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Post by Siren on Nov 30, 2008 9:01:53 GMT -6
I had to smile when I saw that you are working on a new garden bed, Gams - you and my mom and your ever-growing collections. What's the plan for this bed?
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Post by Phalon on Nov 30, 2008 9:10:41 GMT -6
Hi, Siren! The plan? Uhm....I'm supposed to have a plan? Dang!
The new bed is HUGE......over three hundred yards of dirt was hauled in! It was completely unplanned....but has been planned since we moved into the house.
Remember the glued-together maple? On the ravine side of it, there was a retaining wall - a very poorly built retaining wall that was leaning, cracked, and in danger of falling into the ravine possibly taking the maple with it. The 300 yards of dirt was used to shore up the wall, completely burying it....and a large portion of the ravine with it - all in an effort to save the maple.
I'll have to post pictures later; it's quite amazing how the dirt was brought in.
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Post by vox on Nov 30, 2008 13:15:16 GMT -6
Yes please! send some piccies! and where are all the piccies of your dog? I am still waiting to see some!
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Post by quettalee on Nov 30, 2008 13:29:41 GMT -6
Cold, rainy and wet here today in the Ohio River Valley. No snow yet, but I think they are calling for flurries before the day is over. It will be sleet if the temperature doesn't drop quite a bit...and no accumulation because we really haven't had many nights (and no days yet, thank the gods) where it's been close to freezing. I want that 55 degrees and bright sunshine that was here all last week.
Oh well, the day goes well with the hot cocoa and coconut rum that someone near and dear turned us onto...probably about this time last year. You don't want me to stay chilled all the way to the bone all day long, now do you?
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Post by fallenangel on Nov 30, 2008 17:57:00 GMT -6
It was snowing here today. It didn't stick though and only fell for a couple hours.
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Post by Siren on Dec 1, 2008 9:41:34 GMT -6
yinyang, OK got snow yesterday, too. But it didn't stick. Sure was pretty, though, while it lasted. By all means, tommygurl, apply that medicinal cocoa/rum, which sounds very good, BTW. A preventative - that's what it is. Enjoy! This could have gone in the "wordy" thread. But it applies here: drub (drb) v. drubbed, drub·bing, drubs v.tr. 1. To thrash with a stick. 2. To instill forcefully: drubbed the lesson into my head. 3. a. To defeat soundly. b. To berate harshly. 4. To stamp (the feet). v.intr. 1. To beat the ground; stamp. 2. To pound; throb. n. A blow with a heavy instrument, such as a stick. [Perhaps Arabic dialectal rab, from araba, to hit; "Drub" is what #1 UConn did to my #4 Sooner gals last night - a 30 pt beating, and on national tv. Silly me, I'd forgotten just how good a coach Geno Auriemma is. There is a reason the man has won 5 national championships. And there is a great distance between the #1 team in America and #4. *sigh* soonersports.com/sports/w-baskbl/recaps/113008aaa.html |
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Post by Phalon on Dec 2, 2008 22:55:47 GMT -6
Vox, check my blog for this week, (and next - it's a two parter). I hate to keep posting the link - it seems so, I dunno, self-promotional. Pfft. Which I have done in the past, I know, but this is not the case here though. It's just a long story and you weren't here at Whoosh when it all began. In addition, my computer and Photobucket are having a spat, (evident by my squishy leg to the left). I'm not sure who started the argument, or who is winning, but I'm getting frustrated with both of them.
On the other hand, all I have to do is forward the pictures to the editors, and then they have to deal with it.
Drub....cool word, Siren. Drub-a-dub-dub. So sorry you had to use it in connection with a loss by your Sooners though. But #4 is nothing to sneeze at. My Wolverines had an entire season of being drubbed....the worst season in the one hundred and some years of U of M football, and the first time they won't play in a bowl game. Sigh. As Katina would say, there's always next year.
And so.....the ice-skating rink opened over the weekend, the holiday lights are up downtown, snow is on the ground, I started Christmas shopping, finally ditched the Halloween costume, and put on my Christmas Gam attire. Any objections to putting the Autumn thread to bed, and pulling out Old Man Winter?
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Post by quettalee on Dec 3, 2008 0:04:21 GMT -6
We supposedly have just one more day of "Autumnish" temps--suppose to be 55 tomorrow, but then it's suppose to get very, very wintery.
I think it's gonna be a very long and frosty one for me, but I'm ready.
