Tuesday, May 20th, 2008
I finally finished raking the leaves. There were a lot of them. I can’t say I liked doing this particular job for many reasons. One reason I didn’t care for this activity would be that it wasn’t much fun, with the presence of gnats coming in at a strong second. Apparently, gnats live in old leaves. When you rake them, instinct tells them to swarm around the closest face they can find. That would be mine. They flew in my eyes, in my ears and one even made it into my mouth. I hope the neighbor didn’t see me staggering across the front yard gagging while trying to force the artifact from the back of my throat. Laugh…go ahead.
This is a section of the back yard that is right up against the woods. It has a cute little area you can sit and read, “Gone With the Wind” (Joe, that’s for you).
This is just a random shot looking up the side yard. I guess I wanted to show that the grass actually is getting green. I go out and talk to it every day.
Joe, here’s that little area again. Don’t worry, I am going to put nice plants in there for you.
Now, this is a small garden area that is right next to the driveway. I am guessing it may have been a vegetable garden in the past. I decided to replant the Iris from way up on the hill in the front, split them and put them along the driveway. I think they will multiply and fill in nicely. I also am transplanting some other plants (that I can’t quite identify) as a second row. Then, I am going to get some Boxwood as a third row and make it reaaal nice.
This is looking up towards the road, from the house. Yes, I raked all that out. I plan on getting some more Rhododendrons and scattering them around in this area, to fill it in.
Yes, we have the first bloomed Iris. Isn’t she pretty? I really like Iris because they are so easy to take care of.
A quick shot of a Rhododendron in partial bloom.
Just a shot looking down at the house.
Ahh, the mailbox again. I know you can’t get enough of this. These are the plants I was talking about above. I have no idea what they are, but I took them from the hillside and placed some of them around the mailbox. If you know what they are, please let me know. Thank you.
It’s like we are having a mini “Azalea Festival.” Check this one out showing its colors. Man, I sure hope this is an Azalea.
And finally, this is the front sidewalk. I even raked out behind the bushes in the front.
I don’t think I am going to have to endure this much raking again. I plan on getting a back-pack blower to keep things in check. It should be easier next time.
I’m outty.
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Posted in Gardening, Home Improvement, Landscaping, Spring | 7 Comments »
Tuesday, May 8th, 2007
This post was written by Kristin Gaulard
If you’re the type of person who sees a beautiful garden and can’t wait to get home and incorporate some of the ideas you’ve seen into your own backyard, take the garden tour some year at the Azalea Festival in Wilmington, North Carolina. I’ve been lucky enough to have lived in Wilmington since 1998 and this tour is the highlight of the year for me.
Of course you can also attend the street fair on the beautiful Cape Fear River, or attend one or two of the “big name” concerts given in the auditorium of the UNCW campus, or take the home tour of some of the gorgeously restored homes in the downtown area, or attend the parade chock full of princesses and queens from local communities, etc., etc., but to my taste the garden tour beats all the other festivities.
A ribbon cutting at the most impressive house on the Friday of the festival starts the tour and can be attended by anybody who buys the $15 (early bird) or $20 ticket. Every cent of the proceeds which is collected by the Cape Fear Garden Club goes back to community beautification and conservation.
Not only is the home surrounded by colorful gardens exuding Southern charm, but it is adorned with high school-age belles, dressed in handmade antebellum hooped gowns, holding their delicate parasols and escorted by the extremely handsome Summerall Guards from the Citadel, South Carolina’s state-supported military college. Lording over all these youths is the queen who is the center of attention for the week.
But for me, the best part is the exploring of the gardens on the tour, which range from the manicured lawns and flower beds professionally done by landscape artists, to the hidden “secret gardens” in small spaces overflowing with the imagination of dedicated gardeners. As an added bonus, each garden has one or two of the belles welcoming you, usually with her skirt spread out under the shade of a live oak tree and her curls bouncing under her parasol.
If the hot sun gets to you, a few of the gardens are designated as “night-time” gardens and there is a magical quality walking through these special places which makes you realize how beautiful a spring evening in the South can be. As you can see I’ve been completely won over by the charm and friendliness of my new home state!
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Posted in Autumn, Family & Friends, Gardening | 2 Comments »
Saturday, May 5th, 2007
This post was written by Steve Henry
My beautiful wife, realizing that the weeds around the house have grown to over three feet tall, surprised me with an Anniversary Edition Craftsman 32cc 1.9 cubic inch 2-cycle 17 inch cutting path gasoline weedwacker with Sim-Pul technology for smooth easy starts.
