2008

Snow plus camera= pictures

December 7, 2008 by Ilona Erwin

If you want to know what Arborvitae bushes grow up to be: trees! As snow flurries swirled I snapped a closeup picture of my tree.

In my old[er] age I like to stay inside and look through the window. This is a scene I took while inside while snow blew briskly outside. That is why it looks a little dark for the morning.

My good old garden bench. I photographed it in spring and in summer. Here it is waiting out the winter.

The buds of the Magnolia stellata wait for spring.

From my porch: Annabelle hydrangea and the large Mugo pine.

This blog will have a seasonal slowdown. I might post some photos or poems and quotes, but until after the holidays there won’t be any full size posts or regular blogging here. There are daily posts @ the Advent blog and that is more writing than I really should attempt at this time of year. Actually the theme of my Advent thoughts has to do with “planting”, Planted in the Heart. Can’t keep the gardening passion repressed! I might repost a bit, too.

My fellow garden bloggers and readers have been so kind to me this year. Hugs to all of you. Your blotanical picks and comments have been so very, very encouraging.

Starting in January, I plan to resume full steam ahead blogging and I have thought of many articles I want to write for my garden website. So I raise my glass to “Health, Strength, and Creativity!” For now, I wanted to give readers a heads up on the slow down, so to assure anyone who thinks my blogging is flagging – no, it will all be understandably temporary

🙂

Wonder About Winter 2008-9?

November 18, 2008 by Ilona Erwin

So what is the skinny on winter weather predictions? I checked at the Almanac, for the Ohio Valley, and here’s the outlook:
November 2008
Avg. Temperature: 48° (3° above avg.)
Precipitation: 2″ (1.5″ below avg.)
Nov. 1-6: Sunny, seasonable
Nov. 7-10: Rain and snow, then sunny, chilly
Nov. 11-17: Showers, warm
Nov. 18-22: Sunny, mild
Nov. 23-30: Rain to snow, then snow showers, cold

So far…not really on the mark, but close. The second weeks weather stuck around and I’d be a bit surprised if it got warm this week, but well, it would be nice. I have just a few outdoor chores to finish up and would prefer not to do it in the cold.

December 2008
Avg. Temperature: 27° (8° below avg.)
Precipitation: 2″ (1″ below avg.)
Dec. 1: Sunny, mild
Dec. 2-6: Snow, then show showers, chilly
Dec. 7-16: Snow showers, very cold
Dec. 17-20: Snow, then sunny, seasonable
Dec. 21-24: Snow showers, very cold
Dec. 25-31: Snow, then sunny, mild

Well if this holds true my Christmas visitors could expect something of a white Christmas with decent travel weather afterwards. Getting here might be tricky if the snow comes on travel dates.

The Overall Forecast:

“November will have above-normal temperatures, on average, followed by an exceptionally cold December. After a welcome mid-January thaw, temperatures will be colder than normal in February and March. The coldest periods will be in mid-December, early January, and early February. Precipitation will be near normal in the east and above normal in the west, with above-normal snowfall nearly everywhere. Expect snowfall in time for Thanksgiving, frequent snow in December, and additional snowfalls from January to mid-February.”

I am not sure I like that exceptionally chilly December- hope we don’t get it… as that means outrageous utility bills to deal with.

The official first day of winter isn’t until December 21. When it is so cold and the ground gets covered in snow it doesn’t seem that it is still autumn. Autumn seems to be the brief time we have the crisp yet pleasant weather when all the leaves are turning and the rural gardens have their leaf piles burning. Once snow arrives the mind says “winter”, no matter the dates on the calender.

It’s Offical: A Killing Frost

October 31, 2008 by Ilona Erwin

Yes, the annuals are gone, the garden is looking brown, and I left a forgotten houseplant pot outside- now a mushy brown and deflated remnant of itself. I hate when I do that… but I think I do almost on purpose as a reminder that everything is imperfect. Of course, being me, I wouldn’t have to remind myself quite so often; as being me, it is quite obvious. (Note to self*)

Tomorrow is supposed to be a pretty day, and on my way to Curves this morning I noticed the some trees actually turned some bright colors- against the back drop of mostly bare branches of their neighbors. It is as if they were playing their Halloween trick to sneak in a visual treat or two. I wouldn’t be surprised if science doesn’t find out that plant life has a type of brain or something…like electrical currents of communication or some strange thing we don’t yet know about….

Hey! That would begin a whole new set of garden tips 🙂 ( and they laughed at the idea of playing Mozart for the garden…. gives Handel’s “Water Music” a whole new aspect, doesn’t it? )

Tomorrow might be good for photos, and Sunday might be good for a day trip somewhere. Later today seems like it will entice me into the garden for some clean-up work. I just need a tiny bit more sunshine.

We’ve had nightly activity of skunks around here, the smell is unmistakable.

I really miss my old dog- he was a good dog and a deterrent to garden nuisances. I don’t know if I can find one as good- he was just the type I like: harmless, yet protective (in a nice way) with a scary growl for strangers, but immediate acceptance when the masters introduced you; large and independent, but liking friendship and companions, tolerant of cats, (except for the unfortunate kitten that got between him and his meals), fierce enemy of groundhogs, homebody habits, obedient when he knew you meant it. That makes a good dog in my estimation.

If he had one fault it was that you couldn’t trust him with chickens, the hunting part of him just couldn’t resist trying to grab them in that mouth of his…. He was mostly a golden Lab, but had a fiercer demeanor than you usually find in their character, and he was a bit larger than the usual. Other than that his physical appearance and personality were very much indications of his Labrador DNA.

If we have a warm spell now I suppose it will be our Indian Summer. so I better take heed and make the best use of it in the garden. That is the last of the good weather for getting leaves into composting piles for next year, and clearing the vegetable garden of this years debris. If dry enough, it is a good time to till up the kitchen garden for next year. Opening the soil for frost action is a farming practice around here, although a declining one (in favor of no-till herbicide based farming); but tilling up the ground exposes insect eggs to frost, and helps give good tilth to the soil.

Enough of my rambling on and on…
til next time, Gardening Friends 🙂

Tomatoes- Final Verdict 2008

October 15, 2008 by Ilona Erwin

I like heirloom tomatoes, generally, but this year was not the best for growing tomatoes. We had wet conditions that made planting late. I grew types new to me. We had a very dry late season. I got tomatoes- but not the way I like them.

I used to be very predictable when planting tomatoes: Better Boy and Early Girl with the occasional Beefsteak or trial type thrown in. I came to dislike too many plants because I can’t seem to garden and can produce at the same time: too much waste for my frugal sensibilities.

This year I planted several heirloom types, but they suffered terribly from cracking. They tasted all right, but not as good as Better Boy. Sorry, it’s true. Maybe because the hybrids are resistant to many tomato maladies.

I had better luck with some heirloom types last year, but I think for good all around performance I will be sure to have my usual plant or two of Better Boy. Nice round red tomatoes that taste good: a bit acid, with deep full flavored tomato taste.

I think of the heirlooms I liked the Pink one the best, Caspian Pink.

Ike’s Aftermath in Ohio

October 8, 2008 by Ilona Erwin

I thought you might be interested in seeing the trees that blew down a few properties away from me. These were giant burr oaks felled by the mighty winds of Ike.