Rainy Day

Once again it's a wet, miserable day fit only for snuggling up under a fuzzy blanket with a cup of hot tea and a good book.....and that's exactly what I've done today. I sat out in the sun room, listening to the rain gently hitting the roof (and dripping into the bowl....never install a skylight in your sun room) and watching the birds while between pages. This would not normally be my routine. Yesterday Dr. Rauch told me I have bronchitis, prescribed an antibiotic Z medication and cough syrup with codeine, and told me to REST and drink lots of fluids. I'm glad it's raining because it would be hard for me to stay down otherwise. Tomorrow I'll be back to my routine, whether I'm ready or not.

I hope that you are all able to do something comforting today.

shel

p.s. Our lawn was dried and cracked, so I can't really complain about the rain. I planted grass seed in the back a few days ago so this will really help it take off. The tomatoes are ready to be picked again, but I don't want to go out in the damp air. I hope they don't start to crack due to the excess moisture.

Busy Times, Sleepy Times

Oh, how I wanted that ADM job. Guess it wasn't meant to be, as I received a "Dear John" e-mail from them last Friday. Man, how I wanted that job. I had already ruled out the Community Action job as it was past the deadline for receiving their call.

I was really bummed for a few days, feeling totally worthless and loser-like. Max was definitely NOT supportive. He headed downstairs as soon as I teared up (as in my voice went up an octave and my eyes started watering.) A few days later I got a call from Community Action...I got the job! I will start on Monday, October 5. I'm kind of nervous, but I plan on giving this job 100%. (Happy Dance is inserted here!)

Right now I'm coughing like a hyena on pepper. I can't stop. I've been coughing so hard that my jaw pops out (I have TMJ) and my head hurts. I made a Dr. appointment for tomorrow afternoon. I am guessing Bronchitis (is that spelled correctly?) or pneumonia. Today was the first day I ran a temperature. I haven't changed any plans thus far, but I'm worried that I won't feel well enough to go on Jaden's field trip to Weldon Springs tomorrow. I took Ady when she was in preschool, so I was hoping to continue the tradition with Jaden. It would be a blast.

When I haven't had Gabe, I've been asleep. Usually sleep is the only way that I can heal. It doesn't seem to be working this time as I am still coughing constantly. I haven't even been able to do the work-out video CD thing.

The Sears repairman came to the house on Monday. He wasn't able to fix the lawnmower completely, however. I didn't go outside (Max was on vacation again, so he went out) but from what I understand he didn't order enough parts. We're another $80 in the hole for the repairs, and I still can't mow. It's frustrating. He ordered the part and told Max how to install it. That REALLY worries me!!! What can I say...he's not the most mechanically-inclined man by far.

The Sears representative read my blog and called to talk to me last week about my disappointment in the design of the Craftsman Anniversary Edition mower. It felt good to air my grievances, even thought it probably won't make a difference in future mower designs. He did offer to send me a Sears gift card. In that aspect, they are trying to make things better.

There have been so many things happening this week that I just can't remember them. (Well, that and the fact that I'm doped up on NyQuil and ready to nod off.

It's my parent's anniversary today. I need to hang up here and give them a call. Having dial-up sucks....having only one phone line sucks, too.

Happy autumn (I hate autumn)
shel

Today's Interview

Well, today was the big day...I had my interview at ADM. It was quite interesting, and somewhat fattening. We taste-tested everything from chocolate chip cookies to peanut butter, smelled cotton balls, and drank questionable liquids. I don't consider myself a picky eater, but I'm really not crazy about chocolate milk or Cheese Nips. That's right...we tasted and compared different brands of both items. Ugh.

The best part was a sample test. I guessed correctly that the last cup of dark m&m's matched the first cup. The word "dark" printed under the 'm' was a clear giveaway.

The HR people will call Friday afternoon if they are interested in me. If not, I will get an e-mail Monday afternoon with the usual Dear John letter. Sixty-seven people applied for 12 positions (plus two more for another department). Keep your fingers crossed that I'll be chosen, okay? I would really like this job.

Hoping you're all enjoying your jobs to the fullest extent of the law!!
shel

Garden Gab

Today I picked fifteen of the most beautiful tomatoes I've ever seen. Unfortunately, like with so many humans, their beauty was only skin deep. I've eaten four tomatoes, and every one has been bland and tastes like a January grocery store version. I know that tomatoes like hot summer days and warm summer nights, so basically we're all screwed in central Illinois. On the bright side, my electric bill has been low!

