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

Mowing Mullings

Unlike most Americans, I do my best thinking while on the lawn mower. After Alana picked up Gabriel tonight I filled up the mower and started on the yard.

Now that I'm sitting here typing about my thoughts, I can't remember any that I had! LOL It's hell getting old.

The lawn is still green and lush, which is very rare for this time of year. Usually only the Creeping Charlie is happy. The cool temps along with the generous amounts of rainfall that we've had here in central Illinois have made for a good lawn. Unfortunately it has also made the weeds happy! Now is not the time for me to use Weed & Feed, though. I will wait to do so during the first week or so of September. In the meantime, I use Round-Up in spots where the Creeping Charlie is really bothersome. My mower blade is set as high as it can go. I won't lower it again until fall, when the grass is actively growing.

I wish I could have a lawn mower designed especially for me. I love the Sears Craftsman special anniversary edition that we have....for the most part. I would be happier if it had arms so that I don't slide around on the seat when I'm trying to mow on a slight slope. I'd also like the blade mechanism to work easier, and to be closer. Each time I turn the blade on I am almost off of the seat, and the lawnmower stalls. This thing wasn't built for a 5' tall woman. (Oh, it wouldn't hurt if the mower were pink instead of shiny gold.)

The darn poison ivy is popping up all over the place. Oh, how I wish I could clone a Japanese Beetle that would dine exclusively on poison ivy and Japanese honeysuckle! All of the other Japanese beetles would breed with them, and the normal beetles would become obsolete. My roses would be safe forever! (Yes, I think crazy thoughts while I'm mowing!)

I couldn't finish the back yard as I found a baby Downy or Hairy woodpecker. I'm not sure which it is. The poor thing was on the ground with his head twisted oddly to the right. I thought perhaps it was dead, but the loud mower scared it. The fledgling tried to fly but couldn't do so. I didn't know whether I should put the bird over the fence and into the woods in back so that Sioux and Lakota, the dogs from hell, couldn't get him or if I should let Mother Nature decide the bird's fate. I finished mowing around the dog kennel on the east side of the back yard and, when I got back over to the bird area, the thing was gone. I hope it found safety somewhere.

There have been two or three sick raccoons in the area. The conservation folks said that distemper was the culprit. While I was mowing near the woods I got the strangest feeling of being watched....I started thinking "What if it's a sick raccoon watching me, and it decides to try to attack me?" Silly, I know. Just to be on the safe side I went to another part of the yard.

People in Alabama tend to name their homes. I decided that this place should be called Hickory Hills. I can just see a big sign hanging above the driveway....

I know there were at least a hundred other random (and some pretty weird) thoughts that went through my mind, but I just can't remember them. Maybe next time I mow I'll take along a little hand-held tape recorder. With my luck, I'll probably run over it!

Happy mowing,
shel