Planting, Painting, Panic, Phobia....PHREAKING OUT!

Okay, that last one doesn't really belong. There is nothing that instills PANIC in me more than (I know of three PEOPLE out there that are ready to PEE their PANTS right now) this huge PH*CKER! (Yeah, yeah. That one doesn't belong either.) But come on!

Well, maybe it's not so huge. PUNY, actually.


But what the HELL is it doing on my door step? And why the HELL is it trying to get inside? Seriously, is there a reason that they have to sneak up on you when you least expect them to, and then beat a PATH right for you. Nasty old tongue taunting me. It's sending a shiver down my spine as I'm describing it. It's like living the whole episode all over again. I just know I'm going to have nightmares tonight.

I did not jump four feet like I did in Grand Forks, clearing the rock garden. (Yeah, Mom! I'm sure you recall that unfortunate encounter. STOP LAUGHING). But I certainly did PHREAK OUT. Heart PALPITATIONS and all! Now, if I had opened the door to find this PRECIOUS babe...

...well, it would have been a PLEASANT surprise. I would have PROVIDED this sweet baby with some sustenance. Instead, I lost another year off of my PSYCHOTIC life.

Simply PUT, I have discovered one thing I dislike about PEI......SNAKES!!!!

Once I recuperated, and my PANIC subsided, I did get some PLANTING done - Wisteria, Ornamental Hops and Clematis. While it wasn't hot, it was definitely humid and I started overheating so I decided to shift gears and PAINT. A much easier job, as I get to sit down to complete it. First coat on the inside of the deck is now complete. Second coat, tomorrow.

BLOOMING IN THE GARDEN TODAY

Osteospermum

Campanula "Hot Lips"

Big Brother is ALWAYS Watching.

You just can't get away with s&*t around here. Big...err...well...maybe not so big. Okay, Little Brother is always watching. We had another break in the weather today, so I was able to get some painting done. I have officially completed the painting on the outer portion of the deck that faces the back yard. Good thing. I wanted to get it done before the SF went on his trip today. I needed him to help relocate the ladders and scaffolding to the last section of deck.

Have you Spotted him yet? No, not the SF, Little Brother.

Now? Look left....lefter.....

There he is!

Here is a BEFORE.

And the AFTER. (And that darn dog again.)

Yes, as I have mentioned several times, I am flying solo these days. I am officially bach'ing it for the next couple of weeks. Me and Ernie are free to sleep all day, party all night and eat whatever, whenever we want. That won't happen as I am planning on sticking to my diet and I also have chores that need to be done. My plans for the next two weeks, P&P. Planting and painting. My singledom will be finished off with one final frantic day of cleaning and then probably three days of recuperating.

My Editor at Large is truly at Large. No baby, I'm not saying you ARE large, just at large. While you are off guarding the power brokers of the world, I do expect comments from you. Don't let me down.

For now, I will leave you with a photo of the rose bush at the front of our yard with a view beyond to The Enchanted Garden. The rose bush is in full bloom right now and the SF says it smells wonderful. You'll have to take him at his word. My sniffer doesn't work so good!

Consider Yourselves Up To Date.

Just finalizing my weekend update to further satisfy my Momma's comment about my blatantly obvious absence from blogland. While she was on a short soujourn to a bluegrass festival with her husband (yes, also my father), the mandolin pickin' Hayseed Hoss, I posted nada. (She'll never make a comment like that again, I bet.)

Saturday evening we drove down the road to a field of lupins the SF had spotted. The light wasn't great so these photos do not do the lupins justice. I'm sure there is a reason why the majority of the wild lupins are purple, with pink placing second and the odd white one making an appearance. I haven't seen any yellow or red ones yet. Perhaps it is the difference between wild lupins and hybrids? I'm not too sure. Regardless, they are spectacular.

Then I had a little up close and personal time with Chubby Cheeks. I know that I'm just asking for trouble here. Believe me, I am repeating in my head while he's nibbling sunflower seeds off my fingertips, "Don't bite me. Don't bite me." But, he...she...it is just too darn cute. Told you it was bold.




Come to think of it. I didn't take any photos of Sunday's effort. I busied my day attempting to add some order and life to my lasagna garden. I was THIS close to ripping it apart. Every time I would look at it, my shoulders would sink. I made a great effort yesterday and it is definitely looking better-ish, I still have much work to do. Once the rain passes, I'll take some updated pictures. For now I will leave you with a picture of one of the front beds that is filling in quite nicely. Have a good evening!

Oh, and of course no post is complete without some Ernie-ism. Not so patient this night. He was in no mood to smell the roses. This time, he was pulling a tasmanian devil in an attempt to eat them.

You're right, Mom...I did stop blogging for a few days.

