Rain, Weeds, & Maple Seeds

There has been days of this:

Due to much of this:

You have to admit it’s pretty darn awesome.

Gardens to plant:

Many pots and baskets to fill with flowers:

Major yard clean up of weeds, weeds and more weeds. Even more clean up of the seed dropping from the Maple Trees. This would be the neighbors Maple Trees that surround us and also the weeds because the rental next door just cut the lawn – for the first time this year in late May 2010 – this would be the back yard.

Now look how pretty it is. I know it still wasn’t done when I took this photo – As of yesterday the whole entire back 40 is weed free.

Which is why we went through 5 yards of black goodness – that would be pure compost.

Oh and how can I forget the Greek Spring Festival, which was the first festival of the year. I wish I had some of those honey buns now.

There have been many conversations from Ghetto said neighbors, which include endless hours of the following Ghetto-Speak.
“F*#k” – insert whatever comes to mind that makes no damn sense.
“She’s a Bitch” – use best ghetto slang you can muster up.
“She’s a Skank” – is that even a real word?

Now repeat for the next 7 hours.

That leads to the husband and myself beating a path to the nearest, quietest, restaurant and enjoying these.

I guess it would be fair to say that the husband and I have been a bit outdoorsy of late. We have literally been covered in some sort of dirt, mud, compost for the last 2 months when mother nature found it fitting. I need to have a talk with mother nature about 86 degree days and high, nasty humidity. Working in the back 40 feels like the damn Amazon Jungle complete with bugs. Ewww.

There are more photo’s here, and more to come.

The husband: I want to order 4 more yards of compost in.
Me: Okay, what are we going to do with the rest of it?
The husband: I want to re-seed the back 40 area, after I cook and kill the weeds that have taken over the grass.
Me: What about, cook it, kill it, no grass and we just landscape it? Bring in a River Birch and a couple White Pines, thin the triangles out and finally just redo it.
The husband: I like that Idea, I like that Idea a lot. Think about how we tie it all together.
Me: Okay.

What the hell was I thinking – OY! Yes, a new project for fall.

Ahhhh Vacation

So far vacation has been work and fun. The husband and I are trying to do both. All work no play make a vacationer very unhappy.

Here’s the list of work and play.

Friday – Greek festival with our friend George.

Saturday – Worked in the yard and went to see Ed Helms in one of my favorite little cities.

Sunday – Spread Sweet peat and then dinner at favorite place on the lake for steak

Monday – Rock shopping for the right color of stone. The color I want oh so bad I cannot get here which would be Mexican Blue Pebble Stone. Dinner at Taco Bell, Ice Cream at local place.

Tuesday – Cleaned up the shade garden and our friend Steve was up for a visit.

Wednesday – My Birthday. We did a little work, very little work and had dinner at another near by city on the lake. Gotta love Czech food.

Thursday – Started to clean out the garden – what a mess. Friend Steve back with his friend Jerry to talk about, dare I say cabinets. Kitchen bloody cabinets. Could this be our man? Oddly enough when Jerry asked us what we wanted we just looked at one another because we had been living so long – since 2005 – with an unusable kitchen we actually didn’t know how to answer him. Husband and I went to lunch and for my birthday I got a new camera since the other finally bit it from being in the rain. To wrap up the night a little wine with some sausage, fruit, bread cracker, and cheese. Perfect.

Friday – We started our day with the husband back in the garden and me researching on line for how shall I say – a little psychological warfare. Since you all know what has been going on around here – it had stopped – I am preparing for when it starts again, and I assure you it will.

By 11:15 we were at my in-laws moving 3 scoops of pea gravel. One would think that we would have had enough but no – we finished the garden clean up, covered the path with landscaping fabric and laid down some pea gravel. We are trading my father-in-law pea gravel for sweet peat. Today is the first day that I actually cooked at home. Steak on the grill, tomato, basil, mozzarella cheese and Sicilian bread to complete it. I forgot the red wine.

Saturday we have a function to attend to with our friends George and Don. Can someone say clam bake?!

