Oh Look! It's The Flowering Hodgepodge!

This Week, In The Backyard

Flowering Crab

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1. When is your next big deadline? What's it for?

That's what's missing, a deadline!  I now know why it is difficult for me to get  housework and de-cluttering done (or started). I'm not working with a deadline. As one who works much, much better under pressure, I need to start setting deadlines for myself. Hall closet: Deadline Friday. Clothes closet: Deadline May 30, etc. etc. Knowing me, this will help a lot.  Thank you, Joyce!

2. May is National Barbecue Month. Do you prefer cooking indoors or out? What's the best thing about a barbecue? What's the last thing you cooked on an outdoor grill?


I love cooking outdoors, and we wait several cold winter months to do it. The best thing about a BBQ is the taste.  Everything seems to taste better on a charcoal grill. I think it annoys Mr. C. when I say that I like the taste of lighter fluid. He 'patiently' explains that it's the charcoal flavor I like. :-)) I think the last thing cooked on our grill was chicken.

 Grilled Cheese With Basil Pesto

I found this while searching for 'grill' in my photo files. Check out my recipe, from a previous post. It's an amazing sandwich, although I did not 'grill' it on the charcoal grill.

Note: Homemade white bread is best, of course.

On one slice of bread I arranged enough pepper jack cheese to cover every square inch of bread. We always have pepper jack on hand, for it's one of our favorites. On the other slice I spread the fresh basil pesto liberally (quite uncharacteristically, I might add). On top of that I arranged fresh, warm-from-the-garden tomato slices.
I then melted a little olive oil and a little butter in the skillet, turned it down to low, set the sandwich in the skillet, and covered it with a lid.
A few minutes later I flipped the sandwich over and covered it with the lid again.
Two more minutes maybe...enough so that the bread was golden (okay, a little past golden, maybe) and the cheese was partially melted.

3. What is one thing on your "never again" list?

Never again will I drag a carry-on suitcase through an airport or train stations or down sidewalks. If I ever travel again, I will use only a school-type backpack with a couple of changes of clothes in it. You think I'm kidding.

4. What's something that annoys you about people your own age? Something you love about your generation?

Nothing annoys me about people my own age. In fact, even when I was young, people my age (now) were always easier to get along with. People my age (then) always seemed to have something to prove. What I love about my generation is that most of us are more comfortable with life, know how to do things, know how to work, are reliable, don't spend our time keeping track of celebrities, and don't seek or expect wisdom from fools. Also, most of us have mellowed a bit and have figured out which things are truly worth going to battle. Uh, perhaps some of us have mellowed a bit more than others. :-)

5. Lilac, iris, hyacinth, pansy...your favorite purple flower?

I love lilacs and iris, my favorite being the purple iris that came from my mom's garden (or maybe my grandma's garden - via my mom.)

See those lovely roses? They're going to meet my favorite garden tool after they've bloomed this year - RoundUp. Those roses are a weed, totally invasive, and are beautiful for only one week out of the entire year. The rest of the year they are an ugly, thorny thicket that spreads to every surrounding plant and tries to strangle it.

6. Whats a song that always calms you down?

Probably my favorite album is 'Be Thou My Vision,' sacred music by John Rutter.

And, as far as one song that always calms me?  That would be 'The Solid Rock.' It often pops into my mind. And it is truly calming, knowing that regardless of my circumstances, God is in control and is trustworthy. On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand. All other ground is sinking sand!

  My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus' blood and righteousness;
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly lean on Jesus' name.
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand.

  When darkness veils His lovely face,
I rest on His unchanging grace;
In every high and stormy gale
My anchor holds within the veil.
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand.

7. What's the last thing you donated?

Clothes. Remember the ones I dragged around the airport in that carry-on? Actually, I have much more that needs to be donated.

8. Insert your own random thought here.

Springtime is wonderful this year. The driveway is flanked by wood violets and dandelions, which I love and which look so pretty together.

The bleeding heart is in bloom.

Have a wonderful Wednesday, friends!

***

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Happy St. Patrick's Day!!

