Interruption

We were working in the new border when a friend came to visit...

Hard work, today, ya'll!!

Nobody says ya'll, around here. 'Cept me. I still like it and it sounds darn friendly. More so than the "you guys" we normally use.
Anyways....Today I got to work on the bed.

 I never could decide-shape the bed along the eye of sight or across?? So, I compromised. The bed is at an angle, with the far end extending away, at a 45* angle. I dragged all the big components out there in my yard cart circa 1867. I placed them in the area, without any direction or boundary. Starting with the Honey Locust 'Sunburst', to anchor the whole thing. Looks far away, doesn't it?
Another purpose of this bed is to be another "stepping stone" for the cardinals to come into my yard. I can hear them, back in those trees, but they are small and skittish and without tree cover, they won't risk the trip to my yard, because of the hawks. Planting another shade tree out there increases the chances we'll see song birds at our feeder, this winter.
I moved things around until I liked where they where. I consulted with Laurrie about the Miss Kim standards. My first reaction to these weirdo trees was yuck. Another addition to the Impervious Pile of Grass, but Laurrie suggested I try them, underplanting them with full shrubs, to try to take away the formal feel of the standard form. The formality of a standard pruned lilac felt out of place in my rural landscape, but since they were free and they were here, she suggested I plant them and forget about the design clashes.
I just love sensible bloggers like her!
After much moving and schlepping, this is what I liked:

The fountain grass says 5-6 feet tall, I bookmarked the bed with tall grass on either side. 

The Potentilla is McKay's White, and I will keep this guy pruned down to a pillow shape that stays 2' tall.

Another reason I angled the bed away from the house is to mind the shade the tree will eventually cast. Positioning it this way, the shade will fall to the east, but the plants are to the northeast.

 Anyways, the Honey Locust doesn't cast a dense shade because the leaves are so small. 

Once I was happy with the way things looked, I got out the 100' extension cord and laid it out around the plants. I was careful to make a simple shape, one that could easily be mowed around with the rider.   I brought all the shrubs and trees back up to the storage area, (the deck), and I was ready to start killing. 

note: organically minded souls should look away now.

Information about my enemy:

from the University of Minnesota Extension site: Rhizomes (underground stems) are yellow to white, 1/8" in diameter, with distinct joints or nodes every inch or so. Each node is capable of producing fibrous roots, and sending a new blade of grass through the soil. The creeping rhizomes are so tough they can grow through a potato tuber, or push up through asphalt pavement. If left to grow, they will form a dense mat 4" thick in the upper part of the soil. One plant can produce 300 feet of rhizomes each year. Never use a rototiller where quackgrass is growing, because it amounts to propagating thousands of new plants from the chopped up rhizomes.  The most effective way to eradicate quackgrass is by using a herbicide that contains glyphosate (Monsanto Roundup). It should be applied when there is no wind and when there will be no rain for 48 hours. The plant must be green and actively growing for best results. Glyphosate is a non-selective herbicide that will kill almost any green plant it contacts, and also can injure or kill woody plants. It is important to apply glyphosate only to the plants you want to eradicate. One problem with using glyphosate on quackgrass is that up to 95% of the lateral buds on the rhizomes are dormant even though the plant is actively growing. Since herbicides are translocated from the leaves to actively growing plant tissue, after about 7 days the glyphosate degrades and the dormant lateral buds will start to grow new shoots. It may take more than one application to completely eradicate quackgrass.

I purchased the RoundUp concentrate and carefully mixed it in a gallon sprayer and went to battle. Today was a hot day with zero wind, perfect for using the grass killer. I carefully sprayed the entire area inside the extension cord that marked my bed to be. Tomorrow, I will do it again, ensuring that I got it all.
I also dragged the awful Norway Maples to the burn pile, pulled a 5 gal bucket of quackgrass out of the split rail fence bed.
In the end, it was 4 hours of work and right now, there's almost nothing to show for it!
I did plant things, today!
Pink Champagne Clematis:

planted on the split rail fence, Type 2 pruning class

Daylily, Edge Ahead

These were more "rescued" plants. After 2 weeks in my care, they looked alot better than when I pulled them out of the garden center. 

Time to go in, Gracie. Looks like you need a drink. I KNOW I do, ya'll!!

Fighting Back!!

Goat Cheese rolled in garden herbs, served with french bread rounds...

Grilled pizza, have you tried this, yet?? So easy!
The next pictures are not as appetizing.
It has almost become impossible to be in my gardens. The Japanese Beetles are incredibly thick. They are huge, lazy fliers and will fly right into me. I noticed the last plum tree looked funny, so I walked back there. I was horrified by what I found.

Giant masses of these monsters have turned the upper canopy to lace. A new baby Linden was planted 2 weeks ago...