I also picked four sweet banana peppers and two 'Chocolate Soldiers', which are black peppers (like green bell peppers, but black...they taste marvelous.) A few weeks ago I lost my favorite sunglasses, and today I found them among the tomatoes. I guess the fates were smiling on me today.

My asters are budding nicely, and some of the early mums are really showing off their colors. Everything else is just sort of limping along. I did get weed & feed put on the front lawn today, but ran out before I could get to the sides. Next week I am going to seed the back, where the dogs run wild.

Little Gabe just went to sleep, so I am going to brush my teeth and climb in bed with a good book. It's hard telling how long he'll be down.

Tomorrow I have my ADM interview. I'm very excited about the prospect of working as a taster.

Life is good.

shel

A Weekend Gone Wrong

Darn the luck!! I had SUCH an exciting weekend planned, but a bug hit, and with a vengeance. I spent Friday night at my sister Shannon' s house while they had a romantic evening away. Unfortunately, I was on the bathroom floor most of the time.

I haven't thrown up since about 6:30 p.m., so it's apparent I'm on the road to recovery. For now I'd rather go to bed and just dream about the blogs I'm going to type.

I hope no one catches my cooties.

shel

Computer Blues & General Update

Well, I've done it again. I tried to hook up Xanado to my computer (oh, how I long to be off of dial-up) and messed up my computer. After many hours of cursing, I was able to do a system restore to go back to the day before I hooked up Xanado. I am finally able to get online. Yippee!

The Sears repair man had bad news. My lawnmower is in bad shape. The last time Max put new blades on it, he didn't put them on correctly, so the star-shaped bumpy things that rotate the blades got worn off. The shafts need to be replaced. I had to pay over $200 up front, and will have to shell out another hundred when the repair man works his magic. I really miss having a lawnmower, and am regretting purchasing this Craftsman.

The same day the Sears repair man was here, the Dick Van Dyke guy came. My extra fridge in the garage is kaput. It would cost $150 to replace the two pieces that are burnt out, but in all likelihood they would burn out again because the compressor is probably shot. A new compressor would cost $500. It's just not worth it. I'm going to try to give it away on Freecycle if Chuck doesn't want it.

On the GOOD news side........
Shannon and Rick are going to a Winery for the night and asked me to babysit Phoebe. I'm so excited I'm giggly. Their place is like a spa...I can go there, sit in the sun room and read my book, take Phoebe for a walk, and drink hot tea all night while I soak in the tub. I love going there.

Bryan has been ill but is now feeling better. Darn cold! Little Gabe is sleeping on Max's chest right now. I don't' know which one is snoring louder.

The garden is actually starting to put out. I got ONE zucchini yesterday, and picked four tomatoes the day before. If I got out later on today I will probably get a dozen more tomatoes. They are finally starting to turn. They look beautiful, but still have that grocery-store taste. I never thought that I would wish for hot weather, but the tomatoes just aren't the same without it.

Last night I repotted Erin's peace lily (the poor thing will probably die as it was rather abused when I got it) and two of my three Christmas Cactus. I set the CC's outside so that they will bloom during the holidays. By putting them outside, they are subjected to the shorter days and cool night temperatures, which is required for bud formation.

Dad had surgery for his cataract. He's doing well. I will go over there Saturday to pick up their lawn mower. My grass is long and is in dire need of a haircut.

Oops, the cell phone just made the 'you have a message' noise, so I'd better sign off. Someone may be trying to call me on my home phone, and I have only one line.

Hope you are all enjoying yourselves.

shel

Stoneless Soup

There's a children's storybook entitled 'Stone Soup'. It is about a wandering man with a sharp brain and an empty stomach. He tricks the villagers into making soup for him...his addition to the pot is a stone, and everyone else brings veggies or broth.

I recently attended a meeting with Dean Adams. He is always full of interesting stories. This time he told about his grandmother's soup which, in his opinion, was the best soup ever created. The secret? His grandmother always put ALL leftovers into a huge container in the freezer. When the container was full, she would empty the container into a stock pot and add a can or two of diced tomatoes and throw in a fistful of spices.

I decided that, in these hard economic times, I should give it a try.

