THE GARDEN

 Hello, friends!  Hope you are having a wonderful day.  Here it is the middle of another week.  And the last day of June.  Time just marches on.  The year is half over already!

We had a good Ladies Bible Study yesterday although I was very late.  I overslept and it just went from there.  But things still went well.  We just didn't get as much studied, but that's OK because we are not on a time schedule.

It has been so hot here.  I know there are many of you in the western states who have it even worse than I do.  I feel sorry for you and pray for you.  But it is very hot here too.  We have been having the air conditioner running non-stop.  Right now I have it turned off and the front door open to get the cool fresh air into the house.  It is so pleasant in the early morning.  (It's about 5:30 a.m. as I write this.)  I try to do all I need to in the morning because as soon as it gets hot, I'm done.

The heat has taken a toll on my garden too.  My marigolds are all dried up and withered even though I try to water them.  The other plants aren't doing all that well either.  But I did take some photos before it got brutal so I wanted to share them with you.  Sorry some of these are rather dark.  I hope you can see them.  I need to check the light meter on my camera.

Last year I had no flowers at all on my hydrangea.  This year it is overrun with them.  So many and so beautiful.

 

The red and white petunias all died off.  Fortunately there were lots of buds and they all came back.

                              

The roses have been beautiful.

The basil is going crazy and the parsley is up too.

And for the first time ever the tree has crab apples on it.

I was reading on Google that the seeds contain cyanide and are poisonous to people and animals.  The stray cats won't bother them because they are well fed and cats want meat not vegetation.  But I need to warn our next-door neighbors who have dogs.  Dogs are especially vulnerable it seems.  And if I decide to use them for something, I need to be careful about getting rid of the seeds and anything near them.  Have any of you heard about this?  Have you ever eaten a crab apple?

I was going to show you the patio area also, but those photos are really dark.  I will retake them and show you later.

And now I need to get going with my day.  Lots to do.  I asked my friend, Donna, to come for lunch after church on Fourth of July.  So I need to get this house cleaned up.  And I need to stop at ShopRite for my medication and I'll buy some food there too for Sunday.  I'm going to look for a watermelon slice.

So see you all later.  Have a wonderful day.

Kathy

THE GARDEN

 Yesterday was such a beautiful day.  It was sunny and in the 80s (high 20s C.).  The only problem was the high winds we were having.  Our trash and recycling cans were blowing all over the yard.  But I did get a chance to spend some time outside.  And I took pictures to show you how things are doing.

I did splurge on getting a new banner for my fence.  Hello, Spring!

And I couldn't pass up this beautiful garden flag with the cross made of flowers and the words "He Is Risen."  A reminder of what we celebrate at this time of year.

After I got the banner and the flag set up, I walked around the yard looking at all the things that are starting to get green.  These first two pictures are of my hydrangea.  It didn't bloom at all last year, so hopefully it will this time around.  I don't see any flower buds on it, but there are lots of little leaves coming out.

Oops, a flag blew down in that great wind.  I will have to make sure I pick it up tomorrow.  More leaves coming out.

I am totally thrilled with my lilac bush.  Not only does it have leaves, but there are tiny little lilacs starting to come out on it.

Joe's favorite spring flower is a daffodil.  I planted lots of them when we first got married.  All different colors.  Two of them are up and blooming.

And my crabapple tree has leaves and little flower buds too.  Spring has really come.

I love seeing the garden come back to life after a long and cold winter.  But with the new life comes a lot of work to keep it looking nice.  I usually begin the Sunday after Easter to put things together.  I do just a small area each Sunday.

Hope spring is coming to your area too.  In any case, the sunlight hours are getting longer and the temperatures warmer.  That's a good thing.

See you later this week.

Kathy

THE TUESDAY GARDEN

 

Hello, friends.  It's a beautiful morning here in Philly.  Hope it is where you are too.

I finally got out in the garden yesterday.  It is in bad shape.  I hope I can get it cleaned up before Fall comes.  There is a lot to do.  Here is one side of the yard.

And here's the other side.

I can work only 15-20 minutes at a time before the pain in my legs and back gets too much to bear.  So it will be a little at a time.  But...  look how much I got done!  I decided to begin by unearthing my lilac bush and one rosebush.  Here is the before covered with morning glories.

And here it is after 20 minutes of hard work.  (And I do mean hard.  Bleeding hands and tons of mosquito bites to show for it.)

What a difference!  It's only a little bit, but if I go out every clear day for 15 minutes, it will get done.  After I finish with the yard, I will work on the patio.  I am looking for cute fall items to put out there.

My next-door neighbor has been coming over daily and watering my tomato plants with Miracle-Gro.  His veggies are doing so well and he wanted to share the wealth.  Such nice neighbors!  When I went out he was there watering them and told me to take a look.  Here was a surprise for me.

These are close-up photos, and they aren't very big, but hurray!  I will probably have three or four tomatoes by the end of September.  We have such warm September days that they have plenty of time to ripen.

That's it for today.  I am on my way to see the surgeon this morning.  My oncologist (the one retiring) called me yesterday morning and told me to not worry about things, that it looked OK to him but better to get checked out.  That made me feel better.  Hope the surgeon feels the same way.  I am not looking forward to that long walk from the parking lot to the hospital's front door.  It's uphill and does me in.  Oh how I miss valet parking!

I'll end with a photo I forgot to show you the other day.  Look at these ominous clouds over the houses across the street!  We are supposed to have the end of one of the hurricanes tomorrow.  I have a feeling I will see an even darker sky then.

Have a good day, everyone and I will be back soon.

Kathy

THE SATURDAY GARDEN (AND OTHER THINGS)

 

Hello, friends.  I really meant to get back to you before this.  And I really meant to get out into the yard and do some more.  But things just didn't work out that way.

We had a lot of rain this week.  Lots and lots of rain.  Working outside just wasn't in the plan.  So that didn't happen.  But let me show you what got done earlier this week.

The grass was about halfway to our knees.  Joe got out there and started whacking it down.  I really don't like him doing that because his allergies are so bad.  But he put on a mask and went out.

I insisted on taking over and between the two of us we got the grass under control.

We are overrun with morning glories.  They are pretty, but seem to choke out all of my plants.  You can see the job they did on the stand for my gazing ball.

I took a few minutes to clean it off.  Looking much better!

Then I went over and cleaned out the earthbox with the two tomato plants.  I pulled out all the weeds, got the fairies and mushrooms situated, and looked for tomatoes.  None yet, but lots of flowers.  I hope I get some fruit soon or it will be too late in the season to get anything.

The fern in the pot had a lot of dead leaves on it.  I cleaned that up.

And then I pulled up all the weeds along the fence and straightened the solar lights.  Joe changed the flag for me.

I hope it will be a nice day tomorrow so that I can do some more work.  So much to do out there.

One reason I didn't get out in the yard besides the rain is that I was in the hospital getting a test done.  One of several before I have a procedure on September 9th.  The test was on Wednesday.  On Tuesday night I so wanted to stay up to see the meteor shower but I fell asleep.  It was a fasting test, so I guess I'm glad I slept all night and didn't think about getting a midnight snack.

I may not have seen any meteors, but I did see the sun rise the next day.  Yes, the test was that early.

And I was very glad when it was done and I could get dressed and go home.

I had taken two Pop Tarts with me so I had something to eat as soon as I got back to the car.

So that's what's been happening this week.  Now I have to go back to cleaning the house.  And baking.  And putting the church bulletin together.  It never ends.

Have a good evening.

Kathy