Another year's almost over

Well, here we are, another year almost over, and the days are finally getting longer again. I took this picture on 28 December. Three days after Christmas and it had rained so much at temps of just below zero that the brances of the pine tree on the north side of the house were so heavy with ice they lay on the ground. This branch is usually at least twelve feet (four meters) off the ground. The rain was followed by high winds. It thawed enough that the pine branches were ice free by the time the winds were at their worst, but we lost a few small branches from the oak trees and the plum tree.


I'm thinking on a new pastel painting. The rough draft on newsprint turned out quite well. The composition seems to be good, but I think the male cardinal need to be just a touch bigger and the branches of the pine are not quite right. I'm going to have to go out and take a few pics of the pine tree and work on them a bit more.

True winter has arrived

I took these pictures about six PM on 28 November. This time the snow is going to stick around unlike the first snow of 28 October. It was a soft wet snow, perfect for snowballs which the dogs love to chase. It never ceases to amaze them when the "balls" they are chasing simply disappear, and they never get so disappointed that they stop chasing the disappearing balls. The temperature hovered around the zero mark so clearing the deck and the steps was not much of a hardship. Its snowed a little every day since and I imagine I'll soon be tired of the white stuff, but as long as the temperatures stay mild it will be ok. The oil furnace hasn't started yet and here it is December first. It won't start till the temperature goes below minus 12, and I don't mind if that condition is never met.

The crack of dawn

Sometimes it pays to be up at the crack of dawn. On Thursday (13 nov) the fur kids had me up before six am. I opened the patio door to let them out and saw the full moon setting over Margo's house. I guess it won't be Margo's house for much longer. She put it up for sale and it was gone in a week. So I guess it will be Manon's house after December 10. I've met her already and she seems quite nice. I can't wait to meet her kids (9 and 10 year old boys). Anyway, the sky and everything beneath it had that purpley pre-dawn look (sunrise was at 6:46), and the moon was a gorgeous golden globe framed magnificently between the branches of the pine tree beside my shed and and the slope of Margo's roof. It was only minus three so it wasn't a hardship to stand out on the deck in my jamies and snap the photo below.

Winter's first blast

I took these photos on 29 October. The snow started just as we were putting the garden to bed for the winter and wrapping the trees and roses. It made the job messy wet and cold, and much more difficult than it needed to be. Of course, after all that, the snow has all melted and disappeared. The weather report for the balance of the week is for temperatures up to +14 C with light rain. That will ensure that everything will have a good start come next spring. I still have some seeds that I want to get scattered on the ground in places that need some color in the summer. I'll scatter the hollyhock seeds and some poppies and lupines as well so they'll get a head start in the spring.

There's going to be a wedding!!!

Samm and Chad came out to visit for a few days, and while they were here he popped the question and she said yes.

Elizabeth Rita Ann Meagher

A whole new person has entered the world. Introducing Elizabeth Rita Ann Meagher, born 2:57 am 24 September 2008. Welcome to the world little one, and congratulations to Jennette and Peter for whom the adventure is just begining.

4/10/08

Summer's almost gone

The garden's almost done. There's just one row of potatoes left to bring in. I'll probably do that on Friday or Saturday--whenever it stops raining. Here's a lovely soup I made. Everything in it came from the garden except the chicken. The potatoes are tiny little banana potatoes, and the leafy greens are swiss chard. A little bit of chicken broth and some chili paste and voila! la soupe du jour.



The sunflowers didn't do well this year. Only half as tall as they're supposed to be, and the flower heads are not going to fully develop. The birds will be unhappy. I usually cut them with a long stem and tie them to the fence so that the birds can enjoy the bounty, but this year I don't think there will be any seeds at all. Still, they're incredibly cheerful looking even in the rain we've been having. I took these pics a couple of days ago when it was sunny.

Fruits of the tree

Well, the three lonely apples will soon be ready to pick. Fall is definitely on its way, and winter soon to follow.

glorious gladiolas

They're late blooming, but this is definately a case of better late than never. I've never planted glads before, but I certainly intend to try them again. I'll try storing the bulbs over the winter, and I think I'll get some more in the spring. The colors are amazing, and very welcome since its been cold and rainy here. They speak for themselves, so enjoy.

Pics of the fur children (and Papa)

Its been quite hot here the last week or so, and Babe loves to sit and soak up the sun. She loves to be invited to sit on the park bench, although at over 100 lbs, if we sit with her we can hear the bench start to complain at the weight.



Prince doesn't care much for the bench. I think he's afraid he'll fall through the cracks. He'd much rather sit on the ground, though he trusts me enough to tolerate whatever I ask him to do.


Spook is still at that "everything is new and exciting" stage and doesn't care much what she's asked to do as long as someone tells her she's a good girl. She's come a long way since I brought her home on July 20th. At that time she was suffering the effects of a serious case of some very dangerous intestinal parasites. She only weighed seven pounds, you could count her ribs and her hip bones stuck up as if she'd been starved. She now weighs 22 pounds, and has energy to burn. I've started training her on the treadmill so that she'll have adequate exercise when its too cold to spend much time outside. She's not taking to it with the same enthusiasm that Prince has, but we'll get there eventually.

The three of them are happiest when Papa is home to play with them. Prince won't go on the road with him, but Babe is never happier than when Papa takes her in the truck with him. Prince is a bit of a Mama's boy, and has been from the start. Spook, we don't know about yet. She doesn't have a problem with the kennel, and she doesn't get travel sick, but I don't know how she'd feel about a long trip without Mom.

