Sunflowers down, sunflowers down.

This is a little story about how you should be careful what you think about. A few weeks ago I was thinking random thoughts while doing something else, and I said to myself, "Gee, maybe planting the sunflower seeds straight in the ground is the way to go. We have not had a single sunflower fall over this year."

A few days later, another one of windy, blustery storms came through. The next day I walked outside to collect some Chinese 5 color peppers and I saw this outside. 

And everyone hit the ground

As usual, none of the stems broke. One small set of roots pulled slightly out, but not by much, and with the fact the ground was so saturated with water, we were pretty sure we could just push it back down and it would be fine. 

Hi fence, how are you

Some of the sunflowers were laying on the neighbor's fence. Fortunately, they are very nice people and were understanding. They had a few of their own plants go falling over in the storm. The sunflowers themselves seemed in decent shape, even if they were a bit droopy. A day or 2 later (after we bought some more poles) we were able to stand most of them back up. In a day or two I will post the 1st of the month pictures for October, and you can see how we supported them for what little remains of the growing season.

We didn't see this coming

It never ceases to surprise me or Pooka how Mother Nature doesn't give up. We went outside the other day to harvest and found that the confused blueberry had suddenly waited till the end of June to start getting leaves. Pooka just went "Mommy, it has leaves" And they are not small leaves, but you can tell its the first tenative leaves of spring.

Surprise leaves

It had a couple green tips begining to appear. Maybe this blueberry plant isn't dead yet. We are going to leave it alone and see if it can get itself strong enough to survive the summer and maybe even the winter. 

I am trying to be alive

Sadly, the probably dead blueberry is dead dead. It breaks instead of bends and has the look of a dead plant. So we pulled it and are saving the pot to replant something else into. At least we didn't lose them both to the polar vortex. 

It's dead Jim, take it's pot. 

3 little blueberry bushes all in a row.

One bush is ready to go, it has leaves and flowers. I am glad at least it survived the winter with little issue. the problem is I have one that is very very slow to wake up (it is finally budding but taking its time) and the last well, I think it died. I can't be sure, but it doesn't seem to be doing much.

3 Little blueberries

This is the bush I think is waking up slowly. If you can get close enough, there is a bit of green sticking out the ends. It still springs back when you pull on it and I just keep hoping it will wake up. 

May still wake up, it has green in the buds

This is the bush that may have died. It had little buds on it, but they don't seem to be doing well. I am really afraid it didn't like the polar vortex. Daddy and I have talked of replacing it, but we keep hoping the blueberry plants will go on clearance first.

I think it may be dead

Stupid cold snaps

I will be honest with you all, we have been transplanting and transplanting away here. All our little seedlings are going into pots to get big and strong and ready for the yard. However, I haven't had a chance to tell you all about it. Granted, showing plants going into pots is real exciting. 

Stupid cold

However, this is what happens when you get a cold snap. Everything ends up in your garage hiding from the cold. The table it is sitting on is just an old hollow core door we use as a workbench. The most annoying part is the 15 minutes it takes to move them all inside, then the 15 minutes it takes to move them all back outside daily and it only gets worse as we continue to put more plants into pots. Soon, maybe the weather will give in and things can live outdoors. 

The herb bed right now

What the herb bed looks like right before the sudden snow storm. Since I did NOTHING to put it to bed, I am not terribly surprised that is is not looking its best. I am giving the herbs their time to see if they will come back. We have had very little the way of warm days, and since it was such a severe winter, and this side of the house only gets morning sun, I am hoping in a few days something may come back.

 I know we lost a couple rosemary bushes that have lost almost all their needles while they turn brown. And the curry of all things seems to be doing okay as well as the bay. But I know eventually its going to need cleaned out and that will take most of a day.

The garlic beds looks just as dormant, but Pooka has seen a few tender shoots come up. Soon we will hopefully have our garlic for the year poking out everywhere, and things will start to look alive once more. I think seeing these two beds turn green will finally make spring real for us, so long as we stop getting snow. Which sadly is in the forecast for next week. Winter Let US GO. 

Winter returns

Winter threw a what we hope is a last swing at us on Weds. The temps went from being almost 60 degrees to back in the 20s. It was rain that turned to ice that turned to snow, and while we only had 2-3 inches, it was enough that it closes schools. Apparently the snow cut power to a quite a bit of town. I only hope this is winters last hurrah. I am grateful for the nicer weather once more.

More winter yuck. 

Spring is here for the minute

We had a few nice days where it was warm and things began to come alive. The temperatures have reached the 50s and the kids and I can once more walk home from school in the afternoon. As soon as things dry out, they may even be able to play in the yard.

