Tag Archives: gardening

No hole too small.

May 20, 2020 Rivergirl 20 Comments

Maybe I should rethink that title…. don’t need the porn spammers dropping by again.

Anyway, after we planted our free trees the other day we had to do something with this under performing flowering plum that was now ruining the alignment.

We planted 2 of these before the big barn construction began, but one died and the survivor gets eaten alive by Japanese beetles every year. I was all for heaving it, but the husband had other ideas.

When my mother died in 2014, she was cremated and I planted some of her ashes with a lovely tulip tree in our backyard.

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It did well for 4-5 years until we had crazy late spring freezes and frosts that it couldn’t tolerate.

Since I planned to replace it this year? Husband decided to do a little transplanting.

I (very helpfully) told him we’d need a bigger hole since we were moving a mature 12 year old tree with an extensive root system. With this (ever so helpful) advice, he did what he always does….. and promptly ignored it.

Digging up the plum was an absolute nightmare. The roots were thick and deep and under the topsoil? Hard clay that might as well be cement.

Our farming neighbor offered to come over with his backhoe and scoop it right up, but no.

The husband didn’t want to tear up his lawn and went with the spiderweb approach to removal.

It took us approximately two hours of digging and tugging and even then we ended up chopping what had to be 10 foot long roots.

Whoever said gardening isn’t a workout needs to be bitch slapped.

This photo caught the other half gasping for air after the last pull.

I had serious doubts the hole out back was large enough, but away we went.

Yeah, not quite.

There was a lot of twisting. And turning. And laughing. ( Okay, that was just me. Husband didn’t find it the least bit amusing. )

Some quite inventive spiderweb root trench digging later……

He made it work.

Whether it survives is anyone’s guess.

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Because you can’t say no to free trees.

May 19, 2020 Rivergirl 24 Comments

In an effort to beautify his farm, our neighbor grew 100 silver birch trees. He planted a row of them (54!) alongside the road and I must say…. they’ll look impressive in a few years.

Next thing we knew he was planting them down his driveway, on the next door neighbor’s property and along the road on the other side of the street.

Not wanting to be left out, I asked if we could buy 3 to put in front of our big barn.

He said no.

But that he would be over the next day to give us three and plant them.

We love our neighbors.

This half dead flowering plum will have to go.

Spring was late in coming this year, and while our lawn is still trying to recover from some mid May snow and frost and doesn’t look it’s best yet, I had to laugh at the husband’s reaction to having parts of it disturbed.

You know that man in your neighborhood who’s constantly outside raking, picking up twigs, and screaming “Get off my lawn!” at children? That’s my husband. He’s been known to mow the same patch of grass 3 times in one day.

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And yes, I bought him that shirt.

I think watching our neighbor tear up and fling the soil around was physically painful for him.

But he endured with stoic silence.

And we all got in on the act.

Say no to free trees?

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You know your bush is too big when…..

May 17, 2020 Rivergirl 20 Comments

Relax.

This is a G rated post.

I’m speaking of a yew bush in front of our home office window.

It’s large, unruly and was in need of a pruning. Problem was, I couldn’t reach most of it from outside so……

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I hung out the window and did a little hedge trimming from the inside.

This results in an utter mess and small green needles everywhere.

But what’s a girl to do when her bush needs trimming?

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There.

That’s better.

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I may not be able to find flour….

May 14, 2020 Rivergirl 32 Comments

But I really need something blooming in my life right now so I masked up and headed to a local nursery down the road for the other kind of flower.

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No make up, no manicure and wearing a sweatshirt.

The Corona lock down has definitely put a nail in the coffin of my beauty regime.

Please note the mask is color coordinated though.

I’m not a heathen FFS.

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Came home with a car load full of pansies, begonias, geraniums, mallow and a container of pretty I don’t know what.

This will be a good start… but no where near enough to fill my beds.

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It felt good to play in the dirt, until….

May 3, 2020 Rivergirl 33 Comments

Spring has been a long time coming and I’m way behind on my garden work.

By this time I’ve usually got all the beds cleaned out and a few flowers blooming.

This year?

I’ve got weeds.

And random spikey things.

I spent 3 hours today getting rid of both.

I also reseated the brick border and tackled a bit of the bush from Hell.

If anyone ever asks if you want a flowering quince? Run.

Run far, and fast.

Preferably after you punch them in the throat for suggesting it in the first place.

Ours was here when we moved in and we’ve been battling it ever since. It grows over the roof each season and has roots that are 300 friggin’ feet deep. We’ve tried to dig it up, burn it out and hack it down to nubs numerous times.

I believe it likes the challenge….. and comes back stronger every time.

Did I mention it’s also full of thorns?

Good times.

I did 6 beds in the back and on the side of the house and felt good….

Until….

I turned over a brick and disturbed an ant nest. Within seconds those little suckers were crawling all over me and I had to run for a hose.

I rinsed most of them off but not before a few crawled up my pant leg.

