Friday, March 9, 2012

More than a Handfull

 "To see a world
in a grain of sand
and heaven in a wildflower
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand,
and eternity in an hour."

William Blake 

TODAY'S SEEDS OF WISDOM

  • JUST BLOOMED TODAY
  • GARDEN UPDATE
  • GARDEN ATTIRE
  • GARDEN GIGGLE
  • FAUNA
  • GARDEN GAMES
  • FEEDBACK
JUST BLOOMED TODAY
Pansies

Icelandic Poppy
 GARDEN UPDATE
 Pretty weather today and nice and sunny. Crept up to the 70's but the wind had a sharp bite to it.


Tulips are crowning their heads and getting bigger. Lilies are starting to poke their heads up as well. My specialty daffodils shot up under my nose without me realizing it!


Sadly, last night marked the end of an era for us as we lost our chicken-child, Handfull. She was the first chick we actually got from our own chickens, and hubby named her Handfull because she fit in his hand, and she was 'full' of life. I think it was love at first sight.

 Here's a photo of her with her Mama. This is how she hung out with her mom, perched like a queen with a view of all that was happening so she wouldn't miss a thing.

She used to love to ride in the car with me into the garage because she LOVED 70's music on the radio. She patrolled the garage and chased the cats away. She laid the most beautiful HUGE green eggs. She was fiercely independent, the biggest busy-body, but would come when you called her, just like a dog would. 
 
She had style, and character, and lived her five years to the hilt. Chickens usually live 3-5 years, so she was in her golden years, but you would never know it. We will miss her so.

GARDEN ATTIRE~ Victorian and 19th Century

Old Time Garden Fashions:What a 19th century woman gardener might have worn (all at the same time).This excerpt is from The Gardener's Monthly, 1885:
"...flannel trousers, "such as those worn in the gymnasium"; a light felt skirt; a dress of easily washed material, such as gingham or linen (not flannel, which would retain dust and odors); a loose jacket of swans'down flannel; a straw hat with a brim wide enough to shade the eyes but not so wide it flapped and get caught up in the wind; strong wash-leather gloves "with close wrists to keep out the dust and creeping things; cheap elastic cotton and wool stockings; leather walking boots with rubber soles, as lightweight as possible; and a long rubber cloak for rainy weather."
 


"One need not take the place of a scarecrow, but a faded calico and towel tied round the head are in better taste than a dress too good for the work in hand..."

GARDEN GIGGLE
Heart Beet

Do you carrot at all for me?
My heart beets for you,
With your turnip nose
And your radish face.
You are a peach.
If we cantaloupe,
Lettuce marry.
Weed make a swell pear.


FAUNA
 

GARDEN GAMES
 
Answer tomorrow!



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Thursday, March 8, 2012

Rare Sighting!

"When the first baby laughed for the first time, the laugh broke into a thousand pieces and they all went skipping about, and that was the beginning of fairies. And now when every new baby is born, its first laugh becomes a fairy."
James Matthew Barrie, PETER PAN
 
"Every child can remember laying their head in the grass, staring into the infinitesimal forest and seeing it grow populous with fairy armies..."
 Robert Louis Stevenson

TODAY'S SEEDS OF WISDOM

  • JUST BLOOMED TODAY
  • GARDEN UPDATE
  • RARE SIGHTING!
  • GARDEN GIGGLE
  • FAUNA
  • GARDEN GAMES
  • FEEDBACK
JUST BLOOMED TODAY
 


GARDEN UPDATE
Well, of course, after all that preparation, we didn't get any snow or rain! So I was out watering in the 40F degree weather, my hands frozen, but the plants appreciated it.Today is a balmy 65F, so all the plants are digging it (pardon the pun).
 

RARE SIGHTING!
I'm sure you noticed at one time or another our blog description, and how it mentions the garden fairies that watch and protect our garden.

After this big wind, I just knew they would be out and about fixing things so I grabbed my camera and took some pics for you.





  
Although they are notoriously shy, they are pretty good to let me snap their pictures; but then again, we believe and that goes along way!(Remember those who do not believe cannot see them). After a while, they use their rainbow dust to block any more pics...this is what the last picture looked like.
 
We so appreciate the work they do keeping everything under control and all the flowers happy and blooming. We just have to remember and respect their privacy. 

GARDEN GIGGLE
What do you call a fairy who helps two fairies to wed?
A Marry fairy

What do you call a happy fairy?
A merry fairy

What do you call a fairy who can't make up its mind?
A Contrary fairy

What do you call a frightening fairy?
A scary fairy

What do you call a fuzzy fairy?
Hairy fairy

What is the fairies favorite soda pop?
sprite

What do you call a fairy from Nebraska?
a prairie fairy

What do you call an apologetic fairy?
a contrite sprite

 When the fairies have all gone home, what's left?
Nary a fairy! 
FAUNA
Fairy Gossip

GARDEN GAMES
Yesterday's answer: Ahead of the Pack!
Hint: You may right-mouse click on below puzzle to print out on your computer or to share! Choose 'save image as..' and then print it from your computer.


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Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Manure tea, please!

"Why is a raven like a writing desk?"
The Mad Hatter, Alice in Wonderland, Lewis Carroll 

TODAY'S SEEDS OF WISDOM

  • JUST BLOOMED TODAY
  • GARDEN UPDATE
  • MANURE TEA,PLEASE!
  • GARDEN GIGGLE
  • FAUNA
  • GARDEN GAMES
  • FEEDBACK
JUST BLOOMED TODAY
Johnny Jump Up/Viola

Pansies

GARDEN UPDATE
Today I planted my new amaryllis with crossed fingers for next Spring! I mixed chicken and horse manure with MiracleGro potting soil and put the pots in a nice sunny spot in the greenhouse, so we won't have to worry about the frost or hot, hot sun.