Bring it on, I say. I do love to read your posts about the snow and the woods and the quiet. I know it's beautiful because I can vaguely remember those kinds of winters in Connecticut when I was a youngster.
Wish I could walk through those woods one time with you this year.
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Post by Siren on Dec 3, 2008 9:06:28 GMT -6
Lol! I love the Christmas gam, Gams. Do you know that the movie "A Christmas Story" turned 25 this year? Gad, I'm getting old.
The porch plants are safely in my mom's sun room, the snow tubing and ice skating have opened downtown (both man-made, of course, here in wimpy-winter OK), and the Salvation Army red kettles are filling. But here's the clincher: once the BC Clark jingle appears (see "commercial" thread), fall is really over. Bye bye, Autumn! I'm sad to see you go.
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Post by Phalon on Sept 11, 2009 21:04:10 GMT -6
Any objections to bringing this one back up? It just feels so fallish here, I'm having a hard time remembering it's still technically summer.
I noticed the begonias in my hanging basket looking kind of droopy this evening. They shouldn't be, I thought, I just watered it the other day. I took it down off the hook to check the soil, and then saw the reason why the plants were drooping. The basket was filled with five walnuts - husks and all. The squirrels are already storing their food stash, and damn it, broke my begonias in the process. Pfft!
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Post by stepper on Sept 11, 2009 21:36:51 GMT -6
Of course it's okay! It's been an entire week since the temps here hit 100. Shoot, it's practically time to crank up the fireplace! And we finally got some rain too! Two inches! Only another 44" to go to get back to normal.
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Post by Siren on Sept 16, 2009 9:30:28 GMT -6
Woop! I love fall, and love the autumnal thread. Bring it on! When the NFL is in action, and the State Fair is under way (starts tomorrow - yay!), it's fall.
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Post by Mini Mia on Sept 16, 2009 17:49:28 GMT -6
I've got brown leaves in the yard. And a I see a bit of red here and there.
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Post by Phalon on Sept 16, 2009 21:37:02 GMT -6
The red maples are blaring color all around us, but I've got a scattering of bright yellow and golden leaves from the silver maples on the front yard too, Joxie.
Siren, be sure to pick me up a funnel cake at the fair, okay? And ride the rides for me. And don't forget to pat the horses' heads too.
Oh, how I miss the fairs! We've got the various festivals in town, and those are fun, but nothing like the state or county fairs. I love going to the fair. I remember Hubs asking me way back what I wanted to do special for our tenth anniversary. I told him I wanted to go to the county fair, so that's what we did, and rode the octopus so many times until I got to laughing so hard I could barely breathe. Hubs, didn't think it was so funny after a few times; if a person can feel like a color, he felt green. Ah, but good times, good times. Working weekends, it's been years since I've been to the country fair - though it goes on for a week, it's too far for an after school/after work event.
Oh, and Siren, stay away from the ferris wheel - they scare me. Or at least if you insist on riding it, don't rock the seat!
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Post by Siren on Sept 18, 2009 9:24:49 GMT -6
No worries about that funnel cake, Gams. I will even throw in an indian taco for good measure. But I will leave the rides to the young thrill-seekers. I have become faint-hearted in my old age when it comes to large machines run by folks who look like they'd flunk a drug test.
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Post by Phalon on Sept 18, 2009 22:10:18 GMT -6
No rides? Awww, darn. It's kinda funny - I can't stand climbing a three rung ladder, but love to plummet down dizzying heights full speed on roller coasters, and spin around and around on other rides so fast you'd think a person's brain would get scrambled.
Hhmm....maybe that last part there explains a lot.
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Post by Mini Mia on Sept 18, 2009 22:30:16 GMT -6
 Okay. I think I have a cricket in the house! Time to hunt that sucker down and grind him into powder. I _hate_ a cricket in the house, or just outside the windows. Way out in the field, I could listen to them all night. But NOT close up! They drive me insane!
Gotta go ... I's huntin' crickets. Shhhhhh! 
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Post by Siren on Sept 19, 2009 10:15:02 GMT -6
I think I've told this story before, but it's worth a repeat. Years ago, I was talking on the phone to my niece, Jo, complaining about a cricket in my house. I said, "I can hear him, but I can't find him." Jo, who was about 11, and was in the midst of complete Xena obsession, replied, "Listen behind the sounds." LOL!
