The Garden Misses its Entrance Cue – and That's Not All Bad
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- CarolWallace
- CarolWallace
- CarolWallace
- Rosee
- CarolWallace
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Jo Murphy
- Kirk_Johnson
- CarolWallace
- CarolWallace
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Jo Murphy
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» CarolWallace - Re: Re: Re: Yes. I think this is similar
In response to message posted by martine3038:My husband switches to a motorcycle in summer because it uses so much less gas. And I have been known to go the entire summer on a single tank. But yes -we are dependent on transportation no matter how well intentioned we may be.
It just occurred to me what a cruel irony our chipper/shredder is. It has helped us to recycle literally tons of plant material back into compost - but it uses gas and also pollutes the air with noise. So does the lawnmower - and on a proeprty this size you'd spend your entire time mowing if you tried to go with a push-type reel mower. No time for anything else. So I am trying to get rid of the grass and use groundcovers that don't require any of that.
Funny - I never picture the little snub noses - just the nose prints that they leave. ;-)
-- posted by CarolWallace
» CarolWallace - Re: Re: Re: Yes. I think this is similar
In response to message posted by Kirk_Johnson:Our frost datyes have been way off lately as well. Our first killing frost was more than a week early last year - but then things stayed mild longer than usual, with only a couple more killing frosts until it was truy winter. I always know whan to expect that first killing frost - or used to. For years that was how I spent my birthday - hastily digging the frost tender stuff and getting it ready to store for winter. I got my birthday off this year because I had already done that work. ;-)
I think we had later than usual killing frosts last spring, as well. But a mild spring despite that. SO it was impossible to know when it might be safe to prune roses and such without endangering them.
And I know what a late frost can do to emerging and emerged spring bulbs. Some tolerate it just fine - and for some the entire season is a loss.
The uncertainly of the weather doesn't just inconvenience things - it can be fatal to some plants. If I prune too soon, for instance, the plants send out leafy growth is response - and then the killing frost not only kills that but more of the plant that was already winter-killed.
I should have early narcissus now, but don't. I did see the first snow crocus peep out today although since there was no sun it didn't open. But it's late for snow crocuses.
I think we're seeing generally milder temperatures for the most part - it's those odd frosts that come early and late in the midst of warmer weather than are doing us in.
-- posted by CarolWallace
» CarolWallace - Re: Spring
In response to message posted by Rosee:It would be my luck that as soon as we put the snow blower away we'd get a big storm. I know we've had big storms - of the 14" and more type - as late as mid-April around here. Our alleged last frost date is mid-May - but last year in June I was still waiting.
But the birds are definitely returning. I could do without the early morning screech of crows, but other than that they are welcome.
-- posted by CarolWallace
» Rosee - Re: Spring
In response to message posted by CarolWallace:I am sure that we will still get a few snow falls and frost but the snow will melt away quickly. No one around here plants their gardens until May 24 after the full moon. Yes...the early morning screech of the crows..something I always have to get used to. One of my tenants, a native Indian, feeds two crows that come back every year. Then of course there are all their friends and off spring from last year... so you can imagine the chorus going on around here. Silver lining...my motel guests don't hang around and check out early..
-- posted by Rosee
» CarolWallace - Re: Re: Spring
In response to message posted by Rosee:Crows are allegedly extremely smart - and capable of being trained. There is an old American Indian legend about it being good luck for the crow to follow you.
I still remember my first sight of one, though - being a city girl the biggest bird I'd ever seen until then was a robin. These crows are absolutely enormous!
What is more fun is a bird I've never seen. Or atleast I have never seen it at the same time it was making noise.
It's either a mocking bird or a cat bird - because that's exactly what it sounds like - a mewing cat. Only once it made me neglect to look up soon enough - before I thought of it poor Nell had been stranded on the liomb of a tree for over 24 hours. (She was only a kitten then.) We had to get a basket, sling a rope over the tree limb and haul it up then try to persuade her to climb into it.)
Now when I hear that sound I make certain both cats are safely on the ground. But it sure is strange to walk under what sounds like trees full of cats!
-- posted by CarolWallace
»
Jo Murphy
- Re: Re: Re: Spring
Indian legend about it being good luck for the crow to follow you.In our traditional people's ways they are informed in their travels by the crows. So I believe. They have a sense of humour too. I know this because they eat the kids lunch outside the window knowing full well that the kids can see them and can't do anything about it!
Have you ever seen a Kookaburra! They are our bird clowns. We wake up to their laughter of a morning.
Any way Carol.
On my busywomen website I am having an enourmous ammount of clicks from people who are entering Medallion Ceiling Stencils in Google et al. Hmmm! Always eager to please? I thought I would research that topic a bit. Do you know anything about that particular brand of stencil? I think they must be something like the rose centre pieces we often have in cast metal as part of our ceilings.
They were fascinating in the ol' pioneer days weren't they? The trouble they went to to make houses. (By this I mean that those old rose ceiling pieces are antique.)
Thought I would ask. I should write an article about it I guess ...unless you can lead me to one?
Hope you are well,
Jo
http://www.busywomen.com.au
http://www.suite101.com/welcome.cfm/mura...
-- posted by Jo Murphy
» Kirk_Johnson - Re: Re: Re: Re: Yes. I think this is similar
In response to message posted by CarolWallace:I don't really know what a killing frost is. I usually get the frost that blackens the dahlias during the first week of November. This year it arrived a week early. I don't think that Port Orford (about 7 miles to the south) ever got that frost this year. Their dahlias were still green at Christmas, I think that their dahlias finally died back from the wind rather than the cold this year.
It is blowing right now. Feels like about 50 MPH. No big deal for this area.
-- posted by Kirk_Johnson
» CarolWallace - Re: Re: Re: Re: Spring
In response to message posted by martine3038:Victoria has a ceiling medallion stencil in plaster - scroll to the bottom of this page. They are exactly like the rose center pieces. In fact we used a salvaged piece of an old cast tin ceiling and some fancy wood molding on our ceilings to give us a ceiling medallion for our chandelier. And you're right - if not exactly antique, the tin ceiling that we salvaged came from a building put up in 1914.
But they are now reproducing those metal ceilings. And there are a few stencil companies that have created ceiling medallion designs for paint. AND there is Victoria's, which is the only one I know about in actual plaster. She made ceiling tiles to go with it. I used one in my pantry to cover an area where the wood was so gouged that plain paint looked dreadful.
-- posted by CarolWallace
» CarolWallace - Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Yes. I think this is similar
In response to message posted by Kirk_Johnson:I guess for you, Kirk, a killing frost would be the one that finally blackens the annuals so that you have to pull them up. For us it's annuals and tender perennials in autumn - and then in spring it sometimes comes along and blackens the flowers of spring bulbs that bud out too early, and any new growth that emerges after a late winter pruning.
-- posted by CarolWallace
»
Jo Murphy
- Ceiling Tile
Okay! That's Boootiful!!!!!
Talk soon when I come up for another breather,
Jo
http://www.busywomen.com.au
http://www.suite101.com/welcome.cfm/mura...
-- posted by Jo Murphy
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