Day Five

Let me first start by saying to all who are checking in thank you, it means the world to us. For a very long time the husband and I have always felt alone in what we do. Meaning the kitty stuff. Here, where we live, the feral kitty problem is something that is just not talked about and when it is talked about, you wont hear about it for at least another 9 years or so. I am hoping to help change this.

The Stats for Today’s missing are ZERO. For whatever reason the sicko _____ did not put a trap out last night. Interesting! Don’t get too happy I’m sure there are reasons and he will be back at it probably by day break. Sicko ____ is now going to have to make up for lost time.

During all of this crap, because that is exactly what it is, as you know we are officially on vacation. I need to embrace this and have some damn fun and get the hell away from this damn house and city as often we can.

You have probably also noticed that we are in the middle of landscaping project that we haven’t touched in a week. Well here’s the deal, we will be shopping for stone pathway either Monday or Tuesday. The stone we wanted, we cannot get here in our region, imagine that. I really wanted Mexican Blue beach pebbles, not happening! Time to go shopping for another color. Damn it. Two more yards of Sweet Peat just arrived on Friday morning that needs to be moved and spread. You know what we will be doing early tomorrow morning – spreading sweet peat.

Tonight we went to and saw a show. A Friend of ours gave us tickets, thank you T is was a great show and a nice break. We also screwed up the dates to the outing we were suppose to go to this afternoon. I can’t imagine what we would be so preoccupied with that we can’t keep our dates straight.

So on the 1st full day of vacation I started with my traditional local Farmers Market run for a poppy seed roll. It seems that since we got the farmers market this has become a tradition. They didn’t have any – booooo – but I did bring home this cute little cantaloupe from T’s booth. Thank you, I know it will be yummy. I still may however draw a picture on it because it is really that damn cute. When one is looking for poppy seed roll one should have a backup plan. Local bakery.

Today felt like the 1st day of a vacation. Traditions were met and a fun evening came to be in spite of a shitty week.

Oh yes and our camera finally bit it. We have one of loan, thank you S until we go shopping for a new one.

Watching it Rain

There was a time when I would panic if I knew a storm was coming in. Our life was planned around heavy rain events. These days I only check the basement once or twice during a storm and monitor the street for about 10 minutes.

There is still some anxiety when I hear the pounding rain but when I look in the front yard I now smile and a sense of calmness takes over.

The calmness is not lasting – I am timing our sump. I think I need to have a glass of wine. Does wine go with chili?

Plants and Shrubs

Where did I leave off prior to the puppy smack down the other night?
Oh yes… SHOPPING!!!!!!

The plant list:

2 Red Twigged Dogwoods

2 St John’s Wort’s (native)

1 Spice Bush (native)

1 Hinoki

1 Turtlehead (native)

2 Prairie Fire (native)

1 Blue Lobelia native plant

1 Wild Geranium native plant

1 Gaura Lindheimeri native plant

1 Salvia X Superba native plant – Meadow Sage

1 Swamp Milkweed native plant –

1 Joe-Pye Weed Chocolate brown –

3 Yarrow native plants

Gifts from the neighbor:

2 Cone Flower native plant

1 Forsythia

Gift from Mother Nature:

1 Hawthorn Tree – We are crazy, we know. I call this security for free.

Put it all together and it looks like this:

And we’re still not done.

Bring on the Wet Stuff – Rain that is!

It’s 6:00 a.m. and I hear the sound of water overflowing a gutter.

The husband is up, dressed and down stairs. I hear the front door open then I drift off back to dream land. Well, that lasted a whole 20 minutes when I hear it pouring down rain and the overflowing gutter – this would be the neighbors gutter not ours – I figure I better get up and go check things out.

There shall be nothing more beautiful than the reflection of water in a rain garden. Yes, even in the dark.

There is nothing more pleasing that a swale that runs and removes unwanted water so it may not end up in your drain tiles in which your sump has to work extra hard to pump it out. This my friends is how my morning started and indeed to was going to be a beautiful day – Mother Nature you can bring it on – rain that is.

Mother Nature did bring it on and the husband shot these of the swale this morning while I was at work. Yes, in the rain which is why there are no photos of the rain garden. Water and a camera not made for such wet outings don’t mix well. The camera is working – kinda – at the moment since it had enough time to dry out – sort of. For your pleasure as well as mine, and a huge thank you to “B”, one working swale.

