Category Archives: gardening

by | May 19, 2013 · 9:50 pm

“Cherry Pink (and Apple Blossom White)”

I have two apple trees in the backyard that are full of white flower buds. The older tree has some open flowers. There are no cherry trees in the neighborhood, although two houses east of me the yard has several flowering crabapples with bright pink flowers. The Twin Cities seeming skipped spring and rushed headlong into summer, so some mambo music is perfect. Perez Prado recorded “Cherry Pink (and Apple Blossom White)” in 1955 as an instrumental and it seemed quite appropriate for today. The weather has provided a mambo beat with a steady drone of thunder and syncopated drumming of raindrops on the porch roof. The only thing missing is “more cowbell” (or at least some cowbell).

Skipping spring is not an exaggeration. One week ago today, the low temperature was 31°F, which just missed tying the record low of 28°F. Within 48 hours, the high temperature set a record high of 98°F. Even though Minnesota is known for extreme weather, going from frostbite to heat stroke in such a short period is unusual. Over 4 inches of rain falling since Thursday has accelerated blooms in the gardens. A cold and snowy April added to the precipitation total. I hope the copious rains also do not create a bumper crop of ticks, mosquitoes, and sandflies. The area is under its first tornado watch, first severe thunderstorm warning, and urban flood watch of the season. Ah, summer in Minnesota. I am positive there will be a push to put a retractable roof on Target Field even though the architects say it can’t be realistically done. The Twins might have to finish their game today wearing scuba gear.

The early blooming flowers and shrubs are done for the season. There were no crocus blooms this year, but the squills and snowdrops were above average, and the forsythia was absolutely loaded with yellow flowers. Tulips, daffodils, the apple trees, and the miniature irises are blooming along with the early blooming white lilac. The purple lilacs are close, and the pink Canadian lilac will bloom from the time the purple lilacs are done in early June until mid-July. It will rebloom in mid-September.

The winter took a toll on some of the plants. The Russian sage, the red twig dogwood, the cottoneaster, a shrub rose, and the Miss Kim Korean lilac did not make it. All had been looking sickly for the past couple years so I was not surprised. The red twig dogwood is replaced by a lilac with white edged purple flowers. I will not replace the cottoneaster, but will plant a knockout rose in its place. The Russian sage gets replaced when the weather dries out.

Gardening has taught me many things through the years. Dealing with adversity, not having total control over the environment, and learning to complete as many tasks as possible because the weather may not cooperate are some of the life lessons. Gardening also gives me an appreciation for the intricacies of nature, the fascination of seeing a startled chirping hummingbird staring me in the face, of watching robins and cardinals tending to their young, of finally seeing bluebirds on a regular basis, and of dragonflies, damselflies, butterflies, and moths adding grace and color to the scenery.

So maybe the dahlias will get nailed with an early frost or get shredded by hail before they finish blooming. Maybe torrential rain like today will wash away carefully planted seeds. Perhaps a drought later this season will stunt the apple and raspberry growth or Japanese beetles will cause damage. These are all outside my control although I will take reasonable steps to minimize or mitigate damage. Perseverance is the most important life lesson learned from gardening. Lucy’s determination to overcome gardening adversities helped her in her cancer battle.

The second wave of showers ended, but a particularly strong third wave just hit my area. It is still too early in the day for a rainbow or double rainbow. If the humidity stays this high and the cloud cover to the west breaks up, perhaps this area will be fortunate to see one.

Take the time to give your loved ones a meaningful hug and let them know you care. Please help me wish a happy birthday to cousin Mary, and a happy birthday to Micaela!

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Filed under gardening, music, rebuilding

by | May 2, 2013 · 7:40 pm

“Edge of Seventeen” (inches of snow)

I was on the on the edge of 17” of snow, though that wasn’t what Stevie Nicks had in mind when she wrote “Edge of Seventeen”. Several days of dire forecasts trumpeting record-breaking snowfall, freezing rain, and other wintery unpleasantness slid about fifteen miles to the south and east of me. My neighbor spent time putting the blade on his Ford Bronco last night. This morning he spent time removing it without using it.

Snowfall amounts ranged from a trace to 18” in a band about 50 miles wide and about 400 miles long. Other than some sloppy flurries, cold wind, and ½” of rain, it would have passed for a late February day. My old home area, Emmons, MN and Lake Mills, IA, picked up close to a foot of snow and saw many crushed trees and downed power lines. Weather forecasts are not 100% accurate, and one person’s good fortune is another person’s misfortune.

Not that winter has fully left the area. Normal temperatures may not visit again until Monday and there is a minor threat of snow Friday and Saturday. After that, I hope this area gets a second chance at a normal spring and that the areas bearing the brunt of get a chance to clear out and clean up. A couple of sunny days will get rid of this round of winter.