The blueberry tree is budding

The trees are starting to bud out and life seems to be returning out there. I know it won't last, but I know that these little glimpses of spring will tide us over just a bit longer.

Oh winter

We got lucky over the weekend. We were suppose to be hit by yet another winter storm over the weekend. 8-10 inches of snow, bitter cold temps, ice, basically what has been usual this winter. The storm tracked further south, leaving us with about 3 inches or so, some cold weather and a bit of ice.

The Garlic bed this morning. 

I think everyone is happy the storm missed us, Pooka included. However, I kinda wanted another snow day. Pooka has been fighting a cold, and while I think she is okay to go back to school, another day home would not of hurt.

So we are happy the worst missed us, but the idea of one more day in our PJs staying home to do stuff doesn't sound too bad either. Mostly, we just want winter to go home now, and Green Thumb to come back with the baby fairies from Hawaii. Apparently that is where fairies go for training in the cold months. Lucky fairies.

White white, Thunder white

Yesterday was another wonderful winter storm, that closed everything. Even Daddy came home early from work. Personally, I am so over winter. I am not a winter lover by any stretch of the imagination. It is nice to a point, it gives a nice break from Pooka's garden, one I am very ready for by the time October comes. I am grateful for different seasons and the occasional snow day when I am tired of going to work. However, after 7 snow days for the kiddos, and an extra one for me from work, I am ready to find a nice balance. I would love to have a routine instead of guessing what tomorrow is.

The garden all winter.

Now, I will admit the thunder snow yesterday was a bit fun even if it came with another 4" of snow. The comment I heard from a friend about it being "Thor beating up on Jack Frost" was a giggle. Honestly, I wish someone would beat up Mr. Frost and Old Man winter.

However, this winter will teach me a few things. Like which plants if any will survive in the herb garden over the winter with no care. I didn't put that bed to sleep before winter hit, so if anything lives, I will know it will take no work in the future. It will teach me where the drafts in my house are so we can insulate them this year. Mostly, I think it will teach myself and Pooka to enjoy the nicer months just a bit longer.

Oops and Groundhogs.

Sorry all, I know we disappeared again but Pooka's Aunts and Uncles were in town and family comes first. I promise to have a proper post up in a day or so. Right now, I am going to get a tired Brother, Pooka and Mommy ready for bed.

Oh, and may I just say, the groundhog said what I expected this year. Maybe just maybe he decided to be honest this year after I called him out last year. Either way, get ready for more cold and snow.

What to do on another snow day?

We are home yet again due to the cold. It is nasty out there, but what do we do to keep a Pooka out of trouble and Brother's hair. We resort the seeds and seed what we need to plan on getting for the upcoming planting season. Maybe I will even get orders out today, if I don't clean. There is that little road block.

Seeds everywhere

I will also admit this is that time of year where I get more then a bit overwhelmed with everything. Where are we going to put it? How do I know how much to plant? How much do I let a Pooka follow her curious instincts to try new things when I want to scream "Don't we have enough?" I generally get excited again quickly enough, but it can be more then a bit overwhelming. Besides, all it takes is that little Pooka face giving me the "Mommy, wouldn't this be great?" and I melt more then I should.

Lime tree is flowering?

It is official, the citrus trees are as confused about this weather as I am. Caroline the lime tree has started flowering. Since we bought her on clearance, I have never seen her flower. Maybe I will help her along a bit and maybe even hand pollinate her flowers and hope for a few limes out of the deal.

Flowers on Caroline

Meanwhile, Cave Johnson is full of baby lemons again. That thing will flower and set fruit all day. The trick is getting the fruit to a size the rest of us can use would be nice. However, if this proves he will be very productive as he gets bigger, I am not completely against it. Pooka has dreams of making fresh lemonade with the lemons. 

Baby Fruit on Cave

 Granted, if the big lemon that has been on Cave all summer would ever ripen, that would be nice. I am tried of looking at it and guessing what it is doing. I don't think there is much I can do at this point. The white on cave's leaves are a bit of frost burn. It got a bit colder then we were ready for outside one night. Now Cave and Caroline get brought inside on cold nights and soon they will be moved inside for good. Maybe the lemon will ripen before then, or maybe we will get a lemon for christmas.

RIPEN ALREADY

Confused

I think Cave Johnson the Lemon tree is confused by this weather. Not that I can blame him, but he has yet to finish ripening the big lemon that he has been working on all summer. Then the other day he broke out in these pretty blooms. I swear the tree thinks it is spring. Granted from the way the weather has been behaving, I can't blame him too much.

