Life is skittles and life is beer....
OK, enough of that!
Yes, spring has arrived, and we're starting to reap the rewards:
Our backyard white bleeding hearts -- bent on world domination I suspect -- are already in bloom and will grow to completely engulf the right-hand side of that flower bed in a couple months' time. The rhody is just about set to bloom, and the buds are starting to show it. Life will be good in a few weeks' time.
I still need to move the statuary around and give some of it firm footing; the cat statue under the rhody is about half sunk into the soil and there are two more visible on the steps behind.
The phlox is happy, too:
We planted this likely around the same time as we planted the rocks, and this is the happiest pile of creeping phlox I've seen in a long time. We're hoping it spreads some more.
Get 'em up against the wall!
Very happily our ferns are all doing well this year, as are our red bleeding hearts (who seem to have a grudge-match on with the white bleeding hearts; I refuse to take sides lest I be branded either Yorkist or Lancastrian) -- and this is good news indeed. The fern to the left is an ostrich fern and when grown will be about four feet tall. The backdrop is for Kirbstone and shows the stone wall (linear landfill?) that separates our property from our neighbours to the west. That's a lot of rock, and it was all put there the old-fashioned way -- by hand; my back hurts just thinking about it.
And finally, these little guys just make me want to smile:
Grape hyacinths! They don't seem to smell like much, and they're positively tiny, but they're just an excuse to smile. Like Dachshunds.
Spring is here, ah Spring is here...
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Spring is here, ah Spring is here...
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Re: Spring is here, ah Spring is here...
Dachsunds are not a reason to smile, they're silly looking dogs, but at least they're not those abominations that the very useful(?) person Paris Hilton carries around with her! 
Re: Spring is here, ah Spring is here...
That little purple orb in the top picture is the "plumbing ball". Look careful and you will see an old kitchen trap. Gotta love suburban archelogy.
Moderation is for monks. To enjoy life, take big bites.
-------Lazarus Long
-------Lazarus Long
Re: Spring is here, ah Spring is here...
Great garden pics, Diane. That's some stone wall at the back. A lot of large limestone boulders, by the look of them. We'll have to set up a gardening thread!
Here where we live in the central lowlands there are no surface rocks and all fences are ditch & hedge boundaries. Immediately noticeable on crossing the Shannon going West into Clare, Galway or Roscommon is the sudden appearance of stone walls bounding all the fields and little roadways. The most extreme examples of this are to be seen on the offshore islands where they drag sand and seaweed off the shore to cover the enclosures between high stone walls in order to plant potatoes or graze cattle. The stones tend to be flat sandstone or slate. In the East we have granite in the Wicklow hills, S. of Dublin and old volcanic basalt in Co. Antrim, the most famous bit being the Giant's Causway, of course.
At our 52nd parallel bolthole in Kerry we walled the place with sandstone, some of which still shows after 38 years! T.
Here where we live in the central lowlands there are no surface rocks and all fences are ditch & hedge boundaries. Immediately noticeable on crossing the Shannon going West into Clare, Galway or Roscommon is the sudden appearance of stone walls bounding all the fields and little roadways. The most extreme examples of this are to be seen on the offshore islands where they drag sand and seaweed off the shore to cover the enclosures between high stone walls in order to plant potatoes or graze cattle. The stones tend to be flat sandstone or slate. In the East we have granite in the Wicklow hills, S. of Dublin and old volcanic basalt in Co. Antrim, the most famous bit being the Giant's Causway, of course.
At our 52nd parallel bolthole in Kerry we walled the place with sandstone, some of which still shows after 38 years! T.
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Carpe Diem......Seize the Day !
Re: Spring is here, ah Spring is here...
It has often been said that the thing that grows best in New England is rocks. The region is criss crossed with old stone walls that were made as farmers cleared fields. The present day view isn't as spectacular as your picture shows, because as New England farms failed, the fields have been reclaimed by forest. It is not uncommon to come across old walls when hiking.
On the other hand, there are places that would benefit with the installation of hedgerows, but people look at me as though I have multiple heads when I mention those and the environmental benefits that they provide. In the past several years the National Wildlife Federation has been advocating the use of hedgerows as habitat for wild critters. The old stone walls also provide denning space.
And our stone walls also get overgrown, usually with grapevines. We have grapes growing all over the place. Drive by some places and little old ladies dressed all in black are out in the spring harvesting grape leaves.
That windbreak is astonishing. I have never seen anything like that.