Thanks for the shamrock, Lydia!

 Here's the lovely basket of goodies I won in Lydia's Giveaway!!
All such pretty things...Thanks, Lydia. ♥

And now a few photos from my backyard (taken this afternoon) as we eagerly usher in spring - if only the snow would stop falling!!

 Our sidewalk, March 16, 2013

Bless his heart, Kevin keeps that boardwalk shoveled. What a good man! I know I complain about the snow, but I think that we've had more than our fair share, (Good grief! I can even hear a whiny voice saying this!) and this white stuff has been around since November. It doesn't snow and melt, like it does in some places. Oh no, NW Wisconsin likes to hang onto its snow! And it's starting to get on my nerves!

 Our driveway, March 16, 2013

But then I think of Pam (EmptyNest) and Jenn (Jenn's Food Journey) and realize that I wouldn't want to be heading into 80s or 90s this time of year. What I suspect will happen this spring is that we'll get about 2 days of spring and then summer will be here. That happens quite often.

With all this snow, it's a little hard to get excited about planting garden seeds, but I need to get that done tonight or tomorrow afternoon. After all, if we can trust history to repeat itself, springtime will actually eventually arrive and those little seedlings will need to be ready for planting in the garden the beginning of June.

I think I'm only going to start Carmen peppers, Early Girl tomatoes, Poblano peppers, Jalapeno peppers, Cayenne, and  maybe another variety of tomato.

Are your garden seeds started? What did you plant?

Have a great St. Patrick's Day!

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Why My Mother Loved Springtime

 The flowering crab in the back yard.

We've had a lot of rain the past few days, and with the intermittent sunshine and warmer weather, everything is really popping...

...even quack grass.

Spring was my mother's favorite season. In Wisconsin you have to reconcile yourself to the fact that springtime does not start on March 21, but more toward the end of April, or even the beginning of May.  March is usually our snowiest month. April is usually cold and rainy. But once it warms up and things start blooming, it's hard not to love this time of year! I think from now on I'll plan to expect springtime on May 1 and not get my hopes up any sooner.

These are some photos which I took last week and am just now getting around to posting!

Beautiful wood violets

I realize that some think of them as noxious weeds.

 Bleeding Heart

Next to daffodils, my favorite. My grandma always had a bleeding heart plant.

 Silver Leaf and Hostas

At least I think this is called 'silver leaf.' I was once given 11 small leaves, I stuck the stem end of each leaf into the soil, and in no time I had a flower bed full of this stuff. It must be contained or it will take over everything, kinda like mint or snow-on-the-mountain. 

 I'm not the only one who's enjoying the lilac.

 Plum Blossoms

The poor tree itself is such a wreck, and I've threatened to cut it down several times. But then it bursts forth these pretty and delicate blossoms -  and I repent of those mean thoughts.

 The First Picking of Asparagus

oh so delicious!!!!

I am so in awe of the Designer who thought all this stuff up, including every exquisite, functioning system and microscopic detail. And then to think that He gave us eyes to see it!

'You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power. For you have created all things - and for your pleasure they are and were created.'  Revelation 4:11

Author, Second Chance - A Tale of Two Puppies

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What's Blooming

I can't tell whether this is going to turn into a sunny day or not. It was very cloudy when I woke up, but those clouds seem to be lifting. Yea!! I am so much more energized by sunny days, and today I need all the energy I can muster.

I know these aren't the only blossoming trees around here, but though I'd share these photos from our backyard anyway.

These are the blossoms from our McIntosh apple tree. We still have nearly a hundred pints of applesauce that we got from this amazing tree last fall!  I keep forgetting to use it. I'm hoping that our daughter and son-in-law have room for jars of applesauce, along with The Boxcar Children books from her childhood that we're taking with us when we go to visit this weekend. Maybe I should make it a deal: For every Boxcar book, you get a jar of applesauce. Take it or leave it.

The beloved 'bleeding heart,' just beginning to blossom. I think this is one of my favorites because it was my grandma's favorite. It is so delicate and intricate, such a showcase of Design>Designer.