A blooming Lemon tree, in August

On the other hand, Pooka is loving seeing all the blooms on the lemon tree. She is waiting rather patiently for the one giant lemon, but now she is getting it in her head that she will have enough lemons to make strawberry lemonade. I will probably end up buying a few more lemons and a few more strawberries to make it happen.

Already seeing flowers

As many parts of the country, we have had a good chunk of rain come through with more due the next day or so.

However, all the rain has been doing really well for Pooka's garden. In fact, we have started to see our first sets of flowers.

Stargazer

I wish I could say this was my first stargazer from the bulbs we bought. But sadly, those have yet to even break the surface. However, Daddy brought me home a stargazer that had yet to bloom on Mother's day, so I was suprised when this bloomed yesterday.

Strawberry

Pooka's strawberry plants from last year have their first bloom. They did okay over the winter, but it looks like they are ready to start gearing up for another year as well.

Tomato flowering

This tomato plant from the growums kit has been in the ground for over 2 weeks. It saw the nights of frost and yet seems rather happy. I don't know for sure if it will actually produce fruit yet, but I gave it a good dose of dry milk powder at the base under the mulch to help it along.

The cucumber plant we just got in the ground a few days ago is flowering as well. I had to pull buds off when I planted it and I am wondering if I missed one. I doubt much will come from this flower, but hopefully the cucumber likes its new home.

Goodbye blooms, hello fruit

In some cases the flowers have already finished blooming like the ones on this blueberry bush. Here is to hoping we get our first blueberry yeild. It looks like at least some of them took.

OUTSIDE... Finally

Yesterday I spent a good chunk of time taking most of the plants outside. It is finally warm enough that I plan to let them stay outside for a few days.  It was nice to know they finally had enough sun.

Amaryllis went out front.

I put the amaryllis Pooka got over the holiday on the front porch. They are looking rather sad after I think a cat started chewing on a few leaves. I am trying to figure out what to do with the darn things. Can I cut them off now and then have them rebloom later this summer? Any ideas from people who have done this before?

Picture one

Getting all the plants on the back deck in one picture was not going to happen if we still wanted access to the yard and the grill. Instead, I have 3 pictures. Here is the blueberries, strawberries, lilac, potatoes and veggies is all I am going with in the little pots.

Picture 2

Here you can see the last of the plants on the deck itself. The spinach and lettuce is in the back right corner. I finally moved them out of the garage yesterday and some have already taken root. Hopefully I will be cutting myself a salad in no time. The some of the tomatoes are on the strawberry tables. I forgot to bring these in last night, but they seemed okay at first glance.

Picture 3

Here is the plants on the table. I didn't have much rhyme or reason to where things went. I just kinda shoved things places, but I wanted to make sure the roasters of "seedlings" were up a bit higher to keep them safer from the dog. Now not everything looked very healthy and in some cases it was just pots of dirt, but I am hoping to pull out the seeds today and restart some of them. Fortunatly for me they are easy to restart plants like broccoli, pak choi, lettuce, beans and herbs.  Hopefully all of these being outside will help with the gnat issue that killed so many plants this year.

 

Tomates, egg flowers, scallions and mystery

I left some of the more tender plants inside. The egg flowers don't look like they are doing so well since I kinda forgot to water them for a bit. The scallions were growing great, and we actually trimmed them for dinner. We put the cut ends back into the water to see if they regrow. I forgot to get pictures since I was more then a tad melted when Daddy asked to cut them. The tomatoes I am hoping to transplant some of them this weekend. I know they were a bit dry yesterday and I was afraid to put them out when they do not have a whole lot of dirt to hold water.

Surprise peppers

These peppers are still in the front room. I know they are having an issue with mold. Something this kind of tray seems prone to, and no, I do not plan on reusing this kind next year. I am going to keep these guys and hopefully replant them as well soon so I can strengthen them to get them outside. Maybe spring will start staying. However, I haven't taken the tables down, I think that would be testing fate.

Rain, Rain, rain...Rain.

Like most of the Midwest, there is rain everywhere today. It has been raining or cloudy for most of the week and some people are questioning if there is a sun.

Me, I am wondering if this is Mother Nature's way of grieving over the events this week. While we have been lucky, and the rain isn't that bad where we are, I did walk outside to find the blueberry bush underwater.

Do you think it needs watered?

This is not the first plant that has had a drainage problem this week, but with it being fairly new and the fact that blueberries HATE wet roots, I decided to drain it. Now normally when I drain something like this, I tip the whole pot over, but I was nervous to do so with it being so wet and the blueberry bush so new. Instead I pushed in the side a bit and noticed a nice little waterfall coming out the bottom.

Waterfall

I managed to drain quite a bit of the water out and turned around to see this.

