Another day yesterday with lots of work done around the property. It was sunny and gorgeous. We mowed the lilac side of the lawn, dug out the remnants of an elm in the big garden bed – it had been bugging me for years and I also get a skin reaction every time I brush against the leaves, so it had to go. We raked up pods from the catalpa tree, and worked on the Secret Garden. The old cinder blocks (found on our property – there are a lot of them) that I use as a little wall separating the the grassy area from the rest of the garden disintegrate over time. They’re very old. Three or four of them needed to be dug out and replaced. We found 4 blocks that were part of a bench that we made long ago and never use, so we brought them down to the garden one by one. The heavy antique pots that I use in that garden sit on the blocks, so they need to be steady and secure. Much better now!
I also grabbed my special poison ivy pruners and snipped the vines that are trying to make their way up my maple trees. Bye bye poison ivy.
Very satisfying!
The lilacs have yet to fully bloom and there are fewer of them this year. I’m not sure why, as I pruned them at the right time last year. Maybe it was the winter or our crazy up-and-down weather. The peonies are growing by leaps and bounds.
We’ll have rain today and tomorrow, so we’ll be resting up.
Zoe enjoying the glider.
I finished A Change of Circumstance by Susan Hill and loved it. She’s a wonderful writer – the prose flows so easily. It’s a compelling mystery about drugs and drug runners invading small towns, which didn’t entirely resolve itself at the end. I liked that. Trying to eradicate drugs and the people that profit from them is an ongoing battle so to tie that part of the plot up neatly would be false.
And now I’ll start A Line to Kill by Anthony Horowitz, number 3 of 4 books checked out of the library.
Happy Birthday to my brother, David, and to his son, Eric. I miss you, Dave.
Stay safe.
Happy Friday.
So glad you were able to take full advantage of the beautiful day yesterday!
I am curious what are poison ivy pruners? I am severley allergic to PI so wondering…
Means that I only use them for poison ivy. That way they don’t contaminate anything.
Stay safe, Betsy!
I bet you slept good after all that yard work.
We are behind here in W Mich. My lilac is just starting to get leaves, no flower buds yet. I think things are slower because we are so close to Lake Mi and it keeps us a little cooler and delays things a bit.
I usually get some flowers before Mother’s Day but I’m waiting til next week. We are supposed to be in the 80s next week! I can’t quite imagine. I have been bundled up with gloves, hats, blankets at our granddaughters track meets and soccer games for weeks.
I did see a hummingbird at our feeder this morning…no orioles yet.
Take care
I’m waiting to sow seeds until next week, as well.
Hang in there, Marilyn.
Stay safe.
Glad you were able to get some yard work done yesterday. I did, too. The rain that was supposed to come north, didn’t. So I had a good day to work outside. Had to spray my hostas with deterrent…deer had started munching on them already…grrr. I really don’t want to be the neighborhood buffet.
Enjoy a relaxing day…sounds like you two deserve it after all you did yesterday! ;)
I’ve had some munching on hostas as well, but I think the guilty culprit is the groundhog.
Stay safe, Donnamae.
We’ve enjoyed working in our yard too. We’ve planted a large garden again this year. By August I’m thinking I can’t wait for growing season to end but right now I’m excited for the veggies. You said your lilacs were not as plentiful this year. Our peach and nectarine trees have only about 15 fruits on each one. Not sure why but we did heavily prune last fall. Maybe next year will be a bumper crop.
I’ve been tracking your package and it says ready for pick up. I thought I was sending it to your home but maybe not. If you are like us, we have a lock box a 1/4 mile away and only check it twice a week. I’m not saying go get it just want to let you know what USPS says.
Have a good weekend.
It’s at our post office box, which I haven’t had a change to visit yet. I know it’s there. I had a message telling me that it had been delivered. Thank you so much, Patty!
Stay safe.
I didn’t want to say anything until you’d read the latest Susan Hill, and I’m glad I didn’t. I just couldn’t get into it the way I usually do. Paragraphs would go by and I wouldn’t be sure who was speaking. I’d have to go back and identify the last speaker and count forward, a fine technique if there are only two characters on scene, but a bit harder if there are three. It took me out of the scene, and I was too aware of Hill’s technique rather than immersed in the story. I wasn’t sure if it was my concentration level being blow par or an actual problem. Since you didn’t seem to find it as flummoxing as I did, I’m going to assume it was my ability to concentrate that was lacking.
I didn’t have that experience with the book. In fact, I thought it flowed very nicely. I can’t say for sure, of course, but I suspect it was your concentration level. I’ve definitely suffered from the same thing in the past. Luckily, after a bit of trouble with reading motivation, I’m back in the saddle again.
And thanks for waiting to share your experience with the book. I’m always a bit put off when, just as I start a book, a reader leaves a comment saying he/she was disappointed in it or didn’t like it. xo
Stay safe, Linda.
I miss the lilacs. Some yard work would be good for me too. I need to take out some negative energy after last weeks political craziness.
It’s the best prescription, Kay. I did that the day after I heard the news about Roe v. Wade. I had to, or I would have lost it.
Stay safe.
You, my friend, are seriously productive! Well done. And glad the Hill lived up to expectations. I love that series.
Have a wonderful weekend. If it is as lovely there as it is here (sunny and supposedly in the 60s later on), you’ll be well set! Oh, and Jerry is coming on Monday (or maybe Sunday). Any messages?
Please give him my love. We have a lot of history together, Jerry and me. I miss him. Oh, could you take a photo of the two of you together and send it to me? I’d really LOVE that!
xo
Stay safe, Jeanie.