Getting back to gardening, I'm trying an experiment. I'm setting up a bed with newspapers on the ground, covered by dead leaves, covered by soil and a wooden pallet on top. I'll be planting greens in the spaces between the pallet slats.
Now, I have a question. I have a little hen who isn't feeling well. She's having trouble walking and her wings are drooping, the right more than the left. I think she may also have an egg that she's having trouble passing. Other than being egg bound, do you or MM have any ideas about what might be bothering this hen?
On the other hand, there are places that would benefit with the installation of hedgerows, but people look at me as though I have multiple heads when I mention those and the environmental benefits that they provide. In the past several years the National Wildlife Federation has been advocating the use of hedgerows as habitat for wild critters. The old stone walls also provide denning space.
And our stone walls also get overgrown, usually with grapevines. We have grapes growing all over the place. Drive by some places and little old ladies dressed all in black are out in the spring harvesting grape leaves.
That windbreak is astonishing. I have never seen anything like that.
Getting back to gardening, I'm trying an experiment. I'm setting up a bed with newspapers on the ground, covered by dead leaves, covered by soil and a wooden pallet on top. I'll be planting greens in the spaces between the pallet slats.
Now, I have a question. I have a little hen who isn't feeling well. She's having trouble walking and her wings are drooping, the right more than the left. I think she may also have an egg that she's having trouble passing. Other than being egg bound, do you or MM have any ideas about what might be bothering this hen?
Moderation is for monks. To enjoy life, take big bites.
-------Lazarus Long
-------Lazarus Long
Re: Spring is here, ah Spring is here...
Diane,
We're so far North that grapes will only grow and produce fruit under glass or in a polytunnel. What do the little old ladies do with the grape leaves?
The windbreak walls are only possible because of the naturally occurring long flat sandstones and slates widely found in the West of Ireland. 52nd parallel again, and we found such a stone up on the only hill between our Kerry Bolthole and New England. It is a sandstone just 6" deep, 10" high and 7'4" long, easily spanning the old inglenook fireplace where its wooden predecessor had rotted & broken. It's been there nearly 40 years now and won't break anytime soon. Rural Irish Domestic Scene: Turf fire and more in the basket at left. MM plays Bodhran, Younger son plays Guitar, Elder daughter plays small harp, My American Suzato whistles are on the coffee table, while little 2-yr-old G'son sits at left and 7-yr-old G'daughter traverses at speed L-R dancing to the music! Pic. distorted by camera angle. Fireplace sides are vertical, sort of.
Elder daughter plays professionally (Fionnuala Kirby, Celtic Harpist) and has her own website.
Now to the ailing chicken. Alas MM is currently in England visiting said daughter & her offsprings. I'm no Vet. of course, and cannot really shed any helpful light on your problem, I'm afraid. From time to time I see a dead hen in the kitchen sink here, but never notice any of them ailing when I feed them, which isn't always, mostly when MM is away. They have short lifespans anyway. Our job is to see that they are well looked after while they are around. We get the Vet. in to look at the donkeys, or we take dogs & cats to them, but hens.....They've never had any veterinery attention ever. Perhaps that would all change if MM was into breeding special show birds like you are.
T.
We're so far North that grapes will only grow and produce fruit under glass or in a polytunnel. What do the little old ladies do with the grape leaves?
The windbreak walls are only possible because of the naturally occurring long flat sandstones and slates widely found in the West of Ireland. 52nd parallel again, and we found such a stone up on the only hill between our Kerry Bolthole and New England. It is a sandstone just 6" deep, 10" high and 7'4" long, easily spanning the old inglenook fireplace where its wooden predecessor had rotted & broken. It's been there nearly 40 years now and won't break anytime soon. Rural Irish Domestic Scene: Turf fire and more in the basket at left. MM plays Bodhran, Younger son plays Guitar, Elder daughter plays small harp, My American Suzato whistles are on the coffee table, while little 2-yr-old G'son sits at left and 7-yr-old G'daughter traverses at speed L-R dancing to the music! Pic. distorted by camera angle. Fireplace sides are vertical, sort of.
Elder daughter plays professionally (Fionnuala Kirby, Celtic Harpist) and has her own website.