I've been trying to take advantage of the break in the weather. So while I have not blogged, I have taken pictures.

Friday I completed mulching the flower bed at the front of the house. The squirrels were not only confused, but quite annoyed that we relocated the bird feeder with the sunflower seeds. It WAS in the garden; they would run up the rose bush and leap onto Mark Cullen's Choice Squirrel-Proof Bird Feeder and feast until bloated. Now they run up a branch, right out to the tip and nothing. Run back into the bush, find a different branch and run to the end of that. Nothing! Of course, I have taken pity and regularly place small stashes of seeds at the base of their favourite trees.

And then I moved into the back yard to work on my circle garden. Before the two weeks of rain started, I was able to build my somewhat pathetic centre structure. Actually, these are recycled willow twigs. I bought a bundle of them from IKEA some four years ago that were meant to be put in some sort of vase indoors, but I was never able to find one tall enough. Instead, they were always hidden away and then went into storage for four years. I knew I would find a use for them eventually. Once the structure was in place, I was only able to plant my Sweet Peas around the North, South and West sides before we called it a day. And then the rain came. And boy did it. This is what the bed looked like when I started on Friday.
Here it is by the end of the day. The garden is meant to be a starter for my perennials, but I have interspersed a few annuals as well, just to add a bit of colour and texture. (Check out the SF's veg garden in the background. He has finished planting two of his three plots!)

By the end of this day, I completed planting the two inner circles and one quarter of the outer circles along with its respective corner. That's 21 different types of flowers so far.

After dinner we sat on the stoop watching Chubby-Cheeks the Chipmunk hoarding all of the sunflower seeds. When his cheeks could hold no more, he retreated for the woods but he must have sensed the Love Doves were going to move in on his stash. See that blur on the pavement and to the right of the black garbage can? I was actually taking pictures of the flower bed for the blog and caught him putting the chase on the two Love Doves. Apparently he does not want to share.


BRING ON SATURDAY.....

Circle Garden...Done! 36 individual flower beds planted. Now we just need to hurry up and wait....and hope that more than just weeds appear.

Then I headed over to my neighbours house for a garden tour. While these photos do not do her garden justice, this is her White Garden. White physotegia, iris, tulips and this posh Tree Peony.


...with dinner plate sized blossoms.

This sublime beauty is Solomon's Seal. Almost tropical looking, isn't it?




And of course, I captured the lupins that are on the boulevard between her house and ours. They just started blooming this week. Must have been all of that rain.

At least someone around here knows that you should ALWAYS take time to smell the flowers.

I'll be back tomorrow. For now, I must sleep. Hopefully this while tide you over until then.

Build It And They Will Come.

Now accepting applications. Free rent, just the pleasure of watching you raise a family in exchange. Lovely, unfurnished one room home. Your choice of three colours. All homes have a minimum of one perch and one entrance. Come in three sizes - tall, medium and large. Short term leases available. Be the first to apply and take your pick! Bring your own nesting material and make this house your home. (I hear there is a stash of eel grass nearby that makes perfect bedding. Just don't let Old Farmer McLachlan catch you stealin' it!)

Doesn't this seem typical of a husband and wife team. He stands around "twiddling his wings" while she does the inspection and, of course, gets the final say as to whether they move in...or not.

Apparently it was not the home for them. They flew away, never to return. I hope we didn't leave these birdhouses too exposed. Maybe they aren't liking that there neighbours will be too close. I don't blame them. Keep ya' posted. There's plenty of fish...err, birds where they came from.

The weather has taken a turn for the better here. It is glorious again. Sorry J&L. As soon as you went back home, the sun came out. Go figure.

My day was spent working on the front bed...again. The SF, bless his heart, not only cut the sod two or three inches deep here, he also tilled the hell out of it but the grass and weeds started growing back so the only thing left to do was to lay landscape fabric down and mulch. Not an easy task given the number of plants to manoeuvre around. Here is the bed at the beginning of the day. (I did a bit yesterday)

Here it is close to the end of the day. I am almost finished but had to cut it short to go to my "group". (Weigh in day tomorrow.)

I had numerous visitors while out in the yard. A new neighbour and her magnificent gentle-hearted doberman, Max. A delicate periwinkle butterfly, numerous hummingbirds, my baby squirrels and the chubby-cheeked chipmunk. But, none of them were quite as amusing as this fella that came to use the hot tub.

It literally lounged in the bird bath for a good 5 minutes.

Soak, shake, bathe, soak, soak, bathe, shake.

I'm certain he would have stayed much longer but his bath was cut short by a kamikaze robin anxious for its turn . Reluctantly, the love dove vacated the sanctuary of The Enchanted Garden.

That's all I got today!