woolythyme

water water everywhere...

Somehow (well, OK, so I volunteered....)I became a water-er.  A friend and I plant and maintain 5 planted pots of geraniums, ferns, and petunias at church.  Same friend...with several other garden club friends plant and maintain three giant planters of whatever we think will look nice near our town's waterfront.  The problem with this is...all these planters live about 5 miles from my house, and they need to be watered e-v-e-r-y s-i-n-g-l-e d-a-y.  The town planters have no source of water (other than the river....and believe me, you don't want to try to source your water there----ask me how I know this!  My sneakers never did recover from THAT outing.)

So we haul water.  I have one very large watering can....and one even larger plastic (eeeew!) container--minus its cap, which served the purpose rather nicely.  Until last week.  My theory had been (notice past tense) that the weight of the water would keep the containers from tipping over in the trunk of my car.  And this seemed to be working, although that same weight made it extremely difficult to actually do the watering, but I was counting this as upper body strength training.  Win-win.  And then, I lost.  

Honestly, I didn't take that corner hard.  But, I still heard the 'plunk'...and knew that I was in trouble.  By the time I could pull the car over, the trunk, lower trunk well, some little pockets on either side of the truck we all FULL of water.  Drat.  I think deep down I knew this was an accident waiting to happen.  And then it did. 

So, just for your information....it takes every towel (including beach towels) that you own to sop up 8 gallons of water, and three days of the trunk open and exposed to 90+ degree days to dry out the space.  

I now have a new system.

This guy is really glad.

getting ready to be bored....

I don't think I've ever had a month quite like this October.  There was Ghana, a 45 minute presentation for my literary group, hosting book club, a 40 minute talk for my church's fall gathering (too bad the two talks couldn't have been on the same subject!!!), a two week visit from a Guatemalan stranger who left a friend, wrote a talk for next month's garden club program (why not, as long as I'm writing all this stuff!), a photo critique at school, a 2 day garden club meeting in Winston-Salem, NC---a 10 hour drive from home, and 5 shawls to knit for a friend's daughter's wedding (#6 was already sent off to make sure the pattern and fit was what they wanted).  

I know.  I know.  Everyone's busy...probably much, much busier than I am. 

But....I'm retired. 

And I'm a slug most of the time. 

But, now, I'm home,done,done,done,done,done,done,home,and DONE! The last 'done' was the hardest.  The shawls.  Big needles.  Chunky yarn.  Yuck. Yuck.  Double-yuck.

And yet, I think they turned out lovely.  I hope the bride and her mom are pleased.

5....count 'em!

The Winston-Salem garden club trip was wonderful.  New friends and fabulous, funny speakers.  But unquestionably the best part of the trip for me had absolutely nothing to do with anything green and growing.  It was the opportunity to see the Georgia O'Keeffe Living Modern exhibit at the Reynolda House.  This is the only other north American venue to host this show. I was so envious earlier in the spring as I read about it; it seemed EVERYONE was talking about it when it showed in NYC.  And then, I found out it was going to be in W-S---and I was going to be there!!!  Georgia's art! her clothes! photographs of her! photos of her--wearing the clothes being exhibited!  Her clothes were so much a part of her persona...and the show was curated magnificently.

And I had fun with my camera.  (an aside....I came home with a blue ribbon first place in my photography division of the flower show...squeeeeee!)

I'm sure you all have heard of Stefan Draschan, the photographer who haunts museums, matching people with the art they are seeing.  Since I live under a rock, he just recently came to my attention, and I couldn't help but 'play' while I toured the exhibit...

Jeans man at the denim display

 

Women in white

 

Georgia?

Our garden club communication chair was on the trip with me, sent these off to Reynolda House, and they snarfed them up for some kind of promo.  Fun.

So....three more days left in the month (with out of town people we haven't seen in about 10 years due to arrive any minute).  

Can't be bored quite yet.

rain, rain....

• A trip to Memphis to visit our 'sister church'....same architect, same design---for the most part, same footprint, only our church is the baby sister.  It rained on us.