The four decent days this week have the snowdrops blooming, daffodils and tulips budding, and the forsythia finally showing flower buds. The red remains of silver maple tree flowers litter many driveways and the tree rats, er, squirrels are becoming fat, happy, and stupid by gnawing near a leaf bud and lapping the maple sap. That also causes sugary drips on driveways and parked cars. Everything is running almost three weeks behind normal. Maybe the growing season will run three weeks later this year.

I replaced my weather station without falling off the roof and only dropped one wrench. Of course, it did necessitate a trip down to get it. Lucy and I shared a strong dislike of ladders. Mine is exacerbated by a mild rupture in my right ear drum with occasionally plays havoc with balance. The top of the roof is about 14 feet above the ground, but an asphalt driveway and a concrete patio increase the likelihood of a hard landing. I’m glad that chore is done for another decade or more.

I hope you are getting the chance to enjoy some pleasant and routine weather. If bad weather affected you, I hope you are safe and any damage was minimal. Life is as uncertain as the weather, so don’t waste an opportunity to give your loved ones a meaningful hug.

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Filed under gardening, music, rebuilding, weather

by | April 28, 2013 · 9:38 pm

“Walking on Sunshine”

Many people in the Twin Cities metro are walking on sunshine because of the wonderful weather change since Monday. Of course, the 1983 song by Katrina and the Waves has received ample airplay on a couple of the radio stations. Between Monday and Friday, the landscape changed from sooty gray on dirty white to mostly green on khaki. Wardrobes consisting of parkas and Sorel boots now are tank tops and sandals. Car washes and nail shops are insanely busy and Dairy Queen has a steady stream of cars in line from 10:00 am to 10:00 pm. The furnace is getting a rest and the air conditioner surprised me by kicking on late this afternoon. Sun and blue sky replaced the slate gray gloom. We have a surprise thunderstorm underway now rather than freezing rain and sloppy snow.

All my snow melted off Friday and the last of the ice in the backyard shady spot was gone Saturday morning. The temperature had not risen above 60°F this year. Friday was our first 70°F day and today (Sunday) was our first 80°F day. I took advantage of the weather and got the gardens prepped and seeded for the season and did some brush trimming and chipping. I am kicking myself for the wonderful mild sunburn I have on the top of my head from spending eleven hours in the sun between yesterday and today. It shows that I’m not as young as I once was. I am also very thankful for ibuprofen and Powerade.

May could still play a cruel practical joke on us. The weather forecasts for Wednesday night and Thursday night mentioned the dreaded “s” word again. Monday is the last 70°F day for the next week, and Tuesday that last day above 60°F. While the normal high is about 63°F, Wednesday will struggle to make it into the 40’s. The weekend might rebound to the mid 50’s.

I know eleven hours doing garden prep and brush removal sounds like a lot of work. Lucy would help and we would get it done in about half the time. I know she would be disappointed with the late start to the growing season, but she also knew many things were beyond her control. Our reward for a busy day of gardening was dinner at Romano’s Macaroni Grill or Don Pablo’s, then sit in porch on the glider. We savored these warm days with low humidity and no pesky bugs. We would also do some brainstorming and get ideas for the next project (or seven).

We thought ahead and went with low maintenance perennials. The spring readiness and fall clean up were the only two periods of hours of work. Watering, weeding, and cleaning the birdbath amounted to about two hours per week. Mowing takes about 1½ hours when needed, twice per week during the rainier spring and every other week in the drier summer. Thinking ahead gave us more time to enjoy the weather by going for walks. We would average about 200 miles per year walking. By not being in the backyard constantly, it gave the birds a chance to find the birdbath and nesting spots and keep us entertained.

The earlier sunrise time is giving the cardinals more time to sing loudly. I have two males that are in the midst of a territory dispute. One likes to perch in the ash tree outside the bedroom window and sing his own praises at the top of his lungs, usually at 4:30 am (it is still better than an alarm clock!). About a dozen bluebirds used the birdbath today despite my making a terrible racket with the chipper. A crow and a great horned owl had a dust-up, with the crow losing many feathers. The online falcon cam shows peregrine falcons nesting on the Black Dog power plant smokestack about two miles southeast of me. They may have hatchlings because of the flyovers at treetop level. I think they’re ready for spring, too.

Tomorrow is another delightful day, around 75°F with a slight breeze. I have to replace my weather station tomorrow, assuming the new one arrives, and that requires climbing up on the roof. The old anemometer took a hit from an ice chunk Monday. It lost so much weight that it dropped a cup! I know, don’t give up my day job to be a comedian. That will also give me a chance to clear the branches and twigs that fell on the roof after the ice and snow Monday. The old weather station is over twelve years old and the anemometer registered too slowly, even when it had all its cups. The new one accepts data on a USB port and not a serial port, and it has a more accurate anemometer.

My hope is the weather is wonderful where you are. Please give your loved ones a meaningful hug or two, let them know you love them, and take a few minutes to do some “Walking on Sunshine”.