Didn't have much damage from those wild, wild winds yesterday...except for my eye, which got something blown into it and caused me to have a major corneal abrasion last night. But plant-wise, everyone came through like a champ, and even the fruit blossoms were spared. The bees have really bee-n working their little stingers off, and most of the blossoms have been pollinated. Looking forward to wonderful fruit again this year.

MANURE TEA, PLEASE!
Every year we make manure tea as a favorite treat for our plants. They adore it, and respond in kind with happy growth.What is manure tea? It is a concoction you make from water and manure, that ferments and makes a wonderful vitamin/mineral boost for your plants. You use the liquified form as a feeding for your plants every once in a while, especially when they are budding or growing.


I first saw manure tea on Martha Stewart's TV show, but she used an old burlap bag and tied it with hemp. Ok, who has HEMP just hanging around???I came up with my favorite alternative which I found at the local 99 cent store. It is a lingerie bag for laundering...you know the kind, a mesh bag to put your dainties in while washing. It's perfect to put your favorite mixture of manure or compost in and then just zip closed. It can be changed every year, or merely thrown away and a new dollar one put in its place. I attach a strong piece of plant wire to the corner and hang it inside the trashcan.

Then merely fill up the trashcan with water (the photo shown above is when I was cleaning out the container to fill with water...you will need to fill it up all the way). Some great alternatives are to add powdered MiracleGro (follow instructions for amounts) and use rainwater as well. Then every day or so, lift up the bag and swish it around. After it ferments for about 2 weeks to a month it will be ready for your plants.


The hubby is an amazing inventor and came up with an ingenious way of storing the manure tea. I'll share it with you! He took an old trashcan (helps if it has handles so you can secure it to a fence or bench), with a loose-fitting lid (you'll need one to keep the mosquito larvae out), and installed a spigot on the bottom so I could utilize all the good stuff on the bottom of the barrel.Then we perched it on an old tree stump for height, and secured it to the bench. Simply put a watering can underneath, turn on the spigot and voila! Liquid gold. Your plants will love you.


GARDEN GIGGLE

FAUNA
Remember, the tea is for the PLANTS 
GARDEN GAMES
Answers Tomorrow :)

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Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Blow the Man Down!

"Blow, blow, thou winter wind. thou art not so unkind as man's ingratitude."
As You Like It (II,174-176) William Shakespeare 


TODAY'S SEEDS OF WISDOM

  • JUST BLOOMED TODAY
  • GARDEN UPDATE
  • GARDEN GIGGLE
  • FAUNA
  • FEEDBACK
JUST BLOOMED TODAY

Pretty Pansies!

GARDEN UPDATE
Yesterday we included a video that apparently not all could view! So I uploaded it to You Tube, and you can access that here.


Sitting here nice and snuggy inside with the furry kids, listening to the wind howwwwwlllll outside. Winds are supposed to reach 85 mph, so we will probably have some damage. Everyone is covered up early and we are hoping that the high winds won't blow all the blossoms off the fruit trees. This happened one year and we didn't have any fruit because of it.


We are keeping the feeders full, so the birds can swoop in and get a bite before being blown off. The windchimes sound heavenly, and they are going to make me feel like it's naptime pretty soon!

GARDEN GIGGLE

Three old guys are out and about, when  one says, "Windy, isn't it?" Second guy says, "No, it's Thursday." and the third guy says, "Me,too...let's go get a drink!"

FAUNA


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Monday, March 5, 2012

Cloudy Day

"Slow buds the pink dawn like a rose, From out night's gray and cloudy sheath; Softly and still it grows and grows, Petal by petal, leaf by leaf." 
Susan Coolidge



TODAY'S SEEDS OF WISDOM

  • JUST BLOOMED TODAY
  • GARDEN UPDATE
  • GARDEN GIGGLE
  • FAUNA
  • FEEDBACK
JUST BLOOMED TODAY
Narcissus Paperwhites

Icelandic Poppy and Pansies

GARDEN UPDATE
Well! A lot of wonderful comments emerged from our blog yesterday! Everyone was SO impressed with Aunt Ruth's amaryllis! We really thank her for spending her time to enlighten all of us on growing them.


She did mention that there needs to be a correction...On feeding the amaryllis, she gives them MiracleGro once a month EXCEPT for December and January. I apologize for the confusion. She also told me that she covers them up during the frost with a big sheet or tarp on her patio. We also use sheets for our plants during frost. Hold onto those old sheets...the plants don't care what they look like! They just want to be warm!


Weather can't make up its mind today. Overcast and yucky but sun peeking thru a wee bit now and then, just enough to make me put on my jacket and take off my jacket and put on my jacket and...AAARRGHH!


The husband just walked in the door with a Spring surprise for me...amaryllis bulbs!!! Isn't he the greatest man ever?


I cleaned out my fridge and found some questionable chicken...not for us or the dogs but I KNEW the ravens would be in seventh heaven, which of course they were...after they chased away the SWARM of seagulls who decided they wanted some chicken, too!After the sky was filled with white and black birds, I think we have a gypsy sign on our house...EAT HERE FOR FREE.
Watch the video!

GARDEN GIGGLE
Where do seagulls invest their money?
In the stork market

 What do you call a seagull when it flies over the bay?
A bagel

Guy#1: Someone said you sounded like an owl!
Guy#2: Who?

 What do you call a cow with no legs?
Ground beef!

FAUNA

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