We came home with so many ideas and plans and hopes and dreams...but top priority will most likely be the gardens and ceiling tiles.  The rain certainly didn't dampen our enthusiasm!

 

• Garden Clubs of Kentucky recognized and dedicated the Monarch Watch Certified butterfly garden I've been involved with at Whitehaven; the only Monarchs to appear were eaten immediately!!  but this swallowtail made sure everyone knew we had a 'working' butterfly garden.

The dedication ended, we packed up our tables and goodies....and it rained.

 

• This was Pollinator Weekend at the Lake, so I had to make a quick trip up there to visit Alicia, owner of Ironweed Nursery where we bought the plants for the butterfly garden. She only deals in native plants; the way they took off and filled in our garden in only a year--it was actually a year to the day since we planted our baby plants!!!--- has made me a real convert, so of course, I had to buy a few for my garden.

(That was her table display....I wanted to buy that many, but didn't.  How could I have gotten them all to the car?  It was pouring!!)

 

• Between raindrops, I ran out to Mt. Kenton cemetery for my first photo assignment in the photography class I'm taking.  Something stationary.  Using a prime lens.  Camera set on automatic.  Definitely a case of a little tiny bit of knowledge making this assignment frustratingly difficult.  I always shoot in manual mode.  'Auto' stinks.  BUT...I've lived in this town almost 35 years and had never visited Alben Barkley's grave.  (He was vice president under Truman) I must admit, I was a bit disappointed; I thought the monument would be fancier and larger (I came equipped with an 8 foot ladder!! which I obviously didn't need!) But, I got to check off that local tourist stop and enjoy a few minutes of peace and solitude in a very lovely setting.  

 

And then it rained some more.  

 

And I was totally fine with that...

I baked my favorite blueberry coffee cake for Sunday School Rally Day this morning,

 

and then...

Freddy and I cozied up on the sofa and worked on yet another...sock yarn blanket.

I love rainy weekends.

the colour purple...

 

 

 

Shawnee Hill Lavender Farm's First Annual U-Pick weekend.  

 

I picked!

a day in the garden with my mom....

Me and Mom have been in the garden today.  As you can see, my role has been primarily supervisory.  

We toured, looking for new stuff.

The hydrangeas are starting to bloom, which has mom happy dancing since they haven't had any flowers for the past couple summers.  They like their new location.  (Two still have no blooms.  I'll see what I can do about adding a little fertilizer around them.)

 

We thought the allium wasn't going to appear this year, but there it was, lying on the ground.  I didn't step on it.  Almost, but I didn't.

The sandbags are finally getting moved out of the garden.  Mom filled it so heavy that she couldn't move it, so we're calling in the recruits.  (That would be Dad.)  We'd like the recruits to also move the bricks, but the recruits said we were pushing our luck with the sand, so they will stay a while longer where they are.

Our flower boxes are filling in nicely.  I helped plant them a couple weeks ago.  Even some of the trailing geraniums that I broke off are trailing again.  

At Old Sturbridge Village Mom learned about old-fashioned bug catchers, so she put out one.  It's not baited yet.  

 

I thought we finished planting the kitchen herb garden (it's the kitchen herb garden because it's near the kitchen) but I see a big hole where something else could go.  I'm voting for chocolate mint.  Mom said something about 'not even over her dead body'.  I love chocolate.  (I'm not allowed to have it; that's why I know I love it very very much.)

 

We moved some ferns from the front porch to the backyard.  We both think they look not very nice all bunched up like they are, but I promise, they look better than the water meter they are hiding.

Mom sprinkled while I got out of the way.  I don't like getting wet.  

We did a little bird watching.  This bird house has a family every year.  I think it's sort of like Snoopy's doghouse, because a whole bunch of birds keep flying in and out.  It must be really really crowded in there.

And finally, we knit a little bit.  I wish this day in the garden would never end.

 

Because....

THIS is waiting inside.  

