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Planning My Pots

Posted on May 15, 2023 by mohawkvalleygirl

Another Sunday and I got nuthin’.  How many blog posts have I started with the confession that I have not much to say?  This is a rhetoric question; I do not intend to go back and check.

Pretty!

I fall back on my usual trick of throwing in a picture to pep things up.  This was from May 2017.  It is raw materials for my container garden on my deck.  I have not had one these last few years, but I hope to have one this year.  I have all kinds of hopes and plans.  All I need now is to muster the oomph to do them.

Even prettier!

Here is a later shot that same year.  I think two of those pots are broken now.   The third one is plastic, so it still ought to be around.

Also that year.

I believe this one filled out some as the season progressed.

I enjoy deciding which colors to put together.

Now that I look at these pictures again, I notice the backgrounds.  The first one has a nicely mown lawn.  That was when Steve used to do the mowing.  In the second, I see a portion of fence with some vine growing on it, so that’s not so bad.  However, the garage in the background of the third cannot be described as anything other than shabby.  Professional photographers notice these things,  and here we come to the ugly truth about me and photography.

And now I see I am over 200 words.  Score!  I hope it turns out to be a preview of coming attractions.  I hope you will stay tuned.

 

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Is This Any Way to Make a Blog Post?

Posted on August 18, 2022 by mohawkvalleygirl

Oh dear, it is the Type It In Backspace It Out Disease.  That is no way to make a blog post!  Hmm, that sounds like it could be a title.  Actually I am feeling right now that there is no way I can make a blog post, which is a little silly, because, well, here we are.  I am thinking this going to be a Wuss-out Wednesday Post.

It is still summer, isn’t it?

I threw in a picture to pep things up.  It is our skeleton, Bonita and her friend Bonaparte in summer mode.  We are beginning to get whiffs of fall these days, but it is definitely August.  We will still feel plenty of heat.

Pretty! Alas, they are no more.

Speaking of August,  here is a shot from August 2020.  I hope to up my gardening game in 2023.  Of course, I will be upping it from zero, so it will not be difficult to make some improvement.

My current mood?

From August 2019, I find some cloudy skies.  I love a cloudy, gloomy day.

It’s scary!

I close with a picture from Horror Hotel, because, hey, why not Mid-Week Monsters?

So this is my blog post.  I share pictures and babble on.  Did I mention I am still tired?  Oh, that was some of the stuff I typed in and backspaced out.

 

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It’s a Blooming Blog Post!

Posted on June 8, 2021 by mohawkvalleygirl

I think I have used that title before, but I like it.

It is a hot, muggy day in the Mohawk Valley. I did not run, I did not walk. Well, I walked. Just out into my yard, to take a couple of flower pictures for a blog post.

Pretty, yes?

And still no captions. What the hell, WordPress? And yes, autocorrect, I DID want to say “hell” not “he’ll.” Sheesh!

Where was I? Ah yes, admiring my rhododendrons. It is nice I have at least one kind of flower in my backyard. I have not done my container garden nor any of the yard gardening I had planned.

My front yard is looking fairly cheery, too.

I am delighted with my peonies. They have such a lovely scent. The daisies are delightful, too, if a little out of control.

Then I backed up (carefully, because with my luck lately I might back into something and land on my ass) to get a shot of both.

I do not despair of having some semblance of a container garden. Perhaps this weekend I can work on it. Maybe I could muster some ambition to do something about it after work. No promises, but that would make a pretty good blog post

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After and Before?

Posted on May 21, 2021 by mohawkvalleygirl

Time for a quick Throwback Thursday Post. I am tired, as usual these days. In my defense, I mowed my lawn with the non-power mower in the warm weather. OK, I did a pretty lousy job. And I am a big baby. You knew that about me.

Damn it looked good!

This is our Rose of Sharon in April 2017. April! At least, it was in the blog in April. Perhaps the picture was taken in a later month of 2016, because our Rose of Sharon does not look nearly this good now. Oh dear. And yes, I am obviously too lazy to go take a picture of it now.

A little back lit.

I overcame my laziness to walk out back and take the above shot. There is actually more green than I had realized. Now this post is less of a Throwback, but I do not despair. It can always be a Non-Sequitur Thursday Post.

Preview of coming attractions.

Here are our daisies in 2017. None have bloomed yet. In fact, that space is currently dominated by forget-me-nots, as I showed in a more recent blog post.

Just a couple days ago.

It seems this blog is a bit flower obsessed these days. I find that appropriate for spring. I hope to do some real gardening this weekend. I will have even more pictures of flowers to share! As always, I hope you’ll stay tuned.

