eye candy ~ Today's Flowers

My flower beds right now are eye candy if you're into blooms ... like I am :)

The only problem is ... they're blooming too soon ~~ a month too soon ~~  everything will be done blooming by time of the wedding :(  
When the kids set their wedding date which is August 14th ... any normal year, that's when most of my perennials would be in bloom; but with this crazy climate change we're going through they all decided to kick in a month early.

ladybells

missouri primrose

purple joy of autumn sedum

 Even my neglected sedums in the hypertufa pots that I made are growing:

ellacombianum sedum

john creech sedum

I hope the rain comes and washes that bird poo off my mushroom for me. lol

 The lilies right now are gorgeous!

spider lily

red day lily

The ants like them too.

monte negro lily

My apple trees are full of apples and even the blueberry bush that I tucked into the flower bed is putting on fruit:

patriot blueberry

Yes... my yard is eye candy ~ a month too soon.

johnny jump up

million bells

dianthus

bouganvilla

hydrangea

false sunflower

echinacea

purple astillbe / ostrich fern

oxeye daisy

patriot hosta blossom

moonbeam coreopsis

coral carpet sedum? or possibly murale sedum?

sexangular sedum?

jacob's ladder

All my flowers will be done by the wedding ... are you feeling my sadness??? bummer

elderberry

nastursium

Hopefully ~ my little piece of swamp moss that I took off a rock down in the woods and planted into an old cream seperator bowl with some cockscombs will still be green....

... As well as my little arbor vitae tree that I started from a seedling from the Arbor Day Foundation 2 years ago. 










I love perennial plants ~ put them in the ground and neglect them and they'll return every year.  I just wish I could control their blooming time.  BUT... since I have no control over the weather I'll enjoy them while I can.

It looks like it's going to be a plastic flower wedding. lol (just kidding Sara!)

Until next time...
So it goes in my neck of the woods.
~mel

bear repellent and vodka~

image from the internet

Look what my sister Cher gifted me ... a can of bear repellent! I just love it ... another defense besides my trusty stick.  Not that I've ever needed to use it ~ but it doesn't hurt to be prepared just in case.

~~~

I was bored and was hopping around on the internet and was looking for some jam recipes ... and I came across some uses for the booze ~  vodka.  Now how on earth did my searching go from jam to vodka ????

Interesting though ...

1. To remove a bandage without pain, saturate the bandage with vodka. The stuff dissolves adhesive.

 

2. To clean the caulking around bathtubs and showers, fill a trigger-spray bottle with vodka, spray the caulking, let set five minutes and wash clean. The alcohol in the vodka kills mold and mildew.

 

3. To clean your eyeglasses, simply wipe the lenses with a soft, clean cloth dampened with vodka. The alcohol in the  vodka cleans the glass and kills germs.

 

4. Prolong the life of razors by filling a cup with vodka and letting your safety razor blade soak in the alcohol after shaving. The vodka disinfects the blade and prevents rusting.

 

5. Spray vodka on wine stains,  scrub with a brush, and then blot dry.

 

6. Using a cotton ball, apply vodka to your face as an astringent to cleanse the skin and tighten pores.

 

7. Add a jigger of vodka to a 12-ounce bottle of shampoo. The alcohol cleanses the scalp,removes toxins from hair, and stimulates the growth of healthy hair.

 

8. Fill a sixteen-ounce trigger-spray bottle with vodka and spray bees or wasps to kill them.

 

9. Pour one-half cup vodka and one-half cup water into a Ziploc freezer bag and freeze for a slushy, refreshing ice pack for aches, pain or black eyes.

 

10. Fill a clean, used mayonnaise jar with freshly packed lavender flowers, fill the jar with vodka, seal the lid tightly and set in the sun for three days. Strain liquid through a coffee filter, then apply the tincture to aches and pains.

 

11. To relieve a fever, use a washcloth to rub vodka on your chest and back as a liniment.

 

12. To cure foot odor, wash your feet with vodka.

 

13. Vodka will disinfect and alleviate a jellyfish sting.

 

14. Pour vodka over an area affected with poison ivy to remove the urushiol oil from your skin.

 

15. Swish a shot of vodka over an aching tooth. Allow your gums to absorb some of the alcohol to numb the pain.

And to think ... after all these years all I ever did with it was drink it! 

Until next time...

So it goes in my neck of the woods.

~mel

 

time~

Well Happy July already!  Time is just a flying by these days.  When do the lazy days of summer start?  Someone let me know so I can slow it down and enjoy it before it passes me by.

Not much is happening around here.  Dear Hubby and I have been making firewood and have the woodshed just about 3/4 of the way full with hardwood (predominately maple and yellow birch) for this coming winter.  The wood piled on the outside of the shed is poplar and balsam which is a softer wood and doesn't make good coals and hold heat like the hardwood.  We call it junk wood ~ which we burn when it's not real cold out ... above 30 degrees.  We also burn a little junk wood in the summer months to heat our water system.  It's a lot of hard work; but a LOT cheaper than paying for fuel oil or gas and an electric hot water heater.  All our heating cost us is a little electricity to run the pump and our time and labor. 

Now that most of the wood work is done I can concentrate a little more on my gardening and house keeping.  My daughter has  a wedding coming up in six weeks and it's taking place in our back yard.  Mercy!! I do have a lot of stuff to get accomplished this month.

I was snapping photos again ...

Brandy ~ the overseer of all that goes on around here.

Goat's Beard ~ what an odd name for this plant.












Missouri Primrose ~ with a little Lamb's Ear peeking out:

Don't you just love daisies ~ the I love you I love you not flower ~  these are wild voluntaries on the outside of my flower bed:

A Monte Negro Lily that was originally a deep burgundy red it's first year; but has come back orange ever since... still... very pretty.

AND... some trail camera shots!!

Until next time...
So it goes in my neck of the woods.
~mel