Thyme for Spring!

Okay that's a groaner, but the thyme is visible now where the snow has melted. And some bulbs are starting to peek out. Supposed to hit 50 degrees today. It is very wet out, so I can't do much in the yard. Maybe a little cleanup here and there. Or maybe I'll just see whether the park trails are clear...



Last, but not least, a sweet little snowdrop peeking through the snow!

Don't Forget to Feed the Birds!

The bird feeders are pretty crowded these days! Oh, and the feeders are a little easier for me to reach with all that snow piled up below. Argh. What a mess that will be as it melts. But, it sure is pretty for now. Especially in the back yard where there are no ugly grey piles.
For some bird seed recommendations from the National Wildlife Federation, click here.

Groundhog says 6 more weeks...

Oh well, we haven't had that much winter yet here this season. I won't mind if we skip the whole ice storm thing this year, but I could do with a good snow. Just for fun. When I don't have to be somewhere. Too particular? A girl can dream.


Speaking of dreaming, this is what the back yard looks like in the bleak midwinter--I still say it is more bleak when there is no snow!--but I have my seed/plant catalogues--and a new vat of deer scram--at the ready.


Oh, and just to prove that I have not killed the rosemary this year, here she is. This in itself is a minor miracle for me. And, I am watching this paperwhite bulb sprout. One leftover, so I set it in some rocks :)

Fall Color

Fall is here. Along with more deer wreaking havoc in the yard. Rutting on my trees, raiding the bird feeders, stomping around in the mud. What a mess. See him peeking through the openwork? He doesn't wait for dark. And he doesn't scare off easily. Argh.
Otherwise, the leaves are turning beautiful colors and the fall flowers are in bloom!

September 9

Just finished re-reading A Sand County Almanac. Amazing that this book was written over 60 years ago and the issues remain essentially the same. We seem to have made precious little progress in development of a land ethic or taking seriously our interdependence with the rest of God's creation.

Leopold's Almanac entries provide glimpses into the minutiae of nature--the many things we pass by without seeing every day. I don't live as in sync with nature as he did, but then I don't work in the field of nature management. I do enjoy my own little slice of nature and feel blessed by it daily, though.


Today's highlight - I love fountain grass!

This is August?

Okay, it is mid-August in Cincinnati, and I need a sweatshirt to work in the garden. Go figure. Sat down to watch the birds that suddenly swarmed the backyard feeders--been watering various beds for the last couple of hours--and that's when the neighbor thought it would be a great time to mow. Oh well, at least it wasn't the neighbor immediately beside the feeders! And, I am very thankful that it wasn't their evil psycho dog that does nothing but run around and bounce and bark like every other psycho little terrier the entire time we are both outside. So, there I am enjoying the birdie antics, and this cute goldfinch perches on the volunteer sunflower!

Poison Ivy, Again

I think I saw it before I touched it this time. This stuff is sneaky.

Friendly Bees and Ground Hornets

The bumble bees are just peacefully checking out the flowers.

The ground hornets in the video also seem pretty peaceful, but I'm told they'll only get bigger and less friendly. I'm also told I have to kill them. Much as I'd rather live and let live, since they are outside, I suppose they do pose a serious and potentially painful threat, especially to anyone who wanders by unawares.



Watch them fly in and out like a Roman candle! Eek. They weren't the least bit interested in me, though.

Hopefully the foaming spray I just coated the nest with is doing the trick.

Summer Rains Bring Flowers!

Sunflowers, Zinnias, Knock Out Roses, Morning Glories, and Cosmos, to name a few.

Lots of rain lately, but you won't hear me complaining. I remember well the last two summers of drought, dragging the hoses and watering cans all over my acre to get to all the planting beds and the baby trees.

They say the cool nights that go with all this rain are slowing down the tomatoes, but with any luck we'll have more full size tomatoes soon (the cherry and grape tomatoes are coming in at a handful a day).

Buddy Walk is October 10th This Year

Become a fan of...

Team Duncan on Facebook!

Team Duncan is walking in the 2009 Buddy Walk, raising awareness and funds for individuals with Down syndrome.

Sunny, One So True

The deer hasn't gotten to this sunflower. Who knows why? Proximity to the garage floodlight? Too close to the confined space between the garage and the fence? Whatever. It's a beauty, isn't it? And it's a volunteer, just like the cleomes. Go figure.





