Tag Archives: gardening

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Have you ever had one of those days….

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You know the ones, they start out innocently enough, swerve and then drive you straight to Hell. Do not pass go, do not collect $200.

Mine was this past Saturday when I attempted to do some gardening. Pansies needed to be planted in my pots on the barn porch… but this did not go as planned.

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All I did was pick them up, I swear! The bottom fell out of one, the other split in half. I should have quit then, I really should have… but no. I decided to fire up the old weed wacker and trim.

I trimmed around my garden beds, I trimmed around the apple trees and then I trimmed around the septic tank access block.

Bad idea. Very bad.

The ground was still wet… which caused my foot to slip… which caused the weed wacker to knock the cement cover askew… which rammed a piece of rotted wood in the frame….

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And… well. It went downhill from there.

Literally and figuratively.

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I’ll spare you the odoriferous details, but trust me… they were epic. 🤢

Suffice it to say we spent the entire afternoon with our heads in the septic tank.

I do not recommend this as a relaxing weekend activity. Not one little bit.

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A new concrete tank cap was purchased and maneuvered into place (God damn! Those things are heavy.) and a new frame was built so yours truly is not able to repeat this mishap.

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I kept trying to tell my husband it could have been worse. The cover could have fallen into the tank and someone… I’m not saying who… would have had to climb in to retrieve it.

Oddly enough, he didn’t find that the least bit funny.

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💩

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Have shovel, still traveling.

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More trees were replaced/planted yesterday…. this time as far away from the house as is possible.

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And after all the rain we’ve had, I don’t think watering them will be necessary for a while.

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There’s a reason none of the trees my husband plants in our far back yard live and it’s called clay. While there’s nice topsoil near the house, our property slopes down to the woods and eventually to the banks of a river…. and around here that means clay. Saturated with water in the spring, cracked bone dry in the summer… but that doesn’t deter my husband. No sir.

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Two of these beauties were purchased and planted.

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Marrying an eternal optimist makes for a lot of work.

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Whether theses trees will last any longer than the previous elms, oaks or apples he planted is any one’s guess.

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Have shovel, will travel.

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Hard as it is to believe after the apple tree planting fiasco of 2021, my husband was back at it the other day … ripping up the dead apple twigs and filling the holes with bigger and better new trees.

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He came home with a beautiful flowering cherry I would have loved for the back lawn where I could see it every day….

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So naturally he planted it on the far side of the barn where it’s completely blocked by the building and out of line of sight from our house.

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It will however be prime viewing when playing pool in the man cave.

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It’s a pretty tree and was an immediate bee magnet. In no time flat they were circling and we were stepping away.

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I might just have to buy another for my viewing pleasure.

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What do you get for your tax dollars in Kennebunk, Maine?

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Flowers.

That’s what you get for the outrageously high property tax bills the town of Kennebunk sends out twice a year.

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But what lovely flowers they are.

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Every free space in the village is filled with them.

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It’s impressive and quite beautiful.

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Is it any wonder President Bush’s family has their summer home in Kennebunkport?

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A little backyard color.

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I’m going to bore you with more autumn photos.

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Because even walking around the backyard is lovely during this season.

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Blueberry bushes aren’t very attractive most of the year, but the red is pretty striking now.

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And you’ll be happy to know the un-manning of the man cave porch continues… with 5 chrysanthemums and two pumpkins complementing the wreath.

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Apples?

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Our trees are bursting with more than we can use. But why are the best ones always so damned high up?

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The last of the chucks.

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The woodchucks have left the building.

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After momma chuck and her spring brood of voracious garden nibblers cut a swath of destruction through my flower gardens this spring….

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And fattened up quickly at our all you can eat buffet this summer….

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They have now moved on to where ever the hell it is woodchucks go in the fall.

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And all I’m left with is empty flower pots and leftover photos to sort through.

😊

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The price of visiting woodchucks?

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I can’t say this with any certainly, but I’m guessing the demise of our cedar tree was woodchuck related.

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It stood in that corner for almost 20years with no issue and then, wham! It was dead. Upon removal we found this…

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A hole, next to the trunk. And on further examination…

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A hump of dirt with a strategically placed pile of poo. On the other side of the hump?

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Another hole, which meant woodchuck tunnel. I figured they must have destroyed the roots of the tree with their digging, but in actuality the tunnel goes under these other bushes that weren’t affected at all.

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So it’s a mystery, but either way? I’m left with an empty space and a stump.

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Because while my husband loves to cut things down with his chainsaw? He could care less about the mess he leaves behind.

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Miscellaneous musings.

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I saw this the other day and was sorely tempted.

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I totally need cherry tomato toting ants.

In other local news….

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Such a neighborly thing to do.

And lately a dip in the pool has been sounding wonderful with temps being hot, hot, hot.

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Of course this is Maine, so while it felt like 104 one morning…

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Two days later it felt like 45.

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I replanted my left over garden bed with geraniums after the baby woodchucks ate all the petunias.

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But not before the little bastards darlings chewed all the leaves off my gay feather.

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At least they left the blooms this time.

🥴

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Now I’m wondering what an appropriate beef jerky card message would be.

I wanna hold your ham?

Nice to meat you?

Don’t go bacon my heart.

I have a t-bone to pick with you?

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A day lily kind of day.

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I really wish they were month lilies.

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Because they’re a wonderful pop of color in the garden and a day just isn’t enough.

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I have them scattered here and there around the property.

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And while this dark pink is my favorite, it’s never grown larger… though I planted it 17 long years ago.

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This line of hostas and day lilies was here when we moved in… and though it’s not a good spot, I’ve yet to relocate them.

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This double ruffle is sweet.

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But the stormy sky behind my backyard patch?

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Not at all sweet.

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