Mountain Mama's Point Of View

  When the sun begins to cover my work area, I head back down to the vegetable garden. The next board waits to be dragged to its destiny. Five bags of mulch left to distribute before I will plant my new Crepe Myrtle tree just about where the pile of mulch sits. So much to do, so little time! Back to the lower garden ..... Looks like a giant ant infestation! Progress! The raised beds are done, inside and outside the fence. The netting is up on both sides and I can rest, know I have dragged and flung the last board down the embankment! Next year will be a breeze when it comes time to plant! Still need to get the netting up on this side of the yard. The pet fence is still up on the outside of the fence, but the crops seem to be doing better on this side of the dog yard. It all meets in the corner. I still employed the big green containers, but probably won't next year. The two huge pots of onions will be used in a different location next season. Probably with flowers instead of onions...

  My grapevine is growing. Starting to cling to the trellis. This grapevine is in a sunny spot between the tiny shed and the tool shed behind the carport. Not an area that we spend a lot of time in. There is also a clothesline HeWho put up for me.  The clothesline is very high. Higher than I can reach, so it is not in use much. One day I will go out there with a ladder and lower it. One day, not at the top of my list of chores to be done. I only had one trellis that I liked, but the vine was trying to find something on the far side (left) to cling to. I employed an old frog plant holder and one of my creations of last season. You can see the electrical hook ups for the RV and a side of the tiny shed. And the rocky clay soil. I decided that some of the extra iris could go along side the shed and as I was about to go get the mower and the shovel I looked around. You can see how close the woods are. They is a trail that goes into the woodsand I think it might actually end up at t...

  The weather was so nice and cool all week and I stayed outside every day.  Even in the sun was nice, but the shade was better. I worked in the narrow garden next to my She Shed. See the Hibiscus on the right? I planted stuff up here last year, but it just didn't come back. You can't see them, but I planted Iris in that first section of the lattice. They are in shock and fallen over, but next year they should do well. In the meantime I planted some little seedlings of Marigolds in front of them and they should be blooming soon.   This is a closer shot. They look so sad! There is a frog trio serenading the peony. The bird houses will have to go. They are full of wasps! I put the first live edge border up today, then started the trench for the next piece. I went to the trailer still holding it all and for the life of me I could not get the next piece out! I moved these to the beginning of the drive garden. There is my Mother's Day boat from HeWho loves me dearly. We need a...

  You remember Dora, the explorer. I found some $ Tree garden fence pieces that someone abandoned. I find them unattractive and wouldn't buy them, but I wouldn't toss them, either. I found them with my garden stuff not long ago. Occasionally I will sort and re-sort my stuff to make discoveries of things long forgotten. When I picked the 5 pieces up and was about to store them in a new place, I took a closer look (not unlike Seth Meyers) and realized that the bars were close enough together for a possible enclosure for Dora. I was cleaning Dora's habitat and admiring my tiny shoots of grass that I water religiously. Thinking that turtle poop is a fine fertilizer, I let the nasty water run out onto the lawn. Dora was restless and I remembered the $ Tree garden fence ... Viola! Look closely and you will see Dora investigating this new enclosure. I was quite pleased with myself. Dora can play in the grass and I can piddle around in my gardens and spread more grass seed.  Dora w...

  The other Hibiscus I rescued from Walmart clearance finally bloomed. Not the same color as the one that already bloomed, but still very lovely. My raised beds are coming along. I cut the last piece for the outside of the fence yesterday. I still have the inside to do, but I was out of garden soil and energy. So tired I didn't take pictures. While watering, I noticed that one of the beds inside the fence has a bare spot in the middle. I know that the green limas planted there had come up. I had seen them, so this was a new situation and I wondered if maybe a rabbit or possum had entered the back yard. The planters on the outside had not been disturbed and the only way in would be through the porch as I still don't have a gate. You may recall that the gate exists, just hasn't been installed. This morning I discovered that the culprit was none other than Mr. BoJangles!! I caught him in the act! There he stood with his paws on the fence, standing in my garden bed. "What ...

  Bless my bloomers is definitely my motto. Much work awaits me in this stretch of garden. Spring brings so many garden chores that are labor intensive. True enough that you can build on the previous years efforts, but a lot of my perenials have not returned. Mulch is needed here. But other things pop up that require immediate attention, like covering the drain pipe that will direct the water down the drive and under the carport so that it ends up in the ravine. When the guy with the bobcat dug out the side of the embankment to create my parking spot, he dislodged the drain and the water from heavy rains has gushed through the carport making it a muddy mess. I was out there digging a trench to place the pipe and HeWho happened upon me. He dug some and I dug some then he decided we needed river rock to cover the drain. Have I mentioned that he is not a fan of manual labor? He was all set to hop in the truck and go get said rocks. The voice of reason (that's me) insisted price checki...

  A sample of my great nose for bargains. This was sitting forlornly, in need of water and some pinching of dead leaves. Regular price was $16, I rescued this lovely Hibiscus for a mere $7. While standing in line for the third time at the pharmacy window I pinched back all the yellow leaves and brown blooms. Brought it home and placed it in the rain until I could dig a hole. It had zero blooms. After a night of scattered showers, I woke to find this! I bought two of them and am waiting for the other one to bloom to see if it is the same color. Now I need to figure out where I will plant them. That is the thing with plants, you never know what you will find and decide you can't live without. Like fabric. You don't know what you will do with it, but you must have it! My knee is much better, but since using a shovel was out of the question, I decided to haul Dora and her habitat outside to drain it and clean it. I like to make use of the dirty water in a garden and Dora likes to b...