My most recent pot of soup contained leftover pork chops that were fixed on the fire pit (I diced the meat finely), about a half cup of shredded beef, quite a bit of leftover roast chicken, part of a can of corn, two whole potatoes that were roasted with the chicken, some green beans, part of a package of Healthy Choice veggies (I think it was white beans and yellow carrots), a cup or so of pork fried rice, and some Mongolian beef. In my opinion a meal isn't a meal unless onion is on the menu, so I chopped up a small yellow onion to add to the broth. I also added the leftover chili and about two cups of tomato juice (leftover from making chili the day before.) To add even more flavor, I added sweet basil, fresh and dried garlic (no wonder no one ever wants to kiss me with all of the garlic & onion that I eat!) and some freshly ground black pepper.

I let the soup simmer on low heat for an entire day. When it was dinner time, I ladled soup into my Campbell's mug (I still think of Phyllis when I use it) and added freshly chopped onion for a little crunch. Instead of crackers, I like to tear up a piece of bread in my soup. MMMMMMMM. The soup was delicious, even without a stone!

I've had many meals off of it including breakfast!

Thanks to Dean for giving me the idea for this soup. It uses up leftovers (Max hates to eat leftovers) and is relatively good for me.

In the meantime, I have started another big Rubbermaid container. There's a few pieces of leftover steak from the fire pit and a bit of corn and green beans. By the time it's full it will be chilly outside and the stoneless soup will be a welcome treat.

Happy eating to all of my family & friends.

shel

Plight of the Bumblebee continued

I forgot to add that another reason for bee decline could be the excessive use of pesticides. I try to keep Round-Up usage to a minimum, but I tended to use more this year because of the rapid weed growth. I would never, ever spray if there is an insect present, but farmers don't have that option. Whether death by pesticide is the cause of the shortage of bees or not is hard to tell.

I avoid using insecticides outside as well. If there's a spider around an area where he shouldn't be I either move him with a stick or, if he's particularly evil looking, squish him. Otherwise I don't want to kill outdoor insects. (If I were to find termites, however, all bets are off...spray those bast#$&!!!)

shel

Plight of the Bumble Bee

My zucchini crop is nonexistent. The plants bloom beautifully, but that's about all happens. My hypothesis is that the blooms are not getting pollinated, therefore fruit does not develop.

I decided to do a little investigative work, so camera in hand, I toured the yard. After nearly 15 minutes I had discovered only one bumble bee and one honey bee. Usually the sedum are covered. Here is a picture of the bee on a morning glory.

In the spring the power plant had an infestation of wild honey bees that had swarmed on a portion of fencing. It was not in a location where people would be bothered by the bees, but the poor things were sprayed and killed anyway. How foolish the men were to have killed such helpful creatures! I have learned that it was not illegal for them to do so. Their reasoning was that it was better to loose the life of a colony of bees than for one bee to terminate the life of one allergic human. (Depends on the human!!!!)

Our wild colonies that were in the woods behind us are gone. I don't know if they succumbed to the virus that is destroying many of the colonies that beekeepers own, or if it was the extremely wet spring & summer that caused a fungus. There's no aardvarks or bears (supposedly) in the area so I have to rule out the natural predator thought. Birds just wouldn't be able to wipe out so many colonies.

I hope that I just picked a bad bee observing day. Since I will be outside painting the yucky fence in back...I hate that fence...I will keep my eyes and ears open for my buzzy friends.

Happy gardening,

shel

Christmas Cactus

Now is the time to move your Christmas Cactus outside if you have not already done so. Be aware that naughty rabbits will nibble on the poor cactus if you have it on the ground. A macrame holder or table top is the best location.

Cool nights and short days will help bring the beautiful blooms during the holidays. Make sure that you continue to water your plant, and bring it in before the first frost. I've had great luck with this technique (as opposed to the closet or paper bag technique) for years.

Oh, and it's almost September, so be sure to start singing carols and decorating outside so you can keep up with the retail businesses! I actually DO put out Xmas lights early because no one can see that they're up from the road unless I turn the lights on (that comes after Thanksgiving) and I don't have to be outside freezing my buns and fingers off when the inclimate weather arrives.

Merry Christmas,
shel

An Odd Thought...

Before I climb into the bathtub (or shower, depending on my mood and the condition of my wild hair) I always go to the bathroom. (At 48, almost 49, peeing seems to be an hourly event.) Here's the "odd thought" part...I wash my hands before climbing into the tub.

Really, I'm asknig you, is that odd???