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Don’t Forget My Flowers

Posted on May 19, 2021 by mohawkvalleygirl

For my Tired Tuesday post, I shall share the pictures I took after leaving the Grand Colonial Bed and Breakfast yesterday. I turned down Main Street and walked toward the post office.

I saw a classic truck I tried to take a picture of, but I was unable to zoom in. When I tried, I could only put it in Selfie Mode. Who wants to see a selfie of me! Nobody needs to see that! I took a shot of some forget-me-nots instead.

I particularly like the rocks.

I took care not to include any identifying characteristics of the house. I did not see any more photo-ops (is that a hyphenated word?) till I got home and decided to take a picture of my own forget-me-nots. They seem to be taking over my front yard, although I expect the daisies will soon give them some spirited competition.

The dandelions are not giving up either.

I went out back to get a shot of the forget-me-nots there, but they have not grown together as thickly so the picture did not turn out well. It is kind of surprising, because they have been out back since we moved in but only appeared out front in the last year or so. I took a picture of some wild violets instead.

Another favorite of mine.

These particular violets will soon be overshadowed by Black-eyed Susans. That flower has grown and spread but so far has remained in the same patch of lawn. At least, I hope I have as many as I did last year. I think the chives as well as a couple of really young trees are also fighting for a bit of that soil.

I’m wondering if I should just let these plants duke it out amongst themselves or perhaps try to instill some order in the chaos. Considering the disorder which reigns in the rest of my life, I question how effective my efforts would be. In any case, I’ll be sure to take more pictures and keep you posted. As always, I hope you’ll stay tuned.

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Not Just Dead Leaves!

Posted on April 7, 2021 by mohawkvalleygirl

I went for a run after work, hoping to make a Running Commentary Post. After my cool-down walk I spent a very little time cleaning some of last year’s leaves out of the front yard. Then I took a shower, fixed supper, talked to my Mom on the phone, and generally got too tired to make a blog post.

Yet here I am. But do not despair, gentle reader! This is not another whiny post about how tired I am! Instead, I exerted myself enough to go outside and take a few pictures of flowers. I do love flowers.

Obviously I did not get all the leaves.

This is the lone crocus in the front yard. However, there is more greenery, so perhaps there will be more. I went into the backyard to check on the progress of the daffodils. When I was running I saw a bunch in full bloom, so I had some hopes.

Getting there!

I figured the circuses I had seen before were over, but I was delighted to see a few more, fighting their way through the treacherous 2020 leaves.

I have great hopes for getting yard work and gardening done. Of course, I will have to spend more time at it than 10 minutes after a run. Still, one has to start somewhere. I will keep you updated on my progress. For one reason, it makes a good blog post.

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Lame Lawn Work

Posted on August 8, 2020 by mohawkvalleygirl

Hello and welcome to Lame Post Friday, my day of random observations and half-baked philosophy.   My first random observation is that our Brown-eyed Susans have started peeking up over the edge of our deck. I did not take a picture of said Susans, but will post a previous picture of these delightful flowers.

They are supposed to be a favorite of honey bees.

It is the time of year when I wish I had taken more effort in my lawn and garden earlier in the year.  However, that ship has sailed, to use a cliche (sorry about using a cliche, by the way).   I can only appreciate what already exists.

I love these.

Speaking of what already exists,  here is an earlier shot of my Johnny Jump-ups.  They look equally as beautiful now.

Pesto… Mmmmm…..

To continue with what is glorious right now, here is my basil, which is even better as we speak.  I snipped some off for a salad recently.  Yum!

It looks better now, but here are some blooms.

My Black-eyed Susans are doing well too. It may have been a good idea to take a more recent picture,  but, you know, I can’t always do the right thing.

So here is my post:  random observations of flowers.  For Half-Baked Philosophy, I will offer: flowers are good,  gardening is good, sometimes they are not as good as we had hoped.  We must drive on.

Happy Friday,  everyone!

 

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Mohawk Valley Lame?

Posted on June 13, 2020 by mohawkvalleygirl

Please don’t eat the daisies!

Hello, and welcome to Lame Post Friday.  I open with a picture of my daisies, just to make things pretty.  I have had a fairly productive day and do not despair of making a not bad blog post.  Of course, no promises on a Friday (or ever, I must admit).

I mowed the lawn and spent some time chopping and pulling up overgrown stuff where I cannot mow.  I briefly considered taking before and after pictures but decided against it.  It would have distracted me from the task at hand, and I needed to get all the work possible out of my burst of ambition.

After a shower and rest, I finished my articles for Mohawk Valley Living magazine.  They sadly were forced to cancel the April, May and June issues.  I was delighted to make submissions for July.  I hope they like what I wrote.

