Thursday, June 28, 2007

Joann's Garden June 2007



Inspite of Bambi's visits the gardens are looking wonderful to me. Just note that there are apricot lily blooms (Atlanta Princess Daylilys) on the right but none on the left due to Bambi's visit.
If you look at the arbor by the swing you can see the blossoms of the American wisteria. This is the wisteria to grow---not as invasive as Chinese or Japanese wisteria. Nickko hydrangeas and the purple coneflowers are attracting bumble bees and butterflies. Note the blue butterfly on the purple coneflower by the finch birdfeeder.



The perennial bed on the northeast side of the house has sky pencils and Alberta spruces plus macrophylia hydrangias, varigated hydrangias, white astilbia, blue and silver load hostas, summer phlox, Russian sage, knockout roses, azaleas, and purple liatris. All of these are blooming under two redbud and one Bradford pear tree. In the far background is Dickie's large flowerbed surrounded by a rock border. By the 4'th of July Dickie's patio is totally hidden by the vegetation in her yard. If you look back at the arbor and swing you will see two bluebird houses attached to the front pillars. We have had one brood of baby bluebirds. They were in the right bluebird house. Today I removed the nest that was left. I will clean out the house in hopes of attracting another bluebird couple in search of a home. I should put up a sign: lease up, new renters wanted.
We have one more bluebird house that currently is holding two baby English sparrows. I opened up this house this morning and saw two little baby birds with almost no feathers. What sad little babies were they. I closed the box quickly because I thought one of the babies was going to fall out of the box. I had disturbed its morning nap. And mother must have left the box to go fetch food for her babies. My thought for the day: human mothers work hard taking care of their young but I think bird mommas work even harder.

Wednesday, June 27, 2007

Now We Have A Home Invasion

First it was the Bambi caper in the backyard. Now our home has been invaded. I couldn't sleep Sunday night so I came downstairs to read in the family room. I kept hearing this clicking noise but didn't look up right away. When I got tired of the clicking I looked up and discovered a little black cloud of swarming insects by the lamp in the corner of the family room.

Oh, no I thought to myself! This reminds me of our last home invasion years ago in Burke Centre so I ran upstairs and woke Jack up and announced that I think we have termites swarming in our family room! Jack got up, took one look and then went to the garage to get some bug spray. Monday morning we found hundreds of dead insects on the carpet. We left them there for evidence for the exterminator man who was coming for an annual visit since we have our home under 'pesk control'.

When the E Man took a look Monday morning he said we were very lucky. We didn't have termites we had flying ants. Flying ants! Now what kind of crazy ants fly? You always picture ants walking across the picnic table not doing dive bomb missions across the picnic table. Lucky us. We have the flying bomber ants.

They say things come in threes. I can't wait to see what turns up next around here. I just hope it isn't a snake.

Monday, June 25, 2007

A Tale of Bambi's Bite


Sing the lyrics below to Meredith Wilson's song, Ya Got Trouble


Well, ya got trouble, my friend

Right here, I say trouble right here in Haymarket

Oh, deer we got trouble

Right here in Haymarket

With a capitol 'T'

And that rhymes with 'D"

And that stands for 'deer'


We surely got trouble

Right here in Haymarket

Gotta figure a way to get the deer out of here


Trouble Trouble Trouble

Buds Buds Buds

Missing Missing Missing


Yes, I must report that Bambi has bit my buds! I must also admit that it took awhile for me to realize something was amiss in the lily bed by the swing. Jack actually noticed the problem first. He said that my lilies were not blooming while Rosemary's down the drive were going great guns. What's your problem, Joann?



What? My lilies are not blooming? I wonder why? So I started watching them everyday for a week to see if a bud was about to burst into a blossom. After a week of watching and hoping I had to admit that I had no lily blossoms. No blossoms. No buds.

No buds! Where did my buds go?


I did an up close examination of the bed and discovered telltale signs of

clipping. Someone or something had neat as you please clipped the buds off the lily stalks. Just about an inch down the stalk from the growing bud.

The stalks were still standing tall and the lily leaves were all still swaying in the summer breeze there.



When I got down on my hands and knees for tracking what did I see but the

outline of Bambi's hoof in my wet mulch. Which means just one thing: the deer that have been calling the golf course home are now smelling ripe vegetation and making bud raids into the backyards of homes further away from our golf course in Piedmont.


This Bambi news is a bitter pill to swallow. I'm now web searching for ways to foil Bambi's midnight raids on my flowerbeds. Oh, and yes, did you notice that I used the plural form of flowerbed? I now have noticed that Bambi made a side trip to the hosta bed by the dining room window. He/she was three feet away from my house. What if Bambi takes a liking to the flowers on my dining room table or breakfast room table? I could end up with Bambi in my house! And I do not plan on inviting Bambi to dine in my home. I might plan on having Bambi for dinner though. If anybody has some ways to foil Bambi please post a comment.


Well, ya got trouble, my friend

Right here, I say trouble right here in Haymarket

With a capital 'T'

And that rhymes with 'D'

And that stands for 'deer'

Ti's a bitter pill to swallow to acknowledge that

BAMBI BIT MY BUDS AND BOMBED MY BLOSSOMS

Tuesday, June 12, 2007

Week Five + 4 Days Top Moments


#14 Spending the night in Sandusky, Ohio near Lake Eire and then having

lunch at Guy and Tammy's Italian Restaurant in Monaca, PA. The

Bistro is Pacentros and the bruschetta there is to kill for or to drive

out of your way for.............


#13 Visiting the two Ford estates in the Detroit metro area:

Edsell Ford home in Grosse Pointe

Henry Ford home in Dearborn


#12 Visiting the Gerald Ford Presidential Museum in Grand Rapids, MI.


#11 Having an extraordinary German meal at Maders in Milwaukee, WI.


#10 Walking along the shore of Lake Michigan at Milwaukee and then

touring the Pabst Mansion.


#9 Visiting Minneapolis's Mall of America and having supper at the

Wolfgang Puck Express Restaurant at MOA.


#8 Sightseeing in Helena, Montana, and then touring the Grant-Khors

Ranch near Deer Lodge.


#7 Driving thru the mountains of western Idaho on #94.


#6 Spending the evening in a Rhinestone Cowboy Town: Jackson Hole,

Wyoming.


#5 Encountering a real western cattle drive on our road in Montana.


#4 Taking the 4 hour Twin Cities Tour in MN and then going to the

Minneapolis's Swedish Institute and St. Paul's Catholic Cathedral.


#3 Meeting all the wild animals (horses, buffalo, antelope and prairie

dogs) on our drive in Teddy Roosevelt Nat. Park.


#2 Driving along and thru the snow capped peaks of Grand Teton Nat.

Park.


#1 Driving from south to north thru Yellowstone Nat. Park

and stopping to view Old Faithful and Mammoth Hot

Springs.