I'm not a germaphobe, contrary to popular belief. My family is laughing at that part. Just because I carry around a few bottles of antibacterial stuff with me, use paper towels to open restroom doors when I use a public restroom, and pull my sleeve down over my hand to open other doors does NOT a germaphobe make! If I were, I'd have a sterile house.

My house is far from spotless. It's basically clean, but MAN do I have clutter. One of my favorite fantasies (I won't go into the other fantasies...trust me, it's better that way!) is that the HGTV people from Cash in the Attic would come here and take all of my "stuff" away, and give me an organized, beautiful home. Then the HGTV gardeners can come and redo my yard and gardens, and the good ol' folks on the Today show (oh, how I love the Today show!) would give me a head-to-toe makeover! Yes, late at night I live in my own little fantasy world. It's about the only time that I have free.

I went to the doctor the other day and he said that I have stress-induced depression. TRD was one term given (sounds an awful lot like something to be flushed, but it stands for Treatment Resistant Depression) but he used a different word that, for the life of me, I can't remember.
He has prescribed a combination of two pills that, when taken together, are the equivalent of Symbyax. I go back in two weeks for a follow-up. "Get rid of the stress in your life" just isn't going to cut it, so I have my fingers crossed that the prescriptions will do the trick.

I think I'll go wash my hands........sweet dreams, dear readers.

shel

No Surgery for Gabe!

Today I took Gabriel, Alana and Will to Peoria 9oh, how I HATE driving in Peoria!) to see a specialist. Gabe has had an elongated bump in his stomach for quite some time and Dr. Clay thought it should be looked at. Luckily, it turns out that his muscles just aren't developed yet. He will follow up with the surgeon in six months and again in a year.

I hope Max gets the lawnmower fixed tomorrow as my yard is getting very tropical and overgrown looking. The mower deck is hanging down on one side so that a trench is cut into the earth when the blade goes around. This does NOT make a pretty picture in my yard!

It's just about time for us to use a weed & feed product on the lawn for Central Illinois. I hope to get that done next Tuesday.

I also need to climb into the koi pond and fish out the last two koi. They won't be able to overwinter in the puddle that is left, and I sure don't want to go fishing for them when temperatures are low. I have plans to build an enclosure for the horse tank that holds the koi on the driveway...It will be a 2 x 4 frame with plywood attached, and stuffed with fiberglass insulation in preparation for the cold winter months. They'll be here before we know it.

I am taking new medication now that helps me sleep and I find myself nodding off at the keyboard. I guess it's off to bed for this little Chicky.

Sweet dreams, my friends.
shel

Sister Olympics for Beta Sigma Phi

I am the social chair for our local Beta Sigma Phi. As such, it is my responsibility to organize events for six of our meetings. Monday night was the first meeting of the season, so I wanted it to be extra special.

Everyone that attended was given a country to represent. I printed off name tag sized flags from around the world and wrote the name of the country on the back. Each flag was pinned to the shirt of the gal representing the country.

Dinner consisted of food from around the world...a yam and squash dish made with coconut milk from Africa, Swedish Klimp, Jajek from Armenia, and more. I made little tents with the name of the food and country of origin for each dish. The ladies ate up, but there was lots of food left over.

During the meal sisters tried to figure out who was representing which country. It was quite a challenge...everyone knew USA and Canada, but it was pretty much a guessing game for most people after that. Becky and Melissa each answered nine flags correctly.

When everyone's stomach had settled, we started the games. The balance beam was actually a 2x4 board set up on bricks, just a few inches from the ground. It started out easy enough; walk from one end to the other without falling off. Each time the competitors crossed the beam, the challenge was slightly harder. For example, they had to cross keeping their hands behind their back, then hands behind back with eyes closed. The hardest part was going backward with their hands behind them. We had an awards ceremony with handmade gold, silver and bronze medals.

The next game was a HOOT. We did a plunger relay. I divided the group into half, and then into half again. Twelve ladies in all played this game. They had to put the plunger between their legs with the handle sticking out the front. I placed a roll of toilet paper over two of the handles and the ladies had to run across the yard (hard to do with a plunger between your legs!) and put the toilet paper roll onto the opposite side's plunger without using their hands. A lot of wiggling was involved! The athletes then had to repeat the process, taking the t.p. to the teammate on the opposite side. I was able to catch the action on a video camera so I hope I can download it to the computer. I think you will like watching the antics as much as the women liked participating in the relay.

