BUSY WEEKEND, BUSY TIMES FOR ME

First of all let me say that my blogging friend, Balisha, is at home and doing well. Thanks again for all your prayers and concern.

I spent the weekend with my daughter, Anne, on the farm in Georgetown. (Leigh was out of town) We had a great time.

On Saturday morning, I went with her to get a load of hay for the horses and was able to help load some of it. Next, we road the backroads around Georgetown, Lexington, and Midway. It is beautiful here this time of the year with all the horse farms, board fences, and fall colors. We had lunch at a little place called Wallace Station where you can eat outside at picnic tables and enjoy the wonderful weather we are having.

That's Anne feeding hay to the horses on the left.

Later in the day, we went to the Peddlers Mall and Big Lots and then ordered a big pizza from

Fat Kats for dinner.

We stayed up real late and looked at old pictures of the farm the kids grew up on. The photo below is of me and a friend in 1978. It was 4 months after my twins were born. The girl with me in the photo is Cassie Durham. She is on the left and I am on the right.

For all you gardeners out there, the photo on the left below is our just plowed garden back then. We used to grow, can, and freeze all our vegetables on the farm.

On Sunday morning, my son, Rob, his wife, Sarah, and TW, Anne, Bob and I met at the Cracker Barrel for breakfast. The food was great and we all enjoyed seeing each other.

Thomas Wyatt came to spend the night with me on Monday. We watched videos, ate oats (his favorite thing to eat), and played with cars and trucks. Oh yes, we had to play hide-in-seek.

The picture below is TW hiding. He thinks I can't see him when he gets behind the shutters!

Look at his toes in this picture. I do the same thing!

He is getting sleepy when he lies down, wants his blanket and gathers all his toys, and cup around him. He is watching a Mishee Mouse video. He can't pronouce Mickey yet.

Today, was grocery shopping and a haircut. I am worn out! Now, to get around to all the blogs and make comments, finally! Hope everyone had a good weekend and is having a good week.

IT'S BEEN A SHORT SUMMER HERE!

I could feel fall in the air this morning when I went outside. It seems like summer has come and is almost gone in a very short time this year.

My flowers are beginning to look sort of ragged around the edges.

I planted a lot of new stuff this summer after having several big trees cut down. I now have sun in the backyard. Most of my plants in the front have to be shade plants such as impatients, hostas, vines and ferns like in the pot in the photo.

I planted a small double knockout rose bush about a month ago and it is full of blooms and has grown since it was put in the ground. I can't wait to see what it does next year.

The hen and chicks pot on the left has a succulent that I bought not long ago. It has put out this long tenacle that seems to be reaching for the sky. If anyone knows if this is going to bloom or seed or keep growing straight up or what, please let me know in a comment. I may need to put it in a bigger pot. I don't know if I need to bring it in for the winter either.

I finally got some mint and herbs started in my yard this year in several places and planted two crepe myrtle bushes near the back fence.

My impatients flourished with all the shade. The pot on the right sits on the front porch of my home.

I sit here on the concrete bench and rest for a spell when working in the yard.

The hanging baskets are overflowing with impatients, too.

I plan to grow some garden stuff next year and have lots of new flowers in my backyard.

Soon, the leaves will be falling and Bob and I will start our yearly raking and mulching. I won't have nearly as many this year but still enough to keep us pretty busy with the trees that are remaining.

I love fall and the cool, crisp, days and evenings but always feel sad when summer ends!

Do you have a favorite season of the year?

WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE!

This is just one of the many little devils that inhabit my yard and are playing havoc with my potted plants.

Every morning I find a pot where the dirt has been dug out and a nut has been buried during the night.

I put those little wind stars on a stick in some of the pots but they don't deter these monsters in the least.

Balisha of Never Enough Time suggested that I write a blog about my problem in hopes that someone out there in blogland can tell me what to do to keep the little devils out of my flower pots.

My poor plants are suffering at the mercy of these fur covered nut hoarders.

Does anyone have any suggestions??????

Butterflies Are Free

Butterflies are such brightly colored, beautiful additions to your garden and give it a sense of happiness and peace. I love watching them flit from one plant to another sampling the necture of each flower bloom like it was a buffet laid out on nature's table.




Adult butterflies are attracted to red, yellow, orange, pink, or purple blossoms and flat-topped or clustered flowers. They love zennias, marigolds, cone flowers, daisies, verbenas, garlic chives, lilacs, bee balm, and many mint plants to name a few.



Butterfly adults feed mostly in the sun so your plants should receive full sun mid-morning to mid-afternoon.




There are at least 700 species of butterflies in North America and most insecticides are lethal to them.




In a previous blog I talked about toad abodes so wondered if there was such a thing as a butterfly house and found out there are such things for the garden. You can make your own or order them from various places.




The following link will give you plans for building a butterfly house for your garden and various other butterfly related items: http://butterflywebsite.com/articles/house/plans.htm






I, also, learned that butterflies love over-ripe fruit such as bananas, strawberries, orange slices, and leftover melon ends.






A ceramic or glass pie plate, plastic or terra cotta plant saucer, or a dish with a sloping rim can all be used to make easy butterfly feeders. Suspend the plate with flower pot hangers or fashion a macrame style holder from household twine. You could wind the stems of silk or plastic flowers around the twine holder to decorate the butterfly feeder and make it visually appealing to butterflies.Simply hang the feeder from the bough of a shady tree, in a spot where you can easily view visitors to the feeder. Try to place it a little higher than your highest flowers. Add slices of over-ripe fruit. You can sprinkle a little fruit juice or water over the fruit slices if they dry out too much - remember it's the mushy, rotting, very over-ripe fruit that butterflies like best. Replace the fruit if it dries out or becomes moldy.




This is a cute poem or song I found about butterflies:

The Fuzzy Caterpillar (Tune: Itsy Bitsy Spider)

The fuzzy caterpillar curled up on a leaf,

Spun her little chrysalis

And then fell fast asleep.

While she was sleeping,

She dreamed that she could fly,

And later when she wokeup

She was a butterfly!