Blossoms on the Golden Delicious [apple] tree.

 

The flowering crab, just at the beginning of it's blossoming time. I hope we get a few days after we return home to look at these glorious blossoms, before wind or rain blow them all off the tree. Of all the trees in our yard, this may be my favorite.

I just realized how much I have to try to get done today before we leave bright and early tomorrow morning. Foolishly, I made a new batch of soap last night, which means that I have to bribe Joe into turning my new soap bars daily while  I'm gone. That's in addition to watering my plants, feeding my dogs, cleaning my cats' litter boxes, making sure that Bridger is taken out only on a lead because of his back problem, and giving Bridger his pill once a day...Hmmm. Here's where some creative thinking would come in handy.

Got any good ideas?

Over the Weekend

Joe and Courtney. Looking a bit warm and fuzzy.

My dad, Lloyd, with 'the usual' - coffee and a chocolate-covered donut at the BP. Although I can't prove it by this photo, he doesn't look at all like Mr. Magoo in real life. But he was puzzled as to why I would want to take his photo.

Taken on Friday, and already they've grown considerably more! The daffodils. I have several 'spots' of daffodils and can't wait until they're in full bloom!

The prolific Hens and Chicks in garden next to the wee pond.

First signs of rhubarb. I think the only thing I make with my rhubarb are those wonderful bars with rhubarb, strawberry jello, etc. They're worth raising rhubarb! Just ask Angela.

Chives for my potato salad, which Gus loves. And I'll make him some if he comes here from Texas to get it. :-)

Spider on the bathroom wall. This photo taken especially for Dänika, for I knew she would appreciate it. I pondered why it is that I can see a spider and not be bothered, but if a shrew or mouse scurried in... I'm sure it's all my brothers' fault. :-)

Sunday afternoon clouds over field NE of house. Aren't they beautiful!

Clouds over Neighbor Bill's place. Neighbor Bill is no longer of this world, but it will always be 'Neighbor Bill's place' to us.

Misty of spotted-tongue fame. :-)

Spring Survey 2010, Part Two

The first thing I notice when walking toward the hill is the sandbox. I have a head start on getting it ready with toys, for evidently I didn't take them into the garage last fall to be stored there over winter. I need to add a couple of new items, I think. The old ones are getting quite faded.

After years of a failed raspberry patch, where each springtime revealed nothing but 4" tall chewed raspberry canes, we finally got a chicken wire fence around the raspberries. After all, we have an abundance of bunnies, and there's only so much Bridger can do. It took some convincing to get Kevin to agree to the fencing. He couldn't see that it made economic sense to spend all that money on wire for 'a few dollars' worth of raspberries.' I'm not going to say 'I told you so,' but he's the one who pointed out the price of raspberries in the grocery store yesterday - $10.50 per pound. I think he might be convinced that the eleven gallons of raspberries we harvested from the patch last year were worth the chicken wire, though I'm not going to risk asking him.

This is not the beautiful garden that we saw last July and August. This is the ugly spring garden. It won't be much longer before we can pull up all that carpet, till the garden, place the plants and seeds in the soil, mulch, and then when the grass starts growing, cover the 'aisles' with carpet. Old carpet works great for keeping weeds out from between the rows, and is great on the knees when weeding around plants. It also dried out quickly after a rain, which prevented a mold problem for quite a while.

This photo of the little backyard pool was taken early in the morning, so it looks like there may be a film of ice on top. Shortly after Mother's Day, the nursery where I purchase water hyacinths (40 miles away!) will get in their shipment from the South, where water hyacinths are considered a noxious weed.

Shortly before then, I will drain all the murky water from the pond, remove all the stinky, decayed leaves, (truly, it's just like working in a sewer!) rescue the surviving snails who are a very important part of this little ecosystem, scrub the rubber pond liner, fill it with fresh water, and start up the recirculating pump. I love the sound of water falling over the rocks in the little stream we built.

Water hyacinths and snails ensure a clean pond all summer long, without having to resort to chemicals of any kind. The pond also makes a great water bowl for the dogs! :-) I can't wait until it looks like this again!

