming her head off. That's my little trooper! Needless to say, we did not go to the park, we came home to get her patched up. Then her little friend S came over, so the park was forgotten.

However! I did work on the front yard some. I planted four daylilies. One in front of each rose that is there. And then.... *drum roll please* I divided my first clump of daylilies. I decided to use a clump of Stella D'oro as a practice test. It went very well. I got four divisions out of it. So now when I collect the pods off of Cranberry Baby, I can divide it and move them to the front bed. I did however put those four divisions in the front too. I just hope that all the things I want to start from seeds work, because I still have a lot of room in that bed.

The girls and I also decorated the front for Autumn. I'll try to get a picture up tomorrow. I just hit a couple of dollar stores for a few things. Picked up two pumpkins at Food Lion (our grocery store in Havelock). And set it all out in various areas near the front entrance. I think it looks cute. Of course in a week or two I will take that down and put up the Halloween stuff. I'll have to get a video of my fav decoration. I call him "my honey". I just love this guys sexy voice!

So perhaps tomorrow I will move a few things. Oh. No. I won't. I think it's supposed to be almost 90F tomorrow. Sooooooo.... Monday sounds real good. Not to mention, I'm thinking of running away tomorrow for some peace and quiet. The kids have had friends over all weekend, including sleep overs both nights, and I'm about to go insane. 11 more years... 11 more years....

What's still blooming...

Ornamental Garlic

Some flower from a wildflower mix I threw down

Verbascum

The previously mentioned Mexican Sage - Love this purple!

Two doggies for sale in the window - You gotta look real hard to see the second one :)

The last of the daylilies arrived yesterday. The were soaked over night, and the girls and I planted them this afternoon. Thursday is the day I'm counting on for the big move. Lots of fun! Still don't know where I'm going to put a lot of stuff, just that its gotta leave where it is at. That is the problem for me with gardening. I change my mind to much. Good thing plants are tough and can handle being moved around a lot. I have yet to lose anything I've moved. But then I haven't moved a lot until now. So I guess we will see how much lives this time.

Yippee!!!

Yeah! Yippee! Woohoo!! The class I wanted to take is actually going to go! When I enrolled for it, I was the first one to enroll, and they told me they needed at least 6 people before they'd offer the class. Well, my baby just called to check, and there are 8 people enrolled now.

The class is "Landscaping your yard". It's at the local community college in New Bern. I'll go Tuesday nights, from 6:30 - 8:30pm. September 26th, thru November 14th. So I am tickled!

I can't wait!! teehee!!

Just info for me

This weekend the mexican sage started flowering.
Toad lily is starting to make its flower. No blooms yet tho.
Tonight is the first night that temps will drop down into the upper 50's.

I am just curious about when things will start dying, and how it relates to the temps. So that's why I want this info written down this year, so I can compare this to next year. Since last year, I thought I'd be able to remember. Buzz wrong. The old noggin is failing me.

The yard does not look to bad yet. Some things you can tell are starting to really slow down. But the majority of it is still going strong. If I remember right, I think it was the middle of November when I finally went out there and pull the dead stuff. Mind you, this year won't be any indication, since I will be moving a lot of things in the coming weeks. I'll probably wait until next weekend, and then start moving.

The only thing I am unsure of where to put, is the ground cover Lantana. Right now it is totally eating the whole bed it is in. So it desperately needs a new home... Just dunno where. It's roughly around 6x6x12 inches tall. Crazy thing...

A few more fires and our wood pile will be gone. I think that is where I'm going to put my little shack. It's gonna be cute. I just gotta go steal the pallets for the floor. Okay, so it's not really stealing. We've already called the store where they are, and they said we could have them. So that is cool. I just gotta finish building this thing in my head before I commit myself. I want the sides to be lattice, so I can grow some vines up it. I want it to be big enough to hold two rocking chairs. I'm thinking of tiling the floor. But it won't be weather proof, so I have to research how that will hold up. I'd also like to hang some window boxes from it. But since it won't have windows, I will hang up window frames. I already have one. I know of a junk store where I can get another. Not sure what to do about the roof tho. Hmmmm.... I do have shingles left over from the other house. I'll have to see if any of the neighborhood hunks will help me out. Cause this dream is getting a little above my skill level. But... my banana bread talks. So I'm not to worried about it. I guess I should draw up some plans, and then go around begging. :)

The war has begun

Well, it took a few days longer than I would have liked, but today we got it done. I cut back all the daylilies. And my sweet baby built a fire, kept it going, and burned all the leaves I cut down. While he was finishing that up, I sprayed with Daconil. I'll do that every 3 weeks until frost hits. And hopefully that will be the end of it.

