Not for the Faint of Heart- (Vermin Alert)

That delightful trio of grubs is a tiny reminder of the legion of Biblical plagues besetting the hapless gardener. (Maybe it was my recent allusion to the non-rapture, but Job does spring to mind.) We have a lot of grubs- millions of them. They all seem to live in the area designated "The Agricultural Triangle"... doesn't that just figure? So every time we turn over a shovelful of soil, there's got to be a dozen grubs. Squishing them is tedious and disgusting but terminal!
And that leads to a less noxious pest- the simple small rock.

Okay, so rocks aren't gross outs like grubs, but there's more of them. For every grub, we have six rocks. And they're not pretty or glittery; these are the "garden variety" (hahahaha) lumpy little brown things.
And as far as dangerous plant life goes, check out the poison ivy. It's everywhere! Both Bob and I have succumbed to itchy, oozey skin eruptions.

The vines ascending the pine trees are like thick hairy legs. They have these amazing trunks and are actually intimidating. We've been carefully lopping them off so that the vines die, but they seem to sprout more. We are not inclined to resort to poisons...

Games People Play

We've been working, we've been working REALLY hard on the house and property. Sometimes, we just need to unwind. That's when we play computer games.
It has been suggested by several philistines that only pimply faced adolescent boys play computer games. Ha! I suggess that there is a thriving middle-aged gaming population.
I'm hooked- completely and irrevocably addicted to Zuma. That's a shot of the screen above. I'm on the ninth level (and really stuck there). I'm sure there are eight year olds that have blown me out of the water, but I've played long and hard to get to this stage.
And in response to my sister Beatrice's asking how well we've done at Bejeweled, Bob's the better player there. Here's the screen proof:

Hey! Sometimes the "escapism" of computer games beats the reality of leaks and varmints and work,

work, work! 

The Rapture-Less Saturday

I guess we can all thank our lucky celestial bodies that the world didn't end on Saturday! And although I've started complaing about all the mother f&^%ing rainy days we've had, the above picture is a grim reminder that it could be snow- the frozen equivalent!
Today I was informed that there is a new date set for the end of the world- October 12th or maybe it was the 21st? I was also assured that anyone who died on Saturday or before went to heaven and the rest of us are screwed... we're going to hell. So go ahead and have fun!

Gardens Away

This is what happens when you move a garden. I suppose a brief aside is called for in addressing the "perfect universe" idea of how to move 20 years worth of plants. I thought I was so smart; I was going to hold a "Garden Tag Sale" and sell of many of my perennials and with the amassed proceeds, I would purchase a whole garden's worth of flowers and shrubs! Ha! As we all know, Bob and I moved in January so that was out of the question.
In the meantime, our truck was out of commission (don't even ask- another long story) so we were unable to move the plants until now. (In the midst of pouring rain and mud, but I guess the upside is there's no need to water!). Bob was a good sport and helped despite it being one of the top ten unpleasant days to do it on. Now we have to heal them all into that virgin vegetable patch as we don't really have perennial beds laid out.
But anyone who has gardened for any length of time knows that a  favorite plant (or twenty) are like good friends and you don't just abandon them. Additonally, perennials aren't cheap and many hard to find ones are even more expensive so replacing them is a costly enterprise. (Have I mentione dtaht we have a million other things to spend filthy lucre on?)
I will also admit to a tinge of sadness on seeing my old gardens. The new tenant has apparantly had no interest in maintaining our gardens or starting new ones. The property looked abandoned and unloved.  I was very happy to rescue as many plants as I could. They deserved better!!!

On a postive and potentially humourous note, however, I can attest to the antics a drenched woman in a clown suit as being a real conversation starter for our new neighbors (their house in above photo).  I have an embarrassing plastic rain coat that did little to camoflage my being adorned from head to foot in mud.

Leave it to Bob

Here's an ingeneous use of a broken broom. Bob fashioned a boot scrape from it, and mounted on a metal footing right by the side/front door. (We're still not sure of our orientation...) Our feet are always muddy so this will work like a charm.
You can see in the back a bit of that white quartz rock border that I started to ring the foundation. Back when I posted that entry, it seemed like it would take ages to complete, but it's coming along nicely. Here's the long view:

It's getting there! This is a fine reminder that a project that seems like it will take an eternity simply needs persistence. I fill my pockets (or, if I'm feeling ambitious, I bring along a bag) with white quartz when I go for a walk or go riding (there are white rocks in abundance at the horse farm). It pays off. Bob now wants it to continue all the way around the house. I think I will take that bag with me tomorrow!

Many Headed Hydras

Our friends are so generous! Thanks to their largesse, we will have a garden.
We planted the three hydrangeas that our good friend John gave us around our well head. (See John? We didn't kill them). Bob and I figure they'll grow about five to six feet tall and fill in and provide an understory transition between the lawn and the very tall evergreens behind. We're not sure what variety they are so John? If you read this, let us know.
I think Bob's going to make a cover for the well  and plant a sculpture on top of that. It would be nice to camoflage that not-so-attractive well cover. Our friend Claudine is a big inspiration in the wonderful covers she made- ceramic heads, no less!- for some pipes that stuck up out of her yard. Decorative and fun.

What's for Supper?

 

Occasionally, we are pressured to arrive at a food solution on short notice, like this night last week when there was no dessert in the house to be had. I remembered there were a few frozen blueberry muffins left over from a batch I had made, but they seemed a bit plain for dessert. So I concocted a blue frosting to complement the blueberries. Add a blue plate (very special) and success is ours. A blue hallucination.