History of a ballon flower

I said I'd post more pictures of the balloon flower and here they are. They start off looking like some sort of horticultural origami; first green, then blue. I wish I'd been able to catch a couple more; one before the first open one and one just after. They're quite striking in the early morning when the sun first touches on them. The largest of the blossoms is nearly three inches across.

Marvellous Morning Glories

I've been planting the standard pink and blue morning glories for several years now because I love them as a screen. I usually mix them in with the climbing beans in the garden, because the beans themselves don't offer much color. I've also used them as an accent in the flower beds. Just throw down a few seeds, give them someting to climb on (like a piece of driftwood or any old stick) and bam! there's a mass of color to accent an otherwise plain area. They're especially useful where other plants bloom early and leave an empty space when they're done, or in a spot where other plants bloom late and a bit of color is needed earlier in the season. This year I planted a different variety that isn't meant to climb. They're meant to form a small mound covered in 1 1/2 to 2 inch blossoms in a variety of colors. They're supposed to be useful as a border or in window boxes.

With the terrible growing conditions we had they got off to a very slow start. I thought they weren't going to come up at all for a while there. When they did come up I didn't pinch them off early enough so they got quite leggy. The ones in the border sort of lay along the ground, but the ones in the window boxes have started to hang over the edge. For all the dissapointment, I definately will try them again next year. Why? Because the few blossoms they have produced are spectacular! Next year I think I'll start them early in the house which will give them a better start.





The final photo here is a wild morning glory. While walking the trail that runs behind the house I saw these small (1/2 inch or so) blossoms. I followed the vine to the ground and dug up a few roots, took them home and planted them in the cold frame. They died back and I sort of forgot about them, but they came back the following spring, though they didn't do much so I left them where they were. Last spring I moved them to the same area where I put the clematis. I figured one or the other would grow and at least there would be something to cover the old rusty chainlink fence besode the shed. Well, last summer everything grew, but nothing bloomed. This spring the clematis and the wild morning glory both came up and grew like mad. The clematis bloomed but the wild vine didn't. Then along came a bright golden bug that turned the morning glory leaves to lace. I figured that was a sort of bonus because the bugs preferred the wild vine and left the clematis alone. I started to think the wild vine was never going to bloom. Then, last week I noticed a few buds and this is what they opened into. I'm so glad I was patient enough to let them be until they produced. The flowers are two inches across, and though there won't be a huge number of them, it looks like I might get some seed, so their tribe should increase. I'd like to start them in among the virginia creeper which is a good screen, but not all that attractive before the leaves turn red in the fall. I realize that some people are cringing at the idea of propagating bindweed (which in most circles is considered to be a noxious weed), but I'm of the attitude that one person's poison is another's meat, and the flowers are worth the work of keeping it contained. Of course, I may feel differently in a couple of years.

Clematis times five

The clematis are unbelievable. I can't wait to see what they do in a summer that isn't as rainy as this one has been. I have five varieties blooming now and one to go. The first to bloom was the Rhapsody. It's still blooming, and has plenty of buds to go on with.

Next was the John Huxtable. It's still blooming and has plenty of buds left as well.

That was followed by the Jackmani superba which has also been prolific.

The Louise Rowe was supposed to be a dark lilac, at least that's what the picture showed when I bought it. It produced only a single spectacular blossom in an almost pure white. The reason I say it's spectacular is that the flower when fully opened was nearly eight inches across. I can't wait till next year to see if its going to produce as well as the others have done this year.

The Ville de Lyon is also spectacular. It's covered with buds as well. When the sun falls on the flowers in the early morning they seem to glow as if the light originates from within them.

And I'm patiently waiting for the John Warren to bloom. It has alot of buds but they're at least a week away from opening. Its at the shady end of the fence right next to the shed, so its probably not getting enough light. I may have to take out a couple of branches to let in more light.

The Last of the Lilies

The last of the lilies have finished blooming now. I took these final photos last week. I really like the orange one with the yellow edges, but the red one is pretty too.




These day lilies seem to bloom later than the old fashioned orange ones. The weather this summer hasn't done will by them either. Of course, I don't think it helped that I moved a couple of them late in the spring. As a consequence the white one and the pink one never bloomed at all. These two, however, have plenty of buds and will provide a great show well into next month.

Miniature Roses

I've bought mini roses before and never had much success with them. This year, however, they took, and they're blooming like mad. In addition to the yellow, red, and red/orange ones there's a pink as well that I haven't managed to get a good photo of.

Fall is coming

The brown-eyed susans are blooming. I've always loved them, even as a kid when they only grew wild in the ditches. These are rudbeckia cultivars. They started as a single clump given to me by Margo next door a couple of years ago and they've turned into several dozen large clumps. Much as I love them though, they make me a little sad because they signal to me that fall is coming with its shorter days and winter will follow soon after.


The Gallardia are still in full bloom. . . .

. . . and the purple cone flower is doing its thing as well. I got these from France who lives two doors down. They've turned from a single rather sickly clump to four medium size clumps that put on a spectacular show till late in the fall. I picked up a white variety this summer, but I won't know till next spring if it's survived or not. It's been reduced to a couple of leaves sticking out of the dirt. I don't know why, but I keep buying the sickliest plants in the bunch just to prove I can bring them back to life. Most times it works out quite well.