While we were working, D, from next door brought Cecil and I supper. Sausage, peppers and penne pasta in a tomato sauce. It was SO good! Then an hour later, she brought us Banana Cream Pie for dessert! Our neighbors rule. Truly we are blessed to have some wonderful people living around us.

A few pics

A Hummingbird Moth on the garage door. He got a little confused and came in the garage, and stayed long enough for me to take 15 pictures. Only 4 of which turned out! I kept getting the glare no matter which angle I tried. But for those of you who have never seen one, now you have!

This is my PeeGee Hydrangea. It started blooming while I was so sick. I just love this one since it blooms later in the season. I'm surprised it's doing so well, since the dogs like to use it as a pee station.

This is one of the new Hibiscus I planted this year. The day before I took this picture, the darn thing was loaded with blooms, but I was to sick to care. Just spotted them out the window. This picture was taken later in the evening the next day, so that's why the blooms are hanging down. It is such a pretty sight to see them when they are looking up to God tho.

And lastly, a rebloom on one of the unknown daylilies. Unfortunately, this is the one that has the worst rust. So I'm not sure if it will live. :( But I will do my darnedest to save her life! :)

Well, I must tell you what happened to my little bulldozer today. The girls and I went shopping at Old Navy, with L. We got home around 4:30pm. When I was unpacking bags, I realized that Wilson did not come to greet me. Very odd. So I went to search him out. As soon as I saw him, I knew something was desperately wrong. His whole body was covered in large hives. When I saw his face, I started freaking out! His face was so swollen, that you could barely see his eyes!
I start screaming for Cecil and Nick. Nick came first and said he didn't know what happened. He had let Wilson and Sophie out, and they played in the mud, so he locked them up in their beds. Cecil was in a meeting and would not come downstairs. He ummm, let's just say was convinced to come downstairs. He didn't have a clue either. Typical males!!!! So I told Cecil to call the vet and let them know that I am on my way. I HAD to pee, so I went running to the bathroom, and hit my little toe on the nightstand. So then I was running and swearing all the way to the bathroom. Got that done. Grabbed Wilson and Nan and went to the vet.

We walked in, the receptionist took one look at Wilson, and went and pulled the vet from the clients he was with. The vet took one look at Wilson, started moving like someone had lit a fire under his hiney, and got the drugs. Wilson's breathing was starting to sound weird, even for him. Right there in the waiting room they gave Wilson the shot within a minute of us walking in the door! LOL Then the vet looked at his tummy and chest. He had red little spots all over his tumtum. Was bleeding from all the scratching he must have been doing. But by the time we left, his breathing was returning to normal. Within an hour the hives were not as noticable. Right now tho, his face is still swollen. But he's acting like his old little self.

The best anyone can figure out, is that he was either attacked by fire ants, got into something outside that he is allergic to, or was stung by something. But I am telling you... I never want to go through that again. I'm sure my poor baby doesn't either! Here is a picture of the little dufus.

The nasty four letter word

I can not believe that my garden has been cursed. Been walking around the garden, checking for storm damage, shaking my head, repeating this nasty four letter word. What word is that?

Rust! My precious daylilies have been struck with Rust! Rust is a fungal disease. Very hard to get rid of in my zone. Our winters are just not cold enough to kill it. It's a spore type fungus, spread through the air. Breaks my heart...

So, I will be going to war against the rust monster, and hopefully I will at least keep it in check. That's really the most I'm hoping for. But perhaps we'll have one of our once in a decade cold winters this year.

Storm damage was not much. A rose of sharon blew over, of course it was the one doing the best. A trellis with a morning glory growing on it blew over in the front. Sunflowers blew over. But nothing real serious. A few neighbors lost tree's, but that was about the worst of it for us. Of course, I have not been to the other house yet, scared to go over there. The last time we had a storm like this, there was a lot of clean up over there. So if I do not know about it, I do not have to clean it up! Ha! Actually, Nick and I will go over there as soon as he is able to mow the lawn. We had over 5 inches of rain with Ernesto, a bit more today, and it's supposed to rain all day tomorrow. So... we'll see.