 

Marley is visiting again.  

(She loves me wayyyyyy more than I love her.)

early morning walk through the garden....

with my......(eep!) new camera!!!

 

the mulch should come today...things will look a gazillion times better when we get that down!

 

The plants obviously couldn't care less whether they are mulched or not....(that's only because it's not hot yet.  Believe me, they'll care LOTS soon!)

 

Rosa 'Iceberg' is climbing like crazy and hasn't succumbed yet to black spot.  She's really beautiful this year.

 

'Iceberg' will bloom all summer long, but we've got to enjoy Rosa 'New Dawn' now.

 

We moved all the hydrangeas around this year....I think this is 'Nikko blue' who hasn't bloomed the past two or three years.  He's covered in soon-to-be blooms.  (I should have listened to him sooner.  Seems pretty content now.)

 

Chives are finding their way into just about every meal.

 

The hellebores are still looking good; love the seed-pod look.

 

The old-fashioned irises are not the prettiest...but they are so loyal, came with the house, and I couldn't imagine a spring without them.  I should have gotten out earlier in the spring to stake them....a few were lying on the ground this morning, so had to be cut, brought inside, and are now doing 'vase-duty'.

 

It was a lovely morning to be outside--brisk and dewy.

I apparently had company.

 

That would be me.

Yarnalong....

I came really close to passing up yarnalong this week....

Oh, I'm still reading, and still knitting, but the oppressive heat of summer hasn't hit yet and it's pretty hard not to spend every dry, daylight minute putzing in the garden.  

My book sort of reflects this mood...Lab Girl is one terrific memoir.  "Some people are great writers, while other people live lives of adventure and importance.  Almost no one does both.  Hope Jahren does both.  She makes me wish I'd been a scientist."--Ann Patchett

That pretty much sums it up.  A beautifully written treatise on trees and life; chapters alternate between snippets of Hope's life and lessons learned and facts from the field.  A nice balance.  And makes me want to dig in the dirt.

 

Featherweight is coming along nicely...a good knit for the above book (that means, there are miles of knit, knit, knitting).  I've started the second sleeve with just the collar left to add.  Wishing (of course) that this was in grey....(I already knit it in black), but since it will most likely be worn with black or white or grey....I guess it will be a nice 'pop' of summery colour.

 

Now, back to the regularly scheduled program....(ahhhh, that would be weeding.)

blame it on pinterest...

'Blame'is totally the wrong wrong....I saw a little shelf on Pinterest that was held up with a stack of bricks. Brilliant.  I've got a ton of bricks from a sidewalk that got dismantled when the renovation happened; they are taking up valuable garden space. This totally would work for my greenhouse.  I use the term 'greenhouse' loosely.  It was intended to be a greenhouse but I've never been able to figure out the winter heating thing, so it's a potting shed?  A storage shed?  Definitely not a greenhouse.  So, I shared the idea with hubby who said something about I needed to measure for the boards--length and width--and he  could probably cut them.  OK.  Great spring project for ..... later.  He walked in this morning from the backyard (I had hoped maybe he was weeding??!?) and said 'go check out the shelf'.  eeeep!  really?   I expected a stack of bricks with a single shelf on top.....and I got a whole bookcase of shelves!  I'm beyond tickled.  And now, organized.  Feeling so perky about the whole thing, I started some lettuce....in the greenhouse.  (All the vegetable beds still have bricks and construction debris.) No, you can't see them.

You can see my neighbor's blooming tulip magnolia.

 

And my hellebores..

being visited...

The only other green thing in my life at the moment is this.

 

And someone is ready to claim it.

What IS it about a camera?  This dog HAS to photo bomb every picture I take.

 

(could it have something to do with all the cookies he gets to keep him OUT of the picture?  surely not.  

 

someone's SOOOO confused....

 

Christmas (?????) Cactus 2015

playing in the dirt....

playing in the dirt today with friends...planting a Monarch Way Station

 

We got really dirty...

It was a whole lot of fun.