Our last competition was called Hillybilly Golf. There was a plastic frame set up at one end of the yard, and 20' away was the throw line. The ladies had to throw a rope with a ball one each end of it so that the rope wound around the plastic frame. Their warm-ups were hysterical.

The evening ended with Happy Bucks and Whiny Bucks.

Last night one of the sisters called to thank me for such a wonderful party. The funny part is that I had dreams that no one would show up for the event! It's been a while since I have felt good about myself and the things that I do. Thanks, sisters, for making me feel like I am worthy!

Hope you can all laugh today. Look on Utube for the original plunger relay game.

shel

Yesterday's Big Storm

I guess the title says it all....

Yesterday Central Illinois got bit** slapped by Mother Nature. Williamsville was badly slammed (I hope that my relatives that live there are okay; I haven't heard otherwise), as were a few other towns. During the brunt of the storm I was in town helping to prepare for a birthday party.

After the festivities I climbed into the van and headed home. The turn that I normally take was blocked by four or five trucks with flashing lights...the brave men and women of Corn Belt were working on the poles, lines, and transformers that were hit. I had to go around the country block and creep along the back roads in order to get home.

There was a pretty good size branch in the driveway, so I had to climb out of the van and pull it out of the way. My headlights illuminated more branches and tons of leaf debris, but I was able to drive the rest of the way up our long driveway.

After rounding up a flashlight, four candles, and my tap-on light, I settled on the couch with my new garden catalog. I can't believe how quiet it is without electricity! The normal white noise of a running refrigerator, the hum of the air conditioner, and even the steady buzz of the computer were sorely missed...I'm much too used to background noises.

I also noticed how much darker it was without electricity. Sounds silly, doesn't it? I went around the room today and found all of the lights that remain on even after I turn off the overhead and lamps.
1. phone has a light
2. answering machine light
3. power strip light
4. 2 lights on the VCR/DVD combo
5. 3 lights on the computer tower
6. one light on the monitor
7. another power strip with a light
8. speaker light
No wonder it looks really spooky when the electricity is off! What did we do BEFORE electricity?

I walked around in the daylight hours and found that the wind had been very mischievous indeed. It blew the bench and pouty doll (Bryan calls it his "Bryan's Bad Guy") from the front porch, the kid's swing got blown over, and my tomato plants in their cages were all blown over. I found one garbage can at the edge of the woods on the east side of the yard and another in the front near the neighbor's house. Before I mowed tonight I picked up armloads of branches wrist-size and smaller (enough to have another cookout!) The biggest surprise concerned the double gate in the back. Somehow the wind picked the gate up off of the hinges and, while the gate was still locked in the center, placed it down in one piece. Max was able to fix it before the dogs got out.

I hope that everyone else survived the storms with a minimum amount of damage.

shel

At Last! Veggie Garden Bliss

Today Bryan and I walked around the yard, taking pictures of everything that was slower than us. (I took about 60 pictures.)

We got to the veggie garden and took pictures of my beautiful green tomatoes, just hanging out on the vines, waiting for hot days and nights in order to ripen. Oh, how I wished they were ready.

When we got to the greenhouse garden, Bryan said "Wow!" and pointed to two red tomatoes. I was so excited to see them that I almost peed my pants! I picked them from the plant and Bryan immediately said 'I got it". He wanted to carry the tomatoes to the house.

Now, those of you that know me know how very, very, very much I love Bryan. I absolutely adore him and admit to spoiling him just a little bit. However, the mean old gramma in me said "No, I got it!" and gave him the digital camera to carry instead. Cameras are a dime a dozen (well, this one was close to $200 a few years ago) but garden tomatoes are hard to come by this year!

I had to take pictures of my first two ripe garden tomatoes of the season. Oh, and in case you were wondering, Bryan was perfectly happy carrying the camera. I can't wait to have a BLT for breakfast!

May all of your tomatoes be wormless,
shel

p.s. Where would I be without my digital camera? I have hundreds...probably close to a thousand...pictures of the kids, the gardens, and everything in between. I rate the creation of digital cameras right up there with the invention of underwire bras!

p.s.s. I've tried three times to download the pics of my beautiful tomatoes, and it just won't work tonight. grrrrrr

All Around the $^*%!#!! Mulberry Bush

Have you ever tried to grow a Japanese Maple or Weeping Larch? You can pamper them with regular waterings, just the right amount of high nitrogen and potash fertilizer, and even winter protection, but if you look at them cross-wise the things will die.