As I write this my ghetto neighbors are having a ghetto moment. I will not repeat what is being shouted, from across the street, for your ears may burn and fall off.

It’s soooo NOT Working

Now I have posted about how hot and dry it was here – and over the last couple days we have had some bouts of rain. Nothing to get real excited over, I will tell you, until yesterday afternoon.

We have been waiting for some sort of rain event to test the swale. Yesterday when the heavens opened up and it poured like a mother, well…we have major issues with the swale. There is not one, but 2 low spots. From this point on, the swale has a new name – “The Damn Swale”.

I realize that since the side yard was tilled it has not rained enough to start settling the dirt, so what appeared to look like it should work, became apparent that it does not. So after lunch the husband and I grabbed rakes and shovels and began to address the low spots. Yes, this would be in the pouring rain. We shaped, smoothed, and shoved the damn swale. We must have looked like two complete morons to the cars that would pass by.

We did get the damn thing moving – kinda – but in the process had collected – on the bottoms of our boots – two inches of nasty sliminess (which I call mash potatoes) – a completely saturated clay soil mix.

This crap adhered to our boots – which as you walk – picks up everything you step on. So now there are tree twigs, gravel and other various crap mixed in the clay mash potatoes which now has just added to my frustration because the damn water will not move through the one part of the swale. I snapped at the husband because, well, I was frustrated and he happened to be there. Yes I did apologize for my little outburst.

I will be calling “B” to bring the transit over and find out exactly where this thing is failing and fix it.

As you can probably tell I am more concerned with the property next door than our own. The damn swale needs to work so that our sumps are not working over-time to drain all the water that is getting held up between the two houses. AHHH the frustration!

Now on a happy note: Rain garden one is working and oddly enough it is only roughed in. The downspout is not even set up properly.

The sweet peat is coming in on Monday and the weather is cooler. The husband and I went tree/shrub shopping yesterday after it stopped raining and we are deciding which shrubs would be best for the space. Should it be Red Dogwoods or Witch Hazel?

It looks like rain again.
Great. Just great.

Festive Times

There is a crap load of stuff that has gone on since a week ago Tuesday.

Some leveling and back filling:

Some placement of barn stone and flag stone:

Some plants (no not ours – Damn!):

The party, well, what happened there – stays there.

As far as the swale, rain gardens and landscaping go, well – at this point we are at a stand-still until Ms. Mother Nature drops these day time temperatures a tad bit more. There is no way in hell I am plating anything in 84 – 89 degree temps – not including the heat index. I found out today I’m not the only one waiting for cooler temps in order to achieve some green. One of my customers is waiting to plant an entire back yard. Fat chance either one of use will be planting anything in the near future.

This past weekend was lost. Lost that is to the husbands class reunion. I won’t say how many years – as that would not be polite. However, it would have been nice for him to attend the very weekend function he and 3 of his classmates slaved over for the last year to make happen. The husband had to work. One of those rare weekends that only happen when – lets say a very good friend is getting married and you have to miss it because you have to work. Yes, it has been about 2 years since this last happened. He did make the last 45 minutes – just in time for a quick hello to a few remaining folks and then help with clean up. However, there was the after party.

What was very cool though is that the husband and I are very close with the crew who helped put this thing in motion. What I got out of the deal was 2 surrogate husbands for the weekend. How cool was that? One from a friend, and one was an old classmate with no date. I was one lucky lady.

Back to this festive thing, people – I don’t know about you, but the husband and I cannot do the staying up until 3:00 a.m. anymore. Pathetic I know, but we just can’t do it. Knowing that 2 dogs will have us up at 7:00 a.m. to be fed and let out makes one think twice about how much participating in the festivities one is going to do. It has taken the last 3 days actually start feeling normal again. Thank goodness I was off on Monday and Tuesday because to be honest the only thing I did that was remotely exciting was researching native plants for the rain garden. The rest of the time was either spent napping, staring into space, staring at a wall…I think you get the picture. The worst part is that I did not have one drop of beverage – cranberry juice straight up only – Saturday night. You all thought I over-indulged? Admit it. I think that it just might be possible that I would have felt better had I at least had a couple of drinks.