Trees need leaves to make food and this poor guy is on the brink. I dusted some Chicken manure around the base and let the hose trickle on him for several hours. 

I had had quite enough. I angrily stomped away, swatting beetles.

UGH!!!

I ran to the store and purchased a new sprayer and Sevin concentrate. I slowly and carefully sprayed 2 gallons of the bug killer all over the trees and the ground underneath.

Two hours later:

I could hear the tree breath a sigh of relief. The ground under this tree is literally moving with dying beetles. I spared you that image. I don't like to use the chemicals, but I felt is was time. All those beetles are making more baby beetles! I couldn't stand the thought. Hopefully, the worst is over.

I was careful to keep Gracie out of that area!

but she won't ever be too far from the grill with Dad! Last night I made Greek chicken with saganaki and salad. Cass will not eat chicken and she is on vacation with friends, so Jeff and I enjoyed it. 

Saganaki= flaming cheese = OPA!!

   

YUM! I hope you all enjoy your day! Stay cool out there and don't like the beetles get ya!

Puppies

Gracie’s brother is here.  I am including this just because puppies are so cute!

I forget sometimes, that my family reads my blog. When my husband read that I had spent $50 on the pruners, he really had a problem with it. I don’t blame him, but I actually received them as a gift. I ran my boss’s business last week. She asked what I wanted and I told her those! I got an email that they have shipped, already!

I will be doing some more of this, today.

Does anyone need any old towels or sheets??

So happy together

 

Gracie goes to work with me, nearly every day. She lays under my work area in a basket full of mistake t-shirts. She's not very good at making shirts, but she's very good at making us laugh!

From Tom Skilling's website:

Chicagoans have experienced only 12 above-freezing days since Dec. 1--the fewest on record the past 141 years
      Winter 2010-11 is running more than 5-degrees below normal--chilly enough to rank as the area's 21st coldest of the past 141 years. The cold's been persistent--but so too has the usual supply of mild days. There have been only 12 days since the start of the meteorological winter season (December 1st) with daytime highs which have broken above freezing. That's the fewest above-freezing days of any of the past 141 winters on file here in Chicago.  

The good news??!! If things work out to average, the very first 60degree day is only 19 days away!! Hard to believe, because today it is 5.
The average 70degree day is March 26.     

3 years have passed....?

I am shocked to see it has been 3 years since I last posted! So many things have happened, of course, but life has been good to me in this time.
When my husband went to work in a cold day in December, he discovered 80% of the work force at the plant had been let go. My husband was not. He is still working. Praise God.

Our son attends the U of I, in the Chemical Engineering program. He has interned for Kraft Foods and entertained many internship offers for the upcoming summer, but chose to return with Kraft. Praise God.
Our daughter is a Junior in high school and is beautiful. She plays basketball for her school and volleyball for her school and a competitive club. She is 6'2" and towers over most of the kids in her school, but she is a confident and intelligent young woman who surrounds herself with good kids. Praise God.
I continue to work 2 different jobs, one in the summer and a different one in the winter. I work for my dear friend in the winter, where we make t-shirts. It's a lot more fun than it sounds and she's a great boss. I have a lot of creative license and alot of control over my hours. (perhaps too much!)
I miss my blogger friends. I miss my blog. I have spent the last week going back to the blogs I love and have discovered so many of you have continued to be inspiring and hard working gardeners and quilters and cooks and landscapers.
I am sad to see some of the blogs are now advertiser driven. I don't know how to feel about those "give aways". They always say, "I received a free gift from so and so but the opinions are my own". Then a blog post about how wonderful the free gift is. I have my doubts....
I am sad to see some dear friends have lost their soulmates. I did not know how close I considered these blogger friends until I read one particular post of a blogger who lost her dear husband. I did not know how much I cared for the people who I met while blogging, until I felt the tears splashing on my fingers on the laptop. I truly felt the loss.
It was that feeling, this morning, that brings me back here. I miss having a creative place to go. I miss the connection of my blogger friends. I wonder who is new out there that I have yet to read??!!
I do not consider myself so enthralling that someone would want to come here to find out what wonderful adventures I am on. (haven't been on vacation in 3 years....sigh...college tuition and uncertain times @ hub's job) But I will do my best to contribute

This is the view of our porch. And our newest family member, Gracie. Hate the winter. Love Gracie. She came to us in August of 2010. My Pooh died and I thought I would die, as well.
My co-worker, Chris, her in-laws had a pair of yorkies that had a litter of puppies! They tried and tried to get me to take one, but I didn't want any more heartache.
One day, with the son and the daughter gone, I looked at Chris and said, I will take that last puppy, if she's still available.
With that, Gracie Mae was mine. 
her cuteness cannot be underestimated....

Thanks for waiting for me, blogger. I'm happy to be back!