Dandelions Before Stan Mowed Today - He Cut and Pulverized Them

Word of the Day

Superfluswitch - The one light switch in every house with absolutely no purpose whatsoever.

Woodtick Count - 7

Sadly, it appears that I can't seem to perform the simple task of installing driveway markers without attracting woodticks. I caught and killed three woodticks (tore them in two...I NEVER flick, and yes, I've since washed my hands)in the short time I was at the end of the driveway, picking up my mail and installing the reflectors. Upon finding three ticks, I didn't feel confident anymore wearing the clothes that I was wearing. At the rate I'm changing outfits, two to three outfits a day, it'll be a miracle if I have anything to wear anymore by the time Laundry Day rolls around.

My Junior Earthboxes arrived today. I set them up immediately and planted them with Buttercrunch lettuce. I'm excited to see how well these smaller Earthboxes work. If they do work out well, I'll be able to retire my windowbox planters.

Stan stopped over to mow my lawn and temporarily took care of my dandelion problems. Next time I'm in the city, I'll have to pick up a more permanent fix. In the meantime, all the tell-tale yellow blossoms have been pulverized.

I'm beginning to think that the act of watering one's garden is akin to doing a rain dance. While Stan was here, the sky was a beautiful clear blue, not a cloud in the sky. The minute I started watering the plants on the upper deck, it started to cloud up. Then, by the time I set up my As Seen on TV hose on the lower deck and watered the plants on my lower deck, the entire sky was grey/black and thunder could be heard. My NOAA radio went off, signaling a thunderstorm warning for my area. And...it rained....followed by blue skies once again. So, I hauled the hose out to my kennel garden to install and water the kennel garden which looked a bit dry. I wasn't halfway through this procedure when I was driven inside by sheets of rain and more thunder. I did eventually get the hose and sprinkler installed and started sprinkling when...my sprinkler fell apart. I need a new one.

So far this spring I've had to deal with lots of breakage. Added to the list of breakage, my hose reels (both of them) are broken so they no longer can be attached to the hosebib without major water leakage. They'll still work for reeling up the hose but that's all they're good for at this point. You'd think they'd make a decent hose reel that doesn't depend on plastic connections that always seem to become brittle and break. Meanwhile, I replaced the heavy hoses that I've been struggling with on my upper deck and my lower patio with those new As Seen on TV hoses. They seem to be working just fine so far for the task I'm using them for. Meanwhile, I'll continue using the hoses that I already own for washing the car, sprinkling the kennel garden, and watering the lawn.

The nut tree(s), that I purchased to plant in the yard, Little Jon's trees, arrived yesterday. I ordered three white hickory trees but they sent me four, and two white walnut trees. I was assured that these trees would thrive in our Zone 3, but, from the size of these little trees, I doubt that I'll be picking any nuts from these trees. Maybe Little Jon will. I have the trees soaking in a bucket of water, awaiting planting. I just need to decide where, exactly, I should plant them. Generally, I've got a location in mind. I'm not looking forward to digging six holes in rock-laiden soil but that's the plan for tomorrow. I'll need to break out the 100% Deet and I'll probably still end up adding to the woodtick count, but I think the trees need to be planted in a clear area to the east of my kennel garden. I'll have to protect these little trees from the deer until they get big enough to survive on their own. I'm thinking that some old tomato rings that I have, up-ended, will work for a while....maybe a bit chicken wire too.

Random Quote of the Day

Liberty is rendered even more precious by the recollection of servitude.

Cicero (106 BC - 43 BC)