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

Poison Ivy!!! Zanfel, Save Me!

Since we live in the country, I have an overabundance of poison ivy that pops up just about everywhere, included in my planters! I am one of the unfortunate people that gets poison ivy VERY badly. At least twice a year I have to go in for a steroid shot in the butt and a Z pack (prescription steroids).

Last year I picked up a tube of Zanfel at the mom and pop drugstore in Decatur. It cost an arm and a leg...over $36 for a little tube...but man, is it worth it! Zanfel reminds me of the old Lava soap because of the coarse texture. As soon as I discover that I've been into poison ivy, I run into the house, start the water, squirt on an 1 1/2" length of Zanfel and start scrubbing. So far (knock on wood) I haven't gotten 'the itch'. Supposedly, if you DO have poison ivy already, you can use Zanfel and the itching will ease and you will dry up quicker.

Today I have little Gabriel. The weather is absolutely spectacular, so I hope to get outside and plant a few hanging baskets before he wakes up.

Erin gave me a few Japanese eggplants, and I cut them into chunks last night. I also cut up zucchini, summer squash, green pepper, an onion, and some garlic and threw a marinade over the veggies. I am going to roast them and have a sandwich with Swiss (I'd prefer Provolone, but am out) for lunch. mmmmmmmm, I love veggies! I have a jar of roasted red peppers so I'll use a few of them as well.

Tonight, after Alana picks up Gabe, I'll spread more mulch and put Preen on top. Using Preen discourages the seeds from poison ivy, dropped by birds in their poo, from germinating. If I can stay on top of that this year I hope to have a smaller ivy batch next year!

shel