List of remaining stuff to do:

• order sweet peat
• connect new down spout to proper connecting parts – rain garden no 1
• plant grass – neighbors side
• purchase shrubs and native plants
• amend the bottom of rain garden 1 and 2 – this will be on going I have a feeling – get mulch and blue stone

It’s a Heat Wave!

Why was this the weekend that mother nature decided 90 degree temps was a good idea?

Doesn’t mother nature know that we are in the middle of this project?

I guess not since it is 89 degrees with a 97 degree heat index.

As you all know I don’t do this weather well, I can’t stand it and makes me very irritable. However, there is stone to move and get in place so in spite of this heat we moved ahead till about 12:00 this afternoon when I said “enough”. The husband and I ate some lunch, the husband went at it till 1:45 and he was done for the day.

While the weather was cool over this past week every night after work I would move dirt, worked on my neighbors back side of his house – regrading – and put the plants he dug up in their proper place. Moving dirt is not very exciting or worthy of photo’s.

The husband and I took Saturday off for we had some guest to entertain. A steak dinner was in order for the occasion. I needed to satisfy my carnivorous appetite yet keep dinner light. So T-Bone steaks were on the menu with tomato, mozzarella, basil side dish followed by grilled peaches & vanilla ice cream for dessert. I almost forgot the most important part – wine.

Sorry there are no photo’s, between preparing and then the best part eating, there was no time for the food to strike a pose.

During dinner I actually tried a new wine that our friends brought. I found this wine to pair up very nice with red meat. It is “Ancient Vine” Zinfandel. This is a heavier wine, thick, but full of flavor. It is very different than “Old Vine” which I do not care for due to the chewiness, peppery, thin, kinda bitter taste it has. “Old Vine” is what the husband likes and of course I prefer the “Ancient Vine”, go figure.

Some photo’s of progress from today:

Rain Garden No. 1:

Run off area between the two areas:

This where I had stopped working.

Outer Edge of Rain Garden No. 2:

Note: I do not know why these photo’s look like something the Mars Rover took, except It is bloody hot!

Update on the Swale, the Rain Gardens and the Weekend

It has been crazy busy here.

The husband tilled the front yard and the swale then the rototiller broke. First the bolt of the leg snapped then the cable let go. Lucky he had already put in 6 hours of tilling prior to the tiller taking a dump. I wasn’t that upset about it because we were headed to our favorite Czech place for dinner when I got home from work any way.

Dinner was great some beef medallions in the very light, creamy, lemon, dill sauce with spatzles on the side. This was the 1st time the husband and I ordered the same meal. The husband got to try the Czech beers he requested and was not disappointed. I even tried a sip and it does not taste like American beer at all nor does it smell like it. I would say that Bakalar’ beer is a must try for those who are into foreign beverages. Needless to say it was a very late night but loads of fun especially when you are in such great company.

Since someone had a little bit too much fun the night before and we wont say who that was, when I got off of work Saturday afternoon we headed for some lunch and shopping. Since it is the beginning of the month I was wiped out and had my self a little siesta when we finished our running around. I love Saturday afternoon naps. It was a very laid back kinda night and at 10:30 p.m. we were both down for the count. Don’t say it, I know 10:30 but hey I am not as young as I once was and I no longer have to stay up because I can.

With both of us getting some much needed rest we were up and at it by 7:00 a.m., crazy I know on a Sunday no less, but there was lost time to make up and much work ahead of us. Back for more tilling with a different tiller and wow, we actually took that crap for soil and actually made it usable. I have to be honest I wasn’t sure if we were going to be able to pull this off.

With the dirt tilled we finally got to start shaping the rain gardens and roughing in the raised beds. Okay that is what I was doing for about 4 hours today. That was not before the side swale was taken care of. With the threat of rain almost every day this week that was our biggest concern. My days have turned into almost 14 hours of non-stop work. Work the day job then get home to work on the side yard and front yard.

So from this:

To this rain garden 1 & 2:

Reshaping the swale:

Now I need a shower.