Dreaming of Spring Gardening in the Middle of a Wisconsin winter part 2

[jvls1942]

so sad to hear that, Barb. the first thing you hope is maybe she was gone visiting .
a long time ago my brother and i were in a bad car accident. the news, and gossip were so far from accurate that it could have been someone else in a different accident.

 

[Callender Girl]

We learned several hours ago that she did not get out of the building.

 

[jvls1942]

how sad, Barb,. hoping for the best for your sister.
it must be really hard for her.
i feel awkward posting any news
last night we found out that wood chucks are also nocturnal. he was trying to get into the garage, pushing on the door. i assume he could smell the cat's food. well, mr woody, i will give you some cat food.
yesterday both the bib lettuce and carrots made their appearance .
Annie picked a quart of black raspberries. made two pints of freezer jam. a real delicacy .
70F, rain at noon. mosquitoes all the time.....

 

[Callender Girl]

No need to feel awkward. Believe me, there's been PLENTY of time and discussion devoted to the fatality and fire. No cause has been released yet. As if there wasn't enough turmoil, now there's issues with the insurance company and some people have suggested the possibility of lawsuits because, well, because we live in a litigious society.

I'd rather hear about you spoiling your foster woodchuck (my foster robin was a much better option!) and Annie making freezer jam.

I made my weekly errand run to Fort Dodge yesterday and apparently thought retail therapy would be good for me. At Bomgaars, I was asked if I was out of everything (I paid for it all with a gift card I'd bought myself when they were on sale, plus I got the Tuesday Senior Day discount). At Menards, I bought all the cedar pickets I'm going to use to finish my potting bench project. At Walmart, I scooped up another of the $3 clearance perennials (I needed ONE more Shasta daisy; I had loaded up on $3 ones over the weekend) and I planted five before I realized that heat exhaustion was becoming a real possibility.

Also, at Marshall's -- where I was planning to buy new sheets - I couldn't decide between two sets, so I bought them both!! This is so not me (frugal to a fault often).

There was some pretty powerful rain coming down overnight, at least an inch and a half; one rain gauge showed almost 2 inches. Not many opportunities to work outside today, although the ducks and geese will happily play in the driveway puddles while the chickens project complete disdain for the sogginess.

 

[jvls1942]

yeah Barb, I was wondering when the rumers and blame would start,. D#*N insurance companies,.
they take your money and then squirm like worms, that they are, to avoid paying for anything.
I could tell you a few stories about that.
sounds like Christmas in July in Iowa.

 

[jvls1942]

had a nice soaking rain at about noon. i am not going to water today.
might top off the water in the newly emerging lettuce and carrots. play it by ear.
that chuck is making me nervous with his tunnel just ten feet from my tomatoes. today i will set the trap. pray that i don't catch the skunk.
only 52F this morning. good for the lettuce.
the peas and beans are ready for picking.
Annie wants to pick some more black raspberries.
the strawberries gave just a few . lots of runners though. i think i will cut their embelical cords.

 

[Callender Girl]

Fingers crossed that Pepe Le Pew doesn't end up in your woodchuck trap. Speaking of cartoons ...

Elmer Fudd's song "Kill the Wabbit" ran through my head last night when I discovered that the cute little bunny who slips through the fence around my main daylily bed had attacked my newest plant.

My lovely "Rock Solid" wasn't solid enough to withstand bunny biting. I'm not sure if the rabbit is intentionally evil or just has amnesia -- because it regularly takes off daylily stalks, remembers it doesn't like to eat those or the flower buds on them and spits them onto the ground.

It's actually cool here -- 59 when I got up -- so I spent a couple of hours attacking weeds and some gifted (appreciated at the time) grass that has run rampant.

I was happily surprised to see that my strawberries, after losing most of the fruit to garden vermin, are throwing lots of babies. No cutting their cords here!

 

[Callender Girl]

57 degrees today! I need to get as much outdoor work done as possible because there's plenty more rain predicted, starting about midnight.

Yesterday brought a "significant" garden harvest -- two Anaheim peppers and my first yellow squash, all between 6 and 8 inches long, along with four white onions and a handful of Sweet 100 cherry tomatoes.

But, even better was the discovery that my Adam's Needle yuccas are alive and well! There had been absolutely no signs of life; even the brown remains of previous years were missing.

My yuccas are in the north edge of the daylily bed, a place I pass by just about every day. I had been mourning the loss of their spiky leaves and bell-like flowers, just like the yucca my mom had. Yesterday, I spotted three good-sized clumps. How have I not seen them before?

I'm blaming the weird winter on their late appearance; most of the ajugas were also slow to show their faces and the chelones are still MIA.

Hey, Trapper Jim, have you caught anything yet? And what has Annie concocted with those black raspberries?

 

[jvls1942]

nice and cool here today, too.
Annie picked another quart of black raspberries
She makes freezer jam with them. super good on toast. she has 4 pints ,
today she is going to pick red raspberries,. she said she would make a pie. she makes a graham cracker crust, pours the raw berries in and tops it with real whipped cream.
Nothing in the trap yet. last night we didn't even see the light go on. i used a peach for bait.
probably should sprinkle a little cat food in there.
i pulled a beet out. it had a nice long root. should start to bulg pretty soon.
picking beans and eating them raw, very sweet.
the mulberry tree dropped all of the buds that we thought were going to be berries.
officially gave up on the corn. going to drag the whole plot and plant tillage radishes. still looking for small amount of winter wheat.

 

[jvls1942]

Good cool Saturday morning, 68F and cloudy
at 1 AM the light went on. this morning the trap was not set off. all of the peach pieces were gone. I will have to fine tune the trap,.
the peas are all done. didn't get a bumper crop from the mammoth vines. too much nitrogen??
i will pull the vines and plant radishes.
i gave up on the corn. will drag the garden and plant a cover crop.