I am certain that Mulberries, however, are the devil's spawn. My beloved birds eat the ripe berries and then poop out the seeds (giving the tree/bush a healthy dose of fertilizer so that it gets off to a good start) all over the gardens. I have used my Fiskars loppers and cut then down to the ground, only to have them shoot up again within weeks. I've used a shovel and sliced through them at the base and have gotten the same effect. I have even cut the mulberry tree with loppers, poured Round-up on the fresh wound, and drove my lawnmower over it repeatedly, crushing it under the tire.........and yes, it came back with a vengeance. Any day now I'm expecting to look up and find one of the cursed trees in my house, seeking revenge by holding a knife to my throat. You just can't kill the darn things.

A few days ago, after I had thoroughly watered the garden, I decided to try to pull up a 1 1/2' mulberry tree. My feet were firmly planted on each side of the offending stem, I grabbed hold near the ground, and pulled with all of my might. Imagine my surprise when I was able to pull the darn thing out! There were two taproots on the mulberry. I brought it in the house, put it on the island along with my broken-off yardstick, and started snapping pictures. (See? I TOLD you I was a garden geek. How many other people would do such a thing?)

I think that the mulberries have actually been mutated by the nearby nuclear power plant. Soon they will take over the world, choking out all of the maples, oaks, hickories, pines, and so on. It's a plot hatched up by the ever-hungry birds!

Happy gardening,

shel

p.s. Of course I'm only kidding about the power plant mutating the trees........!

Attack of the Robins

I'm not feeling well again today (it started yesterday afternoon) so I haven't worked outside this morning. Instead, I was sitting on the couch giving Gabe his juice bottle when I heard a loud THUNK. As soon as Gabe was in a sound sleep I put him down and went to the dining room window to access the damage. Luckily there was not a bird carcass below the window, as I feared. Then I looked up. WOW.

There are hundreds of robins in my yard! It's an amazing sight, reminiscent of the Hitchcock thriller "The Birds", but not nearly as intimidating. Robins are on the tree branches, hopping around in the soft, green grass, and even perching on the front porch. I wonder if they are here because I left the sprinkler running on the garden/grassy areas. Everywhere else the land is as hard as a rock, cracked and dry because of the lack of rain. My soil is still moist from the thorough watering that it got day before yesterday, making it, I presume, easier for the early birds to catch a worm.

I was very disappointed about missing the Ketcham-Crosier reunion today, but seeing the robins hopping around in their clownish manner has brought a smile to my face.

Hope you have something exciting outside of your window!
shel

Do As I Say, Not As I Do OR Iris Borer Blues

I've heard that saying SO many times and have rolled my eyes on each occurrence. Luckily they haven't frozen at the back of my head, like my mother warned me! Now I'm afraid that I am the say-ee. For the past few days I've done everything wrong, but on purpose. Go ahead and roll your eyes. I have to take the opportunity to do my gardening when the opportunity presents itself.

I've been outside working quite a bit in the early morning before the arrival of little Gabriel, and again in the early evening, after his mommy takes him home. For the most part, I have been watering and then weeding (I STILL need to get more mulch spread!).

Last night I planted about 150 Narcissus bulbs and a few surprise lily bulbs (both of which should be planted in the autumn) and three peonies (which should be planted in September). I also dug up and transplanted a clump of iris (July was the time for that.)

My iris had been invaded by the dreaded IRIS BORER (said in a spooky voice). It is a pinkish grub-like creature with a darker head and nubby legs that run nearly the length of the body. If your iris have dark spots on the spear-like leaves, with many of the leaves in sad shape, you quite likely have the same uninvited guest. Dig up the iris and check for a big hole. Take a sharp knife and cut away any stinky rotted parts. (Honestly, a rotted iris smells worse than Gabe's and Bryan's diapers put together!) KILL the borer, which can be found deep in the iris, happily munching away. In my case, I drop the little buggers into the water garden and let the koi feast. Otherwise, I squish them underfoot. They give a disgusting but somehow satisfying POP when you destroy them. I (usually) cut off the top of the leaves at an angle, forming a fan, leaving only about 4" of green. The plant can then expend energy growing roots rather than trying to feed the leaves.

At the top of the page you'll see an iris borer enjoying the last minutes of its life on top of my purple paint can. YUCK, borer...cool paint.