Sadly, yes…. there were.

And the little bastards bit me too.

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He’s baaaaack …..

April 22, 2020 Rivergirl 36 Comments

And apparently willing to help me garden.

My little woodchuck buddy from last year is back.

Scampering across our deck every afternoon.

He really is comical.

And this time? He’s willing to help me clean out the garden beds.

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Colonial Williamsburg… Shield’s and Wetherburn’s Taverns

February 2, 2020 Rivergirl 18 Comments

Now don’t get excited food people, these taverns were for touring not eating.

Shield’s Tavern was closed, but had something the husband wanted to photograph.

Men. I can’t explain them….

But the gardens out back were lovely.

And I enjoyed a stroll among the well tended shrubbery.

I think Edward Scissorhands would approve.

There were vegetable gardens…

And wreaths…

I even saw an old ball and chain gate closure.

And then down the road, we found Wetherburn’s Tavern.

Where we had a guide give us the history and a tour.

Taverns back in the day were far different from what you might think. Rooms were rented for private parties, balls were held in the great rooms, owners lived behind the kitchen and the upstairs served as a hotel.

Which rooms you rented depended on your social standing.

Up to 12 men bunked in here.

I like cozy, but not that cozy.

Middle class families might sleep 8 in this room.

A private room? You had serious money.

Business deals were struck and government policies were made in rooms like these.

While the tavern keepers cranked out the meals in here….

That’s one high tech rotisserie right there.

Many taverns had their own smokehouses and livestock.

Which prompted a 30 minute conversation from my husband about being raised on a dairy farm.

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An appropriate wreath was decorating their door as well.

We may not have seen any beer…. but it was still a tavern.

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Colonial Williamsburg – The Governor’s Palace, the Arbor, the Maze and cows….

January 28, 2020 Rivergirl 24 Comments

Historic area, here we come.

As soon as we make it through the Colonial Parkway underpasses…..

Which were quite something in and of themselves.

A few more paths….

And we’re there.

As you can see, there’s a lot to explore.

But first?

Some cows.

Who refused to smile for the camera no matter how hard I tried.

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Next up? The Governor’s Palace….

An impressive place they don’t let you inside without a guide, so we killed some time strolling the grounds.

Which were impressive as well.

Of course all that strolling made some of us weary.

No…

It wasn’t me.

But how about that arbor?

I’d love one of those in our backyard.

Along with the full staff of gardeners required to trim, train and prune it as well.

Still strolling, we found the maze.

And promptly got lost in it.

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Thankfully 2 ten year olds were in there as well….

And pointed us to the exit.

If I’d known you could climb up here….

And over look the whole thing?

I would have sent the husband in alone and shouted directions.

Maze completed, we headed back to the Palace for our tour.

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Baby barn work continues.

September 29, 2019 Rivergirl 27 Comments

If there’s one thing I’ve learned about my husband during our long and happy marriage, it’s that he doesn’t like to rush things.

Projects that should take a day, take a week. Projects that should take a week, take a month. Projects that should take a month, well… you get the idea. He’s been working on our big barn for what seems like forever and it’s still not finished.

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So our baby barn/shed needs to be torn down and rebuilt. Husband decided the frame of the building and the existing wood on the roof were sound, and is attempting to tear down the rotten parts and rebuild around them.

First off is the old shingles.

There’s no real reason for this picture other than the fact I love to see a man sweeping.

It’s porn for women.

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But I digress…..

Shingles off the front side, tar paper off the lower half.

Section of roof off… so he can remove the section of wall below.

It was at this point he decided to level the building.

And that involved stomping all my flowers into the dirt, which made me….

And run for a trowel.

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Flowers dug up…

Potted and moved to the relative safety of the big barn porch.

Of course by the time I’d turned around, he’d stolen bricks and edgers from my garden beds to raise the building.

Which made me….

And run to gather them up before I was left borderless.

One new section of wall in place, old section of roof replaced.

If you’re wondering how long this operation took?

An entire 4 day holiday weekend.

Yes, 4 friggin’ days!

Reason being, my husband is the least organized man on earth and had none of the materials he needed when he started this project and kept having to run to the store… a half an hour away. He can also never find any of his tools and spends 20 minutes cursing and kicking things over looking for them until he gives up and asks me.

Of course he also had to get a haircut, have breakfast with the boys, hit a yard sale, drive an hour to complain to the man who painted his truck last year because it’s already starting to chip, visit his brother, sharpen the lawn mower blades, stop at the pub for a beer and wash his car. Did he have to do all that while trying to rebuild the baby barn?

No. He did not.

But now you see why weekend projects take months.

Fast forward to Monday afternoon. We lay out and cut tar paper…

While a storm moves in.

Have you ever tried to lay tar paper on a roof in the wind and rain?

It’s not fun. Yours truly was on the other ladder and had to put her phone inside so there aren’t any pictures of me soaking wet and wind blown…. laying across the paper as it was ripping off the roof in a deluge.

Good times.

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