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Filed under gardening, music, nature, rebuilding, weather

by | April 6, 2013 · 9:18 pm

“There is a garden, verdant, beautiful…”

Well, maybe not today, but spring is continuing to make inroads at wresting control of the seasons from winter. The title of the post is the first line of a poem by Reyvrex Questor Reyes titled “Love Sonnet 58 There is a garden, verdant, beautiful“. Lucy would have liked the poem.

Several days of above freezing temperatures and several nights of light fog have devoured about five inches of snow cover in my back yard. The calendar says April but the weather behaves like March. While the yard is not verdant yet, its color is showing a green tinge in the brown. The front yard has a couple of snow piles created by the snowblower. After pulling back the leaves that had piled up in the gardens last fall, I was happy to see daffodils and squills poking through. Some areas of the yard remain frozen solid and other areas have thawed to about two inches down. Yesterday’s snowfall was a reminder that the weather in Minnesota s unpredictable. My yard looked like it had a bad case of dandruff and it melted later in the evening.

I have mentioned a couple of times that Lucy enjoyed poetry. She had a “Nothing Book” in her nightstand where she had transcribed poems that she liked. Julie gave Lucy the “Nothing Book” on Lucy’s 22nd birthday in 1980. The first poem Lucy had jotted in there was a haiku from the James Bond story “You Only Live Twice” by Ian Fleming:

You only live twice…
When you are born, and
When you look death in the face

We both enjoyed baseball, a game played on a verdant ball field. It is a game that spans three seasons and we would enjoy it on the radio while we worked in the gardens or were out for a walk. A. Bartlett Giamatti, a professor from Yale who later became the Commissioner of Baseball, had a quote in “The Green Fields of the Mind” which sums baseball up nicely:

“It breaks your heart. It is designed to break your heart. The game begins in the spring, when everything else begins again, and it blossoms in the summer, filling the afternoons and evenings, and then as soon as the chill rains come, it stops and leaves you to face the fall alone.”

We went to some games at the Metrodome and wished we could be outdoors…except for one game when a severe thunderstorm roared through. Watching the Teflon roof bounce and seeing the flashes of lightning through the fabric made for an interesting evening, but we stayed dry. I was fortunate enough to see some Twins games at the old Metropolitan Stadium, now the site of the Mall of America. Lucy wanted to see a game at Target Field and to attend a St. Paul Saints game at Midway Stadium, and I plan to do both during this baseball season. Let me know if any of you would be interested in joining me.

I hope the weather where you are at is acting more seasonal than it is here. Give your loved ones a meaningful hug, try to get out and enjoy nature, and “root, root, root for the home team”.

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Filed under gardening, literature, philosophy, rebuilding, weather

by | March 30, 2013 · 10:09 pm

Easter 2013

Tomorrow is Easter Sunday for most Christians. The weather is finally shaking off the winter blues with a spate of near normal temperatures. Today’s high of 55°F was actually above the normal high of 50°F for this date. The morning started out clammy and dreary, but the sun and gentle breeze pushed the fog and haze away. It was also the first day of enjoying the three season porch for more than a few moments. Several inches of snow cover vanished today and the furnace has made nary a sound since early this morning. The ice pack in the back yard has rivulets and chasms carved out by snow melt working its way to the drainage pond at the end of the cul-de-sac. People were outside tinkering with lawnmowers and weed trimmers anticipating lawns turning green. Spring is staking its claim.

Bird activity increased when the sun broke through. Three pair of cardinals plus a couple of males looking for mates spent most of today scouting nesting locations and drinking from the bird bath. An inquisitive black-capped chickadee spent several minutes clinging to one of the porch door screens peering in. I have heard robins for several weeks but have not seen one yet. No signs of the snow birds (juncos) that were common at the start of the month. One sure sign of spring is seeing a turkey vulture gliding on the thermals near the Minnesota River. Even the “bird brains” have figured out spring is near.

I think I have some squills poking though near the garage. That garden has western exposure and seems to thaw the fastest. The lilacs have fat leaf buds at the ready, waiting for another couple of days of sun and warmth. Flower buds are getting larger on the forsythia. It usually blooms by mid-April, so it is right on schedule. Easter is the time for plants to resurrect from the dead and for hibernating creatures to awaken. The sidewalks are somewhat treacherous. Snow melt runs down the sidewalks and will freeze in shady areas. Lubricating a low friction icy surface with water guarantees causing unexpected equilibrium shifts, which can result in a painful and wet fall.

I know a few of you will be traveling this weekend; I am going to John’s house tomorrow. Mom and Dad are scheduled to be there. The weather in southwestern Minnesota might be a bit tricky tonight with a threat of freezing rain and snow. I wish a happy birthday to Diane tomorrow.

Take a few minutes to give your loved ones a meaningful hug and let them know you love them. Enjoy your day tomorrow!

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Filed under family, gardening, rebuilding, weather