It's always much more fun to get the pond ready than it is to wash the windows on the house, but it would be nice to be able to see through the glass. I suppose I should put that on my list of spring projects as well.

Another all-too-frequent springtime project is bathing Misty after she's applied her favorite perfume. Now that the snow is gone, Misty wanders about, finding the most putrid, disgusting animal feces and carcasses and works at applying them with great care to her neck and belly. Isn't it lovely!

Do you have a list of springtime projects?

Starting Seeds Indoors

I couldn't wait to get my tomato and pepper seeds started! I've heard it said that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. Well, that could apply to any one of us in NW Wisconsin when we look at the gorgeous seed catalogs, buy our seed packets, our potting soil, and the little biodegradable containers in which to plant them. Every year we think that it's THE year for success, and that the resulting plants will look just as healthy and hearty as those we could purchase from a nursery. We are full of springtime optimism.
I don't think the desired results have ever quite been achieved; nevertheless, with sunny, warm spring days and every Menards, Farm & Fleet, and WalMart carrying seed packets, it's impossible to walk out of there without purchasing at least some seeds and going home greatly inspired and hopeful.

Besides the potting soil, I also purchased the little starter containers, a total of 50 cells. Who could possibly need more than 50, right? Because last year I planted 48 tomato plants and just about as many pepper plants, I had decided ahead of time that this year I only need 6 plants of each. That's good in theory. The trouble is, how can you plant only 6 seeds when there are still many left in the packet?

So after carefully picking up each microscopic tomato seed and planting it, I realized that I was going to need more planting cells. I mean, after all, I've only got two types of tomatoes (I've never held it against Dan Quayle that he couldn't spell potato. Remember the days when the worst thing we could find about a politician was that he couldn't spell potato???) So I have hybrids this year: Early Girl, which was a huge success last year, and Best Boy. Then I planted Poblano peppers and Carmen peppers. I don't know that the Carmens will actually ripen to a scarlet red, but we'll see. I still need to plant jalapenos, green bell peppers, zinneas, and I'm sure I'll think of something else. Today I had to go back to the store for more planting cells.

Also, they have these cool and cheap little plastic greenhouses. I expect they will work so much better than my improvised greenhouses from last year. Each greenhouse holds 50 cells. Now they're sitting on the bench next to our bedroom window. The advantage of the purchased greenhouse is that if Lionel or Tuppence should decide to walk over or lie on top of them, I think the noise of the plastic crinkling will scare them off. Let's hope so.
The photo of Lionel is thrown in for free. When I went upstairs to take a photo of the greenhouse, Lionel was sitting up on the bed like a furry Buddha. He sat there looking at me the entire time I was in the bedroom. I love that cat!

So are you starting seeds indoors? If so, what are you planting? And what else should I be starting indoors?

***

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 This post may be linked to some of the following: Mop it Up Monday  and  Cure for the Common Monday and Mealtime Monday and Clever Chicks Blog Hop and Mosaic Monday  and Barn Charm and  The Marketplace  and On the Menu Monday and  Mix it up Monday and Make it Pretty Monday and   What's in the Gunny Sack and  Making the World Cuter Mondays and Make the Scene Monday and  Something I Whipped Up Monday and  Motivate Me Monday and  Making Monday Marvelous and Get Your Craft On and   You're Gonna Love it Tuesday and Take a Look Tuesday and  Tasty Tuesday and Tasty Tuesday and Love Bakes Good Cakes and  Tempt My Tummy Tuesdays  and Overflowing With Creativity and Mom on TimeOut  and Adorned from Above and Cast Party Wednesday and  We Did it Wednesday  and It's a Party at Creative Princess and Artsy Corner Thursday  and The Self-sufficient Home Acre and  I'm Lovin' it Thursday and  Mandatory Mooch   and Foodie Friends Friday and  Serenity Saturday and Get Schooled Saturday  and Inspiration Friday(ThursNite) and Vintage Inspiration Friday and Photo Friday and  A Favorite Thing Saturday and Sunny Simple Sunday and  Saturday Nite Special