by jphilo | May 6, 2013 | Daily Life
The man of steel and I are no strangers to May snowstorms. They were more common than we liked during our years out west. One particularly vicious storm dumped 18 inches of snow on Harding County, South Dakota after Mother’s Day. But when we moved to central Iowa in 1985, we thought we’d left nasty May weather far, far behind.
And we had. At least until last week when the winter that will not end graced us with several inches of wet, heavy snow. During the storm that left the landscape looking more like early March than May, the man of steel and I said some things that made us look at one another and ask, “Did I just say that?”
Here are a few of the head-scratching comments heard around here:
- Hiram, it’s snowing really hard. You might want to leave for work a little early.
- Where’s the snow shovel?
- I wonder if school was called off.
- Have you ever seen a tulip shiver before?
- Maybe we should cover the plants on the porch.
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Now, it’s your turn. What did you say during last week’s snowstorm that made you scratch your head and ask, “Did I just say that?”
by jphilo | Apr 29, 2013 | Daily Life
The weekend’s warm weather gave us
The oomph to clean the sun porch
So the wintered over plants could be moved there
To start adjusting to outdoor air.
But when the plants, previously scattered around the
Dining room, living room, and two bedrooms,
Were gathered in one place,
I wondered if the yard would be big enough to hold them all.
I stood on the porch wondering if I’d overdone
The fall repotting,
The late winter pruning,
And the early spring rerooting.
I wondered if I had too many plants.
Then Grandma Josie whispered in my ear,
Silly girl, you can never have too many plants.
Now, take this piece of sugar bread outside to eat,
So you don’t spill on the floor and attract ants.
My thoughts filled with plants,
Grandma Josie, sugar bread, and an ant-free home,
I walked indoors,
Grateful for spring.
by jphilo | Apr 19, 2013 | Daily Life
Last spring and this spring couldn’t be more different, as a mason jar full of rooted geranium slips shows.
Last spring, I started rooting geraniums in March, which turned out to be too late for an early spring.
This spring, I started rooting them in February, which turned out to be too early for a late spring.
Last spring, warm weather hit in mid-March.
This spring, we’re still waiting for warm weather in mid-April.
Last spring, the geranium slips didn’t have enough roots on them when the weather was warm enough for potting them.
This spring, the geranium slips have so many roots, they may be hard to pull apart…if it ever gets warm enough to pot them.
Last spring was dry.
This spring’s been rainy.
Last spring ended with a drought.
Let’s hope this spring ends the drought.
by jphilo | Apr 12, 2013 | Daily Life
Yup, you read that right. There’s a new bully at our house.
Though I took the bully by the horns last October, wrestling into submission the vinca vine (see above picture) that was sucking the life out of my ivy geranium, the bully scourge has reared it’s ugly head once again.
How’s that for mixing metaphors?
Everything was peachy-keen from October to Christmas when the ivy geranium, now warmly ensconced in a sunny upstairs bedroom, recovered enough to bloom at about the same time as the first blizzard of the season hit. (See photo below.)
The peachy-keenness continued unabated through January and February. No more blossoms, but the geranium and the vinca vine co-existed peacefully, thanks to their roomy pot, the sunny east window, and weekly watering.
But this week, when I turned the pot around so the backside of the plant could enjoy the direct sunlight, it was obvious that the former victim of bullying had become the bully. Miss Snooty-Tooty Ivy Geranium is now so large she’s hogging the sunlight and water, while Mr. Victim Vinca Vine is hanging on for dear life. (See photo below.)
Okay, so maybe “hanging on for dear life” is a bit of an exaggeration, especially since vinca vines are supposed to hang. Even so, it’s obviously time for spring to arrive so I can kick the new bully out of the house and move her not-so-innocent victim into a separate pot for the summer.
Plants. I can’t live with ’em, and I can’t live without ’em!
by jphilo | Mar 22, 2013 | Daily Life
Modern consumers pay good money for cold stuff.
Think Wells Blue Bunny ice cream
Think hockey tickets:
Photo Source
Think ice fishing:
Photo Source
Think Disney on Ice:
Photo Source
And yet this year, we’ve had an entire bonus month of cold stuff absolutely free of charge, thanks to the generosity of Mother Nature.
Think Spring on Ice
Photo Source: The rain bucket beside our garage on March 22, 2013 at 1:15 PM
by jphilo | Feb 25, 2013 | Daily Life
Who knew remodeling could be sexy? Certainly not me, until I went upstairs to investigate the progress on the hall floor project. Remember that project? The one we foolishly thought would take only a month or two. The one that enters its eleventh month of progress (or lack thereof) in March.
With no end in sight.
The finish work came to a screeching halt when a respiratory virus nailed both of us in January. But the man of steel is hard at work again, attacking the baseboards with plaster of Paris and a putty knife. I’m not sure what the purpose is, but he assures me it’ll look great…eventually.
Whenever eventually comes.
In the meantime, and perhaps in an effort to snazz things up in the midst of the mess, he decided to tape off the baseboards with not only customary painter’s tape, but also with the leopard skin duct tape that somehow landed in his Christmas stocking a few years back, along with hot pink and Hello Kitty varieties.
He was not amused at the time.
But now he’s come to grips with Santa’s thoughtless de-mannifying of the most manly of man tools: duct tape. In fact, the man of steel is expressing his inner interior decorator more the longer the project drags on. Revealing his feminine side in a most manly and surprising way. With leopard skin duct tape.
Remodeling doesn’t get any sexier than this.