A quick dip in a 10% bleach solution makes sure that the plant won't harbor disease, and will kill anything bug-wise that you missed while cleaning. Let the iris dry before replanting it. Remember, iris like to have their toes "sunburned", so just plant the root part and leave the rhizome slightly above the soil. Here's an important message...do NOT mulch iris. Keep mulch, dried leaves or grass, weeds, and all other debris from the plant. That way the iris borer won't be able to overwinter, which makes it harder for them to invade in the spring.

Tomorrow is the much anticipated Ketcham-Crosier family reunion so I will not be out in the garden until late evening. My plan is to spread more mulch on the vegetable garden and in the Weeping Cherry Garden, where most of the bulbs were planted.

Happy gardening,

shel

Job Interview for ADM?

I have been sending out resumes and completing applications for the past two months or so with not so much as a phone call for an interview. With the economy the way it is, I knew that the job market would be rather limited and prospective employers could be extremely picky about getting the best applicants. My last "real" job was with the U of I extension office in Macon County where I was the Master Gardener Coordinator. I was with the extension for four happy years. Since then, I have held a few part-time jobs including two that were part of my schooling; an internship with Grimsley's Flowers and a work practicum with Richland Community College (both were in the floral design field and both were very enjoyable). the other job was a temporary one; I was a specimen collector for POST during the outage at the power plant.

When the ADM job for a Sensory Panelist came up, I was thrilled. I knew that it would be perfect for me. Basically, it's up to 12 hours per week from 9 a.m. to noon Monday through Friday with no holidays or weekends ever. If hired, my duty would be to taste new products that ADM will be introducing. I'm not picky at all (I love the food most people hate...brussels sprouts, liver & onions, and so forth) and am relatively literate (necessary to describe the tastes, smells, etc.) The big kicker for this job is that the applicants had to be non-smokers. That's me!

I will not find out if I will be hired until after my interview which will be sometime in September. In the meantime, please keep your fingers crossed for me. With a job like this I can continue to care for my parents and grandchildren, and bring in the MUCH needed extra money so that we can pay off a few of the bills that are killing us.

Yea! I'm donig the happy dance with my fingers crossed!
shel
p.s. I'm running the hoses today as we haven't had rain for quite a while. My poor plants were begging for a deep, deep drink. If you water at home, please be sure to water deeply. Don't stand in the middle of the yard with a watering can and think that your oak will be happy.

A Day in the Garden

Today was a rare day...I was able to stay home alone (no grandchildren or, more importantly, no husband) and work outside. Heaven!

Mowing the lawn was first on my to-do list. After filling the flat front tire with air, I started mowing the front yard. The east side was finished without a hitch, but when I went to the west side I, for reasons unknown, mowed in a different pattern than usual. I shouldn't have messed with my routine because I got stuck in our gully, to the point of almost tipping over! I'm lucky the mower didn't tip and crush me. The lawn will have to wait until Max gets off work and is able to get the mower free. In this picture, the gully doesn't look deep and the lawnmower doesn't look like it's stuck and ready to tip, but trust me, it is.

I moved onto the next chore on my list...pruning. There are mulberry, hickory, oak, elm, chokecherry, Russian olive, Osage orange, Japanese honeysuckle and dogwood trees that are planted oh so generously by the birds. These junk trees pop up everywhere! It's a full-time job just keeping the Japanese honeysuckle in check. I got the majority of the junk trees cut out of most of the gardens (I still need to do the greenhouse garden.) The weeping lilac (a Miss Kim splice, I believe) had started to revert to the original base, so I cut all of the offensive branches out. This should have been done as soon as the tree had finished blooming, but time just got away from me. It probably won't rebloom this year, but I hope that I will still get a good show on it next spring. If you have the chance to buy a weeping lilac, do so. It is just gorgeous when it's blooming!

The garden on the front west side of the driveway got a quick once-over today. I had to come into the house twice and scrub with Zanfel because I got into doggone poison ivy. I'm hoping that I got the oils washed off in time.

After three hours of working outside, I cam into the house and took my shower, then made a BLT. YUM. My tomatoes are still as green as can be. I stole a tomato from mom's raised bed...shhh, don't tell!

This afternoon I have to run into town to get my RX and some more weed killer for the offensive poison ivy that I've discovered, then it will be back outside to spread mulch and pull weeds.

It's been a wonderful day. I hope to have more like them.

shel