The lovely bouquet on my mantle.

As a preview of coming attractions,  this is a photo from one of the businesses I wrote about, Houle Flower Farm in Little Falls.  Indeed, I must also make a blog post about it soon.

I do love flowers.

And this is a shot from AW Greenhouse and Garden, also in Little Falls,  the other business I wrote about, and another subject of an upcoming blog post.  I may return there soon for more Johnny Jump-ups.

I really like them.

And so I close with a previously shown picture of the Johnny Jump-ups.  I can’t wait to see where they jump up!

So I guess this has been a flowery Lame Friday Post.  Just my little contribution of beauty to pur world.

 

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I Make an Effort on Tired Tuesday

Posted on June 3, 2020 by mohawkvalleygirl

For this week’s Tired Tuesday Post,  I bestirred myself enough to walk outside and take a few pictures of my ever-changing yard.  I fear the changes come slowly and often without any effort on my part.  Perhaps I can make more of an effort as the season progresses. In the meantime,  I will make do.

Note the bird-shaped hole.

I recently added this birdhouse to my front yard, using a hook I found in the garage.  I hung another house on the porch (replacing the skull which had previously hung there), but I neglected to take a picture of that (preview of coming attractions).  I went out back for more photo ops.

I’ll be so happy when they bloom!

Under the heading No Effort On My Part (and Preview of Coming Attractions), here are the buds on my irises.  My Mom gave me the iris bulbs some years ago, and they have bloomed every year since.

Under the heading Some Effort, I decided to take close up pictures of my container garden.

School’s out!

I have had the desk for a while now.  I found it in somebody’s trash the Sunday after the Herkimer Village-Wide Garage Sale.  Don’t judge me.

I did a lot of pink and purple.

I only have one herb, but basil is my favorite.

There will be pesto!

 

The thrill and the fill.

I have read that in a good container, you have the thrill, the fill, and the spill.  I think I need bigger containers, because the best I could do were the preceding and the following pots, each with two out of three.

The fill and the spill.

 

Another pink and purple.

There is a broken solar light in this one.  At least, I accidentally broke it off its pick when I was trying to put it in the front yard.  I put it in the pot in hopes it would still light.  I have not been outside after dark to check.

I think the squirrels have been digging in my marigolds.

For my final pic, I go back into No Effort mode.  I took this picture Saturday, but I could only post it on Facebook, and it was turned 90 degrees.  Today a Facebook friend had turned it, so I downloaded his version to this device.  Let’s see if it worked!

Thanks, Norm!

Here are my feet, relaxing on my deck.  Yes, that is my novel they are resting on.  I’m still making efforts on that.

 

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Fun at The Flower Barn

Posted on May 28, 2020 by mohawkvalleygirl

After work today, I drove out Barringer Road in Ilion, NY, to the Flower Barn.  I have yet to out together my container garden, but I think this weekend it could happen!  I have been meaning to get out there before this, but with one thing and another… well, these things happen.

And they are awesome!

Full disclosure:  the above picture is one I took last year, when I was writing about The Flower Barn for Mohawk Valley Living magazine.  Today I went straight from work and did not have my Tablet with me.  I did, however, have my mask.  I was pleased to note most other people were masked as well.

I had made up my mind not to go overboard, as I have a tendency to do.  However, once I had two plants in my hand, I realized the efficacy of using a cart.  I saw a flat wagon that seemed to be free.

“Is that your wagon?” I asked a nearby lady.

“No, not mine.”

“Mine now!” I declared.  She laughed.  I picked up a few more plants.  I had not seen any marigolds, which I usually get.  Another lady had some and told me they were in two different places.

When nobody was nearby, I pulled my mask down for a little air.  Today was hot and humid, by the way.  Then I saw a worker watering plants, wearing a bandana (I have also done the Old West Bad Guy mask on occasion).

“Sorry!” I said, pulling the mask back up.

“You’re OK,”  he said.  “I have to wear it, you don’t.”

“But I do,” I said.  “I don’t know what germs I have.  My mask keeps me from spreading them to you and others.”

“Thank you!”

I paid for my plants, while dancing to some David Bowie that was playing near the cash register.

I don’t think this is too many, do you? I can always buy more.

I put the plants on my back deck, where the rain can water them.  If it does not rain after all, I will water them tomorrow morning.

Before I went inside, I took a couple of pictures of our daisies, which started to bloom today.  I love daisies.

I did not plant these; they just grew.

 

And here are some with the peonies in the background. Come on, peonies!

He loves me, he loves me not…

The Flower Barn is located at 1480 Barringer Rd., Ilion, NY, phone number 315-895-4313.  They are open 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. every day.

 

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