Tuesday, April 28, 2009

PA Hemlocks



This is so sad. Many, many of my Pennsylvania Hemlocks have the Hemlock Woolly Adelgid pest, which will kill them. I have resorted to years of chemical sprays by professionals, but they are still succumbing. I know of nothing else to do, but with our persistent droughts compromising their strength to fight off pests, I will probably lose them all to this devastating pest. I have discontinued the spray, but have researched another possibility. If I can get someone to apply it, I will try one more option called Imidacloprid Therapy. It is a way to treat them systemically and would last 3-5 years. It pays to do research on the internet.

Lilacs


The lilacs smell scrumptious!

Progress

The radishes are healthy, but I wonder when they will be ready for a salad?
The peas have really gotten the hang of grabbing onto the string I buried...smart peas, huh?
This tiny kale is one of about four. I think I will replant some seeds, as that gully washer we had right after I planted them probably did most of the seeds in.
The lettuce is actually coming up in this heat! The temperatures are going to go down tonight, which will make the lettuce happy.
I think all the onion sets from the hardware store are coming up! So fast, too! The garden is doing well overall, even with extremely high temperatures and no rain in a few days.

My Stoop




Over the last two days, I replaced the carpeting on my front steps. It took me two days, as my "worker bee" was out of town and I missed his muscles to help pull off the old carpeting. Again...what was I thinking to do this project when the "bee" was away? In 90 degree weather, I spent 3 hours with a crow bar removing the old carpet. With the sun beating down on the stoop, I stopped until the next day to glue the new one on. I love calling the front steps the old fashioned word, stoop. The girls used to play 'stoop ball' in the summer. As the mim says, "Mar and I own 'stoop ball'!" My mother used to play 'stoop ball' when she was growing up in Brooklyn. Here is a link to the rules of stoop ball.

Finch Feeder

Hungry little guys...

Laundry



Nothing smells better than clean laundry hung out in the sun to dry. The white t-towel hanging on the end was my grandmother's. Can you see her hand stitched hem in red and blue thread? It was probably an old sheet converted into this towel. They used and reused everything back then. It is time we abandon the "throw away" attitude of our society and embrace the old fashioned *Reduce*Reuse*Recycle* strategy.

Monday, April 27, 2009

Dinner for a Queen



Ali just whipped up this Curry-Ginger Chicken, Balsamic Mushroom Caps, Leeks and Quinoa for our dinner in about 45 minutes. The Pear Almond Tart was beautiful and delicious.

Bleeding Heart




The Bleeding Hearts are especially beautiful this year.

Yard Spiders



There is a whole separate world at the grass level. I am not sure the hundreds of spiders can be seen in these pictures. Hundreds!

Hope Station Gifts

Kilo was checking out the Cherry Tomato container.

Today we planted the seeds that the Master Gardeners gave us from the Hope Station class. Mimi was quite amazed with the size of the Oregano seeds. They are so tiny! After planting we spritzed the seedlings so as not to dislodge them from their intended places. She had to spritz poor Kilo as well, of course. Then she was back to reading her great novel.

Sunday, April 26, 2009

Hardening off the Seedlings Again



I only left the seedlings out for a couple hours this time and they fared better. Kilo was checking them out.

Saturday, April 25, 2009

More Planting

Mimi and I planted Buttercrunch lettuce, Icicle radishes, and more Red Globe radishes today. Kilo did her job of looking cute.

We also planted the sunflower seeds given out at the Dickinson College memorial service for Nate Kirkland.


Then it was time to get out of the sun and enjoy Ali's Carrot Cake Cupcakes with Lemon Cream Cheese Icing. Whoa...

Friday, April 24, 2009

Hardening Off the Seedlings

What is going on with the basil? But my lettuce is still hanging in there. I think I will get it outside tomorrow again, and maybe transplant them into the garden. I do believe the scarecrow is working well enough to protect it from Ms. Wabbit.
Almost time to transplant the thyme...
The Heirloom Chocolate Cherry tomato plants did not fair well outside today. I think I killed off half of them...so fragile. Seems the Heirloom seedlings are all much more fragile than the hybrids, but I still want to support the Heirloom, if I can. You can see them compared to the Sisters tomato plants. The Sisters rule! Yay Girl Power!!

Compost Urn


The Master Gardeners have programs about the correct way to compost. I will be taking a class on May 2nd to learn. In anticipation, I went to Larry's Trading Post and bought an old cookie jar for $2.00 to use as our compost urn. I think I am ready!

Hello Spring - Goodbye Curlimacues


Harry Lauder's Walking Stick curlimacues will be covered soon.

Thursday, April 23, 2009