Now to the ailing chicken. Alas MM is currently in England visiting said daughter & her offsprings. I'm no Vet. of course, and cannot really shed any helpful light on your problem, I'm afraid. From time to time I see a dead hen in the kitchen sink here, but never notice any of them ailing when I feed them, which isn't always, mostly when MM is away. They have short lifespans anyway. Our job is to see that they are well looked after while they are around. We get the Vet. in to look at the donkeys, or we take dogs & cats to them, but hens.....They've never had any veterinery attention ever. Perhaps that would all change if MM was into breeding special show birds like you are.
T.
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Carpe Diem......Seize the Day !
Re: Spring is here, ah Spring is here...
Nice pic.
Sigh. Little Toffee is still quite weak but eating and drinking and otherwise bright and alert. There really does not seem to be much in the way of veterinary advice for chickens, even with a vet school down the road. So I have been inquiring of other breeders. Thanks for addressing the problem.
Sigh. Little Toffee is still quite weak but eating and drinking and otherwise bright and alert. There really does not seem to be much in the way of veterinary advice for chickens, even with a vet school down the road. So I have been inquiring of other breeders. Thanks for addressing the problem.
Moderation is for monks. To enjoy life, take big bites.
-------Lazarus Long
-------Lazarus Long
Re: Spring is here, ah Spring is here...
Depends where you are. There would be rich pickings here if you wanted to get artistic with long flat stones. Nearby they have to build up the meagre soil with sand and seaweed so they can sow potatoes.
In comparison you have a wealth of fertile material to play with, richest of all being the leaves, which are totally absent on Inishmore, for instance. No trees!
Not my photo, but I thought these two brooders were cute. T.
Not my photo, but I thought these two brooders were cute. T.
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Carpe Diem......Seize the Day !
Re: Spring is here, ah Spring is here...
Don't think I could live in a place without trees. The hens are indeed cute.
To answer your question about the grape leaves.... We have significant populations for Greek, Albanian and Armenian folks and they make tasty stuffed grape leaves. The Greeks call them dolmades and the Armenians call theirs yalanchi. Stuffed grape leaves are popular throught the Middle East.
The notion is similar to stuffed cabbage rolls.
Dolmades are stuffed with a meat and rice mixture and cooked in lemon water. Quite tasty. Sometimes they are served with avgolemono (lemon/egg) sauce and sometimes with tzatziki (cucumber/yogurt sauce. There is also a vegetarian version with rice, nuts and raisins.
Yalanchi are stuffed with an onion/rice mixture that is sneaky spicy.
I only have recipes for those three versions but I'm sure there are more. The local grapevines are now in bud. We tore our vine out last fall when we had the garden cleared and the enormous wild vine in the back of the property was pretty much demolished in the ice storm of 2008. I'll replant the grapes at some point.
No gardening today. It is raining. Geesh, we went from fire weather to flood watch in 2 days. Gotta love New England weather. Wouldn't be doing much outdoors even if the day was nice. Today is Helen Kelly's 100th birthday and we are having quite the soiree at the senior center this afternoon with all the local politicos dropping by to wish her a happy, happy. Helen says that all she wants is a bottle of gin and a nice young man for each year of her life.
And to get this a tiny bit on topic, she loves Carl in skirts!
To answer your question about the grape leaves.... We have significant populations for Greek, Albanian and Armenian folks and they make tasty stuffed grape leaves. The Greeks call them dolmades and the Armenians call theirs yalanchi. Stuffed grape leaves are popular throught the Middle East.
The notion is similar to stuffed cabbage rolls.
Dolmades are stuffed with a meat and rice mixture and cooked in lemon water. Quite tasty. Sometimes they are served with avgolemono (lemon/egg) sauce and sometimes with tzatziki (cucumber/yogurt sauce. There is also a vegetarian version with rice, nuts and raisins.
Yalanchi are stuffed with an onion/rice mixture that is sneaky spicy.
I only have recipes for those three versions but I'm sure there are more. The local grapevines are now in bud. We tore our vine out last fall when we had the garden cleared and the enormous wild vine in the back of the property was pretty much demolished in the ice storm of 2008. I'll replant the grapes at some point.
No gardening today. It is raining. Geesh, we went from fire weather to flood watch in 2 days. Gotta love New England weather. Wouldn't be doing much outdoors even if the day was nice. Today is Helen Kelly's 100th birthday and we are having quite the soiree at the senior center this afternoon with all the local politicos dropping by to wish her a happy, happy. Helen says that all she wants is a bottle of gin and a nice young man for each year of her life.
And to get this a tiny bit on topic, she loves Carl in skirts!
Moderation is for monks. To enjoy life, take big bites.
-------Lazarus Long
-------Lazarus Long