Yard, Gardens, Birds and Critters

It rained so the Bermuda grass was growing like crazy again.  Thank goodness the other weeds were at a bare minimum.  I cut off the dead blossoms on the Hydrangea bushes.  I believe they are Oak Leaf Hydrangea but not sure but will get it confirmed on Wednesday. While trimming the Hydrangea, I found 5 baby plants. Going to ask my expert on Wednesday if they can be dug up and replanted.  I also found a bush honeysuckle that the Conservation wants you to get rid of, which I did.  Under the Hydrangea, I found a variegated liriope.  Liriope muscari is a species of low, herbaceous flowering plants from East Asia. Common names include big blue lily turf, lily turf, border grass, and monkey grass. It is a perennial with grass-like evergreen foliage and lilac-purple flowers which produce single-seeded berries on a spike in the fall. There was a Hosta under the Hydrangea too.  I went over the the long row of bushes and, after looking at them closely, believ...

My pumpkin is taking over the front flower bed and is now climbing to the sky!  Where is Jack?

Maintenance Day at Church By Mary June Williams © It was very, very hot out I went to church today To take out all the weeds again It didn’t feel like play The sermon on Sunday Given by Pastor Scott Said that was a day of rest So, work I did not Monday was a work day Sitting out in the sun Maintenance on the garden Until I got it done Found more of the weed barrier Because it had rained Could dig up all the weeds More of it, I gained It’s all cleaned up But here is the question Cut flowers off hydrangea To make them look fresh again? Here is my other question That comes to mind How about the bushes That are all in a line Do you want them trimmed? Or just wild in the row? Clean up beneath them? Or let the weeds grow? These are the questions Does anyone have a clue? I think the bushes need trimmed Something that I could do. Let me know the answer About the bushes please I could work on them An...

I can't help it.  It's the way I am. I don't understand it, but rhyming again. Good grief it is strange, to think everything in rhymes, but I do it so often, feels like all the time!  I am doing it again, as you can plainly see. I wonder if there is something wrong with me! Here is my poem and pictures from today. I have nothing more to say! The Church Project By Mary J Williams © The church project is done I finished today It’s supposed to rain So, no time to play It’s very humid today But the sun is not out It’s much better working Of that, there’s no doubt Pulled up more stones Buried under mulch and the dirt Cleaned out the path Got sweat on my shirt I put black cloth down To put the stones on They come from the door And end up at the lawn It’s not perfectly straight But I did my best Been working hard Now I need a rest A drink of water Is what I really need Then I can tackle The nasty little weeds ...

I started this project at my church. I walked outside and saw this flower bed and cringed. So much grass. Could be Zoysia but I thinks it's Bermuda.  There is a weed barrier but the grass is not a weed so it went over and under and did what it pleased! Of course I wrote a poem for today's work. Church Weeding Project By Mary J Williams ©     I got too hot Weeding outside No hat on my head No shade, it did hide At church again today Digging out all the grass The weed barrier was up So, the weeds didn’t pass The weed barrier was gone Couldn’t find it any more It was buried way too deep To dig it up would be a chore I found five stepping stones Dug up four of them Putting them in a row Covering up some grass stems The dirt is like concrete So very, very hard Can’t imagine how the plants live No water in the yard I finally gave up I couldn’t get it done Too hot for this old lady And it wasn’t any fun Gonn...

This pumpkin started growing by my rose near the porch. At first, I didn't know whether it was a squash, pumpkin or watermelon. I sure didn't know how it got there. I did have pumpkins out for Halloween, so maybe that's what it was from. It started growing and growing. It brought to mind "Jack and the Beanstalk".  I watered and it kept on going, just like the energizer bunny.  Blooms were everywhere. Finally, I saw a little fruit on the vine. It looked like a pumpkin, not a cantaloupe nor a watermelon. It was still really small. Not much bigger around than a quarter. As the days went by, it was a challenge for me to keep this vine contained in that one bed. It tried escaping out into the yard. It went into my Japanese Maple and down the other side. Now it is going towards the roof, up the lattice on the porch. So far I see four pumpkins.  I don't know how many of you know the tall flower bloom is the male. The female is the shorter flower with a fruit be...

Got up this morning and looked out the window and thought,"oh crap" I forgot to take the suet in last night. Yes, I put one out for the Downy Woodpecker.  I had the Safflower out for the House Finch, Cardinal and Chickadees.  They have been flitting in and out!  Saw the Downy trying to get a seed from the bottom of the feeder where there is a drain hole.  I felt sorry for him so put out a cake of the hot pepper suet. I really intended on bringing it in last night.  First of all I was tired and sore after going to the Extension and digging and transplanting and changing the cloth, blah, blah, blah.  I just did "stuff".  Had done the same the day before, so now, this old girl was worn out! I didn't say sleepy, but I did fall asleep in my chair in front of the computer!  There is your laugh for the day! Then I stayed up to watch the Cardinals lose a game to the Cubs! They had many opportunities to win, but offense couldn't get it together. I made...