Something munched most of the lower leaves (or maybe flower buds--they're gone now, so I can't be sure) off of the morning glories. Meanwhile, they keep climbing. Don't get too close, they're running out of stakes, and they move quickly! Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek!

Peas!

In the wake of the deer devastation of my beautiful rainbow chard (somehow she knew I planned to harvest it come morning), I planted more lettuce and peas. It has been one week. Aren't they cute?

Oh, and I bought four clearance-priced trellises at Joanne's to attempt to discourage further pre-harvesting by the deer. And hung bars of Irish Spring for the same reason. The only thing I haven't tried (yet) is sitting all night in the garden with a crossbow...

The Tomatoes are Coming

So far mostly flowers, but check out a few fruits :) The larger ones are on the plant my neighbor started indoors then shared with me, the tiny one is on the plant from the GROW project of the Cincinnati Horticultural Society. Now if I can just keep the deer and squirrels away from them...

Hazel Update

The hazelnut bushes are really doing well this year. I might even get some nuts this year!

The whirling butterflies didn't come back in the middle, though. I just cannot seem to find a place in my yard where anything with the word "butterfly" in the name will be happy! This was the second location in the backyard for the guaras. Butterfly weed didn't make it next to the house. Neither did a butterfly bush two years ago. Another attempt at a butterfly bush last year failed, too. Oh well. Moving on!

Two more baby hazels are potted up away from the rabbits. Maybe I'll add them to the bed in the fall.

Lillies

One of the few good choices from the former owners. Of course, given that my neighbor (who is the sister of the former owner) has a TON of these in her yard, and has offered me more, I'm guessing she's the one that actually made this happen.

Actually, I have pretty good neighbors (except for the owners of psycho mutt in the back). And, given that I spend my workdays listening to other people complain about their neighbors, I truly appreciate how blessed I am!

Pink AND Blue

I thought hydrangea color was dependent on the soil. You get either pink OR blue, depending on the alkilinity. But I have a pink one AND a blue one, right next to each other!

CSA Begins

Just got our first produce selection from the CSA. Lettuce, spinach, green onions, and some herbs to plant (left those to Julie & Greg since my herbs are all growing strong already). I'm glad to see the red leaf lettuce. Somehow I've mostly got arugula in my garden--mixed seed packet--and you just can't make a good salad out of 95% arugula! Check out the Bluebird Hills Farm CSA--I think they still have shares available...

Peonies

I really wish peonies lasted longer! It seems like you wait for ever for the giant buds to open up, then just days later the petals are all over the ground. At least the foliage looks nice all summer.

Veggies!

So far, the vegetable gardens are doing well this year. Cherry tomatoes in a pot with an asparagus fern. There are a couple of basil plants under there, too.






Banana peppers and cherry tomatoes in hanging baskets.













Herbs in hanging baskets--dill and basil.











Last but not least, the garden in the cold frame. Lettuce in front, swiss chard and bell peppers in the middle, tomatoes in the back. I had a big salad with the lettuce for dinner tonight (minus the caterpillars and slugs that tried to hitch their way in with it!)

Hosta Update

My beautiful hostas all leafed out. Somebody ate the buds before they could flower, though. Sigh.





But, whatever ate the front hosta buds has not found these. Yet.

I Love Hostas

I don't know why. Maybe I just love everything that deer love--ha ha! So far, my deer does not munch on my hostas. Go figure. She will eat mint, that supposedly deer don't like, so perhaps she is a new breed. And it is her, I've seen it. Anyway, here are my front hostas that went in with the new foundation plantings last spring. See them from emergence in mid-April to now. What's not to love?

Bees

We all know bees are important, right? I just wish they'd sit still for their close up!

Did you know that bees like blue flowers best? And flowers that appear blue to the bees. Of course. They like shrubs including Buddleia davidii (butterfly bush), lilacs, and pyracantha and flowering plants including calendas, larkspur, poppies, wallflowers, daisies, anemones, daylilies, lavender, lilies, lupine, roses, rosemary, thyme, yarrow, black-eyed Susans, coneflowers, coreopsis, cosmos, heliopsis, salvias, and verbenas, asters, centranthus, nepeta (catmint), Salvia officinalis (sage), Erigeron (fleabane), helenium, scabiosa, and sedums. My yard is full of sedums, and I can attest to the attraction--the bees cover them in late summer. My reluctant model is in my apple tree among the spring blossoms. I am waiting for my Mason bee house to arrive, too!