I hope you find that cricket, Jox. They'll eat holes in your clothes AND drive you nuts with the chirping. Good hunting!
Nothing brings rain to Oklahoma like the State Fair. Here we are, on the first weekend of the fair, and it's raining like a sieve. Nice to know you CAN count on some things in life.
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Post by Mini Mia on Sept 19, 2009 17:32:59 GMT -6
Siren, those critters must have a built in radar that alerts them that they're being hunted. As I headed down the hallway that sucker went silent, and I haven't heard a peep since.  No fear. I will get the 'little purdy' at some point. If not me, then the cat. A cat in the house is one of the best bug killers around.
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Post by Phalon on Sept 19, 2009 22:43:58 GMT -6
Wait, Joxie! Stop!!! And for god-sake, call off the cats!!!!
Having a cricket inside the house brings good luck. Mom always told me that when I was a kid, (probably to make me stop complaining about the incessant chirping), but because I listen to my mother I always scoot them out the door rather than squish them. And just to be sure that Mom wasn't making up stories, I just two-minute drilled it.
"Crickets are said to foretell good luck. Their songs are said to bring blessings to all that are lucky enough to hear them. In many parts of the world, a cricket found in the house will be treated with respect. Often, they are placed in small cages made especially for them, given food and water, and hopefully able to live a long life, as the longer they live, the more good luck they bring. Others say to leave them as they are, and if they stay, it means large amounts of money will come to the owners of the dwelling."
Shoot, maybe instead of scooting them outside the door, I should have let them stay.
Sorry it rained on your State Fair parade, Siren. Hopefully, you'll have a chance to go again before the end of the week.
We could use some rain, but it was absolutely gorgeous today - a little bit crisp, but with lots of sunshine; the perfect early fall day for one of my favorite early fall rituals. Apple picking!
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Post by Siren on Sept 20, 2009 8:38:36 GMT -6
Ah, it really is time for this thread if Gams is picking apples. Could anything be more autumnal? What kind are you picking, G?
Gorgeous day, now that the rain has gone. Beautifully cool. I have the windows up, and it's glorious. I'm thinking today may be the day for the fair. After that, lots of football.
Enjoy your day, whooshamigos y amigas!
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Post by stepper on Sept 20, 2009 18:04:18 GMT -6
OO! OO! OO! Me too!
What about a double? They're lots of fun!
Crickets. I've heard the "good luck" stories, but the pitch of that squeeky noise they make is the wrong pitch for my ears. They're not allowed in my house. I have little signs at both doors - "No crickets allowed. Violators will be dechirped!"
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Post by Phalon on Sept 21, 2009 22:14:38 GMT -6
Yep, it's definitely the time for apple picking....and this is definitely the year for it; it's a historic year, in fact. Never in the history of agricultural record keeping has Michigan had such a large apple crop...and it's the same all over the country. The relatively wet weather (in comparison to the past years of drought), sunny days but with cooler than normal temperatures were contributing factors to the bumper crops.
This early we go for the Honey Crisps (Hubs' and BP's favorite), and McIntosh, (my and LX's favorite). We missed the McIntosh by hours; the trees were so heavy with apples that they were threatening drop, so they went through early that morning and gleaned everything from them. Relatively recent regulations prevent any apple that touches the ground from being used in any way for human consumption (they used to be able to make cider from the drops). The problem is trichinosis passed on by grazing deer who eat the apples off the ground.
Not to worry though - we picked a Mac-cross that is every bit as good, sweet and tart at the same time with that white, white flesh that makes McIntoshes so distinguishable from other apples. And they are the size of softballs! On kind of a sad note - because the branches were so heavy with apples, with each one we picked, no matter how gently we plucked it, three more fell from the tree.
As TG would say, this place was the sh!t! Lots of orchards in this area, and we ended up at this one by mistake after taking a turn down the wrong winding country road, and it'll be the one we go to from now on. It's an orchard, winery, and cider mill all rolled into one. A pristine farm house was converted into a general store, with apple butter, jellies, cheeses, juices, wines and cider - and warm apple cider donuts; per the girls, we had to get a dozen, (not that I minded). There a wine tasting bar in the center of the store. They (we) got their donuts; I had to get a bottle of their national award winning "Fine Traditional Draught Apple Cider" (hard cider), which came in a champagne-type bottle with a champagne taste, complete with bubbles and nearly 9 percent alcohol content, (my domestic beer preference is something like 3.5, I think).