Mother nature 1 - Robins 0

It turns out a robin has been trying very unsuccessfully to build its nest on the light by the back door. The number of ways I don't want a robin there (not being able to use the door, fear of a robin coming into the house, ect) makes me glad Mother Nature decided to knock the nest over. This isn't the first time we have seen this bird try, but maybe not it will get the point.

Hopefully not the site of a bird nest

If not, I just hope the fact the light itself isn't very big which would mean not real stable will be enough to keep the Robin family off my deck. I may send Daddy out to put some vinegar or something up there to make it smell bad for awhile (nothing that would hurt the birds).

Mommy engineering

As for the blueberry, it needed to finish draining and I have stuff to do, so I used our little strawberry table to help hold the pot in place so the blueberry can dry. Hopefully soon the rain will end for good. Although it does seem to agree with the green onions. We can finally see the little guys.

Hello Green Onions

Spring surprises

It seems we have finally found the begining of spring. The air outside is 54, the sun is shinning the snow is finally melting away and we have plants out in the sun.

Plants enjoying the spring sun

This is only some of the pots and the ones that have been in and out a bit. The peas may even go in the ground as soon as Monday. Turns out those guys handle cold better then I thought, so might as well get them in and let them go to town.

Lilacs are alive...

The larger of the lilacs is happy and budding away. We knew this one would be strong and happy. The littler ones seem to have had a harder time with the winter, but I still hold out hope they will come back.

Strawberry are still with us

I went out front to check some things there and found that our strawberry plants had survived the winter. Not all are unscathed, and some had a nice coating of dead strawberry leaves but they looked really good.

Even the seeded strawberries are alive

I was even surprised that the baby strawberry pot we planted last year still had some signs of life with green leaves. Its only one or 2, but I am wondering if we can nurse it along and keep it. We did lose brother's strawberries as far as I can tell, but it is still early enough, I will let him pick something else to put in it. Who knows, maybe he will try blueberries or something.

Welcome spring, we have missed you.

Deep thoughts

In the past, I have tried to keep this blog lite and fun, but today, I find it hard. The real world is closing in on our little Science Experiment. Not only is winter still here and arguing about leaving, but the world goes on out there.

Winter storm Virgil's little present

As I face the things around me, I find it hard to be cheery. I am sure come Saturday when I get at least the pea plants in the ground (it is suppose to be in the 50s by then), I will be cheery. But until then, I am just going to post things that make me smile. Things that I am hoping the foot of snow on my back broccoli beds melting will turn into a reminder that life goes on. So until then we wait to see....

Snapdragons from

Snap dragons that remind me of summers in my Grandmother's yard.

Stargazer lilies that remind me of the day I married the man I love.

 Butterflies that the kids raised and are looking forward to doing so again.

Tomatoes, tomatoes and fresh produce everytime I walk outside. Hopefully these images can get all of us through until we see some warm weather and some signs of summer.

Snow..again... ON SPRING BREAK

Like most of the midwest we are digging ourselves out of winterstorm Virgil. All I keep thinking is I had asked for a snowday, I had hoped and a couple of times begged for the elusive snow day. That one day where you get a break from the hussle and bussel of life, even if it means you are stuck inside with kids having personal space issues.

Snow hiding my lilacs

Well, I finally got my snow day... The first day of Kiddo's spring break. Does anyone else see the issue here. Pooka said this morning it shouldn't be spring break, it is winter break.

The garlic is under there, I think

The local radio station reported that it was about 10" deep as of 4 am this morning. I can believe that and probably more since it is STILL snowing. At least we went from a winter weather warning to a "Special weather statement".


The deck before I shoveled for the dog

I have spent part of the morning shoveling a walk way out the deck for our dog. She is big enough to walk on/through the snow, but this keeps snow from falling into my house and since she adores snow, even in her advanced age, she will be in and out alot today. I don't really want to spend my day using a spoon to get snow out of the door track or cleaning up avalanches of snow.

Pooka's picture of the same spot after I shoveled.

The funniest part, I shoveled this really nice walk way for the dog, she comes up the OTHER stairs and then tries to go over the drift. She eventually went around the table to get to the "path" but that was as far as I was willing to shovel. Maybe I can send Kiddo out later to shovel the deck, I mean enjoy it.

Part of the dog's snow path

Fortunatly for me, I don't have to work today due to my job being one of the many places that closed, especially since the interstates are closed. So I am going to use my free day off and try to be productive, or maybe I will just cuddle up with the kids with a bowl of popcorn and some cocoa and watch a movie.  While I finally got my snow day, it is suppose to be almost 60 on Friday, so someone somewhere is rather confused.