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

Garden talk

The heat has finally hit central Illinois and my gardens are feeling it. The container plants are looking rather wilted, even with deep waterings every single day. My banana tree and elephant ear are actually thriving at this point. I'll have a nice tropical feel in the sunroom when I bring them into the house in a few short months.

'Alaska Nasturtium' is one of my favorite annuals. Earlier in the spring I soaked the hard, large seeds in warm water for two days. Then I stuck my finger into the soil in my planters, dropped in the seed, and pushed the soil back over it. Easy as pie. I am now rewarded with jewel like blooms in vibrant red, yellow and orange. The real star of this annual, however, is the leaves of the plant. The 3" round leaves are splashed and segmented with creamy white on the yellow green. Planted in a hanging basket with bright pink Wave petunias and 'Diamond Frost' euphorbia (trust me...you must plant this next year), my nasturtiums are a sight to behold. I'll try to download a pic of one of the baskets.

I've stopped pruning back the mums and asters. Quite a few years ago I learned from a pro that the best way to prune them is to use your hedge shears and just whack the tops off about four times in the season, with the last time being the first part of August. This will give you a spectacular professional show in October.

The black-eyed susans and echinacea are blooming like crazy. I love the "messy" comfortable look that they give the gardens. I do need to deadhead them because they will completely take over the world...okay, the garden...if I let them all go to seed. The goldfinch love to eat the seeds, but so many get away that I end up pulling out starts each year.

Have you seen the commercial elderberry 'Black Lace'? It's an interesting plant. I don't have one, however...instead, I have a love-hate relationship with the elderberries that are so generously planted by the birds. I love the elderberry jelly my mom makes, but I hate the mess that they make in the gardens. I consider elderberries a noxious weed. Same with poke weed. Be careful that you don't mix up the two plants. Elderberries are clusters of berries that are pointed UP, and each berry has its own stem. Poke berries are extremely poisonous. The hang down in clusters like grapes do. Avoid them at all costs.

I need to mow the lawn again. The mower blade is set at the highest setting. I keep the grass higher so that it can shade the roots and retain moisture. It also keeps weeds choked out. Well, most weeds, anyway. Creeping Charlie is pretty hard to discourage.

The good thing about the heat is that it will help the tomatoes ripen. It will also give them that great home-grown flavor that we have all been missing.

I can't wait to have a BLT.

Happy Gardening,

shel

Gutter Getters OR The Case of the Mysteriously Clean Gutters

This morning I heard a weird scratching, tapping noise that sounded like it was coming from the roof. "Squirrels again," I thought to myself.

I went outside and looked down...my clean porch and steps were covered in decaying leaves and other debris! I had been after my husband for nearly a YEAR to clean out the gutters.

As I walked out I looked up. All of the sudden, with scratching and flapping, a flock of juvenile robins few away from the roof. My only guess is that the leaves had decomposed enough that red worms and insects were living in the debris, and the robins that that they found a smorgasbord.

Thank you, kind robins. You did something for me that my husband refused to do. Now if I can just find a gorilla to build the hand railings in front and step in back, a beaver to cut wood for the firepit, and some other animal to clean up the mess that he left in the garden from re-roofing the sunroom! Who needs a man????

shel

Surprise Lilies, Resurrection Lilies, Naked Ladies

If you look out the big bay window in the livingroom, you look down at an unfinished watergarden (sigh...I won't whine about that today) and across the driveway, and you'll see clusters of pale pink trumpets, on long, long naked stems, nodding gently in the breeze.
Surprise lilies, aka naked lilies or resurrection lilies, are one of those plants that you either love or hate. I happen to love them. About this time every year the hollow bright green stem pops out of the ground, leafless and lonely. Lonely unless, of course, they are planted in a clump as they should be. There are usually five flowers topping each stem, accessorizing the stem like the cherry accessorizes a banana split. The stall stems seem to lean on each other as friends should. The clumps are a welcome sight in the garden as the daylilies have just about finished for the season and asters and mums won't appear for a while yet.

The bulbs for these perennials are quite expensive, up to $10 each via mailorder. Instead of shelling out a bunch of money for five bulbs (there really shouldn't be any less than that planted together, but more is fine) drive around the area and look for abandoned farms and homes with the lilies. Mark the bulb area and remember where it's at...in a few months, go back and dig up the bulb, which is probably planted very deeply.

Monday night I threw a baby shower for a sorority sister. I cut eight of the surprise lilies so that they were exactly the same length and dropped them into a plain, tall crystal vase with just a few inches of water. The simple arrangement looked very elegant on the cake and punch table.

I hope that you have all survived Tuesday's bad weather. It was pretty hard on my poor surprise lilies.

shel