  It is my right knee, my dominant knee. The one I use to put my best foot forward. I mentioned that my knee has been giving me fits to my NP. She lifted and twisted it this way and that way. Of course, it was not giving me any trouble that particular day. I described the pain and circumstance that accompanied the pain as best as I could, suddenly mad at my knee for not hurting. I wanted her to witness my pain!! Anyhoo, she prescibed a daily Meloxicam and the usual warnings that go along with anything that stresses tendons and muscles. I took the two week course of pills and everything was going along nicely with just a twinge now and again. I would baby it and the pain would resolve itself.  An X-ray would be the next step and there might be a very long needle and some steroids involved. This did not particularly appeal to me. I am not afraid of needles ..... as long as I am the one inserting it into someone else. Surgery would be among the last of knee solutions, but they wo...

  Well, we saw the general surgeon today. We were told by the surgeon in Gainesville that the removal of whatever is left of the appendix and the colonoscopy could be accomplished at the same time. This turns out not to be true. Go figure. They had an opening for a colonoscopy 4 days from now and then the appendectomy would be a week later. Not so bad, get him in and get him out. We left the office thinking we would be done with this and be able to reschedule the other leg in a short time. We were wrong. The surgeon's nurse called as we were eating a late lunch. He has to be seen by our cardiologist before anything can be scheduled. Great, this will throw a monkey wrench into the mechanism. Now I have to hope she can see him this week. He will have to stop his blood thinner for both procedures and she will want an EKG to determine his current status. Delays are now the new normal, I guess. I bought some plants since we were so close to Walmart. Yes, they were on clearance. I was ea...

  No pictures today. I am back to my favorite subject matter. The shortcomings of the man of the house. There used to be a time in our lives when I could easily make him think my ideas were his. I think he might be reading my blog!! Since his unfortunate abcess and hospital stay, he has decided to be even more sedentary. No chance of that recliner ever being vacant. I still think he should be more active, that he would feel better. Sore muscles, but a more positive outlook. It is not only the physical things that he could be doing, but he has come to rely on me to make all of his doctor appointments and decisions about everything. I confess that I do like being in charge and telling others what to do, but now that I can spend more time outside I am not happy to be doing things he could easily do himself. Upon being released from the surgeons in Gainesville, he was told he would need to schedule an appendectomy and colonoscopy as soon as he recovered. They think his appendix rupture...

  Remember last year and my attempt to grow a few vegetables? Ended up with something resembling a circus in my front yard. I like bright colors, but this was a bit much. I put all my veggies here because it got really good sun.  Like everything, though, it takes time to figure out the lay of the land. After we removed some over grown shrubbery in the backyard, I realized that this area was also awash in sun. So much so that I moved my efforts to the back yard with my raised beds.  But ...... what to do with the blank spot left? This is the steepest drop area into the ravine. It made HeWho caution me everytime I walked behind the circus garden. I was being extra careful, since the idea of losing my balance and falling down this slope was not inviting. Furthermore, if my husband, HeWho has been known to laugh at me, were to video this calamity; I would be forced to relive it over and over again as he shared it with friends and family. Well, if I survived the fall, as I wou...

Our trip was longer than we had planned. We only drove 400 miles a day, making three days of driving and 3 days back. I was happy to find seedlings that were not there when I left. I think these are impatiens, time will tell. Two more pots, Hollyhock and Marigold. Cosmos in two of the pots. My foot with blue nail polish. I promise I planted more than one seed!!   I have no idea what just happened with that picture. Creeping phlox was juat two tiny pots last year. I rescued the Dianthus last year for $1 a pot. They were in need of some life-saving TLC. I didn't expect them to survive, much less come back healthy and bigger! This is what I found when we returned. The vibrant colors of the Dianthus blooms is making the mulch look sad. The mulch has been purchased and only one of the 8 bags remain. I spent a good bit of time freshening all the mulch down by the house. I dug dirt, watered gardens, got rid of the remaining leaves in the past few days. Every muscle in my body hurts!! It h...

  Home again! We had a lovely trip, but I am happy to be home. Tomorrow I will need to mow. My vegetable garden was a bit thirsty, but still growing rapidly. My flower seeds came up while we were gone. I will have plenty to do! Just as I had predicted, the hospital called while we were on the road and scheduled my procedure for next Tuesday. Still waiting to hear from the surgeon in Gainesville for HeWho's appendectomy ...... maybe we should hit the road again? We took it easy and only drove 400 miles a day. The dogs enjoyed looking out the window, sitting next to me. I don't think Dora, the turtle enjoyed the ride! We traveled mostly secondary roads and the traffic was very low. The roads weren't great, so Dora sloshed around in her temporay home in the sink.  She refused to eat the first couple of nights. Probably punishing me for making her come with us. I wasn't worried since they can go without food for a week. Not that I would let her do that! I offered dried shri...