Personally, I don’t mind weeds. I think weeds get a bad wrap. Weeds should have just as much right to grow as do grass and flowers. Weeds can be beautiful too. It is part of nature.
Anyway, I got the hint so last Sunday, April 29, 2007, I fired up the weedwacker and went to work. I live in Southeastern North Carolina, in what is known as the sub-tropics. Wilmington, North Carolina to be exact. Home of the famous Azalea Festival. The reason I mention this is to help explain some details to the people reading who are not familiar with the Southeast United States.
The Southeast has many creepy crawly creatures that like to make homes in overgrown areas with lots of weeds. Many, many reptiles and live hand in scale with humans. There is also a plethora of small rodents and mammals crawling around out there…so makes the circle of life. I like to refer to my backyard as “The Jungle.” We have a fairly large backyard that is fenced in by a wooden 6 foot fence. The first half of the yard, the part that is next to the house, is cleared (except for my overgrown weeds). The back half is “The Jungle.” Many a day I have heard things rustling through the underbrush in the jungle. It doesn’t bother me, because I am a tree-hugger nature boy, and I love all animals (except that German Shepherd that lived up the street when I was a kid, the one that used to chase me all the time).
So I start wacking the weeds next to the house. I have to admit, there were a lot of weeds. It took about 30 minutes. I had forgotten about the hole my dog Keesha had dug last fall. Keesha is an Akita.
The weeds had totally covered her hole, naturally I stepped in the hole, tripped and fell. I chuckled, because I bet it looked pretty funny. I got up and wacked the hole, which is right next to the house. I then stopped the Craftsman weedwacker. I suddenly noticed numerous unusually large geckos running away from the area. I thought this to be a little strange, since this was something with which I had never noticed of their character before. I then noticed some sort of commotion about 25 feet away near the corner of the house. I walked over to inspect what was happening. Apparently, I had disturbed many creatures, two of which were a young opossum and the largest Cottonmouth Water Moccasin (Agkistrodon piscivorus) I had ever seen. The cottonmouth had its fangs sunk into the opossum. I was totally in awe. This is something you would see Steve Irwin (Crocodile Hunter) examining. The opossum stopped struggling after about 10 seconds. For some reason, I automatically tried to help the opossum, like it was a murder victim or something. Without thinking, I had grabbed my trash grabbers, those things you can use to pick up trash without bending over. I reached out and hooked the snake and picked it up. It would not let go of the opossum. So I grabbed the opossum with the tongs and started shaking it. After about a minute, the snake fell to the ground, not very happy with me. My neighborhood is built on what used to be a swamp. Cottonmouth snakes are not uncommon, but usually do not come this close. I figured it must have been living in that hole that Keesha had dug.
I did not want to kill the snake, since I am a tree-hugger. It was obviously very angry at me and coiled to strike. I tried numerous times to pick it up with the grabbers, but apparently, to my dismay, Cottonmouth snakes like to climb. This thing wanted a piece of me bad. I then decided to chase it away, into one of the many streams or ponds that are around the house. The snake was very adamant about getting around me and going back to that hole. It struck several times, hitting the grabbers with an impressive force. I now know why they are called Cottonmouths. Very white mouth. I jumped back, and the snake made quick move toward the house. I did not want the snake to get to the hole or the house, because right beside the hole, is the back garage door, which is broken (it is on my honey-do list) and has about a 2 inch area on the bottom that is wide open. I knew the cottonmouth could fit under this, and this is where he was heading. I have small children at home, and really don’t need large poisonous snakes in my garage or next to the house. The only thing I could think of doing was throwing the grabbers at the door, and hopefully scare the snake into a different direction. It worked, but the snake turned and started to climb up the electric outlet box. It got pretty high, and then I noticed the vent that goes into the attic. It is not that high, only a single story house. The snake was heading right for it. It then fell off the house, then started climbing again, straight for the vent. I ran to pick up the grabbers and noticed an old rusty machete lying on the ground. I don’t even know where it came from, since I have never bought a machete. I ran back to get the snake and all of sudden the snake falls, but falls on the other side of the fence, and has a straight shot for the front door. I hop over the fence and fall, then quickly notice that I am face to face with the beast. I did not hesitate swinging the machete with full force. My aim was true, and I hit the snake in the head. I then jumped up. I felt really bad, because I knew the snake was dying.
I stood there and watched over it for the next 30 minutes, while it tried to still bite me. I figured it must be in pain, so I swung again and put it out of its misery. I put it in a bag and had a proper burial. I still feel bad for killing it, but I guess this is what happens when humans start encroaching on wildlife. I will leave “The Jungle” for all beasts that wish to live there.
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Posted in Animals | 1 Comment »