My friend stopped in yesterday; I hadn't seen her in a while, and we celebrated our reunion with a glass of the cider. We were looped.
And hour later, I wish I would have remembered what the woman who weighed our apples told us: eating an apple will relieve a headache. I guess there is truth to that "apple a day, keeps the doctor away." I also wish I had remembered why I don't drink wine.
Donuts, hard apple cider, sixty pounds of apples, and we're still not done. Mid to late October is when the yellow delicious ripen. They're the ones that take us through most of the winter. It's a good thing there's that "apple a day" saying, because damn, I love apples.
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Post by Phalon on Sept 23, 2009 22:31:26 GMT -6
I saw the most beautiful scene yesterday, so fitting for the first day of autumn. The morning started off foggy, and the sun peaked out only occasionally. On my drive to work, there is a clearing in the woods that during any other time of the year you'd think was filled with a bunch of nondescript weeds.
It really hits it's glory in autumn though. There is a short, little grass, not even a foot high, called purple love grass. Its blades are really quite coarse and not attractive at all. But in the fall it's lovely - airy fine lavender-colored flowers seem to float above the grass like clouds, and large swaths of it covered this field; goldenrod covered the rest with the occasional patch of dark purple asters. The fog yesterday hovered just above the ground, and with the sunlight sneaking through the clouds, everything seemed to glow. It looked like a painter had streaked his canvas with lavender and gold, splattered purple here and there, then layered a glittery white-wash over the top.
The border along the road was made up of wild grape vine just starting to turn yellow, sumac with hints of fire-engine red, and fluffy, tiny white asters. It was the kind of scene you just want to drink in and keep forever.
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Post by stepper on Sept 23, 2009 23:09:56 GMT -6
Wow. You paint a great picture there Phalon!
Before I forget to say so, my favorite apples are the Stayman-Winesap variety. And once in a while a Granny Smith!
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Post by Mini Mia on Sept 23, 2009 23:13:46 GMT -6
I love any apple that stays green and sour. 
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Post by Siren on Sept 25, 2009 11:02:39 GMT -6
Lovely posts, Gams. Thank you for sharing. Here's a sure sign of fall - a flower that only blooms at this time of year. And this one hasn't bloomed in about 3 years. So, I was absolutely thrilled when I spotted it this morning. They're a belladonna lily, or what we call "naked ladies". Yes, quite an usual name. The leaves come up first, then die back. Then, weeks later, these long, leafless stems pop up, and bloom into these gorgeous flowers. Beautiful, fragile flowers with no leaves = "naked ladies". My mom has these in her yard, too. Originally planted in a flowerbed, they were dug up by squirrels and replanted around the yard. Mama says my dad came in the house one day and calmly announced, "You've got one of those naked women out in the yard." She had to overcome her surprise and think for a moment to know what he meant! Aren't they a strange and beautiful flower? (that's my neighbor's truck)  |
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Post by stepper on Sept 25, 2009 22:30:55 GMT -6
Cool looking flower! Our aloe veras have bloomed in past years. Not this year, but in previous years. They get a stem with banana looking blooms. But, it was a complete surprise to me.
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Post by Siren on Sept 27, 2009 23:33:02 GMT -6
I never knew an aloe vera would bloom, Step. So, obviously, mine never has. Very interesting!
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Post by Phalon on Sept 28, 2009 4:25:59 GMT -6
Those naked ladies are beautiful, Siren - taken out of context that sounds kind of strange for an autumn thread, doesn't it?
There's a similar in habit bulb called cholchicum autumnale. Sometimes it's referred to as autumn crocus, though it's a completely different species than the fall-blooming crocus. Another common name is waterlily, though it's not related to waterlilies at all, (a customer laid a couple of these bulbs on the counter at work the other day, and asked if we had any other water plants. Good thing she asked - she was just going to throw the bulbs in her pond, thinking next year she'd have lily pads floating in the water).
The flowers look like pink waterlilies though - the foliage comes up in the spring, dies back and disappears in summer, and then in fall, the flowers appear. They're also called "naked boys".
It'd be funny to plant some in your mom's yard just to see the look on her face when your dad came in and said, "Now you've naked boys out there with the naked women." Sheesh, what would the neighbors think?
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"There are people you meet, who move in and out of your life, like ghosts-- and after they're gone, you find that they've left a part of themselves with you.
